Tag: identity in Christ

Punch the Monkey and the Pain of Rejection: Finding Belonging in Christ

On By Jon LandsIn Christian Life, Sermon ThoughtsLeave a comment

In Japan, wildlife observers noticed something unusual about a young macaque nicknamed Punch. After being mistreated by his mother and pushed aside by his clan, he often sat a few feet away while the others groomed each other in tight circles of belonging. Just beyond arm’s reach. Watching. Caretakers eventually gave him a small stuffed …

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Statutes into Song: How to Find Joy in Obedience

On By Jon LandsIn Christian Life, Sermon ThoughtsLeave a comment

Hidden in the long lines of Psalm 119 is a short sentence that reshapes how we hear God’s Word: “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (Psalm 119:54). The psalmist does not speak of obligation or endurance. He speaks of joy. God’s statutes, the very commands many resist, had become …

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