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Background

Monday, March 30, 2020

Stardust

Our Minister at St. John's, Dr. McClendon, preaches the best sermons. Earlier this year, he taught us about stardust. The following notes are from his sermon.


Wedgwood is made from Kaolin. The English company sent two agents to NC to find what they called “Cherokee Clay.” They came and dug up tons of it and sent to Charleston to be shipped to England. They missed the largest deposit in the world right here in Aiken/Edgefield.

Look at the back of your hand at the blood vessels. They look blue, but when you are cut, the blood is red because of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin comes from iron, and iron comes from super novas which occurred eons ago when stars died out and burst forth as iron particles throughout the universe. In this swirling mass we call earth, iron has come. When you look at the blood vessels on the back of your hand and see red in your blood, you're seeing stardust. When you look in the mirror you see stardust. Adam in Hebrew means clay. Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” Iron deficiency causes poor self esteem. Carl Segan says we are built of 'star stuff.” Physicist Chet Raymo, “We are indeed the detritus of stars, our atoms are the flour of celestial mills, our bodies he backings of solar fires.” So value yourself and everyone else. There's nothing you can do to make God love you less, there's nothing you can do to make God love you more. In Jesus we have been redeemed, forgiven, adopted.... everything we need – Jesus.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,t he promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.