Life on Planet Earth on Impact

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John 13:34-35, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 19:1-10, Proverbs 25:21-22, Luke 6:27-28, Matthew 5:44-45, Romans 5:8

If you want to impact someone’s life, love them when they least expect it and least deserve it.

Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we res...

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Technology's impact on our Minds

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

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Exodus 20:8-11, 1 Kings 19:11-13, Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 , Luke 10:38-42 , Romans 12:2 , Psalm 46:10

As we become more intentional about living according to our deepest desires, it becomes increasingly important to notice the effects of technology on our mind, our soul and our relationships. The ...

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A Tumbleweed or an Oak Tree

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Proverbs 14:35, Proverbs 22:29, Matthew 7:24-27, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 1:

When it comes to influence, let me ask you this: would you rather be like a tumbleweed or an oak tree? It’s a thought-provoking question inspired by a quote I’m about to share. Let’s take a moment to ...

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Author

Alexander MacLaren

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Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 2:24, Colossians 1:19-20, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 2:2, Philippians 2:6-8, Galatians 4:4-5

The cross is the center of the world's history; the incarnation of Christ and the crucifixion of our Lord are the pivot round which all the events of the ages revolve. The testimony of Christ was ...

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Author

Betty Reese

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If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.

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The Wake

Author

Henry Cloud

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Matthew 7:16-20, Matthew 7:16-20, Galatians 6:7-8, 1 Kings 10:1-10, Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Titus 2:7-8

One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the aft deck of a boat going across the ocean and just watch the wake. It is such a beautiful, ever-changing creation as the ship continues on its path. Yo...

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What Did Jesus Leave to Grow?

Author

H. G. Wells

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Isaiah 9:6-7, Philippians 2:9-11, Mark 1:16-20, Matthew 11:28-30, John 10:10

H.G. Wells, himself an atheist, makes this point about the nature of greatness as it relates to Jesus: A historian like myself, who doesn’t even call himself a Christian, finds the picture centering...

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Author

Rick Warren

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Colossians 3:14, Luke 19:1-10, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 5:15-16

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

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What Would You Do Differently?

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Mark Batterson

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I preached my first sermon at National Community Church on January 14, 1996. The only thing I remember about that message is my opening illustration. I can’t remember the original source, but I think ...

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A Mission-field Tragedy Turned to the Glory of God

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Romans 8:28, John 12:24, Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28, Acts 1:1-11, Acts 8:4-5, Acts 13:13-52, Acts 6:9-10, Acts 16:25-34

Sometimes what seems like a failure is actually the seed of God’s work. As Mark Batterson tells the story, it started with David and Svea Flood. Sent to the Congo by a church in Sweden, they helped es...

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Pay it Forward Coffee

Author

Scott Bowerman

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There’s a coffee shop in Bluffton, SC named The Corner Perk. Bluffton is near Charleston. In 2012, a woman who wished to remain anonymous handed the owner a hundred-dollar bill and said she wanted to ...

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The Courage of the First Disciples

Author

Charles Martin

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These disciples turned the world upside down because they saw a dead man come back to life by the power of God. And whatever that “knowing” and “seeing” did in them, it did it at a deep level because ...

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I am Done with Great Things

Author

Henry James

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:27-28, Romans 12:2, Proverbs 4:23, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 13:31-32, Micah 6:8

In one of his letters, the philosopher and psychologist William James shares a conviction regarding his focus not on big, grand things, but with the small “almost invisible” decisions: I am done wit...

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The Indispensable Journalist

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Matthew 20:20-21, Daniel 4:30-33, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Romans 12:3, Proverbs 27:2

The Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst once offered columnist Arthur Brisbane a six-month vacation with full pay as a reward for his dedicated and successful work. Brisbane ultimately turned dow...

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Author

A Franciscan Blessing

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:27, Romans 12:15, Luke 4:18-19, Psalm 34:18, James 1:27

God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. God bless us with righteous anger at injustice, oppression, and exp...

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The Impact Noise Can have on Learning

Author

Ari L. Goldman

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Have you ever wondered the impact noise can have on our cognitive ability? Psychologist Arlene Bronzaft was curious to find out. Studying Public School 98 on the northern tip of Manhattan, Bronzaft fo...

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How Do Screens Impact Happiness? A Scientific Study

Author

Jean Twenge

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Scripture

Isaiah 55:2, Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:2, John 15:11

In an article for The Atlantic, social scientist Jean Twenge shares the results of a study on the activities of American teenagers and their impact on happiness. Some of these activities included scre...

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The Impact of a Heart Attack

Author

Bob Benson

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Scripture

Romans 8:28

In Bob Benson’s book “See You at the House” he recounts the story of a friend who had a heart attack. At first it didn’t seem like the man would live, but eventually he would recover, Months later, Bo...

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You are who you Surround Yourself with

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:33-34, Proverbs 27:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1-2, Hebrews 10:24-25

Context matters. According to the Terman Study, which followed one thousand study participants from childhood until their death, the people we surround ourselves with are who we become. We see those a...

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Author

Jaroslav Pelikan

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Colossians 1:16-17, John 1:1-4, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 27:54, Acts 9:1-6

Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of that history every ...

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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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Author

Daniel Amen and Lisa Routh

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Stress

What you allow to occupy your mind will sooner or later determine your feelings, your speech and your actions. Thoughts . . . have a real impact on how you feel and behave.”

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The Puzzle of Polygamy

Author

Bradley Long

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Scripture

1 Timothy 3:2, 12, Titus 1:6

A classic mission dilemma: The chief of a village in a remote area, whose people practice a tribal religion, becomes a believer and declares the whole village is now Christian. Most of the leading m...

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Psalm 22 | Feeling Forsaken by God

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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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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Psalm 8 | God's Majesty

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 8:, Psalm 144:3, Job 7:17, Hebrews 2:6-10, Matthew 21:16, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Ancient Lens What’s the historical context? Background Structure This Psalm of David is unique. “It is the only hymn in the Old Testament composed completely as a direct address to God.” [1] It e...

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

Author

Aaron Schweizer

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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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Lord Almighty, you have given us a

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Lord Almighty, you have given us a purpose in life. You have gifted us with abilities and passions. Sometimes we choose to live according to that purpose you have designed for us. Other times we live ...

liturgy

We confess our sins to you, today, O

Author

Austin D. Hill

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We confess our sins to you, today, O Lord. We confess that we sometimes find it difficult to believe that you are actually involved in our day-to-day experiences, that you actually impact our circumst...

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The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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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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