Bible and Theology on Balance

Quote

Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.

illustration

Re-Wilding and Restoring Balance to Nature

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, John 8:36

In 1995, the gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after a seventy-year hiatus. Scientists expected an ecological ripple effect, but the size and scope of the trophic cascade took th...

illustration

Two for a Reason

Author

Sam Metcalf

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:17, Philippians 4:5, Proverbs 11:1, 1 Corinthians 12:14-20, Romans 12:4-5

I remember playing a game as a child in which we would bend one knee and grab our foot behind us and then try to race—limping, stumbling and falling over as we struggled across the grass toward a fini...

liturgy

Gracious God, for many of us, the

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:null

Gracious God, for many of us, the notion of Sabbath-keeping is foreign. It suggests old-fashioned traditionalism or constrictive legalism. Yet, your example in Genesis 2, not to mention other portions...

illustration

Going Against the Grain of the Universe

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Mark 2:27-28

When we fight this work-six-days, Sabbath-one-day rhythm, we go against the grain of the universe. And to quote the philosopher H. H. Farmer, “If you go against the grain of the universe, you get spli...

illustration

Finding a Private Relaxation Activity

Author

Stephen W. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:1-3, Psalm 62:1, Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 4:9-10

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith shares the importance of finding ways to rest and relax as part of a healthy, balanced life: I once read a book in which the author sa...

illustration

Cultivating Blessing Through Our Work

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Jeremiah 29:4–7, Proverbs 11:24–25, Matthew 5:13–16 , Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 90:17

Looking through the lens of Holy Scripture, human work must be seen first and foremost as value contribution, not economic compensation. We can have a flourishing, fruitful life even if we don’t get a...

illustration

God's Generosity in the Garden

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:16

Is God stingy? Mark D. Roberts observes that many writers and preachers focus on the prohibition of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil instead of Genesis 2:16: "You may freely eat of each...

blog

How Canonicity and Love Go Together

Author

Susan Lim

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 31:24-26, 2 Kings 22:8

Love Loving the Word of God is a great pursuit, but it’s not always easy. Like most love relationships, there are inevitable highs and lows. And as teachers of the Bible, many of us walk a delicate...

blog

Cultivating a Spirit of Generosity: A Pastoral Call to Year-End Giving

Author

Aaron Schweizer

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 11:1, Philippians 4:18

As a five-year-old at Christmas I remember how excited I was to get my first bike. It was a yellow BMX Huffy, a mean machine for a kid in the late 70s. It is one of my fondest memories because I remem...

liturgy

Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-2, Micah 6:8, Psalm 24:1, Matthew 25:35-40, Revelation 21:3-4

Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You taught us to pray not only for ourselves but for people everywhere, so now hear us as we pray for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord...

liturgy

Almighty God–Father, Son and Holy, You Tell

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 136:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Isaiah 40:31

Almighty God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You tell us to pray with thanksgiving...and we do; giving thanks for Your daily provision and care, for the birth of a child, for new jobs and new friends, fo...

liturgy

Lord—You are good and You are strong.

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 121:1-2, James 5:13-16, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18-19, Philippians 4:6-7, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord—You are good and You are strong. You are faithful and You are loving. All that we have comes from Your hands: Hands that … hold us when we are weak, heal us when we’re wounded, protect us w...

blog

Five Types of Illustrations & Why They Matter

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Preaching

For most of us “seasoned preachers,” when we come to the conclusion that we need a sermon illustration, our minds instantly think “story.” Many preachers use the words interchangeably, but as we will ...

Quote

Author

Tamar Adler

Keywords

“Breaking bread” means eating. “Our daily bread” means food. It is also called the staff of life, which I like: bread there, all life leaning against it. Our lives don’t lean against it anymore: we’ve...

blog

Surprising Peace in Times of Crisis: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

In his book, Running Scared , Pychologist Edward Welch illustrates how the fear of an event is often worse than the event itself. To demonstrate this, he provides two examples of people whose lives...

illustration

Deepening Our Attention

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 4:2, Amos 5:24, James 1:5, Philippians 4:6-7, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:10

Simone Weil, a French philosopher, theologian and activist around the time of World War II, wrote a remarkable essay in which she connects the discipline of schoolwork with that of prayer. She argues ...

illustration

The Key to Understanding Anger

Author

Robert Farrar Capon

Keywords

In his book The Mystery of Christ , a series of fictionalized pastoral counseling sessions (based on actual events), the Episcopal priest Robert Farrar Capon shares a number of helpful ways of unde...

illustration

The Scorpion and the Old Woman

Author

Joan Chittister

Keywords

Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, tells the following Sufi story. Once upon a time there was an old woman who used to meditate on the bank of the Ganges. One morning, finishing her meditatio...

Quote

Author

Richard Rohr

Keywords

The Trinity

If the mystery of the Trinity is the template of all reality, what we have in the Trinitarian God is the perfect balance between union and differentiation, autonomy and mutuality, identity and communi...

illustration

Merton’s Turn to Christ and Virtue

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:17, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 Timothy 4:12, Titus 2:7-8

In The Seven Storey Mountain , Thomas Merton describes his life of sin and his eventual turning to God in his early years. He despised and ridiculed the word virtue, which had come to mean “prudery p...

illustration

The Treasure of a Lifetime

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:44, Hebrews 14:26, Colossians 2:2-3, Philippians 3:8, Luke 12:33-34

A first-century Hebrew walks alone on a hot afternoon, staff in hand. His shoulders are stooped, his tunic stained with sweat. But he doesn’t stop to rest. He has pressing business in the city. He vee...

illustration

The Unmerited Gift of Grace

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:6, Luke 23:39-43, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:6-8

If you’re not stunned by the thought of grace, then you aren’t grasping what grace offers you, or what it cost Jesus. In 1987, eighteen-month-old “Baby Jessica” fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well....

illustration

Strengthen Your Core

Author

Ken Costa

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:3, Philippians 1:6, John 15:5, Psalm 18:2, Isaiah 40:31, Ephesians 60:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17

You can only build an effective Christian life when you have a “settled core”: an inner self “hidden with Christ” (Colossians 3:3). When you go to the gym or a Pilates class, your instructor might enc...

illustration

Disease is a Breakdown of Conversation in Our Bodies

Author

C. Christopher Smith

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 4:15-16, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, James 3:5-6

Our bodies, created in the image of the Triune God, have much to teach us about the virtues of conversation. The human body is a wondrous symphony of diverse parts: 206 bones and over 600 muscles, con...

illustration

Waiting For Their Souls To Catch Up With Their Bodies

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:7-8, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 46:10, 1 John 2:17, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Genesis 2:1-25

The story goes like this: It’s the height of British colonialism. An English traveler lands in Africa, intent on a rapid journey into the jungle. He charters some local porters to carry his supplies. ...

illustration

Climbing and Leaving the Right Words Behind

Author

Eric Greitens

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 12:18, Proverbs 15:4, Proverbs 18:21, Matthew 12:36-37, Ephesians 4:29, James 3:5-6

I am not a mountain climber, but a few years ago I had the idea that I might want to climb seriously, so I started to read and to train. I’ve climbed a few glacier-covered mountains in the northwester...

Quote

Author

David Platt

Keywords

We email, Facebook, tweet and text with people who are going to spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Our lives are too short to waste on mere temporal conversations when massive eternal realities ...

Quote

Author

Ben Witherington III

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:1-10, Luke 7:36-50, Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 26:20-25, 1 Corinthians 11:28-29, Luke 15:1-2

We have seen some gatekeeping or fencing-the-table language already beginning to rear its head in this context. One needed to be baptized to take the meal; one needed to repent to take the meal; one n...

illustration

Apologetics as Defense of God's Honor

Author

Os Guinness

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 3:4, Isaiah 5:16, 1 Peter 3:15, Isaiah 42:8

Apologetics (from apologia in Greek) is a “word back,” a reasoned defense mounted on behalf of the one we love who is innocent but has been falsely and unfairly accused. Faith desires to let God be Go...

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

blog

blog

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

blog

blog

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos