https://youtu.be/A1vWyTnV2Pk Stewardship Dedication Sunday                                                        11/15/20 “Wisdom that Inspires” Judges 4: 1-7; Matthew 25: 13-40 Pearl: An awareness of God which inspires and empowers creative use of all that we have. Function: To motivate listeners to us their gifts, talents, resources creatively and joyfully due to an appreciation (wisdom) of the mighty goodness of God who wants us to live out of faith rather than … [Read more...]

  https://youtu.be/og48PU4bvDU “Reaffirming the Life with Jesus” Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25; I Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Matthew 25: 1-13 Pearl: Sincerely choosing to serve Jesus Christ above all others. Function: To motivate congregation to choose once again to serve Jesus Christ at this most significant time in the life of our nation and in preparing for stewardship commitment Sunday. “…choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the … [Read more...]

https://youtu.be/OiVT4OvzcuQ                                                                            10/25/20—Highland—Meute “Practice Love” Psalm 1; Matthew 22: 34-36 Pearl: Practice love to love as Christ loves. Function: To motivate listeners to do one intentional loving actin each day to learn that becoming (more loving) comes from doing/practicing. In 1993 Anders Ericsson, a cognitive psychologist, published a paper that examined distinctions among piano students of … [Read more...]

      “Loyalty: Civic and Spiritual” https://youtu.be/4KHgKFmklwU                                                   Psalm 96: 1-13; Matthew 22:15-22          Pearl: Worshipping God (avoiding … [Read more...]

“Influencing God” Exodus 32: 1-14; Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23 https://youtu.be/p0HJy8t69Dg Pearl: The amazing interplay we have with God. Function: To encourage listeners to always lean into relating with God because the biblical record gives evidence that God responds to us in real and significant ways. I don’t think I’ve ever preached on the “golden calf” incident. What happened out there in the wilderness when Moses was up on the mountain with God and not returning and not returning … [Read more...]

https://youtu.be/k3zRgsIgCoE World Communion                                         10/04/20 “In God We Trust; In Us God Trusts” Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Matthew 21: 33-46 Pearl: Our Lord entrusts us with His kingdom. Function: To present worshippers with the stewardship of God’s kingdom that he entrusts to us. We are accustomed to taking care of things that are entrusted to us. In the church we call it stewardship. It is the basic … [Read more...]

                                                                          09/20/20—Highland—Meute “Mercy Not Money: The Scandal of Generosity” Exodus 16: 2-15; Matthew 20: 1-16 Pearl: Value and worth that surpasses money. Function: To free worshippers from small, human categories of value to appreciate the surpassing value of the generosity and grace of God. There's a story of a man who walked through a neighborhood on the first Monday of the month and stopped at the first … [Read more...]

https://youtu.be/ZhJGVHJZHXA                                                                                       09/13/20—Highland—Meute “Judgement Free Zones” Psalm 114; Romans 14: 1-12; Matthew 18: 21-35 Pearl: The church is a judgement free zone, indeed, a grace-filled, healing zone. Function: To commend growth of the Spirit of graciousness with each other in the church, not minimizing the need to right wrongs but in a manner of humility and charity (church is to be a safe … [Read more...]

Communion                                                                09/06/20—Highland—Meute https://youtu.be/0FPKH3-UTBU “Making Peace” Romans 13: 8-14; Matthew 18: 15-20 Pearl: Our commitment to reconciliation. Function: To amplify that a central theme of the gospel is the reconciling work of Jesus Christ and likewise the church is called to the mission of reconciliation. When we drive out one end of our street we are greeted each time by a peace sign hanging on a tree. … [Read more...]

https://youtu.be/pdfyq1r-yZ0                                                                               & … [Read more...]