Christian Living on Reason

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Author

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Scripture

Colossians 2:3, 2 Timothy 2:15, Matthew 22:37, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Proverbs 18:15, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 1:18

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

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The Evil of Apathy

Author

John Shea

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Scripture

Luke 16:1-8, Matthew 22:2-10

The unjust steward who, hearing he is going to be fired, doctors his master’s accounts to secure another job, is commended precisely because he acted. The point does not concern morality but apathy. H...

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The Thing isn’t the Thing

Author

Emily P. Freeman

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Scripture

Psalm 23:1-3, Matthew 22:37-39, Isaiah 30:21, Psalm 37:4, Philippians 4:6-7

If there’s one thing I know for sure in the kingdom of God it’s this: the thing we often think is The Thing is often not the thing but is, in fact, only a thing. We come forward with a Huge Life Decis...

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Author

Fred Rogers

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Scripture

Acts 17:10-12, Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-37, Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8

Love is at the root of everything—all learning, all parenting, all relationships—love or the lack of it. And what we hear or see on the screen is part of who we become.

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We Are What We Love

Author

James K. A. Smith

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Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:17, 1 John 3:18, Matthew 22:37-40

Identities—what makes us who we are, the kind of people we are—is what we love. More specifically, our identity is shaped by what we ultimately love or what we love as ultimate—what, at the end of the...

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Ash Wednesday and St. Valentine

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 107:null, John 21:15-19, Ruth 1:16-17, Matthew 22:37-39, Isaiah 61:3, Romans 5:8

A Valentine’s Day Tradition What better way to say, “I love you,” than passing your beloved some sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, and glycerin wrapped in a chalkly Necco wafer heart? Maybe some of you re...

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Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Love

Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, John 13:1-17, John 10:25-37, John 13:34-35, 1 John 4:7-8, Matthew 22:37-39

Though I tweet like Justin Bieber and have more Facebook friends than the pope; though I get a BA from Cal and an MBA from Stanford; though I invented Snapchat and Uber; though I have great hair and w...

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The Crucial Thing

Author

Søren Kierkegaard

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Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Colossians 1:9-10, Philippians 3:10-14, James 1:22, John 14:21

In a journal entry by the Danish Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the great existentialist philosopher describes the importance not simply of grasping the truth of the Christian faith, but having the tr...

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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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Author

Jonathan Swift

Keywords

Love

Scripture

Romans 12:9-10, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-26, Galatians 5:14, Matthew 22:37-40, 1 John 4:20-21, John 13:34-35

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to makes us love one another.

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Free Tickets and Grace

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 19:9, John 14:6, Matthew 22:1-14, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8

My wife and I did a portion of our honeymoon in Central Oregon, and as an English major in college, I desperately wanted to attend a performance at Ashland’s renowned Shakespeare Festival. As newlywed...

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The Findings of the Grant Study

Author

Laura Sumner Truax and Amalya Campbell

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Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 1 John 4:16, John 13:34-35, Luke 10:25-37

In 1938 a group of researchers from Harvard University set out to answer the question of what habits led to a fulfilling life. They chose a group of 268 men who for the next seventy-five years were st...

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The Heart of Christian Virtue

Author

Richard P. McBrien

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 22:36-40, Luke 10:25-37, Ruth 1:16

If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without l...

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Author

John Stott

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Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, 1 Peter 4:10, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14, 1 John 4:20, Matthew 22:37-40

Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbor.

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Skutniks and Samaritans

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:36-37, 1 John 3:18, Hebrews 13:16, Proverbs 14:31, Matthew 22:39

If you have ever watched the President of the United States deliver the State of the Union Address in recent years, you know that at some point in his speech, he will point to the balcony and introduc...

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The Greatest Imaginable Number of Readings

Author

David Hare

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:21, Isaiah 5:8-9, John 6:63, Matthew 22:15-22, John 8:1-11, Colossians 2:2-3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Jesus Christ was prone to making comments which seem to support an almost infinite variety of exegesis. A remark like ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and ‘unto God the things that are ...

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Author

John Newton

Keywords

Humility

Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, James 4:10, 1 John 4:7-8, Ephesians 4:2, Philippians 2:3-4, Colossians 3:12-14

I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master.

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Following Jesus Requires Real Commitment

Author

Bradley Long

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-8, Matthew 22:37, Romans 12:1-2, Luke 14:26-27, Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 16:13, Mark 12:30, John 14:15, Matthew 16:24-26, Luke 9:59-62, Matthew 6:24, Hebrews 11:13-16, Hebrews 10:38-39, Matthew 6:33-34, Matthew 10:37-39

What are you willing to do for love? An instructor for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course shared with a class the major hang-up he had to get over before asking his wife to ma...

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Author

Robert Oxton Bolt

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:37, Ephesians 4:23-24, Isaiah 26:3, Hebrews 11:1, Colossians 3:2, Philippians 2:5

A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind.

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Giving Myself

Author

Mark E. Strong

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 51:17, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 22:37, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Mark 12:41-44, Romans 12:1

I heard a story about a little boy who wanted to give God an offering but had nothing to give. He sat on the floor, watching people pass by and place their offerings in large wicker baskets. How he lo...

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Collect for Purity

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Scripture

John 4:7-26, Isaiah 6:1-8, Revelation 4:11, Matthew 22:37, Ezekiel 36:26-27

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you,...

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Loving Others

Author

Scot McKnight

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-14, Luke 10:25-37, John 4:1-26, Galatians 5:13-14, Matthew 22:37-39, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 John 4:7-8

Let me tell you the story of a great missionary named Frank C. Laubach (1884–1970). He grew up in the farming community of Benton, PA, and served as a Congregationalist missionary in the Philippines. ...

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Loving God, we confess today: We don’t

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Psalm 51:10, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Matthew 22:37-39, Romans 5:8

Loving God, we confess today: We don’t even know what love truly is. We talk about love when we talk about favorite television shows and foods. We talk about love as if it happens to us. We describe l...

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Come to the Table

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Revelation 19:9, Psalm 23:5-6, Isaiah 55:1-2, Luke 14:16-17, Luke 22:19-20, John 6:35, Psalm 34:8, Isaiah 25:6, Matthew 22:2-4, Proverbs 9:5-6

In the midst of all you are facing Your burdens Your responsibilities Your hustle Hear the invitation “Come to the Table” In the midst of all you are facing Your longing Your ambition Your distractio...

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Red Letter Christians

Author

Shane Claiborne

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 22:37-40, John 13:34-35, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 7:12

Several years ago, a radio DJ in my home state of Tennessee was interviewing a friend of mine, Jim Wallis. This DJ was an interesting cacophony of things: he was a Jewish country music DJ who didn’t s...

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Almighty God, we bow before You, humbly

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Almighty God, we bow before You, humbly able to admit how small, fragile, and dependent we are. Unfortunately, for many of us, it takes a disaster to convince us that we are not in control. Over the p...

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Author

Thomas Aquinas

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:13, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 22:34-40, Galatians 5:6, James 2:26

Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.

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Loving God, you command us to love you

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Loving God, you command us to love you and to love our neighbors wholeheartedly. This is a lifelong struggle for us. As we confess our inability to follow this commandment, please help us to find crea...

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Author

Søren Kierkegaard

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:1-3, John 15:12-13, 1 John 4:19, Matthew 22:37-40, Matthew 19:16-30

To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception; it is an eternal loss for which there is no reparation, either in time or in eternity.

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Pledging Allegiance to a Party

Author

Eugene Cho

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1–4, 1 Samuel 8:6–9, Daniel 6:6–10, Matthew 22:20–21, Acts 5:29, Psalm 146:3–5

Followers of Jesus should not be in bed with any of the political parties. Even if one affiliates with a particular party, may we maintain a posture to collaborate, listen, hold accountable, and engag...

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