Christian Living on Equality

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Romans 14:17, Matthew 5:9, Zechariah 7:9-10, Psalm 85:10, Amos 5:24

There is no peace in Southern Africa. There is no peace because there is no justice. There can be no real peace and security until there be first justice enjoyed by all the inhabitants of that beautif...

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Three Ways to Make a Salad

Author

Scot McKnight

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Scripture

1 Timothy 4:4-5, Proverbs 15:17, Acts 2:46, Matthew 5:13, Romans 14:17, Psalm 104:14-15

There are three ways to eat a salad: the American Way; the Weird Way, and the Right Way. The American Way of eating a salad is to fill your bowl with some iceberg lettuce or some spinach leaves, some ...

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Tell Them About the Dream, Martin!

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 2:8, Proverbs 21:3, Romans 12:21, Isaiah 1:17, Galatians 3:28

Most of us in the United States know the famous “I have a Dream” speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the 1963 March on Washington. On a sweltering, humid day in the n...

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May we be no one’s enemy, and may we be

Author

Eusebius of Caesarea

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Scripture

1 Peter 3:8-9, Philippians 2:3-4, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:27-28, Galatians 6:2, Proverbs 17:9, Matthew 5:9

May we be no one’s enemy, and may we be the friend of all that is eternal and abides with Christ. May we never quarrel with those nearest us; and if we do, may we be reconciled quickly. May we love,...

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Author

Nicholas Wolterstorff

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Colossians 3:15, Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 9:6-7, Romans 14:17, Psalm 85:10, Micah 4:3-4

In shalom, each person enjoys justice, enjoys his or her rights. There is no shalom without justice. But shalom goes beyond justice. Shalom is the human being dwelling at peace in all his or her relat...

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Author

Lois Barrett

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Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 3:18, Romans 14:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 8:16-17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 32:17

Shalom envisions the full prosperity of a people of God living under the covenant of God’s demanding care and compassionate rule. In the prophetic vision, peace such as this comes hand in hand with ju...

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Scripture

James 3:18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 1:16-17, Proverbs 16:7

Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice.

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The Upside-Down, Strangely Beautiful Kingdom

Author

Russell Moore

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Scripture

Acts 17:6, Revelation 5:9-10, Galatians 3:28, Romans 8:17, Matthew 5:3

The kingdom of God turns the Darwinist narrative of the survival of the fittest upside down (Acts 17:6–7). When the church honors and cares for the vulnerable among us, we are not showing charity. We ...

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Author

Spencer W. Kimball

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Humility

Scripture

Luke 14:11, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Psalm 149:4, Isaiah 57:15, James 4:6, Matthew 5:5

Humility is royalty without a crown.

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Author

Thomas Merton

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Scripture

Ephesians 4:2-3, Matthew 5:9, Proverbs 15:1, 2 Timothy 2:24-25, Philippians 2:3-4, James 1:19-20, Colossians 4:6

The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of a certain type of Christian thought has seriously impaired this ca...

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Author

Viktor E. Frankl

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:10, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 2:15-17, Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:35-36, Philippians 4:12-13

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficie...

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Author

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

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Scripture

Psalm 113:7-8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Luke 1:52-53, Matthew 11:25, Luke 6:20, Matthew 5:3, James 2:5

The claim here is not that the poor are inherently more righteous or sanctified than the rich. There is no place in the Bible that indicates that poverty is a desirable state or that material things a...

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Gracious and loving God—Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Acts 9:1-19, Acts 10:, John 8:1-11, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 5:44

Gracious and loving God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We praise you for how wide, how high, and how deep is Your vast love for all people. Incarnate in Jesus, You offered Your life for the healing ...

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Gracious God, our hearts are often

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 5:8, Romans 7:21-23, James 4:8, Ezekiel 36:26, 1 John 3:3, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 24:3-4, Matthew 15:19-20, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:23-24, Titus 1:15, James 1:2-8, Matthew 12:25

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart.

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Christians Ought to be Different

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Christians

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Galatians 6:9-10, Matthew 25:35-36, Romans 2:21-24, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Timothy 3:2-3, James 3:1

If a CEO or an accountant is caught in an adulterous affair, it is not likely to make the news at all. But when a pastor is caught in an affair or embezzling money, it is a big deal. Which leads us to...

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Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 2:19-22, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 2:9

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church has assembled. People: We are one body, with Christ as our head. Leader: What kind of body is this? People: The Body of Christ, brought together not by huma...

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The Unique Quality of Christians

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:10, Hebrews 11:13-16, 2 Corinthians 6:9-10, Matthew 5:44, 1 Peter 2:11-12, John 17:15-16

In an early Christian document known as the Epistle to Diognetus (c. A.D. 120-200), the author wrote a response to some propaganda circulating in the Roman Empire. People had spread false rumors about...

liturgy

Responsive Prayer of the Beatitudes

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:3-12, Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 5:9, Matthew 5:8, Matthew 5:7

Pastor: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. All: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Pastor: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the...

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The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Author

John R. W. Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:5, James 4:6-10, Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11, Judges 7:

These ‘meek’ people, Jesus added, ‘shall inherit the earth’. One would have expected the opposite. One would think that ‘meek’ people get nowhere because everybody ignores them or else rides roughshod...

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The Two Runners

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

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We All Need Blessing

Author

Lloyd John Ogilvie

Keywords

Blessing

Scripture

Ephesians 1:3, James 1:17, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 5:3-12, Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17, Genesis 27:1-40

We all need [blessing] desperately. It is the one great need we all share in common. We were born for it and there is no lasting joy without it. What oxygen is for the lungs and protein for the body, ...

liturgy

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Ephesians 4:32, James 5:15-16, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the author of change, who’s constantly doing “a new thing,” which makes us sit up and take notice. We admit, we’d be more comfortable with a pred...

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Author

Bryan Stevenson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 5:3, Matthew 5:7, 2 Corinthians 12:9, James 4:6, Micah 7:18

There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experienc...

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The Victory of God

Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 3:9, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-14, Luke 6:36, Romans 12:21, Matthew 5:7, Micah 6:8

The victory of God in our time over this deathly idolatry is hidden from us, as God’s decisive victory is always hidden from us. We do not know exactly when and where the victory has been wrought. It ...

liturgy

God of grace, power, and peace: This is

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:27, Isaiah 58:6-7, Psalm 34:18, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 5:9

God of grace, power, and peace: This is Your world—not ours. You are the hope of all people—not us. Your love is infinite and eternal—ours is small and short-lived. We pray for a world bigger than jus...

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Author

James Stewart

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 1:16, Acts 4:19-20, 2 Timothy 1:7-8, Matthew 5:14-16, Proverbs 28:1

Humble and self-forgetting we must be always, but diffident and apologetic about the gospel never.

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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:7, James 2:13, Psalm 85:10, Zechariah 7:9, Proverbs 21:21, Luke 6:36

Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful.

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Author

Tony Evans

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Isaiah 1:17, James 1:27, Philippians 2:3-4, Proverbs 29:2, Matthew 5:9, Romans 13:1

Every voting choice you exercise ought to be for the candidate, platform, party, or policy that will best represent the values of the kingdom of God.

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Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:37, Luke 6:27, Luke 17:3-4, Luke 23:34, Matthew 26:28, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 5:44

Jesus is a reconciler of people, not a divider. He wants to bring people together, not finalize separations.

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Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 2:10, Matthew 5:16, Proverbs 3:3-4, 1 Peter 3:4, Galatians 5:22-23

[Beauty] “is goodness made manifest to the senses.

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