God's Dangerous Dream

February 2, 2025 Bill Kerley

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for February 2, 2025

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Dear Ones -

I really want to encourage you to make plans to attend Ordinary Life this coming week. Malcom Scott, whose story was featured on Dateline will speak and, then, dialogue with me and be open to questions from you. His is a stunning story. You can find the Dateline episode on Peacock under the title “Long Road to Freedom.” Or, see a news report by clicking here

The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber. New York Times Best Selling Author will be coming to speak on Saturday and Sunday March 22nd and 23rd. The Saturday event will be by registration only. She will speak and dialogue from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. The fee is $30.00. She will also give the sermon at both the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services on Sunday as well as dialogue with me during the Ordinary Life hour. In order to register go to the Ordinary Life website.

This week in Ordinary Life Dr. Holly Hudley co-taught with me and we called what we offered -

God’s Dangerous Dream

We based the teaching on The Magnificat - or, The Hymn of Mary - from Luke’s birth parable. This text is sun in liturgical church on a regular basis and, at the same time, it is hard to hear. What Mary’s Hymn, indeed the entirety of the message of Jesus invites us to do is not to ask whether this truth matches up with our truth but, rather, does our truth match up with this dream.

That’s a brief summary. Information about how to find the full text and video are below.

The audio/video versions of the talk has some differences from the text we spoke from. You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and links to the audio and video version of the talk using the links below.

If you are interested in making a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here. There is an option to scroll to “Ordinary Life” as the option for how to designation your gift. Thank you!

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text version of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

In order to download or to listen to the audio recording of today’s talk, please use audio player below.

In order to watch the video recording of today’s talk, please use the You
Tube link below.

A Lighthouse of Love in a Stormy World

January 26, 2025 Bill Kerley

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for January 26, 2025

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Dear Ones -

Well, you had to be there. I speak of what happened during our time together this week in Ordinary Life. During my teaching I was using the experience of Paul on the Road to Damascus. Just as I uttered the words “he was struck blind,” the loudest crash of thunder and lightning exploded nearby, momentarily knocking the power out. The timing could not have been more perfect.

I called the teaching “A Lighthouse of Love in a Stormy World” and based it on the opening line of one of the narratives we have of Jesus. The line is “here is the good news.” What is that “good news” and what did Jesus hope to accomplish by giving it? My belief, expressed during this talk, is that by learning more about who Jesus was as a historical figure, we can learn more about what it means to live as “ordinary mystics.” The kind of teacher Jesus was can help us understand and live an alternate wisdom in our own time. We have to go beyond the way our culture shapes us to be shaped by our relationship with Sacred Mystery.

That’s a brief summary. Information about how to find the full text and video are below.

The audio/video versions of the talk has some differences from the text I spoke from. You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and links to the audio and video version of the talk using the links below.

If someone passed this newsletter to you, you can sign up by clicking here.

If you are interested in making a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here. There is an option to scroll to “Ordinary Life” as the option for how to designation your gift. Thank you!

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text version of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

To view or download the announcement slides, click here.

In order to listen to or download the audio recording of today’s talk, please use the audio player below.

In order to watch the video recording of today’s talk, please click on the YouTube video link below.

The Hinge on the Door to The Wayless Way

January 19, 2025 Bill Kerley

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for January 19, 2025

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Dear Ones -

This week in Ordinary Life I began by elaborating on the fact that teachings about “the wayless way” are not easy, not a quick fix, and can be “upsetting.”

However, understanding the birth stories created about Jesus can open to door to a better and deeper understanding of the way.

In trying to comprehend the teachings we must keep ever before us the context in which they were originally created. Caesar was called “Lord,” “Son of God,” “Bringer of Peace,” and “Savior of the World.” To claim these titles for Jesus would be seen either as a joke or as treasonous. The only power the followers of Jesus had was ideological, or theological, power. That is to say, the power to give meaning. There are specific and concrete lessons we can learn from the “wise men” that we can use to guide us on living the “wayless way” in this time.

That’s a brief summary. Information about how to find the full text and video are below.

If you are interested in making a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here. There is an option to scroll to “Ordinary Life” as the option for how to designation your gift. Thank you!

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

In order to listen to or download today’s talk, use the audio player below.

SUNDAY LECTURE | From There To Here, From Here to Eternity

January 12, 2025 Bill Kerley

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for January 12, 2025

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Dear Ones -

Dr. Holly Hudley and I co-taught this week and the title we gave our teaching was -

From There to Here
From Here to Eternity

The teaching is about how Jesus got from his birth to his vocation and how our own personal history shapes who we are and how we walk the “wayless way.” The two main areas Jesus taught about were forgiveness and God as compassionate and loving. We show how these grew out of his early life experience and how this information might be useful to us as “wounded healers.” I encourage you to watch or listen to the time as we deviated from our text a fair amount.

You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and links to the audio and video version of the talk using the links below.

If you are interested in making a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here. There is an option to scroll to “Ordinary Life” as the option for how to designation your gift. Thank you!

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text of the talk, click here.

To view or download the presention slides, click here.

To view or download the announcement slides, click here..

In order to either download or just listen to the audio recording of today’s talk, you can click on the audio player link below.

In order to watch the video recording of today’s talk, you can click on the YouTube video link below.