Tag: compassion
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O Come All You Unfaithful
As much as I appreciate and enjoy the traditional Christmas hymns and carols – O Come All Ye Faithful high up on my list – here is a worthy addition to the Christmas song catalog: O Come All You Unfaithful. Though not an especially new song, (it has been around for several years,) this song beautifully…
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Wise Words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Wise words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.”
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Advent Conspiracy
Advent Conspiracy is designed to remind us of what really matters during this Christmas season. While there is nothing inherently wrong with our traditions of gift giving and celebration, consumeristic forces are constantly at work, eroding our connection with the reason we celebrate. What is helpful to remember is that Christ Jesus came into the…
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When Helping Hurts
With the re-emergence of ministries of mercy by Evangelicals have also come definite challenges. I am delighted that this trend of compassion continues on the upswing. But I am also aware of both the theological and practical dilemmas that inevitably face anyone who is engaged in such outreach. The video above in an interview with…
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Ah!! You Just Said a BAD Word!
Tony Campolo is famous – or infamous – for a statement made at a Christian college chapel service: “The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to death each day, and most of you don’t give a SH%T. However, what is even more tragic is that most of you are more concerned about…
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Taking Pieces of Heaven to Place of Hell On Earth
Jesus says: “I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not stand up…” –Matthew 16.18 First it is important to remind ourselves that in this challenge Jesus is calling his church to take an Offensive stike, not a Defensive response. The church is to take the initiative, go, and storm the gates. This verse…
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Minutemen for Haiti
While hearts were breaking in Tennessee on Tuesday, because a football coach bailed and jumped onto a Trojan ship, lives were being shattered in Haiti. It is amazing how such news puts things in proper perspective. During this week friends and church members have asked if there is anything they can do to provide relief to…
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A Time for Work, A Time for Worship
A woman walked into our church building during the service this past Sunday morning. I did not see her, but reportedly she was rather rough looking, even intimidating. She was seeking financial assistance, and she was clear and determined in her objective. The lady from our congregation who got up to greet her would not ordinarily…
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Studies in 1 John: Compassion Among Brothers
In my study through 1 John I had to pause and go back over one verse this week. Having preached from 1 John 3:11-18 last week, and John’s assertion that Christians are to be characterized by love for one another if Christ is in actuality alive in them, I am struck by v. 17:…
