03044 – Compassion: Our Default Setting

Compassion isn’t supposed to be a liability to us. It’s supposed to be the default setting of our hearts. It’s hardly something to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. Benevolence isn’t supposed to be a character defect. In fact, our lives as followers of Jesus should be...

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02871 – Heroes and Sheroes

We live in direct relation to the heroes and sheroes we have. The men and women who without knowing our names or recognizing our faces, risked and sometimes gave their lives to support our country and our way of living. We must say thank you.

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02868 – “Hymn for the Hurting”

Everything hurts,Our hearts shadowed and strange,Minds made muddied and mute.We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.And yet none of it is new;We knew it as home,As horror,As heritage.Even our childrenCannot be children,Cannot be. Everything hurts.It’s a hard time to be...

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02691 – We Don’t Want to See Suffering

Salvation in Jesus’ name is treated as a cure all. Supposedly, there is no suffering once we join the church, and if there is any cause for discomfort, then we vote the pastor out at the next business meeting. Ironically, we worship Jesus, who showed his wounds, but...

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02654 – There is Something More

You may have been reminded of another popular book while reflecting on the vision of God's open-ended, creative, and lively adventure and on your own role as a partner with God in healing the world. Many persons have found a greater sense of meaning through reading...

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02601 – Lent is Designed to be Life-Giving

Dear ones, the world in which we live is challenging and complicated enough without intentionally adding to our burdens. There is no spiritual discipline commended to our embrace that is designed just to make us feel badly. There is no labor suggested in our tradition...

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02582 – Ash Wednesday

If our lives were a long piece of fabric with our baptism on one end and our funeral on another, and we don't know the distance between the two, then Ash Wednesday is a time when that fabric is pinched in the middle and the ends are held up so that our baptism in the...

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