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The Immediate Word

TIW Contributors

George Reed
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Chris Keating
Tom Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Elena Delhagen
Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B
Thomas Willadsen
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed

For November 3, 2024:



Tom WilladsenThe Courage to Welcome the Foreigner
by Tom Willadsen

What is The Immediate Word?

The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service. The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture.

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Recent TIW Installments

Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B
The Courage to Welcome the Foreigner
Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - B
The Inheritance of Job's Daughters?
Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - B
Messengers From The Whirlwind
Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - B
Wealthy People Vibes
Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - B
Women And Children First

New & Featured This Week

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John Jamison
Object: A printed permit of some type, a small bowl, a coin, and an ID card or driver’s license. I have attached a simple permit that you can download and use.

* * *
John Jamison
Object: A box of tissues.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For November 3, 2024:

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God….” (vv. 1-16)
John E. Sumwalt
“Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?”

That was the question I asked in a Facebook post one day after I woke from a startling dream in which I saw my late brother Alan. He appeared in one of those vivid dreams that come just before waking. He looked like he always looked when we saw him at family gatherings, dressed in a familiar plaid shirt and faded blue jeans.

I was shocked at first.

And then Alan smiled, reached out, touched my arm, and said, “How are you John?”

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
Young children are often fascinated by the effort to quantify love. As they become conceptually acquainted with the difference between a lot and a little, and as they are exposed to various units of measurement for size and volume and distance, they naturally begin to apply that mentality to all sorts of things, including the most important thing in life: love. They want to be able to measure it. Typically, they want to know how much their parents love them, and they want to try to give expression to how much they love their parents.
Frank Ramirez
Most ancient cosmologies began with some sort of primordial battle between the gods and chaos, and whatever victory was achieved was only temporary. Chaos was always ready to swoop back in. By contrast our biblical history, beginning in Genesis and ending with Revelation, show God triumphant without even a hint of a battle. Chaos is tamed because the Spirit of God moves over the face of the deeps. Revelation demonstrates God’s total control.
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Ruth 1:1-18
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Isaiah 25:6-9

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus told us to love God and to love our neighbours as ourselves. In our worship today, let us explore how to love God with every fibre of our being.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes we resent or despise or hate ourselves.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to love others because we haven't learned how to love ourselves.
Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
Ruth 1:1-18
Where you go, I will go ... your people shall be my people and your God my God.
-- Ruth 1:16b

James Evans
Psalm 24 celebrates the orderly reign of God over creation. It presupposes a world that has not been disrupted by tragedy or displacement -- in other words, the world as it was before the exile of Israel in 587 B.C.

From the vision of an ordered universe, the psalmist takes us to the holy mountain for worship. He poses the question, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?" (v. 3).

Carlos Wilton
Theme For The Day
In Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is near at hand.

Old Testament Lesson
Ruth 1:1-18
Ruth And Naomi's Covenant

Patrick J. Rooney
It is one line. A few words cast upon a sea of words. One line that sums up all that this day is about and what it represents. One line upon which every human hope finds its fulfillment. One line in which we place our trust. One line that every man, woman, and child turns to when the losses of this life are more than they can bear. One line when the woman stands sobbing quietly beside the hospital bed of the man she has loved for more than sixty years. One line when the child, her face twisted in grief, stands at the graveside of her father killed in Iraq.
Thomas Peterson
Years ago I had the rare privilege of hearing a lecture in which the question was posed, "Did the angels actually sing to the shepherds on Jesus' birthnight?" Instead of tackling this directly and trying to prove an historical fact, the lecturer asked a secondary question, "Have angels quit singing?" Many testimonies give evidence they have not, he claimed. People still receive guidance from "voices" they call "my angel." People listen to heavenly harmony and find their lives set in peaceful channels. God's messengers travel the earth bringing his assurance and direction still today.
Zan W. Holmes
Jr.
The book of Ruth is one of the world's most beautiful stories of human solidarity in the face of trouble.

Apart from the book of Esther it is the only other book in the Bible to be named after a woman. Therefore it should not be a surprise that the major characters of the book are two women, Naomi and Ruth. A major theme of the book is their common struggle to survive in the midst of a hostile and troubled environment.
H. Alan Stewart
It is a known fact that most people like a party. However, strange as it might seem, most of the people don't want to be the center of attraction. Likewise, many adults, when presented with a thoughtful gift, often exclaim, "You shouldn't have!" Children, on the other hand, seem to enjoy the party whether it is theirs or someone else's party. Children relish the notion of celebration. They never say that they shouldn't have received a gift and they tear it open before they read the card!
Don M. Aycock
These words come as the "commands," "decrees," and "laws" which are given by God for his people. The hearers are told to listen, obey, and then teach them to others. The first hearers of these words were the ancient Hebrews of Israel. They had this word delivered to them as the supreme word by which to live.

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