February 13, 2015
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The Memory of the Righteous
Yes, the memory of my dear Grandpa Lemmen and many others in my life is still a blessing!
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February 10, 2015
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Grocery Shopping Reflections
Last month I promised I would do my share of the grocery shopping.The experience was a bit unnerving. I observed people whose lives are not easy.
January 27, 2015
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I Am Not Charlie Hebdo!
Many continue to address the slaughter of the satirists in Paris. Almost all the angles have been covered except one: what does the Bible have to say about satire or extremely caustic remarks?
January 6, 2015
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Time to Reform Christmas by Unblending or Disentangling?
Many Christians have become increasingly uncomfortable with the way Christmas is celebrated, both by Christians and non-Christians. What do YOU think?
December 15, 2014
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To Be Alone
When the angel left, Mary was alone. To be alone…To have a burden and be alone…Mary pondered the message of the angel. She needed to talk with someone. Then she thought of her cousin Elizabeth...
November 3, 2014
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The Power of a Testimony
Hearing what God is has done in someone’s life can be so uplifting and encouraging both for those giving the testimony and for those that are hearing it.
October 16, 2014
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Grateful for What...or Whom?
At this time of year, when we’re especially thinking about being grateful to God, how often is our focus almost exclusively on what God has done, instead of on who He is?
October 8, 2014
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Seduction by the 'Spirit of the Age'? Are Reformed People Immune?
What happens if the prevalent 'spirit of the times' or the 'spirit of the age' sometimes called the Zeitgeist exerts its transformative and rather seductive effects on a church, notably a Reformed one? Impossible you say? Let us look at the data.
October 7, 2014
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Hiring: A Practice in Spiritual Discernment
In the church we talk about the someone is “called" to be a minister, or elder, or deacon. I’ve been wondering, what difference does that make in how we search for a job, or how we hire employees?
September 25, 2014
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Church Bullies
How should a congregation respond to bullies?
August 14, 2014
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Wackier than Wacky
What does a non-Bible reader think of the Old Testament?
August 5, 2014
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Check, Check, Checkmate!
I hated hearing those words as a boy trying to learn the game of chess, because I knew the game was over and I had lost again. As I observe our culture and the world we live in I sometimes get some of those same feelings—the game's over!
June 9, 2014
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One in Faith, Doctrine and Charity?
There was a time I felt that if we got our theology right, we would be one happy and united family. But I have come to see just how wrong that position is.
April 1, 2014
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Authenticity of the Holy Bible
There were many more historical accounts written about and around the time of Jesus, how is it that only a select few made it through the "... given by inspiration of God ..." filter, as expressly stated in 2 Timothy 3:16. What disqualified other anecdotes and writings?
January 27, 2014
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Because
Have you noticed the “shorthand” way people are using the word “because” now? I don’t know where it started but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was on Twitter. I thought of this new usage of the word “because” as I listened to a series of sermons our pastor, Brad Smith, gave recently.
January 21, 2014
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Is It Truly Appropriate to Be Snarky to One Another on These Forums?
I hardly come into The Network. And when I do today, I keep running into people's snarky comments toward one another. I just posted my question and then I'll be off until I come back to see if it was answered. Not sure I want to do much more than that.
January 1, 2014
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More About Jesus
John saw Jesus in his humiliation, but God gave him more.
December 31, 2013
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The Irony of Global Warming Activists Stuck in Ice (Antarctica)
Wow, the Irony of Global Warming Activists Stuck in Ice (Antarctica) in the middle of the Southern hemiphere's summer. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531159/Antarctic-crew-build-ice...
December 16, 2013
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Who Are the Prophets Among Us?
More specifically, who are the prophetic vocal-musical artists among us? Who is the person who speaks the Word to us through music? Who challenges our assumptions? Who questions our practices? Who calls us to repentance?
November 22, 2013
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Discerning God's Mission Together (Part 2)
This two-part webinar is an opportunity to explore the changing cultural dynamics inside and outside the CRC, and the effect they have on the churches we attend.
November 19, 2013
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Discerning God's Mission Together (Part 1)
This two-part webinar is an opportunity to explore the changing cultural dynamics inside and outside the CRC, and the effect they have on the churches we attend.
November 6, 2013
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Strategic Planning for Growth
Apparently we are launching an effort based on five streams to slow the rate of attrition within the denomination. And apparently we have asked agency heads and pastors to spearhead the effort. I appreciate the good intentions, but really, how many of them have the necessary skill sets and experiences?
November 5, 2013
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The Siphonophore Gospel
Scientists estimate that there are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 10 to the power of 24 stars in the universe. They also estimate that many more of those stars have planets than they thought even a few years ago. If God created other sentient beings on even one of those planets, what would they be like?
October 22, 2013
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Minding Our Metaphors
In my reading I came across a fascinating discussion of metaphors ... we can learn a lot about how we view an issue and its potential outcome — be it an issue in the home, in the church, in society at large — by examining the metaphors that we use to describe that issue.
October 14, 2013
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A Tale of 3 Cities
I went to the Art Prize and saw a huge mug pouring translucent brown liquid into a vat ... proclaimed Grand Rapids as “The Beer City” according to some craft beer industry survey. I wonder: What centre have we lost? What should we do to rebuild or establish a real centre more lasting than the head of a schooner of beer?