1 Samuel

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Author

David Peterson

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 11:6, Micah 6:8, 1 Samuel 15:

The first step in backsliding is to put one's service for Christ ahead of one's love for Christ.

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Author

David Peterson

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Titus 2:11-12, James 2:17-26, Hebrews 10:29, 1 Peter 2:16, 1 Samuel 2:

I think the most selfish, self-centered individual in this world is not an unsaved person. It's a Christian who accepts the salvation God offers freely and goes out and lives for himself.

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Author

Paul E. Little

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Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Exodus 4:12, 1 Samuel 3:19, Jeremiah 1:9

The biblical sense of inspiration means God so superintended the writers of Scripture that they wrote what he wanted them to write, disclosing the exact truth he wanted conveyed.

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Denethor From Lord of the Rings: When a Steward Pretends to be King

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-16, Luke 19:14, James 4:7, 1 Samuel 18:8-11, Luke 14:11

In The Lord of the Rings, Denethor is a steward of Gondor, the great kingdom of men. He comes from a long line of stewards who have ruled Gondor as temporary lords while the kingdom waited for the n...

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Author

E. Randolph Richards and Richard James

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Scripture

Proverbs 18:17 , Genesis 18:23-33, 1 Samuel 16:6-7 , John 1:45-46, Luke 10:25-37, Psalm 103:13-14

I like to say that generalizations are always wrong and usually helpful.

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Author

Dharius Daniels

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Scripture

1 Samuel 18:1-4 , Exodus 17:8-13 , Ruth 1:16-17, John 15:12-15 , Philippians 2:19-22, Psalm 133:1

Friends are individuals who are relational assets and not liabilities. Friends are those whom God escorts into our environments because there is something they need to be for us in order to help us be...

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Foolishness and Nobility Are Similar

Author

Os Guinness

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Scripture

Proverbs 1:7, 1 Samuel 25:, Luke 12:16-21

The Hebrew word for “fool” is very close to the Hebrew for “noble,” with only one letter different, and it is sometimes only in the outcome of their lives that the people considered noble by the peopl...

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God loves to use those that the world deems

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 4:1–5, Judges 6:14–16, 1 Samuel 17:40–50, Luke 9:12–17, 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, Psalm 8:2

God loves to use those that the world deems too small, too weak, too insignificant to make a difference. As Francis Schaeffer wrote: Consider the mighty ways in which God used a dead stick of woo...

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The “Dumb Ox” Becomes One of the Church’s Greatest Thinkers

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:19–20, Exodus 4:10–12, 1 Samuel 16:11–13, 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, Psalm 119:97–100

Of the medieval church’s many intellectual leaders, none has had more influence than the philosophical theologian Thomas Aquinas. He was born to a noble family near Naples, Italy, and joined the Domin...

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Defenders Of Children

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 1:15–22, 1 Samuel 1:20–28, 2 Kings 4:18–37, Matthew 2:16–18, Mark 10:13–16, Psalm 127:3–5

Pharaoh viewed the Hebrews as a growing threat to the Egyptian way of life, so he ordered all Hebrew baby boys killed. King Herod feared that a future king would arise from Bethlehem, so he ordered al...

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Celebrities vs. Saints

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, 1 Samuel 16:6–7, Isaiah 42:1–3, Matthew 5:14–16, Philippians 2:3–8, Psalm 1:1–3

The saints of the church flicker like candles along a dark corridor. They are not 1400-watt LED floodlights to blind you with their brilliance; those are the celebrities. A celebrity is a flashbulb st...

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Leader: Lord, how many are my foes!

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 17:45–47, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 8:23–26, Acts 16:25–26, 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, Psalm 3:1-7a, 8

Leader: Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me,“ God will not deliver him.” People: But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my he...

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Author

Philip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 2:23–25, 1 Samuel 1:10–11, Jonah 2:1–2, Matthew 5:3, Luke 18:13–14, Psalm 34:18

Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.

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Author

John Fowles

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 29:15-30 , Exodus 32:1-8 , 1 Samuel 13:8-14, Luke 15:11-32 , James 5:7-8, Psalm 27:14

“He wanted Everest in a day; if it took two, he lost interest.”

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Evangelicals Love Politics

Author

Nancy Pearcey

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:6–8, 1 Samuel 8:4–9, Jeremiah 7:1–7, John 8:36, Romans 12:2, Psalm 146:3–5

Nothing illustrates evangelicals’ infatuation with politics more clearly than a story related by a Christian lawyer. Considering whether to take a job in the nation’s capital, he consulted with the le...

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Only Babies

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 2:1–10, 1 Samuel 16:11–13, Jeremiah 1:4–7, Luke 2:7, 40, 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, Psalm 139:13–16

British author Leonard Ravenhill told the story of a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village where they saw an old man sitting by a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors ask...

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Looking for Recognition

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 25:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, Luke 24:19–21, Jonah 4:1–4, 1 Samuel 16:6–7, Genesis 11:4–9

Speedy Morris is the basketball coach for LaSalle University. He was shaving when his wife told him he was wanted on the phone by Sports Illustrated. He got so excited over the prospect of national re...

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Pledging Allegiance to a Party

Author

Eugene Cho

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1–4, 1 Samuel 8:6–9, Daniel 6:6–10, Matthew 22:20–21, Acts 5:29, Psalm 146:3–5

Followers of Jesus should not be in bed with any of the political parties. Even if one affiliates with a particular party, may we maintain a posture to collaborate, listen, hold accountable, and engag...

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The Connection Between Grace & Gratitude

Author

Diana Butler Bass

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:4, 1 Samuel 1:27–28, Isaiah 55:1–2, Luke 17:15–16, Romans 5:8, Psalm 100:4

The words “gratitude” and “grace” come from the same root word, gratia in Latin and kharis in Greek, as mentioned earlier. In addition to being the name of a goddess, “grace” is a theological word, on...

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The Greatest Hitter in the World

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:20, Exodus 4:10–12, 1 Samuel 17:, Matthew 18:1–4 , Romans 5:3–5, Psalm 139:14

A young boy was heard talking to himself as he wandered through his backyard, sporting a full baseball uniform, jersey and cap included, as well as a ball and bat. "I'm the best hitter in the...

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The Gift of Tears

Author

Irene Hausherr

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1–15 , 1 Samuel 1:9–18, Lamentations 2:18–19, Luke 7:36–50, 2 Corinthians 7:9–10, Psalm 56:8

The “gift of tears” written about by the desert elders and several centuries later by St. Ignatius of Loyola are not about finding meaning in our pain and suffering. They do not give answers but inste...

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Author

Ovid

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:15-21, 1 Samuel 1:1-20, Lamentations 3:19-24 , John 11:32-35 , Luke 7:36-50, Psalm 56:8

Truly, it is allowed to weep. By weeping, we disperse our wrath; and tears go through the heart, even like a stream.

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Using Repetition to Make a Point

Author

James Boice

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:, Philippians 3:1, 1 Samuel 3:1–10 , Exodus 7:12, Deuteronomy 6:4–9 , Psalm 136:

In the second century before Christ the great rival to Roman power in the Mediterranean world was Carthage, the Phoenician city-state located on the north African coast. It had been founded in 822 B.C...

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Author

Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 127:1, 1 Samuel 15:22, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Isaiah 29:13 , Luke 10:38-42 , John 15:5

In an institutionalized church, the good has become the enemy of the best, and activity has choked out productivity.

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Author

Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18-19 , 1 Samuel 16:7 , Jeremiah 7:4-7, Matthew 9:16-17, Mark 7:6-9, Psalm 96:3

In most cases, the existing church culture is from a former era that is only meaningful to those in the church, not those in the community.

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Author

Kevin G. Ford

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 1:13-17, 1 Samuel 8:19-20 , Hosea 4:6, Romans 12:2, Matthew 23:27-28, Psalm 78:5-8

By failing to come to grips with how cultural dysfunctions deeply impact the health of the church, our leaders will continue to fail to discern an essential reality concerning the nature of change: Cu...

liturgy

Prayer for All Needs (Excerpted)

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:, Isaiah 45:7, 1 Samuel 2:6-7, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 146:7-9, Isaiah 61:1, John 3:16, Colossians 1:13, Revelation 4:11, Ephesians 5:8, Acts 26:18, 2 Timothy 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 1:51-52, Luke 4:18-19

*This is the earliest known prayer of the Christian Church outside of scripture May he who created everything keep the number of his chosen people, throughout the world, up to the strength he...

Quote

Author

Will Durant

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 36:26-27 , 1 Samuel 16:7, Jeremiah 31:33 , Matthew 23:25-26, Romans 12:2, Psalm 51:10

Caesar hoped to reform men by changing institutions, and laws; Christ wished to remake institutions, and lesson laws by changing men.

Quote

Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

Leviticus 19:18 , Ruth 1:16–17, 1 Samuel 18:1–4 , John 13:34–35, Luke 7:36–50 , Psalm 136:

The new command is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate, profound enough that the most mature believers are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it i...

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How to Sing “Happy Birthday”

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:1–12 , Isaiah 43:1–2, 1 Samuel 16:6–13, Luke 15:11–32, John 10:14–16 , Psalm 139:1–6

John Berkley told a story about how he loves live professional choir concerts. At one concert, the conductor asked if anyone in the audience was there celebrating their birthday. Now, it was actually ...

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