Arts and Culture on Christians

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Author

Keywords

Christians are like manure: spread them out and they help everything grow better, but keep them in one big pile and they stink horribly.

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“Christians:” Worshiping God in Equality

Author

John M. Perkins

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 13:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:28

Christ followers were first called Christians at Antioch—about fifteen years after the birth of the church at Pentecost. There must have been something remarkable about this particular group of believ...

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Never an Only Child

Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Whether we like it or not, the moment we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that is, from the time we become a Christian, we are at the same time a member of the Christian church … Our membe...

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Why We are Reluctant to Share the Gospel

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 29:25, Acts 4:13, John 15:18-19, 2 Timothy 1:7-8, Colossians 4:5-6, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 1:16

Why is it so intimidating to talk about Jesus in contemporary western culture? One obvious reason might lie in the ubiquitous negative portrayals of Christians in mainstream media. Sam Chan makes this...

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Can it Be Called By Any Other Name?

Author

C. Douglas Weaver

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 5:41, Revelation 2:10, Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 11:35-38, Philippians 1:21

At the beginning of the third century in North Africa, persecution of Christians broke out in Carthage. One of the catechumens taken into custody was Perpetua, a noblewoman still nursing her son. Whe...

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Christians in Politics: Often Our Own Worst Enemies

Author

Jake Meador

Keywords

Though American Christians do have genuine opponents in the public square and in elite institutions, they have often been their own worst enemies, making disastrous political compromises and looking t...

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Author

Dallas Willard

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Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:13, Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 6:10-11

This is an age for spiritual heroes—a time for men and women to be heroic in faith and in spiritual character and power. The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its messa...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Status Quo

Like the early Christians, we must move into a sometime hostile world armed with the revolutionary gospel of Jesus Christ. With this powerful gospel we shall boldly challenge the status quo.

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Author

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

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There is no such thing as an independent Christian.

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Author

Michael Wear

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Christians: The crisis is not that you are politically homeless. The crisis is that we ever thought we could make a home in politics at all.

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Author

Don Everts

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Even Christians living through a hostile season are called to stand with their neighbors and become zealous for the common good.

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Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Will Christians turn once again toward an approach that imposes its will on the rest of society? By doing so we would betray our founder, who resisted a temptation to authority over “all the kingdoms ...

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A Christianity for Those with their Backs Against the Wall

Author

Howard Thurman

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:7–10, Isaiah 58:6–10 , Amos 5:21–24, Luke 4:16–21, James 2:1–7, Psalm 9:9–10

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that I have heard a sermon on the meaning of religion, of Christianity, to the man who stands with his back against the wall. It is urgent th...

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Author

Ron Sider

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Evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general.”

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Author

Mark Dever

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In this past century, Christians have all but ignored biblical teaching on the corporate nature of following Christ. Our churches anew awash in self-centered narcissism, hyper-individualism… Jesus nev...

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Negative Attitudes About Christians

Author

Keywords

Western Culture

I’ve asked strangers and casual acquaintances, “Why do Christians stir up such negative feelings?” Some bring up past atrocities, such as the widespread belief that the church executed eight or nine m...

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Author

Craig Blomberg

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How do modern Christians and churches avoid the seductive power of material possessions? How can wealth remain a “good” for their enjoyment rather than leading them further away from God and the prior...

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Author

Charles W. Colson

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Christians should never have a political party. It is a huge mistake to become married to an ideology, because the greatest enemy of the gospel is ideology. Ideology is a man-made format of how the wo...

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Author

William Sloane Coffin

Keywords

Christians have no business thinking that the good life consists mainly in not doing bad things. We have no business thinking that to do evil in this world you have to be a Bengal tiger, when, in fact...

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Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

We’re tourist Christians. We remain as long as we’re entertained.

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Christians Can Cultivate Culture

Author

JR Woodward

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 2:7-8, Jeremiah 2:4-9, Romans 12:21, Matthew 5:13-16, Genesis 41:

While there is a place for condemning, critiquing, consuming and copying culture, the primary posture Christ followers are to have in the world is as culture makers. In regard to history, the word cul...

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God of our hearts, Lord of nations and

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

God of our hearts, Lord of nations and Creator of worlds; Father, Son and Holy Spirit: When You redeemed us and called us each by name, You made us a family—united by your love and grace. Across towns...

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O Merciful God, who came in Jesus

Author

Ernest Fremont Tittle

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, Jeremiah 1:7-8, Micah 6:8, Psalm 27:1, Luke 2:25-32

O Merciful God, who came in Jesus Christ with saving power to a world that walked in darkness and in the shadow of death, we praise and bless you for all those your servants who helped prepare the way...

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Author

Rodney Stark

Keywords

To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment...

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Adapted from Colossians 3:12-17

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-17

Leader: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience All: bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against an...

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Author

Philip Jenkins

Keywords

By 2050, only about one-fifth of the world’s 3 billion Christians will be non-Hispanic Whites. Soon, the phrase ‘a White Christian’ may sound like a curious oxymoron, as mildly surprising as ‘a Swedis...

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Prayers of the People, Form IV

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Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Acts 2:1-41, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 10:25-37, John 11:25-26, Revelation 21:4

Deacon or other leader Let us pray for the Church and for the world. Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glo...

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A Post-Christian America?

Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

The United States is undergoing a marked change in its attitude toward religion, and Christians here face new challenges. When a blogger named Marc Yoder wrote about “10 Surprising Reasons Our Kids Le...

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Pursuing the Common Good Throughout History

Author

Don Everts

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:39, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Corinthians 10:24, Romans 15:1-2, Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:10, Acts 20:35, Matthew 25:35-40, Isaiah 58:6-7, Proverbs 19:17, Luke 10:30-37, James 2:15-16, 1 John 3:17, Proverbs 31:8-9, Matthew 25:40, Acts 11:29-30, 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35, 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

Pursuing the common good has been a strong marker of the Christian church from the very beginning. The early church had many habits that they became known for, of course—including meeting frequently, ...

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Consider the Culture

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

One of the areas often missed in a lot of Christian apologetics is the social setting in which a person encounters the gospel. For example, it is far easier to espouse "rational arguments" f...

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