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Abundance and Giving Our world is as large and small as you can imagine. Large because of vast continents, cities, populations, uninhabited landscapes, and oceans that are unknowable and unexplored. Small because of our shared experience, common emotions of love and fear, desire and yearning. Laughing and crying are understood in any language, as are […]

Religion: What’s the Point? I hope today finds you all well. If not, everything will get better if you accept the idea that God sent His Son to do all the things that you can’t. I want to make a distinction between can’t and won’t. Jesus’ suffering is not for those who refuse to change

Spiritual Speech This week we are studying 1 Corinthians 14-16. Chapter 15 is filled with powerful doctrines which include: Today I will focus instead in chapter 14. Verse 10 reads, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification (representation or meaning).” These different

Gifts, Motives, and Understanding The 12th and 13th chapters of 1 Corinthians contain some of the most profound teachings found in scripture. Paul’s explanation of how the same Spirit, the Holy Ghost, can manifest in us in different ways and that every form of these manifestations has value to all. I won’t focus on chapter

The Children of Pride In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he lamented that many of their behaviors had become contrary to the gospel preached to them. His style of communication is still hopeful, and he offers counsel to correct the saints going forward. I will focus on the negative first and then try to

Dead Ends and the Finite Mind As I read the final chapters of Romans, I was struck by how Paul described how the law of Moses had prepared God’s chosen people for the coming of Christ but became dead to them because of Christ’s earthly ministry and glorious resurrection. I encourage you to read chapters

The Law In Your Heart In the Book of Romans, Paul describes the Roman saints’ exemplary faith and the Roman society’s debauchery. These seeming extremes are not surprising considering the highly liberal nature of the leaders and the prosperity enjoyed by the empire. When societies become affluent, people have more time to pursue other interests

Being True To God The Apostle Paul faced many excruciatingly difficult circumstances during the last parts of his ministry. He was held captive or under threat of death for many years. He knew that he would eventually die an unnatural death because of what he did and said. Each time he was brought to trial,

Conversion: A Way of Life This week we read Acts 16-21. Each of the chapters describes the conversion of many individuals to Christianity. The manner of these conversions varied greatly from miracles to reasoning to fear. While many were converted enough to be baptized, it is not clear how many remained converted. We know that

The Culture of Christ Acts 10-15 describe the ministry of the apostles in the first decade or so after the ascension of Christ. The tragic martyrdom of Stephen set off a series of events that changed the trajectory of the ministry. If that event had not happened, the disciples might not have dispersed to other