Author Archives: Josh

Temptation

Good morning, Friends! Christmas has been over for a long time now. Valentine’s Day is history, today we changed our clocks, St. Patrick’s Day is next week. What’s left? Easter, of course! Easter is just six weeks away. It’s the … Continue reading

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Not worthy

Good morning, Friends! We’ve got kind of a funny story for our gospel reading this morning. By “funny”, I mean that it looks like one kind of a story, but really, it’s another. On the surface, this looks like a … Continue reading

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Yardley Warner – the Freedman’s Friend (March 2019)

Of all the Quakers who are buried at Springfield Friends Cemetery, one of the least-known and most interesting is a man named Yardley Warner. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1815, and he and his family were active on the … Continue reading

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Not righteous, but sinners

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great … Continue reading

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Two or three together

Good morning, Friends! Every time I ask people what their favorite verse of the Bible is, I tend to get similar answers. Everyone likes the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, maybe John 3:16. Some people mention the Beatitudes and the … Continue reading

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Everyone can do these things

Good morning, Friends! I chose today’s Scripture reading because I like to talk about love, and it’s coming up on Valentine’s Day. Usually, we save today’s Scripture for weddings. How many of you have ever heard 1st Corinthians 13 read … Continue reading

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A living community

Good morning, Friends! Since the beginning of January, we’ve been talking about what it means to be a spiritual community. Some it’s probably been a review for you, maybe you’ve picked up some fresh ideas. We’ve talked about what it … Continue reading

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Communion (February 2019)

At a recent Wednesday night Bible study session, we were looking at the story of the Last Supper in the gospel of Mark. Several people in the group asked, “Is this about communion?” Over the last two thousand years, Christians … Continue reading

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Springfield’s connections with Civil Rights

Quakers were the first organized church to decide that slavery is against God’s will, and that no one could be a member of the Society of Friends and own slaves. One of the best-known early leaders was John Woolman, a … Continue reading

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A growing community

Good morning, Friends! Ever since New Year’s, we’ve been talking about different views of what it means to be a spiritual community – a community that prays, a community that lives in unity, a community based on hope. Today I … Continue reading

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