outside is better

Sermon Preview-Grace: It's On Our Side

Think back. Dig into the memories in your own mind. I want you to think of a situation where you received great grace. It might have been given to you by someone else, it might have been in how an event unfolded or it might be a divine encounter in which you know Jesus was deeply acting in your life.

We all have been recipients of such events. We might not initially acknowledge them as acts of grace, but they are. In our own human interactions we call things gracious...we describe them as undeserved. As amazing as those acts can be they don’t even scratch the surface of how God has given Himself to us graciously in numerous ways. The depths of human language and emotion can’t truly grasp it. John Newton chose to use the adjective “amazing” to describe how he understood how God had acted graciously to him. His words probably form the best human understanding of how God interacts with us.

Grace is amazing. Grace is much larger than we can offer it. Grace is subversive. It confounds the world in how it is given to us. Todays scripture lesson causes us to at first jump back at how it tells us God doesn’t work and how grace is on our side.

About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:1-9

Many times we descend into the idea that God isn't gracious. We begin asking questions about the state of the world. Some who call themselves Christians even say God is behind the events that seem to plague our world (I describe these as a theology of crazy Facebook status updates). Christ mentions a few fresh on the mind of his friends. In our own lives we can string together a list which some have called the activity of God.

This goes against the grain of what we see identified as the gracious activity of God. God's grace describes the most fundamental parts of His character. In the midst of a world torn apart and ravaged by sin, grace offers to us a radical surgery of our hearts.

Grace is bigger than the world WE have created. Grace is the present evidence of a future and eternal world with the presence of Christ at the very physical center of it all. Jesus is our advocate, the one tilling the soul of our hearts and preparing us to truly understand what it means to give ourselves over to the Father. He is the one watching over us and leading us to true salvation. Grace is the true cruciform heart of Jesus.

Grace is on our side. Grace is the witness of Christ in the hearts of all men before they come to Him. Grace is what justifies us as we let Christ be Lord over our lives. Grace is what sustains us in a perfecting journey in the Holy Spirit.

Yes friends, grace is on our side.

Related Posts: How Hollywood Teaches Wesleyan Grace

 

Sermon Preview: When Family Gets Awkward

We all have those moments when our family gets awkward. Sometimes it might be when your child escapes the bathtub and runs through the living room during a dinner party. At other times it might be a very awkward and frustrating situatation in the family which will serve as a waypoint for life from now on. It could be the changing relationship with children during adolescence.

Family gets frustrating. Awkwardness is navigated with  great tact, ingenuity, skill and at times discretion.

Early in scripture we are told we are made in the very image of God.

So God created human beings in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them. Gen 1:28

This image is directly related to how we are internally wired to function best when we are in proper relationships. Salvation can quickly be summed at as a right relationship to God. God calls us to watch over those we are in relationships with, whether they are good or bad.

The family is God's favorite metaphor for relating this intentional design. In family we learn basic discipleship, holy living and what the outward Christian life looks like.  The language of Jesus himself shows his dependance in ministry. Jesus doesn't say Boss, Pastor, Friend or Leader. He says Father.

God doesn't call us to perfection in our families. We are called to priority. We realize we all have crap in our situations. No family has a closet without skeletons. The elephants are in all of our family rooms. In the beginning was a family. In the end we find the marriage between the bridegroom and His bride. In the middle of the grand story of salvation sits each of our families, in process, giving glory to Jesus and witness to being made in the image of God.

But we are adopted by God. This Sunday we will talk about the comfort it brings to us.

 

Sermon Preview: Culturally Relevant Evangelism

Yep. That's me. Back in my younger days when I spent most of my time on the road running sound. I had almost perfected the typical look of "the roadie". The only downside to it was the very occasional ribbing I would get from a place of temporary ministry. It never failed a few times a year, usually when we were in a rural setting, I would have someone pull me aside and jokingly quote 1 Corinthians 11:14.

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (KGV)

My normal routine was to smile, tell them thank you and get back to work. It might have even been this semi-regular conversation with complete strangers that made me started really studying scripture. What I would never tell the stranger was Corinth was known for it's pagan temples. In Corinth, long hair on a man denoted his status as a temple prostitute (and short hair on a women the same thing). This admonition was just part of a much larger theme in 1 Corinthians.

So much of the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians are about Christian distinction. Paul really had to encourage this little church, existing in the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire, to seek out what was truly Christian.

Our Scripture this week comes from a section when Paul is explaining his idea of ministry in context, a culturally relevant ministry.

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. (NLT)

The culture in which we live in really matters because it sets up what is considered appropriate or offensive. Paul wrote to Corinth, a city were almost nothing was considered offensive. It was a boom-town, supported by several major crossroads. Due to it’s economic and trade status, it was quite the exquisite place to live. They thrived in excess. What happened in Corinth stayed in Corinth.

In the middle of this fast paced, thriving and very wordly city was a fledgling group of Christians, trying to find out how to live out the message and life of Christ. They weren’t without their problems. Paul wrote several letters and spent time with them trying to sort out their issues. In this passage today he talks about how he has adjusted his life to the mission of Jesus and how they should understand their specific role as well. He writes to them about distinction. That is where we find our message today.

Paul adapts the cultural customs of those to whom he ministers to so nothing will hinder people’s embracing of the gospel of Christ. In this adaptation, Paul exercises missional distinction. He changes in the ways he needs to in order to make the message of Jesus completely relevant to the people he minister’s too, because different groups will need different approaches to Jesus.  There are things that are fundamentally Christian, and we shouldn’t move from them...but we also have a missional lens to our world that we should conform to in order to reach others. This isn’t living a false life. We aren’t lying about who we are. It comes from a compassion to bring Jesus to others in a saving way.

God looks for men and women who live and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with cultural relevance, sensitivity, and power so that the eternal truth of the Gospel will be understood and received in every culture of the worl.

Sermon Preview: A First Word on Last Things

I am pretty odd. I know that. I like bigfoot. I could eat catfish every meal. My favorite book of scripture is Revelation.

Yep, that book. The scary one. The one the ruddy faced street preacher always hollers about.

This month I begin a series at St. Paul's called "Leaving Left Behind Behind". I am hoping to really show how Revelation doesn't serve as an escape plan, but an exercise in continually focusing on Jesus Christ as the center of everything.

There is hesitancy surrounding the book of Revelation and many times it is simply ignored...which then creates greater hesitancy. It is important because how Revelation has influenced our own lives, how we think about mission, politics, and so much of popular culture revolves around ideas that have been brought about through people reading it. The last few years have been a pattern of predictions of the end and we are coming up on a pretty big one in just a couple of months.

G.K. Chesterton, a british writer and theologian said this...”Though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators”

With that, let's jump into the scriptures

4 Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

^2-6 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

^6-8 Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:

Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.

^9-11 Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,

Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.

 

Sermon Preview: Prized Possesions

This last week, as Hurricane Isaac prepared to make landfall, Louisiana was getting ready. Storms aren’t new to us and anyone who lives on the coast certainly has a routine they go through as they prepare to live home. I know I have talked to Meredith’s Dad before, since her family lives South of Houston in Clear Lake about what he does.

I was thinking about what I would do if Meredith and I had to evacuate. What would I take with me? Certainly Meredith and Emma, our feisty 12 lb dachshund would go...but what besides that? I asked other’s the question on Facebook and heard many of the same things. Pictures, treasured possessions, memories.

People choose to take what reminds them of past life, items that keep the past in the present.

But the wonderful thing about Christ, he cares not about past...but possibilities.

Here the words of the Apostle James, who church tradition tells us was the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ

James 1:17-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. ¹⁸ He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

God wants us to be perfect in holy love so he can set us up for a certain purpose. He wants to change our hearts and lives, to get us set up in a perfect environment so we can thrive for ourselves and for the lives of others.

We are a first offering to the world. Pointing towards the eternal goodness of God. Healed and then sent off. An example of what he wants to do for the whole world.

He isn’t focusing on memories of his prized possessions but on the possibilities of his prized possessions.

Saturdays in Scripture: Tears in Heaven

As a pastor, I have to always have a sermon in my pocket. I have only needed to pull it out 2 or 3 times in my ministry, but it helps to have a few passages of scripture you are always thinking about and can easily share with other folks through a sermon.

My favorite passage for this is Revelation 7:9-17. Over the years I have found it to be a rich passage for prayer and meditation as well as serving as a great place for a sermon.

Revelation 7:9-17

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a great roar,

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!”

¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. ¹² They sang,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
    and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
    forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

¹⁵ “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
    and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
    will give them shelter.
¹⁶ They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
    they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
¹⁷ For the Lamb on the throne
    will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
    And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

In multiple places in the scriptures we find the image of God wiping tears away.  It pops up in Revelation in a few places, one of them being 7:17 "...And God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

The more I dig into Revelation, the more I find myself reading the Old Testament and sharpening up my Hebrew skills.  The image bank of 1st century Judaism, especially in a post Temple context, provides many primary sources for some of the odder images in Revelation.

What I found was this; two specific words used for "crying" in the OT (there are minor terms as well).  Both are terms we use now, and the first has crept its way into Christian language. 

Weeping is a word and emotion that is often used now to describe deep spiritual expression.  Weeping in the OT comes from ‏בְּכִית, and is usually used as an expression of lament, sorrow, and grief.  There are a few places where it is used to describe joy as well.  This is probably because one of the elements that separates weeping is the physical expression of grief.  "Wailing" could also be used to translate the word. It is also connected to ideas of pleading and distress.  Weeping is normally a negative emotion.

Tears however, are a different emotion.‏דִּמְעָה occurs far less often (usually in either the Psalms or Jeremiah).  Many times it is associated with prayer. and at others as an expression of a lament of inside of thanksgiving in apocryphal texts. In a few places, tears show a finality of suffering.

The Greek text of the NT doesn't have the rich theological sense the Hebrew does, but it still helps us refine our sense of "tears" when it comes to eternity.

Rev. 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Rev. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” (NET)

The interesting piece is that the italicized phrase in 7:17 is an allusion to Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death permanently. The sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.  Indeed, the LORD has announced it!

In both our passages in Revelation, we see a theme of re-building not just the created order, but putting the earthly social structure back together in an imaginative way.  It is something fulfilling enough to not just be an individual state of bliss, but a view of heaven as an all encompassing reality in which all that is evil is broken apart and goodness is the order of eternity. You can read Isaiah 25 for the full picture of the OT narrative.

In the full scope of the eschaton (the wonderful rebuilding and fulfilling of all of God's promises), with the whole world wrapped up, Christ is still concerned with me and you. He is still concerned with our recognition of how we might have participated in a world that needed remaking, but when we visibily recognize our contributions, all pain and suffering is taken away.

Sermon Preview: Looking at Christ..or What snake handlers and Bigfoot teach us about Jesus

In life, clarity is key. Taking a risk by settling for something that isn’t clear can have plenty of consequences. The trouble is, if what you are looking at or communicating is shaky, out of focus or otherwise unintelligible, how can you think of it as truth. In order for us to truly grasp the important things in life, we have to be able to see them clear. We have to be able to take a good look at them.

I can think of no other group of people that would love a good clear image than...sasquatch research. Yes, I am talking about Bigfoot. The most popular and best example of sasquach footage is the 1967 Patterson Gimlin film.

 

The problem with bigfoot videos is they are all blurry. I once heard a comedian say "maybe bigfoot really is blurry." Because of a lack of clarity...all people can do with Bigfoot is speculate.

Clarity matters to Jesus. Clarity also mattered to the people he spoke with. Our scripture today is one of the most beloved passage of scripture. Let’s read about this meeting Jesus had with Nicodemus in John chapter 3.

John 3

New Living Translation (NLT)

3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

In this passage, Nicodemus seeks to find answers. He wants clarity. He wants what is currently fuzzy and shaky to be clear and stable. This is a story many of us have read, pondered and prayed through many times. We can recall it in our minds.

What Jesus offers to us, found in vs. 14 and 15, is a call to pursue clarity by awareness and exposure to what has been lifted up as the agent of our salvation.

Come worship with us at 9:45 on Sunday Morning to hear the rest of this message. St. Paul's is located at 1901 Lexington in Monroe. We would love to have you join us.

Sermon Preview: Identified in Christ

Matthew 7:12-23 (NLT)

¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

In life of our church has changed in the last few months. I am actually talking about the physical existence of our life. Starting in May, many of our freshman high school students have been getting their drivers license permits. With this, the latest trend has been “let’s grab Chad’s keys and see if he will let us drive his truck”.

With the exception of a single incident on the way to mountain top in a truck stop parking lot...this hijacking plan has yet to work.

Our younger friends are excited about this because they have reached a milestone. That little laminated card identifies them as having a certain skill...one that allow them a freedom and privilege that will change their life. They have been identified as a driver.

Over these last two months, in our reflection on the Sermon on the Mount, Christ has been consistently calling us to See the people who have identified themselves with him, through the qualities of their lives and the way they go through life in this world. He calls us to see the people...and then to become the people. The calling of his children is the calling to make actual his kingdom on this earth, to begin the change that will happen in it’s entirety when he comes again to reign on this earth. To be identified by Christ is something Jesus does not us...and it is the life we live that signifies who we are really following.

We need to be identified in Christ and not in ourselves.

This Sunday, we will reflect on the passages of scripture and talk about identity. What does it mean to be identified in Christ? What does it mean to be pursuing his mission? What does it mean to identify with Jesus and expect to see him in our midst? What does it mean to let him truly change us and we go further into his kingdom?

Sermon Text:  Download Identified in Christ

Sermon Planning Help Sheet

On instagram (chadbrooks) I sometimes post pictures of my study spaces. Go ahead and call me a nerd. I don't care.

Some of my Pastor friends have asked about my preparation process, especially a sheet they see pop up in these pictures. I have been promising to blog on the sheet and I now is the time (since I have been promising for several months).

My planning sheet was based off of areas I found myself taking notes on the most. I use it to get some rough ideas down for the sermon, note interesting words, key themes or ideas and then start building some narrative shape to the sermon.

I created the sheet in Apple Pages, but I imagine you could easily do it in other word processing programs. I did a few stylistic things, just to make it easier on the eyes since I spend hours looking at one of these every week.

I try to preach using a conversational and sometimes non-linear style. This has developed over several years of regular preaching at different churches. I find tools like this help me keep things in the middle and most organized for the actual preaching.

I am currently working on v.3, because I have already found a few things I would like to change about it. I expect this to be a somewhat fluid tool.

If you were to make a sheet like this what areas would you try to include?

If you want to download a .pdf, you can find one on my scribd page here.

 

Sermon Planning Sheet v2

Words Matter

Words matter. I am in a vocation where words especially matter. Whether it might be in conversation, counseling or corporate communication (preaching/teaching)...words hold weight. As someone who has also been described as a story teller, the use of not just actual words, but the way they are communicated, the pauses and the breaks, the speed or the inflection, tell an even better story.

Grammar often has been my weak point and I realize more and more I can't find a way to write the way I sometimes want to talk. This tends to show itself in an overabundance of ... and , (there we go...this whole sentence is an example). Words matter.

 

As I have reflected this last year on words I have sometimes forgot how much power they have. Words are also a learned communication, especially in terms of listening. As we often don't communicate audibly and use text and email, often the non verbals or tone gets lost. This leads to miss-communication. The speed at which we talk matters.

As a person called "Pastor", words hold a special place. I am ordered by the United Methodist Church to give witness to the Christ who has been described as "The Word" of God. In my communication to others I constantly think about my words either call folks closer or perhaps away from Jesus. Sometimes I do a good job and other times I fail. The choice of words matter.

As a Preacher the delivery of words matters. In my current church I have relied more on a manuscript when preaching than I have in other places. I do this so I can be careful and intentional about the words used to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ. I joke that if I don't have those words I might start talking about Bigfoot. At other times I have chosen to communicate without words in front of me and have let intentionality be surpassed in favor of closeness and intimacy, in which I appear to be sharing extemporaneously, although it rarely ever is. The way I choose to present words to people matters.

Finally, over the last few weeks I have realized how much the written word matters. In writing I am able to flesh out things, to share things and to invite others in a journey. It can happen at a better pace and place. Writing makes communication convientient. But I have learned I must write again. It makes sharing words even easier because it can happen when life has the space for it. Shared words matter.

Words matter. For all of us...not just pastors. I think if we realized this life would be easier. James 3 talks about what the tongue is capable of. How we share words matters. How we give words to others matters. It is at the root level of communication we realize those folks we are telling things are people and our words mean something to them. Words show us humanity because to be intentional with them means we treat others as humans instead of recipients. In this age of facebook, twitter, texting and other virtual conversations the humanity of our words matters greatly.

How have words impacted you lately?