All the Sermons

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4 I hope you’ll forgive me for being controversial, but this may be the most argued about line in the prayer. This is because in our own experience we hear at least two different versions of the prayer depending upon which church we go to. Even in Cadillac, some churches pray this prayer saying debts, some say trespasses, and some say sins. How do we explain this difference? The Greek words used for "debts" in Matthew and Luke are different from each other. Matthew uses a term that means to owe someone or to be indebted or obliged to another, while Luke clearly uses a word that means to sin or miss the mark God has set for us. Do you remember hearing that when Kay read the Scriptures for us this morning? The Reformed tradition, following the lead of Matthew and in the footsteps of Swiss theologian Ulrich Zwingli, primarily has used debts and debtors. Most other churches, including Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, an...

The opening question to be debated was: “Is creation science a viable model from which to do science in today’s world?” Bill said no.  But he didn’t prove it.  He produced evidence that he thinks supports the no-God origins and contradicts the creationist’s explanation for the world’s origins.  But he didn’t prove that the evidence is weighty enough to throw out creationism. Ken said yes.  But he didn’t prove it.  He produced evidence that he thinks supports the creationist’s and contradicts the no-God origins explanation for the world’s origins.  But he didn’t prove that the evidence is weighty enough to throw out old earth theories. So the debate ought to have proceeded along the lines of weighing the merits of the respective sets of evidence.  Some effort was given to that effect.  But it was more like apples and oranges.  I think much time was given to each one “preaching” from his own world view; that is, simply declaring wh...

Reading: Exodus 16:4-5, 15-18; Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3 "Give us today our daily bread." How basic is that? Jesus instructs us to include in our prayers a request for food as basic and simple as bread. But our nutrition savvy appetites immediately spring into action and defend our cravings for more! "Oh no, Jesus! We need more than bread! We need fruits and vegetables and dairy and proteins!  Bread isn't even that good for you with all those carbs and gluten!  But, there it stands, "give us this day our daily bread." No more, no less; and not even with butter. However sometimes one piece of bread means a lot.  During WWII, a story is told of an orphanage that housed many refugee children who had lost their parents to the Holocaust. These children had endured much suffering and tragedy in their young lives, and many of them had experienced some starvation before being taken in. The children thrived under the care of the staff and appeared to be recover...