Gifts Christ's Return, Christmas, Gifts, Sacrifice, Saved, World Lucy Maud Montgomery’s short story “Christmas at Red Butte” tells of Theodora, a young woman orphaned and living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins… READ MORE
Sacrificial Love Christ's Sacrifice, God's Love, Love, Sacrifice In the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Yondu Udonta, Peter’s surrogate father, reveals that he has loved Peter all this time and… READ MORE
Love in Action Love, Power, Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice Although she doesn’t die in the movie, Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise [Buena Vista Pictures,… READ MORE
Father Damien God's Will, Obedience, Sacrifice, Submission, Submit to God Father Damien was a Belgian priest who went to serve in what was considered a godforsaken place—the island of Molokai, where Hawaiians with Hansen’s… READ MORE
Sacrificial Love Faithfulness, Love, Redemption, Restoration, Sacrifice A great illustration of sacrificial love for the Trinity and the Son of God is in Avengers: Endgame. At the end of the movie,… READ MORE
Refused Forgiveness Christ's Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Lent, Sacrifice, Sin In the film Les Misérables (directed by Tom Hooper [Universal Pictures, 2012]), Jean Valjean’s choice to let Javert live brings the police officer to… READ MORE
Career Changes Calling, God's Will, Purpose, Sacrifice, Surrender Find someone in the congregation who has made difficult career changes based on what God has asked them to do. Other than those who… READ MORE
Farmers Helping Farmers Community, Helping others, Outlook, Sacrifice, Working Together Farmers are notorious for helping each other when times get tough. One North Dakota community of farmers helped one of their own after he… READ MORE
A Season Of Preparation Easter, Fasting, Lent, Sacrifice, The Heart In the Christian tradition of Lent we are asked to give up something, but in the spring and after Easter, we can look forward… READ MORE
Charles Spurgeon’s ‘The Carrot and the Horse’ Generosity, Humility, Motivations, Sacrifice, The Heart There is a story attributed to Charles Spurgeon. It goes like this: a gardener presents his king with the greatest carrot he has ever… READ MORE
Behind The Music Meaning, Sacrifice, Song, Surrender, Switchfoot Jon Foreman is a singer–songwriter best known for his work with the band Switchfoot. On a series of solo albums entitled Seasons, Foreman penned a… READ MORE
John Harper’s Last Convert Evangelism, Sacrifice, Salvation Sometimes trusting in our spiritual flotation device means ridding ourselves of a physical one. Scottish evangelist John Harper boarded the Titanic in April 1912. Those… READ MORE
Brothers And Sisters In Arms Christian Unity, Love, Sacrifice, The Body of Christ, Unity Similar to joining the military, when you become a Christian and join the church, you immediately find yourself among brothers and sisters in the… READ MORE
The Homecoming Bride of Christ, Children of God, Christmas, Father, Gifts, God Our Father, Love, Sacrifice Earl Hamner’s novel about one Christmas from his childhood, The Homecoming, is a perfect illustration of God’s love for his bride. At the height… READ MORE
No Pain, No Gain Growth, Pain, Resistance, Sacrifice, Struggle “No pain, no gain!” Have you heard this as you were working out? The phrase stresses the idea that growth comes about painfully, through… READ MORE
Sacrificial Love Disciplines, Love, Loving Others, Sacrifice, Technology No doubt, most of us, if given the choice, would gladly give up things to help our best friend. If he or she was… READ MORE
On The Incarnation Christ, Incarnation, Love, Sacrifice, The Gospel In a radio address, C. S. Lewis illustrated the incarnation and Jesus’s sacrifice for us this way: “Lying at your feet is your dog…. READ MORE
Our “Stand-In” Atonement, Forgiveness, Jesus, Propitiation, Sacrifice, Salvation, Sin Glenn Duhigg, a stand-in actor for Tom Cruise on the set of the movie Mission Impossible 2, explains, “It sounds very glamorous saying you’re… READ MORE
What Love Looks Like Generosity, Giving, Love, Sacrifice, Serving Others What is one of the ultimate expressions of love? Sacrifice. We might think of the direst of examples, like laying down your life for… READ MORE
What We Deserve Discipleship, Examination, Lent, Repentance, Sacrifice, Suffering We do not live in a culture that elevates self-denial. Most often we are told we “deserve” to indulge, to be happy, to put… READ MORE
