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Samuel - Name of God - God Hears

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Sermon Notes --------------- We are have roles to play in God's story. These roles all have different characters, but the role of the whole is to bear the image and self-disclosure of God and God's story in the world. Therefore, we observe: We all long to have something of ourselves to give back to God. Everything that we ever have to give comes from God. There is a desire to leave something of ourselves in the world and for the world to bless the world. God hears the prayer that longs for this. God's name is made known through those who desire this. Here is a different cast of character over a long period of time: Sara, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary - All had unexpected pregnancies. One of these wanted nothing more. Hannah, mother of Samuel, the last of the judges of Israel ---------------------------------------- Some Background: The name Elkanah is a Hebrew name for boys that means "God has purchased" or "God has created". It comes from
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No Small Assignments

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Antonio Vivaldi - Gloria (RV 589)

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Not every acronym is a definition. This one is not. It is a series of words upon which to meditate as you listen. G - Great is God; Good is great. God is gracious. God is good. L - God is love. God's love is vaster than the universe. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. God loves you. O - God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnipresent (always present). R - God is righteous. Right! Always right, defining right, directing right thought and action, calling us to righteous living and right relationship with himself and others. I - God is infinite and immutable, unbounded and unchanging. God is the "I Am." A - God is Always all of the above and more! Gloria! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvZYhxT5Mf8
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Religious Abuse ad Genuine Generosity

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Praying for the Elected on Wednesday in America

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I Want to See Agaiin

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Believing Is Seeing Mark 10:46-52 “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” - Erasmus     What is in a name? They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.   What did Bartimaeus see? When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"   What did the “many” miss seeing? Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"   Take heart – a three-point sermon in a three-part sentence. Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him,   "Take heart;   get up, he is calling you."   His last possession – Another three-parter So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.   A searching question and a simple answer
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Be Real - Be You - Be Authentic

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Can You Drink the Cup? "And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:" - Mark 10:39   I do not know what I can do.   Nor do I really understand the price of the things I desire and require.   The disciples were posturing and negotiating. Who was most important among them? Who would be entitled to sit with Jesus in his throne room? They still assumed it would be like Herod’s throne.   It was a rather immature exercise. Yet, we still do it, even when we are more subtle about it.   We flash our credentials and flaunt our titles. We brag about our accomplishments and list our achievements as often as possible .  It may be insecurity; it may be self-doubt; or we may just be prideful.   We try to leverage our relationship with Jesus and our spiritual insights for material wealth, prestige, and power.   Jesus says directly to them that they have no idea
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