Arts and Culture on Actions

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Being in God’s story does not mean passively letting things happen to us. It doesn’t mean dumb submission or blind obedience.

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Salt Left in the Shaker?

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Matthew 5:null, 1 Peter 2:9, Galatians 5:22-23, James 2:17, Romans 12:1, Mark 4:21, Philippians 2:15

Jesus describes his followers as being “salt” and “light” in the world in Matthew 5. When you think about salt, it doesn’t really have a whole lot of value when it’s just sitting in a salt shaker. Si...

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Hard to Care about Anything

Author

Lily Rothman

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Scripture

Galatians 6:9, James 2:14-17, 1 John 3:18, Revelation 3:15-16, James 4:17, Hebrews 6:11-12, 1 John 3:17, Romans 12:11

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pervasive sense of societal malaise seems to be affecting a significant portion of the population. Journalist and managing editor of Time , Lily Rothman, ...

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Without an Outlet

Author

Billy Graham

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Timothy 4:8, Galatians 5:6, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17

Just as our bodies need exercise to be strong physically, our faith needs exercise if we are to be strong spiritually. It has often been noted that several rivers flow into the Dead Sea, but no river ...

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A Better Idea

Author

Moody BIble Institute

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Scripture

Joshua 1:8, Colossians 3:16, Colossians 3:2, 1 Timothy 6:10, Ezekiel 22:29, Exodus 20:, Romans 13:8-10

A businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to writer Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments alo...

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A Missionary's Influence

Author

Rick Ezell

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Scripture

Philippians 2:5-7, Romans 8:29, Matthew 5:16, Colossians 3:12-14, John 13:15

R.W. DeHann wrote of a missionary who, shortly after arriving on the field, was speaking for the first time to a group of villagers. He was trying to present the gospel to them. He began by describing...

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A. J. Swoboda

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Our modern dogma is that of Batman: “It’s not who you are underneath. It’s what you do that defines you.

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Author

Victor Hugo

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Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater tha...

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Metaphors, Parables and Dramatic Actions

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

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Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16

The biblical writers and reciters make extensive use of metaphors, parables and dramatic actions. Jesus does not say, “God’s love is boundless.” Instead, he tells the story of the prodigal son. He doe...

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Stories Teach Us about How the World Works

Author

Steven Sloman

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A good story goes beyond just describing what actually happened. It tells us about how the world works more broadly, in ways that pertain to things that didn’t actually happen or at least haven’t happ...

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Elemental Claims of the Gospel by Walter Brueggemann

A Theological Giant's Final Word Walter Brueggemann’s passing on June 5, 2025 leaves a void in biblical scholarship that will last a very long time. He was still writing books and essays at age 9...

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Luther's Stand at Worms

Author

Casey Clark

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Scripture

Acts 5:29

Luther's stand at the Diet of Worms is legendary. Having written blistering indictments of the abuses of the Catholic church and theological treatises which challenged its teachings, Luther was su...

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Almighty God, during this tumultuous

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Almighty God, during this tumultuous time, we see so clearly our frailty and powerlessness. Any illusions of strength and grandeur have been stripped away. We are utterly dependent upon you. Even with...

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Prayer of Adoration Father God … our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6, 1 John 1:9, Micah 7:18-19, Ephesians 1:7, Psalm 32:5, Romans 5:8

Prayer of Adoration Father God … our Abba: You seek us with relentless love – coming after us in Your Son, Jesus. When we are in the pits – You draws us up and out; When we are broken – You fix u...

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Prayer for Thanksgiving Day (2)

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Thanksgiving (Holiday)

Almighty God, we praise you for all of the tangible and spiritual mercies you have given to us at all times. You ensure your saving word is preached: comforting, teaching, warning, and convicting us, ...

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Lord of families, tribes, peoples,

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Galatians 5:1

Lord of families, tribes, peoples, nations and all the world: it’s for freedom You’ve set us free from sin, guilt, and judgment; free to do what is right and just, what is compassionate, gracious and ...

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Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re

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Scripture

1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 1:23, James 4:10, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re sufficient in everything. You can create without us; save without our assistance; bring good out of evil, hope from despair and restore what we mess up. You’re soverei...

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The Justice System for the Rich and Poor

Author

Jonathan Walton

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Scripture

Romans 2:11, James 2:1-4, Psalm 82:3-4, Zechariah 7:9-10, Proverbs 21:15

Robert H. Richards and Ethan Couch illustrate how opportunity bends toward affluent white males. Richards was found guilty of raping his three-year-old daughter, but because of his connection to the D...

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Repentance for the Religious

Author

John W. Rilling

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Scripture

Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:28, Matthew 4:1-2, 1 Peter 2:24, Psalm 51:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Written almost a hundred years ago, this excerpt from the Reverend John W. Rilling points out one of the main reasons we continue to observe Lent, a period of repentance and discipline for many who ca...

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A Review of "The Minority Experience" by Adrian Pei

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Galatians 3:28, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Proverbs 31:8-9, James 2:1-4, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17

Editors Note: This is perhaps less a review as a jumping off part to articulate some thoughts I developed while reading The Minority Experience. For a full review of the title, a cursory google search...

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Rewiring Our House is Painful

Author

Ken Costa

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Scripture

Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Peter 1:6-7, James 1:2-4

God stretches our faith in order to prepare us to receive his promises. That often requires painful rewiring. We need updating, just as an old house may need rewiring. The old electrical wires might b...

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Showing People Louis

Author

Mike Cosper

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 6:1, John 12:43, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:3

In his excellent book, Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World , Mike Cosper shares a short vignette about the comedian Louis C.K.* Louis CK tells fans he meets in pu...

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How do you help People Change: The Story of the St. Lucian Parrot

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 58:12, Psalm 24:1, Colossians 3:12, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:14-16

But could you imagine how valuable it would be to be able to change people’s thoughts, actions, behaviors across a whole host of areas from one to another? This is precisely the question Dan and Chip...

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Author

G. Campbell Morgan

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No one statement wrested from its context is a sufficient warrant for actions that plainly controvert other commands. How excellent a thing it would be if the whole Church of Christ had learned that n...

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Identity Drives Us

Author

David Lomas

Keywords

Identity

Identity drives motivation, motivation drives action, and action drives results. For example, if someone speeds past me at ninety miles per hour on the highway, odds are I won’t chase them down and is...

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Author

Lesslie Newbigin

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Work

The primary action of the Church in the world is the action of its members in their daily work.

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A Person’s Reaction Determines Their Power

Author

Howard Thurman

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If a man knows precisely what he can do to you or what epithet he can hurl against you in order to make you lose your temper, your equilibrium, then he can always keep you under subjection. It is a ma...

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Author

Timothy Keller

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Moralistic behavior change done for one's self simply manipulates and leverages radical selfishness without challenging it.

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Author

Alisdair McIntyre

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I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'”.

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Author

Ronald A. Heifetz, Marty Linsky, Alexander Grashow

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In order to exercise leadership on that challenge, they had to go beyond what people expected of them, risk testing some relationships, and move themselves and their organizations into unfamiliar terr...

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