God Doesn’t Measure Up
“’Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you..’”
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One in the Spirit?
“’Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”
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Let Us Go Up to the House of the Lord
“As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.”
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Where Have We Gone Wrong?
“’I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.’”
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Us Against Them
“I give you a new commandment: love one another.”
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Who Are His Sheep?
“’My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.’”
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Right Where You Are
“So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’”
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The Living Faith of Thomas
So, Thomas gets criticized for his skepticism. That criticism isn’t restricted to Thomas. It extends to anyone who doubts or questions matters of faith. The critics believe that anyone who questions their beliefs is lacking in faith and therefore not a “good” Christian.
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Resurrection of the Body?
Our personhood will arise and transcend the grave. Like Jesus, we, too will leave behind our image—a testimony of our love and compassion, the relics of our resurrection.
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Was Jesus’s Death in Vain?
"But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed."
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A Eucharist of Service
"'I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.'"
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God Hides in Plain Sight
Showing our true selves is always risky. We risk rejection, especially if we wish to be agents of change. Anyone who promotes change—even change for the better—will encounter opposition.
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Session 6: Chaos Returns
The author wanted people to come away from their writings with a deeper appreciation of the gift of creation and the power of the God who formed it. They also wanted people to better understand humanity’s place within it.
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Session 5: Keeping Chaos at Bay
In this section, we see the Yahwist holding chaos—represented by the desert wasteland—at bay and bringing plants, animals, and humans into the lush garden of creation, not just to enjoy it, but also to work with God in the maintenance of its richness and beauty.
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The Repentant Pharisees
"'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'"
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Session 4: Creation IB—The Animate World
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
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The Loving Son and His Older Brother
“’But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
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Session 3: Creation IA—The Inanimate World
Now, before we charge ahead into verse three of Genesis, let’s take a look at the early history of Israel where the Book of Genesis was composed.
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Against the Pagan “Christians”
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not the god most “Christians” worship. They’ve fallen into this idolatrous pit because they don’t read the Scriptures carefully enough.
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Session 2: Prehistory—Mythologies of the Ancient Near East
Last session, we talked about the conceptual framework in which all myth exists. Every myth is a story that serves a purpose. It can be used to celebrate events or heroes, to model ideal behavior, or to explain the origin of things.