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Sermons by Rev. Patrice Ficken 2007 ________________________________
"GET LOST" - September 16, 2007; Luke 15:1-10, "What are the paths that you travel every week? What are the familiar routes, familiar roadways? Home to work, home to school, home to the grocery store, home to church, home to the doctor’s office, home to your best friend’s house?"
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"THE CALL TO FREEDOM" - September 9, 2007; Psalm 139:1-6,13-18 and Luke 14:25-33, "Here we are in September. I hope all of you had some time this summer for some get-away time, vacation time. I hope you feel refreshed from your time away..."
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"SABBATH" - August 26, 2007; Luke 13:10-17, "Abraham Heschel in his beautiful book, The Sabbath tells us that “When the Romans met the Jews and noticed their strict adherence to the law of abstaining from labor on the Sabbath, their only reaction was contempt.” Romans viewed the Jewish observance of the Sabbath as a sign of their laziness; an excuse to goof off..."
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"PRAYER 101" - July 29, 2007; Luke 11:1-13, "“Teach us how to pray” so the disciples say to Jesus as they watch him complete his time of prayer. Jesus’ answer in Luke’s Gospel comes in three parts..."
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"LAUGHTER AND TEARS" - July 22, 2007; Genesis 18:1-15 and Luke 10:38-42, "Sarah’s laughter and Martha’s complaint ring out over time. We connect with them, we know them. Their skepticism, their frustration over the way things are resonates..."
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"SHOWING UP" - July 15, 2007; Luke 10:25-37, "When we moved here to New Hampshire, the most striking change from city life was how people stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood. I was very grateful for this hospitality when I inadvertently locked myself out of the house; and my neighbor happened just to be coming down the hill in her car..."
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"TRAVEL LIGHT" - July 8, 2007; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, "Jesus chooses 70 folk and sends them out with specific instructions: travel light, go only where you are welcomed, stay put wherever hospitality is offered and do God’s work – bringing the message of God’s love and light to all. Heal the sick. Bring wholeness to the tormented..."
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"LET IT SHINE" - June 24, 2007; Luke 8:26-39, "Have you ever wondered how the man described in this scripture passage got that way? In the first century it may have been understood that he was possessed by demons, but in our modern times we know he was probably taken hold by something else – some kind of mental illness that caused him much torment..."
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"THE BURDEN WE BEAR" - June 17, 2007; Luke 7:36-50, "Let’s take a minute and really try to enter into the scripture passage Ralph read a moment ago. Let’s set the stage, visualize the scene. Jesus has been invited to share a meal with the Pharisees, the religious authorities of his time..."
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"KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN" - June 10, 2007; Luke 7:11-17, "When we look around our country and world and see some of the challenges that confront us – homelessness, poverty, AIDS, malaria, climate change – we can feel overwhelmed. These problems seem too big, too complicated to solve, too insurmountable..."
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"THE WEB OF CREATION" - June 3, 2007; Psalm 8, "Over the last few weeks, we have been graced by birds that we had never seen before – the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. If you’re not familiar with them – they are both colorful and very musical. And their song has been filling our days as well as their presence at the birdfeeder..."
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"DREAMING..." - May 27, 2007; Acts 2:1-21, "Ah… it’s Memorial Day weekend… the beginning of summer. We dream, of lazy days by the lake or the ocean. Hikes in the woods. Family reunions.."
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"PROVIDING SHELTER" - May 13, 2007; John 14:23-29, “The crows awoke (last) Sunday to an all but lifeless landscape in the farming town (of Greensburg, Kansas) … cawing from denuded trees into the silent rubble field below."
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"FROM HEART TO TOE" - May 6, 2007; John 13:1-20, "What do we choose to reveal about ourselves to the world – or how is it that our way of living, how we present ourselves – reveals who we truly are?"
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"LISTEN" - April 29, 2007; John 10:22-30, "Who do you listen to? Who do you trust to help you stay in touch, stay connected, sort things out? Do you tune into NPR or Fox News?"
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"LOST" - April 22, 2007; John 21:1-19, "This week we have been painfully reminded – as stated by our conference minister in his email to us and in our opening prayer – that despite our Easter proclamations – we live in a Good Friday world. We are reminded that in the shadow of death, of loss – life will never be the same..."
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"SEE OTHER SIDE" - April 8, 2007; Luke 24:1-12, "A woman travels to Ravena, Italy to follow in the footsteps of her father, who forty years before, sent her a postcard of a mosaic of heaven in a chapel he visited there..."
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"WHY?" - April 1, 2007; Luke 19:28-40, "When the phone rings and the news comes of a death, a diagnosis, an accident, a tragedy…"
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"OUR DEEP HUNGER" - March 11, 2007; Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:6-9, "I suspect the man who came looking for fruit on his fig tree spent as much time tending that tree as I have tending that amaryllis bulb I showed the children this morning – which is to say not much..."
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"HEARTBREAK" - March 4, 2007; Luke 13:31-35,"Speaking toward Jerusalem, Jesus says, 'How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!'”
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"CLARITY" - February 25, 2007; Luke 4:1-13, "The new governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick received some unwelcome scrutiny this week when it was revealed that, according to the Boston Globe…"
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LIGHT AND SHADOW - February 18, 2007; Luke 9:28-36, "Jesus brings the three disciples – Peter, James and John to the mountain for a prayer intensive – you might say a kind of leadership training event."
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"OUR CUP OF WOE" - February 11, 2007; Luke 6:17-26, "We live in a time of contrasts and the contrasts seem to be growing wider and deeper:
The gap between the rich and poor is growing larger. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer..."
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"QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD" - February 4, 2007; Luke 5:1-11, "Who is God for you? If you were asked to describe – what is God like – how would you answer? Is God like the overindulgent grandparent who takes utter delight in being in the presence of her grandchildren that no matter what they say or do it simply does not matter?"..
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"LIGHTKEEPERS" - January 28, 2007; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, "The poet Rumi wrote, 'Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd'...”
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"THE BODY NEVER LIES" - January 21, 2007; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, "Art Buchwald, humorist, columnist died at the age of 81 on Wednesday night. His death had been anticipated for many months..."
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"SIGNS" - January, 14, 2007; John 2:1-11, "When I received word that my father had a stroke, the waiting began. The questions: how serious, could he, would he recover? Should I go to him now or wait? What if he needs long-term care?..."
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