Nation or Religion? A Nationalist’s Question

1. A Nationalist’s Question A well-known personality in India, a nationalist, was touring a village in India (on live TV) where he met a gathering of Christian families and demanded to know if their religion is more important to them, or if the nation (India) is more important. His audience

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Being Missional – It’s an Alignment Issue

1. Happily Ever After – That Wasn’t to Be In Genesis 1-2, we see humanity as the apex and glory of God’s creation – made in the image of God, tasked with stewardship/care of the world, and to ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ (Genesis 1:26-28). The man sings to the woman

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We Can All Be… Isaiah 54 Mothers

1. Our Birth – Free, as in Salvation We all owe our existence/survival to the mercy, selflessness, unconditional love, and sacrifice,(and as the abortion debate reminds us, the choice) of a woman willing to be a mother – a life-long commitment. The birth is free (to the one who is

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Let Your ‘Yes’ Be ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ Be ‘No’

1. The Vows We Break Many of us may have taken wedding vows before God, that runs something like this: “..to hold you from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part…

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The Wounded Healer

1. The Wounded Healer In his book, “The Wounded Healer”, Henri Nouwen asks: “Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: Who can take away suffering

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United in a Resurrection Like His

1. Hope of a Meaningful Life The gospel is God’s promise that our life, values, actions, the cross, death, and resurrection in some way will follow a pattern of Jesus’. Christ’s life/death/resurrection is the hope of a meaningful/purposeful life – along with Christ, in the current creation as well as

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United in a (Life And) Death Like His

1. Dangerously Empowering Jesus stood toe-to-toe with the bullies and exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who had the political influence to torture and kill. On the other hand, he was empowering/liberating the common people (and the victims of the bullies – which threatened the religious careers of the

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Back to the Jesus Way

1. Why Many Genuine People Stay Out of Church One of the reasons many genuine people stay out of the church is because the “church” has become an institutionalized organized religion – an environment in which many self-serving people thrive. How did Jesus counter this phenomenon? 2. True Moral Standards

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I Like Your Christ, but Not Your Christianity

1. Biggest Obstacle to Jesus’ Message Mahatma Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, but not your Christianity”. That is a sentiment many of us would sympathize with and acknowledge. It is not just having some human weaknesses among those who call themselves Christian. Sometimes it is more sinister – the

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Self-Esteem: Treasures In Jars of Clay

1. Symbolism in Creation Story? How did the universe come into existence? How did we as humans come into being? Genesis 1 gives an intriguing and artistic narrative of how God went about doing it. It says that on day 1 of creation, God said, “Let there be light” and

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Where Your Treasure Is

1. What Is Treasures in Heaven? Jesus referred to the phrase “treasures in heaven” on a few occasions. How we may understand the phrase? Anything that you do just for yourself is storing treasure for yourself. Anything that is done to empower/bless/serve others is storing treasures in heaven. As the

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Faith: Empower or Control

1. Faith: Misused Word Faith is a misused and abused word. A good way to separate good faith from bad is to see if it empowers or controls. Good faith empowers, liberates, and sets you free (“Truth will set you free” – Jesus in John 18:32). A misuse of faith

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