General Daily Devotionals

Ecclesiological Etchings

11-07-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 7, 2023Like many of you, I feel my heart breaking each day as I awaken to the violence between Israel and Palestine. It is a historic and complicated situation, yet nothing could justify the brutal attack back in early October. Yesterday, I came across a story about two men who were once very involved in the violence between Palestinians and Jews, yet both of them had

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11-06-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 6, 2023A Prayer from the Book of SirachTrustworthy friends are a strong shelter;    whoever finds one    has found a treasure.Trustworthy friends have no price,    and no one can estimate their worth.Trustworthy friends are life’s medicine, and those who fear the Lord will find them.

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10-05-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 5, 2023Today, we continue our look at self-care, and as you can imagine, I have been doing a lot of preparation to convince people of the importance of self-care. With that said, I chuckle just a bit, as I have never met anyone who argued against it. I think all of us will give at least good lip service to the importance of taking care of

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11-04-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 4, 2023I have spent the last three days pondering a quote from a Lutheran minister named Michael Foss. I have known of Rev. Foss for a number of years, as I used a book he wrote with some leadership groups. In an interview with patheos.com, he said the following: The biggest challenge churches have is casting a vision for ministry that is compelling. By compelling I

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11-03-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 3, 2023I learned recently that the World Health Organization has a specific definition of “self-care.” It is “our ability and personal agency to promote health, maintain well-being, prevent disease, and cope with illness.” I am drawn to the phrase “ability and personal agency” as it seems to imply that simply having the ability does not mean a person will actually seek to make it happen. Though

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11-02-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 2, 2023Since my sermon on Sunday, I have received three emails from church folks who had something to share about one aspect of self-care. They all, in their own way, talked about those who give a lot of energy to self-improvement, specifically in regard to their professional lives. Their drive is focused on their career and being the best _______ (fill in the blank) possible. This

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11-01-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 1, 2023Though we as a church will be celebrating All Saints’ Day this coming Sunday, technically today is All Saints’ Day… the first day of November. A few months ago, as I was pondering my sermon for this Sunday, I was doing some research on how different traditions have understood and celebrated this special day in the life of the church. There were two websites that

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10-31-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 31, 2023Tombs are often the setting for the climax in a horror movie. It is usually dark, and there is a good layer of fog. The wind is blowing just enough to cause the leaves to swirl around and the branches to crackle. An owl usually gives off a startling call as a distant dog echoes back with a chilling howl. Hollywood is quite good at

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10-30-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 30, 2023For this week’s prayer, I draw upon the words of Ann Weems, who wrote a poem/prayer entitled “I No Longer Pray For Peace.” On the edge of war, one foot already in,I no longer pray for peace:I pray for miracles. I pray that stone hearts will be turn to tenderheartedness,And evil intentions will turn to mercifulness,And all the soldiers already deployed will be snatchedout of

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10-29-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 29, 2023I saw the following saying online, but it was not attributed to anyone. I did some research but was not able to find who said it or wrote it. Yet, I still felt a need to share it — “Stop shrinking to fit places you’ve outgrown.” I don’t know about you, but I find those words speaking ever so powerfully and prophetically to multiple parts

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About Author:

Rev. Bruce Frogge
Sr. Minister
Cypress Creek ​Christian Church

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