Found 17 results.
Productive Confrontation Recap
May 05, 2017In last week’s Access sermon I shared a story from Joshua 22:10-34 that relates a conflict between different Hebrew tribes. One group took a provocative action. The other group prepared to go to war. But before they started fighting, they talked and managed to resolve the conflict. In this week’s post I’ll recap the steps I shared on Sunday for productive confrontation.
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A great Easter without a hunky Jesus
April 21, 2017I had a fabulous Easter, and I hope you did too! My heart filled with joy as I worshipped with so many of you, your family, and friends. Last Sunday's worship also reminded me of how blessed I am to work with such talented people. Shandon organizes, manages, and troubleshoots things seen and unseen to create a sense of warmth and welcome in an often-chaotic environment. Eric weaves together graphic arts, music, light, and a host of individual people with unique gifts and skills into a cohesive whole that is beautiful in its own right and that also transports me beyond it into the presence of God. Julie connects the words of scripture to daily life in ways that consistently give me new insights, and she doesn't miss a beat when I ask things like, "What if we preached the Easter sermon together?" Our Access Easter celebration did lack one thing: a Hunky Jesus.
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4 invisible but real reasons for gratitude
April 07, 2017Those creatures on the Access sign are gratitoads. In 2014 our church members took photos with gratitoads to document things for which we were grateful. I recently listened to a podcast where two psychology professors reminded me that not everything that provides a reason for giving thanks is visible. The professors gave four examples of invisible but real reasons for gratitude.
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Help for forgiving and seeking forgiveness
March 17, 2017This past Sunday I preached about forgiveness. Seeking or offering it can feel like having a huge weight lifted. Jesus said both are connected to our relationship to God. Yet, doing either can be very difficult. For all those reasons I want to recap a few of the insights and tips I shared on Sunday and add a few notes.
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Ignore me if you want to live
March 10, 2017In a classic scene from the movie Terminator, the protagonist proclaims to a woman being hunted by a deadly Arnold Schwarzenegger character, "Come with me if you want to live." I couldn't help but think of that line as I read one of this week's spiritual meditations from the book, Pauses for Lent. Only, the message I heard was, "Ignore me if you want to live."
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