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CHRISTIANS AND COFFEE BEANS

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1 Peter 1:17-23 John 17:14-19 Potatoes, eggs or coffee beans? Which are Christians called to be? We're going to find out as we explore what it means to be “in the world but not of the world” in today's message, “Christians and Coffee Beans.” Put three pots of water on to boil. When the water begins to boil, put some potatoes in one, eggs in another pot, and coffee beans in the third point. Boil for 20 minutes The potatoes went into the pot hard. After boiling in the hot water, they are now soft, easily broken up and mashed. The eggs, with their fragile shells and soft centers, are also changed. They are now hard-boiled. The coffee beans are different. While they look the same as they did when they were put into the water, they have transformed the water. The water has taken on the smell, taste and color of the coffee Jesus was not of this world, yet he came into the world to redeem the world by his death and resurrection an
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OATHS -- GONE WITH THE WIND?

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Leviticus 19:11-12 Matthew 5:33-37 Even if we've never seen the movie, Gone with the Wind, we're probably familiar with Scarlett O'Hara's oath. Framed by the sunset, Scarlet raises her fist in defiance and says, “As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again!” In today's passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leads us into a new understanding of oaths and profanity. Did the character, Scarlett O’Hara in the movie, Gone with the Wind , take the Lord’s name in vain when she made her famous oath? “As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again. Leviticus 19:11-12 tells us not to take oaths, make promises that profane the Lord’s name, that is take the Lord’s name in vain. Scarlett’s oath is a profane
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CLAIMED

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Luke 3:15-1, 21-22 But now thus says the  Lord , he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.   (Isaiah 43:1) Remember your baptism and be thankful. The people of Israel had been watching and waiting for generation upon generation. When John the Baptist came preaching repentance, they watched and “questioned in their hearts” if John was the Messiah, the Savior promised by God that they had been waiting for, longing for. Our hearts long for many things:       The captive dreams of freedom,  and the broken-hearted long for comfort, The person afflicted by illness yearns for health and wholeness and those who mourn grieve for those they have lost. The stranger and the out cast hunger for community and acceptance, and the wandering soul seeks meaning and purpose. The things of this world cannot supply the unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness that
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