Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 28, 2011
STAYING IN THE SHALLOW END
He stays at the shallow end of the pool for a long time, refusing invitations to come out into the deeper water, even with his dad. But after a long time considering it, my grandson Zion Brave Bennett thrusts himself into the pool, swimming underwater and then
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
During his 1933 Inaugural Address, President Franklin Roosevelt sought to calm a troubled America in the throes of depression by saying, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself." Fear is a feeling of dread, alarm, panic and anxiety. Fear ranges from mild anxiety to panic attacks. The
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 2 ratings
| 2,062 views
There’s a story about a young child who lay in hospital dying of cancer, withering away to
nothing. Her family was devastated. Friends came, from church, from work...and tried to offer
solace. They tried but could only come up with unhelpful little sayings that didn’t begin to touch
the
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 4 ratings
| 4,404 views
I was officiating at a wedding in the Niagara region on Friday, and an older man - a friend of the bride’s family - spoke to me about his spiritual journey. At one point he said, “I know the first thing that I’d like to ask God when I see him face to face”. I thought he might say that he wanted to
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
I watched a brilliant film with my son Jared a short while ago called, “Downfall”. It is about the last ten
days of Hilter’s Nazi Germany, the last ten days in an underground bunker when the realization of the colossal failure of Nazism and of its war efforts was dawning on Germany’s leaders at the
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Jesus talks about letting his words remain in us. What does that mean? On occasion I’ve had opportunities to go elsewhere, away from the mission, to churches that were bigger and where there seemed to be more to gain.
But whenever those opportunities come up, my dad’s voice has always gone off in
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Someone I know who is really struggling with his faith stately boldly the other day that he had come to understand that the universe is God and it was clear he thought that was a stunning revelation, a great new and important truth.
One of the first things that happens when we go away from the
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
I spoke with Wes, the new manager of our clothing store, Double Take the other day. He’s been a volunteer at Yonge Street Mission for years, and so he knew that we work with all kinds of people, including people who live on the street. He gave me permission to tell his story.
Wes realized a few
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Then we have the symbol of being under water. I tell some of the baptismal candidates when meeting with them ahead of time that once they are under the water, the congregation votes how long they should stay under water. The voting process
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
JOY IN THE MIDST OF ROUGH WATERS
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in recent weeks doing funeral pre-planning for my parents. Making decisions about final disposition of the remains of people you have loved all your life is not any fun at all. It can be overwhelmingly sad.
After spending hours with
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 2 ratings
| 2,625 views
A friend of mine pastors in the Bloor West village in Toronto and runs a "God at the Pub" where he holds open discussions on the Christian faith in a bar setting. He told me the other day that he has all sorts of people there who are not people of faith, but who have told him they want to model
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
My daughter Elia has given me permission to tell this story. Elia faced a huge dilemma in high school when her best friends from junior high days started hanging out with a rough crowd, starting smoking and crossing all sorts of boundaries. In order to keep the friendships she would have to start
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 84 ratings
| 2,666 views
"As preparations were being made for a battle in the Revolutionary War, a corporal arrogantly ordered his men to lift a heavy beam. A man in civilian clothes was walking by said, "Why don’t you help them?" "Sir," he replied indignantly, "I am a corporal!" The man in civilian clothes apologized
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United Methodist
Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Dec 12, 2002
based on 12 ratings
| 1,893 views
[Gandhi Can’t Compare to Christ, Citation: Michael Green, The Message of Matthew (IVP, 2000), p. 141]
Author Michael Green writes:
Only Jesus fully understands God the Father.
Great people have discovered and taught many true and noble things about God.
Nobody has known him with the intimacy of
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by David Haun on Dec 27, 2003
based on 3 ratings
| 1,645 views
Few [called by Christ] would have been considered wise in the world’s eyes. Few were powerful or influential decision makers. Few were wealthy. Among the earliest disciples, five were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and the careers of the rest are unknown. None (with the possible exception of
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Doug Lyon on Jul 23, 2006
based on 1 rating
| 2,395 views
Persecution shouldn’t come as a shock to us. Jesus forewarned His followers that they would be mistreated and even killed. Listen to how several of the disciples of Jesus died. According to church tradition …
• Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword in Ethiopia.
• Mark expired
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Independent/Bible
based on 3 ratings
| 1,288 views
Singer Sheryl Crow said recently, in a New York Post interview: “I believe in God. I believe in Jesus and Buddha and Mohammed and all those that were enlightened. I wouldn’t say necessarily that I’m a strict Christian. I’m not sure I believe in heaven.” Sheryl Crow is where many people are
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Methodist
Contributed by Scott Carson on Apr 8, 2001
based on 123 ratings
| 3,761 views
Michael Billester once gave a Bible to a humble villager in eastern Poland. Returning a few years later, he learned that 200 people had become believers through the use of that one Bible. When this group of believers gathered to hear him preach, he suggested that before he spoke he would like each
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Baptist