Relating, Creating, Transforming
Matthew 15: 21-28Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon. ’But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples […]
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Matthew 9:35 – 10:1 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he […]
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Luke 8:26-39 In the Killer’s song, Human, the group seemingly uses incorrect grammar when they ask: are we human, or are we dancer with the singular form of “dancer”. But there’s a point to it. It calls our attention to the word. And then, we dig deeper. See, the Killers are not singing about you […]
Read MoreMark 9:38-41; 49-50 The Message (MSG) 38 John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.” 39-41 Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. […]
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Mark 5:24b-34 I would like to ask you a question. Simple, but it may seem the opposite. What is faith? Sure, perhaps you are thinking: Really? What is faith? Now that’s a loaded question. Are you referring to some kind of religious faith, or a faith in God or Jesus or Mohammad, or Buddha, or […]
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Mark 1:29-34a 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, […]
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Mark 1:21-39 Let’s talk demons, afflictions, identity and love. Cool with you? Okay, first, a story about Jesus of Nazareth. He’s making his way to Capernaum–perhaps the most important and well-connected community in the region of Galilee. There was a temple there, and Jesus was about to darken its door. Mark’s Gospel is the speed […]
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In the brilliant sci-fi/fantasy Netflix series Stranger Things the main characters all go through trauma: Joyce loses her son, Will. Jonathan loses his little brother. Eleven/Jane is experimented on, deprived of parental care, tortured, and manipulated psychologically. Dustin, Mike, and Lucas lose their friend and think he’s dead. Will is taken by a creature to […]
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Matthew 15:21-28 What do you think about miracles? As I mentioned before, when it comes to miracles, I think it is most helpful for us to avoid asking did the miracle really happen? Instead, we ought to ask: what does a miracle story mean? By asking that second question, we will be truer to the […]
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John 9:1-7 Roots, Frida Kahlo, 1943 How do we see ourselves? Is our view of ourselves accurate? How do our experiences, both good and bad, affect how we see ourselves? How do we see others? How do our experiences, what we hear or read, affect how we see other people? How can we see ourselves […]
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