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Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 6:4, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:1

The resurrection of Jesus is not simply the basis for Christian hope; it redefines the future toward which hope looks.

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Author

Boris Cyrulnik

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All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story.

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Author

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Keywords

Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul.

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Self-Discipline Transforms our Motivations

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

George Garrett, a novelist and amateur boxer wrote about a transformation that often takes place for fighters who stick with the sport. Throughout their journey to boxing excellence, in which they mus...

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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...

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The Most Important Thing About Us

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

The twentieth-century writer A. W. Tozer made a stunning claim: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Really? The most important thing? M...

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The One Ring and the Failure of Willpower

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:34-36, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:5, Romans 7:15-24, Proverbs 20:9, Numbers 21:

Nearly everybody knows of at least one sin habit in their life that they wish to leave behind them. Yet, no matter what they do, it seems impossible for them to be free of this habit, character flaw, ...

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Same Bible, Very Different God

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Last week, an atheist came up to me and asked how I could believe in a God who made parents eat their children. Naturally, I was a little confused. A lot of people have odd ideas about God, but ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Psalm 51:1-17 (Guide B)

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:1-17

Introduction A Common Lent Reading and A Model for Confession The season of Lent often begins with a call to repentance, and it is a season of reflection and contrition. Ash Wednesday's reading...

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Older Adults Hunger for Purpose (And How You Can Help)

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Last fall, I was asked to lead a workshop at a church by their men's ministry. The topic was so popular that the women in the church threatened to dress up like men to crash the course. The course...

Quote

Author

Rabindranath Tagore

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 104:14, Isaiah 61:11, Hosea 14:5, Psalm 127:1, Genesis 2:9

No, it is not yours to open buds into blossoms. Shake the bud, strike it; it is beyond your power to make it blossom. Your touch soils it, you tear its petals to pieces and strew them in the dust. ...

Quote

Author

Nikos Kazantzakis

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 49:2, Isaiah 64:8, Psalm 66:10, Zechariah 13:9, Job 23:9

I am a bow on your hands, Lord. Draw me, lest I rot. Do not overdraw me, Lord. I shall break. Overdraw me, Lord, and who cares if I break?

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Author

Jonathan Edwards

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Prayer is the only voice of faith.

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Author

Edmund P. Clowney

Keywords

The Bible does not present an art of prayer; it presents the God of prayer.

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom’s book on prayer has a subtitle that sums all this up nicely. Prayer is “Finding Our Way through Duty to Delight.” That is the journey of prayer.

liturgy

Since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:14-16

Hebrews 4 says, “Having then a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touche...

liturgy

When Jesus is tempted by the devil

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Leader: When Jesus is tempted by the devil, the temptation he faces is to turn his trust away from God. We face this temptation every day, and give into it all too easily. Jesus responds to Satan, “o...

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Electrical Fires and Addressing Sin at the Source

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 7:20-23, Proverbs 4:23, James 1:14-15, Luke 6:43-45, Colossians 2:23

One afternoon, I was playing with my son in our living room when I suddenly smelled something burning. I stood up and walked around, nose high in the air, sniffing furiously. My wife smelled it too, s...

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God's Will Through Circumstance: He Opens and Closes Doors

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, Genesis 24:27, Isaiah 48:17

Not long ago, I had a young couple come to me and say, “Pastor, we’re looking at buying a house. We’ve looked at this one house, and we really like it, but we want to make sure it’s God’s will. Would ...

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An Uncle Tries to Buy Salvation

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 5:1-14, Proverbs 11:4, Zephaniah 1:18, Acts 8:9-24, Isaiah 64:6

A little girl once wrote a letter to an advice column in the Newspaper. In it, she tells a story about her uncle and aunt. “My uncle was the tightest man I ever met.” She said. “All his life, every ti...

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The Many Houses Analogy and the Problem with the Attic

Author

Joshua Chatraw and Jack Carson

Keywords

Scripture

John 10:6, John 17:21, 1 Corinthians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Revelation 7:10

Before he was a household name, C. S. Lewis was a hardened atheist. From his teens to his early thirties, he vocalized many of the objections to Christianity that animate doubt in our age. After his s...

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Understanding the Fear of God

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

What, then, should a Christian be afraid of regarding God? Think of it like this. Imagine that you suddenly are introduced to some person you have always admired enormously—perhaps someone you have he...

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To Be A Child of God Means Access

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 8:4

To be a child of God means access. We know God is attentively listening to us and watching us. Think about what it takes to get in to see the president of the United States. Only people who merit his ...

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The Power of Four: Spiritual Transformation from Reading Scripture

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Does reading the Bible really change us? Does it have the ability, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to shape and form our characters? That's what The Center for Bible Engagement wanted to fin...

Quote

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Hebrews 9:14-22, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26, Psalm 119:9

The blood of Christ cleanses us on the inside, our hearts. The word of God cleanses on the outside. That's the method God uses.

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Learned Ignorance: De Docta Ignorancia

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 1:5, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 11:25, James 1:21, Colossians 2:3, Matthew 18:3

Becoming a teachable person has two prerequisites: There must be a teacher and a person willing to be taught. Increasingly, Western culture has become an environment that celebrates and platforms the ...

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An Analogy of Childlike Prayer

Author

M. Basil Pennington

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:14-15, Matthew 6:9, Psalm 131:2, Romans 8:15

A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking...

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Searching for a Screwdriver

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:7, Romans 10:11, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 34:5, Zephaniah 3:19

The following story by professor and author A. J. Swoboda is a vivid example of how shame works in our lives, often causing us to hide and run away from the pain and embarrassment: One of the greate...

Quote

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 62:5, Isaiah 49:15-16, Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Hosea 11:1

Do you really accept the message that God is head over heels in love with you?

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French Fries and Tithes

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 14:20, Leviticus 27:30, Deuteronomy 14:22, Malachi 3:8-10, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Mark 12:41-44

One day, a father bought his little boy some French fries. The father, doing what any dad would do, reaches over and moves to take one of the fries off of his kid’s plate. The little boy screams, slap...

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