Story, Wk. 12                                                                                      12/04/16—Highland—Meute The Story: “Go Directly to Confession” The Story, Ch. 12 Pearl: Moving quickly to confession. Function: To move worshippers to realize that we become careless, not even always realizing our sin and we sin thereby going to confession and seeking restoration with God.   David, the conquering hero King of Israel, was in a time of ease. Things were going … [Read more...]

1st Advent                                                                                      11/27/16—Highland—Meute “Walk in the Light of the Lord” Isaiah 2: 1-5; Matthew 24: 36-44 Pearl: The illumination of the great artist who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Function: To invite the light of the Lord to shine on you so that your life is a thing of beauty in readiness for the surprise return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Light has a way of illuminating what it shines upon. 1.     … [Read more...]

Christ the King/Story, Wk. 11                                                            11/20/16—Highland—Meute “Full of Spirit and Heart” I Samuel 17: 19-27, 41-51; Luke 1: 68-80   Pearl: Relate to God with great spirit and heart. Function: To motivate worshippers to emulate David in his closeness with the Lord.   Last week in The Story you learned how God’s ancient people literally rejected him as their King, asking for a human king to lead them and to fight … [Read more...]

Story, Wk. 10                                                                          11/13/16—Highland—Meute The Story: “They Have Rejected Me” The Story, Chapter 10 Pearl: God condescends to work with us despite our unfaithfulness and lack of wisdom. Function: To motivate the worshippers to always persevere in conforming to the authority of God in their lives. Last week in The Story Ruth, the Moabitess, through her proximity to an Israelite family, came to know God. Through her … [Read more...]

Story, Wk. 9                                                                            11/06/16—Highland—Meute The Story: “The Faith of a Foreign Woman” The Story, Chapter 9 Ruth 1: 6-18; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 20: 27-38 Pearl: Our God is a Redeemer! Function: To promote the goodness of God who is ready to redeem people especially those who are in distress from the challenges of life as well as the distress of the current Presidential Election (Sunday before Election … [Read more...]

Story, Wk. 8                                                                            10/30/16—Highland—Meute The Story: “Mind the Gap” The Story, Ch. 8; Judges 2: 1-10 Pearl: Make sure to pass the faith on to the next generation. Function: To motivate the current generation to intentionally work to pass the faith on to the next generation. Previously… in The Story, the people of God gained passage into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, the protégé of Moses. … [Read more...]

Story, Wk. 7    (Pulpit Swap)                                                  10/23/16--Fallston—Meute The Story: “The Battle Begins” The Story, Ch. 7 Joshua 1: 1-9; Ephesians 6: 10-17; Luke 12: 27-34 Pearl:  God’s overwhelming dedication to regain his world to himself from all who oppose his good ways of justice and wholeness. Function: To motivate worshippers to choose to serve the Lord and align with him in the battle against all forces which oppose his good and just … [Read more...]

Story, Wk. 6                                                                            10/16/16--Highland—Meute The Story: “Wandering” The Story, Chapter 6 Pearl: Trust God to go and do as he leads. Function: To persuade worshipers to follow after the Lord’s kingdom priorities living as missionaries in a needy world. For Moses leading God’s people through the wilderness after the great exodus from Egypt was a task much like trying to herd cats. It was a difficult proposition! It … [Read more...]

Story 5                                                                                    10/09/16--Highland—Meute The Story: “New Commands and a New Covenant” The Story, Chapter 5 Pearl: God wants to be in relationship with his people. Function: To appreciate that the “upper story” purposes of the 10 Commandments, the Tabernacle, and the Sacrificial System, was so that God could be with his people in community. Previously in The Story we learned about the many plagues that God … [Read more...]

Story 4            (Communion)                                                                                    10/02/16--Highland—Meute The Story: “Deliverance” The Story, Ch. 4 Exodus 12: 1-14; I Corinthians 5: 7, 8; John 1: 29-34 Pearl: Ultimate deliverance from sin. Function: To lead worshippers to experience the deliverance of God from that which binds.   On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight #1549 took off from La Guardia Airport and was climbing to its … [Read more...]