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Baptized in Love
The Baptism of Jesus is often treated like the necessary means of getting Jesus into the right space with the cosmos: that if he doesn’t get dunked, he’s stuck. Or else we treat it like the perfunctory reason behind our religious rite. But baptism is way more than that. It’s the start of something awesome.…
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Love Grows Love
The prologue to John (John 1:1-18) is the Christmas gospel. It reveals how shallow our view of Christmas is. That deep down, we must realize our love is more than practical and theological ideas about God and the nature of Jesus. It’s in every aspect of creation and our very humanity. The Incarnation of Jesus…
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Civility isn’t the problem
In all the diagnoses floated about the present age, the one which seems the most intoxicating is a lack of civility. Here’s why that’s just off the mark. You know the experience. The person in line in front of you is terribly rude to the clerk. Then you find them crying in the parking lot.…
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Talentless
In the parable of the bridesmaids (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus gives a chilling picture of the kin-dom which is more “what not to do” than it is “how to be a Christian”. Proper 28A | Matthew 25:24-30 If I entrusted you with a key to our home while we go away on vacation, what do I…
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We must start with love
We hear all these other things about who we are and what we’re supposed to be, but there is one place we all must start: Love beyond ourselves. Of all things, we must start with love. It is our hermeneutic, our fundamental. Our North Star and compass. Love is the start and our predictor. Most…
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Blessed in the Dirt
In the Beatitudes, Jesus shows us what it truly means to be blessed, revealing the truth about the kin-dom. It isn’t about winning or getting in. All Saints A | Matthew 5:1-12 Do you feel blessed? I don’t mean #blessed or social media blessed. I mean really blessed by God. Right now, in this space,…
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The Greatest Commandment
When asked “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus’s famous response isn’t just about loving God and neighbor. It says our love depends on it. When Jesus is asked to name the greatest commandment, he doesn’t skip a beat. Love God. But how he responds to this question is truly remarkable. There’s nothing remarkable in the…
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In the Mercy of God
30. And then all people of faith could put themselves and one another in the mercy of God. Part of me doesn’t care about your individual faith at all. That’s the byproduct of individualism, isn’t it? I care only about my faith and I don’t have to give a hoot about yours. This idea falls apart,…