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Do you Belong by Birth or Behavior?
“Be careful not to sound too moralistic.” My highly-critical roommate interrupted my floor-pacing rehearsal of the seminar session scheduled for the next morning. Surprised, I deftly parried his objection in order to get back to my blossoming late-night orations. For good reason, my Proverbs 27:5 roommate had developed an allergy to behavior-modification tactics employed by…
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When the Orchestra Went Silent
Nothing compares to the ability of an orchestra to display the majesty and the power of God; for, the collection of the sounds of the orchestra is a complete palette of all of the sounds that God created and placed into our diverse world. We have stringed instruments, instruments made with pipes, instruments made with…
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Faith – the Beauty in History
The book of Lamentations starts with these words…“How lonely sits the city that was full of people…” There is something deeply affecting about walking the empty streets of an abandoned town that was once full of children laughing, lovers wooing, and friendships sharing. It is as if I can almost hear the faint echoes of what…
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Peter, Me, Eleanor, a Cuban Pastor, a Seminary Professor, and the Amazing Grace of God
I think about Peter, a loud and probably burly fisherman on the Sea of Galilee who had his fishing boat boarded by Jesus of Nazareth. Peter hadn’t caught a fish all night – and this was his livelihood. Jesus told Peter to cast his nets on the other side of the boat – Peter did,…
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The Work that God has Done
“When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should…
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The Sermon on a Level Place – Luke 6
This blog is about the major sermon in Luke found in chapter 6. As my goal for this writing is to assist the reader in understanding the thrust of Jesus’ sermon, I will not refer often to the text. After reading this blog, I hope that when you open your Bible, the truth of the…
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The Celebration at Levi’s House – Luke 5
On the topic of the feast at Levi’s house (found in Luke 5) – this is a big celebration in every way – Luke makes a point of noting that the feast was “great” and that a “large company” of tax collectors and others were reclining at the table with Jesus. Meanwhile the Pharisees (along…