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Jan 2021
Sermon for January 17, 2021 +++++++ Years ago a member of the congregation was disgusted with a sermon I delivered. Her disgust focused on one word I said: prostitute. It is truly a troubling word. What comes to mind is a wholly unholy industry that makes money with pornography, sexual trafficking, and other activities usually at the expense of the suffering and degradation of women. I cannot remember why I used the word ‘prostitute’ in that sermon, but it could be I was saying if Jesus encountered a prostitute, he would......
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Jesus, Light of the World- Sermon for Jan. 10, 2021 from Pastor John
Sermon for January 10, 2021 +++++++++++ In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, among Finnish heritage people, the message of Communism had a strong appeal during the 1930’s. This was the decade of the...
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Christmas and Creation- Sermon for January 3, 2021
Sermon for January 3, 2021 ++++++ While volunteering at CARITAS last Wednesday a co-worker told me about a Christmas decoration next door to the church he liked. It was not a generic “Happy...
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Christmas Cannot be Canceled
Sermon for December 27, 2020 +++++++ “Christmas Eve is the Super Bowl for our choir”, so said the Music Director of St. James Catholic Church in Louisville, Ky. This is a large parish...
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Here is Hope- Sermon for December 20, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for December 20, 2020 +++++++ Samantha Power has a heart for impoverished and beaten down people. She started her career as a war correspondent during the terrible conflict in Bosnia when innocent...
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Titles or Testimonies? – Sermon for December 13, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for December 13, 2020 +++++++++ An African-American preacher asked his congregation, “What would you like people to hear at your funeral? Titles or testimonies? Would you want people to hear about your...
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Comfort My People- Sermon for December 6, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for December 6, 2020 +++++++ They say a picture is worth 1000 words. I have seen a picture that has been shown on all major news networks. The picture shows a...
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You Did So Unto Me – Sermon for November 22, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for November 22, 2020 +++++++++++ There was a story on NPR about a man, a single father taking care of four children, worried about running out of money. It is a familiar...
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The Joy of Our Salvation- Sermon for November 15, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for November 15, 2020 +++++++ In the 1990’s the Synod would have Youth Group trips to Minneapolis to engage in servant projects. Several busses would be needed to transport about 90...
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Be Ready- Sermon for November 8, 2020 from Pastor John
Sermon for November 8, 2020 +++++++++ In April of 2014 over 200 high school age girls were abducted at night from their boarding school in Nigeria. They were held in captivity for well...
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