The Word Worker

Category: Nonfiction

  • Of What… To What?

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    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The word “repent” is one of the most used words in the Christian world. We rattle it off as a requirement in sermons, classes, writings, and conversations. Nearly all, if not all, who claim Christianity agree that repentance is a necessity. Unfortunately, when we start asking of what we are to repent, the answers start…

  • Stewards and Kings

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
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    In Tolkien’s famous trilogy, the kingdom of Gondor was ruled by kings who carried elven blood in their veins and lived by a sense of honor stemming from the Valar themselves. These kings ruled from a great throne while their most trusted advisors sat in stewardship below. When Isildur failed and left Gondor kingless, the…

  • A Round Peg in a Square Hole: What is Learning?

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
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    Before any of my children were born, I had ideas about what education was supposed to look like. I had been homeschooled and knew I wanted to homeschool my own children, but I thought in terms of curricula, subjects, schedules, and grades. We were going to be academically rigorous and graduate at the top of…

  • Whose Righteousness is Our Passion?

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    By the time Jesus was born into the physical world, the Jewish culture had become centered around scholarship. Status, wealth, and privilege were guaranteed to increase according to the detail of one’s familiarity with the Hebrew scriptures and the eloquent certainty with which one spoke of them. Their entire political system revolved around heated arguments…

  • The Significance of a Baby

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    wordworkerrussell
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    In a tiny, insignificant town a baby was born. His first cries were drowned by the loving and cackling of farm animals and by the busy merriment of hostel guests just the other side of the wall. His young mother wrapped his flailing arms in linen strips stored nearby for the care of newborn lambs,…

  • The Round Peg in a Square Hole: No Words

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    wordworkerrussell
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    I’m a writer. I don’t mean that I write for the public, though obviously I do. I mean that I express myself through the written word. I love the way words come together to depict complex ideas and emotions, the beauty in the way they flow. With my pen, I can think. Except when I…

  • Outside the Boundaries

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    wordworkerrussell
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    When Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Rome, they were beginning to fracture as a group from the pressures of human diversity. As capital of the empire, Rome was a cultural conglomerate. Trade and politics brought representatives from every conceivable background into close proximity, and the call of Christ left no group…

  • Keep the Feast

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    wordworkerrussell
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    As Jesus prepared to face the cross, He blessed the Passover meal one last time with His closest friends. As he snapped the crisp bread in pieces to share and raised His cup with theirs, He told them what those tokens had always symbolized. It wasn’t the first time He used bread and vintage as…

  • I Remember

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
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    I remember.The stunned faces of teenagers watching horrific history play out in real time on classroom tvs. I remember.Teachers calling relatives in New York and crying for missing loved ones and the inevitable death toll. I remember. The face of a president in a room full of children when the news was whispered in his…

  • Service or Advertisement?

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
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    We’ve all seen them, the advertising campaigns purporting awareness of some issue or another, some need. We’ve seen the politicians showing up at events or businesses when there is personal advantage to be gained. Many platitudes are exchanged, few practical or permanent solutions are implemented. Usually the one who benefits most from such is the…