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The Offering: What Happened When God Offered All (Rom. 12:1-2)

Steve Prothero is a Boston University professor and author of the book Religious Literacy.[i]  When Prothero began teaching twenty years ago he found that few students could name the authors of the Christian Gospels.  Fewer could name a single Hindu Scripture.  Almost none could name the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.  This concerned Prothero.  He believes that many political conflicts in world history have had religious roots.  Thus he feels it imperative for students to know something about the religions of the world.  Most of his Boston University students, however, knew nothing.  Thus, this non-Christian professor proposes in his book that students should be required take a course in Bible and World Religions before graduating from high school.

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The Offering: How Relationships Transform When You Offer Passion (Rom. 12:1-2, 9-10a)

The cartoon “Non – Sequitur” once ran a series of cartoons illustrating why husbands and wives struggle to communicate.  Here’s the first one: A husband is walking past his wife who lies in bed sick.  An explanatory balloon above them has these words: What she heard….  The husband says, “You don’t expect me to take care of the kids, clean the house and make dinner do you?”  That’s what she heard.  But in the next frame, the balloon has these words: What he said…  And the man says, “Feeling any better honey?”

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Dreams from The Holy: The Dream of Inclusion (Is. 56:1-8)

Earlier this month a photo was taken at the White House.  In it a white man and a black man sit in high back chairs in the Oval Office.  The white man is President George W. Bush.  The black man is President-elect Barak Obama.  It is the first time that a black President-elect has ever been in the Oval Office.  And this January, it will be the first time a black President takes up residence in the White House.

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Sermon On the Mount in (about) 220 Words

In The Secret Message of Jesus Brian McLaren offers a 200 word summary of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  It is a moving, poetic, and helpful summary.  Some things, however, are overlooked.

Below is my attempt to do something similar, but to include what seems missing in McLaren’s summary.  In about 220 words I’ve summarized the Sermon on the Mount.  It is my hope that this summary might become something you’ll glance at frequently to remind yourself of Jesus’ vision for your life:Read More »Sermon On the Mount in (about) 220 Words