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Transcript

Reconciliation · Faith at Work

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  SPEAKER_00: So what if I told you that reconciliation
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  SPEAKER_00: isn't an impossible dream.
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  We all know that sometimes it feels like an impossible dream,
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  but it is not an impossible dream.
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  It is a way that we as followers of Christ can walk with others
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  in the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is a way that begins at a table.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our Church of the Brethren family story
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  an honest one the the brethren stream has known fracture and
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  pain and difficulty
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  from its very beginning 36 schisms or church splits or break
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  tell the story
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  how we together have tried to stay faithful to walking with
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  Jesus Christ and with
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  SPEAKER_00: each other and the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: There's a guy named Conrad Basil.
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  SPEAKER_00: He was a very, very early Brethren church leader.
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  in Pennsylvania,
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  right at the beginning of the Church of the Brethren history.
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  SPEAKER_00: And he made what at that time was a bold turn.
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  SPEAKER_00: He prized spirit-breathed revelation
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  SPEAKER_00: Over the scripture.
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  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, what was he doing?
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  SPEAKER_00: And out of that was birthed what's now called the Ephrata cloister.
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  SPEAKER_00: It rose up.
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  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, a wound in the brethren church opened up.
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  SPEAKER_00: But even though there was this frustration and schism and division,
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  SPEAKER_00: beauty surfaced out of that whole experience.
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  Music and art found voice among the sisters and brothers at the
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  Ephrata church.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we have some wonderful things that came out of that experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: God kept working in imperfect people on both sides of the situation.
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  SPEAKER_00: The net, friends, did not break.
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  SPEAKER_00: And disputes kept coming in the church of the brethren.
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  SPEAKER_00: The mode of foot washing,
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  SPEAKER_00: which we will experience today,
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  SPEAKER_00: dress,
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  SPEAKER_00: and very,
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  SPEAKER_00: very dangerous innovations like Sunday school were being discussed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Many things right now that we embrace, right, once split the church.
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  In 1869,
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  the brethren were wrestling with all of this as they grew and
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  expanded.
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  And there was this group of folks that were really pleading,
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  begging,
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  praying for uniformity.
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  Not necessarily unity,
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  although I think that's what they were thinking they were
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  doing.
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  SPEAKER_00: But they were really pleading for uniformity.
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  SPEAKER_00: They feared that the church was drifting, was drifting.
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  changing it was it was becoming worldly right so the church
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  wrestled they talked
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  and they prayed sometimes they split but they always grew
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  through the experience
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  SPEAKER_00: our question today here in this place is both simple and very very hard
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  SPEAKER_00: If Christ reconciles the world to God,
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  then what are we as Christ's followers called to do now as
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  co-laborers with
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  SPEAKER_00: Christ's reconciliation to God and the world?
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  SPEAKER_00: There's a statement,
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  SPEAKER_00: each year we meet is annual conference,
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  SPEAKER_00: and there's always queries,
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  SPEAKER_00: and there's always statements.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in 1979,
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  SPEAKER_00: they came out with this statement that speaks gently,
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  SPEAKER_00: but also firmly,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I think profoundly for us.
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  SPEAKER_00: It says, unity is a gift, not an achievement.
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  Christ at the center makes,
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  and I love this,
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  disagreements bearable,
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  right?
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  I think sometimes the most we can hope for is that our
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  disagreements are kind and gentle and
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  SPEAKER_00: bearable as we work towards reconciliation with one another.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, we begin there, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Recentering ourselves on Jesus,
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  SPEAKER_00: on Christ,
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  SPEAKER_00: not on tribes,
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  SPEAKER_00: and not my view,
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  SPEAKER_00: not my when,
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  SPEAKER_00: not my way,
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  SPEAKER_00: but Christ's way.
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  Now,
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  Millard,
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  you mentioned you wanted to hear a little bit about Paul and
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  Barnabas.
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  SPEAKER_00: Oh, come on, a little chuckle.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of fun, right?
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  I won't work nearly as hard next time if you don't laugh like
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  straight off the bat.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Scripture says they had no small dispute.
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  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
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  SPEAKER_00: It means they were fighting folks.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were really upset with one another.
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  SPEAKER_00: They disagreed so much that they parted ways.
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  SPEAKER_00: But,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's important as we look at the text,
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  SPEAKER_00: they also blessed,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the church blessed,
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  SPEAKER_00: the unified mission that both were on.
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  SPEAKER_00: In Corinth, they loved leaders over and above the Lord.
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  SPEAKER_00: So Paul asks, what is a rhetorical question?
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  SPEAKER_00: Of course we know the answer to this.
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  SPEAKER_00: Has Christ been divided?
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  SPEAKER_00: The answer is...
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Millard.
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  SPEAKER_00: Millard knows the answer.
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  SPEAKER_00: No.
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  SPEAKER_00: Jesus gave us a path to address conflict, right, in Matthew 18.
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  SPEAKER_00: To go first, to go gently, to go together.
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  SPEAKER_00: Win back the sibling, not the argument.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in Romans 14,
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  it opens even a wider gate that oftentimes I think that we get
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  uncomfortable with.
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  SPEAKER_00: But it opens up this wide gate to welcome differences.
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  SPEAKER_00: Differences of conscience without contempt.
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  SPEAKER_00: To choose intentionally what builds up and not what tears down.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, what are we called to do practically today?
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think there's seven things, one for each day, if you will.
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  SPEAKER_00: First,
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  SPEAKER_00: a covenant of conversation,
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  a covenant of conversation in our homes and in our committees
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  to commit to no
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  SPEAKER_00: gossip,
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  SPEAKER_00: to no triangulation,
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  SPEAKER_00: to quick repair,
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  SPEAKER_00: to seek first to understand the other side.
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  SPEAKER_00: before we do anything else.
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  SPEAKER_00: Second, to have a commitment to spacious conscience.
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  SPEAKER_00: Spacious conscience.
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  SPEAKER_00: To hold convictions,
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  SPEAKER_00: yes,
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  SPEAKER_00: that's a good thing,
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  SPEAKER_00: but we must hold them with humility,
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  SPEAKER_00: recognizing that things do change,
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  SPEAKER_00: even our perspective,
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  SPEAKER_00: sometimes as life happens.
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  To make room at the table,
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  as the Scripture says,
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  for both the weak and the strong.
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  SPEAKER_00: Two,
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  SPEAKER_00: third,
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  SPEAKER_00: like what Matthew 18 says,
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  SPEAKER_00: a Matthew 18 rhythm of life,
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  SPEAKER_00: to go directly,
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  SPEAKER_00: and then add wise counsel,
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  SPEAKER_00: and then involve the church if necessary,
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  SPEAKER_00: but always,
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  SPEAKER_00: always doing so to seek restoration over removal.
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  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, to practice lowliness, and
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  really really important here and it's something that we are
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  going to practice
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  through the symbol of foot washing today foot washing I believe
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  I believe is really
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  you know nobody's gonna make you wash feet today okay so if
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  you're worried about
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  that you can still go and and have the treats at the table and
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  talk to people and
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  SPEAKER_00: we'll have other options for you but I really do want to encourage you
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  SPEAKER_00: to prayerfully consider washing feet.
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  Because foot washing trains our hearts to go low in service and
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  in humility to one another.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the towels soften our words before we speak.
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  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, shared discernment in Scripture.
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  SPEAKER_00: A big thing for us as the Church of the Brethren,
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  SPEAKER_00: shared discernment as we go to interpret Scripture.
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  SPEAKER_00: We read with Jesus Christ at the center.
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  SPEAKER_00: We let love shape how truth is carried among us
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  and out in the world sixths on saturday blessings across
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  differences when when
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  paths diverge and and they do diverge refuse contempt and
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  criticism speak peace
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  SPEAKER_00: into those situations pray good
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  in those situations and always always always leave the door
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  open and seven repair
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  as public witness I think all of us know this probably no
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  reason to say this other
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  than to remind you but our valley our world needs reconcilers
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  at work at schools
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  communities everywhere that we live our lives and we need to
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  let our apologies be
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  fast and our amends be real so here's a simple rule of life
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  first listen then love
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  then speak and the only time you get to reverse that is when
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  you want to bless
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  SPEAKER_00: So try this this week.
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  SPEAKER_00: Name one tension that you carry and then schedule one brave,
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  SPEAKER_00: kind conversation and bring it to the basin today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let the water cool your defensiveness.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let the bread steady your courage.
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  SPEAKER_00: Remember, unity is given, not forced.
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  SPEAKER_00: We don't create the body, but we do receive it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Christ is not divided, and neither are we.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if we fail, and we will, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: We know that's what's going to happen.
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  SPEAKER_00: Always fail forward.
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  SPEAKER_00: into mercy.
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  SPEAKER_00: We return to the table that returns us to each other today.
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  Imagine the church our children would inherit if we did just
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  these things.
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  They would inherit a church where disagreement is experienced
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  without disdain.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Right?
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  SPEAKER_00: They would experience truth without getting trampled on.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they would experience holiness without hurry.
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  SPEAKER_00: Imagine our neighbor's surprise.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those brethren disagree, but they won't let go of each other.
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  We yell and scream at each other,
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  and then we go have coffee or a potluck and eat dessert.
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  SPEAKER_00: What's up with that?
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  SPEAKER_00: Right?
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  SPEAKER_00: That is gospel with skin on it.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's what's up with that.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the net not breaking.
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  SPEAKER_00: So church, here is our call today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Center on Christ.
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  SPEAKER_00: Practice lowliness.
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  SPEAKER_00: Guard the bond of peace with fierce gentleness.
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  SPEAKER_00: We will speak the truth in love.
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  SPEAKER_00: We'll hold on to Christ highly and hold on to one another desperately.
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  SPEAKER_00: We will let the Spirit make unity visible.
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  SPEAKER_00: So as we move now to love feast,
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  SPEAKER_00: let the towel be your teacher and let the table be your testimony.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.