keyword
Search by topic, scripture, category etc..
100 Results in 906ms
Display
Sorted By
-
illustration
"The Batman Effect" The Power of Identity
A group of researchers sought to study the nuances of self-control. They conducted a study with a few dozen kindergarten students and gave them a painfully boring, repetitive task designed to test how... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Galatians 3:23-29
The Law The ambiguous place of the law in Christian thought can be seen historically in battles between antinomians and legalists, each side finding New Testament support, and the present text would ... -
lectionary
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Preaching commentary The Law The ambiguous place of the law in Christian thought can be seen historically in battles between antinomians and legalists, each side finding New Testament support, and ... -
illustration
Waiting: Leaning into the Pain
With the global coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, life stopped. Overwhelmed by the threat of a disease we couldn’t stop and for which we didn’t have the hospital capacity, everyone moved work and s... -
lectionary
16th Sunday after Pentecost
Context This week’s lectionary text from Mark encompasses two distinct healing narratives, each of which has plenty of material for its own sermon. So the first decision for the preacher should be wh... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Mark 7:24-37
Context This week’s lectionary text from Mark encompasses two distinct healing narratives, each of which has plenty of material for its own sermon. So the first decision for the preacher should be wh... -
liturgy
Inspired by Colossians 1
Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of all creation. You were once sinners, alienated and hostile in mind to God, but you have been reconciled through his body and death. Continu... -
Quote
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. -
Quote
We must accept life for what it actually is - a challenge to our quality without which we should never know of what stuff we are made, or grow to our full stature. -
Quote
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Revelation 7:9-17
A Letter from Exile To understand this section of Revelation, we have to remember that it was written by someone in exile to communities who were suffering for their faith. When we read Revelation 2-... -
illustration
A Living Martyrdom: To be True at All Costs
The hymnwriter and theologian F. W. Faber writes with beautiful prose the challenges that each one of us faces when it comes to living a life faithfully according to the truth that is within us: M... -
Quote
Resilience is the virtue that enables people to move through hardship and become better. No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffe... -
illustration
Becoming a King
When you purchase a game of checkers, you’ll notice that on the top of each piece is the insignia of a crown. That is because each checker was created to become a king. Once it is crowned because it h... -
lectionary
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Preaching Commentary A Letter from Exile To understand this section of Revelation, we have to remember that it was written by someone in exile to communities who were suffering for their faith. Whe... -
Quote
The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance. -
liturgy
Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts,
Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag downward, unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out, upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow... -
Quote
I believe in Christ and confess him not like some child; my hosanna has passed through an enormous furnace of doubt. -
illustration
The Stockdale Paradox
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’... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Matthew 4:1-11
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Which Interpretative Lens Should You Use? I have a general rule of thumb when studying a text. If I can read the early Christian commen... -
lectionary
First Sunday in Lent
AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Which Interpretative Lens Should You Use? I have a general rule of thumb when studying a text. If I can read the early... -
liturgy
A blessing for the courage to try
A blessing for the courage to try Blessed are you, faced with the impossible. You who do not take your eyes away from what threatens to swallow you whole. You who stare down reality, tho... -
Quote
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. -
illustration
The Life-Sustaining Power of Hope
Survival requires more than the basic biological necessities we readily acknowledge—oxygen, food, and water. It also demands something less tangible but equally vital: hope. When hope vanishes, the hu... -
Quote
You cannot expect people to seriously consider your idea without accepting the possibility that they will challenge it. Accepting that process of engagement as the terrain of leadership liberates you ... -
Quote
God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them. -
Quote
In the midst of winter I discovered that there was in me an invincible summer. -
illustration
ONE MORE LAP!
I recently heard a story about a race in which one runner had a significant lead over the rest of the field. As the man rounded the final turn, the crowd roared as he inched closer and closer to the f... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Galatians 6:1-16
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... -
illustration
The Importance of Becoming Antifragile
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...
Page 1 of 4
Keywords by Topic
C
D
U
W
Keywords by Reference