The scariest monsters are those that come from within!

Shelley Bloomer - June 9, 2016

Forrest Gump

Top 10: Movies

One of the most powerful scenes in Forrest Gump is Lt. Dan's showdown with God. But most of us don't think fighting with God is okay. How does the story of Jacob's wrestling with God teach us to engage God even with our anger, doubts and fears?

From Series: "Top 10: Movies"

Star Wars. Avatar. Up. When a story resonates with so many people it becomes a blockbuster, we should ask, "Why? What is it about this film that resonates with us?" People of faith can gain a window into desires of our culture, and we can discover how the Spirit is at work, that we might join in!

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Today’s about Ghost stories. Though they appear in many forms, the quintessential ghost story involves the spirit of a dead person who’s stayed around (usually a haunted house) because they have unfinished business. Maybe they have to deliver a message or ensure proper burial or get revenge. Whatever the case, once their business is complete, they leave into the afterlife.

Unlike our previous two monsters, today we’re not ghosts. Rather, to quote Peter Rollins,

We are the haunted houses. — Peter Rollins

We move through life collecting hurts, wounds and scars, evidence of pain inflicted on us by other people. Some may be slight, exaggerated in our heads – maybe someone who cuts us off or says something cruel or who causes us harm by accident. Others could be huge, life-altering. A spouse who left. An abuser. And there’s a whole range of hurts between.

Whatever their source, however legitimate or not, these people, these hurts don’t just exit our lives.

We carry them around with us, in our heads and in our souls. They haunt us, returning again and again out of the ether to drag us through the past, to relive history, to reopen old wounds.

The problem is we don’t know what these ghosts want. We don’t know how to resolve their business and get them to leave us. We can’t escape their haunting – especially if the person who hurt you is still a part of your life.

If we want to escape our ghosts, if we want to be free from the haunting of our hurts, we must learn the difficult art of forgiveness.

Join us Sunday as we learn how to forgive and find healing.

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