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The Golden Calf
The Golden Calf Exodus 32:1-14 Have you ever waited for someone or something until you just didn’t think you could wait anymore? Whether we are waiting for a letter, waiting for a repairman to arrive, waiting for a child to come home and its past curfew, waiting gets to us. Waiting is a miserable experience…
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God Will Be God
God Will Be God Matthew 20:1-16 · The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard The first lesson of Spirituality 101 is that God is God … and we are not. Sometimes we are in charge, it’s our responsibility, and the buck stops squarely in front of us. And although we may grumble and complain…
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Wrestling Alone at Night
Wrestling Alone at Night Genesis 32:22-30 The poet, James Thurber, once said, “All men must learn before they die, what they are running from and to and why.” We catch up with our hero, Jacob, today on the muddy banks of the Jabbok River. Twenty years have passed since he left Bethel where God promised…
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Finding Answers to Family Feuds
Finding Answers to Family Feuds Genesis 25: 21-34 According to a survey done by Randy Carlson about eight years ago, 91% of American adults long to improve their relationships with their adult siblings. The pains of family life continue to haunt us, often for an entire lifetime. One of the most compelling stories of the…
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Hearing the Questions of Children
The Old Testament story we step into today is the life and death test of one man’s faith and obedience.
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Genesis Project: Building Boats That Float
Genesis Project: Building Boats That Float Genesis 6:1-22 According to an e-mail I saw, everything you need to know about life you can learn from Noah. Among his most important lessons are these: 1) Don’t miss the boat. 2) We are all in the same boat. 3) In troubled times, travel in pairs. 4) When…
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Genesis Project; Finding Our Place in All Creation
Genesis Project: Finding Our Place in All Creation Genesis 1:1, 26-31 A surgeon, an architect, and a politician found themselves in a friendly debate about which of their honored professions happened to be the oldest. “The Lord removed a rib from Adam’s side,” said the surgeon, “to create Eve. That was obviously a surgical procedure.”…
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Getting It, Together
Getting It, Together Matthew 10:24-39 It is not easy being a father. One cynic, speaking from his own experience, noted that children go through four fascinating stages. First, they call you DaDa. Then they call you Daddy. As they mature, they call you Dad. Finally, they call you to borrow money. Today is Father’s Day,…
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One Good Apple
One Good Apple Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 We always hear that one rotten apple infects the entire bushel. Indeed. That’s true! A rotten apple gives us ethylene gas, which does indeed spread to every other fruit around it! Even fruits that aren’t apples will ripen and rot faster due to the “rotten” apple’s infectious presence! But…
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Seeing Is Not Always Believing
Seeing Is Not Always Believing Matthew 28:16-20 My brain is trained to see insects! I can see an insect from across a room! On a ceiling. It’s the same faculty that allows moms, especially new moms to wake from a deep sleep because across the house, she heard her baby sigh. It’s the same faculty…
