In the End

Pastor Bill Obalil, August 29, 2010, “What world are you living in, Jesus?” Sometimes what Jesus says is so countercultural, so counterintuitive, I find myself muttering that question after I read Scripture.
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Named Truly

Pastor Bill Obalil, August 22, 2010, Thursday my commitments took me all over the Chicago area, so I spent much time in traffic snarls.
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Things Not Seen or Living with Faith

Paster Bill Obalil, August 8, 2010, Elizabeth Boulton remembers her grandmother, Nellie Caroline Myer, as a force to be reckoned with, bold as her fire-engine-red lipstick, but anxious.
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Today Is

Pastor Bill Obalil, July 4, 2010, Today is…what? The Fourth of July. And today is…? Today is the Lord’s Day.
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All In

Pastor Bill Obalil, June27, 2010, Life is hard. Then you die. That sobering adage came to mind while reading today’s Scripture lesson.
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Hanging on Every Word

Pastor Bill Obalil, June 6, 2010, There is a moment here I can’t believe I never noticed before. Admittedly there is nothing on the printed page to call special attention to it.
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Resurrection Freedom

Pastor Bill Obalil, May 16, 2010, Is it ludicrous for a middle-aged, middle-class (whatever that is), American, suburban, professional, white male – with a job, health insurance, a pension plan, and an automobile
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Resurrection Peace

Pastor Bill Obalil, May 9, 2010, The words of Jesus I just read are a small part of his farewell address to the disciples before being crucified.
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Resurrection Temple

Pastor Bill Obalil , May 2, 2010, For these few minutes let us ponder temples and their place in God’s grace.
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Resurrection Worship

Pastor Bill Obalil , April 18, 2010, Is what they say about a joke also true for worship: if you have to explain it, don’t bother?
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Hope Reborn

Pastor Bill Obalil, April 4, 2010, We had hoped… the Emmaus travelers tell the stranger. Are there any more poignant words than We had hoped?
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Listen Up

Pastor Bill Obalil, March 7, 2010, God calls. Call is what God does.
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Trust in the Lord

Pastor Bill Obalil, February 23, 2010, Trust. What does the word make reverberate in you? Trust.
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Deep Calls to Deep

Pastor Bill Obalil, February 7, 2010, What do you think? Is this just a landlubber giving nautical direction to a seasoned sailor?
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The Long Shadow of the Cross

Pastor Bill Obalil, January 24, 2010, Why was Jesus crucified? Why does the Messiah – the Christ, the human face of God’s endless love and compassion, the one who ushers in God’s realm of peace and justice
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Jubilee Jesus Today

Pastor Bill Obalil, January 24, 2010, If I asked you to select a passage of Scripture as your personal mission statement, which would you choose?
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Regifted and Repurposed

Pastor Bill Obalil, January 17, 2010, Wine running out provides the dramatic tension for the story we just heard. With gospel author John, we just know that
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The Power of God and the Power of Man

Pastor Bill Obalil January 3, 2010, Because we seldom read Matthew 2:13-18, because we push to the side Herod’s violent fear and the resulting murder of children,
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Dual Citizens

Pastor Bill Obalil, November 22, 2009, The book is In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. The year is 1947. The place is Brooklyn, New York.
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Through the Roof

Pastor Bill Obalil, September 11, 2009, Perhaps some of you read about Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade in last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune.
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Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise

October 4, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, Love God with your whole being – heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. I have a hunch that most of us would say loving our neighbors is the harder one.
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Who Is Neighbor?

September 27, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, Did you hear it – the bomb going off, the ‘ka-boom” in the middle of this conversation?
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A Great Commandment Church

September 13, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, A funny thing happened to me on the way back from Atlanta in May. I’d been there to attend the Festival of Homiletics – an erudite name for “preachin’ meetin’”.
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Rich in Faith

September 6, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, In the middle of his warning against favoring the wealthy, James drops a huge truth claim.
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Do You Leave Home Without It?

August 23, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, If Christians literally obeyed St. Paul here, we’d walk out of the house stark naked talking about Jesus and praying.
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Chewing More than We bit Off

August 9, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, I wonder if anyone besides me has had this experience. If not, I’m going to feel really weird and the introduction to my sermon will be shot.
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Wonder Bread

August 2, 2009, Pastor Bill Obalil, The Gospel of John is not an easy read. It’s a less easy preach.
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