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Empathy Defined
“Empathy” literally means “in-feeling”—it is to project myself into another person’s feelings so that I begin to understand what it is like to have his experiences. If I want to gain empathy for a nei... -
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Caring For Them is What We’re on this Earth For
In this beautiful illustration from Tom Long’s well-known preaching guide, The Witness of Preaching , a pastor shares a true story of what valuing human life can look like when God’s Kingdom takes ro... -
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Confess Your Mixed Motives
In U2’s song “One,” Bono sings, “Have you come here to play Jesus / To the lepers in your head?”2 Yes, if you are involved in justice work, you probably have. So have I. This isn’t bad. Just honest. W... -
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True Love
Merciful Jesus Give us courage to deny privilege to lay down favor and safety in order to take up the cross of opportunity and justice Too often we fail to do this Merciful Jesus Give us courage to d... -
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Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you. -
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A Failure to Appreciate the Other’s Point of View
Most quarrels are due to a misunderstanding, and the misunderstanding is due to our failure to appreciate the other person’s point of view. It is more natural to us to talk than to listen, to argue th... -
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"Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very ... -
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Paul and Onesimus
One of my favorite Bible illustrations of someone willing to go against the norms of society to befriend another based on love and forgiveness is found in the New Testament book of Philemon. It is a m... -
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Our Moral Superiority
Researchers at the University of London concluded that “a substantial majority of individuals believe themselves to be morally superior to the average person” and that this illusion of ours is “unique... -
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How to Make a Sacrifice
How do you define what it means to “make a sacrifice?” We say we sacrifice for our family, or sacrifice for our careers. We speak of Jesus sacrificing himself so that we can experience eternal life. A... -
liturgy
Adapted from Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, bu... -
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A Guard Against Paternalism
Practicing confession is one way to guard against paternalism in both extreme and more subtle ways. For example, we can tell stories of justice in a way that discounts other people’s agency—that is, t... -
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With vainglory, we crave notice of our achievements with pride, we take full credit for the progress we have made and do not think that God has been involved at all, let alone been our indispensible h... -
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Context can Change Everything
I remember the first time I was blindsided by the idea of reconsideration. I was a senior in high school, and my AP English teacher, Mr. Lambert, gave us an exam that required us to react to a piece o... -
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Stuck in the Houses Our Words Construct
All day long, all of us are framing and reframing our lives. We talk about the memory of our adorable but sexist grandpa. We label ourselves as movie critics or introverts or justice-lovers. We say th... -
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Three Dollars Worth of God
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God t... -
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An Attitude of a Servant
What he [Jesus] was attempting to instill in his disciples was the attitude of a servant: humility and a willingness to put others ahead of oneself. In that culture, washing the feet of others would s... -
liturgy
A Contemporary Lament for Violence
Notes on prayer: This prayer is designed for a leader and a congregation, but it could be further divided so that the Leader/People response sections are "voice 1" and "voice 2." ... -
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To reach people we must appreciate and adapt to their culture, but we must also challenge and confront it. This is based on the biblical teaching that all cultures have God's grace and natural rev... -
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Attitude Is Everything
Harry Emerson Fosdick once told how as a child, his mother sent him to pick a quart of raspberries. Reluctantly he dragged himself to the berry patch. His afternoon was ruined for sure. Then a thought... -
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Creating Christian Consumers
I’ve served on staff at a few different churches throughout Silicon Valley for the last decade and a half, including a medium-sized church, a young church plant, and a multisite megachurch. At each, w... -
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Calling Means Finding Purpose in Every Kind of Work
God calls His people to lots of different things. Sometimes you feel a sense of calling to your job and, you know what, sometimes you don’t. You just work. I’m extremely thankful that I love what I do... -
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A Jubilee Church
From the outside Calvary Church in Holland, Michigan, looks like a typical large church that many Americans attend. The church developed the typical way: it started small and then began to grow. As th... -
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Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done. -
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The Importance of Selective Change
Crises, and pressures for change, confront individuals and their groups at all levels, ranging from single people, to teams, to businesses, to nations, to the whole world. Crises may arise from extern... -
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Times of Crisis: Reappraising and Rebuilding Lives
On November 28, 1942, a fire broke out and spread rapidly through an overcrowded Boston nightclub called Cocoanut Grove (the owner’s spelling), whose sole exit became blocked. A total of 492 people di... -
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Hard to Care about Anything
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pervasive sense of societal malaise seems to be affecting a significant portion of the population. Journalist and managing editor of Time , Lily Rothman, ... -
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The Messy Middle
The Messy Middle In his classic work Transitions, author and professor William Bridges shares an excellent anecdote about life in crisis: it can happen at any time and in a myriad of ways. It also de... -
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The White Man’s Burden
In the context of justice, I think what Christians need to confess about their pride isn’t so much about taking credit away from God but from the people we help. One version of this is sometimes refer... -
liturgy
Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not
Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He is our Good Shepherd, whose leadership is less about the love of power, and more about the ...
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Top Level Categories by Topic
A
- A Meaningful Life
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B
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C
- Called by God
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D
- Daily Life
- Danger
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- Darkness
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- Death
- Death of a Loved One
- Debt
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- Divine Intervention
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- Division
- Divisions
- Domestic Abuse
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- Dreams
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- The Digital World
E
- Economics
- Education
- Elderly People
- Elders
- Election Day
- Elections (Political)
- Embrace
- Emotions
- Empowerment
- Encouragement
- Enemies
- Energy
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- Equality
- Eschatology (End Times)
- Eternal Life
- Eternity
- Eternity of God
- Ethics
- Evangelism
- Everyday Life
- Evil
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- Example
- Excellence
- Exclusion
- Exploitation
- Expressing Emotions
- Eyes
- The Early Church
- The Earth
F
- Face of God
- Facing your Fears
- Failure
- Fairness
- Faith
- Faith and Doubt
- Faith in Action
- Faithfulness
- Fame
- Family
- Family Dysfunction
- Famine
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- Fatherhood of God
- Fatigue
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- Fear
- Fear of Death
- Fears
- Feelings
- Financial Struggles
- Fire
- Floods
- Following Jesus
- Food
- Foolishness
- Football (American)
- Forgetfulness
- Forgiveness
- Freedom
- Friend of God
- Friend of Sinners
- Friendship
- Friendship with Jesus
- Fruit
- Fullness of Life
- Future
- The Fear of God
G
- Gardening
- Gathering
- Generations
- Generosity
- Getting What You Want
- Gifts
- Giving
- Giving Freely
- Giving God the Glory
- Giving to the Poor
- Global Church
- Glory
- God
- God with Us
- God's Character
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- God's Law
- God's Love
- God's Name
- God's Nearness
- God's Omnipresence
- God's Omniscience
- God's Plans
- God's Power (Omnipotence)
- God's Protection
- God's Provision
- God's Reign
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- God's Sufficiency
- God's Throne
- God's Unfailing Love
- God's Voice
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- God's Word
- God's Works
- Going to Church
- Good Intentions
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- Goodness
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- Gospel
- Government
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- Gratitude
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- Greed
- Grief
- Growth
- Guidance
- Guilt
- Guilty
- The Glory of God
- The Good Shepherd
- The Great Commission
H
- Habits
- Half-Truths
- Hands
- Happiness
- Hard Work
- Hard-Heartedness
- Harvest
- Hatred
- Having A Wake-Up Call
- Healing
- Healing Blindness
- Healing the Past
- Health
- Healthcare
- Hearing God
- Hearing our Prayers
- Hearing What We Want to Hear
- Heart
- Heart Change
- Hearts
- Heaven
- Hell
- Help
- Helping Others
- Helping our Neighbors
- Helping the Poor
- Heroes
- Hiding from God
- Hiding Our Sin
- History
- HIV/AIDS
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- Holiness
- Holiness of God
- Holy of Holies
- Home
- Homelessness
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- Hospitals
- Human Condition
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- Human Judgment
- Human Life
- Human Nature
- Human Qualities
- Humanity
- Humble Leadership
- Humble Living
- Humble Service
- Humility
- Humor
- Hunger
- Hurry
- Hypocrisy
- The Holy Land
- The Holy Spirit
I
- Identity
- Idolatry
- Idols
- Ignorance
- Ignoring God
- Illness
- Image Bearers
- Immanuel
- Immigrants
- Immigration
- Immortality
- Impact
- Impatience
- In, But Not Of, the World
- Inaction
- Inclusion
- Independence Day
- Indifference
- Inequality
- Information
- Information Overload
- Inheritance
- Injury
- Injustice
- Innocence
- Innovation
- Inspiration
- Institutions
- Instruments of God's Love
- Insults
- Integrity
- Intercession
- Invitation
- Isolation
- Israel
- Israel-Palestine Conflict
- The Image of God
- The Incarnation
- The Internet
J
K
L
- Labor Day
- Lament
- Language
- Law (Torah)
- Laws
- Leadership
- Learning
- Legacy
- Lent
- Liberation
- Lies
- Life
- Life and Death
- Life of Faith
- Life of Purpose
- Life Satisfaction
- Life Story
- Light
- Light and Darkness
- Light of the World
- Limitations
- Listening
- Living Life
- Living Sacrifice
- Living Water
- Loneliness
- Longing
- Longings
- Loss
- Love
- Love of God and Neighbor
- Loving Kindness
- Loving Other Christians
- Loving your Neighbor
- The Lamb of God
- The Lord's Supper
M
- Magnificat
- Making a Difference
- Man of Sorrows
- Manipulation
- Manna
- Marginalized
- Marital Problems
- Marriage
- Martyrdom
- Mary the Mother of Jesus
- Masks
- Materialism
- Maundy Thursday
- Meaning
- Media
- Meditation
- Meekness
- Memorial Day
- Mental Health
- Mental Illness
- Mercy
- Military Service
- Mind
- Mind and Body
- Ministry
- Minorities
- Miracles
- Mission
- Mission of the Church
- Missionaries
- Missions
- Mistaken Identity
- Mistakes
- Modern Life
- Modern Religion
- Modern Religious Life
- Modern-Day Slavery
- Modernity
- Money
- Moral Choices
- Moral Silence
- Morality
- Moses
- Motivations
- Mourning
- Multi-Ethnic Church
- Multiculturalism
- Music
- Mystery
- Mystery of Life
- The Meaning of Life
- The Messiah
- The Military
- The Mind of Christ
- The Missional Church
N
O
P
- Pace
- Pain
- Pain and Joy
- Parenting
- Parents
- Partisanship
- Passion
- Pastors
- Paths
- Patience
- Patriotism
- Peace
- Peacemaking
- Pentecost
- People
- Peoples
- Perfection
- Persecuted Church
- Persecution
- Perseverance
- Persistence
- Personal
- Personal Agendas
- Perspective
- Phobias
- Place
- Plagiarism
- Political Freedom
- Political Leaders
- Politicians
- Politics
- Pollution
- Poor
- Poor in Spirit
- Possessions
- Possibility
- Postmodernism
- Poverty
- Power
- Power of Love
- Powerlessness
- Praise
- Prayer
- Prayers for Funerals
- Preaching
- Prejudice
- Preparation
- Presence
- President
- Presidential Elections
- Price
- Pride
- Priorities
- Prison
- Prisoners
- Private Faith
- Privilege
- Problems
- Productivity
- Progress
- Promises
- Prosperity
- Protection
- Proud
- Provision
- Public Faith
- Purity
- Purity Of Heart
- Purpose
- The Passing of Time
- The People of God
- The Prince of Peace
- The Prophets
R
- Race
- Race and Reconciliation
- Racial Reconciliation
- Racism
- Raising Children
- Real Estate
- Reality
- Rebellion
- Receiving
- Receiving Forgiveness
- Receiving Gifts
- Receiving God
- Receiving Love
- Receiving the Gospel
- Receiving the Word
- Reconciliation
- Recovery
- Redeemer
- Redemption
- Reform
- Reformation Sunday
- Refuge
- Refugees
- Regret
- Relationships
- Relevance
- Religion
- Religion and Politics
- Religion and Public Life
- Religions
- Religious Conflict
- Religious Liberty
- Religious Pluralism
- Reminders
- Renewal
- Renewing our Minds
- Repentance
- Reputation
- Rescue
- Resentment
- Resilience
- Resistance
- Responsibility
- Rest
- Restoration
- Restoring Sight
- Resurrection
- Resurrection Life
- Resurrection of the Dead
- Resurrection to New Life
- Revelation
- Revival
- Rewards
- Rich and Poor
- Riches
- Right Relationships
- Righteousness
- Risks
- Romantic Relationships
- Rootedness
- Routines
- Rule of Life
- Running to God
- The Rich
- The Risen Lord
- The Rock
- The Roman Empire
S
- Sabbath
- Sacrifice
- Sacrificial Giving
- Sacrificial Living
- Sacrificial Love
- Safety
- Salt and Light
- Salt of the Earth
- Salvation
- Sanctification
- Savior
- Scapegoats
- School
- Science
- Science and Religion
- Screens
- Scripture
- Secularism
- Seeds
- Seeking God
- Seeking Happiness
- Seeking the Truth
- Segregation
- Self-Achievement
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Centeredness
- Self-Control
- Self-Deception
- Self-Discipline
- Self-Image
- Self-Improvement
- Self-Interest
- Self-Love
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Renunciation
- Self-Righteousness
- Self-Sacrifice
- Selfishness
- Selflessness
- Servant Leadership
- Servanthood
- Service
- Settling
- Sexism
- Shalom
- Shame
- Sharing
- Sheep
- Shelter
- Shepherd
- Shepherds
- Sickness
- Sight
- Silence
- Sin
- Sinfulness
- Singing
- Single Parents
- Sins of Omission
- Skepticism
- Slavery
- Smart Phones
- Social Justice
- Social Media
- Soil
- Soldiers
- Solutions
- Solving Poverty
- Sorrow
- Speaking Out
- Speaking Truth to Power
- Speech
- Speed
- Spending Time
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Spiritual Hunger
- Spiritual Problems
- Spiritual Thirst
- Sports
- Spring (Season)
- Staying Positive
- Steadfast Love
- Stealing
- Step-parents
- Stereotypes
- Stewardship
- Stillness
- Storms
- Storytelling
- Stranger
- Strength
- Strength of Character
- Stress
- Struggles
- Submission
- Success
- Suffering
- Suicide
- Sun
- Superiority
- Surgery
- Surprise
- Surrender
- Sustainability
- Sustainer
- The Sacraments
- The Saints
- The Sick
- The Soul
T
- Taking Up the Cross
- Talking
- Teachers
- Team
- Teamwork
- Tears
- Technological Progress
- Technology
- Temptation
- Tension
- Terrorism
- Thankfulness
- Thanksgiving (General)
- Thanksgiving (Holiday)
- The Temple
- The Trinity
- The Twelve Disciples
- Therapy
- Third Third of Life
- Thirst
- Thoughts
- Time
- TIme Management
- Tired
- Tolerance
- Tongue
- Town
- Tragedy
- Transformation
- Transgressions
- Transitions
- Trauma
- Travel
- Trees
- Trouble
- True Self
- Trust
- Truth
- Turning a Blind Eye
U
W
Top_level_categories by Reference
Genesis
Exodus
Deuteronomy
Ruth
1 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Esther
Job
Psalm
- Ps 1 (11)
- Ps 2 (2)
- Ps 4 (2)
- Ps 6 (2)
- Ps 8 (7)
- Ps 9 (3)
- Ps 10 (3)
- Ps 11 (1)
- Ps 12 (2)
- Ps 14 (1)
- Ps 15 (3)
- Ps 16 (4)
- Ps 18 (1)
- Ps 19 (8)
- Ps 20 (2)
- Ps 22 (2)
- Ps 23 (16)
- Ps 24 (5)
- Ps 25 (3)
- Ps 27 (5)
- Ps 29 (2)
- Ps 30 (6)
- Ps 31 (1)
- Ps 32 (3)
- Ps 33 (7)
- Ps 34 (40)
- Ps 37 (9)
- Ps 39 (2)
- Ps 41 (1)
- Ps 42 (7)
- Ps 46 (26)
- Ps 49 (1)
- Ps 50 (2)
- Ps 51 (23)
- Ps 52 (2)
- Ps 55 (1)
- Ps 56 (1)
- Ps 62 (1)
- Ps 63 (3)
- Ps 66 (2)
- Ps 68 (1)
- Ps 71 (2)
- Ps 72 (6)
- Ps 73 (3)
- Ps 77 (2)
- Ps 78 (4)
- Ps 80 (1)
- Ps 82 (16)
- Ps 85 (4)
- Ps 86 (1)
- Ps 89 (3)
- Ps 90 (13)
- Ps 91 (2)
- Ps 92 (2)
- Ps 96 (4)
- Ps 98 (2)
- Ps 99 (1)
- Ps 100 (4)
- Ps 101 (1)
- Ps 103 (13)
- Ps 104 (3)
- Ps 106 (1)
- Ps 111 (1)
- Ps 112 (1)
- Ps 113 (2)
- Ps 115 (1)
- Ps 116 (2)
- Ps 117 (1)
- Ps 118 (4)
- Ps 119 (22)
- Ps 121 (3)
- Ps 122 (1)
- Ps 124 (1)
- Ps 127 (5)
- Ps 128 (2)
- Ps 130 (4)
- Ps 131 (2)
- Ps 133 (4)
- Ps 136 (2)
- Ps 139 (14)
- Ps 141 (3)
- Ps 143 (1)
- Ps 145 (4)
- Ps 146 (5)
- Ps 147 (5)
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
- Isa 1 (38)
- Isa 2 (3)
- Isa 5 (5)
- Isa 6 (15)
- Isa 7 (1)
- Isa 9 (10)
- Isa 11 (1)
- Isa 25 (2)
- Isa 26 (3)
- Isa 28 (4)
- Isa 30 (4)
- Isa 32 (2)
- Isa 33 (2)
- Isa 40 (26)
- Isa 41 (17)
- Isa 42 (2)
- Isa 43 (12)
- Isa 44 (3)
- Isa 45 (2)
- Isa 47 (1)
- Isa 49 (1)
- Isa 50 (1)
- Isa 51 (1)
- Isa 52 (1)
- Isa 53 (20)
- Isa 55 (19)
- Isa 56 (2)
- Isa 57 (1)
- Isa 58 (23)
- Isa 59 (3)
- Isa 60 (3)
- Isa 61 (23)
- Isa 65 (1)
- Isa 66 (1)