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They shall name him Emmanuel...

Illustration
Fourth Sunday of Advent - A
Matthew 1:18-25
"They shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us.' " I know and you know family and friends who are facing Alzheimer's and other types of mental breakdown. In those needs, Jesus comes to our Bedlam or Bethlehem. Interestingly, the terms Bethlehem and Bedlam are semantically related. Several centuries ago, a hospital in London for housing the mentally ill went by the name St. Mary's of Bethlehem. Through changes in the following years, the name became Bethlehem, and through corruption, Bethlehem became known just as Bedlam. Jesus comes as friend, and helper, and healer
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Ron Love
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Bethany Peerbolte
For October 25, 2020:
  • The Law of the Lord and the Law of the Land by Mary Austin — It's clear that Amy Coney Barrett is serious about living “the law of the Lord” in her own life. It’s less clear how that might shape the law of the land if she serves on the Supreme Court.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Ron Love
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
Frank Ramirez
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18; Psalm 1
David Coffin
In the 2010 dystopian movie entitled Book of Eli (starring Denzel Washington), the main character “Eli” is a drifter in a post-apocalyptic American desolate, violent wasteland. He finds comfort and solace in a unique book which he guards very closely. While scavenging food and other supplies, Eli reaches a village ruled by a mobster named “Carnegie.” A girl named “Solara” sees the precious book, which Eli carries that bears a Christian cross on the cover. Carnegie finds out about it, and desperately seeks to possess it.

StoryShare

C. David Mckirachan
Frank Ramirez
Contents
“Rules” by C. David McKirachan
“Accepting Reality” by C. David McKirachan
“Not Guilty” by Frank Ramirez


Rules
by C. David McKirachan
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 and Psalm 1

Children are highly overrated. Sometimes I wonder why my parents didn’t send me to boarding school. One such moment was when I asked why we had rules. If they invariably led to trouble, what good were they?

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (vv. 34-36)

Hi everyone! Today’s story is another one about Jesus and the Pharisees. Do you remember the Pharisees? (Let them answer.) They were the people who tried to trick Jesus about paying taxes because they wanted to make him look bad. Well, they are trying to do it again!

SermonStudio

Mark Ellingsen
Theme of the Day
It's what God does, not what we do, that counts!

Collect of the Day
Addressing God the holy lawgiver and the salvation of His people, petitions are raised by the faithful to be renewed in His covenant of love and trained to care tenderly for all neighbors. Justification and Sanctification are emphasized.

Psalm of the Day
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
• A prayer for deliverance from national adversity, in the genre of a group lament.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Dominic Owl lived in a big, old oak tree, right in the middle of the wood. He hadn't lived there very long, because he was only a baby owl. He loved that big old oak tree, and best all he loved to perch on its broadest branch and watch his mother as she skimmed silently over the tree tops searching the ground for Dominic's next meal.

Special Occasion