Life on Planet Earth on Connection

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Author

Brené Brown

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Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.

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The Guise of Connection

Author

Jay Y. Kim

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Scripture

Proverbs 18:1, John 13:34-35, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Colossians 3:16

As the speed and choices of the digital age send us hurling toward impatience and shallowness, they culminate in its most damaging consequence: isolation. Social media, in particular, lures us in unde...

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Solving the Narcissism Epidemic

Author

Brené Brown

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Recently a group of researchers conducted a computer analysis of three decades of hit songs. The researchers reported a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music...

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When Words Fail

Author

Ronald Rohlheiser

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Ronald Rohlheiser tells a true story of a Jewish boy named Mordechai who could not be coaxed into going to school. When he turned six years old, his mother forced him to go, but the process was misera...

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Author

Annemarie S. Kidder

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 51:1-2, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 10:9-10, Proverbs 28:13

Locked into captivity by an airplane seat, a kindly disposition of keeping a friend company, or a telephone connection, we become ex officio confessors to those with troubled consciences and traces, o...

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Our Relational Design

Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:23-24, Matthew 19:4-5, 1 Corinthians 11:11, Ephesians 5:31-32

Maleness and femaleness is the fundamental way we carry our relational design. Interestingly, the English word sexuality comes from the Latin word sexus, which means “being divided, cut off, separated...

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Locard’s Exchange Principle

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Have you ever heard of the forensic science theory known as Locard’s Exchange Principle? Named after the "Sherlock Holmes of France," the French criminologist Emile Locard, this theory sugge...

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Trust and Belonging

Author

Stanley Hauerwas

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Scripture

Acts 2:42-47, 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Romans 12:4-5, Galatians 6:2

We were created to communicate, to speak truth fully to one another, so that we might be members of one another. To be members of one another means we must learn to trust one another. Trust, like trut...

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The Results of Solitary Confinement

Author

Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic

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Researchers have found that when prisoners are placed in solitary confinement with little human contact and minimal sensory stimulation, severe psychological and physical issues often ensue: depressio...

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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If you feel a great loneliness and a deep longing for human contact, you have to be extremely discerning…and ask yourself whether this situation is truly God given. Because where God wants you to be, ...

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The Most Private is Often What Resonates the Strongest

Author

Carl Rogers

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Scripture

Genesis 3:10, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Isaiah 1:18, 2 Corinthians 4:2

The pyschologist Carl Rogers, a person who would know quite well the interior lives of others, has this to say of our inmost thoughts: I have most invariably found that the very feeling which has see...

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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While lying in bed due to a serious illness, the poet and pastor John Donne heard over and over again the funeral bells at his church, which would ring to announce the death of someone in the parish. ...

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The Slow Line

Author

Scott Bowerman

Keywords

Have you ever been in a store checkout line and you’re in a hurry and the person in front of you starts gabbing with the cashier? You’ve got a cart full of groceries, the ice cream’s going to melt, yo...

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The Way We Answer the Door

Author

Scott Bowerman

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The Rule of Benedict is a document that has ordered the life of Benedictine monks for 1500 years. That remarkable document, written by Saint Benedict of Nursia, instructs the monks in how they are to ...

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How Strangers Become Friends

Author

John M. Perkins

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:10, John 15:13, Proverbs 18:24, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Proverbs 27:17

There’s been a lot of talk about friendship because of Facebook and the internet. You can collect friends and “likes” and begin to feel pretty good about yourself, depending on how many you accumulate...

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Crisis & Peace: An Unexpected Connection

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Like many of you, I have been praying for those affected by Hurricane Ian along the Eastern shore of the United States. I've also continued to pray for Ukraine and for Russia, that peace would com...

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Author

Jayakumar Christian

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Poverty

Poverty is the absence of linkages, the absence of connections with others.

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

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Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.

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Taking Confession on an Airplane

Author

Annemarie S. Kidder

Keywords

Locked into captivity by an airplane seat, a kindly disposition of keeping a friend company, or a telephone connection, we become ex officio confessors to those with troubled consciences and traces, o...

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Author

Sherry Turkle

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We say we turn to our phones when we’re “bored.” And we often find ourselves bored because we have become accustomed to a constant feed of connection, information, and entertainment. We are forever el...

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Stories Synchronize our Brains

Author

Heather Box and Julian Mocine-McQueen

Keywords

Stories

Groundbreaking work by Dr. Uri Hasson has shown that the brain of an individual listening to a story actually synchronizes with the brain of the individual telling the story—an event known as neural c...

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The Allure of Sex and Does it Signify Deeper Desires

Author

Debra Hirsch

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:24 , Song of Solomon 7:6-12 , Proverbs 5:18-19, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Ephesians 5:31-32, Psalm 16:11

Orgasms are one of the most sought-after experiences in life—which is strange, because it’s not like they last forever or even a few weeks, like a long-anticipated holiday. We’re talking about somethi...

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Broken Trees and Unbroken Hope: In the Path of Hurricane Helene

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Landmarks Lost For those of us who have been in the path of Hurricane Helene—quite surprisingly, I might add, since the hurricane models even a few hours before landfall had it going about 100-200 mi...

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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...

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Psalm 22 | Feeling Forsaken by God

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:, Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, Hebrews 2:12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? A Structured Complaint The Psalmist organizes his complaint against God in three sections. The first two sections dramatize the complaint (vv. 1-11 and...

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Sacred Space: Lessons from Ethiopia’s Church Forests

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Too Busy for God? American work culture is all-pervasive. For many members of your congregation, it can be a real fight to get actual time off—and cell phones and the internet has made it possible to...

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Cultivating a Spirit of Generosity: A Pastoral Call to Year-End Giving

Author

Aaron Schweizer

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 11:1, Philippians 4:18

As a five-year-old at Christmas I remember how excited I was to get my first bike. It was a yellow BMX Huffy, a mean machine for a kid in the late 70s. It is one of my fondest memories because I remem...

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Heavenly Father, our Savior told us,

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:11, James 1:5

Heavenly Father, our Savior told us, "Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for My sake will gain it." These are hard words. We confess that we oft...

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Mountains: 2, John 4:7-26

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:7-26, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 1 Peter 12:12-23, John 6:1-15, Galatians 4:21-31, Psalm 42:7, Psalm 121:null

New Testament Mountains Like the Old Testament, the New Testament has plenty of references to mountains. There’s the Sermon on the Mount, obviously. Jesus often went onto hills or mountains to pray...

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Peace Like a River

Author

Beth Moore

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 48:18, John 15:4

What do you suppose would happen if we paid attention to God’s commands? We don’t have to wonder, because He told us clearly: “If only you had paid attention to my commands, / your peace would have be...

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