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WEREWOLVES, VAMPIRES AND GRACE

  Werewolves, Vampires, and Grace   Yep, werewolves and vampires.   A werewolf is usually an ordinary person who is under a curse or is bitten by another werewolf. This person, who may be a decent, law abiding citizen is changed into an evil, destructive beast during the three days of the full moon.   Likewise, a vampire may have started out life as an exceptional human being, but after the bite of a vampire, in death, that person becomes a despicable terror of the night.   They didn’t choose their fate.   My wide experience with fantasy literature has shown me that these creatures are not always the villains of the story.   Sometimes they choose to be the heroes.   Likewise, that holy knight or white wizard, hero types, can sometimes be hiding or struggling with a villainous side of their nature.   Like us.   We are all have a mixture of hero and villain, whether we want to admit it or not.   Sometimes, we might even be rather found of that villain, secretly of course. At
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LOVE LIKE JESUS - HEAVY SHEEP

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        Luke 15:3-7    This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.   If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?   Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.                                                                                                          1  John 3:16-18         The strained glass window pictured above is located in the front of the sanctuary, over the altar table, in our church.  I see it every time I'm in the sanctuary.  On Sunday morning, the gathered Body of Christ gazes upon it (and woe be on anyone who forgets to turn on the back lighting).  It's a well known fixture in our church.  When the preschoolers come over once a week for story time with the Pastor, one child is exclaims, "There's Jesus!"  In other w
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TURNING UP THE HEAT

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Revelation 3:14-18 T o the Church in Laodicea “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!     So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.     You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.   I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.       HERE in north central Michigan, we're just coming off a period of very snowy, dreary and cold days.  Even with just two cats, the thermostat is a matter of daily conversation.  Harley, my calico queen, now recognizes the word "heater" and responds positi
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THE FOURTH DAY

John 11:1-45   I remember the day and time my hope died.  It was June 26 th , 2018, at 5:00 pm.   I was finishing up a project in my office at Fort Madison United Methodist Church in southeast Iowa.   My cell phone rang.   It was a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, informing me that my husband Tom was dead.   After the initial shock had worn off, I raged at God.   “Where were you?!?   I put Tom in your care; I prayed for you to take care of him and protect him!”   All the hope I had invested in the future Tom and I had dreamed about was gone.   Lazarus, whose name means “God has helped,” was dead.   According to the Jewish tradition of that time, the soul stayed with the body for three days.   During those three days, healing and resurrection were a possibility.   Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus, their dear friend, Jesus who had spent time in their home, Jesus who had a close bond with their brother, Lazarus.   Jesus was across the Jordan near the area where John the Baptis
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JUST BECAUSE I'M A LIBERAL ...

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  Brothers and Sisters, may I share something that's been on my mind for quite a while? Just because I'm a liberal doesn't mean I'm not a Christian, because I am.  Born again and spirit-filled, it is my true identity and shapes my life, my decisions and where I fall on the spectrum.  I am unafraid and unashamed to declare, "Jesus is Lord," and I pray my actions affirm my words. Just because I'm a liberal and a Christian, doesn't mean that I don't love and respect those who are different than I am, rather in religion or politics or because of country of origin or native language.  I do, because my faith informs how I see others -- created in the image of God, given divine worth by our Creator.  To judge a person for who and what they are and not accept them is to, in my book, to call God a liar. Just because I'm a Christian who happens to be a liberal, doesn't mean I don't love my country or care about the community where I live.  God
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IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME: SIMEON AND ANNA

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  Luke 2:22-40 A re you familiar with the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas?”  Well, that song is about the season of Christmas – the twelve days beginning with Christmas Day and ending on January 5, Epiphany, the day that the Visit of the Magi is celebrated. From the first Sunday in Advent to Epiphany, starting with the story of Zachariah  and Gabriel to the tale of how three wise men followed a star to Bethlehem, we watch the glorious, miraculous unfolding of the fullness of God’s time.   MESSAGE If a story begins with “in the fullness of time”, it’s pretty much a given that it’s going to be about a person or a group of people who have been waiting for something to happen for a very long time.   To be exact, humanity had been waiting since the snake and apple incident in the Garden of Eden when God cursed the serpent, “ I will put enmity between you and the woman,   and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head,   and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:
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IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME: JOSEPH HAD A DREAM

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 Note:  for a video that includes the Advent Candle writing, prayers and this message, click here:   https://youtu.be/OVM1cc_1Qng      The video will be released on Sunday, December 20, at 9:00 am EST. Matthew 1:18-25 Well everyone needs compassion A love that's never failing ... … Everyone needs forgiveness The kindness of a Savior The hope of nations      “Mighty to Save” by Laura Story   The marriage contract had been agreed upon by both Mary and Joseph’s family.   The only thing left to do was to publicly take Mary into his home.   Now, though … The law was clear.   He had no choice.   Mary had obviously committed adultery, so there was no recourse but to divorce her.   But how?   Should he publicly charge her with adultery which would lead to her stoning or should he show compassion and quietly end the marriage.   Either way, all their plans for the future were gone. Have we ever been caught in a situation where no matter what we decided to do, it was going to b
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