Challenges on Weaknesses

lectionary

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Acts 9:1-18, Hebrews 12:2, Colossians 3:9-10

Preaching Commentary Besieged from All Angles The context of this passage is best summed up with the words recorded throughout the letter: Trouble, Distress, Suffering, Hardship, Death at work, Jar...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1, Acts 9:1-18, Hebrews 12:2, Psalm 116:null, Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:9-10

Notes on the Passage Besieged from All Angles: The context of this passage is best summed up with the words recorded throughout the letter: Trouble, Distress, Suffering, Hardship, Death at work, Ja...

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Keeping a Good [Hu]man Down

Author

Ted W. Engstrom

Keywords

Martin Luther King, Jr. was right: We can overcome, despite adversity, the trend toward mediocrity, and the temptation to rationalize our weaknesses. You simply cannot keep a good person down. Crippl...

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Great Coaches Bring out the Best in their People

Author

John Maxwell

Keywords

Good leaders are like good coaches. They know how to bring out the best in the people on their team. That’s what John Wooden did. It’s also what legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi did. When he took ov...

Quote

Author

Wayne Dyer

Keywords

Problems in relationship occur because each person is concentrating on what is missing in the other person.

Quote

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:7-8, Hebrews 13:21, Deuteronomy 31:8, Philippians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Isaiah 41:10

God never calls you to a task without giving you what you need to do it. He never sends you without going with you.

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Embracing Failure

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18-19, John 21:17, Luke 22:61-62, Romans 5:3-5, Micah 7:8, Psalm 73:26, Proverbs 24:16

A common trait of human beings is a fear of failure. Most of us find ways of coping with it, but whenever failure rears its ugly head, it’s difficult not to experience the sting of feeling like we are...

Quote

Author

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson

Keywords

Most leaders focus on how to succeed in a task. A far better approach is to focus on who you are.

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Galatians 6:1-16

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:1-16, 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

A Tough Way to Start Ministry You don’t have to spend much time on Twitter or Facebook to be reminded that schadenfreude (taking joy from another's misfortune) is alive and well. Depending on w...

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It’d Be Easier Without People

Author

Chuck DeGroat

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 15:1, Exodus 18:13-26, Matthew 18:15-17, 2 Timothy 4:2, Psalm 121:1-2

Statistics show that 80 percent of new pastors leave the ministry within five years. A friend once remarked, “If they were able to pastor churches without people, they might last ten years.” Most past...

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Author

Ronald A. Heifetz, Marty Linsky, Alexander Grashow

Keywords

In the heat of leadership, with the adrenaline pumping, it is easy to convince yourself that you are not subject to the normal human frailties that can defeat ordinary mortals. You begin to act as if ...

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Author

Rainer Maria Rilke

Keywords

What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights with us is so great! If only we would let ourselves be dominated as things do by some immense storm, we would become strong too, and not need...

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Author

Stephen Covey

Keywords

Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and ad...

liturgy

Gracious God, you are omnipotent,

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Gracious God, you are omnipotent, reigning over the universe, and ruling over us. You make a way where there seems to be no way. You expand possibilities beyond our dreams. Yet our challenges shrink ...

Quote

Author

William Shakespeare

Keywords

O curse of marriage, that we can call these delicate creatures ours and not their appetites.

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Our Biggest Regrets

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 13:8-9, 1 Kings 3:26-27, Psalm 51:10-12, Jonah 4:1-2, Luke 15:28-31, Philippians 2:3-4

I once asked a psychologist who had been in practice for over forty years what is the most common regret his clients felt. Without hesitation, he said, “Selfishness.” Why was I not the spouse or paren...

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If Ambiguity Keeps you Up at Night

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 18:13-23, 1 Kings 3:5-12, Esther 4:13-16 , James 1:5, Psalm 25:4-5 , Acts 15:6-21

Ambiguity may keep people up nights, but anyone seeking exquisite simplicity in his or her career ought to look for a non-leadership position. Leaders, by definition, have followers. Followers need di...

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Don’t Professionalize Pastoral Ministry

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:4, Jeremiah 12:1-3, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Psalm 42:1-5

Ministers run the awful risk . . . of ceasing to be witnesses to the presence in their own lives — let alone in the lives of the people they are trying to minister to — of a living God who transcends ...

liturgy

Stronghold in Times of Trouble

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 9:7-8, Romans 10:11-13, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10, Exodus 14:13-14

Leader: May the Lord, who is your stronghold, help you in times of trouble. You who know the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as your God, trust in the Lord. He will not let those who seek Hi...

Quote

Author

Carl Jung

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, John 16:33, 1 Peter 5:10, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Peter 1:6-7

In the last resort it is highly improbable that there could ever be a therapy which gets rid of all difficulties. Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.

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The Importance of Becoming Antifragile

Author

Uche Anizor

Keywords

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a best-selling statistician, argues that it is not even mere resilience we need, but what he calls antifragility . He groups things into three categories. First, fragile...

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Author

Isak Dinesen

Keywords

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 ...

Quote

Author

Oswald Chambers

Keywords

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.

blog

Naaman: A Parable of Leadership

Author

Nicholas Rowe

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 5:, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Timothy 4:12, Isaiah 30:21, Psalm 32:8, James 1:5

Leadership Trauma is Taking a Toll The word is out. According to Barna, as of March 2022, the percentage of pastors considering quitting full-time ministry within the past year sits at 42 percen...

Quote

Author

Tod E. Bolsinger

Keywords

Scripture

Daniel 1:8, Genesis 37:39–50, Exodus 2:4, 14–17, Matthew 4:1–11, 2 Corinthians 11:23–29, Psalm 46:

Resilience is not something that can be mustered in a moment of “rising to the occasion.” It is formed over a long period before the crisis of testing so that it can continue the transformation during...

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Author

Nicki Koziarz

Keywords

Hard seasons can cause us to look at God in an unhealthy way. Instead of asking God what He needs us to see in these seasons, we may constantly find ourselves asking Him if He really knows what He is ...

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Fostering Shame in a Little Girl

Author

Sandra D. Wilson

Keywords

I was standing in line in a crowded public rest room engaged in one of my favorite hobbies, people watching, when I observed a brief interaction between a mother and daughter. Mother looked harried an...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide James 3:13-4:3; 7-8a

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:13-4:3; 7-8a, James 3:13-18, James 4:1-3, 7-8, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null, Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54:null, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null

James' Intent James, the brother of Jesus, the leader of the earliest Christian church in Jerusalem, writes this letter to scattered Jewish believers who were going through very difficult times. ...

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Discovering our Common Struggles

Author

Alan Noble

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:3-8 , Proverbs 14:13 , Lamentations 1:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 42:5

Get to know someone really well, and almost without fail, you will discover a person who routinely struggles to get out of bed in the morning. And not just because they’re tired. They can’t get out of...

Quote

Author

Randy Pausch

Keywords

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are the...

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