Day: October 1, 2015

Categories
Podcasts

PWTE Episode 010: Feeling Out of Place?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tincup Cemetery, Colorado
Tincup Cemetery, Colorado

In this episode of the Praying With The Eyes podcast, Richelle Hecker and I talk about what it means to be a Christian community. We compare what relationships look like both inside and outside of the Christian community, and wrestle with the purpose of Christian community. In a world that struggles with community it is more important than ever that Christians strive to be that group of people that God’s grace calls us to be.

I’m excited that Richelle Hecker, mom and public speaker, will be joining me as co-host for a series of upcoming podcasts. I enjoy the depth of insight that she brings to each episode and look forward to working with her.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Please share your thoughts on this episode in the comments below.

Blog: Feeling Out of Place

Other PWTE Blogs You Might Be Interested In:

Anxiety’s Antidote
Here Comes the … Rain?
Erosion

Related Internet Blogs:

PWTE Blog: Thoughts on Being Judgmental
Ten Reasons People Leave Church
How Are Men’s Friendships Different from Women’s

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19
Ephesians 4:4-6
Galatians 6:10
John 1:12-13
Ephesians 2:14-15

For a more in-depth Bible study of the topic of community you might want to study Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Christ, being the Head of the church, has brought together into community two very separate groups, Jews and Gentiles. God continues to tear down our dividing walls of hostility. This work of God continues to distinguish the Christian community.

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Feeling Out of Place?

Tincup Cemetery, Colorado

Our place of belonging is rooted in Christ.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners.
You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people.
You are members of God’s family.”
Ephesians 2:19 New Living Translation

I’ve seen a number headstones similar to this one during my thirty-two years of ministry. This headstone looks much like those at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Colorado except for three letters: CSA, Confederate States of America.

Tincup Cemetery, Colorado
Tincup Cemetery, Colorado

Private Landon H Keyes was a soldier in the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry. How did he get to Tincup?

Undoubtedly he saw the horror of war. The 35th was the first to arrive at Gettysburg. Though holding the perimeter, they saw plenty of carnage. Not only did they see the ugly effects of battle, this cavalry unit was known for causing carnage as they patrolled the border of northern Virginia.

What part did private Keyes play in the American Civil War? Was he wounded? Did he kill someone? What was his journey that brought him to Colorado? It would seem that he, a southern confederate soldier, was out of place in the Colorado mountains.

Maybe that is the way that you feel in the Christian church. You feel out of place. It would have been the feeling of the first Gentile converts to Christianity in what was predominantly a Jewish faith.

As Christ was lifted on his cross he gave you a place of belonging. You belong to him. No matter how out of place you might feel in the Christian community, you belong to Christ.

You are not out of place!

Copyright Douglas P Brauner