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Too Heavy – mercy and the spirit-crushing weight of debt
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11 min read
If the debt doesn’t kill you… Proper 19A | Matthew 18:21-35 Remember the stumbling blocks? It’s been Jesus’s main subject in the last several weeks of gospel readings. As they head north, Jesus warns of those things which get in our way, trip us up, and keep us from doing what needs to be done.…
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I didn’t make you punch me
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2 min read
I didn’t provoke your violence by advocating tolerance. I DIDN’T MAKE YOU PUNCH ME We both said things. We can agree on that. I want to say We both said things we regret but I’m not sure you do. I feel the regret, at least. Not only for what I said but the rage ripping…
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Removing Our Stumbling Blocks
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8 min read
In Matthew 17 and 18, Jesus reveals the way stumbling blocks get in the way of God’s mission. Including our obsessions with rules and borders. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 A few years ago, a celebrity pastor got in trouble. He was the darling of the new reformed movement for his high doctrine, aggressive style,…
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When shallow Christianity drowns in a mighty flood, the prosperity gospel is no life preserver. Joel Osteen had a terrible week. But that’s only because his devotion to the prosperity gospel put him there. It wasn’t God. I suppose this really is a kind of “reap what you sow” kind of moment. It was the…
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Repent of Power
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9 min read
In Matthew 16:21-28, we see not just a simple rejection of Peter for being stupid, but a rejection of the historic seducing power of power. Proper 17A | Matthew 16:21-28 Before he foretells of his death, Jesus warns his followers about the Pharisees. While it’s direct, it’s also cryptic and difficult. It’s a warning we’ve struggled to…
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Wrestling with the ethics of violence
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11 min read
Antifa, punching Nazis, accepting violence, and forcing greatness upon us As a lifelong pacifist, I abhor violence. All of it. But a long time ago, I gave my friends one exception: vampires. At the time, the movie Blade had come out and I found a way to make an exception for my pacifism. If I…
Make a New Normal
