Blessed Are the Persecuted

Introduction

Imagine you are in the market for a new car. You visit the dealer and the salesman who is showing you the latest model takes you for a test ...

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Introduction

The troops the United Nations deployed to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan look like they could be soldiers from just about any nation. ...

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Introduction

Through the centuries there have been some people who have wanted to view Jesus' teaching in the Beatitudes as a kind of ladder that can carry ...

Blessed Are the Merciful

Introduction

Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg entered the diplomatic service and was appointed foreign minister of Austria in November 1848. After the Hungarian ...

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Introduction

A businessman decided to throw a party for some of his clients, and because he was doing so well, he spared no expense. He hired the most ...

Blessed Are the Meek

Introduction

Suppose the company you work for were to write a description of the ideal person to be its new CEO. Do you think meekness would be on the ...

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Introduction

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear." That is how C. S. Lewis begins his book A Grief Observed, a compelling account of ...

Less is More, More or Less

Introduction

A few months ago my two teenage sons came to me and asked if they could go camping for a week … on Lower Wacker Drive in the city of ...

A Better Peace Prize

Introduction

At the turn of the 20th century, a man named Alfred was one of the preeminent scientists and entrepreneurs of his day. He made his fortune ...

Because of Righteousness

Introduction

The movie Braveheart tells the story of how a 13th century Scottish commoner named William Wallace led his country to freedom from an oppressive ...

What the Heart Wants

What the heart wants

Back in the 1990's, the comedian and filmmaker Woody Allen was an icon of the movie industry—until his personal life began ...

A Bleeding Hearts Club?

Introduction

Suppose someone were to describe you as "a bleeding heart?" How would you feel about that? That expression is often attached to ...

Our Hungry Hearts

Introduction

Have you ever used an image to help motivate you? To help you clarify what and who you want to become? An image can be an object or can come ...

In God We Trust (Though We'd Rather Pay Cash)

Introduction

Have you ever felt really anxious and stressed? If I don't accept this offer, then …. If my child doesn't get into the right ...

The Heartbreak Gospel

Introduction

Last week we began our study of the Beatitudes: Jesus' intriguing list of people who are blessed and well-off. Suppose we were to come ...

Desperate Hearts

Introduction

Some years ago I experienced something that just about every stressed-out, 40-something American male experiences - chest pains. You know, ...

The Great Reversal

Introduction

I don't know about you, but I have always been amused by oxymorons. For those of you who have never heard that term, an oxymoron is a combination ...

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Introduction

The story is told of a man who visited a cemetery to leave flowers at the grave of his dearly departed mother. He couldn't help but notice ...

Grace Under Fire

Introduction

When I was young, I used to love reading comic books. Not only did I enjoy comics, I used to enjoy looking at the advertisements in the ...

The Secret of Satisfaction

Introduction

Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield is a former heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. During his boxing career he has earned ...

You Get What You Give

Introduction

On February 3, 1998, Karla Faye Tucker was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, TX, for her role in a 1984 double homicide. In the ...

The State of the Heart

Introduction

Have you ever noticed that many people go through life hiding behind a mask? I'm not talking about the ones we wear at costume parties and ...

Finding Your Missing Peace

Introduction

In 1934, Hitler's plague of anti-Semitism was spreading throughout Europe like wildfire. Some would escape it. Millions would die from it. ...

Which Rung are You On?

I went to a restaurant, a type of place. As we were eating, this girl comes out with a bucket of Thousand Island dressing. She's coming out of the kitchen ...