Pentecost 23 - November 16, ย 2025 (pdf Slides) - To follow the slides with the service, click on the words "pdf Slides." It will open a new tab. Follow the slides as the service streams below. You may also open two windows to view the slides and service at the same time.ย
The M3 - Monday Morning Mail for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Yesterday I showed a series of images that showed the top ten buildings to visit according to Architectural Digest magazine. Clik on the word "Images" above to see them. With each image a quote from the article describes a feature or highlight of the building. I kept repeating the words, "Aren't we awesome? Look what we can build!" At the end of the series I displayed Ge 11:4 over the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, "Then they said, โCome, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.โ The next image however was an image of rubble from buildings that are no moreโin Jerusalem of all places. Over this image I displayed verses five and six from the Gospel reading in Luke 21: "While some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, [Jesus] said, 'As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.'โ I then showed an image of a man named Doug, a new pastor to our circuit. He moved to Chincoteague Island over the summer, moving into his in-laws home and farm. His father-in-law had a junky office: cheaply paneled walls, an old fax machine, and filled with stuff. The final image was that same space made into a chapel by Doug. Over this image I invoked Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" and John 4:24, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." It reminds us of who we are (followers of Jesus), whose we are (Jesus' beloved people), and to follow him faithfully does not include our accomplishments. We simply receive the Word of God and follow him wherever he puts us!