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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Opus 2016-108: Listen for the Difference

Alistair Begg was preaching about the resurrection.  He explained how the disciples and the women did not expect the resurrection even though Jesus had been telling them repeatedly what would happen.  That reminded me of the students in my class who need things repeated again and again and still say, “You never told me that.”  A variation is “I wasn’t here when you gave out that paper.”

This is another way in which Jesus demonstrates that He knows what it is like for us.  If the eternal Son could not communicate with a small group that He spent three years trying to disciple, why should I feel like a failure if I can’t get inattentive children to listen?  Are you a parent or any kind of leader?  The problem in communication and training may not be in you but in the target audience.  Why are veteran soldiers such an asset to a battle?  It isn’t necessarily that they have learned from experience.  It may well be that they are the ones who listened and learned enough to survive.  It is a form of short term natural selection.

Learn to listen.  It makes a difference.

homo unius libri

4 comments:

  1. You could always try signed affidavits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never thought of that. I wonder if Jesus ever gave a quiz. What was considered a passing grade?

      Grace and peace

      Delete
  2. You said: "Learn to listen. It makes a difference."

    Possibly this directive is a main missing link for us, the Crowd... No! I think it definitely is, not just 'possibly'.

    Most of us can show examples in our individual life of miscommunication, often with negative result/s - not listening was
    was the culprit.

    lol - I remember as a child hearing an adult (Ha) say, "One these days, I'm going to knock some sense into that youngin'; he doesn't listen!"

    See? Here we are all grown up and still not listening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A large part of the battle is learning when to listen. If you stop and just concentrate on hearing everything for a few moments you will become aware of a lot of noises that you have filtered out. When the house creaks at night it is okay to ignore it. When you hear a drip in the living room it is time to get up and check it out.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.