Towards Sunday

by Blaine Detwiler | June 2, 2020 | ‘Jesus’ Emotions, (really?)’, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday we begin a new worship series called ‘Jesus’ Emotions, (really?)’ .  Many of us have been taught not to trust our emotions.  And yet, emotions are part of what it means to be a human being. This series it meant to discover some the emotions that...

by Blaine Detwiler | May 26, 2020 | Pentecost, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Towards Sunday – Pentecost, 2020 This Sunday is the annual church calendar date when the event of Pentecost is celebrated by many Christian churches around the world.  Pentecost is associated with the advance of the Holy Spirit and the birth of Christian...

by Blaine Detwiler | May 19, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Ascension Day was on Thursday.  Traditionally it comes 40 days after Easter.  It is a day on the church calendar that keeps tracking the major events of Jesus.  Next Sunday is another one, Pentecost Sunday.  For our Zoom gathering on Sunday...

by Joyce Lehman | May 12, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

by Dustin Dawe Acts 17:22-31 The Message (MSG)22-23  So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to seethat you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated withall the...

by Connie Detwiler | May 5, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

MOTHERS DAY FROM THIS WOMAN’S PERSPECTIVE As a daughter, I liked having a day to honor my mother. As a mom, I like having a day where my kids and husband honor me.  Many feel that way and find Mothers Day delightful.  Mothering is not for the faint of heart...

by Joyce Lehman | April 27, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

by Dustin Dawe So then what…?  Let not your hearts be troubled.   Acts 7:55-60 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 55 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 21, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Easter was two Sundays ago.  We now find ourselves in the season of Easter where our scripture lessons  unfold the events that happened afterwards.  In the lesson from Luke’s gospel (below) Jesus makes an everyday style appearance with two people. ...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 15, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Easter was last Sunday.  We celebrated the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Now we are moving into the season of Easter where the scripture lessons begin to unfold the events that happened afterwards.  In the lesson from John’s gospel Jesus...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 8, 2020 | Easter, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

For most of us this Sunday will be a very different kind of Easter Service.  Present circumstances can help influence the way we read and understand the bible. Below are 4 scripture lessons with a bolded line or phrase in each one.  After reading each...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 1, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday is the last in our series on the 7 Deadly Sins and 7 Virtues.  We have been taking these ‘7s’ in no particular order. Nonetheless it comes off as a bit ironical that we should land on Sloth/Joy in the middle of the current COVID -19 pandemic. ...

by Blaine Detwiler | March 25, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

We began this series on the 7 Deadly Sins and 7 Virtues back on February 23rd.  Since then the scenery of our lives has been changing rapidly.  One of the tools we have been using is the Cherokee parable of a grandfather telling his grandson about the battle that goes...

by Blaine Detwiler | March 10, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

During our current series on 7 Deadly Sins and 7 Virtues we have been using a Cherokee parable.   This parable speaks of an old grandfather speaking to his grandson of about how life is like having two wolves that live inside us.   One is good and the other...

by Blaine Detwiler | March 3, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Greed/Generosity During this series we have been using the Cherokee parable about a grandfather talking to his grandson about the two wolves that are inside each of us.  For this Sunday, as we are giving focus to greed and generosity, we might ask ourselves which...

by Blaine Detwiler | February 25, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday we turn our attention to Anger/Love.  Anger is something we all experience. At its best anger is wanting to tell us something.   At its worst anger can produce deadly results. Anger has the power to push apart. Love, in all its variations, has the power of...

by Blaine Detwiler | February 19, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

During this series of 2 part - sermons during Lent we will be giving attention to sin and repair.  The image of ‘greening up in the spring’ is a helpful metaphor for our approach.  This Sunday we will give focus to Envy and Contentment.  Consider the...

by Blaine Detwiler | February 11, 2020 | Lent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday we will be getting an early jump on the season of Lent.  Lent is the church season that gives attention to themes of sin, penance and salvation.  For this Sunday I’d like for us to consider the two scripture lessons below. The questions are meant...

by Blaine Detwiler | January 21, 2020 | Epiphany, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Below are two scripture lessons we will be using during this Sunday’s worship gathering. To begin, read through the Psalm 27 reading.  This particular Psalm comes to us is in the form of a prayer.    Then, for some math fun, count up the number of times...

by Blaine Detwiler | January 14, 2020 | Epiphany, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

There are more ways than one to approach a scripture lesson.  We can read a scripture lesson as mere history. It happened like that, back then, and that is that! Another way to approach a scripture lesson is to place yourself within the action that is being...

by Blaine Detwiler | January 7, 2020 | Epiphany, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

During the current season of Epiphany our scripture lessons aim to ‘present’ Jesus to the world. As a way to prepare for our gathering this Sunday consider these 3 lessons. As a prophet Isaiah was tasked with critiquing the current situation of his people. A prophet...

by Blaine Detwiler | December 31, 2019 | Epiphany, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Welcome to the New Year of 2020.  The two scriptures below appear during the season of Epiphany.  Scriptures can be used in a variety of ways. Sometimes they are memorized.  Sometimes short verses are put on placards and posted by mailboxes. Other...

by Joyce Lehman | December 26, 2019 | Advent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Author: Dustin Dawe Christmas has come and gone.  Another Advent season is over, the waiting, the expecting, the celebration!  Now what?  How has the hustle and bustle of this past Christmas season and the craziness of everyday life left you feeling.  In this Sunday’s...

by Jason Barthlow | December 11, 2019 | Advent, Towards Sunday, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Looking towards Sunday; "what are we waiting for?"  This week I am trying to draw out what fear looks like when we add it to our waiting.  Lots of waiting/anticipating in Advent but it can be impatient and frustrating as we've already learned.  Fear can grow out of...

by Connie Detwiler | December 3, 2019 | Advent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This week’s texts push us to enter into God’s imagination.  Open your eyes, ears, hearts and minds as you read: ISAIAH 11:1-10  (NIV)   The Branch From Jesse   A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear...

by Blaine Detwiler | November 27, 2019 | Advent, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday will mark a decided turn in our calendars.  The November feast of Thanksgiving (USA) will be fading in our rearview mirrors and Christmas will begin appearing on the horizon. We have these 4 weeks to make preparations.   Below are the four...

by Blaine Detwiler | November 19, 2019 | A Community Rooted in Christ, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday is the last of an extended series we have been doing in connection with our Vision Statement.  For the past month we have been paying closer attention to first line ‘We are a Community Rooted in Christ.’  The title for this Sunday’s focus is ‘We...

by Blaine Detwiler | November 12, 2019 | A Community Rooted in Christ, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday we pick up another highlighted word from the opening line of our Vision Statement, ‘We are a community rooted in CHRIST.’  Below are three scripture lessons.  All three are excerpts from church letters that Paul wrote, one to a church located in...

by Blaine Detwiler | November 5, 2019 | A Community Rooted in Christ, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Jesus was fond of using artful stories called parables.  Below is one of Jesus’ most famous parables. Notice where He is while He is telling it. Matthew 13:1-9 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around...

by Blaine Detwiler | October 29, 2019 | A Community Rooted in Christ, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

For the next 4 Sundays we will be working from the first line of our Vision Statement; ‘We are a COMMUNITY rooted in Christ.’  For this Sunday I want to center our focus on the word community. The scripture lesson below uses the word church.  Jesus was...

by Dave Strausbaugh | October 22, 2019 | Love, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

John 15:9-14 (NRSV) As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy...

by Blaine Detwiler | October 16, 2019 | Love, Towards Sunday, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

The past two Sundays we have noticed how other languages work define the word love.  Greek has 4 separate words that sharpen the meanings. Hebrew has a word that describes love as a new condition that can occur when giving takes place.   Neighbor is...

by Blaine Detwiler | October 8, 2019 | Love, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Deuteronomy 7:8-9 It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you—for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the...

by Blaine Detwiler | October 1, 2019 | Love, Towards Sunday, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

We are a community ROOTED in Christ, being TRANSFORMED by the Spirit, SUSTAINED by God’s love, actively INVITING the faces we see each day into the way of Jesus. On Sunday we will begin a 4 part series centered around the ‘sustained by God’s love’ part of our vision...

by Blaine Detwiler | September 17, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Galatians 5:22-26 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions...

by Blaine Detwiler | September 10, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

John 14:15-26 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,...

by Blaine Detwiler | September 3, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday we will be continuing our series on the Holy Spirit. We can read about the Holy Spirit in our bibles as in the 4 short scriptures below.  Persons can also have experiences with the Holy Spirit.  This Sunday we will be talking about one of the...

by Connie Detwiler | August 27, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Isaiah 57: 18-19 - “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will heal him.”   Sit yourself in a...

by Blaine Detwiler | August 20, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

This Sunday will feature a survey of how the Holy Spirit is ‘represented’ in Scripture, and beyond.  To begin consider this definition of what a symbol is and how a symbol functions; A symbol is a mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as...

by Blaine Detwiler | August 14, 2019 | The Holy Spirit, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Exodus 3:(1-6) 13-15 3Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he...

by Blaine Detwiler | August 6, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

The Way of Jesus          John 14:6   Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the...

by Blaine Detwiler | July 30, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Luke 4:18-19  ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,   because he has anointed me     to bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim release...

by Connie Detwiler | July 23, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

I am very aware that change can be hard.  Reforming our church governance structure is a big change.  Isaiah 43:19 tells us that our...

by Blaine Detwiler | July 23, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Mark 9:36-37 Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my...

by Joyce Lehman | July 17, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Proverbs 8:1-21 New Living Translation (NLT) Wisdom Calls for a Hearing 8 Listen as Wisdom calls out!    Hear as...

by Blaine Detwiler | July 9, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Ezekiel 4: 1-3, 9-15 And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; and put siege-works against...

by Connie Detwiler | July 2, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Two weeks ago Carl’s brother, Pastor Phil, in his sermon, described “Ruach (the breath of the Holy Spirit) and that the real meaning of “conspiracy”...

by Blaine Detwiler | June 25, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Luke 6:43-45  ‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not...

by Connie Detwiler | June 19, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Prayer for upcoming Congregational Meeting June 26, 2019 To discuss proposed by-law changes and approve FY20 budget Lord,The events of a day in the...

by Blaine Detwiler | June 18, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Genesis 2:4-9 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth...

by Blaine Detwiler | June 11, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Jeremiah 31:31-33 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of...

by Jason Barthlow | June 6, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

So I've been reading and gathering thoughts for Sunday's message which is titled WAYFarers: Tend to God's Garden.  I'm hoping to explore how we...

by Blaine Detwiler | May 28, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Marion Mennonite Church's vision statement:     We are a community rooted in Christ, being transformed by the Spirit, sustained by God's...

by Carl Kniss | May 22, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

The biblical vision of Shalom is much larger and all-encompassing than simply the absence of war or conflict that might come to mind when we say...

by Blaine Detwiler | May 15, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 1 Comment

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3  Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,     vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain...

by Blaine Detwiler | May 7, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Here are 4 short scripture lessons to consider towards this Sunday's gathering. Isaiah 65:17 For I am about to create new...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 30, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

May 5, 2019 Below are 4 scripture lessons for us to consider in preparation for this Sunday's gathering. Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, ‘Let us make...

by Blaine Detwiler | April 24, 2019 | The Way of Jesus, Towards Sunday | 0 Comments

Good afternoon all,This Sunday is launch Sunday of a series called "The Way of Jesus".  This particular emphasis was germinated from the work...