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This Precious Faith
Our adult study on Wednesday night was reflecting on 1 Peter as we are making our way through the New Testament. One of the observations I come away with in Peter’s epistle is the solemnity of the faith. It is precious. The more we talked about this attitude, the more we drew on analogies often found in fantasy, myth or…
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The Attitude of a Servant and the Need for Justice
The challenge of the servanthood of Jesus is one I like to avoid, quite honestly. 😉 When I get into a text like Philippians 2:1-13 I dig into the meditation of serving. This time through I am tracking the thought of “servant” through the Bible (in a very quick manner). What I am finding is one can’t make this journey…
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The Challenge of Servanthood in an Age of Self-Branding
The text for next Sunday is Philippians 2:1-13. I find these words incredibly challenging in an age where self-branding and marketing is so dominant. 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete…
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Foolishness!
The text I will reflect on the most for the 9/11 service will be 1 Cor. 1:18 – 2:5. There is a message on my heart regarding how we need truly live in light of 9/11 and with a view to the days ahead of us. Which brings me to 1:21 and interesting takes on translation. For since in the…
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Familiar Passages That Bring Life
I realized after preaching last Sunday that I refer quite a bit to a list of Bible passages I call “Ancient Wells.” These are familiar passages of Scripture that call out to me every time I read them. When I am “stuck” in my Bible reading, I turn to these passages again to help renew my thirst for the Word…
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Thoughts on Transformation and the Cross
If we are going to live transformed lives, If we are going to live lives as true believers in Jesus Christ, We must have the Kingdom agenda in mind. That Kingdom’s agenda will clash with our own worldview and our definitions of success. In that moment we find the Cross of Jesus Christ. That is where we lose our lives only…
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Bible Memorization
I grew up memorizing Scripture. I was in Bible Quiz in high school and memorized huge chunks of the New Testament. I miss my memory! In thinking of Bible memory, it is also important to understand that just having the verses down in your head doesn’t mean you’re letting the Word cultivate in your heart. The Word needs to have…
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The Weeds
I am preaching this Sunday on the parable of the wheat and the weeds. What is so challenging for me is to understand a couple of things: 1. Jesus works this all out in the end. We are so busy trying to work it out NOW. We want to identify the weeds and pull them. Jesus says, “Let this go.…
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The Boldness to Believe
My morning reading has taken me into the Deuterocanonical books (what we would call the Apocrypha). These are fascinating stories! It’s been a while since I’ve journeyed through these books, so I am doing so this summer with some extra time. I am also using the Common English Bible in the process. The language is very fresh and readable. In…
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Meaningless! Meaningless!
I am journeying through the Old Testament in my morning reading and currently find myself in Ecclesiastes. Finding myself in this book in a current climate of my home state arguing stupidly over a budget crisis and the nation bickering over extreme ideologies to the right and left, this book takes on new meaning. If you see the poor oppressed…
Category: Bible Study
