Tag: love of neighbor

Quote of Note #157: Love vs. Power

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photo by GAC "What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. Jesus asks, … Continue reading Quote of Note #157: Love vs. Power

Quote of Note #155: Loving Jesus & Serving the Common Good

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photo by GAC "When we take on the mindset of Christ, we do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit and refrain from exploiting our status or position for selfish gain. We also, in humility, empty ourselves for the sake of the kingdom and our neighbors. This entails standing in solidarity with our neighbors when … Continue reading Quote of Note #155: Loving Jesus & Serving the Common Good

Quote of Note #154: The Inclusiveness of Loving my Neighbor

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Photo by GAC "It is intriguing to me that when Jesus points to the centrality of love, he also invokes a metaphor which is not familial (e.g.. 'brother' or 'friend') or ethnic (e.g. 'your people'), but almost geographical: we are to love the neighbor -- the one next to us, who happens (by providence) to … Continue reading Quote of Note #154: The Inclusiveness of Loving my Neighbor

Bible Note #50: James 2:1 and “Us vs. Them” Thinking

~ gachorpenning ~ 4 Comments

There is no question that our Christian faith can become corrupted.  And, of course, one of the ways that our faith can become corrupted is when we adopt bad or wrong doctrines.  That’s why it’s important for us to learn our theology carefully and well. The base of an abandoned steel-making blast furnace; photo by … Continue reading Bible Note #50: James 2:1 and “Us vs. Them” Thinking

Quote of Note #129: Justice and Love for my Neighbors

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Photo by GAC "Love for neighbor requires critiquing and dismantling unjust systems of racial oppression. It is one matter to acknowledge that all people are made equal and have inherent dignity in their very being. It is another matter to identify the ways the image of God is defaced in groups of people through systems … Continue reading Quote of Note #129: Justice and Love for my Neighbors

Pastor Note #103: Loving Like Crazy Jesus Followers

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? Photo by GAC A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul,in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,and has set me free from the tyranny of the … Continue reading Pastor Note #103: Loving Like Crazy Jesus Followers

Quote of Note #108: Between the Humane and the Brutal

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Washington County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse; Photo by GAC "The real issue of our world today is between those who respect a man as a child of God and those who do not, between those who are humane and those who are brutal. It is not to be found between men who are for or against this … Continue reading Quote of Note #108: Between the Humane and the Brutal

Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest

~ gachorpenning ~ 4 Comments

In a recent e-mail to a friend, I described some of the challenges of church ministry in this time of pandemic, political divisiveness, and social unrest.  I told him, “During the past six months, pastoring a church feels like jumping out of an airplane and trying to sew your parachute as you fall.”  That experience … Continue reading Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest