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Posts tagged ‘madison valley presbyterian church’

Donkey Sunday

I met this donkey in England
while visiting Jackie & Derrick Knight!

Sermon Notes

Our message at church today was an interesting one.
Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds shared a story about a
clerical friend of hers who renamed Palm Sunday
“Donkey Sunday” because the palm leaves show up
in only some of the Gospels, but the donkey is in all four!

Power in Love

Royalty who rode donkeys
were considered a disgrace.
But the throng didn’t mind
How Jesus entered the place.

Power is a social contract.
It’s a constructed idea for us.
However it is not a given –
Except in the case of Jesus.

Christ Power is a given.
In the beginning was Light,
And the Light was God who
Came from darkness into sight.

Jesus Christ came from Light.
Through God all things were created.
Jesus was not just made…
He always was. And I’m elated!

Because He came, I know
That He will come again.
He has the power to save us all.
His power can save us from our sin.

Think about the presence
Of power in our lives.
When do you exercise it?
Control it, friends, ’til Christ arrives!

He entered Jerusalem on a donkey

The donkey is a symbol of humility.
The King of Kings came not to reign
Over the rulers of this earthly kingdom.
He came in love to display His own domain.

His kingdom is not on earth.
Instead, it is in eternity…
The place He has reserved
For believers like you and me.

Today might be called “Donkey Sunday.”
It is the day Christ rode to town
On the back of this lowly animal.
Praise God, His Son came down!


Power was His –
But He exchanged it
For humility and love
And expressed it with compassion.

Happy Donkey Week, my friends.
May the Power of the Holy Spirit
Be expressed in you
Through Love and Humility.

Our pastor,
Mary Grace Reynolds,
with me.

Thanks for your message, Rev. Reynolds.
I pray my sermon notes did it justice.

Have blessed Holy Week, my friends.
Love,
JanBeek

See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Faith and Questioning

From Simple to Complex

I take notes as I listen to the sermon each Sunday. Reverend Jean Johnson at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church never fails to give me food for thought. Here are my sermon notes from Sunday, October 14, 2012. Perhaps they will cause you to pause and think – and question, too. She started with the scripture in Mark 10: 17-31. She titled her sermon, “Big Questions and Unexpected Answers.”

Are faith and questioning oxymorons?
The truly faithful live by faith;
they don’t question.
Right?
Wrong!

The questions of faith and of life change.
They become more complicated
as we become older.
They range from simple to complex.
The answers to our questions
can be found in the Bible –
– according to some people’s thinking.
But the Bible contains
some of the most daunting questions!

“What must I do to obtain eternal life?”
the questioning man asked Jesus.
Jesus’ answer was filled with imperatives
such as, “Go, Sell, Give, Follow.”
Is that it?

It’s part of the mystery of life.
Life has many mysteries.
That’s why faith and questioning are partners.
The joy of following is that it requires
Faith, not complete comprehension.
Questioning leads to  more faithful following
and a life worth living.

Jesus didn’t scoff at the man who asked.
God expects us to be drawn deeper –
– deeper into following and faithfulness.
Thinking, questioning, pursuing
the living, dynamic, expansive God
Is a sign of an active, living faith.

The questions of life change.
The answers become more complicated
as we become older.
They mature as we do.
Keep asking.
Keep listening.

Jesus – simple yet complex