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How long, O Lord?!
Today, we experienced yet another school shooting – this time, in Santa Fe, TX. Honestly … what to say that hasn’t already been said? Today, we’ve added 9 students and 1 teacher to the growing numbers of those killed in school shootings. My heart hurts for the children who saw classmates shot and killed in
Categories: Pastoral Response
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We Are One Body in Christ Jesus
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ~ Romans 12:4-5 You’ve certainly heard the joke: “How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb? None. Because
Tags: Body of Christ
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What’s a Christian to do?
What is a Christian to do in response to the terrible news of yet another mass shooting event, specifically a school shooting?
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He Comes to Us: The Miracle of the Incarnation
5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. ~ Philippians 2:5-7 I arrived at Bethel for my first official
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Living Thanks
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ~ Philippians 4:4 We’re fresh off the heels of our celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Just like any major event, the event itself changes us. The Reformation, even though it was 500 years ago, has changed the Church (notice the capital “C”
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Giving Thanks as Children of God
3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
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Sermon Notes: The Cross Both Frees and Calls Us (9/3/2017)
In the sermon this morning, I referred to a TED Talk video by Megan Phelps-Roper, a young woman who grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. I thought her comments were very appropriate given the tenor of public discourse. Notice that, as Hurricane Harvey was wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast, the divisions of race, religion,
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Working Together for the Common Good
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” 18 I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that
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Ways to Help #HurricaneHarvey
I thank God for the desire so many people have to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. There are many ways to help, but I’ve listed a few here for you to consider. As we have heard on the news and witnessed from other large-impact storms, recovery will take a long time. There are multiple phases
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All of God’s Children Have a Place
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ~ Matthew 19:14 Perspectives on children have changed over time. Some of us grew up hearing things like: “Children are to be seen and not heard” or
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