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With Unveiled Faces
Paul is not an anti-Semite. I think we should start there. When Paul argues that Moses put a veil over his face and all who hear him read are veiled: this should not be read as anti-semitic. Paul was Jewish. It is more like differentiation. While the other apostles were trying to figure out how…
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They Could Not Drink the Water
The Exodus story is a story of liberation. It is the the foundational story of the Hebrew people. It is also a troubling story of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity. A stubborn Pharaoh who, despite all the mounting evidence that the Hebrews are being protected, continues to press on. In other words, Pharaoh doubles down on what…
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Stumbling Block
We are all pretty obsessed with sin. Whether or not we believe that’s true, we are. Sin inspires us. It inspires us to believe remarkable things about GOD and nature and all of creation. For some that it is all depraved and drenched in showers of evil. For some, it is to see creation through…
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Afraid to Ask
Afraid to Ask (Day 29 of A Simple Lent) | Monday I grew up in the rise of standardized testing to creative and artsy parents who read a lot. It means I can be either a model student or a pain in the butt, depending on your teaching style. A good student too busy trying…
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The Beloved
Before diving into the Transfiguration, we have to back up just a little. The Transfiguration is part 2. First, we have to discuss part 1. The Beloved (Day 27 of A Simple Lent) | Friday The second half of chapter 8 is the most important part of the gospel we call Mark. It is the great…
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Did Not Know Joseph
How forgetting church history can mutate the future Did Not Know Joseph (Day 26 of A Simple Lent) | Thursday To understand our church history, we should look no further than the move from Genesis to Exodus. While it certainly doesn’t explain the history itself, it reveals that human tendency to lose sight of who we are and…
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No One Can Say
No One Can Say (Day 25 of A Simple Lent) | Wednesday In a most compelling turn, Paul leaves behind the abuse which bothered him yesterday to speak instead of what the blessed community should look like–how it should behave. But he centers it around being able to say “Jesus is Lord.” Therefore I want…
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Unworthy
Unworthy (Day 24 of A Simple Lent) | Tuesday Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. What does Paul mean by “unworthy manner” and what does that have to do with Communion? I had never given…