By Макаров (http://ru-oldrussia.livejournal.com/11583.html) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The text is Matthew 5:21-37.

Introduction

Starting at a very young age, people in our society are taught that certain answers are expected of them in certain situations.  There is a Sunday school urban legend that illustrates this point beautifully:

There was a Sunday school teacher leading a class of very young kids.  As part of her lesson one morning, she held up a picture of a squirrel and asked the kids if they knew what it was.  There was a dead silence in the room.  The teacher was puzzled.  She thought, “Surely, these kids know a squirrel when they see one!”  So she asked again.  And again, there was silence.  “Now kids,” she said, “do you mean to tell me that no one in this room knows what this is a picture of?”  Slowly and tentatively, one little boy in…

Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
By Betsy G. Reyneau National Archives and Records Administration
Donated Collections
Record Group 200 Source: [http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/memphis_v_mlk/images/king_portrait.gif h By Peter A. Georgescu

Reblogged from Huffington Post:

When I read “Strength to Love,” a tremendous collection of Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons, I was surprised and moved on its last pages by this particular passage, which described God in ways that feel foreign to me. While I think of God as a kind of spiritual energy, Martin Luther King Jr. related to God as a person.

The agonizing moments through which I have passed during the last few years have drawn me closer to God. I am convinced of the reality of a personal God. True, I have always believed in the personality of God. But in the past the idea of a personal God was little more than a metaphysical category that I found…

Jacopo Amigoni [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By Rabbi Aaron Alexander

Reblogged from Huffington Post:

It’s a stunning message. No matter how small or insignificant you may perceive yourself to be, and no matter how often others may cause you to feel this way… you matter. You are essential. You can change the world. Don’t let go until you do.

Click here to read the full article

By Fernando Dall’Acqua (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons By Sara Miles

Reblogged from Huffington Post:

I begin to see that city-ness, not necessarily prettiness, is a characteristic sign of heaven. Sexier and more beautiful than Eden, it’s a crowded, busy place jammed with languages and peoples, including those who argue incessantly with one another. It’s not homogenized: there’s room for all differences, desires, sufferings and healing. The city of God is a place so mixed, so layered, and so apparently impure that it proclaims a love vaster than we can come up with on our own. Here it is: Heaven on earth.

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By kallerna (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons  By Rev. Mae Elise Cannon

Reblogged from Huffington Post:

This week, my extended family lost a dear loved one — a beautiful 165 lb. puppy (11 years old) named Chief. Chief was a beautiful creature. Understated in temperament. Loyal. Sweet. And a part of our family. It was devastating to see him go. While Chief was not my dog — he belonged to some dear friends — his loss reminded me of the great value pets play in our lives. Pets draw us closer to God and His creation. Chief’s death reminded me of my own journey with animals who have blessed me and my family. This blog is an update on one I wrote more than a year ago, but think it’s story and message is relevant today. As my loved ones grieve the loss of their…