As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and [...]

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The post Agape – Love As A Way Of Life appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in [...]

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The post Vine and Branches appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, so when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away—then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters them. The man runs away because [...]

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The post Radically Inclusive Love appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; [...]

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The post Category Is: Legacy appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced [...]

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The post Doubting Thomas: Redefining Doubt appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the [...]

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The post Searching For Easter appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will [...]

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The post Grace In Progress appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. O [...]

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The post Grace Found In Impermanence appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in [...]

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The post Grace Through Imperfection appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern [...]

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The post Perfection Demanded By Empire appeared first on Open Table Metropolitan Community Church.