Fear
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The Call of Faith in the Public Square
Faith plays a vital role in addressing societal and political tensions, especially in divisive times. Words can comfort or challenge us, reminding us that faith calls for engagement with the world, not retreat from it. Amid political turmoil, the church is urged to confront issues like poverty, oppression, and discrimination with the gospel’s message of…
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Building Muscle Memory of the Soul: Living in God’s Promises
Can we “practice” faith? Can we build spiritual muscles? Using the metaphor of a sports team, we can see parallels to our faith lives. In both, there is teamwork, there are muscles (spiritual), and practice (in our faith lives, we call them spiritual practices). Isaiah 43 emphasizes that God’s message of “do not fear” is…
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Church Size and Ministry Effectiveness – What is God’s Role?
I was thinking this morning about large and small churches – churches that seem to have near limitless funding and people to provide great services and ministry – churches like Lakewood (Joel Osteen), Willow Creek (Bill Hybels), Saddleback (Rick Warren), and McLean Bible Church (Lon Solomon). Regardless of what issues or concerns we have with…
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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…
Epicurious Lutheran 