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Join us as we walk through the bible verse-by-verse.Visit our website at http://www.heartofgreensboro.com/Service every Sunday at 11:00am EST. Enjoying the stream? Help support our ministry and help bring The Word to millions. Donate on our website or at https://app.easytithe.com/App/Giving/ccg God Bless
From the 9am Sanctuary Service
From the 9am Sanctuary Service
Hidden promise Mark 13: 1-8 Rev Keith Morrison
Hope Church is an accepting group of people who stimulate faith, build hope, and strengthen love through an increasing commitment to Jesus Christ, to God's Word, to each other, and to Christ's mission in our world so that people are healed and God is glor
Brad Sullivan Proper 28, Year B November 18, 2018 Emmanuel, Houston Mark 13:1-8 …Then Were We Like Those Who Dream… “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” (Psalm 126:1-2) That’ Psalm 126 verses 1-2, and whether in those words or in other words, that idea is a recurring theme through the history of Israel. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” God restores Israel. God restores his people. God restores creation and covenant. Before God restored the fortune of Zion, well obviously Zion’s fortunes weren’t doing so well. Babylonian captivity and the near total destruction of the nation of Israel. The capturing of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, God’s very presence seemingly taken from Israel. 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Israelites lost faith in God that he could bring them into the land that he had promised them. God’s anger and rejection of the people of Israel after they formed a Golden Calf to replace God almost immediately after God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt. In each of these cases, after Israel’s fortunes weren’t doing all that great, God restored the fortunes of Zion, and then were the people of Israel like those who dream, then was their mouth filled with laughter and their tongue with shouts of joy. That portion of Psalm 126 seems to me the unspoken promise within Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the temple. His warning / prophecy sounds pretty ominous, doesn’t it. Not only will the temple be destroyed, there will be wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, earthquakes, famines, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs,” Jesus said. All that stuff I just described, it’s gonna get worse after that. The birthpangs, they begin, and then there’s full blown labor, and it’s gonna hurt, cause labor tends to do that, and sorry guys, there’s no epidural for this one, no nerve block. The best you can do is that breathing thing. Labor is coming, guys, and it’s gonna hurt, Jesus was saying, but let’s put a different emphasis on what he said. Rather than, “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs,” let’s say, “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” Well, after birthpangs and labor comes a baby. So, what you’re saying, Jesus, is that after the destruction of the temple and all that other bad stuff happens, something fantastically wonderful is coming? Oh! Well that’s great! “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream.” That’s what’s coming. Now, what came was not the rebuilding of the temple, nor even the restoration of the nation of Israel, at least not for about 1900 years. What happened was the people of Israel were dispersed and scattered without a nation, and the people of Israel survived, and even thrived. Rather than ceasing to be a people, they became even more fully a people, God’s chosen people spread throughout the world. The Temple was not restored in Jerusalem, and the religion changed at that point, but synagogues spread throughout the land. A people with one temple became a people with countless temples where folks could come and dwell and become God’s people. I would say Emmanuel had a fairly decent dose of birthpangs back in August of 2017. I could say that Harvey and Emmanuel’s flooding, and all that has happened since “is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” To be faith think we’re still in labor, but guys, all that has happened, the flooding, the work, the fear, the discord, the coming together and the work to be done is but the beginning of the birthpangs. A baby is coming. New life is coming. What’s that gonna look like? What does it mean for us to be a post-Harvey Emmanuel, a new creation by water and the word? I think we’re starting to find that out as we go, as we receive hospitality, as we continue to be Emmanuel even without our home, as we learn to be adaptive, gracious and flexible, practicing gratitude as life comes our way. Ultimately, I think a post-Harvey Emmanuel, a new creation by water and the word, looks like a spiritual oasis in West Houston in which we are a spiritual oasis because you are a spiritual oasis, and you are a spiritual oasis, and you, and you, and all of y’all, and I are all spiritual oases. The Emmanuel being born is an Emmanuel in which the community is a spiritual oasis as we are all spiritual oases. That’s the disperse nation of Israel after the destruction of the temple, bringing the light of God not in one place, but in countless places throughout the world. Emmanuel as each of us being a spiritual oasis in which God’s presence, peace, and nurture is present wherever any one of us is present, deeply rooted in prayer and scripture, deeply rooted in Jesus, always acting in love for others, with compassion, mercy, and peace. That’s what I see in a post-Harvey Emmanuel. We gather as a spiritual oasis, and we leave as spiritual oases where the weary, the sin-sick, and the burdened come to be refreshed by the love and peace of Jesus present in each one of us. As spiritual oases, we each continually refresh ourselves through daily prayer, almost monastic in our practice of the four daily prayers of the Episcopal church. We continually refresh ourselves with daily reading of scripture, dwelling in God’s presence throughout history in the sacred stories of our faith. We continually refresh ourselves through other practices through which we remember and become aware of God’s presence, and love, and peace all around us. No ain’t none of us gonna get it right all the time, and sometimes the best we’re gonna do is to reach out to someone else when our well has run dry and we need refreshment from them as a spiritual oasis. That too is what Emmanuel is becoming, this new baby being born, the new creation by water and the word. All the turmoil and strife has been but the beginning of the birthpangs. Emmanuel is becoming what we have been striving to be, a spiritual oasis in west Houston, by each one of us continually refreshing ourselves in God’s presence, and love, and peace. Emmanuel is becoming a spiritual oasis in west Houston by each one of us becoming a spiritual oasis. Emmanuel is becoming a spiritual oasis as our hearts are filled with God’s promise of restoration. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.”
Brad Sullivan Proper 28, Year B November 18, 2018 Emmanuel, Houston Mark 13:1-8 …Then Were We Like Those Who Dream… “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” (Psalm 126:1-2) That’ Psalm 126 verses 1-2, and whether in those words or in other words, that idea is a recurring theme through the history of Israel. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” God restores Israel. God restores his people. God restores creation and covenant. Before God restored the fortune of Zion, well obviously Zion’s fortunes weren’t doing so well. Babylonian captivity and the near total destruction of the nation of Israel. The capturing of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, God’s very presence seemingly taken from Israel. 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Israelites lost faith in God that he could bring them into the land that he had promised them. God’s anger and rejection of the people of Israel after they formed a Golden Calf to replace God almost immediately after God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt. In each of these cases, after Israel’s fortunes weren’t doing all that great, God restored the fortunes of Zion, and then were the people of Israel like those who dream, then was their mouth filled with laughter and their tongue with shouts of joy. That portion of Psalm 126 seems to me the unspoken promise within Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the temple. His warning / prophecy sounds pretty ominous, doesn’t it. Not only will the temple be destroyed, there will be wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, earthquakes, famines, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs,” Jesus said. All that stuff I just described, it’s gonna get worse after that. The birthpangs, they begin, and then there’s full blown labor, and it’s gonna hurt, cause labor tends to do that, and sorry guys, there’s no epidural for this one, no nerve block. The best you can do is that breathing thing. Labor is coming, guys, and it’s gonna hurt, Jesus was saying, but let’s put a different emphasis on what he said. Rather than, “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs,” let’s say, “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” Well, after birthpangs and labor comes a baby. So, what you’re saying, Jesus, is that after the destruction of the temple and all that other bad stuff happens, something fantastically wonderful is coming? Oh! Well that’s great! “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream.” That’s what’s coming. Now, what came was not the rebuilding of the temple, nor even the restoration of the nation of Israel, at least not for about 1900 years. What happened was the people of Israel were dispersed and scattered without a nation, and the people of Israel survived, and even thrived. Rather than ceasing to be a people, they became even more fully a people, God’s chosen people spread throughout the world. The Temple was not restored in Jerusalem, and the religion changed at that point, but synagogues spread throughout the land. A people with one temple became a people with countless temples where folks could come and dwell and become God’s people. I would say Emmanuel had a fairly decent dose of birthpangs back in August of 2017. I could say that Harvey and Emmanuel’s flooding, and all that has happened since “is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” To be faith think we’re still in labor, but guys, all that has happened, the flooding, the work, the fear, the discord, the coming together and the work to be done is but the beginning of the birthpangs. A baby is coming. New life is coming. What’s that gonna look like? What does it mean for us to be a post-Harvey Emmanuel, a new creation by water and the word? I think we’re starting to find that out as we go, as we receive hospitality, as we continue to be Emmanuel even without our home, as we learn to be adaptive, gracious and flexible, practicing gratitude as life comes our way. Ultimately, I think a post-Harvey Emmanuel, a new creation by water and the word, looks like a spiritual oasis in West Houston in which we are a spiritual oasis because you are a spiritual oasis, and you are a spiritual oasis, and you, and you, and all of y’all, and I are all spiritual oases. The Emmanuel being born is an Emmanuel in which the community is a spiritual oasis as we are all spiritual oases. That’s the disperse nation of Israel after the destruction of the temple, bringing the light of God not in one place, but in countless places throughout the world. Emmanuel as each of us being a spiritual oasis in which God’s presence, peace, and nurture is present wherever any one of us is present, deeply rooted in prayer and scripture, deeply rooted in Jesus, always acting in love for others, with compassion, mercy, and peace. That’s what I see in a post-Harvey Emmanuel. We gather as a spiritual oasis, and we leave as spiritual oases where the weary, the sin-sick, and the burdened come to be refreshed by the love and peace of Jesus present in each one of us. As spiritual oases, we each continually refresh ourselves through daily prayer, almost monastic in our practice of the four daily prayers of the Episcopal church. We continually refresh ourselves with daily reading of scripture, dwelling in God’s presence throughout history in the sacred stories of our faith. We continually refresh ourselves through other practices through which we remember and become aware of God’s presence, and love, and peace all around us. No ain’t none of us gonna get it right all the time, and sometimes the best we’re gonna do is to reach out to someone else when our well has run dry and we need refreshment from them as a spiritual oasis. That too is what Emmanuel is becoming, this new baby being born, the new creation by water and the word. All the turmoil and strife has been but the beginning of the birthpangs. Emmanuel is becoming what we have been striving to be, a spiritual oasis in west Houston, by each one of us continually refreshing ourselves in God’s presence, and love, and peace. Emmanuel is becoming a spiritual oasis in west Houston by each one of us becoming a spiritual oasis. Emmanuel is becoming a spiritual oasis as our hearts are filled with God’s promise of restoration. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.”
Parkminster Presbyterian Church
https://goo.gl/images/ZT6mCm
Sermon on Mark 13:1-8, where the Lord Jesus prophesies of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70.
Sermon on Mark 13:1-8, where the Lord Jesus prophesies of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70.
On the mount of olives, Jesus gave His easily longest dialogue of prophecy to His disciples. What was He referring to? Is of things yet to come, or things already passed for us? "When will these things be?"
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Jesus warns against False Teachers Jesus warned against interpreting modern events as signs of the end No One knows when the end may come.
Jesus warns against False Teachers Jesus warned against interpreting modern events as signs of the end No One knows when the end may come.
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The End of Sacrifice
Times may seem bad (wars, violence, etc.), but the new birth of creation is still to come. God has not forsaken us.
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A sermon about the very real and debilitating loneliness that plagues some people's lives.