Tag: Mission
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 13 [18]): The Epistles Passage – Mapping some slippery slopes with Paul
“I am speaking the truth in Christ–I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit– “ (Romans 9:1) Call me a skeptic of long running, but many times when someone tells me they are speaking the truth, I prick me ears up and discern whether they are really lying. Maybe it is…
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 10 [15]) : The Gospel Passage – Growing in and with the Lord God Jesus Christ
“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as…
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 9 [14]) : The Gospel Passage – Living now, but acting as in the past
“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ “ (Matthew 11:16 – 17) To paraphrase, according to sense of the verses in The Message…
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 8 [13]) : The Gospel Passages – Whoever
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a…
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 8 [13]) : The Epistle Passages – Paul discerns between law and grace
“Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin…
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Season after Pentecost (Proper 6 [11]) : The Gospel Passage – Spreading the Word
“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 9:35) According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus had just completed a series of healings, and was setting out to see and spread his ministry to…
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Trinity Sunday: The Gospel Passage Being sent by the Three-in-One
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:16 – 17) There are two things in these two verses I have to wonder about. First, what does the writer of Matthew mean by “worship”? In our…
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Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Gospel Passage – Jesus prays, and we are drawn in
“After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they…
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Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Epistle Passage – Holding close the words of the Apostle Peter in times of dispute
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled…
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Fifth Sunday of Easter: The Gospel Passage – Jesus gives some final instructions
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come…
A Simple Desire 