Bible and Theology on Searching

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Searching for Herself

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:7-9, Luke 15:8-10, Matthew 18:10-14, Luke 15:1-7

A group of tourists spent hours Saturday night looking for a missing woman near Iceland’s Eldgja canyon, only to find her among the search party. The group was travelling through Iceland on a tour bus...

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Only the hungry search for bread. Only

Author

Ann Siddall

Keywords

Only the hungry search for bread. Only the thirsty look for water. This is a place for those who are hungry and thirsty in spirit. Only those who ache for meaning will pursue it. Only those who ye...

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Author

Sarah Dessen

Keywords

"It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely discovered-so many locks not enough keys.”

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What are you Looking for?

Author

Craig Groeschel

Keywords

You will always find what you are looking for. Think about the difference between two birds: a vulture and a hummingbird. Vultures soar high in the sky, looking and searching. What does a vulture find...

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There and Back Again, A Human Tale

Author

Alan Jones

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32

Let us begin with a question. Do you really know how to enjoy the world? Do you know how to enjoy yourself? One of the greatest parables in the New Testament has to do with the search for enjoyment an...

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The Drama of Humanity & Nations

Author

Thomas Kelly

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:26-27, Ezekiel 36:26, Revelation 3:20, Psalm 139:7-10, Luke 15:20

In his excellent little book, A Testament of Devotion , Thomas Kelly describes the inward reality that governs the course of history: Out in front of us is the drama of men and of nations, seethi...

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Shepherd God, forgive us for going

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7

Shepherd God, forgive us for going astray, again and again and again. You seek us out, always looking for us no matter where we are and no matter what we have done. Sometimes we take you for granted a...

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Eternal and Generous God, Every good

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:1, Romans 8:32, Luke 6:38, Psalm 34:10, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17

Eternal and Generous God, Every good gift comes from You. Your generosity is expressed best Through Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One, Who gave Himself for us. We acknowledge we often doubt Your will...

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Adapted from Psalm 34:1-4, 8 (ESV)

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 34:1-4

Pastor: I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. All: My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Pastor: Oh, magnify the LORD wit...

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The Smokescreen

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Searching

My wife is a very social person. She loves being with groups of people, having dinners, celebrating special occasions or just hanging out with her friends. She is an elementary school teacher, which m...

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Christopher Parkening’s Search For Happiness and Purpose

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:4, Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 16:26, Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, 1 Corinthians 10:31

Considered perhaps the greatest guitarist alive, Christopher Parkening appeared to have it all. Signed to an international recording deal as a teenager, Parkening traveled across the world playing bea...

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Sculpting Potatoes: Searching for Something

Author

Jeannie Gaffigan

Keywords

The following story is a great analogy to what life is like before we find we experience the eternal truth of the gospel. In Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Richard Dreyfuss’s...

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Author

John Greenleaf Whittier

Keywords

World

We search the world for truth; we cull The good, the pure, the beautiful, From all old flower fields of the soul; And, weary seekers of the best, We come back laden from our quest, To find that all th...

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Searching for the Infinite

Author

Robert Burns

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, 2 Corinthians 4:18, James 1:17, John 1:9, Job 12:7-10

Robert Burns was a widely heralded poet and lyricist (1759-1796), considered by many as the National Poet of Scotland. Burns’ poems continue to be read around the world and many have been put to song,...

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Searching for Meaning

Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

In the wake of the violence of the Bolshevik Revolution, a member of the Russian Imperial Diplomatic Corps emigrated with his family to Paris. His teenage son found himself adrift in the sudden shift ...

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Refugees: Searching for a Home & Hospitality

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 8:19-20, Luke 9:57-58, John 14:2-3, Revelation 21:3

In her book Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home , Jen Pollock Michel reflects on the nature of home in a transient age. In this short excerpt, Michel focuses on what life is like with...

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Gaining Scholars but Losing Jesus

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 18:15 , Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 11:1–4, John 14:6–9 , Philippians 3:8–10, Psalm 34:8

A friend of mine, lecturing in a theological college in Kenya, introduced his students to “The Quest for the Historical Jesus.” This, he said, was a movement of thought and scholarship that in its ear...

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Is God an Object?

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:1-4, Isaiah 49:1, Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:29-30

We think that God is an object about which we have questions. We are curious about God. We make inquiries about God. We read books about God. We get into late-night bull sessions about God. We drop in...

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Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

The wise men were experts in the movement of the stars and signs in the heavens. Their inquiry thrusts the provincial village into a cosmic concern. It is not the scientific data they are searching ou...

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A Calvinist and Arminian Dialogue

Author

Paul E. Little

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:44, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:24, Romans 9:11-23, 1 Corinthians 15:10

A conversation in 1784 between Charles Simeon (a Calvinist and believer in unconditional predestination) and John Wesley (a follower of Arminius, who denied unconditional predestination) can help us u...

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40,000 Amalekites

Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 25:4, 1 Samuel 15:2-3, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Matthew 5:38-48, John 6:66-69 , Psalm 103:8-12

The experience of Barry Taylor, former rock musician and now pastor, suggests a reason. He told me, “In the early 1970s my best friend became a Jesus freak. I thought he was crazy, so I started search...

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O God, this day we thank you for your

Author

William Barclay

Keywords

O God, this day we thank you for your Book. For those who wrote it, for those who lived close to you, so that you could speak to them and so give them a message for their day and for ours; We thank ...

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God of wonder and strength, compassion,

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 121:1-2, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Mark 4:35-41

God of wonder and strength, compassion, grace and love–all of which we see revealed through the power of a storm and its aftermath: You’re so big–and we’re so small. Your might is unlimited–ours is fi...

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Truth in the Pulpit: Why Intellectual Integrity Matters for Pastors

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

While sexual sin, financial scandals, and toxic work environments hurt pastoral credibility, a more subtle, and probably more common danger is carelessness with the truth. Intellectual integrity matte...

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Preaching on Parables: A Simple Framework to Teach Them Effectively

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:null, Matthew 22:1

A Special Kind of Story Most Christians have some idea of what a parable is. Ask an adult Sunday school class and you might hear: “It’s a story!” Another might chime in, “with a moral message!” Mer...

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Who Were the Amelekites Anyway?

Author

Keywords

Old Testament

The experience of Barry Taylor, former rock musician and now pastor, suggests a reason. He told me, “In the early 1970s my best friend became a Jesus freak. I thought he was crazy, so I started search...

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A True Prophet

Author

Thann Bennett

Keywords

What if a true prophet—a true follower of the King—is not designed to stand by while all around them falls but instead is created to be the one who walks into the storm to engage—and yes, even confron...

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An Outline of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life

Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

Martyrdom

The outline of Bonhoeffer’s story is well known. In 1927 he was a student earning a doctorate in theology from Berlin University at the age of twenty-one. In 1930 he was a debater crossing theological...

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Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Every awesome thing in creation is designed to point you to the One who alone is worthy of capturing and controlling the awe of your searching and hungry heart.

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Advice for Pastor Search Teams

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Searching for a pastor is a long and tedious process. It is filled with ups and downs, disagreements and moments of unanimity and excitement. On the other side, the process is also considerably long a...

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