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Why Cancer?
In July of 2012 I was speaking at a 5th – 6th grade summer camp. The first night I asked all the kids to write down a question for God and to hand it in. One girl, Kristina Rae Barrett wrote, “Dear God, Why did you give me cancer?” I knew Kristina’s dad since he…
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Wrong Worship
What is wrong with this chart? Last week Ryan Prieb, our Youth Guru drew this illustration for me. We go to a football game, a play, a concert, and there is a director, the participants playing on the field or on stage, and us in the stands. So, we go to worship, and we feel…
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Dangerous Calling: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Only love for Christ can defend our hearts against all other loves that can kidnap our hearts. Only worship of Christ, where He is the audience, can protect us from worship of ourselves. Only the glory of Christ can guard against self-glory. Only Christ can turn us arrogant long-time churchgoers into patient, humble givers of…
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Kids Devotion Idea
I recently received this email from someone and thought it could be helpful. Hello, I thought I would tell you that we got Bizarre Bible Stories, and I started doing our family devotions with it yesterday morning. The first story was about Balaam and the donkey, and after we read the devotion the kids asked…
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Never Use an Ax Unless You Are Relaxed
That great advice comes from Bruce Kugler, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, The Wright Institute. Confession of an idiot pastor #135: I should have listened to his advice before speaking last Sunday. So, last week I’m telling l the church we will be going to two services on October 7. Churches max out at about 70% of…
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My Two Favorite, Opposite, Short Stories
Two stories. One by my mother (on the right at college in the picture). The other by my son. Both well-written, with absolutely nothing else in common – except that they are both great fun to read. I hope you love them too. They would have made one creative writing team. By Mom, Dorothy Cooley…
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Playing Pastor: Canada vs the USA
Culture Matters. I grew up and went to college in the Southwest USA, got married in Dallas, and later moved to Winnipeg Canada with four kids and stayed for seven winters. Things were different there. Winnipeg is a tad cooler than Tucson. Actually, Tucson may have hellish heat, but January in Winnipeg makes a Tucson…
Dan Cooley - An ir-reverend Christian viewpoint 