Relationships and Community on Importance

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Proverbs 4:7, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 , Isaiah 40:28-31, Luke 10:38-42, James 1:5-8 , Psalm 1:1-3

Everything in our society seems to convey the message of “now!” It’s almost as if we’ve entered an era where we have sacrificed the processing of knowledge for the gathering of data.

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Author

Kevin G. Ford

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Genesis 11:1-9 , Judges 17:6 , Exodus 32:1-6, Philippians 2:3-4 , Luke 12:16-21, Psalm 133:1

The problem is not recognizing the importance of the individual. The problem is the glorification of the individual. When the individual self is glorified over the greater good of the community, right...

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Relationships Matter

Author

Dharius Daniels

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:33

“Association breeds assimilation.” In other words, there is no such thing as a casual relationship. All relationships are consequential. They are catalytic. They push us forward or hold us back. They ...

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The Importance of Family Dinners

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Terry A. Smith

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We become who we are in the environment of home. We are shaped by our families. Home is formative. Sociologist Cody C. Delistraty explored the most recent scientific literature for Atlantic Monthly an...

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The Crucial Importance of Stewarding the Gift

Author

A. J. Swoboda

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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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Author

Isak Dinesen

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I think these difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes around worrying about are of ...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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In normal life one is not at all aware that we always receive infinitely more than we give, and that gratitude is what enriches life. One easily overestimates the importance of one’s own acts and deed...

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The Basis of Life

Author

John C. Maxwell

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John 13:34-35, Philippians 2:3-4, Romans 12:9-10, Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Thessalonians 5:11

The basis of life is people and how they relate to each other. Our success, fulfillment, and happiness depend upon our ability to relate effectively. The best way to become a person that others are dr...

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Author

Ursula K. Le Guin

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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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Doing the Work Before the Work

Author

Stephen W. Smith

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Scripture

Proverbs 24:27, James 1:5, Matthew 7:24-25, Proverbs 21:5, Colossians 3:16-17, Isaiah 40:3-4

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith provides an important analogy about the importance of spiritually preparing ourselves for the adversity and challenges that come with su...

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It Goes Without Saying

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E. Randolph Richards and Richard James

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Scripture

John 14:27, Matthew 2:2, Revelation 19:16, John 18:36-37, Revelation 17:14, Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 24:7-10, Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, John 12:12-16

In a culture, the most important things usually go without being said. We Westerners don’t talk all the time about being individualists or about the importance of efficiency or why we prefer youth ove...

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Author

Candice Bergen

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Psalm 90:17, 1 Peter 3:3-4, James 1:10-11, Ecclesiastes 3:11, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Isaiah 40:7-8, 1 Samuel 16:7

Though beauty gives you a weird sense of entitlement, it's rather frightening and threatening to have others ascribe such importance to something you know you're just renting for a while.

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Overextending Ourselves & The Tyranny of the Urgent

Author

Stephen W. Smith

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Scripture

Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 26:3, Jeremiah 17:5-8, Philippians 4:6-7

In his highly book, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith shares the importance of finding balance, even as life seems to pull us in different directions: Overextending yourself is stretching your physic...

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The Politics of Ministry Book Review & Quotes

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Philippians 2:21

Picture this: you are just about a year into your first call as a minister. Everything seems to be going swimmingly. You caught up with a seminary friend over the weekend and you slightly brag about h...

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Defending the Truth

Author

Richard J. Mouw

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Scripture

Exodus 20:16 , Zechariah 8:16–17, Leviticus 19:17–18, Ephesians 4:15, Romans 12:17–18, Psalm 15:1–3

I once had the opportunity to speak briefly to a large Mormon audience at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. I told them that I feel badly about the fact that we evangelicals often tell Mormons what th...

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Defining the Parish System

Author

Don Everts

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Scripture

Jeremiah 29:4-7, Micah 4:3-4, Matthew 5:9 , Romans 12:18-21 , Psalm 34:14

This concept [the parish system] has helped Christians understand how interconnected all the pieces within a community are and the importance of pursuing the common good there. Jesus’ call to be peace...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Charles Teixeira

Scripture

Mark 5:21-43, Mark 5:17-21, Leviticus 15:7

Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....

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Four Years Later: Reflecting on Pandemic Ministry

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Lessons Learned in Quarantine and Beyond Do you remember that first Sunday when you stayed cloistered in your home with the immediate family, when you exchanged your dapper church clothes for a pair ...

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Dear Lord, I pray that You would open

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John 12:1-8, Acts 9:1-19, Luke 24:13-35, Isaiah 53:5, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 12:2

Dear Lord, I pray that You would open my mind to the truth of Your Word by means of the Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to see Jesus. Open my heart to love Him more and more. Open my will to do only that wh...

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

Author

C. S. Lewis

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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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Open Seating

Author

Scott Bowerman

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Scripture

Luke 14:7-11

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson wanted to make a point. The new British Ambassador had just come to Washington - the representative of the aristocratic government the new Republic had defeated in ...

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Finding a Private Relaxation Activity

Author

Stephen W. Smith

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Scripture

Psalm 23:1-3, Psalm 62:1, Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 4:9-10

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith shares the importance of finding ways to rest and relax as part of a healthy, balanced life: I once read a book in which the author sa...

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On Changing your Mind

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Proverbs 16:25, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 28:26, James 4:13-15, 1 Corinthians 8:2, Proverbs 14:12, Luke 7:30

Joseph Lister was a British surgeon and the founder of anti-septic medicine. That may sound incredibly boring, but the effects of his discovery were profound. Prior to Lister, surgeons had virtually n...

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Hospitality & Hospitals

Author

Leslie B. Flynn

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Hospitality

Have you ever noticed the similarity between the words “hospitality” and “hospital?” That’s because both developed out of the need for accommodations during the medieval period, specifically when peop...

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The Happiness Effect

Author

Craig Detweiler

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Scripture

Romans 12:15, John 16:33, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 34:18, Ecclesiastes 3:4

After surveying an incredibly diverse cross section of college students across America, Donna Freitas found “the most pressing social media issues students face: the importance of appearing happy”—and...

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Should You Have A Best Friend (In Ministry)?

Author

John Townsend

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Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:11, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:15, John 15:13-15, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 27:17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

In this excerpt from Dr. John Townsend, the renowned psychologist and author, shares a story from his time in seminary, where one of his professors and mentor changes his mind regarding the importance...

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Sharing Through Showing

Author

Bobby Harrington

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Because I was raised in England, drinking tea is a central part of my cultural identity! Whatever the situation—a celebration, a welcome, a crisis, an afternoon break—the response of a good Brit is to...

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Emotional Nanocrafts in the Space Between Us

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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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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Eating Together as a Family

Author

Terry A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:20, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Proverbs 15:17, Isaiah 25:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Acts 2:46, Psalm 128:3

We become who we are in the environment of home. We are shaped by our families. Home is formative. Sociologist Cody C. Delistraty explored the most recent scientific literature for Atlantic Monthly an...

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Author

S. Scott Bartchy

Keywords

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of table fellowship for the cultures of the Mediterranean basin in the first century of our era. . . . Being welcomed at a table for the purpose of...

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