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For some reason, though we hear about violence almost every day in the news, we think it is strange when we read about it in the Bible. There are wars in several countries right now, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the recent war in Gaza has been in the news almost daily. People are dying. People are being maimed. Families are devastated with loss. Wouldn’t it be weird if a book that covers thousands of years of human history didn’t have any violence?

Because we are spiritual beings by nature and we have hearts that are seeking what is good, and souls that are longing for approval; we can become targets for spiritual abuse. All abuse is evil, and spiritual abuse is no less evil than other forms of abuse.

Stewardship requires “crunching the numbers.” It’s always a good idea to consider our data and count the cost. However, there are times when the numbers don’t really matter. I’m not simply referring to money, I mean numbers in general.

In our tradition, pastors are not appointed by the denomination, they are called by the local congregation. We don’t believe this means we are “right” and others are “wrong.” It is simply the way churches like ours have operated over the years. We have an opening for a Pastor of Engagement.

You’ll probably hear this quote again on Sunday, but Warren Wiersbe once wrote, “People who are good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else.” Ouch. That seems a quite harsh but if we take a little time to reflect on the statement, we see the value of this reminder. People who make excuses can’t grow if they refuse to own their failures. When we confess our failures, we can find ways of living differently.