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2009

In His Time – 12/20/09

“It can’t be,” the man shouted. He almost knocked a young mother whose arms were loaded with back to school clothing off of her feet as he quickly made his way to the book rack in the Salvation Army thrift store. Oblivious of the other shoppers, his eyes were like a scud missile locked on target, which in this case was a child’s white Bible with an imitation holly sprig glued onto its cover.


The Profile of a Happy Person – 12/13/09
After I concluded last week’s message, it was my prayerful desire that God would make it a blessing for everyone who heard it preached or might read it later. I also hoped I was successful in convincing folks that we don’t have to wait until we die and go to heaven before we can be truly happy, but that regardless of our often very sorrowful circumstances Christians can be the happiest people on the face of the earth. Lord willing,

The Happiest People on Earth – 12/6/09
For those of you who may have been wondering when my fictitious Bible Study is going to resume, I have to say I really don’t know. All I can tell you is that right now Martha and her son are experiencing mixed emotions. Of course, they’re enjoying the relative tranquility because of Charlie’s absence from the household, but they’re saddened by the fact his disease has progressed to the point where he is living in what is commonly referred to as being a “persistent vegetative state.”

The Happiest People in Heaven – 11/15/09
I don’t know how old I was at the time or whether or not the person was an adult or a child, but I do remember my Mom telling me not to stare because I would hurt his or her feelings. She explained the person couldn’t help being the way they were. She also told me she didn’t she know why God would allow anyone to be born in such a pitiful condition. My Mom just said, “All I know is that God has a good reason and we just have to trust Him, Michael.”

Soaring With the Angels Into God’s Presence – 11/8/09
A couple of weeks ago as I was checking the statistics for my web site I learned it had just reached 65,001 hits. When I mentioned this fact to my daughter in an email, I asked, “I wonder how many of them Charlie and his kid are responsible for?” She responded and said, “Dad. That’s great! Most of those 65,001 hits probably feel a lot better about themselves and their families after reading about those whack jobs. Love you!”

The Granddaddy of all Hoaxes – 10/25/09
“…in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

The End of the World – 10/11/09
There are a number of reasons why I have been preaching this series of messages on the End Times. First and foremost is because I’m firmly convinced it’s what God would like me to do, and I want to please Him. Although I’m constantly hounded by Satan and his slime ball cohort’s in their unrelenting attempt to persuade me otherwise,

The End of the End Times Media – 9/27/09
It’s fairly common knowledge I consider it a privilege to serve as your pastor, and also that it’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I want to honor God in the ministry He has called me to, and in various ways He lets me know whether or not He approves of the job I’m doing. For example, last week our friend Guy shared with us how God had used my last sermon to straighten out his thinking on a particular spiritual issue he had been wrestling with at the time he received it.

The Dark Age of Millennium Madness – 9/13/09
My hatred of Satan has intensified enormously ever since I learned of the kidnapping eighteen years ago of a little eleven year old girl named Jaycee Degard. When I think of some of the horrible things that poor child was subjected to during her captivity I’m at a loss for words. But those unspeakable evils certainly didn’t hinder her “alleged” abductor, a convicted chronic sex-offender named Phillip Garido who told told authorities, “Wait until you hear the story of what took place in that house. You are going to be impressed.

The Search For Truth – 8/23/09
The boy in my current series of messages in which, among other things, I have been attempting to make a case as to the importance of scrutinizing and judging by the scriptures what I and other Bible teachers are teaching, reminded me of a middle aged atheist and his quest for spiritual truth many years ago. Each of them had been studying a pocket New Testament for about a year, and then the boy came into possession of a couple of Study Bibles.

A Deafening Silence – 8/9/09
Although it wasn’t necessary; the Lord reassured me this past week that the biblical issues I’ve been addressing in my last two messages and the method I utilized to convey them were exactly what He desired. I have to admit I don’t like preaching about such issues but I must. If I didn’t, I believe I would be sinning greatly.

Will You Be Able to Say…? – 8/2/09
One of the most uplifting kinds of feedback I receive about my sermons are those such as a recent one from a man named Ed a long time friend and former co-worker at the old Fanny Allen Hospital. “Mike, Enjoyed the sermon! Your sermons always drive me to my Bible to find answers but, as I said, sometimes you just have to trust His Word. Ed…” Ed’s remark, “Your sermons always drive me to my bible” is music to my ears.

How Can Anyone Take Jesus Seriously? – 7/26/09
Last week I created a group of fictional characters consisting of a dysfunctional family and an elderly bible teacher who were next door neighbors. The mother was a Christian woman who had a rather anxious and worrisome temperament, so much so that it has gotten to the point where she had developed a full blown ulcer. The father was a controlling, obnoxious, argumentative, judgmental, know-it-all who thought he was a Born-again Christian because he walked the aisle several years previously

Christians Sidetracked on Their Way Back Home – 7/19/09
The more I plumb the depths of the sacred Scriptures the more aware I am of how shallow my understanding of the full riches of the Bible actually is. After almost forty years of constant study of His Word I have to admit I don’t know very much. I’m trusting our Lord will never allow me to con myself into believing otherwise because I know there are still many more biblical dots left for me to connect. The more I gain a deeper understanding of the magnitude of the eternal torment awaiting all those who reject God’s Son; folks through whom He has blessed me in various ways throughout the years;

The Book that Shines in the Darkness – 6/14/09
What can be known about God is plain to all people for the simple reason that He has made it plain to each and every one of them. All human beings have been aware of His invisible attributes such as His eternal power and divine nature ever since the creation of the world.

Flashbacks Into the Kingdom of Darkness – 5/31/09
An obviously agitated male voice broke the silence at a point which was almost the outer limit of our Creator’s vast universe. You want to know something, Pal? I’m starting to get antsy, that’s what. And why is that, asked the angel assigned to escort the spirit of a man who was recently released from his body at the exact moment of death. It’s taking forever to get into Heaven, that’s why. There’s got to be a shorter way, Pal.

Bringing Children Into the Kingdom of Darkness – 5/17/09
Suppose it was possible for you to press a button enabling you to fast-reverse yourself back to the day when the thought of becoming a mother or father first entered your mind. In all probability that day would have been much earlier for little girls than boys. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen a little boy play with dolls and pretend he was a daddy.

Role Models in the Kingdom of Darkness – 5/10/09
A couple of weeks ago when I phoned one of my favorite mom’s about some church business, she wished me a wonderful long weekend on the Maine coast where my wife and I were planning to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. I thanked her and mentioned the fact that although I would be away I intended to continue lifting her and her loved ones together with you folks and your loved ones up in daily prayer as I’m in the habit of doing.

Preaching in the Kingdom of Darkness – 4/26/09
This morning I would like to attempt to give you folks an idea of some of what occurs behind the scenes in the lives of faithful pastors as they each prayerfully struggle to craft their sermon. I’m doing this in hopes the folks whom the Lord has called these men to watch over, and for whom one day each pastor must give an accounting to God for the kind of job he did

Mixed Emotions in the Darkness of Vermont – 4/12/09
Father, I realize you know everything. You’re already aware of the fact I’m here on this Resurrection Sunday morning with some of your other grateful children exactly as you had planned, ordained, and then by speaking your world into existence, predestined to occur today. We’re gathered together in one of those little houses of worship you have planted throughout the spiritual darkness of Vermont, the least churched state in our nation.

My Second Lament from the Darkness of Vermont – 4/5/09
It was nice receiving so much positive feedback on the style and content of my “Pastors Lament” sermon. Two of the folks at Harvest Time even printed it and then tucked it into their bible with the intent of making it their own personal prayer. These were some of the reasons I decided to continue that message on this Palm Sunday morning. Now as the Lord enables, I’ll share my second lament.

A Pastors Lament from the Darkness of Vermont – 3/22/09
As I was driving home from church a couple of Sunday’s ago; I asked the Lord to show me whether or not He approved of my sermon by leaving at least one encouraging unmistakable entry in my web page guest book. In one way or another I get lots of encouragement and I have never made such as request before, but I’m glad I did this time.

The War Between the Kingdoms – 3/8/09
it even enters our mind, most of us probably don’t often think about the fact that back in eternity past our Creator planned, ordained, and then by speaking His world into existence, predestined you and I to find ourselves living during an era in which, figuratively speaking, we would each shine like tiny specks of light sprinkled throughout the Green Mountains of Vermont; the least churched state in the nation, a state which is almost engulfed in spiritual darkness.

A Prayer God Must Answer – 2/15/09
Although there is an awful lot of horrible evidence of its existence, the vast majority of people are completely blind as to what is actually taking place all around them. I don’t know about you, but whenever I attempt to lovingly clue someone in about this awful fact, I’m usually politely dismissed as being another poor deluded soul.

Eavesdropping on Charlie and the Angel – 2/8/09
The little cluster of jubilant spirits zoomed out of the dreary nursing home and into the midnight sky with a velocity vastly exceeding that of a newly launched spaceship. On and on they flew as they silently made their way further and further from Planet Earth and well beyond the zillions of humongous super clusters, each of which contain billions of individual galaxies.

The Gift of Suffering pt V – 1/18/09
I recently learned about a happily married Christian father of three children who, after a number of years discovered something awful about his wife Pat which, to use his own words he described as being “far beyond my worst nightmare,” (1). The devastated man said that had he known about it before they tied the knot, “I wouldn’t have married her, (2).

The Secret – Connecting the Dots – 1/11/09
I feel bad whenever someone isn’t able to follow along as I share the message the Lord has laid on my heart to bring to you folks on Sundays. Sometimes I don’t express myself as clearly as I should, (A)). Often it’s annoying noises, an illness or wandering thoughts and similar distractions which have a way of depriving God’s children of all the spiritual nourishment He wants His preachers and teachers to feed His sheep, (John 21:15-17).


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