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  • illustration

    Why We are Reluctant to Share the Gospel

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Proverbs 29:25, Acts 4:13, John 15:18-19, 2 Timothy 1:7-8, Colossians 4:5-6, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 1:16
    Why is it so intimidating to talk about Jesus in contemporary western culture? One obvious reason might lie in the ubiquitous negative portrayals of Christians in mainstream media. Sam Chan makes this...

  • illustration

    Existential Brokenheartedness

    Author
    Austin Fischer
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 Peter 1:6-7, Habakkuk 1:2-3, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Isaiah 53:3, Psalm 22:1, Romans 8:18
    In this short excerpt, pastor and author Austin Fischer describes a surprising dynamic that sometimes occurs in the life of a Christian: believing so strongly in a loving God that one cannot fathom th...

  • illustration

    Struggling with Charity

    Author
    Kent Annan
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 13:16, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27
    On the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. ...

  • illustration

    Giving Away What Wasn’t His

    Author
    The Chicago Tribune
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 John 3:17-18, Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 22:9, James 2:15-17, Matthew 6:21, Acts 20:35
    When 67-year-old carpenter Russell Herman died in 1994, his will included a staggering set of bequests. Included in his plan for distribution was more than two billion dollars for the City of East St....

  • illustration

    The Miser

    Author
    Landon Parvin
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Galatians 6:2, Matthew 6:21, Proverbs 19:17, Hebrews 13:16, Acts 20:35
    A notorious miser was called on by the chairman of the community charity. “Sir,” said the fund-raiser, “our records show that despite your wealth, you’ve never once given to our drive.” The man repli...

  • illustration

    Born to Give

    Author
    Randy Alcorn
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Galatians 6:9-10, Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, Matthew 6:3-4, Acts 20:35, Proverbs 11:25, Luke 19:8, 1 Timothy 6:17-18
    Investor T. Boone Pickens talked about how good it feels to give. He said, “I was put here to make money so I could give it away.” I heard a nearly giddy Warren Buffet, then the second or third riches...

  • illustration

    An Odd Soccer Game & the Founding of Compassion International

    Author
    Soong-Chan Rah
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 15:32, Galatians 6:2, Psalm 68:5, Luke 4:18, Proverbs 4:18, Proverbs 19:17
    Compassion International’s story strikingly parallels that of World Vision. Compassion traces its roots to 1952 when a Swedish American traveling evangelist named Everett Swanson found his way to Kore...

  • illustration

    The Monk and the King

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Acts 20:35, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Isaiah 58:7, Hebrews 13:16, James 2:15-16
    Saint Aidan was an Irish monk who later became bishop of Northumbria (Northern England and Parts of Scotland) in 635. He also founded the famous monastery at Lindisfarne. There is a story told of his ...

  • illustration

    What would You Give?

    Author
    Unknown
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Luke 12:33, Isaiah 58:10, Galatians 6:10, Proverbs 3:27, Matthew 5:42
    Father O’Malley, the parish priest, was giving a sermon about charity. He said, “In our world today, some people have so much while others have so little. We must give of ourselves and our worldly goo...

  • illustration

    Business Culture vs. Biblical Culture

    Author
    Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
    Keywords
    Scripture
    John 17:1, Philippians 4:6, James 5:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 6:6, Acts 6:4, Mark 1:35
    It’s no secret that too many evangelical leaders are captivated more by business culture than biblical culture, spending more time absorbed in strategies and effectiveness and relatively little time i...

  • illustration

    Change or Die

    Author
    Anne Lamott
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Lamentations 3:22-23, Hebrews 12:11, Ezekiel 36:26, Philippians 3:13-14, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Isaiah 43:19
    Why is change important? Why do we avoid it, even when it means experiencing much more pain staying stuck? Writer Ann Lammott explains: If we stay where we are, where we’re stuck, where we’re comfort...

  • illustration

    Change Happens Fast These Days

    Author
    Edmund J. Bourne
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 102:25-27, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Romans 8:28, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 43:19
    Does it ever seem like the world around us is changing at breakneck speed? Well, it turns out, you’re right. A team of researchers have concluded that the Western world’s “environment and social order...

  • illustration

    Finding Your Calling by Finding your Gladness

    Author
    Frederick Buechner
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Galatians 6:4, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23
    The voice we should listen to most as we choose a vocation is the voice that we might think we should listen to least, and that is the voice of our own gladness. What can we do that makes us the gladd...

  • illustration

    Following the Good Shepherd’s Voice

    Author
    Kenneth E. Bailey
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Psalm 23:null, Revelation 7:17, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Hebrews 13:20-21, Luke 15:4-5, Ezekiel 34:15-16, Isaiah 40:11
    In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament) , scholar Ken Bailey provides context to the 23rd...

  • illustration

    The Same Old Baloney

    Author
    Kent Crockett
    Keywords
    Scripture
    2 Corinthians 13:5, Proverbs 26:11, Psalm 139:23-24, James 1:22-25, Lamentations 3:40, Romans 12:2
    Two construction workers had taken a lunch break and opened up their lunch boxes. One of them looked inside his box and said, “Not baloney again! I can’t believe it. I hate baloney. This is the third ...

  • illustration

    A Pastor’s Greatest Accomplishment

    Author
    Mark Batterson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Numbers 6:24-26, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Ephesians 3:20-21, Galatians 2:20
    Dr. Halverson pastored Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, for twenty-three years. He did what pastors do-everything from preaching and counseling to marrying and burying. But he believe...

  • illustration

    Out of the Center

    Author
    Michael Frost
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Isaiah 26:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 15:5, Colossians 3:3-4, Luke 9:23, Philippians 2:3-5, Romans 12:1-2
    The word eccentric comes from a combination of the Greek terms ex (out of) and kentron (center). When combined, ekkentros means “out of center.” The term gained currency in the late Middle Ages, when ...

  • illustration

    Accelerated Growth: Stretching Your Crops

    Author
    Michael Steinberg
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 10:36, Romans 5:3-4, Mark 4:28, Galatians 6:9, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14
    The inordinate desire in the west to increase productivity, to go faster and faster, especially in business, can actually become counterproductive. In this short story from the Chinese philosopher Men...

  • illustration

    Business: A Dog-Eat-Dog World?

    Author
    John C. Knap
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Proverbs 22:1, Luke 16:10, Philippians 2:4, Romans 12:10, Psalm 15:2
    In his book A Better Way to Think about Business, the late business philosopher Robert Solomon, a student of business jargon, speaks of having been struck by the imagery that peppers many [business] p...

  • illustration

    A 12 Million Dollar Education

    Author
    Andy Cook
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Romans 8:28, Matthew 25:21, Proverbs 27:17, Colossians 3:23-24, Galatians 6:1, James 1:5, Luke 16:10
    Tom Watson, Sr., is the man who founded IBM. You can imagine the money, the investments, the experiments, this man, and his multi-billion dollar company have made through the years. Once, years ago, w...

  • illustration

    A Business Legacy: Providing More Value for its Customers

    Author
    Larry Weber
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Isaiah 85:10, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 5:16, Genesis 1:28, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 19:21
    Discovering a moral mission requires a little soul searching. Typically, it involves an exercise that serves to identify an intrinsic value embedded in a company’s DNA, which is a logical extension of...

  • illustration

    Finding Your Blue Flame

    Author
    Jennifer Fulwiler
    Keywords
    Scripture
    2 Timothy 1:6, Psalm 37:4, Galatians 6:9-10, Matthew 5:14-16, Colossians 3:23-24
    I had just started dating my husband, Joe, when I met international speaker and bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi. He was a friend of Joe’s …but on this day he was an intimidating public figure. I wan...

  • illustration

    What Business They Were In

    Author
    Chris Stroup
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 25:14-30, Isaiah 43:19, Proverbs 16:3, Romans 12:2
    In the late 1800’s, no business matched the financial and political dominance of the railroad. Trains dominated the transportation industry of the United States, moving both people and goods throughou...

  • illustration

    Calling Means Finding Purpose in Every Kind of Work

    Author
    Kevin DeYoung
    Keywords
    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...

  • illustration

    The Sin of Doing the Wrong Job

    Author
    Arthur F. Miller Jr. and Bill Hendricks
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 25:14-30, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 12:6-8
    Does God take our work seriously? Consider these words from Arthur F. Miller: It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps that’s a form of ...

  • illustration

    The Three Orientations Towards Work

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 11:39-40, Jeremiah 1:5, Philippians 3:14, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 25:21
    In his landmark work, Habits of the Heart, the sociologist Robert Bellah describes thee distinct orientations people take with respect to their work. The first orientation is to see your work as a job...

  • illustration

    You Can Be Just About Anything You Want

    Author
    Kevin DeYoung
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 Corinthians 10:31, Proverbs 6:6-11, Proverbs 26:13-16, Genesis 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 2:10
    Don’t over-spiritualize. You can serve the Lord in a thousand different jobs. We need missionaries and we need pastors. But we also need entrepreneurs who create jobs so people can make money so they ...

  • illustration

    Not Heeding the Call

    Author
    Jeff Volkmer
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Micah 6:8, Hebrews 13:16, Galatians 6:9-10, Proverbs 3:27, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:14-17
    Just the other day, I was out on a bike ride for some exercise. Because I work for a high-end cycling company, I had the opportunity to test ride one the bikes we make – a bike that comes with a price...

  • illustration

    The Sheep Follow the Shepherd’s Call

    Author
    Eric F. F. Bishop
    Keywords
    Scripture
    John 10:11-18, Matthew 18:12-13, 1 Peter 2:25, Ezekiel 34:11-12, John 10:3-4, Luke 15:4-6, Isaiah 40:11
    During the riots in Palestine in the middle thirties a village near Haifa was condemned to collective punishment by having its sheep and cattle sequestrated by the Government. The inhabitants however ...

  • illustration

    Who Called First?

    Author
    C. S. Lewis
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hosea 11:4, Psalm 27:8, Jeremiah 1:5, Revelation 3:20, Isaiah 65:1, Romans 8:30
    “You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,” said the Lion.
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