I saw this quotation from St. Teresa of Avila today and I thought that it was fantastic. “Oh, souls set free by the blood of Christ! Learn to understand yourselves. Have compassion for yourselves.” This seems to be a helpful substitute, in my opinion, for the phrase that we use and/or hear “I need to forgiveContinue reading “Compassion for Yourselves”
Category Archives: Thoughts
Rohr, Sermon on the Mount
I’m reading through the “Richard Rohr Corpus” or at least as many of Rohr’s books that I can get. This is a subtle hint for Christmas presents. Rohr’s second book, Jesus’ Plan for a New World, interacts with Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. It has been an incredible book, one that IContinue reading “Rohr, Sermon on the Mount”
Walking Out of Worry, Day 14 Conclusion
We are wrapping up the 14-Day journey Walking Out of Worry. If you have missed the chance to join us, you can always download the guide here and use it for your personal enrichment. One of the most robust categories in the NT is hope. We meditated on hope a few days ago, but itContinue reading “Walking Out of Worry, Day 14 Conclusion”
Taylor Swift, Spotify, and Conflict
Earlier this week Taylor Swift pulled her music off Spotify, the online subscription mega-monster. This disappointed a ton of fans, of course. You can read a bit about it here, if you’d like. I like Taylor Swift (there, I said it) and she can do whatever she wants with her music. I like Spotify.Continue reading “Taylor Swift, Spotify, and Conflict”
Twitter Feed Preaching Style
Len Sweet says in his newest book on the topic of preaching Giving Blood that he has had to learn 7 different preaching styles throughout his ministry career. In seminary, he was coached to never say “you, we, us” in a sermon. Imagine that! Preaching, Sweet says, is a dialogue instead of a monologue. Most sermonsContinue reading “Twitter Feed Preaching Style”
Pleasantly Surprised
So, my driver’s license is not expired but has an old address on it and I’m tired of carrying around the piece of paper that explains why I should not get any grief for it, but it still provokes suspicious looks from people who inspect my driver’s license. So, I thought that I’d go getContinue reading “Pleasantly Surprised”
Nat’l Coffee Day
Today is National Coffee Day, also known as “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!” So, I am at Starbucks for the first few hours of the day to get things done. I sat next to a couple of guys having a “small group” study. These guys were Christians. I do this thing where IContinue reading “Nat’l Coffee Day”
Along with You, the Whole Way
Matthew 9:18-26 was the NT reading for Common Prayer this morning. It is a parallel passage of one of my favorite parts of Mark, (Mark 5:21-43). Matthew’s version is shorter and has some differences from Mark’s account. In Matthew’s account, Jarius (Mark 5:22), a synagogue ruler’s daughter is already dead (v.18) while she is alive,Continue reading “Along with You, the Whole Way”
Take Your Mat and Go Home
Matthew 9:1-8 was the NT reading from my common prayer today and I spent some meaningful time in the story. It is one of my favorite in the Gospels, its parallel is in Mark 2, as well. Jesus arrives “home” (which is Capernaum, according to Mark 2:1) where he is encounters a paralyzed man, carriedContinue reading “Take Your Mat and Go Home”
Mad Religion
“Christianity is the only mad religion; which is perhaps, the explanation for its survival – it deconstructs itself and survives by deconstructing itself.” -Jacques Derrida “We have to change the method of the way we share Jesus’ story without changing its message.” – numerous hip ministers By the way, the method and the message binaryContinue reading “Mad Religion”
Joe Skillen 