Devotion
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Devotion: Gifts from the Holy Spirit
Pentecost Gifts from the Holy Spirit As we celebrated Pentecost Sunday (5/19/2013), we read the Acts 2 account of the Pentecost event. The Bible says “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:4). After reading this, it occurred to me that…
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Devotion: Will Jesus’ Prayer Be Answered?
In worship on Sunday, we read a portion of John 17. This entire chapter is known as Jesus’ “high priestly prayer.” In it, He prays specifically for His disciples, but, by extension, for all of us …. that we would be one as Jesus and the Father are one. The language can get a little…
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Devotion: The Future – What’s Next?
What lies ahead for you this week? Staff meetings, a round of golf, recitals, out-of-town trips, child care arrangements, anticipation of certain news? We all have plans for the week. Almost all of them involve some choice or action on our part. I had a great conversation last week about “determinism” versus “free will” –…
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Devotion: What does love look like?
In worship on Sunday, I challenged the congregation to read two of our Scripture readings every day for this entire week – the reading from Acts and John’s gospel listed below. As you read these, try to resist rushing through them. Give yourself plenty of time to let these words wash over your soul. Even…
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Why, Lord?
What a week! This past week, I was glued to the TV. Horrific images of explosions and the stories in their aftermath were being played over and over again. First, the Boston Marathon. Then, the explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, TX. One disaster was man-made and of nefarious intent. The other an accident.…
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Why do we go to church anyway?
On Sunday (4/14), our adult Sunday School class discussed the last of 7 sessions using the Animate Faith series called Church | An Imperfect Family led by Bruce Reyes-Chow. This has been a great 7 weeks as this study has raised good questions, given some direction, and has truly has engaged the participants in deeper conversation…
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Prayer: Let’s take a look
We all know that prayer is central to the Christian life. But, at some points in our lives, prayer can seem like one of those chores you do because you feel you have to – much like those times we were made to eat our veggies as kids: “Just eat it … it’s good for…
Epicurious Lutheran 