Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
Get involved and be willing to learn. I think sometimes the greatest damage the Christians do to our collective witness is being unwilling to learn and listen to the perspectives of others. They think that they are to get involved but that ends up meaning that they are there not to help but make
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
He prefers that we do NOT go into debt. Think about it… Most of us right now have firsthand experience that when financial woes hit us, every other area of our lives (those other six areas that we’ve talked about) are effected. Verse 6 actually said something that I felt was very convicting and
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
In our group we discussed some of the intricacies here. Studies have shown that people on the average spend 30% more if using a credit or even a debit card when making their normal purchases. For many people, dolling out cash helps us spend less. However, some in the group pointed out that the
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
The penny is an interesting piece of metal. The price of the metal within the penny actually is worth more than its assigned value. And to top it off, the penny is almost worthless at least in terms economic buying power. You can’t get anything for penny nowadays. I can’t think of anything.
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 27, 2008
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS & WRONG JUDGMENT
Relationally, I think of assumptions as unproven conclusions. We draw conclusions based on our experiences, our perceptions, and limited information.
Sometimes misinformation. In my opinion, much of this year’s political campaigning has been about
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 27, 2008
SPELLING A WORD
A woman died and went to heaven but when she arrived at the "Pearly Gates," she found Peter. "Before you can come in, you have to spell a word," he said.
"What word?" she asked.
"Any word?"
"L-O-V-E. Love," she said.
"Come on in. But I was wondering if you'd do me a quick
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
I own stock in YUM, which is Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. Repeatedly, the board of directors have refused to make their restaurants smoke-free citing that they comply to current regulations and doing so would put their restaurants at a disadvantage to other restaurants that allow it. Basically,
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
Be more active in knowing what you are buying and who you are buying it from. For example, fair trade is a designation used for coffee and tea to not only make sure that justice is done by paying farmers fair wages but they also make sure that these farmers farm responsibly: they take care of the
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
Yet, excuses still abound. “It’s too hard. It’s too messy. It’s too inconvenient. It’s takes too much time.” I just have one thing to say—“Wah!”
“It doesn’t really matter. What difference can I make?” Actually each one of us makes a huge difference. Do you believe that every single person matters
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
When we studied this in our small group, we looked at the story of a man who was possessed by a bunch of demons. He was wild. He tortured. Casting Crowns has written a song telling this story. And I found a video that has dramatized the story and song. Let’s take a
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
I read about ten years ago an interesting statistic. Our medical knowledge doubles every 2.5 years. Is it any wonder why medicine has so many specialties? It literally is hard to keep up. Yet, we have
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
We are not meant to live in darkness. We were created to live in the light—in God’s light. I worked with a young lady several years ago whose boyfriend surrendered to the darkness. He blew his brains out with a shotgun just as she entered their bedroom. It was devastating. I knew the guy.
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 29, 2008
God cares for us—every part of us. He wants us to be whole—complete. This includes a physical well-being. Instead of a story I want to show you a video about a special act—a physical act—that was done for another person. It shows us what it is like to follow
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 29, 2008
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Emory University has shown that when we help others without thought of reward or return, our brains release dopamine and endorphins that literally, physically makes us feel good. These chemicals give us
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 29, 2008
Don't Tell Me I'm Cranky!!!!
Medications can have some unintended emotional side effects. Whether they are necessary prescribed meds or maybe just cold medicine, they can alter your mood sometimes without even us realizing it.
For me, certain allergy and OTC cold meds have the effect of lowering
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 23, 2008
Washing in the Bible
A worship station is set up. There are two but they are the same thing. Water is a powerful cleansing agent and symbol. In the temple, the priests washed their hands and their feet every time they led worship to symbolize their initial baptism when they were set apart for
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 23, 2008
Mad at Him or Mad at YOU?
I remember a specific time a couple of years ago that someone just pulled out in front of me trying to turn left and get in the small space between my car and the next. Of course I was in a hurry as I was running late. And of course I had to brake and subsequently missed
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 23, 2008
Iceberg Anger
Do you know what you are feeling? Can you identify why you are feeling the way you are? This is so huge and complicated that it often takes years of intentional effort to figure these things out. And the more messed up we are, the longer and harder and more painful it can be.
An
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 15, 2008
Object Talk: On Fire for God
[We had a display made of wooden stick matches; they pictured a fairly elaborate cross. People would take a matchstick with them and pray if they desired.]
I want to give you something. It is a symbol to remind you to give God control of the spiritual area of your
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 15, 2008
Ever hear this phrase? There is some truth there. In this perspective, religion is seen as something negative and even detrimental at times to one’s spiritual walk. Common conceptions here might include the idea that I really don’t need a religion or a church or a faith community as long as I still
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