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It was said of the Persians that, whenever they went to battle, you could hear the sticks of the captains who were beating the soldiers to make them fight, but they won no victories. Look, on the other hand, at the brave Spartan. He was glad at the very thought of fighting; he lived in it. He was a born…

A recent meta-analysis from UC Riverside found that “the average person spends 52 minutes per day gossiping,” but that of that time only 15% of the gossip “is negative while the remaining 10% is positive or flattering.” The other 75% is neutral. People tend to gossip, that is, they talk about the people…

In his business book, Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, Donald Miller says something from a business perspective that the church has known for years: “Those who realize the epic story of life is not about them but actually about the people around them somehow win in…

Due to limited access and altered supply chains during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine, the small town of Gustavus, Alaska faced the danger of starvation because they could not get critical supplies. Local resident and grocer Toshua Parker stepped in and led a team on a 14-hour round trip each week to make…

Love and care of family is an important responsibility for parents. We are to take care of the children entrusted to US. That does not give us excuse to disregard the rest of society. Lou Munilla moved from California to Idaho when California passed a law that virtually all school children are to be…

The Curry Pizza Co in Fresno, California believes we may be in danger of it. In order to counteract the smart phone craze, they announced they would give one free pizza to any group of at least four diners who surrender their cell phones while they eat. A spokesman said “the goal is to have diners actually…

Jerry Merryman was a man who changed the world. When he died in February 2019, friends and family remembered him as brilliant and a kind man with a good sense of humor. Merryman and a team of two other men invented the hand-held calculator while working for Texas Instruments. Their work received a Nobel…

A study by LifeWay Research suggest that people worry more about avoiding shame than they do about guilt or fear. Scott McConnell, executive director at LifeWay Research, said they wanted to know if guilt was a major issue of Americans and if the church was addressing issues that concerned Americans…

Old outdated donations are regular at The Cardiff Food Bank in Wales. One recently received was unusual. It was a can of kidney soup that was at least 46 years old. The price tag on the top of the can was in money that the UK discontinued in 1971 and the maker of the soup, Heinze, said they stopped making…

When Hurricane Harvey stuck Houston the city experienced a city-wide resurgence of unity. Hurricane Harvey brought over 50 inches of rain to the city. Many people got stuck in cars or in their homes, and citizens took action across the city. Many used their own boats and cars to navigate the flooded…

A few years ago, the productivity expert, Merlin Mann, coined a phrase that is gaining traction more and more—“inbox zero.” It’s all about staying on top of your email inbox in order to reclaim your attention and retake control of your life. An inbox overflowing with unread messages is not only distracting…

# Philippians Lesson 1 ## Intro to the Study of Philippians I’ve been given the privilege of teaching the opening weeks of this study through the book of Philippians. Before we get to the text of Philippians I am going to take a few minutes to refresh your memory of the background of the Philippian churches…

Background: This is an excerpt from an unpublished book by Brad Berglund. It explores the Christian adage: Wise men still seek him. What would it be like if modern seekers were with the wise men when they worshiped Jesus? Previously, Higher-Status had expressed his fears to a Pharisee in the temple (click…

Imagine going to Chicago on a business trip. You have a bunch of meetings and have plans to fly out right after your last meeting to meet your family in some great vacation spot. Your meetings run late and you know it is going to be a challenge to get to the airport and get checked in so you can make…

Utah Valley University is providing students a lane designated for texting while walking. The lanes are painted neon green on the stairs to the gym and were intended as a light hearted way to brighten up the space and get student’s attention. A picture of the lanes marked for runners, walkers, and texters…

After the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans in 2013, Coach Andy Reid told players to celebrate but to do it wisely. After the game Chief’s defensive player Tambia Hali took 15 friends to a local restaurant for a huge all-you-can eat-meal. The bill totaled $1,800 and the restaurant automatically…

“A South Carolina man has fulfilled his long-held ambition of catching a fish while sitting on his couch. Jason Schall, 38, ran a fishing line from his living room to the lake outside while watching a college football game. Fishing buddy Jason Bennett said Schall ‘wasn’t on the couch three minutes’ before…

In August of 2012 NASA landed a rover on the surface of our neighboring planet Mars. It should provide some good research and fantastic pictures for some time to come. It is not without some persistence and patience that it is there. Of the 41 missions sent to Mars by various space agencies, 26 have…

The movie Titanic reveals something about human nature, some people follow the natural tendency to be selfish and others rise above it and are selfless. For example, as the ship was sinking, Cal Hockley, Rose’s selfish fiancé lied to her saying that he would make sure him and Jack, the boy she really…

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20b, NIV). J. D. Grey wrote a helpful little book titled Epitaphs for Eager Preachers. From his experience, he was warning young ministers of the pitfalls which may lead to the death of ministry.…

Jill Costello was finishing her junior year at the University of California. Just before heading home for summer vacation, she discovered she was in the last stages of lung cancer. Her doctors gave her 9 months to live. Her support network was the Cal crew team where she was a coxswain. They had just…

C. S. Lewis knew about this surrender. He began as a self-described atheistic intellectual. For two years he struggled with this. The Holy Spirit was working on him until he finally discovered the joy of surrender. He writes of his conversion: You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night…

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but, that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and…

AMBITION: THE ENEMY OF PEACE “The next enemy to peace is ambition. ‘Diotrephes loveth to have the preeminence,’ and that fellow has spoiled many a happy church.” [Spurgeon, MTP, Vol. 1, 660].

AMBITION Have you ever had your dreams shattered? Have you wondered where God was when life became too much to bear? Have you ever thought that if you had more in life you would get more out of life? In his book, Shattered Dreams, Larry Crabb wrote: "Satan's masterpiece is not the prostitute or the skid-row…