This morning, with the first light of dawn cracking the sky, I tried to picture an earthquake; tried to imagine a stone rolled back, the tear-stained faces of women whose unhoped for dream had already come true. I couldn’t really do it. But I’m immensely grateful for God’s limitless power and love. And I want […]

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Been spending more time in hell than usual…whoops, that didn’t come out right. What I mean is, I’ve spent more time than usual getting ready for tomorrow’s message. A lot more. I’ve already had to cut out a lot, so I thought I’d do even better than what DVD releases do with a movie. You […]

Posted in bible/theology 3 Comments »

So, the first think we’re really going to talk about, next Sunday, is hell.
I’ve been reading quite a bit. Whew.
I’m amazed at what is out there. Someone gave me this book, which in my brief flip through is quite disturbing to me.
I chose this first because someone from NFC actually asked me a month […]

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I did this video last year, about a week before Christmas. Watching it again with a little distance from it, I think it’s good, worth sharing again.
(So, like if Starla likes it she could point Bob to it, and if AJ the emergent powerhouse wants to give a little linky love, I’d be ok […]

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Tonight was really good. Friends over for dinner, excellent conversation, and instead of a white elephant gift exchange, a book exchange. We started talking about eschatology, when Jesus returns. Does the whole earth burn up and we start over? Or does something stay? What does that mean for our care and stewardship of the earth? […]

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So how could I sleep in when I had the chance to go to a bible study led by Eugene Peterson?
Prayer and scripture, he said, go together and mutually affect each other. Scriptures shape our prayers, and without prayer, we cannot understand the scriptures. He used Zechariah’s prayer in Luke 1: 68-79 to shape our […]

Posted in bible/theology, npc 1 Comment »

For years, I’ve heard about bible quizzing. At Newberg Friends, we’ve had teams of middle schoolers and high schoolers studying a book of the bible, and then traveling to tournaments where they compete against teams from other churches in our Yearly Meeting. I’ve not paid close attention until this year, when Talli decided to join. […]

Posted in bible/theology, family No Comments »

I had a “new to me” thought today, that came to me all on its own. I’ve been living in Genesis 37-50, the story of Joseph. Next Sunday, I’ll be focusing on forgiveness, and this thought has nothing to do with forgiveness, but it is somehow captivating me.
Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, […]

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(I sit on a stool in a darkened room, spotlights shining in my eyes.)
Evangeline Orthodox: “Your previous post on being Christ Centered sounds awfully relativistic. Don’t you believe in absolute truth?”
Me: “Yes. Yes I do.”
Ms. Orthodox: “Don’t you believe the bible to be given to us by God, not just written by human authors?”
Me: […]

Posted in bible/theology, quaker 6 Comments »

This coming Sunday, we’ll be looking at Peter’s denials of Jesus, specifically as outlined in John 18. It’s a record of extreme failure. I’ve found myself with a lot of energy as I’ve realized Peter was trying to do the right thing. He wasn’t just an idiot. I used to think that. I mean, come […]

Posted in NFC, bible/theology 2 Comments »