Sermon
To Be Loved
January 19, 2025
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
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‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
from Luke 3:22
‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
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We all need to be loved. The need for love is a core human necessity, ranking just behind the essential needs like food, health, and shelter. We, ourselves, need to experience love before we can love others. Sadly, many people feel unloved or unworthy due to painful experiences, leading to a loss of joy and purpose. Jesus' baptism powerfully illustrates God's unconditional love when He declares, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." This pivotal moment initiates Jesus' self-giving ministry and highlights the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
At the heart of the gospel is God's unwavering love, not guilt. This love forgives, redeems, and seeks out the lost instead of condemning them. Jesus' ministry centered on compassion and forgiveness, calling us to show the same love to others. The cross reveals both God's rejection of sin and His profound love through Jesus' sacrifice. God's love extends to everyone, even those we find difficult to forgive, and embracing this truth allows us to fully experience His grace. Even today, God still declares, "You are my child. You are my beloved." May we accept this love and share it with the others.
Paul Fudge Preaching - Who do You Love More? The Gift or the Giver?
January 5, 2025
Matthew 22:34-40
Genesis 12:1-4
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"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment."
from Matthew 22:37
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment."
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Paul Fudge shared the Good News of God's love with us this morning. Paul and his wife Melanie are missionaries to Zimbabwe. They are currently in the States for a couple of months before returning to Africa. They are long-time friends of Leonard Mallot and have preached and spoken about mission work with us before.
Last Sunday, as I greeted Paul and Melanie after worship, Paul mentioned that my sermon about the extraordinary event and gift of Jesus' birth connected with something he had thought a lot about and had shared with the people in Zimbabwe. Paul said he would be very happy to share it with us too.
God gives us a great gift in Jesus. Everybody loves the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life. We talk about them a lot. They are great gifts! But, are we more caught up in the blessings of these gifts or the love of God that led him to give us such gifts.
The Word Became Flesh
December 29, 2024
Luke 1:26-38
The Word became flesh and lived among us.
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Many of the things we once thought extraordinary have become ordinary over time. Technological advancements like cell phones or launching satellites into space have become a part of ordinary life. Similarly, the birth of Jesus—a miraculous and extraordinary event—can sometimes feel routine as we celebrate it annually. Yet, Jesus’ birth, even though are celebrations might seem familiar, remains God’s extraordinary act of becoming human.
The story of Simeon and Anna at the temple illustrates how the extraordinary can emerge amid the ordinary. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Simeon recognized Jesus as the Messiah, proclaiming him as the salvation and light for all people. Anna, too, immediately acknowledged the infant’s significance. Despite the miraculous events surrounding Jesus’ birth, these declarations surprised even Mary and Joseph.
This serves as a reminder for us today: it is easy to let the extraordinary message of Christmas fade into the background of routine and distractions. Yet, just as God did something incredible through the ordinary people and events of Jesus’ life, he continues to work through us. The Creator entered creation to transform the world and invites us, as ordinary as we may feel, to participate in his extraordinary mission of love and redemption.
Here I Am
December 22, 2024
Luke 1:26-38
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word."
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When the angel appeared to Mary, saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you,” she faced a crisis. The angel’s presence and message deeply disrupted her daily reality. Even those who know about angels will react with fear or panic in such a moment. Mary’s initial struggle was to bridge the gap between theory and reality. She likely believed in angels, but seeing one in front of her was entirely different—much like how trusting God, in theory, differs from making a life-altering decision based on that trust.
May we, like Mary, respond to God in faith, saying, "Here I am."
Finding Christmas
December 15, 2024
John 1:1-14
"The world came into being through him,
yet the world did not know him.
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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This Word, Jesus, became flesh and lived among us, yet the world did not recognize or accept him. His arrival defied expectations, taking place in a humble barn, announced to shepherds rather than royalty. This humility reflects God’s nature and purposes, which often clash with human expectations.
Throughout his life, many missed Jesus. Even his parents lost sight of him, once finding him in the Temple fulfilling God’s work rather than hanging out with the other kids. King Herod sought to kill him instead of seeking the Savior. Religious leaders, confident in their status, failed to see him befriending sinners and touching the untouchable. Jesus’ birth, life, and mission consistently subverted expectations, revealing that God’s truth and blessings are often far removed from what humanity anticipates.
Today, the casualness of Christmas celebrations risks diminishing the incredible gift of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Yet his birth offers us the opportunity to recognize him for who he truly is and to discover our own purpose in him. His humility in the manger and sacrifice on the cross reveal God’s love and redemption. Despite being rejected by the world, Jesus gives all who believe in him the power to become children of God. Like the shepherds, we are invited to see and celebrate the life-changing gift God has made known.
he gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh
or of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
Preparing for Christmas
December 8, 2024
Mark 1:1-8
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.”
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The good news of Jesus Christ does not begin where we might expect—in the quiet town of Bethlehem. Instead, it begins in the wilderness, where a voice cries, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight!”
It might even seem strange that John the Baptist’s ministry was in the wilderness. Many would have thought it more practical for him to preach in Jerusalem, where the people were. Yet, John chose the wilderness—a place of quiet and solitude, free from the distractions of city life. It was a place where even Jesus would often retreat. In the wilderness, people confronted the lies that bound them, turned from their sins, and realigned their lives with God’s ways.
John’s message is as relevant today as 2,000 years ago: Prepare for the coming Christ! This is the Jesus whose birth we celebrate, whose death we remember, in whose resurrection we find hope, whose return we await. The good news of Christmas is the birth of a Savior, Christ the Lord, through whom even the most imperfect among us can find hope.
Let us prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight!
Signs of the Times
December 1, 2024
Mark 13:24-37
Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know
when the master of the house will come.
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Our lives are filled with signs - things that indicate the present and foretell the future. While not obvious in Florida, leaves turning yellow, orange, and red indicate the season of Fall and the coming of Winter. Jesus used an example familiar to people in Israel when he spoke of the shoots of a fig tree becoming tender and putting forth leaves as a sign of the coming of Summer.
In this passage, Jesus speaks about watching—watching for signs—signs that reveal what is about to happen. Signs that when you see the first, you know the second is close behind.
This is the purpose of signs - knowing what is ahead so we can be prepared for when it arrives.
Jesus' words to, "Keep alert!" and to "Stay awake!" are a message for the present, not the future.
"Keep alert" for you do not know when the time will come.
"Keep awake"- for you do not know when the master of the house will return.
Jesus calls for us to be ready. Now.
It is an invitation to live each day as if it were the day of Christ’s return
What would you do differently if you knew Jesus was returning tomorrow?
- Of which sins would you repent?
- What wrongs have you committed that you would make right?
- What would you tell others that do not know Jesus?
- What would you do that demonstrates God’s love?
- What would you say to the people you love?
Are there any good reasons to not do those things today? Are you in any way better off postponing them? Or, would your life and the world be better if you did them today?
Preparing for Christmas is not about shopping, decorating, and cooking. Preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth is about remembering the one who came, living as those for whom he died, and serving him until he returns.
Keep alert! Keep awake!
You Must Choose
November 24, 2024
Philippians 3:17-21
Joshua 24:14-15
Choose this day whom you will serve.
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The Christian faith is often mischaracterized as living a better life. While I truly believe that living by God’s ways will lead to a better life—just as a good diet and exercise will lead to better health—God’s promises and love are far more than a better life.
In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul invites people to join him in choosing and standing firm in the Lord rather than pursuing the fleeting and false promises of transient and temporary pleasures of earth. Instead, like Jesus, he calls us to live out the true meaning of heavenly citizenship - living lives that reveal God's love and grace, and having the same attitude as Jesus who lovingly gave himself for our sake.
As the Israelites, through God's power, had conquered much of the Promised Land, Joshua called for them to choose whom they would serve: the gods and ways of their past or the Lord who delivered them from slavery. They must choose. But Joshua and his family would serve the Lord.
Who Are You?
November 17, 2024
John 13:34-35
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
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The amazing Rev. Dr. Nancy Graham Ogne, pastor Paul's better half, shares God's word with us this Sunday.
Fragrant Aromas
November 10, 2024
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
For we are the aroma of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing;
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Our sense of smell often brings memories to mind more vividly than other senses. Paul’s words about “the fragrance of knowing Christ” reflect this connection: it’s not about an external scent but the lasting impression that a close relationship with Christ has on our lives. Just as time with certain people can influence us, spending time with Christ shapes our character. His qualities—love, compassion, selflessness—start to rub off on us, and others begin to catch glimpses of Jesus in our actions and attitudes. This fragrance of Christ is something we carry with us, touching those around us and becoming a pleasing aroma to God.
May we stink to high heaven so that others will see Jesus through us.