[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"articles-page":3,"articles-list:::::::1":15},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":7,"extension":8,"links":6,"meta":9,"navigation":10,"path":11,"seo":12,"stem":13,"__hash__":14},"pages\u002Farticles.yml","Latest Articles",null,"Reflections, teaching notes, and practical ideas for ministry, discipleship, and leadership.","yml",{},true,"\u002Farticles",{"title":5,"description":7},"articles","qc8BC8IX4oSDUb3dpEmSsUgvT22PU6W0plyzDjwZwMU",{"items":16,"total":203,"overallTotal":203,"page":204,"pageSize":205,"totalPages":206,"hasMore":10,"options":207},[17,34,45,63,73,81,90,99,107,118,127,134,141,149,156,163,171,178,186,195],{"path":18,"title":19,"description":20,"date":21,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":25,"bibleBooks":29,"sortDate":21},"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-well-balanced-life","A Well-Balanced Life","* *","2026-07-29",4,"Christian Standard","Consider This",[26,27,28],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation",[30,31,32,33],"Ecclesiastes","Mark","Luke","Acts",{"path":35,"title":36,"description":37,"date":38,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":40,"bibleBooks":42,"sortDate":38},"\u002Farticles\u002Fbe-careful-what-you-say","Be Careful What You Say","Does your tongue ever get you in trouble? Do you ever over-share or under-estimate the impact of casual comments? I’m physically unable to put my feet in my mouth, but quite capable of saying something I later regret.","2026-07-22",3,[27,41,28],"Intergenerational Ministry",[43,30,44],"Proverbs","James",{"path":46,"title":47,"description":48,"date":49,"minRead":50,"publication":23,"columnName":51,"topics":52,"bibleBooks":54,"sortDate":62},"\u002Farticles\u002Fordination-a-safeguard-for-leadership-integrity-1","Ordination: A Safeguard for Leadership Integrity","Hananiah isn’t a well-known character, but I like how the Bible describes him: “He was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do” (Nehemiah 7:2, *New International Version*). Families and churches need high-integrity leaders with above-average reverence for God.","July-August 2026",5,"Motivate",[26,27,28,53],"Discipleship",[55,33,56,57,58,59,60,61],"Nehemiah","Romans","Colossians","1 Thessalonians","1 Timothy","2 Timothy","1 Peter","2026-07-21",{"path":64,"title":65,"description":66,"date":67,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":68,"bibleBooks":70,"sortDate":67},"\u002Farticles\u002Fwe-need-friends","We Need Friends","How many friends do you have? I don’t mean the shallow kind who like your Facebook posts. I’m talking about loyal companions who are there for you in good times and bad. Someone said, “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”","2026-07-15",[27,69,26,53],"Christian Unity",[43,32,71,33,56,72],"John","Ephesians",{"path":74,"title":75,"description":76,"date":77,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":78,"bibleBooks":79,"sortDate":77},"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-time-for-everything","A Time for Everything","Timing matters when comedians tell a joke or a quarterback throws a pass. Timing matters at work (don’t ask for a raise if your boss is having a bad day) . . . when you grill a steak (don’t cook it too long) . . . and when managing your finances (there’s a right time to buy and sell).","2026-07-08",[27,53,28],[80],"Psalms",{"path":82,"title":83,"description":84,"date":85,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":86,"bibleBooks":88,"sortDate":85},"\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-beneath-the-line-of-despair","Living Beneath the Line of Despair","To start a lesson or sermon you might use a funny story, a provocative question, or a comment about current events. One ancient teacher introduced his lesson with a depressing philosophical observation. He exclaimed, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).","2026-07-01",[27,87,69,26],"Perseverance in Suffering",[89,31],"1 Kings",{"path":91,"title":92,"description":93,"date":94,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":95,"bibleBooks":96,"sortDate":94},"\u002Farticles\u002Fhard-core-christians","Hard Core Christians","Old fuddy-duddies beware: Our language keeps changing. Have you noticed how words and phrases get turned around until they mean the opposite of what you expect?","2026-06-24",[27,69,28],[97,57,98],"1 Corinthians","Titus",{"path":100,"title":101,"description":102,"date":103,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":104,"bibleBooks":105,"sortDate":103},"\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-fatherhood-from-jesus","Learning About Fatherhood from Jesus","Father’s Day brings to mind the ancient admonition to “walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:20, *New American Standard Bible*). If you want to “walk in the way of good men,” it makes sense to follow the best man of all—Jesus Christ.","2026-06-17",[27,41,28,69],[80,43,106,32,71],"Matthew",{"path":108,"title":109,"description":110,"date":111,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":112,"bibleBooks":113,"sortDate":111},"\u002Farticles\u002Ffavorite-verses-part-one","Favorite Verses (Part One)","Ask Christians to name their favorite Bible verses, and you’ll get predictable responses. John 3:16, the 23rd Psalm, and Romans 8:28 often come to mind. Someone might mention John 11:35 because it’s easy to memorize “Jesus wept.”","2026-06-03",[27,28,69],[114,115,116,43,117],"Numbers","Deuteronomy","Ruth","Isaiah",{"path":119,"title":120,"description":121,"date":122,"minRead":50,"publication":23,"columnName":51,"topics":123,"bibleBooks":125,"sortDate":126},"\u002Farticles\u002Fno-matter-where-you-serve","No Matter Where You Serve","No Matter Where You Serve the Lord,","May-June 2026",[27,26,69,124],"Holy Week and Resurrection",[106,97],"2026-05-21",{"path":128,"title":129,"description":130,"date":131,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":132,"bibleBooks":133,"sortDate":131},"\u002Farticles\u002Fgoing-steady","Going Steady","Remember Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare? The fast but overconfident hare learned the moral of the story: “Slow and steady wins the race.”","2026-05-20",[27,26,28,69],[33,97,57],{"path":135,"title":136,"description":137,"date":138,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":139,"bibleBooks":140,"sortDate":138},"\u002Farticles\u002Fmad-at-death","Mad at Death","Recently a friend at work received a phone call from his mom, who lives in a distant state. She had bad news. Her husband (my coworker’s 59-year-old dad) had died suddenly of a heart attack.","2026-05-13",[27,124,41,87],[71,56,97],{"path":142,"title":143,"description":144,"date":145,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":146,"bibleBooks":147,"sortDate":145},"\u002Farticles\u002Fplaying-a-difficult-role","Playing a Difficult Role","The website www.Musicnotes.com contains an article called “The 10 Most Difficult Musical Instruments to Master (And Why They’re Worth the Effort).” The author points out that mastering an instrument requires physical stamina (breath control, manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination); mental discipline (perseverance to spend years practicing); and emotional resilience (to learn complex pieces and perform under pressure).","2026-05-06",[27,26,87,41],[148,71,33],"2 Kings",{"path":150,"title":151,"description":152,"date":153,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":154,"bibleBooks":155,"sortDate":153},"\u002Farticles\u002Ftreasures-new-and-old","Treasures Old and New","Did you hear about the guy whose thesaurus was stolen? He was perplexed, exasperated, frustrated, angry, upset, and filled with consternation.","2026-04-29",[27,26,53,41],[106],{"path":157,"title":158,"description":159,"date":160,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":161,"bibleBooks":162,"sortDate":160},"\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-to-lean","Learning to Lean","Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill Withers was the son of a coal miner.","2026-04-22",[27,53,26,41],[43,117],{"path":164,"title":165,"description":166,"date":167,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":168,"bibleBooks":169,"sortDate":167},"\u002Farticles\u002Fbring-it-to-me","Bring It to Me","Jesus’ disciples didn’t know what to do, and the problem seemed insurmountable. Thousands of hungry people needed food, and there were no restaurants or grocery stores nearby. As evening approached and the sun began to set, the disciples concluded the only solution was to send the crowds away to fend for themselves. But Jesus said, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16, *New International Version*).","2026-04-15",[27,41,87],[170],"",{"path":172,"title":173,"description":174,"date":175,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":176,"bibleBooks":177,"sortDate":175},"\u002Farticles\u002Fphishers-of-men","Phishers of Men","Do you receive unsolicited text messages from strangers offering to buy your house? Do you get phone calls warning about problems with your Social Security account or demanding payment for products you never ordered?","2026-04-08",[28,27,26,41],[106],{"path":179,"title":180,"description":181,"date":182,"minRead":39,"publication":23,"columnName":24,"topics":183,"bibleBooks":184,"sortDate":182},"\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-owns-the-grave","Who Owns the Grave?","My wife Candy and I are proud owners of two side-by-side grave plots at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. OK, proud probably isn’t the right word. But those little pieces of real estate make us feel relieved, because when the day comes, our surviving family members won’t have to wonder where to bury our earthly remains.","2026-04-01",[27,124,69,26],[117,106,32,71,185],"Revelation",{"path":187,"title":188,"description":189,"date":190,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":6,"topics":191,"bibleBooks":192,"sortDate":190},"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-triumphal-exit","The Triumphal Exit","The original Palm Sunday was not a calm Sunday. The day was filled with high drama.","2026-03-23",[124,27,53],[193,32,80,106,115,194],"Zechariah","Galatians",{"path":196,"title":197,"description":198,"date":199,"minRead":22,"publication":23,"columnName":51,"topics":200,"bibleBooks":201,"sortDate":202},"\u002Farticles\u002Funexpected-friendships","Unexpected Friendships","Like precious jewels, friends can be found in surprising places.","March-April 2026",[27,69,26,87],[32,71],"2026-03-21",878,1,20,44,{"topics":208,"publications":212,"columns":215,"bibleBooks":223},[27,69,26,53,124,41,209,87,210,28,211],"Leadership","Sam Stone","Standard Publishing",[23,213,214],"The Lookout","The Lookout;",[216,24,217,218,219,220,51,221,222],"Another Look","Engage Your Faith","First Look","From First Look","From the Editor's Desk","Reflections","Revealed and Relevant",[224,225,226,114,115,227,228,116,229,230,89,148,231,232,233,55,234,235,80,43,30,236,117,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,193,249,106,31,32,71,33,56,97,250,194,72,251,57,58,252,59,60,98,253,44,61,254,255,185],"Genesis","Exodus","Leviticus","Joshua","Judges","1 Samuel","2 Samuel","1 Chronicles","2 Chronicles","Ezra","Esther","Job","Song of Solomon","Jeremiah","Lamentations","Ezekiel","Daniel","Hosea","Joel","Amos","Jonah","Micah","Nahum","Habakkuk","Haggai","Malachi","2 Corinthians","Philippians","2 Thessalonians","Hebrews","2 Peter","1 John"]