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Mark 1:1-11 Genesis 1:1-5 Hope Christian Reformed Church, Oak Forest, IL On New Years Day, I took my five year old daughter for a walk, with the goal that we would be taking our shoes off and dipping our toes into Puget Sound. I figure, when you’re on vacation near the ocean, you ought to stick [...]
Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church If you were here last week, you know that Pastor Carl recommended the practice of making it through a whole church year. It’s New Year’s Day for the church calendar today. You could start afresh and make it through the whole year. This is your chance! Maybe, [...]
Genesis 45:1-8, 14-15 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church August 8, 2010 (VBS Sunday) I’m the oldest of 4 kids: me, Emily, Mark, Anna. We’re packed in there…Anna is only 6 years younger than me. A few months ago, Anna started a new job at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The agency where she works has [...]
Luke 10:38-42 Psalm 52:9 Erica Schemper Fox Valley Presbyterian Church It is important that I begin this sermon with a confession. I have not been practicing what I am about to preach…I’m home for one week after 3 weeks of traveling, and I leave at about 6:00am tomorrow on another youth trip. in a sermon [...]
Mark 12:1-12 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church My bike repair shop has a bumper sticker up on the wall: “Illinois Earthquake Survivor.” By God’s grace, that earthquake on February 10 was a minor one. (I know I rolled over and went back to sleep right after concluding that perhaps a snowplow had hit out building.) But [...]
Luke 4:1-13 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church (Originally Preached on Lent 1C, February 21, 2010) Temptation is not really a dirty word anymore. Think about it: it’s a word used to brand and identify: chocolates; resorts; a dating service in the UK ; there’s even a men’s deodorant line that has a scent named: “dark temptation” [...]
Luke 4:1-13 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Temptation is not really a dirty word anymore. Think about it: it’s a word used to brand and identify: chocolates; resorts; a dating service in the UK ; there’s even a men’s deodorant line that has a scent named: “dark temptation” Think about it: in all these cases, the [...]
Matthew 2:1-12 Ephesians 3:1-12 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Sunday Before Epiphany It’s been over a week since you ripped open those treasure boxes under the tree. And for the most part, you know exactly what’s in them. And now you have a sense of how much you will actually use the gift. What each gift [...]
Genesis 9:8-17; 1 Peter 3:13-4:2 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, Geneva, IL March 1, 2009 (Lent 1B) If there’s any Bible story that is truly a part of “youth cultureâ€, or at least the culture of the youngest of youth, it’s Noah and the Ark. If you do a search on Amazon for “Noah’s Ark toys†[...]
2 Kings 5:1-14 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, Geneva, IL Service of Healing and Wholeness Every once in a while, my two-year old comes up with little theological insights, new ways of explaining church-y things to herself, and one of my current favorites is the “church bathâ€. It’s what she calls the baptismal font. The place [...]