A few years ago, a good friend of mine took his three-year-old daughter, Amy, to her first circus. Before the event her father tried his best to describe the exciting atmosphere of the big top. She asked lots of questions along the way. Would she get to pet the elephant? Could she swing on the trapeze? Would the clowns come and talk to her? The night before, she could hardly sleep. She woke her parents ...

My first visit to a health club was in the 1970s. Health clubs were new. My friend Frank told me he had a membership and that I could come with him as his guest for a workout.

When I met Frank at the club, we went into a room filled with weight machines. I'd never seen these things before in my life. Frank called it "the circuit." The idea was to spend a few minutes on each machine, exercising all ...

Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. This is the unspoken premise of the game of chess, for example. When the king falls, the kingdom is lost. Therefore, the king must be protected at all costs. Another notable example comes from the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill desperately wanted to join the expeditionary forces ...

Based on a book by Francine Rivers, The Last Sin Eater is set in Appalachia in the 1800s. When Welsh immigrants settled in America, they brought along an ancient Celtic ritual known as "the Sin Eater." When someone within the community died, the Sin Eater would come and absolve the deceased person by eating a symbolic meal—often comprised of bread and wine—that was set alongside the corpse. ...

As a young Michigan Congressman, Gerald Ford met a gospel-film executive named Billy Zeoli who stopped by his office and gave him a Bible. Over the next few years, the two men became close—so close, in fact, that Ford came to call Zeoli "an alter ego, a second self."

Among their bonds was a love of sports: Ford had been an All-American football player, and Zeoli created a ministry for professional ...

In a video based on his book 3:16 Stories of Hope, Max Lucado illustrates the odd nature of the statement that "all religions lead to God":

All roads lead to heaven. Well, the sentence makes good talk-show fodder, but does it make sense? Can all approaches to God be correct? How can all religions lead to God when they are so different? We don't tolerate such logic in other matters. We don't pretend ...

In the Christian life, nothing, nothing at all, can be purchased at the do-it-yourself shop.

—Author Harry Blamires

Texts: Passages concerning the sacrifice of Jesus (Leviticus 16, Isaiah 53, Matthew 16:21–28, Luke 18:31–34, John 12:20–36, Philippians 2:5–11)

Principle: In the kingdom of God, death precedes life.

Objects: A sharp knife, cutting board, ingredients for making salsa (or your favorite fresh food dish), and possibly even a way to distribute the food.

Experience: Begin by asking ...

In an early scene from the movie Luther, the frustrated monk who would eventually light the fire of spiritual reform in Europe struggles with his fear of a God who knows his sinfulness.

An older priest passing by Luther’s room hears him and enters.

“I live in terror of judgment,” declares Luther.

“And you think self-hatred will save you?” the older priest replies.

“Have you ever dared to think that God ...

William Carey was the great missionary pioneer to India. When he was on his deathbed, he was visited by a young man named Alexander Duff who greatly admired the famous missionary. After a long visit, Carey asked Duff to pray with him. Following the prayer, when Duff turned to leave, he heard Carey's feeble voice calling him back.

"Mr. Duff," said Carey, "you have been speaking about 'Dr. Carey, Dr. ...