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Receive the Kingdom of God Like a Child (October 6, 2024)

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  Sermon Title: Job1:1,2:1-10; Mark 10:2-16 Scripture: Receive the Kingdom of God Like a Child Date: October 6, 2024 Occasion: World Communion Sunday / LGBTQ+ History Month Location: United Church of Hyde Park   1- Presbyterian Outlook I subscribed to some weekly meditation materials from various sources. The Presbyterian Outlook I received this week has an interesting beginning. Here is the first paragraph: “Dear readers, A lot is going on in the world right now. The Southeast is still assessing the tragic damage of Hurricane Helene, the Near East is shrouded in violence, Sudan is on the brink of famine, the U.S. stands in front of a decision that will impact our democracy ... Watching or listening to the news can feel overwhelming. Where am I to spend my time and energy? How will I have enough capacity?” [1] Bad news keeps coming. The suffering of people, all around the world. We might ask: what have they done? What cause those? When looking at them. We might ask
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"What does this mean?" Pentecost and PAAM Sunday (May 19 2024)

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Occasion: Pentecost and Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries Sunday Location: United Church of Hyde Park Scriptures: Psalm 104:25-35 and Acts 2:1-6 Sermon title: What does this mean? Theme: Refuge and New Beginning - Intersection with Pentecost   0. Prayer before sermon “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14). Amen. 1. “Pentecost” In some Christian traditions, 50 days after Easter is the day of Pentecost. This is the day that the Holy Spirit dwells upon the disciples and empowers them to speak in various native languages to proclaim God’s great doings to various audiences in Jerusalem. Traditionally, we call this the birthday of the Christian church. Some churches also celebrate the new baptized members and review the church’s ministries in honor of God. Today is also the Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries Sunday. Our church has a long history working
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The Images of the Shepherd (April 21, 2024)

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Sermon title: " The Images of the Shepherd" Given scripture: Psalm 23 and John 10: 11-18 * link to the sermon video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQPJ8pv0qZ4 We have two scriptures today, and we are going to go through some images present in them regarding “the shepherd” together. And then to see if we can find new meanings in our context. 1. Psalm and David’s shepherd The first scripture is from the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 23. It might be one of the most famous and well-memorized scriptures in the Christian bible. (1) Where and when did I learn Psalm 23. I first learned about Psalm 23 in a small bible study. At that time, I was drawn to the Christian religion and would like to know about that. There were several paintings in the church. One of them is a man holding a sheep. A man with a light skin tone and long white hair held a small sheep in one arm and a shepherd staff in one hand. And there is a glow behind both that man and the sheep. Most of us might also know
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"When the Fullness of Time Had Come" (December 31, 2023)

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Location: United Church of Hyde Park Scripture: Psalm 147:13-21 (or 13-20) and Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 Sermon title: When the Fullness of Time Had Come   Link to video on YouTube https://youtu.be/yhDeUTXSISg Link to Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3nWiRxChQJMSAN43EWmM5V?si=uhvZWIHER9W30J2KpncaKg   1. Postexilic era -The context of Psalm 147 The first scripture today is from Psalm 147. This Psalm begins with “Hallelujah” and also ends with “Hallelujah.” Scholars put this psalm with other four psalm into the same collection as “hymn of praise to GOD.” These five psalms are used for daily morning service, to praise the kingship of God. From the context of Psalm 147, we can tell it was composed after the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland, and the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt under the permission and assistance of the Persian Empire. It’s hard to imagine what that felt like to be captured, and removed from your home, and reallocated to a foreign co
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