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They Take Offense
When Jesus goes home, he’s surprised by how he’s treated. How they’ve judged him without really knowing him. This is our contrast for what it means to love. They take offense and we move on from there. Proper 9B | Mark 6:1-13 When we moved down to Georgia some years ago, we knew fitting in…
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Our Guns, Our Idols – preventing the peace
I had this neighbor a few years ago. He made it really clear where he stands about guns. And about what he thinks about everything I value. Years ago, we moved to a small town in Michigan. A bit under 6,000 people and up against the big water. Water to the east, other communities to…
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We Grow Love Together
19. And it is through these groupings we come to embody the love of Christ in ourselves. Our culture gives us a false impression that we can do life alone. And our churches give us the same false impression about life and much more. It often teaches us that love of God is all that matters…
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The God of Community
18. For God’s greatest activity is in the form of community, as small as twos and threes. I’m going to get right to the point with you. Our primary concern is off base and our solutions are bad. The church is getting it’s view of redemption wrong, which makes it impossible to fix our problem of…
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“With” is the ultimate expression of faith
2. In the word “with” we have the ultimate expression of Christian community, concern, and faith. When Jesus says For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. he’s assuring his followers that he’ll be there. It took centuries of scholars to deconstruct the idea of being there with…
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Where ever two or three are gathered
1. Jesus expressed the true nature of following him saying “where ever two or three are gathered, I will be with them.” Growing up, I always wanted to know what it meant to be a Christian. We were, of course. My Dad is an Episcopal priest and have more or less been in the church…
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Fever Dreams
In Matthew 15, a confrontation with leaders, a teaching about evil, and an encounter with a woman expose the true evil of abuse and violence. Proper 15A | Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 With Jesus’s words Do not be afraid still ringing in their ears, When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. After…
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Membership
When I used to walk into a church for the first time, I’d show up within 5 minutes of the start of worship. I’d try to find a seat in the back, and I would just sort of find my way in. I didn’t really want to be shown how to worship there. I knew…