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illustration
Thanking God for Places of Peace
Think back over your life and try to remember a place where you felt safe and at peace, a time when you felt relaxed and okay. It could be an outdoor place—like on a beach or sitting in a tree. Maybe ... -
Quote
Never in history has distance meant less. . . . Figuratively we “use up” places and dispose of them much in the same way we dispose of Kleenex or beer cans. We are witnessing a historic decline in the... -
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The Closing of Distance
Never in history has distance meant less. . . . Figuratively we “use up” places and dispose of them much in the same way we dispose of Kleenex or beer cans. We are witnessing a historic decline in the... -
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Becoming Locals
“I got here as fast as I could.” This is my answer when people ask if I’m a Colorado native. This is a state where being born here gives you bragging rights. Drive around and you’ll see bumper sticker... -
illustration
Location, Location, Location
As in buying real estate, three principles are crucial to understanding a person’s words: location, location, and location. We cannot make sense of what someone says unless we understand the context i... -
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We can’t locate ourselves, much less find ourselves, apart from the places we inhabit. -
illustration
A Highly Mobile Way of Life
By the time they have turned eighteen, most Americans will have moved at least twice. Most thirty-year-olds will have moved six times. By the end of our lives, most of us will have pushed that number ... -
Quote
People began to learn, first from the telegraph, then from radio, newsreels, television, and the Internet, that what was happening now, all over the globe, mattered more than what was happening here. -
Quote
Community is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives. -
Quote
The city is the place where there are more people...and since] God loves people… [few can be assured that] He loves the city. -
illustration
Paradise: A Set Apart Place
The first garden (Eden) was perfection. In it was the possibility not only for the purest fulfillment of the human race but for all of creation. It was meant to be a paradise, which is, in fact, no di... -
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Our Place of Roots and Beginnings
In all our pilgrimages, we begin by going back to our roots. When Christians go to the Holy Land today, we do not go because God is present there in a way in which he is not in New York or Nottingham,... -
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This Place is Enough
A simple refusal motivates my argument: refusal to believe that the present time and place, and the people who are here with us, are somehow not enough. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram act li... -
liturgy
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often place value
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often place value in things that are important, but which may not be fully reflective of your desires. We admit that we settle for things that seem good, but don’t ... -
Quote
I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving o... -
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Bright Spark, Shot from a Higher Place
Thus the incomparable George Herbert writes of our glorification in his poem “The Star”: Bright spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviour’s face, Canst thou be any where ... -
liturgy
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often place
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often place our hopes in the powers that we see in the world, allowing ourselves to be lifted and brought down by people and institutions that are flawed and fleeti... -
liturgy
It’s too easy for us, God to place
It’s too easy for us, God to place other things before you. We fail to completely follow your will, we live for ourselves, and we settle into sinful ways of life. Please help us to see that there’s mo... -
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The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. -
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What each of us needs in place of the superficial virtue of niceness is a soul rooted and abiding in Christ. We need to be transformed so fully and completely that we actually are who we present ourse... -
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The Church Losing its Place as the Center of Attention
The Church was the one institution whose mission depended on galvanizing attention; and through its daily and weekly offices, as well as its sometimes-central role in education, that is exactly what i... -
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In the past three centuries in the West—the period of “modernity”—place has come to be not only neglected but actively suppressed. Owing to the triumph of the natural and social sciences in this same ... -
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A garden should make you feel you've entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on... -
blog
Creating Utopias: Sermon Illustration Tuesday
One of the seductions that continues to bedevil Christian obedience is the construction of utopias, whether in fact or fantasy, ideal places where we can live the good and blessed and righteous life w... -
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The first germ of the city... is in the ceremonial meeting place.,. because it concentrates... certain 'spiritual' or supernatural power, powers of wider cosmic significance than the ordinary ... -
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A Workable Structure for Life
Worship gives us a workable structure for life. The psalm says, “Jerusalem, well-built city, built as a place for worship! The city to which the tribes ascend, all God’s tribes go up to worship.” Jeru... -
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Home: A Desire for Permanence
Before Seattle resident Edith Macefield died at age eighty-six in 2008, she refused to sell her house to developers for the $1 million they had purportedly offered. Macefield wanted to die at home. Se... -
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A Pile of Stuff with A Cover
In his classic monologue, comedian George Carlin riffed on the mountain of stuff we compile. His assertion is that a “house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it.” So when you get right down to ... -
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Entertainment vs. Hospitality
The entertaining host seeks to elevate herself. And as Martha mentions, it’s a bit selfish. When the guest arrives, the entertainer announces, “Here I am. Come into my beautiful abode and have the hon... -
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Expecting Guests
Andy Stanley has said, “The Church is a family expecting guests.” Is your family ready? Have you prepared for the arrival of guests and all that is to follow? Let’s say I’ve invited you into my home f...
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D
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E
- Easter
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F
- Face of God
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G
- Games
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H
- Habits
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I
- Ideas
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J
K
L
- Labor
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M
- Magnificat
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N
O
P
- Pace
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R
- Race
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- Romantic Love
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- Rootedness
- Routines
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- The Rich
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S
- Sabbath
- Sacred vs. Secular
- Sacrifice
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- Satan
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- School
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- Sea
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- Self-Deception
- Self-Destruction
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- Self-Expression
- Self-Help
- Self-Image
- Self-Improvement
- Self-Interest
- Self-Knowledge
- Self-Love
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Renunciation
- Self-Righteousness
- Self-Sufficiency
- Selfishness
- Selflessness
- Servanthood
- Service
- Settling
- Sex
- Shallowness
- Shalom
- Shame
- Sheep
- Shelter
- Shepherds
- Sickness
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- Simplicity
- Sin
- Sinfulness
- Singing
- Sins of the Church
- Skepticism
- Slavery
- Slowing Down
- Smart Phones
- Social Media
- Social Status
- Society
- Soil
- Solitude
- Songs
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- Spectacle
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Spiritual Formation
- Spiritual Growth
- Spiritual Hunger
- Spirituality
- Sports
- Spring (Season)
- Standards
- Stars
- Status Quo
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- Steadfast Love
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- Stress
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- Stuff
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- Suffering
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- Summer
- Sun
- Supernatural
- Surgery
- Surprise
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- Suspicion of Authority
- Sustainer
- Sweetness
- The Sacraments
- The Saints
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- The Soul
T
- Talents
- Talking
- Targets
- Tears
- Technology
- Teenagers
- Television
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- Thanksgiving (General)
- Thanksgiving (Holiday)
- The Temple
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- Things
- Third Third of Life
- Thought
- Threats
- Time
- Tired
- Tongue
- Town
- Tradition
- Training
- Transformation
- Translation
- Travel
- Treasure
- Trees
- Trouble
- True Self
- Trust
- Truth
- Turning a Blind Eye
U
W
- The Way
- The Weak
- The Wild
- Waiting
- Wandering
- Wants
- War
- Water
- Ways
- Weakness
- Wealth
- Weariness
- Weather
- Weeping
- Western Culture
- Wickedness
- Wilderness
- Wisdom
- Wisdom of God
- Witnesses
- Wittiness
- Women
- Women Changing the World
- Wonder
- Words
- Work
- Work and Rest
- Work-Life Balance
- Workaholism
- Workmanship
- World
- World Leaders
- World Peace
- Worldliness
- Worldview
- Worry
- Worship
- Worth
- Writing
Y
Top_level_categories by Reference
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
2 Samuel
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Esther
Job
Psalm
- Ps 1 (5)
- Ps 2 (1)
- Ps 6 (1)
- Ps 8 (5)
- Ps 9 (2)
- Ps 10 (1)
- Ps 12 (1)
- Ps 14 (1)
- Ps 15 (1)
- Ps 16 (1)
- Ps 18 (1)
- Ps 19 (10)
- Ps 20 (1)
- Ps 22 (4)
- Ps 23 (16)
- Ps 24 (9)
- Ps 25 (1)
- Ps 27 (8)
- Ps 30 (4)
- Ps 32 (6)
- Ps 33 (5)
- Ps 34 (19)
- Ps 36 (1)
- Ps 37 (4)
- Ps 39 (2)
- Ps 40 (2)
- Ps 42 (6)
- Ps 46 (21)
- Ps 47 (1)
- Ps 48 (1)
- Ps 51 (18)
- Ps 52 (1)
- Ps 55 (1)
- Ps 56 (1)
- Ps 57 (2)
- Ps 62 (2)
- Ps 63 (2)
- Ps 65 (2)
- Ps 67 (1)
- Ps 68 (2)
- Ps 71 (1)
- Ps 72 (4)
- Ps 73 (3)
- Ps 78 (2)
- Ps 80 (2)
- Ps 82 (6)
- Ps 84 (2)
- Ps 85 (3)
- Ps 86 (3)
- Ps 88 (1)
- Ps 89 (1)
- Ps 90 (8)
- Ps 92 (2)
- Ps 94 (1)
- Ps 95 (4)
- Ps 96 (2)
- Ps 98 (6)
- Ps 100 (5)
- Ps 103 (9)
- Ps 104 (4)
- Ps 105 (1)
- Ps 107 (1)
- Ps 111 (1)
- Ps 112 (2)
- Ps 113 (2)
- Ps 115 (2)
- Ps 117 (1)
- Ps 118 (2)
- Ps 119 (9)
- Ps 121 (1)
- Ps 122 (1)
- Ps 124 (1)
- Ps 126 (2)
- Ps 127 (5)
- Ps 128 (1)
- Ps 133 (5)
- Ps 135 (1)
- Ps 136 (2)
- Ps 139 (16)
- Ps 141 (2)
- Ps 143 (1)
- Ps 145 (4)
- Ps 147 (6)
- Ps 148 (1)
- Ps 150 (1)
Proverbs
- Prov 1 (1)
- Prov 2 (1)
- Prov 3 (19)
- Prov 4 (7)
- Prov 5 (1)
- Prov 6 (1)
- Prov 9 (1)
- Prov 10 (2)
- Prov 11 (5)
- Prov 12 (6)
- Prov 13 (4)
- Prov 14 (9)
- Prov 15 (4)
- Prov 16 (10)
- Prov 17 (6)
- Prov 18 (8)
- Prov 19 (9)
- Prov 20 (2)
- Prov 21 (7)
- Prov 22 (7)
- Prov 23 (3)
- Prov 24 (2)
- Prov 25 (1)
- Prov 26 (1)
- Prov 27 (7)
- Prov 28 (2)
- Prov 29 (7)
- Prov 30 (2)
- Prov 31 (11)
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
- Isa 1 (13)
- Isa 2 (4)
- Isa 5 (4)
- Isa 6 (3)
- Isa 7 (1)
- Isa 9 (14)
- Isa 11 (2)
- Isa 12 (1)
- Isa 25 (1)
- Isa 26 (5)
- Isa 28 (4)
- Isa 30 (7)
- Isa 32 (1)
- Isa 35 (1)
- Isa 40 (26)
- Isa 41 (11)
- Isa 42 (2)
- Isa 43 (10)
- Isa 44 (2)
- Isa 45 (1)
- Isa 47 (2)
- Isa 49 (3)
- Isa 51 (1)
- Isa 53 (11)
- Isa 55 (13)
- Isa 56 (1)
- Isa 57 (4)
- Isa 58 (7)
- Isa 60 (6)
- Isa 61 (16)
- Isa 64 (2)
- Isa 66 (2)