Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 8, 2007
When we give good gifts, we think of Christmas. There is a lady that my Dad knows who literally spends well over $500 on her child (that is one child) for Christmas. She doesn’t make a lot of money. She is an hourly employee in a service industry job. Translation: She makes at best a little of
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 8, 2007
And since we work hard and live so affluently as part of the American Empire, when prices rise or we lose our jobs or another company makes a “run for the border” or gas prices hit $3.00 a gallon, most of us don’t consider God. He may be a peripheral idea. Out here on the edges of consciousness but
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 8, 2007
Recently the stock market plummeted after hitting another record high and who saved the day? The empire! They lowered one insignificant rate but resulted in millions of dollars that would have been spent on interest to be used for spending. The empire saved us!!
Meanwhile nothing really changed
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 15, 2007
There is a guy named Shane Claiborne who sees this Shema of Jesus to do to others as a radical call to a radical way of living. When he was in college at Eastern University near Philly, the newspaper had a headline about some homeless families that were being evicted from an old, abandoned
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 15, 2007
Two men were walking along discussing God, eternity, and judgment. One of them stops and says, “You know, there is a question I’d like to ask God.”
“What question?” his friend responds.
“How could you let all the evil and despair and injustice occur in this world?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make sense!”
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 29, 2007
We live in a safety first culture. When I was a kid, we didn’t wear helmets when riding our bikes except on the BMX track. I turned out ok. Today we wear seatbelts, have car seats, and heaven forbid that the kids might actually get to ride in the back of a pick up truck. Not only that but cars now
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 29, 2007
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| 1,452 views
But loving is hard. The way is narrow. Not many really love the way Jesus does. Even in churches. We are more consumers than lovers. We are more takers than givers. I’ve poured into people and given and given as I know many of you have. I’ve poured into groups of people in this way. And they keep
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 29, 2007
It is a narrow way. It is a difficult road. We have to leave much behind: our wants, our needs, our baggage, and our misconceptions. One time when we were first married, Kendra and I planned a trip to Cedar Point. I like to save money so we stayed in a hotel about twenty minutes from the point. It
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Scripture:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 5, 2007
. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke prophetically calling America to right the wrongs of racial discrimination.
At one point after a defining court victory, Dr. King spoke with the president about enacting legislation to protect the civil rights of people of color. The president sided with Dr. King
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 5, 2007
God spoke to me recently through a homeless guy I know. This man is a full-blown practicing alcoholic. Does he live out the Shema of Jesus? No. Not even close. But he is pretty intelligent although not very wise (except he does exhibit occasional profound insight). When he is sober and cleaned up,
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 12, 2007
I want to give you the chance to receive a blessing. I have something for you to taste. It is fruit. You can receive it but do not take it. Hopefully you will find it good. I ask you to worship the Lord in this. Praise God for the goodness of fruit that nourishes us. Praise God for this symbol of
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 12, 2007
Early in the summer, we’ve gotten burned with corn on the cob. Inevitably some grocery in late May or early June have a huge sale on fresh corn on the cob. For several years we’ve tried it. I look forward to good corn on the cob. Yet, we have always gotten burned with this early corn. It is awful.
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 19, 2007
Powerful.”
Richard Selzer, MD, writes in his book Mortal Lessons,
I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She till be thus from now on. The
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 19, 2007
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “He who is alone with his sins is utterly alone.” In fact he goes on to say, “The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everyone must conceal his sin from himself and from their fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 19, 2007
Brennan Manning urges us toward creative listening imagining God’s words to us as such (I invite you to close your eyes and imagine Jesus speaking these words to you now): “Has it crossed your mind that I am proud you accepted the gift of faith I offered you? Proud that you freely chose Me, after I
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 26, 2007
based on 4 ratings
| 2,129 views
When Jesus said these words later in Matthew (11:28-30), we see grace, “All you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 3, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 4,646 views
Advent is about the coming of Christ. Coming in to your life so you can begin again and again. In order to symbolize as an act of worship, I want you to take the beach glass that you received early. Feel it. Feel it’s hardness. Feel it’s roughness. Let this be a symbol of your past. Your sins. Your
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Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 3, 2007
Anne Lamont was addicted to coke and alcohol, involved in a messy affair that produced a child whom she had just aborted, and she watched her best friend die of cancer. Sometimes Anne would visit a small church nearby sitting in the back listening to the singing but always leaving before the
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Denomination:
Church Of God
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