Thought Exercise on Performance

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A Surprise Performance

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 4:10-12, Isaiah 61:1-3 , Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 40:2-3

One summer, the composer Edvard Grieg stayed at a small Norwegian hotel. A restless child also resided there, constantly annoying the guests by attempting to play the piano, producing nothing but disc...

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Performance-Oriented Worship

Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 18:9-14

We have become so performance-oriented that it is hard to see how compromised we are. Consider one small example. In many of our churches, prayers in morning services now function, in large measure, a...

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Investing in their Bodies

Author

Chad Veach

Keywords

LeBron James will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest players in basketball history. His stats are consistently jaw-dropping, despite competing in a sport that is usually dominated by you...

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A Saxophonist's Spiritual Revelation

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Scripture

Luke 2:1-35, 2 Timothy 4:6-7, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 2:10

John Coltrane stands out as one of the giants of 20th-century jazz. His legacy is a generation of hearts touched and the light of God shining through his songs. Yet, for years, his work was haunted by...

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Enjoying My Own Company

Author

Belden Lane

Keywords

…When I venture into wilderness, I’m surprised by how much I enjoy my own company…The person I travel with there isn’t worried about his performance. He sheds the polished persona he tries so often to...

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Myths About Meaning

Author

Bobby Harrington

Keywords

Do you want your life to count? Do you want to look back and say that you made the biggest difference possible? Most Christians want to devote their lives to something significant. Deep inside they wa...

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Faster, Higher, Stronger

Author

Richella J. Parham

Keywords

All kinds of competition are comparisons of the abilities or performance of one person or team to that of another. From elementary school spelling bees to professional sports, contestants compare thei...

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What Happens to Performance Identity in the Wilderness

Author

Belden Lane

Keywords

Wilderness

What happens when a ‘gifted child’ finds himself in a wilderness where he’s stripped of any way of proving his worth? What does he do when there’s nothing he can do, when there’s no audience to applau...

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The Two Runners

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

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The True Test of Faith

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:2 , James 2:1-4, Luke 14:12-14 , Psalm 146:3-7

Impostors draw their identity not only from achievements but from interpersonal relationships. They want to stand well with people of prominence because that enhances a person’s résumé and sense of se...

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Ty Cobb's Batting Average

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

At seventy years old, Ty Cobb, considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, was asked by a reporter, “What do you think your batting average would be if you were playing today? Do you ...

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Addicted to Putting People In their Place

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 18:9-14

As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will be filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain a...

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Beethoven is Everything

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Scripture

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 , Daniel 2:19-23, Philippians 2:3-11, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 , Psalm 115:1

The renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini once led a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in London. His mastery and the orchestra’s precision resulted in thunderous applause from the audience. At ...

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When Faith Grew but Evangelism Failed

Author

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 1:16, Colossians 4:5-6, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 4:10

I can remember that afternoon as if it were yesterday. I (Doug) was standing out in the middle of the green grass of the quad on campus, singing as loudly as I could. Twenty of my Christian friends an...

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Smoke Machines in Worship?

Author

Manuel Luz

Keywords

My teenage son, Justin, had been invited to an area church by a friend. Since he had grown up as a PK (pastor’s kid) and had never been to a megachurch like this before, I wondered what impression it ...

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An Ocean of Feedback

Author

Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen

Keywords

We swim in an ocean of feedback. Each year in the United States alone, every schoolchild will be handed back as many as 300 assignments, papers, and tests. Millions of kids will be assessed as they tr...

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Excellence vs. Flawlessness

Author

Jon Johnston

Keywords

Excellence

Like so many people, I once associated excellence with flawlessness. The excellent person never makes mistakes, is always consistent and confident, and is continuously applauded by scores of imperfect...

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St. Matthew’s Passion: Not Theater But Prayer

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:8, John 12:32, Isaiah 53:4-6, Luke 23:39-43, Hebrews 12:2

Another example struck me forcibly during the 2014 season of Promenade Concerts in the Albert Hall in London. (The “Proms,” as they are known, make up a major annual festival, offering world-class mus...

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Playing for His Master

Author

Steven C. Roy

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Galatians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 Corinthians 4:3-4, Romans 12:1, John 12:43, Matthew 6:1

A story is told of a young violinist who lived in London many years ago. He was a superb musician. He loved his music and enjoyed playing before small groups of people in the homes of friends. But he ...

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The Agony & The Ecstasy

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:13-14, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:7, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Romans 8:18, James 1:12, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

During the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto broke his right knee while competing in the floor exercise. At the time, Japan and the Soviet Union fielded the world's ...

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Scene Stealing through Pride

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:30, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Matthew 23:1-12, Galatians 6:14

One of the cardinal rules of improvisational theater is that actors must never steal scenes. In her book Improvisation for the Theater , Viola Spolin bluntly puts it this way: “Any player who ‘st...

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How Grace Transforms and Holiness Follows

Author

Bryan Chapell

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 2:11-12, Ephesians 2:8-10, John 8:1-11, Exodus 16:13-18, Romans 7:18-25, John 15:1-5

A number of you may be aware of Jerry Bridges’ series of books on holiness, and the book that maybe put him on the map was Pursuit of Holiness . Jerry’s a friend, so he’s told me these stories, and I...

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Two Golden Days

Author

Bob Burdette

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18-19, Exodus 16:4-5, 19-21, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 6:34, Philippians 3:13-14, Psalm 118:24

There are two golden days in the week, upon which, and about which, I never worry—two carefree days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday; Yesterday, with its ...

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Use what the World Gives You

Author

Shauna Niequist

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 , Leviticus 23:39–41 , Ruth 2:2–3 , Galatians 6:9 , John 4:35–36, Psalm 126:5–6

Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined s...

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When the Church Isn’t so Welcoming

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1–3 , Isaiah 56:3–7, Ruth 1:16–17 , Luke 10:25–37, Acts 8:26–39, Psalm 146:7–9

Lamin Sanneh, the African theologian who would be pivotal in the development of missional theology, was raised in an orthodox Muslim household in Gambia. He found himself drawn to Christianity after e...

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Where’s the Value?

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 1:2, Isaiah 55:2, Proverbs 23:4–5, Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:19–21, Psalm 62:10

It’s not that unusual for a painting by a famous artist to go for over a million dollars at Sotheby’s in London. It is very unusual that, as soon as the deal is done, the painting immediately “s...

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The Parable of the Clown

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 33:6, 2 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Peter 2:9, Acts 8:4, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Colossians 4:5-6

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once told a parable to illustrate the urgency of the gospel message—and the need for all believers, not just clergy, to share it. A traveling circus in Denm...

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It’s been said home is the place where

Author

Bryan C. Loritts

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:17 , Ruth 1:16-17, 1 Samuel 20:16-17 , John 15:13-15, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 , Psalm 133:1

It’s been said home is the place where they have to let you in. While it’s a reach to say I’m friends with each of my family members, our relationships thrive because we share a mutual, understood res...

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Repentance: A Mental Revolution

Author

Lesslie Newbigin

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-9 , Jonah 3:1-10, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Mark 1:14-15, Romans 12:2, Psalm 51:10-12

Lesslie Newbigin, the great missiologist and missionary, shares a powerful analogy of repentance from his days serving as a missionary in India. I remember once visiting a village in the Madras di...

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Struggling to Remain Seated

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:15, Luke 19:37-40, Acts 4:20, 1 Corinthians 9:16, 1 Timothy 6:5, Revelation 17:14; 19:16

When Queen Victoria first took the throne, she attended a performance of Handel's Messiah, a customary event for royalty. Advised on proper etiquette, she was informed that she should not stand du...

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