Author: Chris Hankel
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Our Values—What is important to us?
A reality for all of us, whether we are talking about individuals, families, or churches, is this: If you don’t know your target, you will hit it every time. If you’re aiming at nothing, you will hit nothing. That is a universal truth. Several weeks ago, we started a conversation that, I hope, reminds us…
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Our Values—What’s Important to Us?
Vision 2025—More about our values. Earlier this week, I was in Beaverton at a conference. For the first couple of days, I used Apple Maps to get around town from my hotel to the conference venue. On the last day of the conference, I felt good about navigating the area we were in, so I…
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Our Values—What is important to us?
I remember what life was like before there were cell phones. I won’t lie; sometimes I dream about smashing my phone. But one little piece of technology that I do really like is my GPS. The GPS is great because it does a few things. The obvious feature we all love about GPS is its…
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The Gospel Unveiled—The Solution to Original Sin
On August 6, 1945, one man, Harry Truman, ordered the atomic bomb dropped over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The death, the devastation, and the destruction that followed that event were unparalleled in history. The atomic bomb changed the entire course of geo-political events, as every building within 4.7 miles of the epicenter was leveled…
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The Gospel Unveiled—Abraham’s Faith—Romans 4
Paul says to the church, “You are not justified (or made righteous) by what you do, but by faith (or belief) alone in Jesus.” This is a radical statement for both Jews and Gentiles in the church in Rome. This idea is counter-cultural in many ways. Justification means being declared righteous—as though we never sinned…
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The Gospel Unveiled—God Justifies Sinners
Several years ago, I went to school to learn how to shoe horses. Part of learning the art of farrier work is learning how to forge horseshoes from a piece of bar stock, a plain piece of straight steel. Some math is involved in determining how much steel you use, then use a forge to…
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The Gospel Unveiled—The Universality of Sin
Do you parents remember the moment your first child was born? Do you remember how helpless they were at that moment? They needed you for everything. Their survival was dependent upon you. Paul is setting up his Jewish readers to understand where true righteousness comes from. His point will be that righteousness doesn’t come from…
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The Gospel Unveiled—Religion is no Solution
Rom 2:17-29 One of the tricky things about being a pastor is the pressure to have all the answers. It may shock some of you to know I don’t actually have all the answers. There are still things in scripture that I am trying to wrap my head around. There are things I don’t always…
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The Gospel Unveiled—God’s Judgement
Romans 2:1-16 In 1989, I was beginning my first full-time job as a youth pastor. It was at a small CMA church in Keizer, OR. It was a true learning experience for me. I cringe sometimes when I think about those years. There was some great ministry, and I still have contact with kids in…
Chris Hankel 