Relationships and Community on Questions

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Why?

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:11–12, 1 Kings 19:9–12, Isaiah 55:8–9, Luke 1:34–38 , John 20:24–29, Psalm 13:1–2

Larry King, who has made his living speaking to people as a television talk show host, believes that asking questions is the secret of good conversation. He says, "I'm curious about everythin...

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On Asking the Wrong Questions, from the Pink Panther

Author

The Pink Panther

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 22:17-21, John 9:2-3, 1 Timothy 1:6-7, James 4:3, Proverbs 18:2

Clouseau: Does your dog bite? Hotel Clerk: No. Clouseau: [bowing down to pet the dog] Nice doggie. [Dog barks and bites Clouseau on the hand] Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite! H...

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A Question of Motivation

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 22:6, Hosea 1:1-4, Matthew 18:1-5, Ephesians 6:4, Psalm 127:3

There’s a story about philosopher John Dewey walking with his young son on a cold, wet, and windy day. The boy, barefoot, was gleefully splashing in a puddle despite the weather. A concerned friend pa...

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The Discipline of Not Having the Last Word

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Colossians 4:6, Proverbs 17:27, Ecclesiastes 3:7, 1 Peter 3:15, Philippians 2:3

In his book, Soul Keeping, pastor John Ortberg describes his mentorship by Dallas Willard early in his ministry. The following vignette occurred while Willard was teaching a philosphy course at the Un...

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Quote

Author

Bertrand Russell

Keywords

Assumptions

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37, Acts 17:11, Romans 12:2, James 1:5, Psalm 119:59-60, Psalm 10:1

In all affairs, it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

liturgy

Gracious Lord, like Nicodemus, we come

Keywords

Gracious Lord, like Nicodemus, we come to the word with many questions. Like the Pharisees, we can be captivated by correctness, intent on right answers. As we turn to your word, Spirit of God, do not...

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The Anatomy of a Crisis: Sermon Illustration Thursday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

All crises are judgments of history that call into question an existing state of affairs. They sift and sort the character and condition of a nation and its capacity to respond. The deeper the crisis,...

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Author

Alan J. Roxburgh

Keywords

What is God up to in our neighborhoods and communities? How do we join with what God is doing in these places? Church questions are a subset of these far more important questions.”

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Author

Alan J. Roxburgh

Keywords

More than anything else, [missional church] is about a people who are continually asking questions about what God is up to in the world about them and experimenting in all kinds of ways with joining G...

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Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

It's increasingly common for Christians to ask one another the tough questions: How is your marriage? Have you been spending time in the Word? How are you doing in terms of sexual purity? Have you...

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A Smart-Aleck Question and Answer

Author

William H. Willimon

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 1:8, Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:17, Psalm 90:2, Isaiah 57:15, John 1:1, Genesis 1:1

They say that in Martin Luther’s class on Genesis, a smart aleck student asked, “Dr. Luther, since you know so much about the book of Genesis, tell us: what was God doing all that time before God crea...

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The Politics of Ministry Book Review & Quotes

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

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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Losing Control In a Waffle House Hat

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

Keywords

In his book Scream-Free Parenting , family therapist Hal Runkel recounts a visit to the Waffle House with his family that went horribly awry. It was a Saturday morning and the place was busy beyo...

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The Evangelist Wasting his Time

Author

Richard J. Mouw

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 25:11, Ecclesiastes 3:7, Isaiah 50:4, 1 Peter 3:15, Colossians 4:5–6, Psalm 19:14

As a college student, I was returning to school one year on a Greyhound bus. One of the other passengers was a middle-aged man who seemed to be making the rounds, engaging various people in quiet conv...

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For several years, Jason and I nurtured

Author

Bryan C. Loritts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:15-21, 1 Samuel 24:1-12, Micah 7:18-19, Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:31-32, Psalm 103:10-12

For several years, Jason and I nurtured a friendship that led us to decide to work together because we knew each other so well. But things soon became complicated between us. I began to notice some tr...

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Ash Wednesday - Turning to God in Crisis

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

A World in Chaos At the risk of sounding dramatic, both the U.S. and the world seem to be reaching a level of chaos unmatched since 9/11. The confusion and shifting loyalties, not to mention the 26,0...

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The Conversational Topper

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:9, Philippians 2:3-4, Proverbs 3:18, Romans 12:15, James 1:19

Have you ever been guilty of being a “conversational topper”? The topper is someone who, when another confides a challenge or shares an exciting event, immediately connects that event to their own li...

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Review: How to Know a Person

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

There are there a few books that I come across now that I’m officially “retired” from the pastorate that I sincerely wish I had been able to read, digest and act on as a young pastor. David Brook’s la...

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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....

liturgy

O God, our resurrection and life, the

Author

Linda Smallwood

Keywords

O God, our resurrection and life, the promise of Your new life in Christ is like a breath of fresh air in a dry and thirsty land. We have gathered as believers, and as those who are honestly seeking t...

Quote

Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Parables

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 18:22-35, Luke 16:19-31, Matthew 13:3-8, Matthew 20:1-16, Matthew 13:24-33, Matthew 13:44-50, Mark 4:26-29

The Parable is a form of speech that has a style all of its own. It is a way of saying something that requires the imaginative participation of the listener. Inconspicuously, even surreptitiously, a p...

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The Humanity of the Stranger: the Samaritan in the Israel/Gaza Crisis

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:null, Luke 10:30

Compassion does not demand that we know who is right and who is wrong. In fact, it does not ask for us to know anything at all about [people] except the fact that they are in need. As I facilitated...

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This Christmas Which “Fear Not” Do You Need?

Author

Bill Gaultiere

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:8-20, 1 John 4:18, Romans 12:15, 1 John 4:19

Fear Not! In the first Advent God keeps saying, “Fear not!” It’s a word we need to hear today too. Zechariah and Elizabeth were told that after decades of waiting they’d finally have a child in thei...

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How We Become Peacemakers

Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 4:1-2, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12-13, Romans 12:18, 1 John 2:9-11

To become peacemakers, then, we must begin with ourselves. We must ask ourselves, “Why do I make cutting remarks to another person? Why do I make demeaning remarks about them?” We must also ask oursel...

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About Anti-Asian Racism in America (And What Your Church Can Do About)

Author

Jin Cho

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 7:9

The following article was originally written for the author’s denominational newsletter as part of the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. It is meant to provide some insights into t...

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John Perkins' Children: Among the Very First Students to Integrate at an All-White School

Author

John M. Perkins

Keywords

Six of my children—Spencer, Joanie, Phillip, Derek, Deborah, and Wayne—were among the first black children to attend the all-white school in Mendenhall. But while they were there, their white teachers...

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Racial Division in America

Author

Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith

Keywords

While I was sitting at a stoplight a few blocks from my [Emerson’s] home in Minneapolis, reflecting on the recent rash of drive-by shootings in the area, three African-American teens clad in the urban...

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The Church Split Over… What, Precisely?

Author

Michael L. Lindvall

Keywords

Presbyterian minister Michael Lindvall begins his fictional story about a pastor in the Midwest in The Good News from North Haven like this: I am the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church. There is...

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You’re Sicker Than You Think

Author

Steven C. Roy

Keywords

My wife, Susan and I were sitting in the office of a fellow pastor, Jack Harrison, in the fall of 1992. The recommendation of friends had led us to Jack’s office. “He’s an amazing counselor,” they sai...

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