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Lent Messages
How
to Forgive Yourself
by Frank Schaefer
Mt. 18:21-22
PowerPoint Presentation
While Jesus nor the bible ever talks about forgiving oneself directly, a
strong case can be made for it nonetheless. We are important to God, and
if it is important for God to forgive us, it must be important for us to
forgive ourselves. Here is how that makes sense: Because if we don’t
forgive ourselves it’s like we’re rejecting God’s forgiveness.....
March
08, 2020:
Lent -
The Less You
Want, The Richer You Are:
Overcoming Consumerism
Scripture:
Hebrews 13:5-6, Matthew 6:19-21
PowerPoint: Consumerism
PPT
Video:
Consumerism VIDEO
Why is excessive living or "consumerism" so bad? Well, it means that relatively
few people in this world are taking more than they need and waste the excess.
Have you ever seen someone in line at the buffet in the
cafeteria and put so much food on their plate that they couldn’t eat it and then
threw the excess in the trash? What a waste of perfectly good food in the face
of world hunger. Did you know that consumerism is a major contributor to climate
change?
Lent: Turning
Weaknesses into Strength
by Frank Schaefer
Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
What was St. Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh?
Paul doesn't come clean about it. He keeps it a secret. However, one thing
is sure, that he was really concerned about this issue. It continually
distracted him. He begged God at least twice that we know of to take it
away from him...
 Will My Faith Be Enough?
Scripture:
Luke 17:5-6 and Matthew 17:20
PowerPoint:
EnoughFaith
The question that is raised by the Scriptures for today is: "Will my faith be
enough?"
Isn’t it true that we often feel like that? We question our faith. We wonder if
our faith is adequate, if it’s enough.
I’m not just talking about religious faith here. When I worked as a hospital chaplain
a few years ago I quickly
learned that faith is a spiritual property that all humans possess, whether they
are religious or not.
 The Trouble with Judging Others
Scripture:
Luke 6:37-42
Video Link:
Watch this message on YouTube
PowerPoint: Judging
Others
The first point he makes in his book is about how judgmental Christianity is. He
says: "If we must point fingers, let's point fingers at ourselves." [1]
I wonder what it looks like to be non-judgmental. I think we are pretty good
with not judging people as a local church, aren't we? We accept, welcome and
support all people. Fact is, we are not known to try to convert those who think
or believe differently from us. In fact, there are those among us this morning
who would identify as Buddhist and Jewish this morning.
Karma -
Sowing Good Seeds
Scripture Readings: Proverbs
11:27, Job 4:8, Galatians 6:7, James 3:18
Download the PowerPoint
Presentation
Video: A Story about Karma
...the biblical metaphors for reaping what you have sown are virtually
a description of Karma! The verses they list following this description are the
ones we just heard read. It's amazing to me to see how these conservative
evangelicals are so narrowly focused on their particular theology that they
don't even make sense anymore....
 Ashes to Beauty
by Frank Schaefer
Scripture Reading: John 9:1-9
Download the PowerPoint
Presentation
Song Link:
Beautiful Things
Close your eyes with me if you will and let’s
imagine what his life must have been like for a moment. You sit in the all so
familiar dirt once again, you listen to the hustling and bustling of people
around you. As you hear people shuffling by you may stretch out your hand and
say something like: “Sir, ma’am, can you spare a penny for a blind beggar?”
Will I Be
Alright?
Scripture:
Romans 5:1-5
PowerPoint:
Alright
Song Link:
I'm Alright FFH
("Trouble may find me, but it's not going to keep me down")
Excerpt: At the beginning of a new year, we look ahead to the new
possibilities, but we often also start to worry about the dark
clouds we perceive in the future. We worry and we ask ourselves,
will I be alright?
Just recently I read a Psychology Today article that taught me
something new. I didn’t realize that a negative outlook on life can be
the result of a victim mentality. It was written by a
minister/psychologist by the name of Nancy Colier. It was one of those
“aha-moments” in my life which helped me to grow spiritually. As a
definition, those with a victim mentality are always being
victimized, at least in their own mind. They maintain a consisten...
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