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Hebrews 3

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Sam Perry

Observations The journey of God’s people in the Old Testament from Egypt to Canaan is a pattern and a picture of the Christian life.  In the Old Testament they were moving toward promised rest, and in the same way we are moving toward promised rest when we will see Christ and be made like him….

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Revelation 2 & 3

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Sam Perry

In these two chapters are seven letters to the seven churches.  In some measure each letter has the same form.  Each letter begins “To the angel of the church in ______  write: These are the words of Him who….”  And there is some description of Jesus Christ drawn from chapter 1.  This is followed by…

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Matthew 9:27-34

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Kory Plockmeyer

Comments and Observations I hate it when someone acts one way when we’re with one group of people and then is a completely different person in a different context. Perhaps that explains some of my discomfort with this passage from Matthew 9. These back-to-back healings are, in many ways, nondescript. We are given few details,…

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2 Corinthians 10

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Kory Plockmeyer

Comments and Observations: In a previous church, there was an individual with whom I did not see eye-to-eye theologically. In person, we could have rousing discussions, speaking face-to-face and able to better understand one another. Our online interactions were completely different. I had written a post for a website that garnered some attention and began…

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Hebrews 7:1-22

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Kory Plockmeyer

Comments and Observations Were it not for the book of Hebrews, Melchizedek would be little more than an interesting footnote in commentaries on the book of Genesis, a bewildering moment in the life of Abraham when this shadowy figure emerges briefly to bless Abraham, only to return to the realm of obscurity. In Hebrews Melchizedek…

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1 John 4:1-6

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Kory Plockmeyer

Comments and Observations: I once had a conversation with a colleague about the incarnation. “The incarnation,” she claimed, “is at the center of the Gospel to me. The Good News is that Jesus came into the world at all.” This conversation has stuck with me. While I may not necessarily place the incarnation at the…

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Revelation 5:1-10

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Kory Plockmeyer

Comments and Observations If one searches Google Images for the phrase “Jesus’ second coming,” the top results all have a few things in common: 1) there’s a lot of light, 2) there’s a lot of horses, and 3) Jesus is white, both in clothing and skin color. One of my personal favorites even has what…

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John 2:1-11

Epiphany 2C

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Scott Hoezee

Apparently we are going to have to revise our definition of “glory.” Sometimes things happen in life that make us update long-held notions and definitions. It reminds me of the scene from the movie A Beautiful Mind in which the socially inept genius mathematician John Nash (played by Russell Crowe) haltingly proposes to his girlfriend…

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1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Epiphany 2C

Stan Mast headshot
Stan Mast

All four of the lectionary readings for this second Sunday after Epiphany share a similar emphasis on God’s abundant grace to his people. Psalm 36 sings God’s praise for his love and power poured out on his people. Using gorgeous language Isaiah 62 promises the exiles that their God will restore them to their former…

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Acts 15:1-21

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Al Postma

I’m going to start with the obvious observation that talking about circumcision is not simply an abstract theological conversation. The core of the discussion might be theological principles that are rooted in the biblical story, but the consequences of it are painfully practical. In the case of people new to the faith, being informed that…

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