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We might expect religion to...

Illustration
Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A
Genesis 32:22-31
We might expect religion to make our life with God easier. That wasn't the religion of Jesus, of Jacob, or the religion offered in the Bible. As life is a struggle, so our relationship with God can be a struggle. For every person who zips through life with few problems convinced God is the source of such ease, there's all the rest of us who struggle. Yet, our struggle isn't senseless.

Jacob comes limping away from Peniel knowing something more about a God who cares enough to struggle with him. Harry Emerson Fosdick, great preacher and teacher
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Contents
“Breaking Jesus’ Heart” by John Sumwalt
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Breaking Jesus’ Heart
by John Sumwalt
Psalm 22:23-31

For he did not despise or abhor
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BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Genesis 17:1--7, 15--16 (C)
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