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You are sinful.  Your past is sinful.  But your sins are forgiven.  And your sinful past is erased.  Your sinful past is not too sinful for God.  Nothing in your past could ever separate you from the love of God.  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).”  Your sinful past is implicitly included in Paul’s list of...

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“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.” - 1 Timothy 4:12-13 The church is a living, breathing organism.  As with any living, breathing organism, there is a cycle of life, death, and renewal.  There is birth.  There is increase.  There is decrease.  There is death.  So is the life of the church. The church is not a mere building.  The church is composed of members.  They are the church.  As...

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With the season of Christmas suddenly upon us, we are reminded once again that Jesus came to save us from our sins.  Jesus came to give us eternal life.  Jesus came to save us from eternal condemnation (a.k.a.: death).  These facts are sometimes forgotten among all of the images of shepherds and wise men.  These facts are sometimes misplaced among all of the images of Jesus as a baby in a manger surrounded by cows and donkeys.  Lest we forget, the baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, would be covered with blood and hanging on a...

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Jesus is faithful in much and we receive a gracious reward.  Note the irony: Jesus is faithful in much and, yet, we receive a gracious reward.  This is explained in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager.  Or the Parable of the Unjust Manager.  Or the Parable of the Shrewd Steward.  Or the Parable of the Unjust Steward.  It probably doesn’t matter what you call it: you probably don’t understand it, anyway.  The Parable of the Shrewd Manager is, arguably, the most misunderstood and misinterpreted parable that Jesus spoke. Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was...

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“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. - Matthew 5:13 Salt, light, Law, Prophets, accomplishment, and righteousness. In a span of only eight verses, Jesus refers to all of these subjects - why? What point is He trying to make? What common thread connects all of these disparate items? Taken as a whole, the one over-riding principle for these eight verses is this: Jesus, the true-light of the world, accomplishes the...

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Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God.  But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen?  And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’  Do not follow...

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We, as Christians, can take comfort in knowing that God loves us.  Because of God’s love for us, we can take comfort in knowing that, whatever happens to us here, we know that we will spend eternity with Him there.  Because of God’s love for us, we can take comfort in knowing that, no matter what we do and no matter how bad we are, He forgives us. Because of God’s love for us, we can take comfort in knowing that we do not need the love of others, since we have God’s love.  And, not because of us, but...

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11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we...

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I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died and was buried.   He descended into hell.  The third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, The holy Christian Church, The communion of saints, The forgiveness of...

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I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died and was buried.   He descended into hell.  The third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, The holy Christian Church, The communion of saints, The forgiveness of...

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