Arts and Culture on Helping Others

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Author

Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon

Keywords

We are not called to help people. We are called to follow Jesus, in whose service we learn who we are and how we are to help and be helped.

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing...

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Oaks of Righteousness

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:3, John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 2:6-7, Hebrews 6:12

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling contrasts our overly busy lives with a vision of the kingdom from Isaiah chapter 61: Isaiah envisioned a kingdom in which those people in need ...

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Book Review: Spiritual Practices in Community

Author

Kayla Zowada

Keywords

Many of us have been involved in small group ministry, and if we are honest with ourselves, there are seasons when the groups can lack the dynamism of a fully-flourishing Christian ministry. This is w...

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Compassionate God—In Christ, you enter

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-4, Psalm 33:22, Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:1, 1 Peter 5:7, Romans 12:15

Compassionate God—In Christ, you enter our condition; you experience our sorrow and our joy ... and redeem them. By Your Holy Spirit, you carry us along: in crisis and celebration, in despair and acco...

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Slow Down. Be Considerate. Be Aware

Author

Ryan Holiday

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 4:7, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 7:12, James 1:19

In the intro sequence of the beloved children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood , the first interior shot does not show the host. Instead, in the beat before Fred Rogers appears on the screen si...

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Author

Shauna Niequist

Keywords

I think preparing food and feeding people brings nourishment not only to our bodies but to our spirits. Feeding people is a way of loving them, in the same way that feeding ourselves is a way of honor...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that we too

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Heavenly Father, we confess that we too often center our lives around ourselves and our immediate needs, and that this blinds us from being aware of the needs of our neighbors. Help us to know our tru...

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Author

Albert Einstein

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A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have r...

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Author

Fred Rogers

Keywords

Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me.

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The Gospel and the Other: Preaching in an Age of "Us vs. Them"

Author

Andrew DeCort

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37

When conflict and division are driving both politics and media (including social media), the contrast between the way of the world and the way of Jesus stands out more than ever. How can pastors, task...

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Giving Matters: A Biblical Approach to Stewardship

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Stewardship

Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:6-15, Matthew 6:19

Giving Matters In 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Paul provides us with four crucial lessons on Christian giving: 1) How we give; 2) What we give; 3) What happens when we give; and 4) Why we give. How We Give...

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Pursuing the Common Good in Community

Author

Don Everts

Keywords

In 2017 Rebekah Morris was teaching English and journalism at Cross Keys High School, a public high school in Atlanta. Noticing that her students had really important, insightful things to say about t...

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O God, the Father of the forsaken, the

Author

Anthony Ashley Cooper

Keywords

O God, the Father of the forsaken, the help of the weak, the supplier of the needy, you have distributed and proportioned your gifts to body and soul, in such sort that all may acknowledge and perform...

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“I Know Why You’re Here”

Author

Kevin Blue

Keywords

One summer, Johnny was ministering among the poor on a six-week urban project with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles. Part of his assignment was to spend time in a convalescent home in ...

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Review: How to Know a Person

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

There are there a few books that I come across now that I’m officially “retired” from the pastorate that I sincerely wish I had been able to read, digest and act on as a young pastor. David Brook’s la...

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Generosity Is Paradoxical (Part 2)

Author

Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson

Keywords

In recent years, I (Smith) have been leading a study called the “Science of Generosity Initiative” at the University of Notre Dame, in which I (Davidson) have been deeply involved. In that study, we h...

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Working with God through Our Work

Author

Kara Martin

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, Colossians 1:17-20

Note from TPW: Kara Martin addresses life in the secular workplace, sharing insights to help you lead your congregations to understand their faith and work and also to bring the Kingdom into your o...

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Our Stories Shape Our Values

Author

Dan B. Allender

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 12:11, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Acts 22:3-8, John 1:46-47, Isaiah 61:1-3, Psalm 78:4

A close friend who started a financial loan business took thirty of his executives to the poverty- and violence-filled section of Montreal where he grew up in order to introduce them to the section of...

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True Love

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1, Isaiah 58:10, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 20:26-28, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Luke 9:23

Merciful Jesus Give us courage to deny privilege to lay down favor and safety in order to take up the cross of opportunity and justice Too often we fail to do this Merciful Jesus Give us courage to d...

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Author

Barbara Bush

Keywords

Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.

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Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

James 1:5, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18, Philippians 3:6-7, Matthew 6:31-33

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us on, help us stand; We’re tired, we’re weak, we’re worn; Thru the storm, thru the night, Lead us on to the light, Take our hand, precious Lord, Lead us home. The o...

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Lord: In our times of weakness and our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Colossians 3:12, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:18, Matthew 5:9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord: In our times of weakness and our hours of need, Yours is the strength that enables us to carry on, Yours the shoulder we rest our heads upon. When our load is heavy and too much to bear, Yours a...

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The Flow of Abundance

Author

Mark Scandrette

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:16-30, Acts 2:42-47

We are meant to be part of the flow of abundance: to open our hands to receive what we need and share what we have with others. Jesus taught his followers to be radically generous when he said: “Sell ...

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When Helping Hurts: An American in the Philippines

Author

Duane Elmer

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 28:26, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 14:12, Philippians 2:3-4, John 9:2-3

An American woman visiting the Philippines, observed an elderly woman on the outskirts of Manila. She looked poverty-stricken and walked with the help of a cane down into a ditch alongside a main road...

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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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Jesus–our Lord, Savior, Friend and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 23:1-2

Jesus–our Lord, Savior, Friend and Companion: To be “in” You is to no longer be strangers to Your Father, or to one another. In You–we are brought near. In You–we are redeemed and forgiven. In You–we ...

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Author

Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Community

When we are in meaningful relationships with one another, we each bring a unique perspective and experience to our knowledge of Christ’s love. One person has been rescued from a menacing addition. Ano...

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Based on I Timothy 4:10 (NEB)

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We have set our hope on you, our living God, as those who set course for home from distant places. But we need your help if we are to keep on course: we need fresh sight of you, on which to check our ...

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Our task is to help people concentrate on the real but often hidden event of God’s active presence in their lives. Hence, the question that must guide all organizing activity in a parish is not how to...

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