Talents

But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. (Matthew 25:18) I am constantly amazed at talented people, particularly the folks around our congregation that are extremely talented. Some of us are talented with art. Others with finance and business decisions. Some of us are really great cooks. Still others are wonderful hosts to…

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Tax Season

Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But knowing…

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Awkward!

On one of the days when Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders approached him. They said, “Tell us: What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”He replied, “I have a question for you. Tell me: Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed among themselve…

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Two Wrongs Don't Make You Righteous (Cassandra Millis)

One can never “overemphasize” our dependence on Christ. A popular way of demonstrating this is simply to go through the Ten Commandments. If I’m completely honest with myself, I break nine of the Ten Commandments every single day (and if it happens to be the Sabbath, all ten.) When Jesus explains the depth of these imperatives, it becomes clear just how easy they are to break. For example, I do no…

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Buying Soup as a Sign of Worship (Cassandra Millis)

Have you ever met a celebrity that made you rather star-struck? I once found myself having dinner in the same restaurant as my favorite singer of all time- Matthew Thiessen of the band Relient K. I was shy and decided the best course of action was simply to ask the waiter if I could pick up his tab as a thank you for how much his music had impacted my life. The friend I was with, however, was…

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