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Is That It? Well, that’s it. Christmas is over. Pack up the tree, roll up the strings of lights, and eat the rest of the candy canes. I guess it’s time to get back to reality. Even though our church calendar celebrates Christmas until Epiphany (Janua…
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The Christmas season is filled with wonderful music. With a few exceptions, I love it all, and I delight in taking it in almost everywhere I go this time of year. I enjoy the music coming through the loudspeakers at the mall, I look forward to long d…
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A few weeks ago, I took part in the holiday ritual that happens in homes around the world this time of year. I ventured into the storage area in the basement of my house and dug out the boxes of Christmas decorations, the nativity scene, and tree orn…
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While in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a few years ago, my wife and I stepped into a small church for Sunday worship. With thirty or so other people there also to praise the Lord, we sat together beneath the hum of ceiling fans, sneaking occasional peeks at…
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Nestled into the northwest corner of our building here on Brady Street is a grand old house. While offices take up much of the house these days, the living room of that house continues to be called the living room. Various groups of people meet there…
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One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving (second only to canned cranberry sauce) is the chance to make hand-drawn turkeys by tracing around my fingers and thumb. It’s easy. It’s fun. And you can decorate your turkey with a theme of your choice. M…
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It’s getting colder, and quite a few snowflakes fell in the Quad Cities on Sunday. Christmas carols are beginning to play in homes and cars, shops and offices. We all know people who prefer to hear absolutely no Christmas music before Thanksgiving. S…
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“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” This is what Jesus says in John 6, the day after he has fed the multitude, when a crowd comes after him looking for more to…
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Over the years, I’ve acquired a collection of bibles. Not really on purpose. And yet there must be close to 30 or so that sit on the shelves in my office. Some received as gifts, others purchased to use with preschoolers or our confirmation class. Ea…
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In preparation for this coming weekend, a member of our communication team asked me for my favorite Martin Luther quotes. We will be commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the day the Luther, a monk in Germany, nailed 95 Theses to his town’s church d…
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I didn’t sleep well last night. Monkey mind was in high gear, swinging from branch to branch, project to project, and person to person. I’m grateful we’ve evolved past most primate behaviors, though I wish monkey mind would disappear into oblivion. I…
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Like many of you, my heart is heavy. It feels like we wake up morning after morning to countless images of lives destroyed. Families are exhausted from going weeks at a time without power and basic necessities, knowing they have no physical home to r…