Prayer
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Seven Days of Prayer – Day 1
Prayer Focus: Cleanse my heart and mind that I might hear You Scripture: Psalm 51 Reflection: Periodically, we need to clean up. Our bathtubs accumulate soap scum. Our teeth get a build-up of plaque. When we speak of “health,” we know that maintaining physical, mental and spiritual health is part of our overall health. Today,…
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Seven Days of Prayer – Introduction
Original post: October 12, 2014 Revised: August 6, 2018 Beginning this Monday, August 6, Pastor Jeff will begin a week of prayer and discernment following the pattern outlined in a guide he developed for this purpose (available for download from our website – dates are from 2014). People who subscribe to the blog or have signed up to…
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Devotion: Mediocrity, Excellence and Jesus’ Teaching on Humility
Humility isn’t really a prized cultural value, is it? That’s what makes the reading from Luke’s gospel so difficult. Take a moment and read through the gospel. You may also want to listen to this week’s sermon to get a feel for the breadth of the gospel reading. When we speak of humility, doesn’t it…
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Devotion: Holy Rest
“Time is money” the saying goes. These days, with so many options for our time and so many demands on our lives, we feel as though time is a commodity. We spend time, save time, waste time, invest time, buy time, manage time, we lose time. We organize and systematize in order to gain efficiency…
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Devotion: Division, Diversity, Harmony?
One of my greatest joys in junior high and high school was being part of our school choirs. We were very good, and won awards as we competed against other choirs. When people go to see musical performances, they see a polished presentation. Having been involved in preparing for those performances, I know that the first…
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Devotion: Fear vs. Faith
Imagine that you’ve been given a writing assignment. You are to write in a typical form with an introductory paragraph stating your thesis, paragraphs supporting or developing your thesis, and a concluding paragraph. Your topic is: “Where fear and faith collide”. What would your main points be? In other words, how do you understand…
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Devotion: Persistent in Prayer
Prayer … Have you ever felt like the man in this picture when you’ve prayed? There are times when we are desperate, when we feel that we have no options … so, we pray. These are the times that St. John of the Cross said are the “dark nights of the soul”. As people of…
Epicurious Lutheran 