Relationships and Community on Celebrity

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Celebrities vs. Saints

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, 1 Samuel 16:6–7, Isaiah 42:1–3, Matthew 5:14–16, Philippians 2:3–8, Psalm 1:1–3

The saints of the church flicker like candles along a dark corridor. They are not 1400-watt LED floodlights to blind you with their brilliance; those are the celebrities. A celebrity is a flashbulb st...

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To Be One of the Great Ones Is Not What It Seems

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 53:2, Micah 6:8

For those of us who live in the shadow of self-doubt, who may wonder what meaning a life of relative anonymity may have in a society filled with the cult of celebrity in which likes, reposts, and digi...

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Don't Assume

Author

Kevin DeYoung

Keywords

Scripture

John 9:1-3, Matthew 7:1-5, James 4:11-12, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 18:13

As sinners, we are apt to assume the worst about people. We are eager to find favorable comparisons that make ourselves look good at the expense of others. We are quick to size people up and think we ...

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Author

Ursula K. Le Guin

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 5:14-16, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17, James 4:17

If your voice is heard by more people because you've earned some kind of name and fame, your silence on an issue of urgent moral importance is even more of a betrayal. Privilege is obligation.

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The True Test of Faith

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:2 , James 2:1-4, Luke 14:12-14 , Psalm 146:3-7

Impostors draw their identity not only from achievements but from interpersonal relationships. They want to stand well with people of prominence because that enhances a person’s résumé and sense of se...

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Struggling with Charity

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27

On the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. ...

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Finding Grace after Contracting Leprosy

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, 1 Kings 19:11-13 , Genesis 16:13, Luke 14:11, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 34:18

Peter Greave (1910-1977) was a British national who endured a challenging and tumultuous life, which took a severe turn in 1939 when he contracted leprosy while stationed in India, also his birthplace...

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Evangelicals Love Politics

Author

Nancy Pearcey

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:6–8, 1 Samuel 8:4–9, Jeremiah 7:1–7, John 8:36, Romans 12:2, Psalm 146:3–5

Nothing illustrates evangelicals’ infatuation with politics more clearly than a story related by a Christian lawyer. Considering whether to take a job in the nation’s capital, he consulted with the le...

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The Kindest Family in America

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8 , 2 Kings 4:8–37 , Genesis 50:15–21 , Luke 6:35–36, Matthew 5:4, 7 , Psalm 34:18

In 2021, I heard a story on the radio about the “Kindest Family in America”. As far as I can see, this is the only year Parents magazine awarded such a prize. When I first heard this headline I rolled...

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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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Be a Catalyst for Change

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:7-8, James 2:15-17, Luke 10:25-37, Proverbs 3:27, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:16

At the 5-mile mark in the Old Kent Riverbank Run a guy passing me said, “Hey buddy, you dropped your key.” There was no getting home without my key. Like a salmon swimming upstream I headed back into ...

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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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Author

Justin Giboney

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 2:10-11, John 18:36, Matthew 5:13-16, Jeremiah 29:7, Micah 6:8, 1 Samuel 15:22

We can’t separate what we believe in the political arena from who we are in Christ and what obedience to God demands...That said, not every tenet of Christianity should become the law of the state. We...

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:12, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 12:9

The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same ti...

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Returning to a Better America

Author

Ken Wytsma

Keywords

Scripture

Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8 , Ecclesiastes 7:10, Psalm 146:3-7, Matthew 23:23-24, Philippians 3:13-14

There are many people who will always want to return to the time when America was great. But was there ever a time when America was a wonderful place for everyone? As I saw on a Facebook meme recently...

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Author

G. K. Chesterton

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Proverbs 15:13, 1 Peter 5:6, Psalm 126:2, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 17:22, James 4:10

The secret of life lies in laughter and humility.

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Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 18:17, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 19:11, Psalm 139:23-24, Romans 14:13

It is always easier for us to want to purify other people, and attempt a moral reformation among our neighbors. (Yet) how much have I helped to make her what she is?

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A Jagged Symbol of Equality & Inequality

Author

Tony Evans

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 59:1-3, Micah 6:6-8 , Ephesians 2:13-18 , Galatians 3:26-28, Romans 12:4-5 , Psalm 85:10

My friend Ray McMillan introduced me to the Liberty Bell as a perfect object lesson for America’s racial divide. In addressing why “the bell won’t ring,” Ray describes the crack as a perfect illustrat...

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Author

Thomas Keating

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Romans 14:17, Colossians 3:17, James 2:14-17, Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 13:44

“To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?” Jesus asked. The kingdom is manifested in ordinary daily life and how we live it. Can we accept the God of everyday life? If we can, then we can enjoy the k...

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Good and Gracious Lord, You hold us in

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:28, Psalm 46:1-2, Micah 6:8, Psalm 34:18, Genesis 50:20, Mark 4:35-41

Good and Gracious Lord, You hold us in the palm of Your strong hand, working all things for our good and to Your glory. There’s no place we can go that escapes Your notice and is hidden from Your lovi...

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Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:33, James 1:5, Philippians 2:3-4

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain Save us from the temptation to never engage Save us from the temptation...

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The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Author

James Cone

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1, Jeremiah 22:3, Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Matthew 25:35-36, Psalm 82:3-4, Isaiah 58:6-7

In the wake of slavery and the Civil War, there was so much ugliness in black life that one would have had to be blind not to see it. And nothing, absolutely nothing, was uglier than lynching in all o...

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Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Ephesians 3:16-17, Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40, Psalm 23:1-3, Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: we hear your Word and sing your praises. We meet at the Table and partake of your Sacrament–the gospel made visible. You call us to yourself, and you send us out ...

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I Would Take Half

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:21, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 31:8-9, Psalm 82:3-4

The British romantic poet Lord Byron (George Gordon) grew up with the disability of clubfoot, which kept him from engaging in many of the activities and joys of childhood. He was nevertheless, a perso...

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The Message We Want to Hear in Church

Author

Richard Ganz & William Edgar

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 2:18-29, Psalm 50:16–23, Luke 9:23–25, Matthew 23:25–28 , Micah 6:6–8, Amos 5:21–24

Churches want to hear nice, optimistic messages, free of the mention of sin or a call for repentance. Churches want nice, lean programs, directed at nice, clean families, leading to growth without sac...

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LORD, too often we live for ourselves

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:13, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 4:22-24, Isaiah 55:7, Psalm 51:10-12, Matthew 6:33, Romans 12:2

LORD, too often we live for ourselves instead of how You have called us. Please forgive us for the times when we don’t strive to bring about Your kingdom here and now. Forgive us for the lack of imagi...

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Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:6-7, Philippians 2:6-7, Matthew 2:1-12, Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 5:3-10, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 61:1

Yet as I read the birth stories about Jesus I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.

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Father God–You are a God of grace and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Ephesians 4:2-3, Micah 6:8, John 16:33, Psalm 147:3, Romans 15:13, Jeremiah 17:14

Father God–You are a God of grace and abundance, who blesses us with more than a shower of blessings but a downpour of mercies. We rejoice with friends in new marriages, and in the strength of lasting...

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God of grace, love, and hope: Your

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Micah 6:8, Philippians 1:6, Luke 15:11-32

God of grace, love, and hope: Your grace comes when we least expect and don’t deserve it. Your love comes when we can’t comprehend why but we need it the most. Your hope comes at just the right time t...

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O God, we thank you that you have not

Author

William Barclay

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 119:105, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Samuel 1:24-28, Acts 2:42-47

O God, we thank you that you have not treated us as we deserve. We thank you that, though you are Creator, Judge and King, you are also Father, so that, though we are wandering children, there is alw...

relationships and community on Celebrity

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