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Taking a Second Cookie: The Law and The Body of Christ
By Steve on November 30, 2012
Remember when you were a child and your mother would say, “You can have ONE cookie…but no more?” That was OK because all you wanted was one anyhow…right? But if you were like me, when…
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Overcoming Fear: Or How Not to “Say” and “Do” Silly Things
By Steve on November 22, 2012
When people encountered God or angels in the Bible pretty much the first thing they they said to those they went to visit was, “Don’t be afraid”! Yes, we humans tend to be a fearful…
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Freedom…Not to Judge!
By Steve on November 2, 2012
Not judging…is SUCH a relief! To paraphrase Douglas Adams, “Not judging is Big, really BIG! I mean you may think its a long walk to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts compared to not judging”…
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Book Review: The Gospel in Ten Words
By Steve on October 1, 2012
I’ve been doing a number of book reviews here at Beyond the Pale but this is the first review I have done where I have known the author on such a personal level. Paul Ellis,…
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“Let’s Bring Heaven to Earth”…Bono
By Steve on April 9, 2012
For a while I had been wondering what has been happening with Bill Hybels from Willow Creek. Seemed in the 1990’s we were all reading his books and watching his teachings. Haven’t heard from him…
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Does God Really Hate You?
By Steve on January 30, 2012
A friend of mine shared a clip of Pastor Mark Driscoll on Facebook…and Mark was pretty angry. For those who are not aware, Mark Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle with…
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Cowboys…Aliens…and the Grace of God
By Steve on September 4, 2011
Just took Gabriel to see the new summer blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens! I knew from when I first heard the title I was going to love it because …well…it has Cowboys…and Aliens. Nuff said! Anyhow…
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Video Games, Porn, and The Demise of Guys
By Steve on August 16, 2011
Just finished watching a fascinating TED talk by Philip Zimbardo about the struggles men face entitled The Demise of Guys. Turns out that all of those hours in front of a computer video screen are really…
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How well did I understand grace before I understood grace?
By Steve on May 27, 2011
My friend Paul over at Escape to Reality had recently thrown out 10 years of sermon notes because of his realization that he had not been preaching God’s Grace to people even when he honestly…
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The Church and the Things People Hide!
By Steve on January 23, 2011
My blogging peer Michael over at Megaloi-Great Things posted a thought-provoking piece recently. He raised the issue of a lack of transparency in church circles despite our claims to be an open, sharing community. He…