July 7, 2026 — edited version This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack , also part of the "Our Living Word" collection. Teaching and learning is not a lecture. Is there a way back to the informal? In the tapestry of a believer's life, teaching and learning are threads woven closely together, yet profoundly distinct from mere lectures and rote memorization. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, the process of imparting knowledge transcends the mundane and becomes a sacred endeavor — or, more accurately, a sacred challenge. One Way, or Peer to Peer? Our postmodern life often emphasizes one-way communication: entertainers perform, audiences consume. This "lecture culture" — TED talks and the like — keeps us in passive, unilateral exchanges rather than the mutual, peer-to-peer dialogue that is essential to genuine teaching and to relationship. Unfortunately, this pulls our hearts toward a unilateral communication that is far fro...
by GotQuestions.org Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ... Psalm 23 is a beautiful poem that uses the image of God as shepherd. David, who penned this psalm, had been a shepherd himself and understood the parallel between the task of a shepherd caring for his sheep and of God caring for His people. Sheep are totally dependent on the shepherd for food, water, leadership, and guidance as they move from place to place, just as we are dependent upon God for all that we need. Sheep depend on the shepherd for protection from a wide range of predators and dangers, just as we look to God as our Protector and Defender. In...
"And because you are sons [and daughters], God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”" Galatians 4:6 It is a well-known prayer even for non-Christians. However, not many people know that it is basically a prayer pattern and not a mantra that loses its meaning after a while. Many people today pray it automatically. Jesus the King prays it systematically . We need to rephrase some of the following expressions to make their meaning clearer. We must see that Jesus Christ showed this pattern to his disciples to give them a framework for their daily prayer. It is a preference & reference too: for Jesus, the key issue is that God's names be known and His Kingdom be here on Earth in the splendour and power as it is in Heaven. In other words - that the Heaven would touch Earth and God's restoration would be at work. When Heaven touches the Earth our perspective is restored....