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God Came Near: Wonder Woman (Lk. 1:46-55) Chris Altrock – 12/17/17

This entry is part [part not set] of 2 in the series God Came Near

Bad Ripples

In the 1930’s Agatha Christie published what would become one of her most famous novels. It was titled, Murder on the Orient Express. This novel was adapted to film multiple times. It became a film once again this year.

Yes–I’m about to reveal some of the details of this year’s film. But–the book’s been out since the 1930’s! I’ve given you almost 90 years to read the book. So I feel somewhat justified in revealing these details.

In the book Agatha Christie introduces us to twelve people. At first introduction, they seem to be twelve strangers–completely disconnected except for the fact that they are on the same train. These twelve people are distinct from one another in gender, race, income, and education.Read More »God Came Near: Wonder Woman (Lk. 1:46-55) Chris Altrock – 12/17/17

God Came Near: Thanksgiving Between the Advents (1 Cor. 1:3-9) Chris Altrock – 12/3/17

This entry is part [part not set] of 2 in the series God Came Near

Living Between Advents

            My daughter Jordan, and more than 400,000 other people, follow an account on Twitter that claims to belong to a dog. The account gives posts from the perspective of a dog. For example, here is the post from Thanksgiving Day:

It would be fascinating, wouldn’t it, to have access to the thoughts of an actual dog?

One thing we don’t have to guess at when it comes to what a dog is thinking is the thinking of our dog Dasher when we when arrive home. It seems like our coming home, our arrival, is the highpoint of Dasher’s life. Whether it’s our son Jacob coming home in the afternoon from school, or Kendra or me coming home in the evening from work, Dasher turns circles, does little dances, licks our hands, and acts like he hasn’t seen us forever. He lives for our arrival. We know exactly what he’s thinking: “I’m so glad you’re here! I’m so glad you’ve arrived!”

This is the perspective Paul gives to our lives in our text:Read More »God Came Near: Thanksgiving Between the Advents (1 Cor. 1:3-9) Chris Altrock – 12/3/17

Go Love (Luke 7:36-50) Chris Altrock – November 5, 2017

Solving the Puzzle of Me

Eleanor Oliphant is the main character of a book by Gail Honeyman.[1] She is raised by an abusive mother. As an adult she reacts to the pain of the childhood abuse by withdrawing socially and spending her weekends behind closed doors in her small apartment drinking vodka.

After a particularly depressing weekend in which she almost dies from alcohol poisoning, Eleanor comes to her senses:

My life, I realized, had gone wrong. Very, very wrong. I wasn’t supposed to live like this. No one was supposed to live like this. The problem was that I simply didn’t know how to make it right…no one had ever shown me the right way to live a life, and although I’d tried my best over the years, I simply didn’t know how to make things better. I could not solve the puzzle of me. [Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman]

The Bible is full of people like Eleanor. People who aren’t sure how to live a life. People who can’t solve “the puzzle of me.”Read More »Go Love (Luke 7:36-50) Chris Altrock – November 5, 2017