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What the Easter Story Means to Me
The deep shadows of the night were slowly disintegrating. The quiet mystical glow of early morning seemed to hang heavy upon the garden, the soft fragrance of blooming olive trees and dogwood —the quiet, deep shadows of the overhanging myrtle trees—the moist and muffled dropping of the heavy dew—and the deep shadows of the three Read more
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Christmas Stories for Our Time
I would like to take you to a visit to the Johan Barham Family in Beit Sahour, which is a little town outside of Bethlehem. Johan and his wife, Nadal, both come from a long line of Christians, who have lived in the Bethlehem area for over 800 years. Until 1967, their families lived in Read more
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He Will Be Called the Son of God
One of the most fascinating things about the our current interest in the life and meaning of Jesus for our times is that much of what is being written comes from the State of Israel and is being written by Jews. In fact, the output of these writings is much higher than from so-called Christian Read more
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Behold A Virgin Shall Bear a Son
I was recently reflecting on the stained glass window in our church, with the Madonna and Child. I was also thinking our my encounter with the Maori Christ in New Zealand. I was also reflecting on Earl Stanley Jones’s book, “The Christ of Every Road” and his call for a renewal of the church mission Read more
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Do You See What I See?
Our text today begins with one of the most prosaic but fascinating sentences in the New Testament. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem who’s name was Simeon.” This is about is common a person as you could ever wish to meet. His name could have been John Doe and it would not has changed Read more
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David, Goliath and the USA
If we overlook the patriotic gore, to use Edmund Wilson’s phrase, the story of David and Goliath has to be one of the worlds most satisfying sagas. Former Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, that great theologian, once said, “Nice guys finish last.” And he was right. But every now and then a baddie or a biggie Read more