Life on Planet Earth on Arts

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Author

William James

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:19, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Job 1:21, Matthew 6:25-34, Psalm 37:1-5

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

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What is the Christian Imagination Deficit? How Do We Fix It?

Author

Brian Brown

Keywords

There Are No Ordinary Things J. R. R. Tolkien tells a short story about an ordinary fellow who just wants to finish a painting. Over time, he is constantly distracted by the requests of his neighbors...

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A Surprise Performance

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 4:10-12, Isaiah 61:1-3 , Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 40:2-3

One summer, the composer Edvard Grieg stayed at a small Norwegian hotel. A restless child also resided there, constantly annoying the guests by attempting to play the piano, producing nothing but disc...

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Defining What it Means to be Human

Author

Jon Tyson

Keywords

On August 20 and September 5, 1977, two spacecraft named Voyager were launched. Eventually leaving the solar system and heading into deep space, they represented a revolutionary and promising breakthr...

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Climbing the Stairs of Quality in Art

Author

Thomas Hoving

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 31:2-5, 1 Kings 6:29-30, Isaiah 60:13, Philippians 4:8, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 19:1-2

[Speaking about art] As you climb the stairs of quality, you’ll meet individual works that you’ll need for the rest of your life, works that will thrill you, energize you, lift your soul, soothe you, ...

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The Birth (or Re-Emergence) of Evangelical Social Action

Author

Soong-Chan Rah

Keywords

In 1947, budding theologian Carl F. H. Henry wrote a short book titled The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism. In it he surveys the American fundamentalist movement’s engagement with the most ...

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Adolescence and the Pings, Not Pong

Author

Craig Detweiler

Keywords

Adolescents have been offered a license to post without any accompanying ethical framework. Is it fair to blame teens for misusing tools that didn’t exist in our childhood? If I had been given a phone...

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Do Something Useful

Author

Robert Capon Farrar

Keywords

How much curious and loving attention was expended by the first man who looked hard enough at the insides of trees, the entrails of cats, the hind ends of horses, and the juice of pine trees to realiz...

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Mistaking Pretty for Beauty

Author

Barbara Brown Taylor

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 53:2-3, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Lamentations 3:22-23, 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, John 11:35-36, Psalm 34:18

I think the mistake most of us make about beauty is that we expect it to be pretty—to please us with its proportions, its balance, its harmony, its rhyme. If those are your requirements, I doubt I wil...

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The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:null

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or. what's a heaven for? " Robert Browning A part of our desire at The Pastor’s Workshop is to help pastors connect the stories in ...

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Goliath on the Beach

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

A few weeks ago, when I was out surfing, there was no one else in the water. In fact, there was no one around at all, except a guy the size of Goliath doing tae kwon do on the beach. After I’d been ou...

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Pilgrimage and Progression

Author

Christian George

Keywords

Pilgrimage is centered around one thing—progression. God does not call us to be static saints, even if we cannot move physically. We are constantly on the move spiritually, evolving in our understandi...

Quote

Author

Justin Martyr

Keywords

But since the adversary does not cease to resist many, and uses many and diverse arts to ensnare them, that he may seduce the faithful from their faith, and that he may prevent the faithless from beli...

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Getting Unstuck with a Grand Gesture

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

In 2007, author J. K. Rowling was struggling to finish the final novel, The Deathly Hallows , in her seven-part Harry Potter series. She was feeling stressed, trying to connect the dots in a way ...

Quote

Author

Antiphon

Keywords

There are people who do not live their present life; it is as if they were preparing themselves, with all their zeal, to live some other life, but not this one. And while they do this, time goes by an...

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MLK Day Prayers for Church Services: Liturgy & Sermon Resources

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17, Galatians 3:28, James 2:1, Ephesians 2:14

Updated for 2026. January 19, 2026 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day— the only U.S. national holiday commemorating a pastor. Under his leadership, non-violent civil rights advocacy achieved leaps f...

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The Gospel and the Other: Preaching in an Age of "Us vs. Them"

Author

Andrew DeCort

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37

When conflict and division are driving both politics and media (including social media), the contrast between the way of the world and the way of Jesus stands out more than ever. How can pastors, task...

Quote

Author

J. R. R. Tolkein

Keywords

Gandalf at his parting from Sam, Merry, and Pippin at the Gray Havens: "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

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A Poem & Five Quotes on Spring

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Depending on where you are, the earth is just waking up or is leaping forth with new life! Here is a poem and five quotes on the topic of spring. A Poem "Lines Written in Early Spring"...

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A Poem & Five Quotes on Winter

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

The trees are bare, the days are short, and there is a chill in the air. Here is a prayer and five quotes on winter. A Prayer "A Prayer for Winter" by Kayla Craig Every Season...

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Giotto’s Children

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 31:30, 1 Peter 3:3-4, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Psalm 139:13-14

When the renowned writer and poet Dante Alighieri first saw the painter Giotto’s children, he was startled by their ugliness. “My friend,” Dante remarked, “you create such lovely figures in your art—w...

liturgy

Nunc Dimittis

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, Luke 2:10-11, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, To be a light to lig...

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The Problem with the Dog Food

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:22, Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, Isaiah 55:2

You might have heard the story about the dog food company. They launched a new line of dog food, stocking it on shelves nationwide, but it didn’t sell well at all. Sales plummeted and the leadership d...

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A Poem & Five Quotes on Fall

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

The days are shorter, the weather is cooler, and the leaves are changing. Here's some Autumnal inspiration: a poem and five quotes! "Grace" by Wendell Berry Grace by Wendell Berr...

illustration

The Church of My Choice

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:17, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 122:1

One Sunday morning at a Colorado prison, a group of inmates was being led to the Catholic and Protestant chapels. One young man, however, kept walking past them and headed toward the main gate. A guar...

illustration

Losing the Other Eye

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Nehemiah 4:14

Professional football players often get heated on the field, sometimes letting their emotions get the best of them when penalized by an official. Art Holst, a longtime NFL referee, recalls a Sunday ga...

Quote

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

“Spirituality” wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.

Quote

Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:35, 48-51, Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3

Christ knew that by bread alone you cannot animate man. If there were no spiritual life, no ideal of beauty, man would waste away, die, go mad, kill himself or give himself to pagan fantasies. And as ...

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5 Quotes on Summer

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Looking for inspiration for your summertime sermons? Here are five quotes that highlight different themes about summer. Quote 1 Comment: I love The Office , but in this short quotation...

illustration

Excitingly Absurd Rules

Author

Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:7, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13-17

In Arkansas, it is illegal to pronounce Arkansas incorrectly. It is illegal to build, maintain, or use a nuclear weapon within Chico, California, city limits. In Connecticut, a pickle fit for human co...

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