Personality and Conversion

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Human personality may appear intransigent and unyielding to some perceptive and veteran observers. People simply don’t seem to change; their reactions and behavior throughout their lives are predictable.  Their unchanged behavior shows their unchanged hearts. But, is this true? Change for the better in the character and personality of individuals…
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Parable of the Sower, Seed, and Soils–Part V

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Subscribers, Because of a technical glitch, you did not receive the articles sent to you in December and January (of which there are many).  If you wish to read them, go to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church website (holytrinity.net) under “News and Blog:  The Templeton Project.   We now move…
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The Judgment and Utopia–Part IV

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We have been looking at Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the Twelve on a mission to Israel in light of the coming of the Son of Man.  The end of the world is the time of the judgment of God. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus instructs the…
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Confronting Nihilism

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Nihilism is a view of the world that denies that therein exist meaning, purpose, and moral values.  At bottom, it is a denial of the reality of God.  Human beings must form their own response to this meaninglessness including the possibility of suicide.  We must find our own meaning, if…
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Sending Out–Part III

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In Matthew 10 Jesus sends the apostles out on a mission to Israel.  He instructs them to go nowhere among the Gentiles (a mission that will come later, see Matthew 28: 16-20), but only to the lost sheep of Israel.  Along with casting out demons; healing the sick; cleansing lepers;…
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The Beatitudes–Part II

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We have come to the second part of an extended series on discipleship and the teachings of Jesus in Matthew.  These teachings are found in five blocks of material that are found at various places in the Gospel.  We continue our examination of The Sermon on the Mount where we…
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The Will of the Father–Part I

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We begin here with a series on discipleship and witness.   The Will of the Father At the end of Matthew 12, we are told that Jesus’ mother and brothers wish to speak with Him.  He responds in a striking, unsettling way. “‘Who is my mother, and who are my…
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Mixed Together until the End

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In the New Testament, terms with political and civic meaning are used to describe heaven.  The company of heaven–the saints, martyrs, and angels–are a society of individuals whose King is the Lord God Himself.  Already in the Old Testament Yahweh, the true God, is known as the King of the…
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