Posted by Pastor Pat on June 8, 2009
Read Mark 5:25-34
This passage, and those surrounding it, has challenged me to continue thinking of the inter-play between faith, repentance, fellowship, and forgiveness. Personally, I desire to make each of these elements containable and connected. I want them “to fit” into a way of thinking that is understandable, tamable, and perhaps controllable. I want to be in control of what each of these elements look like. Yet it is impossible to fit the proverbial square peg into the round hole without doing damage to both the peg and the hole. Unfortunately, what I want and what is biblical are not always the same. You might wonder how the passages in Mark 4:35-6:6 evoke such thinking? Faith is “huge” in all of the stories noted in Mark’s gospel. Repentance is never stated, only assumed. As a consequence of faith, God works mighty miracles. In the absence of faith, established boundaries are honored and God chooses not to work. Much is assumed throughout. As I have meditated on these things I have tried to honor the biblical text without forcing many of my theological presuppositions into the text (i.e., “exegesis good, eisegesis bad”). Initially, if my ramblings appear disjointed and unconnected, please dismiss it and forgive me. However, there is a chance that it might jar you into greater clarity in these areas and thus I press ahead with my delineations.
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on June 4, 2009
22 “One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him,
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 7, 2009
Resurrection truth is a deep and settling expression of God’s richest grace. In the absence of such truth our own selfish desires and appetites would consume us. Life would cease having sunrises of hope
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 14, 2008
Do we really understand what we have in Christ? I know we are Christians, but do we really know what that means? To be sure we are not Buddhists or Muslims or Hindus, but do we know what it means to be Christian?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 10, 2008
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Cor. 4:7
In today’s culture of glitz, glamour, and glory it is easy to forget that we are but “jars of clay” (NIV). We are clumps of clay waiting to be shaped under the Master’s touch. It is only as He moves in us and through us to those around us that we echo His voice to others. As I consider the infinity of God I am often staggered by our “puny” attempts to contain Him through our “monitoring” of other people’s spirituality. Spiritual fruit is as diversified as the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. Yet as I consider grace and its embodiment in “fleshly pots” I believe the following seven statements are the kinds of reflections we will see in us and through us by those around us.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 9, 2008
“But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.” Gal. 2:4
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