Relationships and Community on Economics

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Preying on the Poor

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Leviticus 25:35-37, Proverbs 22:7, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 25:31-40, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Psalm 112:5

One of the most challenging and complex economic realities faced by many of our neighbors who live paycheck to paycheck is finding financial resources to cover immediate and unexpected expenses. To ad...

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The Boodle Feast

Author

Rick Love

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:28, 1 Peter 4:9, Matthew 25:35, Luke 14:12-14, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2

In his helpful book Peace Catalysts , Rick Love shares a poignant example of how sharing a meal can break down the familiar walls of status, power, and economics: In 2011, my wife, Fran, and I we...

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Labor Day Prayer

Author

Walter Rauschenbush

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Isaiah 58:10, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 31:8-9, Micah 6:8, Galatians 6:9-10, James 2:45-17

O God, Father of us all, we praise you for so binding humanity together that we must each lean upon the strength and labor of others. We ask your blessing on all men and women who have worked to build...

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Author

Martin Luther

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Scripture

1 John 3:17, Acts 4:32-35, James 2:15-17, Luke 16:19-31, Luke 10:25-37, Acts 2:44-45, Psalm 24:1, Matthew 25:14-30, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

If our goods are not available to the community, they are stolen goods.

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Author

Gordon T. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 17:8-16, Exodus 16:16-18, Matthew 25:31-46 , Luke 10:25-37, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Psalm 41:1-3

Robert Lupton offers insight into the complexities of human impoverishment, reminding us that in spite of our best intentions sometimes our philanthropic efforts can yield unintended consequences: “Wh...

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Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 11:29-30, 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, Matthew 25:35-40, Psalm 112:5-9, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practi...

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Advocating our Neighbor’s Well-Being

Author

Justin Giboney

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:15, Leviticus 19:33–34, James 1:27, Proverbs 31:8–9, Matthew 25:35–40, Psalm 82:3–4

Whether we’re protecting the unborn, supporting fair prison sentences, or making sure the elderly are taken care of, politics provides a forum for advocating for our neighbor’s well-being and pursuing...

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Taking Care for the Next Generation

Author

Alan Wilson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:28, 1 Chronicles 29:14-16, Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 4:2

Known for their luxury watches, Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe has also become well-known for its clever advertising slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe; you merely take care of it for t...

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Finding Meaning in Daily Work

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Exodus 31:3-5, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 25:14-30 , Psalm 90:17

We talk about our work all the time. It is rare that a conversation with a person we have recently met does not at some point lead to the inevitable question, What do you do? by which we mean, how do ...

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The Intern: The Movie Gets the Power of Work

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Ecclesiastes 3:1–2, 12–13, Isaiah 6:8, Psalm 92:12–14, Matthew 25:21, Colossians 3:23–24

The movie The Intern did not win any Academy Awards, which is hardly surprising. Punchy blockbuster comedies rarely receive Hollywood’s highest honors. But its message is nevertheless award wort...

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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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God, the fact that we feel

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 24:1, Genesis 1:26, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17

God, the fact that we feel uncomfortable is evidence that we perceive the injustices in our world. We don’t ask you to help us hear the cries of injustice, but rather to give us courage to act against...

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Joy’s Relationship to the Good Life

Author

Miroslav Volf

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:8-9, Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 25:21, Galatians 5:22, John 15:11

Could joy, then, be a candidate for a one-word definition of the good life, perhaps in the same way some people think happiness is? Indeed, could it be better able to integrate in itself the requisite...

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God of mercy, we ignore the needs of

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:35-36, James 2:15-17, Proverbs 19:17, 1 John 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:6-7

God of mercy, we ignore the needs of people around us all too often. We get caught up in our own issues and forget that there are millions of people who struggle for basic necessities on a daily basis...

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Author

Thomas Keating

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 10:31, Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 25:35-36, James 2:5

The kingdom is in everyday life with its ups and downs, and above all, in its insignificance. Such is where most people actually live their lives. The kingdom is thus readily accessible to everybody.

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All: Gracious God, we have become

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:31-46, Micah 6:8, James 2:15-17, Luke 6:27-36, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Zechariah 7:9-10, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 21:13

All: Gracious God, we have become callous to those in need, holding back compassion yet unsparing with judgment. We defend our motivations, rather than using all you have given us to love and care for...

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Emotional Nanocrafts in the Space Between Us

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:10, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 25:40, Luke 8:43-48, Song of Solomon 2:14, Psalm 42:7

In I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me , John Ortberg uses an interesting analogy for an aspect of our relationships. In 2015, Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner announced the Starshot Initiati...

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Stories of Hospitality from Ancient Cultures

Author

Dorothy C. Bass

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:9, Matthew 25:34-46, Leviticus 19:34, Acts 28:2, Isaiah 58:7

A Catholic priest recently told a gathering of friends about a time when he arrived in Israel late on a Friday afternoon, just as everything was about to shut down for the Sabbath. Public transportati...

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You have Called Me Brother

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 3:28, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-16, Romans 12:10, Genesis 1:26-31, Psalm 8:, Matthew 10:24, Mark 12:31

One day, as Leo Tolstoy, the renowned Russian author, was walking down the street when he encountered a man in worn, shabby clothing. The homeless man asked him if he had any money to spare. Tolstoy s...

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The Real Scandal of Jesus’s Ministry

Author

Hans Küng

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:35-40, John 8:1-11, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-26, John 8:10-11, Luke 19:10

In these acts of love Jesus created a scandal for devout, religious Palestinian Jews. The absolutely unpardonable thing was not his concern for the sick, the cripples, the lepers, the possessed . . . ...

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Refugees: Searching for a Home & Hospitality

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 8:19-20, Luke 9:57-58, John 14:2-3, Revelation 21:3

In her book Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home , Jen Pollock Michel reflects on the nature of home in a transient age. In this short excerpt, Michel focuses on what life is like with...

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Inspired by John 1 and Matthew 25

Author

Ellen R. Dawson

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Matthew 25:31-46

You came to us, Word made flesh, to show us what it means to love. You came to us, Word made flesh, to teach us how to serve. You came to us, Word made flesh, to remind us to clothe the naked and fe...

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Author

Bob Goff

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Genesis 1:27, James 2:8-9, 1 John 4:20, Galatians 6:2, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 19:1-10, John 13:12-15, Luke 17:11-19

What I’ve come to realize is if I really want to “meet Jesus,” then I have to get a lot closer to the people He created. All of them, not just some of them.

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What Do You Do?

Author

Steven Garber

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:35-40, Isaiah 58:6-7, Proverbs 24:11-12, James 2:15-17

I recently had lunch with a former British boarding school chaplain. He remembers being with the boys in his school the morning thirty years ago that the very first pictures of widespread starvation i...

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Seeing the Value of Their Work

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, 1 Kings 5:13-18, Colossians 3:23-24, Ephesians 4:28, Matthew 25:31-40, Psalm 90:17

After attending a conference in New York City, a pastoral colleague, Reid Kapple, was flying home to Kansas City on US Airways flight 745 when the plane suddenly lost cabin pressure. As the plane desc...

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The Wake

Author

Henry Cloud

Keywords

Scripture

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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Author

Jen Wilkin

Keywords

Motherhood

Scripture

Matthew 25:31

Jesus taught that providing shelter for the shelterless, food for the hungry, and clothing for the naked are sacred acts. They’re also the hallmark activities of mothering. When we do them from the ri...

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The Crucial Importance of Stewarding the Gift

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 5:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Luke 16:10-11, Matthew 25:21, 1 Peter 4:10

The story is well known in the family: my grandparents had driven up from California the evening before. Stopping at a gas station along the Oregon border, they purchased some snacks, gas, and, as the...

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Love Self, Brethren, and Strangers

Author

Terry A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:12-14, Deuteronomy 10:19, Titus 1:8, Matthew 25:35, 1 Peter 4:9

Scripture calls us to offer a radical welcome to strangers, but we are not able to give what we do not have. Before we can love our neighbor, we must love and care for ourselves so we can have somethi...

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Attacking Others, Hurting Jesus

Author

Lee Rhodes

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Ephesians 4:31-32, Acts 9:1-6, Isaiah 53:5, Luke 23:34, John 8:1-11, Romans 5:8

A young lady named Sally took a seminary class taught by Professor Smith, who was known for his elaborate object lessons. One day Sally walked into class to find a large target placed on the wall, wit...

relationships and community on Economics

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