Month: March 2017
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Lent 4 Midweek (Matthew 6:24-34)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Lent 4 Midweek – March 29, 2017 Text: Matthew 6:24-34 The Fourth Petition “Give us this day our daily bread” What is meant by the phrase “daily bread”? The first thing that comes to mind is food, the stuff we need day in and day out to live. That’s…
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Third Sunday in Lent (John 9:1-7)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Third Sunday in Lent + March 26, 2017 Text: John 9:1-7 Jesus and His disciples are walking to church one Sabbath, and on the way they find a pathetic sight: A blind man lying there begging. So, they ask Jesus what’s probably been on the mind of every passerby: What did…
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Lent Midweek 3 (Isaiah 46:8-11)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Lent Midweek 3 – March 22, 2017 Text: Isaiah 46:8-11 Third Petition “Hallowed be Thy Name” God does whatever He wants. Unlike us, He is not bound by anything or anyone—“I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” …
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Third Sunday in Lent (John 4:5-26)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Third Sunday in Lent + March 19, 2017 Text: John 4:5-26 Jesus gives us a good conscience before God by hearing our confession and forgiving our sins. The Samaritan woman was doubly guilty. Samaritans were outcasts of Israel, the prodigals who had set up a rival temple in Samaria. “Our…
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Lent 2 Midweek (Luke 11:14-23)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Lent 2 Midweek – March 15, 2017 Text: Luke 11:14-23 The Second Petition “Thy Kingdom come” Martin Luther wrote about this petition: “Just as God’s name is holy in itself and yet we pray that it may be holy among us, so also his kingdom comes of itself without…
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Funeral of Helen M. Vorderstrasse (Luke 23:33, 39-43)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Funeral of Helen M. Vorderstrasse + March 15, 2017 Text: Luke 23:33, 39-43 Someone told me this week, “Helen remembers everything she forgot.” Because she has been granted rest from her labors, free from the effects of sin and death, she remembers all that vascular dementia covered over. But, these…
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Second Sunday in Lent (John 3:1-17)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Second Sunday in Lent + March 12, 2017 Text: John 3:1-17 “For God so loved the world.,.,” (you know it, finish it!) This passage contains one of the most beloved verses in the Bible, the Gospel in a nutshell. Let’s go deeper, though. Hearing these words of Jesus in context…
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Lent I Midweek (Matthew 6:9)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Lent I Midweek – March 8, 2017 Text: Matthew 6:9 The First Petition “Hallowed be Thy Name” In the Name of Jesus. Amen. There are countless descriptions of the Name of God in Scripture—Alpha and Omega, Blessed and Only Sovereign, Firstborn of the Dead, Immanuel, King of…
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The Ever-Effective Weapon Against the Devil (Matthew 4:1-11)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR First Sunday in Lent + March 5, 2017 Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Doctors who fight infections are all too aware that having just one weapon isn’t enough. Viruses and bacteria each respond differently to medication. Sometimes a strain comes along that refuses to respond to treatment. Then, newer, stronger, and more…
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Ash Wednesday (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Ash Wednesday + March 1, 2017 Text: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 The Introduction “Our Father, who art in heaven” In the Name of Jesus. Amen. During this penitential season, we will turn our eyes to something which is integral to our life as Christians: prayer. You heard Jesus’…