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Pastor Dick had served the...

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Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - A
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Pastor Dick had served the Church of the Good Shepherd since it started as a mission church 25 years ago. He had been there so long that some of the members lovingly referred to him as the Shepherd who leads others to the Good Shepherd. Actually the name suited. Pastor Dick's ministry grew out of love, trust, and mutual respect. The congregation knew that he had been called by God to be their pastor. They knew that he loved the Lord and that he loved them. He had in turn challenged them to be God's shepherds to others in the community. Their church was the fastest-growing church in town.
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Object: Two small containers or boxes and several pieces of paper. I used two shoe boxes with lids and about fifty pieces of used printer paper. Label one box “Judge”, and the other box “Not Judge”.

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Christal Berns wrote, in a May 23, 2023, article for Christian Learning, about Jacksonville, FL police officer Ike Brown. On May 27, 2002, Brown received heartbreaking news from his colleagues. His sergeant, lieutenant, chief, and chaplain came to his home and told him his son had lost his life in a shooting incident.
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Some years back, there was a best-selling book that got a lot of attention in the church, one written by a rabbi, Harold Kushner. The book was called When Bad Things Happen to Good People (HarperCollins, 1982). It is an honest attempt to grapple with the problem of evil. Why is it, Rabbi Kushner wants to know, that good and faithful people sometimes have to suffer?

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