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Already, But Not Yet

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  Ash Wednesday ( February 18, 2026) Scripture: Joel 2:12-13, Romans 6:4   Tolstoy’s Three Deaths Today, as we receive these ashes, we are forced to look at a reality we usually spend our whole lives trying to ignore: our mortality. Leo Tolstoy, the great novelist, once wrote a story called Three Deaths . It’s a profound look at how our attitude toward death is actually a reflection of how we choose to live. The first death is that of a noblewoman. She was incredibly wealthy. Her entire life had been a battle against discomfort. If she was hungry, she ate the best food to silence it. If she was cold, she bought warmth. She used her money to control every difficult thing in her world. But then, the shadow of death arrived. She became very ill. True to her nature, she tried to fight death like an enemy she could bribe or bully. She hired the most famous doctors. She insisted on traveling to a famous sanatorium even when she was too weak to move. In her final moments, sitting i...
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Run with the Trophy in Hand

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 2/15/26 Stetson Memorial UMC Scripture:  Acts 10: 44-48   2026 Winter Olympics                          < Live vs. Highlights> Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, how are you holding up this winter? I know, for some of you, it feels like this Maine winter is just too long and far too cold. Even if you’ve lived here for decades, you never quite get used to that biting wind, do you? But for others, this is the most exciting time of the year. We just finished the Super Bowl last Sunday, the 2026 Winter Olympics are in full swing, and if you have grandkids, I bet your calendars are packed with hockey games and basketball tournaments. I want to ask you a question: Have you ever watched a game Live where the score was neck-and-neck until the very last second? When you watch it live, your heart pounds. You’re anxious. You’re sweating. In Korean, we say, “Your palms are sweating”. You don’t know how...
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God, the Ultimate Quarterback

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Scripture: John 3:16, 20:30-31 < The Big Game > Dear brothers and sisters, I am so grateful to worship together with you today. No matter how cold it is outside. No matter how busy or heavy our week has been. God calls us here just as we are. As you all know, today is Super Bowl Sunday . Are you ready for the "Big Game"? This morning, I want to share a little joke I heard from my children. A football coach walked into a bank. Do you know what he said to the teller? He said, “Give me my Quarterback!” In football, the Quarterback is the most important position on the field. Without a leader to call the plays and throw the pass, the team cannot move forward. The coach definitely needs his quarterback! Today, I want to ask us a very personal question: Who is the Quarterback of our life? When life is hard. When choices are confusing. When fear shows up. Who is calling the plays? As we saw in the puppet show with our children, God is our Ultimate Quarterback. Human...
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The Holy Spirit and Prayer-filled worship

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  February 1st, 2026   ( Luke 4:16–21) A Longing for Something Real Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, I hope you are staying warm and safe in this biting winter cold. As we gather today, I want to share some thoughts on the state of the church today and the state of our own hearts. Recently, I’ve been reading several articles about a surprising trend among young people. Some famous Christian magazines( Christianity Today , The Gospel Coalition ) are talking about how young adults are choosing traditional ways of worship. For a long time, many churches thought that to reach young people, we needed more "flash," louder music, and high-tech media. But a big change is happening. Young adults are moving back to the old, deep ways of worship. They are being drawn to the traditions and the history of the church. Why? Because many people are tired of "shallow" worship. They feel that when the focus is too much on the fancy show or the performance on stage, ther...
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The Hidden Self-Portrait

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                                          Rembrandt's  The Return of the Prodigal Son January 25, 2026 The Power of God to Change Lives (Mark 10:17-27)                           Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait            Edvard Munch's The Scream    Henri Rousseau's self-portrait  Mirrors and Self-Reflection Dear brothers and sisters, have you ever painted or drawn a self-portrait? Nowadays, many people capture their likeness through "selfies," but before the invention of the camera, artists painted self-portraits for many different reasons. Vincent van Gogh painted himself because he couldn't afford models and wanted to give a painting to his mother as a birthday gift. Edvard Munch, who fought a lifelong fear of death, captured his own existential dread in his ...
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