In what places do you wish more sincerity could be found? Where are you finding that people lead with integrity?

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When we are together, we can see our value reflected back on us from those who love us as we love them.

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What if wealth in and of itself is a problem? How do those of us who are wealthy (so many of us in the United States), grapple with that reality? Is wealth a God we worship?

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Even harrowing stories of Mob mentality, like the history of the Nazi holocaust, has good news.

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I want to invite you to think about peace this week not when things are rosy and calm, but rather when you are feeling your gut twist with anxiety. Seek out the kind of peace that brings you into the present. Because when Jesus had every reason to have deep anxiety about his crucifixion, he instead was in the present moment celebrating a passover feast with his friends that he had been traveling with for years.

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When I feel hopeless in response to these massive problems over which I have no control, I turn toward what we are doing here at Lakewood UMC for a source of strength and a place to have gratitude.

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Everyone is called by God. Especially you!

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I have been thinking lately about what people need from the Church. Not people in general but people who live in our neighborhood.

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Jesus wept. And so do we in the aftermath of the senseless death of innocent children. May we never not weep in response to the aftermath of such evil.

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What good news do we have to share? And what good news do our neighbors need? This is the question that seizes me as I think of Paul and Silas’ journey (and all of the other disciples spreading good news in those early days) in spreading the news of the gospel.

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I think eternal life speaks to the reality that our words and our deeds echo outwards. Every person we help. Every donation we make to charity. Every time we get involved with a justice issue.… Echoes! Ripples!

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I am angry because well-intentioned Christians are misled by charismatic preachers into traps of moral absolutism that leave decency and human reason behind.

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In both the joys and the pains of this roller coaster it seems life is, Paul reminds me personally that there is a thread that goes through everything--a strand of constancy that weaves itself in our victories and in our losses. Love!

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How can our faith and our church create a space where everyone’s doubt is welcome?

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This year, I feel pretty distracted from the "celebration" of Easter. I find myself more in a chaotic emotional place for many reasons. But I do know one thing that is universally true, on Easter and all days: God is with me, I am not alone.

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The promises we believe in often shape what our expectations of the future will be. And on Palm Sunday, when we tell the familiar story of Jesus' "triumphant" entry into Jerusalem, we also can consider that the people of Jerusalem had their own expectations of fulfilled promises.

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Jesus reminds us that the massive tree or fully leavened bread being a glimpse of God's kin-dom here on earth didn't just appear magically--they started small.

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Is our justice system only capable of condemnation and punishment? Or can people who transgress actually be saved--rehabilitated and restored?

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What if we flipped the story of Adam and Eve leaving the garden of Eden on its head?

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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This story of Adam and Eve in the garden is a challenging one to take in if we really read between the lines.

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