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Nicene Creed
The strangest moment in worship happens in the middle. For many of us it is sitting right in the center of our worship. And everything around it is far more worshipful and embodies the people at prayer. We open in prayer and we read scripture and we sing and pray a psalm and we proclaim…
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Christianity is more than identity
More than identity Reports surfaced a few days ago about a church in Germany which has baptized hundreds of refugees in the last two years. It was first brought to my attention by Zack Hunt, whose insightful piece “Why The Report Of Muslim Refugee Conversions In Germany Breaks My Heart” is, itself, heartbreaking. I know…
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My deeply held religious belief
I’ve grown quite tired of the phrases “deeply held belief” and “sincerely held religious belief”. They’ve been coming up a lot lately, especially with that interesting woman from Kentucky. Or those people with the restaurant or the one with the bakery. But we know it from the Hobby Lobby decision. Deeply held, sincerely held belief. We…
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What Do We See?
Seeing is not just Believing, Seeing is Really Seeing Epiphany 2B | John 1:43-51 Come and See Andrew is a follower of John the Baptist. He’s the one involved. He’s the worker. The devoted one. After John baptizes Jesus, he tells Andrew about it, about him. Who Jesus really is. Andrew gets his…
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Hard Truth For Today’s Problem
Belief Believing “they have always done it” does not make it right. Thinking “they must’ve deserved it” does not mean they did. Fearing for your life does not justify your taking theirs. Holding a weapon doesn’t make you safe. Choosing the easier route for yourself may make it harder for someone else. Supporting only people…
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What Ben Affleck Should Have Said to Bill Maher
Dear Bill Maher, I know you aren’t trying to condemn a whole particular religion. But you actually like condemning religion. You’ve done it before. So when you say it’s about “the ideas” rather than the people, I don’t buy it. The argument you made last week, and again this week, is based not on the ideas,…
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Leaving the Cave: seeing, believing, and true power
a Sermon for Lent 4A Text: John 9:1-41 Plato’s Cave In Plato’s Republic, the philosopher introduces a strange scenario in which a prisoner is trapped in a cave. The prisoner knows nothing of the world as we know it. He’s stuck in one place, staring straight ahead for a long, long time. Behind him is…
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Manifesting in Story
Monday’s celebration of The Epiphany was unique in that it took place in the midst of a once-in-a-generation snow storm. That arctic vortex gave us sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall as we haven’t seen in the Midwest in a long time. Feeling the cold on my face in the minutes I was out shoveling…