The Cup
The CupMark 14:32-38; Hebrews 5:7-10Mark 14:36“And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will.’”Sunday, September 29, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa • Introduction: cup as destinyA week from now we will have the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and with that in mind, I wanted to share with you some thoughts I found on the internet regarding the symbolism of…
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
The Parable of the Mustard SeedMark 4:30-32Sunday, September 15, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” The words above are what it says at the end of the great chapter on the Resurrection, but what if you feel like serving Christ and praying and doing good is like…
Treasure in Heaven
Treasure in HeavenExodus 20:12-16; Mark 10:17-22Sunday, September 8, 2024, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa • IntroductionOur consideration today is the idea of treasures in heaven and how to respond to them (found also in Matthew 6:19-21 and Luke 12:31-34) . I admit that I find the idea of treasures to be strange. Why would I need treasures in heaven if I have heaven? What more could I possibly need. I felt the…
The Lord of the Sabbath
The Lord of the Sabbath Mark 2:26Sunday, September 1, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, IowaMark 2:26 “…how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests and also s gave some to those who were with him. • IntroductionLast June we visited this passage in which Jesus showed that the keepers of the Law were more legalistic…
Bread From Heaven
Bread From HeavenExodus 16:14-35; John 6:51-58Sunday, August 18, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa13th Sunday after Pentecost • Introduction: Faith as focusToday’s message is called “The Bread of Life” because of the passage in which the Lord Jesus calls Himself by that title, but the core of the message is the importance of being faithful, and first of all, being faithful requires focus. There were two boys who learned about this while playing outside on a winter’s…
Setting the Mind
Setting the Mind Colossians 3:2-4; Matthew 6:19-21 Sunday, August 11, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 12th Sunday after Pentecost Introduction I have a photo up on the screen which I downloaded from the internet. The picture is of Alex Honnold, a celebrated mountaineer known for his daring ascents of mountains and cliffs. Recently he broke the world record for climbing El Capitan, a sheer cliff of enormous height in Yosemite National Park. He achieved the climb…
Authority
Authority John 6:1-21; Ephesians 3:14-21 Sunday, August 4, 2024 11th Sunday After Pentecost First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Ma Lucado wrote this story about the power of authority that comes from within and from who the person in authority is. “In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy…
Provision
Provision Mark 6:30-44; Ephesians 2:11-22 Sunday, July 28, 2024 10th Sunday after Pentecost First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Awhile ago I read an article in which a student asked a college professor what was the earliest sign of civilization? Instead of pointing to an archeological discovery, the professor pointed to a picture of an ancient human leg bone. She said that this is the earliest known example of a broken bone that was set and had healed properly. …
Victory
Victory Mark 16:14-20; Ephesians 1:3-14 Sunday, July 21, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: The Remains of the Day There’s a movie, set in the 1930’s, starring Anthony Hopkins as the very professional and completely devoted butler to a Lord Darlington. Convinced that service to a great man is a route to greatness for himself, the butler, named James, ignores the Lord’s Nazi sympathies and the needs of his family and friends to be the…
Access: Prayer for the Nation
Access: Prayer for the Nation 1 Timothy 2:1-7; 2 Chronicles 7:14 Sunday, July 7, 2024 Introduction As we leave the Fourth of July behind our thoughts naturally turn to matters of the nation, of patriotism and for Christians, prayer for the spiritual condition of the country. Some pastors turn to the passage we read from 2 Chronicles, about the Lord’s people praying and the Lord healing the land. In our main passage for the day, we look at the call…
Earthen Vessels
Earthen Vessels 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Psalms 116:10-15 Sunday, June 16, 2024 at the First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 4th Sunday after Pentecost 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. Introduction: Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea: Lots of men need to be useful. When we don’t feel like we can to much anymore, that can be a hard thing…
The Weight of Glory
The Weight of Glory Sunday, June 9, 2024 at the First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the thing which are not seen are eternal. Introduction:…