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Communal discernment of the heart of the Gospel, parts 3 and 4

Lynne Baab • Thursday June 4 2026

Overall theme for January to July: God’s law is love

Lesson 9: Communal discernment of the heart of the Gospel, parts 3 and 4 (Acts 15:1-21)

Key verse: “God, who knows the human heart . . . has made no distinction between them and us.” Acts 15:8-9

Keeping God’s grace at the center

The discussion at the Jerusalem council is grounded in two events in the early years of the church. In his speech in Acts 15:7-11, Peter refers back to the dramatic series of events described in Acts 10, when God gives Peter a vision of all food being “clean,” a reference to Jewish dietary laws. Peter...

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Freed to become an heir, parts 3 and 4

Lynne Baab • Thursday May 21 2026

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 9: Freed to become an heir, parts 3 and 4 (Galatians 3:19–4:7)

Key verse: “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.” Galatians 3:26.

God always desired relationship

Paul does not understand the law to be a bad thing. He views it as imperfect, temporary, and necessary for a limited time. The rules of the law did indeed bring safety because murder and violence were kept in check by the law’s rules. The law did indeed teach about God’s holiness and desire for connection with the people of Israel. However, the blessings...

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God's grace in Ephesians 2

Lynne Baab • Thursday October 29 2020

I had an interesting conversation with a friend about two months into the pandemic. She was working very hard at her job (from home), and she was eating really well and getting in her 10,000 steps every day. She said that deep inside, a voice was telling her that if she did everything well enough, God would release her from the demands of sheltering in place.

I wonder if any of you have felt somewhat like my friend – now in the pandemic or at other times of your life. “If I just do things right, then God will approve of me...

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Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of “easier does not mean easy”

Lynne Baab • Thursday April 16 2020

I have had a rough last week. I think I know what precipitated it – an article about lots of individuals in Queens, New York, how they are suffering from illness, lost jobs, not enough to eat, and fear.

When Dave and I started our sheltering in place six weeks ago, about ten people had died here in Seattle, and many more were ill. But nowhere in the United States were hospitals overwhelmed. No one had yet lost their jobs. Nowhere were bodies stacking up. The stock market hadn’t yet crashed, and the economic predictions were still rosy. In those first couple...

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