Church forgiveness community Archives

Romans 8

Romans 8:22-25 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that…

How Does One Say Welcome Through a Mask?

Most of us are getting used to smiling really hard to enhance the mirth or joy in our eyes. Without this, will anyone out in the public know that we are smiling behind our mask? You know the feeling: you have just stepped into the wrong aisle, from the wrong lane, heading in the wrong…

Can’t Erase It

Jars of Clay, the band from Greenville, Illinois, has a song entitled “Can’t Erase It” on the If I Left the Zoo album. The lyrics are written below. It is a song that captures the angst of trying to be one thing when we know we should be something else. Read the lyrics, listen to…

Grace and Truth

Grace and truth, effort or earning, works or faith, justice or mercy, these are the conundrums of my life. I know that Jesus came into this world full of grace and truth and ever since, we who follow his example have desired to be people of grace and truth. I can never seem to find…

Billy Graham and Forgiveness

In light of the recent passing of Billy Graham, a reprint of a previous blog is in order. The Crown, Season 2, Episode 6: Vergangenheit Written by Peter Morgan Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe This post contains numerous spoilers and explanations of a current episode of The Crown. You may want to watch the episode before reading this article. The…

Bonhoeffer, 1944

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words around 1944 while he was imprisoned by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. He would later be executed as a traitor against the Nazi regime. “During these years the Church has fought for self‑preservation as though it were an end in itself, and has thereby lost its chance to speak a…

Forgiveness

At a time when racism, violence, and suffering seem to be greater than ever, these words of Fyodor Dostoyevsky are very appropriate. “I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication…

Broken

I am damaged on the inside My soul don’t quite work true There are foul spots on my right side And my wrong side’s looking cruel I am broken on the upside Spirit’s broken down There’s downsides to this arrangement But I’m hanging in for now Broken, damaged, injured, Wounded, cracked, beat-up Somehow we are…

What is Church?

As we enter the year 2016, some will consider attending a gathering of the church as a resolution for the new year. Some may decide to attend a church gathering more regularly. In this post I am assuming that there are many valid forms of church gatherings. Jesus Christ, who is the head of…

Poor Sermon on a Pretty Day

“In general, I weathered even the worst sermons pretty well. They had the great virtue of causing my mind to wander. Some of the best things I have ever thought of I have thought of during bad sermons. Or I would look out the windows. In winter, when the windows were closed, the church seemed…