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A ‘Kum Bah Ya’ Moment
In Matthew 10:24-39, we find the downside of discipleship, the hard stuff which would drive us away from it. If we didn’t know what’s at stake. Proper 7A | Matthew 10:24-39 There are certain times preachers don’t want to take on the gospel. Often because it’s hard to talk about money or sex or divorce.…
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Choose to Love
Or How to Build the Blessed Community This is an honest question. How many times have we heard a Christian, a follower of Christ, a disciple of Jesus say “an eye for an eye”? A lot, right? These are among the least surprising words to come out of Jesus’s mouth or the mouths of any…
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Reconsider
For the last month or so we’ve been talking about what goes into a new beginning. With baptism, we’re invited to begin again. And with it, we’re invited into following Christ, face adversity, respond, and claim our purpose. Today, we focus on one of the least appreciated parts of our journey. Where we wrestle with…
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Respond – The Beatitudes bless us in seeing
I don’t know what the disciples expected when they followed Jesus up the mountain. Maybe a great wisdom. They hadn’t been following him long. They visited a few cities in the region. So they were just getting to know the man. And he goes up the mountain. They follow. And he unveils the very dream…
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Not-So Secret Faith
How can we talk about always telling the truth and being honest, if we are also keeping secrets and refusing to share with one another? The love (without hypocrisy) Jesus longs for Ash Wednesday | Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 Secret Faith One of the historic battles around Ash Wednesday is based on this gospel passage. A church fight,…
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Find Love, Make Love
“Make love” is a great phrase. I’m really captivated by this simple phrase: make love. Beyond the childish euphemism to sex, there is a potent mix of fascination and intimacy. We are pulled into each other’s orbits, physically present with someone, and it is in that place love is made. [bctt tweet=”Making love is the most dangerous…
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Unchristlike – how retaliation stains the Anglican Communion
Word has come tonight of sanctions on the Episcopal Church. This week, primates are gathered for a highly irregular meeting. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby is trying to hold together a divided church. He is failing. And before it began, many knew it was already lost. Lost, not because it is actually over. It isn’t. Far from…
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Casting the Second Stone
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” That’s how we remember the line. The passage from John actually says: “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Close, right? Still totally recognizable. So easy to turn into an aphorism, a saying. Jesus is trying…