by Robin Camu | Mar 20, 2011 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
Message by Robin Camu “Grace seems to create the very emptiness that grace alone can fill.” – Richard Rohr We all begin our spiritual life as either a false positive or a false negative, but we don’t have to remain there. Are you still a false...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 14, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
Today, we conclude our lesson on “The Clutch of Death” with these remarks on how the beliefs, sensibilities, and expectations of our families-of-origin can act as the greatest block to our soul’s freedom. In Luke 14, several paragraphs after Jesus...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 6, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
One of the ancient spiritual paths goes by an old name… “mortification.” It means to put to death. Once we see that our false narratives, our faulty Life-Stories are strangling the life out of us, we want to turn the tables and put that clutching...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 27, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
Look at the ravens, Jesus said. They’re free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description. They’re care-free in the care of God… And you! You count far more. As we’re considering how to experience the freedom and connection to Divine...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 20, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
As we continue our lesson on the Clutch of Death, we come to where we’ve been heading from the beginning… one of Jesus’ lessons from Luke 12. It’s a section in which Jesus teaches how easily our interior narratives derail us into chasing...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 13, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
Today we continue our lesson “The Clutch of Death.” We’ve seen how we tend to clutch at people, things, and circumstances at the expense of our freedom and connecting to our truest, Divine selves. We do this because our “Life-Stories,”...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 6, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
How does one begin the journey from a Life-Story that breeds stress, anxiety, pressure, and “the clutch of death,” to a Life-Story that breeds peace, freedom, Life and Light? The ancients designed a practice just for that. It’s called...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 30, 2011 | Message Audio, The Clutch of Death
The deep quest of the human heart is for freedom and Divine Life. The problem is that we get so easily distracted from this quest by impulses and instincts that bubble up from inside us. We all carry around Life-Stories, or framing narratives that dictate our...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 23, 2011 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Next week I’m going to begin a lesson “The Clutch of Death.” I’ll talk about how when we try and hang on to happiness, try to clutch the things we desire, while we may attain fleeting moments of pleasure, true and abiding happiness will elude...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 16, 2011 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
I am sharing some insights about the nature of God from my thoughts and meetings over the last several weeks. Doug https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2011/01-16-11_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play in new window |...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 9, 2011 | Community Meeting, Message Audio
Presented by Michelle Carter and the NRCC Church Council. https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2011/01-09-11_Meeting.mp3Podcast: Play in new window |...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 2, 2011 | Message Audio, New Year
There’s a difference between making a New Year’s resolution, and participating in the natural process of spiritual renewal. Have a listen. Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 19, 2010 | Advent, Message Audio
At Christmas time, being home is a value for many. But what is “home?” We long for it, but it’s a moving target. The people and things we associate with “home” are always changing, so “home” never stays the same. We long...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 12, 2010 | Advent, Message Audio
I teach my kids all the time that they cannot not fail in life. I tell them they will embarrass themselves. They will shame themselves. They will fall into something they can’t believe they’ve fallen into. The measure of your soul isn’t how well...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 5, 2010 | Advent, Message Audio
One of the most moving stories I’ve read comes from a memoir of a minister who lived about the time I was born. It involves a rooster and his great shame. It also involves a call to us for readiness and redemption. Have a listen. Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 28, 2010 | Message Audio, Thanksgiving
Continuing where we left off last week, we consider how gratitude, expressed in good works, is manifest in our lives. Have a listen. Doug https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2010/11-28-10_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 21, 2010 | Message Audio, Thanksgiving
A few years ago, our family stopped sharing around the Thanksgiving table the things we were grateful for. Our kids were getting older, the crowd at the table was getting larger, and it started feeling contrived, so I stopped bringing it up (I think everybody has...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 14, 2010 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
We pause between these lessons, to review an important spiritual principle in our community’s history… “The Central Organizing Principle of Life in God is the Indwelling Spirit.” Now if you come from the Charismatic tradition and think you know...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 7, 2010 | Message Audio, The Suffocating Power of Self
Last week, we made the outrageous claim that God’s judgment is a good thing. Who knew? This week, we go further by asking how we can invite this judgment upon ourselves. Not only are we claiming to want God’s good judgment, now we’re paying a pretty...
by Doug Hammack | Oct 31, 2010 | Message Audio, The Suffocating Power of Self
Ps. 98 says the the judgment of God is a good thing. Go figure! How could coming up short, and then hearing about it from God be good? In this lesson, we see that we’ve really misunderstood the whole idea of “the judgment of God.” It’s a...
