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“And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35 

Although we as Christians would give assent to the words of Jesus, there is something about His Kingdom which is entirely beyond us, even contrary to us. Contrary to our vision of a kingdom, contrary to our desires, contrary to everything we value and strive for, contrary to our self absorbed and self obsessed Facebooking and tweeting...

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November 15, 1997 to November 15, 2017

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of my grandfather, Jerry Osborne. It seems both a moment and an eternity that I have been without him. I can still hear the sound of his voice. I can still hear the sound of his laugh, and the way he would even snort sometimes when the joke was funny enough. His mannerisms are still vibrant in my memory, as are his idiosyncrasies. The very last time I saw him alive was at the Los Angeles International A...

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The air is sharp and chilled
Tho’ not because it’s cold
The days are short and filled
Tho’ not with joys of old
It’s just another Christmas without Grandpa

He used to read a story to us
In person, or on the phone
T’was The Night Before Christmas
I can still hear his baritone
It’s just another Christmas without Grandpa

He would read the Old, Old Story
As we gathered ‘round and settled in
Every year on Christmas morning
From his Bible he’d begin
It’s just another Christmas w...
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