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“Born of Water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-17)Do you know what day your birthday is? I do. My birthday is September 10. “What?” you say. “Pastor, I thought your birthday was in March.” Oh, you mean that birthday! Yeah, that birthday was March 7. But my other birthday, my re-birthday, was on September 10 of the same year. That was the day I was baptized. The first birthday was my birth according to the flesh. The second birthday, the day of my baptism, was my rebirth according to the Spirit. And, like me, what you really need is that baptismal...

“Sanctified in the Word of Truth” (John 17:11b-19; 1 John 5:9-15)In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus prays for his disciples--he prays for all believers, he prays for his church--he prays for us, here in this time between his ascension and his return. And one of the things Jesus prays for us is this, where he says to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” “Sanctified in the Word of Truth.” Let’s find out what that means for us now. The prayer that Jesus prays in John 17 is often called his “High Priestly Prayer.” Jesus is coming...

“A Place for Jim” (John 14:1-6)When someone we love leaves us, it can be very painful for us. Our heart aches. That person we know and love is no longer with us, and we miss him. That’s what we’re experiencing now with our brother Jim. We miss him now, and we will continue to miss him. Husband, father, friend, fellow church member--Jim Stewart was someone we got to know, and we liked him, and now he won’t be around anymore to share our company. That hurts, and understandably so. Even when we had months to get ready for this week--we...

“All You Need Is Love” (1 John 5:1-8; John 15:9-17)“All you need is love. Love is all you need.” No, I’m not quoting John the Beatle. I’m quoting John the Apostle, or at least I’m paraphrasing him. Yes, John--that John, St. John--talked about love a lot. And he’s doing it again today, both in the Epistle reading from 1 John and in the Gospel of John. Basically, John is saying today, “All You Need Is Love.” Listen first to John’s first epistle: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the...

“Abiding in the Vine” (John 15:1-8)In the Gospel reading for today from John 15, Jesus tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit. Do not abide in me, and you will not bear fruit. Then you will be like a dead branch that is thrown into the fire and burned.” Obviously, then, it becomes vitally important that we give our attention to this matter of “Abiding in the Vine.” So let’s do that now. Abiding in the vine. It’s the vital Jesus connection. And as we look at our...

Say this for John Derbyshire – he thinks what he thinks and doesn’t care who knows it. In fact, he’s willing to give an interview to arguably one of the most likely sites to be hostile on the internet. To that end, Derbyshire has given his first interview after being let go by National Review for writing a racially controversial article to the hipster-focused website Gawker, on the condition that they not censor any of his answers. As it turns out, that’s not a problem for them. Here are some of Derb’s most interesting observations: --------------------------------------------------- I liked working with...

“Unpacking the Nutshell” (John 3:14-21)“John 3:16”: You’ll see that reference--just that reference, by itself, no other words with it--you’ll see “John 3:16” showing up in all sorts of places. You might see a guy with a rainbow wig at a sporting event, holding up a sign that says on it, simply, “John 3:16.” You might see quarterback Tim Tebow with “John 3:16” written on his eye black. They figure that just the reference is enough to get their message across, since the verse, John 3:16, is so well known. You all know it. You probably learned it by memory when...

There’s something about Kerry. The 5-term Democratic senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate seems to be looking younger by the day. A photo from the 2008 Democratic National Convention shows his face is looking pretty haggard, with bags under his eyes that are headed for Pope Benedict XVI level: Then, last month, he showed up at the White House with two black eyes and a swollen nose. The party line was a hockey puck broke his nose. From CBS: "Senator John Kerry surprised a few people at the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup ceremony at the White House Monday afternoon. The...

I went to this service last night and it was great. John C. Maxwell gives the message this morning. This is the last "Live" service of the day (starts at 12:12pm). It is also replayed throughout the day and into the evening. If you're interested, just click the link and click the "Join online service now!" link (with the pic of a TV set next to it). God bless! Scott

“Can Anything Good Come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:43-51)Can anything good come out of Bonne Terre? Can anything good come out of Potosi? Or let’s be more specific: Can anything good come out of St. Matthew’s? Can anything good come out of Redeemer? Those may be the kinds of questions in the minds of the people we meet and talk to. And the attitude behind the questions would be a rather dubious one. Believe it or not, some people may not think very much of those little podunk towns, Bonne Terre and Potosi, or of those little Lutheran churches, St....

“Christ’s Birthday Is Our Birthday, Too” (John 1:1-14)Whose birthday is it today? Well, that’s a good question. Of course, we’re celebrating the birth of Christ. It’s Christmas, after all. But at the same time, it is through Christmas, through the birth of Christ in the flesh, that other children are born, too--namely, the children of God. That’s us. And so today we’re celebrating the birth of Christ, first and foremost, but also with it, our own birth as God’s children. I can put our message today into one sentence: The Son of God became man, so that the sons of...

Via Mediaite, how much redder could this red meat be? The answer is none. None more red. Who cares if it’s kinda sorta illegal to promise appointments as a candidate? Bolton’s a rock star among righty hawks and Newt knows it only too well. Dude, I think he might have just sealed the deal. Just one question: Would a Secretary of State Bolton get confirmed by the Senate? Granted, the GOP will probably have control next year, but the Democrats fought Bolton’s UN appointment under Bush tooth and nail. Their base would go berserk if they didn’t filibuster. And they...

"My client will not be bullied out of exercising his First Amendment right to make clear his belief that your client is a spoiled, brainless twit who is cheapening the political discourse in this country" Mike Riggs | October 5, 2011

Evidence collected by a young London-based organization called Human Rights Investigations indicates that when Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain went to Benghazi in April to express his support for Libyan rebels, he visited the site at which the rebels publicly beheaded an alleged pro-Gaddafi “mercenary” only weeks before. (Snip) In the video, the beheading victim can be seen suspended upside down in front of a burnt-out building. A crowd of hundreds is gathered around to watch; many of the spectators are filming the proceedings on mobile phones.

Libyan rebels imitating the long held jihadi tradition of Islamic jihad death porn –the videotaping of a beheading. Via Howie at Jawa who adds: Update: Reports are now that the soldier was not captured, he surrendered. Even worse. If you think they called the US war criminals before, just wait till we bed down these idiots.

A beautiful Brazilian soap star has the lead role in her own daytime drama, which casts George Soros, the billionaire financier of lefty causes, as a heavy who not only broke her heart, but also reneged on a promise to give her an Upper East Side apartment worth $1.9 million. The drama will be staged in Manhattan Supreme Court, where 28-year-old Adriana Ferreyr yesterday filed a blockbuster $50 million suit charging, among other things, that the frisky octogenarian slapped her around while they were in bed discussing his real-estate betrayal. The sultry actress and the mogul, who's worth some $14.5...

Chris Matthews' infatuation with John McCain has returned. The day after the Republican senator bashed his own party, knocking "Hobbit" Tea Partiers, the Hardball anchor on Thursday lauded him as "great" and even suggested McCain as a MSNBC guest host: "...He can substitute for me some night with that kind of talk!" The former GOP presidential nominee criticized 2010 Senate candidates Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle. Quoting from a Wall Street Journal editorial, McCain recited possible debt ceiling scenarios: "Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced budget amendment and reform

Sen. John McCain ruffled America’s already disheveled political feathers today with a Senate floor rant mocking the Tea Party’s position on the debt ceiling debate comparing them to hobbits and disparaging them for turning Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into Republican nominees. Unsurprisingly, Sean Hannity had a bone to pick with the senator tonight on those comments, and on his opinion that the Republicans will get the blame for a debt default if they do not compromise. Hannity came out swinging at Sen. McCain, wondering why the senator had turned on the Tea Party– “why not attack the President?” Sen....

Michele Bachmann says "John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa" and the media goes nuts. Ohhhhhhhh what an idiot, she confused John Wayne with John Wayne Gacy the serial killer. Ha ha ha. Now comes word that… yes indeed… Clyde Morrison and his blushing bride Molly got married in…. Waterloo, Iowa. And settled there. Later moving to Winterset, Iowa. Where they had their bouncing baby boy ...Who grew up to become -- yes indeed -- John Wayne. Not John Wayne Gacy.

“Out of Whose Heart Will Flow Rivers of Living Water?” (John 7:37-39)In the Holy Gospel for today, Jesus makes this statement: “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But the question then arises: Out of whose heart? Those rivers of living water--out of whose heart will they flow? Today I want to explore two possible answers, either of which comes out as good news for us. We’re going to take two different routes and hopefully end up at the same place. And so our theme this morning on this Day of Pentecost: “Out of Whose Heart Will...