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One Flesh (Mark 10:1-16)

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 One Flesh (Mark 10:1-16) Billionaire Elon Musk held a press conference about his project to solve global warming. He told the gathered press, “I will build giant sunglasses.” A journalist raises their hand and asks, “How is that going to stop the earth from warming?” Musk answered, “It makes it cool!” In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is accosted by Pharisees with a thorny question about divorce. It was a hot button issue for first century Jews. There were two Pharisaic traditions in Jesus’ day, the school of Shammai (conservative) and the school of Hillel (liberal). They were at odds with one another, causing friction in Jewish society.  The Pharisaic school of Shammai was fairly rigid in its interpretations of the Law of Moses. They held that divorce was acceptable only when adultery or severe neglect were apparent. Jesus tended to have conflict with Pharisees and their rigid interpretations. In the case of divorce, however, Jesus sided with Rabbi Shammai, which put him at odds with
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Obstacles (Mark 9:38-50)

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  Obstacles ( Mark 9:38-50 ) The church should not be an obstacle to Jesus. We should be a superhighway!    I had to go to court the other day, I didn't like it Everyone was so judgemental.   People these days are too judgemental. You can tell just by looking at them.   Which Egyptian Pharoah was the most judgemental? King Tut Tut   Please don’t judge me! I didn’t write them! Google says the top 3 reasons people don’t want to go to church are:   Lack of Trust:  Some people don't trust organized religion or religious leaders. Irrelevance:  Some people don't believe that religion is relevant to their lives.  Judgmentalism:  Some people find religious people to be too judgmental or hypocritical   These obstacles are there in the cultural mind, whether it is true about Christians or not. It only takes one Christian misrepresenting Jesus to soil the Church’s reputation in the public eye.   In the gospel reading today, the disciples of Jesus
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What is the Church? (Mat 16:13-19; 28:18-20)

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Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC What is the Church? ( Mat 16:13-19; 28:18-20 )   This is the Church This is the steeple Open the doors and see all the people The early 20 th century journalist, cultural critic and author, H.L. Mencken, was an atheist and an elitist. He was known for believing most people were morons and that democracy was a sad form of government, where the inferior mob rules over superior men. He became prominent through his coverage of the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee in the summer of 1925. Mencken once offered a definition of the Church.   “A church is a place in which gentlemen who have never been to heaven brag about it to persons who will never get there.”    The guy clearly didn’t have a clue what the church is really about. Which begs the question, “What is the Church?” How do we understand the Church, its purpose, and mission?   So let’s try and answer the question, “What is the Church?”   The very first time the w
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Complaining (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:13-17)

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 Sermon of Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC ...the people became discouraged on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses   Numbers 21:4b-5a Complaining ( Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:13-17 )   One of my Jr Hi classmates called me out of the blue to complain about the time I put glue on his ink pen. After 50 years, he still can’t let it go!   A man says his wife has been complaining for 20 years about him not putting the cap back on the tube of toothpaste. He decided as an anniversary gift to change his habit. He put the cap back on. A week went by and no reaction from his wife. He’d expected her to notice, but nothing. Finally, one night, she turned to him and complained, “Why have you stopped brushing your teeth?”   Psychology Today states that people have negative thoughts more frequently than positive, at a 5:1 ratio. Psychologists believe that our tendency toward negative thinking is related to our survival instincts. As hunter-gatherers we needed to think fast to av
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What's in a Name? (Tower of Babel and the Call of Abraham)

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 Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC What’s in a Name? (Gen 11:1-9, 27-32; 12:1-7)   Stela found at E' Temen An Ki with official commemoration for the zigguart by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar  I can’t assume you all are familiar with the classic comedy sketch of Abott and Costello called “Who’s On First.” Search YouTube or go to the Members of Milledgeville UMC Facebook page. I placed a link to it there. The two are discussing the Saint Louis baseball team. Lou wants to know the names of the team members. Bud begins telling him, “We got Who on first, What’s on 2 nd and I Don’t Know’s on 3 rd .” Lou is confused.   “Who’s on first?” “yes” What? No, What’s on 2 nd . I’m not asking you about 2 nd base. Who’s on first? Exactly! What? What’s on second. Who’s on first. I don’t know, that’s what I’m asking you!!! I don’t know is on 3 rd !   And on and on it goes. Total confusion!   Today we continue our Bibles Stories series with The Tower of Babe
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Bibles Stories: Ctrl+Alt+Del

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Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC...  Ctrl+Alt+Del ( Excerpts Genesis 6-9 ) God said to Noah, who was now living in the United States, "Once again, the planet has become wicked and over-populated and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing." God gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have six months to build it.” Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard, but no ark. Noah", He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?" "Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah. "But things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision. Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond b
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