God

Speaking of Depression and Prayer (on the Radio…)

Sep
01
2010

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Today at 5:10 EST I’ll be on The John and Kathy Show, on 101.5 FM Pittsburgh. (You can listen to it live online.) We’ll be discussing what I touched on a bit with my post, “Praying When You Have Low Self-Esteem.” I’m looking forward to this chat, because … well, here’s what I just wrote [...]

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Sarah Palin and Lady Gaga: What They Have in Common, and Why (Hallelujah!) They’re Both Right

Aug
31
2010

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[Update: Just to be clear---because there seems to be some misunderstanding about this, for which I'm happy to take full responsibility---this piece is in no way meant as a commentary on either the political message of Sarah Palin, or the music of Lady Gaga. It's simply a look at what I believe to be the [...]

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Praying When You Have Low Self-Esteem

Aug
30
2010

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A thoughtful commenter to my post What Is Prayer? expressed his concern that he’s essentially not good enough to come to God with his problems and prayers. “God’s focus is deserved so much more by the millions with bigger issues [than mine],” he wrote. “Can anyone recommend a good book on the topic of prayer [...]

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Is It Our Fault That We Christians Think We’re Superior?

Aug
27
2010

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Ha, ha, ha. That joke title was just my way of saying, “I overdrank this weekend.” (I’m kidding. I didn’t.) But yes, now that you mention it, overdrank is a word. Well, it is now, anyway. If you keep up on the world of  book publishing, you know that with blinding speed the industry is [...]

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What Exactly is the Holy Spirit?

Aug
24
2010

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One of the things that’s lately come up here in the comment threads are questions about the exact nature of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God–fully God, not any sort of partial, almost God sort of thing–that any believer in Christ understands resides within him or her. It’s the means by which God [...]

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On the Christian’s Natural Sense of Superiority

Aug
23
2010

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Being close to God is something to be grateful for, not proud of.

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Posts by Theme

Christian Issues

The Best Case For the Bible NOT Condemning Homosexuality

Apr
02
2012

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No Christian has to choose between their compassion and their faith in the Bible.

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Relationships

Joseph to Mary: “Who could believe such a thing?”

Dec
16
2011

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A conversation between Mary and Joseph the night before Jesus was born.

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Christian Spirituality

What Jesus Left Out of The Great Commandment

Oct
31
2011

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Here’s what Jesus left out of the Great Commandment—and why.

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Humor

Worst Trucking Slogan EVER

Oct
08
2010

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Truck drivers are so weird.

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Pastor Bob's Corner

A Primer on Islam: The Basics (Lesson 1 of 6)

Sep
30
2011

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Hi. I’m Pastor Bob. This is the first lesson of a multi-week class on Islam I taught for a large gathering of folks from multiple congregations: Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, recovering agnostics, etc.

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Personal

When Etta James had her way with me

Jan
23
2012

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Right there, in front of all sixteen of us, Etta James became Etta James.

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