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Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

When I was in China... -- Exodus 16:2-15 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
When I was in China a few years ago, I asked one of our tour guides what most Chinese
Many families are experiencing financial... -- Exodus 16:2-15 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Many families are experiencing financial difficulties with the downturn of the economy
Americans are now approaching a... -- Exodus 16:2-15 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Americans are now approaching a 0% saving rate, meaning that we are overspending and
Betty Lou taught piano to... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Betty Lou taught piano to elementary school students for twenty years. She said her
Most people I know struggle... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Most people I know struggle to find standards for their lifestyles. As we waited for a
Do you lead a life... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Do you lead a life worthy of the gospel? Children of parents who are pastors, or have
Even when we know that... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Even when we know that the blessings that come to us have been delivered to the wrong
Life seems so unfair!br... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Life seems so unfair!
First Church had been declining... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
First Church had been declining in membership and attendance for years. Twenty years
A recent website offering labor... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
A recent website offering labor advice cites this scenario: A nurse was hired to work at a
Exodus 16:2-15 Some... -- Exodus 16:2-15, Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Exodus 16:2-15
Workers who were paid piecework... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
Workers who were paid piecework harvested the crops grown on our family's fruit farm.
Kids are constantly shouting out... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
Kids are constantly shouting out, "It's not fair!" A brother or a sister gets something and they don
I was the pastor to... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
I was the pastor to a family involved only on the fringes of the church.
Muriel was in the hospital... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
Muriel was in the hospital, awaiting an amputation.
For those living according to... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
For those living according to the gospel, the manner of our lives is changed, so that we behave with
Why do they call Saint... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
"Why do they call Saint Paul a 'saint'?" the child wanted to know. "What is a saint?"
Benjamin Franklin is the founder... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2002
Benjamin Franklin is the founder of the first lending library.
For over three generations, since... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
For over three generations, since 1881, the Spaffords have managed the American Colony in Jerusalem.
Patrick Morley in The... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
Patrick Morley in The Man In The Mirror tells about some fishermen in a small seaplane who fi
There are experiences in the... -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
There are experiences in the life of a minister that bring joy that cannot be found in any other voc
Jim was angry. His Christmas... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
Jim was angry. His Christmas bonus was the usual $2,500. Cody's bonus was also $2,500.
If the pay was the... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
If the pay was the joy and satisfaction of being a blessing, then the workers by the thousands who s
Salaries in professional sports have... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
Salaries in professional sports have skyrocketed the last twenty years so that even mediocre athlete
To feel the power of... -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 1999
To feel the power of this parable of the workers in the vineyard, it is important to put on a comple

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New & Featured This Week

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John Jamison
Object: I had the youngest children in the group participate. When I came to the part of the story where Jesus asked the little children to come to him, I had the youngest come and sit closest to me. If you think it is possible with your group, when you ask how little children act when they receive a gift, actually ask your youngest children what they think the answer is. Do the same with the older children when you ask about how older people act.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For October 6, 2024:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
I heard a sad story today about a pastor whose church essentially had to close as a result of a scandal surrounding his associate. The pastor himself knew nothing about his associate’s behavior, he was as blindsided by it as the rest of the church family was. But it led to such disruption and division in the church, that they shuttered their doors. And now, a friend told me, that innocent pastor is looking for a new ministry, but he carries with him this black mark that he doesn’t deserve.
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Job 1:1; 2:1-10

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.  But someone has testified somewhere, ‘What are humans that you are mindful of them or mortals that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor’ (vv. 5-7)

Angels are popular in American culture.

SermonStudio

Christopher Keating
Copied on the front of the bulletin were verses from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “Charged with Grandeur.” A globe was placed on a table near the front, emphasizing human’s place in the world. Video footage from NASA accompanied the sermon in order to reinforce how we are called to claim our vocation as stewards of creation. Images of an old car and glimpses of the Earth from space were also used as visuals.
Robert G. Beckstrand
Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
Prove me, O LORD, and try me,
test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.
-- Psalm 26:1-3

Theme: A pledge of, and a plea for, loyalty

Outline
1-3 -- He pleads for God to give recognition to his integrity and single-hearted devotion.
4-8 -- Evidence of this is in his past conduct and his present joy in worship.
Wesley T. Runk
Object: a clock

Mark Ellingsen
Theme of the Day
Reflections on the love of God.

Collect of the Day
Addressing the sovereign God who created us to live in loving community, petitions are raised by the faithful to be formed in faith to trust like children and so reflect Christ's image. Justification and Sanctification are again emphasized.

Psalm of the Day
Psalm 26
* A prayer for deliverance from personal enemies; a lament traditionally attributed to David.
Donna E. Schaper
We find Job on the edge of town, his money gone, his children dead, picking at his innumerable sores and scabs. In the Joni Mitchell version of his sorrow, Job speaks of how the children of the wicked frisk like deer while his are dead and gone. In her version, we are also told that Job sees the diggers waiting, leaning on their spades, at the site of his grave. Job's three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar show up to comfort him but they do so in a way that only pours iodine on his wounds. God is just, they say, therefore, Job must have done something wrong.
John R. Brokhoff
Robert W. Stackel
When William Jennings Bryan went to the father of the young woman whom he loved to ask her hand in marriage, he remembered that the father was a strong religious believer, so he quoted a proverb of Solomon from the Bible: "He who finds a wife finds a good thing." But the father surprised him by responding with a quote from St.
William G. Carter
We have a problem today. Here we are, gathered at worship as the household of God. Through baptism we belong to a worldwide community of faith. Each time we gather, we have an opportunity to pray together and recommit ourselves to peace. Now that we are here, we have to deal with a troublesome and potentially divisive text from the Gospel of Mark. Some Pharisees put Jesus to the test by asking him what he thought about divorce. His response, in turn, has always put a peace-loving church to the test.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus said, "What God has joined together, let no one separate." In our service today, let us consider our responsibilities to the whole of creation.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, we have not always cared about our environment.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, we have not always taken our responsibilities to animals seriously.
Christ, have mercy.

Special Occasion

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