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Advent 2010: Home for Christmas

NRCC — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 17:09:16 +0000

At Christmas time, being home is a value for many. But what is “home?” We long for it, but it’s a moving target. The people and things we associate with “home” are always changing, so “home” never stays the same. We long for something that is always evaporating away.

So how do we live?

Have a listen.
Doug

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Advent 2010: On Roosters and Readiness

NRCC — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 17:04:13 +0000

One of the most moving stories I’ve read comes from a memoir of a minister who lived about the time I was born. It involves a rooster and his great shame.

It also involves a call to us for readiness and redemption.

Have a listen.
Doug

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Good Power vs. Bad: Insiders and Outsiders

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:00:11 +0000

by Doug Hammack

Continuing our look at good and bad power, we turn to how one comes to be a user of the former. How do we become good-power people? Jesus had a lot to say about power, and critical to his teaching was an understanding that successful people, in-group people, tend to become so inwardly focused, they miss the big issues, and trip into the use of bad power. Have a listen.

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Good Power vs. Bad: Humility

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:49:25 +0000

by Doug Hammack

In this second installment of our lesson on Good Power, we look first at how necessary humility is to exercising good power, and second, how we develop humility in our souls. (Sorry, no nifty picture this week.)

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Good Power vs. Bad: Definitions

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:42:17 +0000

by Doug Hammack

As we’ve been looking at the ancient pathways that tend the soul’s well-being, we’ve seen that many of those practices involve interacting with other people. Consequently, the issue of power comes into play. In these Advent lessons, we take a side excursion into thinking about good power and bad, and in this lesson in particular, we define what good and bad power are (in spiritual terms).

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Why We Train Our Souls

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:49:16 +0000

by Doug Hammack

We’ve been talking about a series of soul-training practices all Fall. In this lesson we pause from these content-dense lessons, to reflect on why we want to train our souls in the first place. I determined to teach this lesson to myself as I focus my soul this Advent, and decided to let everyone else listen in.

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Advent 2008: A Late and Hurried Advent Message (with apologies)

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:44:18 +0000

This year, we’ve been more inattentive to the meaningful season of Advent than usual. Here, this last week of Advent, in a hurried attempt to make up for lost time, we talk about why the season matters. It’s a very old practice, setting aside these weeks leading up to the Feast of Christmas. What is Advent? Why should we include it in the Christmas season? What does it do for our souls? Continue reading →

Advent 2007: On Hope and Selective Seeing (part 2)

admin — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:51:57 +0000

by Doug Hammack

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Advent 2007: On Hope and Selective Seeing (part 1)

admin — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:45:13 +0000

by Doug Hammack

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Advent 2005: Week 4 – Home for Christmas

admin — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 20:31:54 +0000

by Doug Hammack

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