Summary of March 10, 2013

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Dear Folks -

This week's "life talk" raises two questions:

Did Jesus perform miracles?

Are their miracles today?

In an effort to increase religious and biblical literacy I've been working my way through one telling of the Jesus story. It is impossible to deal with any version of this story without encountering the fact that Jesus had a reputation as a healer. What does this mean both historically and for us?

I try to answer these critical question and then give some examples of "miracles in our time."

The audio version of this talk is, as usual, somewhat different than the printed version. The full text from which I spoke is below, as are the audio version and the presentation slides.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

To download the complete text click here  Download 3:10:13 Complete Text

To download the presentation slides click here  Download 3:10:13 - Did Jesus Perform Miracles?

To download the talk in Mp3 format click here Download 20130310 - Mp3

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of February 24, 2013

Dear Folks -

This talk begins by my asking attendees to give their responses to the following words: God, life, faith, church and worship. My contention is that whether we use these words or not, each of these things has some function in our lives. So I ask, and I got this idea from John Dominic Crossan years ago:

What is the character of your "God"?

What is the basis of your "life"?

What is the content of your "faith"?

What is the purpose of your "church"?

What is the function of your "worship"?

Most of the talk is about "the character of one's God" because my belief is that when that issue is resolved in a wise and useful manner, our lives and the lives of others will be better.

The audio version of this talk is, as usual, somewhat different than the printed version. The full text from which I spoke is posted here, as are the audio version and the presentation slides.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

To download the complete text click here  Download 2:24:13 - Complete text

To download the presentation slides click here  Download 2:24:13 - The Ring of Gyre

To download the audio click here Download 20130224 - Mp3

Dear Folks -

Over the years I have revisited, for one reason or another, a work I was first introduced to in 1966. The work I have in mind is Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." The Library of Congress claimed it was one of the most influential books of all time.

The talk I gave this week ends referencing this work. I talk about the ongoing responsibility and opportunity we have to find in the moments of "ordinary life" the meaning of our lives. Of course, I sneak in some material that, I hope, contributes to spiritual and religious literacy - as well as to our psychological and spiritual growth.

The audio version of this talk is somewhat different than the printed version. The full text from which I spoke is below. The audio version and the presentation slides are on the Ordinary Life website.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

To download the complete text click here  Download 2:17:13 - Complete text

To download the presentation slides click here  Download 2:17:13 - New Ways of Seeing and Being

To download the audio in Mp3 format click here Download 20130217 Mp3