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Gary L. Carver

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Too Err Is Human -- Romans 7:15-25a -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - A -- 2001
Craig Christina in his excellent sermon, "Between Two Worlds," reminds us of Robert Lewis Stevenson'
Cheating The Reaper -- Romans 8:1-11 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - A -- 2001
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation ..." (v. 1 NIV). No condemnation! No condemnation?
All In The Family -- Romans 8:12-25 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - A -- 2001
How to begin a sermon? It always is a preacher's dilemma as to how to introduce a sermon.
Acting Like God Acts -- 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 -- Gary L. Carver -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - A -- 2001
My good friend, Tommy Garrison, tells the story of a minister who boarded an airplane.
Rightwised -- Romans 5:1-8 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - A -- 2001
I knew that I was wrong with God and that I was scared. I was only nine years old.
Buried, But Alive -- Romans 6:1b-11 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - A -- 2001
Baptism is a solemn, sincere, often serene, significant service of Christian worship.
Only The Beginning ... -- Acts 2:1-21 -- Gary L. Carver -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 1999
It had not happened before, it has not happened since, and in that uncommon experience God was uniqu
An Event That Evoked Extravagance -- 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B -- 1999
Arguably, Bill Russell of Boston was the greatest basketball player of all time.
Curbs On Cornfields -- 1 Samuel 15:34--16:13 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 1999
In the early part of this century, Henry Ford and his brother-in-law Howell Graves visited Muscle Sh
For Crying Out Loud! -- 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 1999
My dog really wasn't much of a dog, but he was my dog. His name was Jack II.
Who Wuda Thunk It? -- 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 1999
In 1969 the New York Mets won the World Series, becoming the world champions of baseball.
Calling, Condemnation, And Charred Stumps -- Isaiah 6:1-8 -- Gary L. Carver -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 1999
Snoopy, of Peanuts comic strip fame, was sitting on his dog house writing another novel.
Making The Worst Of A Bad Situation -- 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15) -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 1999
Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother worked most all the time. She had little choice.
Gifts Without Grasping! -- 1 Samuel 17:57--18:5, 10-16 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 1999
I don't know about you, but I hate the guys who minimize and criticize the guys whose enterprise has
The House That God Builds! -- 2 Samuel 7:1-14a -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - B -- 1999
My good friend and mentor, Dr.
Heed The Call! -- 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - B -- 1999
The old preacher was retiring for the evening.
Marks Of A Model Minister -- 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 -- Gary L. Carver -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 1997
Because he often banged his fists into people's faces, they called him Bam Bam.

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New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
In the sometimes-tiresome debate over science and scripture with respect to creation, it’s easy to become distracted. While the argument typically requires a focus on the how, we may lose sight of the what. And so, for just a moment, let me invite us to think for a moment about what God created.
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Acts 8:26-40
As a local church pastor, I was often asked if I would baptize a child whose family were not members of the church. Some churches rebelled against this, but I remember this scripture -the hunger for understanding and inclusion of the Eunuch and Philp’s response – to teach and share and baptize in the name of our God. How could we turn anyone away from the rite of baptism?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“Dad, I think you worked a miracle.” Rolf slowly walked around the tree. “After that windstorm, I assumed this tree was as good as gone.”

“We just needed to give the branches time to heal and come back,” Michael replied.

 “I know, but so many of them were battered and broken I figured that it couldn’t recover. Now though it looks just like it did before the storm.” Rolf paused. “Do you think it will bear any fruit this summer?”

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A live plant that produces fruit, and a broken branch from that plant. I used a tomato plant from a local greenhouse. Ideally, find a plant with blossoms or small fruit already growing. If you use a different kind of fruit-producing plant, just change the script to fit.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Dean Feldmeyer
Quantisha Mason-Doll
For April 28, 2024:
  • On The Way To Gaza by Chris Keating based on Acts 8:26-40. On the way to Gaza, Philip discovers the startling ways the Spirit of God moves across borders, boundaries, customs, and traditions.
  • Second Thoughts: Abiding by Katy Stenta based on John 15:1-8.
  • Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Tom Willadsen, Elena Delhagen, Dean Feldmeyer.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. In our service today, let us absorb from the vine all the nourishment we need.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes our branches are withered.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
We will meet Psalm 22 in its entirety on Good Friday, but here the lectionary designates just verses 23-31. The lectionary psalms generally illuminate the week's First Lesson, which in this case is about the covenant initiated by God with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17. The nine verses from this psalm, while not inappropriate, nonetheless leave us looking for an obvious connection with the First Lesson.

John S. Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, the corridor between New York City and Washington DC.
Ron Lavin
A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money."

Paul E. Robinson
"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation.

Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Love.

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