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The prophetic and the poetic
The prophetic in the Old Testament was called the poetic by OT scholar Walter Brueggemann. I’ve grown to love that comparison over the years. I was reminded of it again reading this paragraph from a recent article:
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Three activities I need to help me flourish
I have undoubtedly posted this before, but I sure need this reminder I found in a journal I am about to close out. It’s from Eugene Peterson’s book, Reversed Thunder, and speaks to how we can live in the political chaos of our time. Engage in worship Listen to the proclaimed Word Practice holy living These are needed reminders as…
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Why Bonhoeffer matters
I need the reminders of Bonhoeffer’s life. I’ve read The Cost of Discipleship several times. I am grateful for Charles Marsh’s biography on Bonhoeffer to stir my thinking again. The newest Bonhoeffer movie was fraught with land mines because it somehow got associated with a certain biographer who has turned Bonhoeffer into the symbol of Christian Nationalism, but I had…
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Bonhoeffer’s powerful question
Bonhoeffer asked this significant question in the early 1930s. It is one I constantly ask in my decades of following Christ as well:
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Walk deeper than ever before
Russell Moore writes: The nonstop news cycle and drama won’t be some unforeseen circumstance. It’s what the American people voted for. The theory that people would want to “turn the page” on all that, offered by Vice President Kamala Harris, proved false. Turns out most people liked the drama just fine. So here we go.
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The Discipline of Confession
Michael Wear’s book, The Spirit of Our Politics, was a book we used in a book group at our church right up to the election. When the book moved from theory (what is wrong with our politics) to the practical (spiritual disciplines can help us be better in this world), we faltered.
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Prayers as we vote
A prayer against apathy God of empathy and compassion, we are grateful you do not sit idly by without concern for your people. In your deep love for us, you sent your only Son to walk among us, to know what it is to be human, and to suffer on our behalf. O Lord, as your humble servants, give us…
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Prayers for the election season
A prayer for the opposing candidates King of the universe, you who reign over all things, we submit to you our thoughts, feelings, and frustrations about the candidate we disagree with. May we not look at them with contempt, and may we be reminded that they, too, are created in your image. We pray for protection over all political candidates…
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Serious heartbreak
The past 9-10 years have opened up so much spiritually for me. The hardest has been spiritual disappointment, which has led to more determination from me to go deeper with God and walk away from a lot of “form without the power.” Still… the heartbreak is there. This week’s OT passage from Isaiah captures this powerfully. It is difficult to…
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The messy kingdom
The gospel of Jesus Christ is more political than anyone imagines, but in a way that no one guesses… The political metaphor, “kingdom,” insists on a gospel that includes everything and everyone under the rule of God. God is no religious glow to warm a dark night. Christ is no esoteric truth with which to form a gnostic elite. The…
Tag: Politics
