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Sneak preview: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 82; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56

"It hasn’t always been like this.” These words can refer to church life, politics, international relations, urban crime or the economy. They might even refer to the latest Harry Potter novels, which seem to turned darker and darker—more serious, more ominous, and with the world coming closer and closer to the edge of doom. I don’t blame J. K. Rowling for taking her original audience with her as she changes the fictional climate—it’s what great storytellers do. They unravel events with which informed readers are already familiar.