2022 February

First Mission: Infuse Faith with Even More Good Deeds, Part 2

First Mission: Infuse Faith with Even More Good Deeds, Part 2

This sermon is based on James 2:14-26. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Imagine it’s 50 AD, and you are riding your camel. You’re headed up to Jerusalem from Galilee, and you’ve lost all your favorite Galilean radio stations. It’s a long ride without tunes, and so you flip the dial to see what you can find. Suddenly, a station comes in loud and clear. . . . “It’s 10 o’clock, and you’re listening to FM 108, ‘all James all the time—all wisdom all the time—all Messiah all the time.’ You might even say, ‘all Sermon on the Mount—all the time.’ And you’re not just listening to some Johnny-come-lately station either. We were the very first. On the air since the mid 40’s. We were there from the beginning to get you to where you want to go. So, sit back

An Eye for an Eye, Part 2

An Eye for an Eye, Part 2

Here’s what I think: Every once in a while, you need a good palindrome. Not because they are the funniest thing on the internet, but because we need to be reminded that sometimes looking at things backwards makes the most sense (or at least in the case of palindromes, the same sense). So here are ten great palindromes. Feel free to read them forwards or backwards. After all, it really doesn’t matter. Step on no pets. Never odd or even. No lemon, no melon Madam in Eden, I'm Adam. Dennis and Edna sinned. A man, a plan, a canal: Panama. Eva, can I stab bats in a cave? Golf? No sir, prefer prison-flog. Marge lets Norah see Sharon's telegram. Tarzan raised Desi Arnaz' rat. Last week, we began looking at the so-called antitheses in Matthew 5 where Jesus refers back to the Old Testament law and refutes it by saying, “But

First Mission: Infuse Faith with Good Deeds

First Mission: Infuse Faith with Good Deeds

This sermon is based on James 2:14-26. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Imagine it’s 50 AD, and you are riding your camel. You’re headed up to Jerusalem from Galilee, and you’ve lost all your favorite Galilean radio stations. It’s a long ride without tunes, and so you flip the dial to see what you can find. Suddenly, a station comes in loud and clear. . . . “It’s 10 o’clock, and you’re listening to FM 108, ‘all James all the time—all wisdom all the time—all Messiah all the time.’ You might even say, ‘all Sermon on the Mount—all the time.’ And you’re not just listening to some Johnny-come-lately station either. We were the very first. On the air since the mid 40’s. We were there from the beginning to get you to where you want to go. So, sit back

An Eye for an Eye, Part 1

An Eye for an Eye, Part 1

Samuel Goldwyn was Hollywood’s answer to Yogi Berra (even though Goldwyn was born first). As a movie producer, he was very, very successful; but as a speaker, few people were better at being more incomprehensible. So, if you are looking for a good oxymoron, look no further. Goldwyn is reported to have said the following: "Include me out." "Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined." "If I could drop dead right now, I’d be the happiest man alive!" "Spare no expense to save money on this one." "We’re overpaying him, but he’s worth it." "I read part of it all the way through." “I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their job.” Scholars have called the list of sayings in Matthew 5 the antitheses (also called “the oppositions”). Six times, Jesus says

First Mission: Follow the Law of Love

First Mission: Follow the Law of Love

This sermon is based on James 2:1-13. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Imagine it’s 50 AD, and you are riding your camel. You’re headed up to Jerusalem from Galilee, and you’ve lost all your favorite Galilean radio stations. It’s a long ride without tunes, and so you flip the dial to see what you can find. Suddenly, a station comes in loud and clear. . . . “It’s 10 o’clock, and you’re listening to FM 108, ‘all James all the time—all wisdom all the time—all Messiah all the time.’ You might even say, ‘all Sermon on the Mount—all the time.’ And you’re not just listening to some Johnny-come-lately station either. We were the very first. On the air since the mid 40’s. We were there from the beginning to get you to where you want to go. So, sit back

Let Us (Part 2)

Let Us (Part 2)

“The world may never know.” That’s how the classic Tootsie Roll Pop commercial ended. It was a heart-breaking answer. A boy obviously caught up in the existential dread that is unknowing, runs to a turtle and asks him, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?” The turtle, beaten down by years and failures, confesses his failure. He may start out licking, but in the end the temptation is too great. He bites down. He suggests the boy asks the owl. The boy, hopeful that his unknowing will be turned into knowing, runs to the wise owl and asks him. The owl takes the Tootsie Roll Pop and says, “Let’s see.” And with that he begins to lick, “One, two, three. . . .” But on the third lick, he bites down. Hence, the reason we may never know. No

First Mission: Be a Doer of Good Works

First Mission: Be a Doer of Good Works

This sermon is based on James 1:22-27. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Imagine it’s 50 AD, and you are riding your camel. You’re headed up to Jerusalem from Galilee, and you’ve lost all your favorite Galilean radio stations. It’s a long ride without tunes, and so you flip the dial to see what you can find. Suddenly, a station comes in loud and clear. . . . “It’s 10 o’clock, and you’re listening to FM 108, ‘all James all the time—all wisdom all the time—all Messiah all the time.’ You might even say, ‘all Sermon on the Mount—all the time.’ And you’re not just listening to some Johnny-come-lately station either. We were the very first. On the air since the mid 40’s. We were there from the beginning to get you to where you want to go. So, sit back

Let Us (Part 1)

Let Us (Part 1)

How do we use the word, “we?” We count the ways. There is the “royal we” (aka, the majestic plural) where kings and queens speak of themselves in the plural. Apparently, King Henry II, having all power, wanted to insure people obeyed his every whim; and so, he often spoke of himself in the plural to remind people that he was God’s appointed king and that failure to obey him would most certainly result in eternal damnation. I believe another “royal” expression also originated during the reign of Henry, expressing that the king was a “royal pain.” Today, the “royal we” is seldom used; and if it is, it is not in reference to divine right, but to note that the person is not speaking merely as an individual, but in their official capacity. There is also the “judicial we,” where judges speak for the court and the “editorial we”