Relationships and Community on Purpose

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Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing...

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Discovering Your Unique Purpose

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Max Lucado

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1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 4:11

Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you...

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Troubling Statistics about Mental Health in our Youth

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Max Lucado

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Isaiah 41:10 , 1 Kings 19:4-8, Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:27, Philippians 4:6-7 , Psalm 34:17-18

Most alarming is the absence of peace among our youth. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is showing an epidemic of mental health problems among eighteen- to twenty-four-year...

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You go nowhere by accident.

Author

Richard Halverson

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Luke 10:1-20, Galatians 2:20, Genesis 50:20, Genesis 37:50, Romans 8:28

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. God has a purpose in your being right where you are. Christ, who indwells you by the power of...

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God, our heavenly Father–from whom all

God, our heavenly Father–from whom all families gain purpose, direction and life: When we need bread, you don’t give a stone; and when we ask for fish, you don’t give a snake; for you are good, you ar...

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Heavenly Father, forgive us for delving

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John 20:24-29, John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10

Heavenly Father, forgive us for delving so much into our own lives that we forget the love and purpose with which you have created us. When we are faced with doubt and despair, help us to turn to you ...

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The Stockdale Paradox

Author

Tod E. Bolsinger

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John 16:33, Psalm 34:18-19, Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 4:12-13, Isaiah 40:31, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Romans 5:3-5

James Stockdale and what is now known as the Stockdale Paradox comes from his experience as a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam War. The Stockdale Paradox, made famous in Jim Collins’...

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Author

Albert Schweitzer

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The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.

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Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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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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God of love—Father, Son and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

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John 11:32-35, Acts 10:, John 5:1-9, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 4:3-6, Matthew 25:40

God of love—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You loved us before we ever knew You. Give us such a deep love for You, that we can see the world as You see it, feel the compassion You feel, and be a people ...

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Author

Rick Warren

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Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of y...

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Author

Henry Drummond

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Scripture

Galatians 6:10, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 John 4:7-8

Is life not full of opportunities for learning love? Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them. The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. A...

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What is Your Purpose?

Author

J. D. Greear

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:7-12, Ephesians 4:16, Romans 12:4-5, 1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 3:9

A pastor friend of mine once brought about ten people onto the stage at his church and assigned them roles to play on an imaginary fire truck. One person was assigned to drive; another controlled the ...

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M. Scott Peck

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The overall purpose of human communication is - or should be - reconciliation. It should ultimately serve to lower or remove the walls of misunderstanding which unduly separate us human beings, one fr...

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Author

Brené Brown

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Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.

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Calling Means Finding Purpose in Every Kind of Work

Author

Kevin DeYoung

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Scripture

Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 16:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Genesis 2:15, Romans 12:4-6

God calls His people to lots of different things. Sometimes you feel a sense of calling to your job and, you know what, sometimes you don’t. You just work. I’m extremely thankful that I love what I do...

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The Mess Serves a Purpose

Author

Matthew Kelly

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The Gospel doesn't reveal to us that life isn't messy. In fact, God, in the Incarnation, joins us in the mess. Consider this illustration to highlight how the Incarnation transforms our expe...

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The Purpose of My Life

Author

David Brooks

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Loss

I once asked my New York Times readers whether they had found purpose in their lives. Thousands wrote back to describe their experiences. One in particular sticks out and illustrates Rohr’s concept of...

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The Power of Wind

Author

Billy Graham

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Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Exodus 14:21, Ezekiel 37:9-10, John 3:8, Psalm 104:3-4 , Acts 2:1-4

It is interesting that in Scripture, in both the original Hebrew and Greek languages, the word used in speaking of the Spirit is the word that can also mean “wind.” In like manner, the Holy Spirit wor...

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Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Psalm 133:1, Romans 12:4-5 , John 17:20-23, Exodus 17:12, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Genesis 1:26-27

If this world was made by a triune God, a being of community, then relationships of love are what life is really all about.

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What Is a Family For?

Author

Andy Crouch

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Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Proverbs 22:6, 1 Samuel 1:27-28, Luke 2:51-52, Ephesians 6:1-4, Psalm 127:3-5

I want to suggest a pretty radical idea about what family is for. Family is about the forming of persons. Being a person is a gift, like life itself—we are born as human beings made in the image of Go...

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We Are What We Love

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James K. A. Smith

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Galatians 5:22-23, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:17, 1 John 3:18, Matthew 22:37-40

Identities—what makes us who we are, the kind of people we are—is what we love. More specifically, our identity is shaped by what we ultimately love or what we love as ultimate—what, at the end of the...

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Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure

Author

J. R. R. Tolkein

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Scripture

Genesis 12:1–4, Exodus 3:10–12, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 14:28–29, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 121:8

Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone. Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain, quiet folk and have n...

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The Gift of College Students

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-10, Ecclesiastes 12:1 , Proverbs 2:1-11, Mark 10:17-22 , 1 Timothy 4:12 , Psalm 119:9-11

I have been moved to a different course of action, however, inspired largely by my daily exposure to college students in a great university during the course of a preaching and teaching ministry that ...

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No Bell Sounded for the Guilty

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-3, 2 Corinthians 5:14—15, Genesis 44:18-34, Daniel 6:16-23, Psalm 91:14-16, John 15:12-13, Romans 5:6-8, John 15:13, 1 Peter 2:21

During the time of Oliver Cromwel ascendancy in England, a young soldier faced execution as the curfew bell was set to toll. Desperate to save him, the soldier's beloved approached Cromwell, plead...

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Author

Christopher J. H. Wright

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The whole Bible is itself a missional phenomenon. The writings that now comprise our Bible are themselves the product of and witness to the ultimate mission of God. The Bible renders to us the story o...

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Author

Mike Bickle

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Our lives only have meaning as we understand them with respect to obedience to Christ Jesus who is seated at the Father’s right hand. If we lose our focus on Him, then we lose our connection with real...

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Power is Present Everywhere

Author

David Fitch

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Power is present in almost all social situations we find ourselves in. Whether it be the corporation you work at, the village zoning committee, the street crew you work on, the neighborhood, the playg...

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Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

1 Peter 1:18-19, Romans 8:30, Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 1:7

Dealing with sin, saving humans from it, giving them grace, forgiveness, justification, glorification-all this was the purpose of the single covenant from the beginning, now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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God—Father, Son and Spirit; You are a

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Acts 4:32-35, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 14:13-21, 1 Kings 17:8-16, Exodus 16:1-36, John 6:35, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

God—Father, Son and Spirit; You are a God of compassion and love. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we’ve known Your love, and experienced Your care and provision. Repeatedly You’ve answered our ...

relationships and community on Purpose

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