Category: Church practices
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Must Respect Really Be Earned?
Introduction A popular maxim says that respect must be earned. One cannot respect someone who has not demonstrated him- or herself worthy of it. I wish to question that maxim. The charitable love (agapé) that God gives is considered unconditional. We should give it to even the unworthy. It seems to me one must also… Read more
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Hear, Oh Israel…Not Read and Obey
Introduction “Shehmah, Ysrael…” Hear, O Israel: The Lord Our God, The Lord is one. Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) These are likely the two most famous words spoken to God’s people. spoken through Moses, the prophet and leader. They… Read more
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Importance for Mavericks in Entertainment
Introduction Originally, a maverick was a wild, untamed horse, not a conforming part of a herd. In the entertainment industry, a maverick is a character who bucks established traditions, the orthodox methods of the crowd. There is an importance for mavericks in entertainment. Mavericks in Entertainment Mannix was such a TV show in the late… Read more
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Passing through Chaos Waters in Baptism
Introduction I listened to Tim Mackie and Jon Collins of the Bible Project talk about four major metaphors used in the Scriptures. In the episode, The Mountain Garden and Human Ideal, Tim spoke of the Creator being a Rock in the dry land where people live. He also said that the waters of chaos were… Read more
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How Did Early Believers Do Church?
Introduction During the early centuries of its existence, before Constantine allowed Christianity to become recognized as a legal religion, the followers of King Jesus met in small house gatherings. See Paul’s greetings to “the church that meets in [someone’s] house” at the end of some of his letters. As Tom Wadsworth teaches, these gatherings were… Read more
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What Is Right and Wrong: Acceptance of Others’ Differences
Introduction One series of fantasy novels I read/ listen to often is centered around the Heralds and Companions of the Kingdom of Valdemar. These honest, others- serving Heralds answer to only the monarch of the realm, who also must be a Herald. They all, the monarch included, serve the various peoples of Valdemar, dispensing justice… Read more
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Do This, Remembering Me
Introduction In his first recorded letter to the Corinthians, Paul, a colony leader of King Jesus, took that gathering of believers to task for how they were doing the “Lord’s Supper”. He wrote, For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed,… Read more