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Braden River Presbyterian Church
Braden River Presbyterian Church
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    • Home
    • Who We Are
    • PASTOR'S CORNER
    • ACTIVITY
    • VISIT US
    • SERVICES
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • PASTOR'S CORNER
  • ACTIVITY
  • VISIT US
  • SERVICES

About our leaders

Pastor Dr Rev Bruce Hedgepeth

  

Bruce is excited to be at Braden River Presbyterian and participate in what God is doing here! He looks forward to friendships within the church family and to connecting with the community. In addition to serving as pastor at BRPC, Bruce is also on staff with Young Life in Latin America/Caribbean, serving as the Team Lead for Expeditions (short-term mission trips). He is an ordained PC(USA) Teaching Elder and minister member of Peace River Presbytery. Bruce has served in pastoral roles for 23-plus years in four different PC(USA) churches in Florida. His main areas of ministry emphasis have been in preaching, worship (traditional, modern, etc…) and outreach, with a special passion for missions – in the local community, across the nation, and around the world. He loves leading short-term mission teams to Latin America, which is what he gets to do in his role with Young Life in non-pandemic times.

Bruce received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida in 1983; earned the Masters of Divinity degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa in 1995; and completed a Doctor of Ministry degree in Global Ministries at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California in 2002.

He and his wife, Cindy, have been married since 1982 and they have two young adult children: Will and Kate (named them long before the royals got married!) Kate is married to Brett and they have an eighteen-month-old son named Walker, which makes Bruce a proud grandpa. Bruce is a runner (pretty good) and a golfer (pretty bad). He and Cindy enjoy travel and spending time with friends and family. 

Pastoral Intern John Frazee

John is an ordained elder in the PCUSA and a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Venice, Florida. John is currently under care and guidance of Peace River Presbytery as part of the studying and practical training for pastoral office. John is excited about his internship at Braden Presbyterian Church and honored to be working in partnership with Rev. Dr. Bruce Hedgepeth.  


Prior to his vocational calling, John enjoyed a career in progressively challenging leadership roles, in both public and private organizations, responsible for leading strategic and creative teams in marketing and communication initiatives for numerous Fortune 500 brands. John’s greatest satisfaction has been working with many uniquely creative people throughout his career and forming many lifelong friendships.


John and his wife Kristy have been married since 2006 and are blessed with two children; Julianna and Jacob. Kristy is a school teacher and actively participates in helping to support faith-based programs for children. The family spends much of their time together and is active in travel baseball with their son Jacob and the music arts with Julianna.


John received his undergraduate degree in advertising and design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, New York in 1990; earned his Master’s in Business Administration at University of Texas Dallas, in Dallas, Texas in 2003; and is currently in enrolled in seminary studies at Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa where he expects to earn a Master’s in Divinity.

PASTOR'S JOURNAL

2/1/2023

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 – Strength

Pastor Bruce

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2/1/2023

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 – Strength

In the initial sentences of his letters, with his salutation, the apostle Paul often introduces a key theme or point that he wants his reade...

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Pastor Bruce

1/30/2023

John 1:29-42 – Come

Pastor Bruce

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1/30/2023

John 1:29-42 – Come

In this text, John the Baptist identifies his relative Jesus as the one who is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” the Me...

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Pastor Bruce

1/27/2023

Isaiah 42:1-9 – Servant

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1/27/2023

Isaiah 42:1-9 – Servant

Isaiah was God’s prophet to the people of Judah – hundreds of years before Jesus was born. He spoke the word of the Lord to God’s people in ...

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Pastor Bruce

1/25/2023

Matthew 3:3-17 – Open

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1/25/2023

Matthew 3:3-17 – Open

This passage is the account of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River.


It is a familiar text for many of us: Jesus comes from Galilee to ...

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Pastor Bruce

1/23/2023

Acts 10:34-43 – Partiality

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1/23/2023

Acts 10:34-43 – Partiality

These verses are part of the larger account of God sending Peter to share the gospel with Cornelius, a gentile and a Roman centurion. As a J...

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Pastor Bruce

PASTOR'S JOURNAL

1/20/2023

Psalm 148 – Praise

Pastor Bruce

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1/20/2023

Psalm 148 – Praise

In reflecting on this psalm, the only title that seems to fit is the word the psalmist uses in almost every sentence - praise. 


The whole psa...

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Pastor Bruce

1/18/2023

Isaiah 63:7-9 – Recount

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1/18/2023

Isaiah 63:7-9 – Recount

This is a fitting passage to reflect on at the beginning of a new year, looking forward to what lies ahead in the next twelve months and als...

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Pastor Bruce

1/16/2023

Luke 9:1-20 – Left Overs

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1/16/2023

Luke 9:1-20 – Left Overs

Another packed chapter: sending out of 12, feeding 5000, Peter’s confession, transfiguration, following Jesus and more.


Struck by Jesus sendi...

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Pastor Bruce

1/13/2023

Jeremiah 31:7-14 – Radiant

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1/13/2023

Jeremiah 31:7-14 – Radiant

The prophet speaks God’s promise of return to the land of promise from their exile. 


Jeremiah paints a joyful and inclusive word picture of w...

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Pastor Bruce

1/11/2023

Psalm 148 – Shining Stars

Pastor Bruce

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1/11/2023

Psalm 148 – Shining Stars

This is a great psalm of praise to the Lord for the wonder of God’s creation.


On this first day of a new year on board a ship in the Bahamas,...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

11/4/2022

Habakkuk 1:-4 – Slack

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11/4/2022

Habakkuk 1:-4 – Slack

The prophet begins by crying out to God, wondering when the Lord will act against violence, injustice, and wrong-doing. How long will God al...

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Pastor Bruce

11/2/2022

Psalm 65 – Bounty

Pastor Bruce

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11/2/2022

Psalm 65 – Bounty

This is a fitting season of the year to read and reflect on this psalm that culminates in a celebration of God’s bounty that springs forth f...

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Pastor Bruce

10/31/2022

2 Timothy 4:6-18 - Keeping

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10/31/2022

2 Timothy 4:6-18 - Keeping

The apostle Paul is wrapping up this second letter to Timothy, his spiritual son and an important pastor and leader in the early church.


Paul...

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Pastor Bruce

10/28/2022

Luke 18:9-14 - Trust

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10/28/2022

Luke 18:9-14 - Trust

This passage is Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who both go to the temple to pray.


What drew my attention in this rea...

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Pastor Bruce

10/25/2022

Jeremiah 31:27-34 - Covenant

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10/25/2022

Jeremiah 31:27-34 - Covenant

This passage is part of a larger section in which God promises to return the Jewish exiles to the land of promise the Lord had gifted them i...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

8/22/2022

Psalm 52 – Olive

Pastor Bruce

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8/22/2022

Psalm 52 – Olive

The psalmist begins with words of condemnation for the wealthy person who boasts of doing mischief against the godly, who plots destruction,...

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Pastor Bruce

8/19/2022

Amos 8:1-12 – Famine

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8/19/2022

Amos 8:1-12 – Famine

Through the prophet Amos, God speaks words of judgement upon Israel. And the primary sign among the people that their hearts have turned awa...

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Pastor Bruce

8/17/2022

Luke 15:25-37 – Brothers

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8/17/2022

Luke 15:25-37 – Brothers

These verses are the final scene in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, or more accurately – the merciful father. It is one of the most fami...

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Pastor Bruce

8/15/2022

Colossians 1:1-14 – Fruit

Pastor Bruce

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8/15/2022

Colossians 1:1-14 – Fruit

Here at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the believers in Colossae, the apostle writes several things that caught my interest and that I wi...

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Pastor Bruce

8/12/2022

Psalm 82 – Council

Pastor Bruce

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8/12/2022

Psalm 82 – Council

In this chapter, as in several other psalms, the writer talks about a council of gods and the place of the God of Israel in relation to that...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

6/13/2022

Psalm 114 - Skip

Pastor Bruce

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6/13/2022

Psalm 114 - Skip

This is a joyous psalm of praise that recalls God's power displayed in the wonders he did to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt during...

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Pastor Bruce

6/10/2022

Isaiah 53:1-6 - Crushed

Pastor Bruce

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6/10/2022

Isaiah 53:1-6 - Crushed

This reading is a portion of the section on Isaiah's prophecy that talks about God's "suffering servant." As Christians, we hear these words...

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Pastor Bruce

6/8/2022

John 21:1-19 - Fishing

Pastor Bruce

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6/8/2022

John 21:1-19 - Fishing

John tells in this text that he is recounting Jesus' third post-resurrection appearance to the disciples.


They were back in Galilee, where th...

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Pastor Bruce

6/6/2022

Revelation 5:11-14 - Singing

Pastor Bruce

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6/6/2022

Revelation 5:11-14 - Singing

These verses are part of a larger unit in Revelation chapters 4 and 5, in which the lord gives John a glimpse of worship in heaven.


It is str...

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Pastor Bruce

6/3/2022

Psalm 90:13-17 - Prosper

Pastor Bruce

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6/3/2022

Psalm 90:13-17 - Prosper

This is a psalm that lifts up God's eternal greatness and our own frailty and dependence on the Lord.


It begins with the acclamation: "Lord, ...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

4/4/2022

1 Corinthians 15:35-50 – Body

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4/4/2022

1 Corinthians 15:35-50 – Body

In this third and final section of the chapter, Paul continues his explanation of the foundational importance of Jesus’ resurrection from th...

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Pastor Bruce

4/1/2022

Genesis 45:3-15 – Preserve

Pastor Bruce

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4/1/2022

Genesis 45:3-15 – Preserve

These verses are the dramatic culmination of the account of Joseph, his life, and his family that begins in Genesis 37.


Growing up going to S...

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Pastor Bruce

3/30/2022

Luke 6:17-26 – Level

Pastor Bruce

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3/30/2022

Luke 6:17-26 – Level

This text has been called Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain.” In these verses, in particular, there is a similarity with the Beatitudes in Matthew...

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Pastor Bruce

3/28/2022

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 – Raised

Pastor Bruce

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3/28/2022

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 – Raised

Paul continues teaching the Corinthian believers and us about the significance and meaning of Jesus resurrection.


A few days ago, I reflected...

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Pastor Bruce

3/25/2022

Psalm 1 – Watched

Pastor Bruce

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3/25/2022

Psalm 1 – Watched

This psalm puts before a stark contrast, a bright light, between the righteous and the wicked.


The psalmist begins by having some thoughts an...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

1/28/2022

Luke 1:39-55 – Magnify

Pastor Bruce

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1/28/2022

Luke 1:39-55 – Magnify

This passage follows the account of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she was pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit and would ...

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Pastor Bruce

1/26/2022

Zephaniah 3:14-20 – Whole-Hearted

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1/26/2022

Zephaniah 3:14-20 – Whole-Hearted

After two and one-half chapters of the prophet speaking from the Lord words of warning, judgment, punishment, and destruction to Judah and J...

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Pastor Bruce

1/24/2022

Isaiah 12:2-6 – Salvation

Pastor Bruce

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1/24/2022

Isaiah 12:2-6 – Salvation

In these verses from the first part of Isaiah, the prophet speaks to the existential threat that Assyria and Babylon were for God’s people i...

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Pastor Bruce

1/21/2022

Philippians 4:4-7 – Supplication

Pastor Bruce

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1/21/2022

Philippians 4:4-7 – Supplication

The apostle Paul is in the last section of this letter to the believers in Philippi and what he writes is both memorable and powerful.


Today’...

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Pastor Bruce

1/19/2022

Luke 3:7-18 – Expectation

Pastor Bruce

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1/19/2022

Luke 3:7-18 – Expectation

This passage continues with the account of John the Baptist’s ministry that I reflected on recently from the first six verses of Luke 3.


The ...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

11/19/2021

Mark 10:17-31 Wealth?

Pastor Bruce

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11/19/2021

Mark 10:17-31 Wealth?

This passage is commonly called “Jesus and the rich young ruler.” The setting continues to be the portion of Mark’s gospel in which Jesus is...

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Pastor Bruce

11/17/2021

Hebrews 4:12-16 Naked Grace

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11/17/2021

Hebrews 4:12-16 Naked Grace

I am fascinated that the lectionary has put these verses together. After reading them this time, it strikes me that there seems to be two di...

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Pastor Bruce

11/15/2021

Psalm 22:1-15 Forsaken?

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11/15/2021

Psalm 22:1-15 Forsaken?

It is from the beginning of this Psalm that Jesus quoted as He was dying on the cross: “My God, My God why have You forsaken me?”


In that mom...

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Pastor Bruce

11/12/2021

Job 23:1-17 Gold

Pastor Bruce

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11/12/2021

Job 23:1-17 Gold

Continuing in the story of Job, after His devastating losses and health problems, three friends come to be with Job in his grief and pain; E...

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Pastor Bruce

11/10/2021

Mark 10:2-12 Allowance

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11/10/2021

Mark 10:2-12 Allowance

As the gospel writer presents this encounter to us, Jesus is on His way from His main base of ministry in Galilee to Jerusalem where He know...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

9/10/2021

John 6: 41-51 – Living Bread

Pastor Bruce

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9/10/2021

John 6: 41-51 – Living Bread

As in previous recent reflections on John 6, Jesus continues using the word picture of himself as living bread to teach his hearers about wh...

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Pastor Bruce

9/8/2021

Psalm 149 – God’s pleasure

Pastor Bruce

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9/8/2021

Psalm 149 – God’s pleasure

Second to last psalm begins with the psalmist exhorting the people to praise the Lord: sing a new song; praise God in the assembly; be glad ...

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Pastor Bruce

9/6/2021

Exodus 12: 1-14 – Girded

Pastor Bruce

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9/6/2021

Exodus 12: 1-14 – Girded

Text contains God’s instructions to Moses and Aaron for the institution of the Passover to remember how the Lord delivered them from slavery...

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Pastor Bruce

9/3/2021

Romans 12: 9-21 – Ardent Spirit

Pastor Bruce

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9/3/2021

Romans 12: 9-21 – Ardent Spirit

Paul moves from teaching about the inter-dependence of believers as parts of the Body of Christ with complementary roles to a rich section i...

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Pastor Bruce

9/1/2021

Matthew 16: 21-28 – Cross

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9/1/2021

Matthew 16: 21-28 – Cross

Follows immediately after Simon Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah. It seems ironic that right after Jesus nicknamed Simon the Rock or R...

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PASTOR'S JOURNAL

7/2/2021

1 Samuel 5: 4-20 – King

Pastor Bruce

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7/2/2021

1 Samuel 5: 4-20 – King

In this passage the elders of Israel demand that the aging prophet, Samuel, appoint a king for them instead of having judge/prophets like Sa...

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Pastor Bruce

6/30/2021

John 15: 26 – 16: 15 – Advantage

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6/30/2021

John 15: 26 – 16: 15 – Advantage

Jesus, in the text from the Last Supper discourses, speaks to his disciples and explains why it is to their advantage that he leaves them to...

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Pastor Bruce

6/28/2021

Acts 2: 1-21 – Tongues

Pastor Bruce

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6/28/2021

Acts 2: 1-21 – Tongues

This passage is the account of the Holy Spirit moving with dramatic power among the gathered disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem on the first Pe...

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Pastor Bruce

6/25/2021

Psalm 104: 24-35 – Manifold

Pastor Bruce

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6/25/2021

Psalm 104: 24-35 – Manifold

In this great psalm of praise to God as creator and provider, these verses focus the Lord’s manifold or many works.


The psalmist extols the v...

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Pastor Bruce

6/23/2021

Ezekiel 37: 1-14 – Breath

Pastor Bruce

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6/23/2021

Ezekiel 37: 1-14 – Breath

This is the Valley of Dry Bones passage in which God shows Ezekiel a valley covered in dry bones in a vision to illustrate the hopelessness ...

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pastor's journal

4/23/2021

John 12: 20-33 – Glorify?

Pastor Bruce

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4/23/2021

John 12: 20-33 – Glorify?

Passage follows just after John’s telling of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.


In contrast to the crowds waving palm branches and shouti...

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4/21/2021

Hebrews 5: 5-10 – High Priest

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4/21/2021

Hebrews 5: 5-10 – High Priest

These verses are part of a larger section in which the writer explains to the readers, including us, how Jesus is our great High Priest.


Talk...

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Pastor Bruce

4/19/2021

Psalm 51: 1-12 – Wise heart

Pastor Bruce

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4/19/2021

Psalm 51: 1-12 – Wise heart

Beautiful, heart-breaking psalm in which David confesses his sin to the Lord after Nathan, the prophet, confronted him over his adultery wit...

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Pastor Bruce

4/16/2021

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 – within

Pastor Bruce

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4/16/2021

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 – within

These verses are familiar words from the Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, to the exiled people of Judah in Babylon. 


God promises the peop...

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Pastor Bruce

4/14/2021

Exodus 20: 1-17 – Sabbath

Pastor Bruce

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4/14/2021

Exodus 20: 1-17 – Sabbath

Passage is the first telling of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments or “ten best ways to live” from God on Mount Sinai while the Israelites...

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2/15/2021

1 Samuel 3: 1-10 – Visions

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2/15/2021

1 Samuel 3: 1-10 – Visions

Text is the story of Samuel hearing from the Lord for the first time. First verse makes the point that in those days hearing from God was ra...

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Pastor Bruce

2/12/2021

Psalm 29 – The Voice

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2/12/2021

Psalm 29 – The Voice

Wonderful psalm of praise and the way the psalmist leads us is by focusing on the Lord’s voice as a facet of God’s greatness.


We are called t...

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Pastor Bruce

2/10/2021

Acts 19: 1-7 – Hands

Pastor Bruce

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2/10/2021

Acts 19: 1-7 – Hands

During Paul’s third missionary journey, he went to Ephesus and met some believers who has been baptized with John the Baptist’s baptism of r...

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2/8/2021

Mark 1: 4-11 – Baptism

Pastor Bruce

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2/8/2021

Mark 1: 4-11 – Baptism

The gospel writer describes John the Baptist, his ministry and that he baptized Jesus, among other Jews who came out to him in the wildernes...

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Pastor Bruce

2/5/2021

John 1: 10-18 - Fullness

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2/5/2021

John 1: 10-18 - Fullness

Second time this reading has been in the lectionary in less than a month. On this reading, I noticed a word connection that I hadn’t seen be...

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