life (519)

Ian

Living

Deuteronomy 5:26–27; Ezekiel 33:11; Luke 20:34–40; John 5:39–40; John 8:56–58 A living God? To many people today, God is just a fairy tale who belongs amongst the pages of Grimm’s fairy tales and folklore. For them, God is no different than the ancient Roman and…

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Ian

Win Some; Lose Some

Matthew 16:21–28; Mark 8:27–38; Luke 9:18–27 You are probably the most familiar with the translation in Mark saying, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” It has been made famous in a number of songs. It has…

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Ian

Salvation Balance

Matthew 16:13–17; Romans 10:6–14 In the US, individuality is all the rage, and it has been since at least 4 July 1776. Individuality is not a bad thing, automatically. While there are many aspects to our faith that are indeed communal (and must remain that…

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Ian

Rooftop Shenanigans

Jeremiah 17:9–11; Luke 12:1–12 If you have a smartphone, you are probably aware of this little program installed on it, which is supposedly an assistant. “Hello, Google, Siri, Bixby, Alexa.” This program can be helpful. Yet, there is often weirdness associated with it. There have…

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Ian

Monuments to What

Ecclesiastes 1:10–11; Matthew 23:25–32; Luke 11:47–54; Acts 7:44–58 You have probably heard George Santayana’s famous quip, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes phrased it differently. The reality is that human behavior (especially, selfishness, greed,…

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