Eugene Cho: ‘Christians, Stop Being Political Jerks’
One of the biggest temptations in our world today is to dehumanize those we disagree with and in that process, we actually don’t know that we’ve done it.
read the rest of the article Eugene Cho: ‘Christians, Stop Being Political Jerks Click Here’
very November, the online political discourse ramps up as elections across the country take place. Politics have become increasingly divisive in recent years, leading to people fighting with family, loved ones and strangers online and in-person. And no group is exempt from this. Christians can often be found in the comments of Facebook posts exchanging harsh words with one another.
Rev. Eugene Cho, pastor and the president/CEO of Bread for the World, the huge Christian anti-hunger and poverty organization, sees the ways the Church is handling politics. He wants …………………
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The Tragedy of an Incidental Christ
The tragedy of the incidental Christ I was raised with is that he was really no Savior at all.
Read the article at The Tragedy of an Incidental Christ | 1517
As obvious as it may sound, Christianity is all about Jesus Christ. In the person and work of Jesus, God is revealed to us. The entirety of the Old Testament, in ways both subtle and bold, tells us about the need for and promise of a Savior. In the Gospel accounts, it is revealed to us that Jesus is the Savior the Old Testament promised us. He is fully man, obeying all the commands of God, all the while being fully God himself. At just the right time, he laid down his life to make a blood sacrifice that paid for the sins of all mankind for all time. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus for us is the subject of Chrsitianity. He is the beginning, the end, and everything in between………
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[Sunday] Generous Creation - Forgive & Give
We are a new creation who has seen the amazing generosity of the Father though the Son. Let us go with new generosity into all the world, giving good news.
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Questions for the week
Describe the funniest viral video (think America’s Funniest Home Video) that you’ve seen.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-15. What are some ways you’ve seen people compelled by the love of Christ to do things that are “out of their mind”(NIV) or “beside themselves”(ESV)?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2. As you live in the new creation, brought by Christ, what does it look like for you to be an ambassador of reconciliation today?
Video From the Sermon Today
What Had happened at Grace this week.
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Laughing at our Weakness
We smile, wince, and shake our heads precisely because the comedic tragedy of it all is true.
Read article at Laughing At Our Weakness - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
These days, we are so politically segregated that we often read, watch, eat and play according to our own values. Democrats wear Levi’s denim, watch the NBA, and drink Starbucks; for Republicans it’s Wrangler jeans, NASCAR, and Chick-fil-a. Of all the big data metrics, one’s political leanings are a reliable indicator of what you might consume. The realm of comedy is hardly an exception, offering a wide array of both red state comics and blue state comics. If you are a fan of John Oliver, there is very little chance you are also a fan of Larry the Cable Guy — both have significant followings but hardly ever within the same zip code…………….
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[Sunday] Ordinary Jars - Forgive & Give
Can you remember birthdays and Christmases past? All the presents wrapped in beautiful paper - well, except the ones wrapped in old newspaper. Which one is the better gift? Perhaps it's the one that is just ordinary.
Questions for the week
Describe a time you tried to set someone straight and it didn’t go as planned. How did it feel following that incident?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-12. What do you think Paul means that we have “this treasure in jars of clay?” Where have you witnessed treasure in jars of clay?
Pauls speaks of being persecuted, struck down, and death. In those depressing times of life, where does Jesus give you hope?
When you were reconciled to someone, what did that process look like?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
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Death and Forgiveness
For each and every one of the ancient philosophers, the idea that we should love our enemies would have registered as self-evidently absurd.
Read article at https://comment.org/death-and-forgiveness/
In January of 2018, I took a plane to Albuquerque to sit in a hospital with my dying father. To say my dad and I weren’t close is an understatement: we had cut ties when I was twelve, and rebuilt them for a time in my early twenties only to have them quickly fall apart again. His life had since become a mystery to me. I knew, however, that heart problems had kept him in and out of the hospital for years, and despite several surgical interventions his health had long been in decline. So when the call came from S., his girlfriend of nearly two decades who hadn’t spoken to me since I was a preteen, I wasn’t exactly surprised. That she called at all meant things were serious. I took a brief leave from my obligations and packed my bags for New Mexico…………..
Forgive and Give
God gave His one and only Son so that we might be forgiven. This core idea of the Christian faith seems to permeate Paul’s words as he works to reconcile the relationship with the Corinthians. A generous spirit is one that heals people. It's amazing to think of how a generous spirit in all ways, especially our money, could heal and give good news to so many.
God gave His one and only Son so that we might be forgiven. This core idea of the Christian faith seems to permeate Paul’s words as he works to reconcile the relationship with the Corinthians. A generous spirit is one that heals people. It's amazing to think of how a generous spirit in all ways, especially our money, could heal and give good news to so many.
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Running from Rest
Christ has taken our failures and defeats and exchanges that yoke for his own.
Read the article at https://www.1517.org/articles/running-from-rest
When I was younger, I ran track. I wasn’t good. I honestly don’t think I can recall winning anything. Conceptually, I knew in those races that I needed to run faster if I wanted to win. Yet, at some point, the best I could do still wasn’t as fast or faster than those I was racing. I could try to give that little extra, but it just wasn’t there………..
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[Sunday] Love The Sinner Hate The Sin - Say What
Planks and pearls - we embrace some, and others we throw away. It seems to absolutely love the sinner, we must keep the pearl and remove the plank.
Questions for the week
When do you hear people use the phrase, “Love the sinner; hate the sin?”
Read Matthew 7:1-6. How would you summarize what Jesus says about sin and other people’s sin?
Thinking of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-6, and knowing how Jesus has handled your sin, what might be a more biblical phrase to use when talking about the sins of others?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
What The Gospel Means For Rich People
What she needed was for her particular form of poverty to be seen so that the good news of Jesus could be shown to her.
read the whole article here. https://mbird.com/theology/what-the-gospel-means-for-rich-people/
What she needed was for her particular form of poverty to be seen so that the good news of Jesus could be shown to her.
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This article, written by Nathan Hart, first appeared in the “Money Issue” of The Mockingbird magazine:
Catherine appears flawless on her Instagram profile. The most recent picture shows her in a designer dress receiving an award for philanthropic leadership in our community. Last week she posted a picture of her husband, Tom, playing with their kids in the infinity pool behind their multimillion-dollar home. (“Catherine” and “Tom” are not their real names, but their story is true.)…………………………………..
While the Ghost points to the grave our ambition digs, Jesus answers by becoming the humble Child who enters that grave to raise us to new life.