Category Archives: Individual Lesson
What Has Made NRCC Precious
We’ve had an influx of newcomers this year, so I’m spending a bit of time recounting the things that have made the experience of our community precious to us so we can continue to share those things together as more people become part of us. Have a listen. Continue reading
Born Again: What does that really mean?
Christians use the term “born again” all the time. In this lesson we take a look at what it means. It’s pretty clear Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus when he used the term. In this lesson, I suggest that most of us Christians make the same mistake he did. Continue reading
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July 4th, 2010
Yes, we’re in the middle of a lesson on rethinking prayer, but the 4th of July calls for some appropriate remarks. We’re staying on the theme that will expand our understanding of prayer, but doing it in a 4th-of-July kind of way.
God bless you. Continue reading
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Tagged 4th of July, ancient spiritual paths, freedom, liberty
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The Great Upending: Toward a Better Earth
Listen to this prayer from Francis of Assisi. It sums up today’s lesson. Have a listen.
Doug.
—
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
…where there is injury, pardon;
…where there is doubt, faith;
…where there is despair, hope;
…where there is darkness, light;
…where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
…to be consoled as to console;
…to be understood as to understand;
…to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
…it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
…and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Continue reading
Longings for God
by Robin Camu What Do We Really Want? The deepest longing of the human heart is to connect with God. Yet, many of us go through lives unconscious of this fact. When we feel the yearning for Divine companionship, we … Continue reading
The Spirituality of How We Think About God (2)
Today, we conclude this short, 2-week lesson looking at how we think about God. Our “God-as-Person” metaphor, we see, limits our spirituality. We’re looking at a more expansive spirituality available to us when transcend our historical tendency to explain God with too much precision.
As we dismantle our images of God, reform them, in the process, we awaken to a new dimension of spiritual experience. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged awe, Creation, Image of God, immanence/transcendence, Incomprehensibility of God
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The Spirituality of How We Think About God (1)
Today, we begin a short lesson together (only two weeks) in which we look at what comes to our minds when we use the word “God.” Usually, it’s a super-big-and-wonderful Person, a King, a Parent, a Bridegroom, a Righteous Judge. These are all metaphors for God found in the Bible that have found their way into the unconscious assumptions of many of us.
However, an interesting thing happens when we frame an image of God in our mind. We limit our experience of the Beyond-Our-Faculties-To-Comprehend, Divine to that which fits into our fixed mental image. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged contemplation, humility, Image of God, immanence/transcendence, Mystery, paradox
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Repent – A Changing of One’s Mind
Scientists are finding out that our minds are more “plastic” than we ever dreamed. They are finding that neural pathways can be changed resulting in minds being changed. Likewise, when Jesus commanded us to repent (literally, to change one’s mind), He was implying that the working out of our salvation is our responsibility, the giving of yourself a good life is your responsibility. Recent approaches to psychology are also encouraging the “changing of one’s mind,” by stepping away from one’s thoughts and by being more objective in accessing their usefulness to a life lived according to one’s values. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged brain, changed habits, human nature, repentance, soul-tending
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A Talk With a Precious 12-Year Old Little Girl
This week I (Doug) had an appointment with one of the 12 year old girls in our community. Her mom brought her by to talk about question she has about God. She’d just been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was asking a variation of an ancient trouble spot for Christians: How can God be completely good, and have created a world with such horrendous pain and evil? Continue reading
A Living Letter: My Friend Jim Amundson
This week, my dear friend and a fixture in our spiritual community died. Jim Amundson was a letter from God, written for us to read. In today’s lesson, I discuss Divine Grace, and my text will be Jim’s life.
Jim Amundson
1936-2009 Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson, Memorial Service
Tagged community, grace, spiritual friends, spiritual journey
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