Month: September 2020
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Ever Cleaning
Matthew 12:43–45 Have you ever had a guest (or guests) coming, and all of a sudden you realize your house is a mess? Maybe you go a little crazy cleaning the house up-and-down. You might even draft the spouse or kids to “help”. The guest(s) then come. The event/time comes and probably went just fine.…
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Say Grace
Matthew 5:20; Matthew 19:23–26; Romans 5:20–21 As schools have begun, for high school junior and seniors this is when many start thinking about the next step…college, and if that is even for them. Colleges begin their paper and email storm of recruitment. Excitement builds as it seems everyone wants them. There are colleges that don’t…
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Solitudinal Gift
Mark 6:30–46 The story of feeding 5000 people (or more, as many question if this 5000 was only counting the men, or everyone) is very impressive. Feeding the hungry is a good thing and should be celebrated. This story, though, is bookended by something that we often skip over so we can get to “the…
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Discipl…
Psalm 94; Proverbs 13:18; Matthew 18:15–17; 2 Corinthians 13:1–4 Discipleship is a buzzword these days. In church circles, digital and physical, there are regular (and worthwhile) conversations about discipleship. There are fancy names such as “discipleship pathway” or “growth tracks” or any number of others. All of them are one of many ways to think…
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3 Greats
Luke 11:9–13; 1 Corinthians 12:31–14:1 It’s a little presumptuous to talk about Christmas. However, it is likely that Christmas will be very interesting this year. Either the traveling will breakout to overwhelm the system (which is suffering from abandonment, at this point), or everyone will stay home. Regardless, children will still eagerly await to see…
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Cryptic Inheritor
Genesis 29:16–30; Genesis 49:29–33; Galatians 3:27–29 Having been to many cemeteries over the years, whether in the US or abroad, it can be amazing to see what people do as monuments. A war leader or emperor may have one. Rich and noble families would often have such a monument, collecting the family remains throughout history.…
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Things Change
Exodus 20:1–6; Numbers 21:4–9; 2 Kings 18:1–4 The Ten Commandments has been a political and religious hot potato for years. There are a number of times various parties have used the Ten Commandments to score political points. There have been those that state that the Ten Commandments are what the Constitution is based on. Some…