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The serious problem of the “good” Samaritan
The parable of the Samaritan in Luke 10 isn’t about figuring out who is “qualified” to help. It is about a radical love for God and others that is so deep, the first inclination is to help. It’s risky. It’s dangerous. It puts us in hard situations. And through all of it we find the presence and love of God.…
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2016.10.09 – Living in Babylon part 4
“2016.10.09 – Living in Babylon part 4” A sermon from Heights Church. More information at HeightsChurchMN.org Subscribe in an RSS reader or on iTunes
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The loss of “power” and finding POWER
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.…
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The walk of prayer
Genesis 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” May we be the kinds of people who walk so closely with God, he just doesn’t want to hide what he is about to do. May we be so close in our walk with God that he desires to reveal his kingdom to us.
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The lesson of suffering
When I was in Ethiopia teaching Wisdom Literature, we spent a lot of time in Job. I asked the class one day, “What have you learned from Job, or learned from suffering?” One student answered: “Suffering is an opportunity to upgrade my faith.” I learn far more teaching in Ethiopia than I can give out.
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The temptation to avoid and the invitation to grasp
The temptation to avoid: The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it…
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Hopefully an upgrade
I have used WordPress for years and had the “free” plan. That meant from time to time there would be ads at the bottom of each post. A family member sent me a screen shot the other day of a post with an ad at the bottom. It was enough to send me scrambling to pay for an upgrade so…
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The everyday life with God
“Your problem is not the first fifteen minutes of the day (what we would want to call “devotions”). It’s the next twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes. You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing total contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God.” (Dallas Willard quote in Soul Keeping, by John Ortberg)
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Living Analog in a Digital World
The church is the counter-environment to the world. It is an invitation back to the garden, and an invitation to the Book of Acts, where the disciples held their beliefs and possessions in common. MORE HERE.
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Final thoughts from Ethiopia
Scattered thoughts as I get into my last day in Ethiopia and then catch a plane for home: — I could eat Ethiopian food every day. — I love teaching in this culture. There is an eagerness to learn and an attention to the value of education I don’t always get to see in my normal context.
