Category: Church
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Easter: What’s it to you?
“If Christ is risen – then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen – then nothing else matters.” -Jaroslav Pelikan On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the most important event in human history. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I’m struck by the profundity of Pelikan’s quote. Because the resurrection of Jesus…
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The American Gospel and the meaning of Easter
Originally posted April 6, 2012 Statistically, we know that the vast majority of Americans believe in some form of a higher power. There are relatively few who are atheists. Since people do believe that there is something, and since it’s so easy to think of the majority of Americans as Christians, many simply attach themselves…
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Why did Jesus have to come in the first place?
Why did Jesus have to die? For years, this puzzled me. I could get on board with the idea that I fell short of God’s perfect standard. But why did Jesus need to die? Couldn’t God have just forgiven me? Like some sort of Spiritual write off? One of the best explanations I have ever…
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Risen: the hunt for Jesus
Risen is the story of a Roman soldier named Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) who has been given the task of tracking down the body of Jesus after it disappears from the tomb where it was placed after his crucifixion. I appreciate the symbolism of the search for Jesus. The film takes you into the…
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Popular pastor switches sides on gay marriage
At 80 years of age, Tony Campolo has been a well known speaker and pastor in Christian circles. Yesterday, Campolo released a statement where he now affirms same-sex marriage. His more recent public position on the matter had been that it was not sin to be gay, but that it was a sin to act…
Josh Benner 