The tribes of Israel have settled in the promised land and are becoming established there. Sons of these tribes have often married local women who have not grown up worshipping the God of Israel. Some family bonds are closer than others and choices, like Ruth’s, come to have far-reaching consequences.
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The history of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah is one that is marked by many highs and lows, but especially lows. Today’s rendition of the story of the giving of the ten commandments is set with one occupying empire gradually loosening its grip on the Israelites with another poised
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Exodus 1:8-14; 3:1-15 • God calls Moses to bring release. Over and over I hear people ask the question, “Am I worthy of God?” The answer is YES! There are times of each person’s life when we have transitions to a new stage of life or we are struggling with
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Struggles in life are prevalent, and different for everyone. The story of Jacob is wrought with deceit and self interest at first, but as Jacob goes through life, and he learns and grows and his responsibilities increase, he soon realizes the ramifications of his choices and actions. Jacob has a
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The main story we hear today is of God and a couple of other heavenly beings visiting Abraham and Sarah incognito in the form of human travellers. As continues to be the case in many cultures, care of and hospitality toward travelling strangers was for Sarah and Abraham a deeply
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Genesis 2:4b-25 • The Garden of Eden Right from the beginning of creation God is with us, nurturing, protecting and sustaining life. Sometimes we are so focussed on our own thoughts and desires that we lose sight of all that we have been offered from God. As we prepare to
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Last week we heard Simon Peter’s breakthrough insight into who Jesus is: no less than God’s anointed and appointed one, the one who will redefine and reshape the world in the image of God. The expectations of the Messiah include both political and religious dimensions. There is the feeling that
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Simon Peter is one of the first and closest disciples of Jesus. As his travelling companion for something like three years, Simon Peter has had many first-hand experiences of Jesus, but has also observed how others have responded to him. In this passage, we witness again how Jesus uses questions
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Within the culture of Jesus’ time, there were those who insisted that the ills of society were due to certain traditional religious laws not being observed rigorously enough. More specifically, some were trying to claim moral superiority (and some measure of power) by being hyper vigilant about what, how and
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1 Kings 19:9-18 • Elijah meets God. Matthew 14:22-33 • Jesus walks across stormy waters. What risks must we take as individuals and as a community? The United Church of Canada has a vision where as communities of faith we are committed to deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice.
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