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As much as we complain about it, though, there's part of us that is drawn to a hurried life. It makes us feel important. It keeps the adrenaline pumping. It means I don't have to look too closely at my heart or life. It keeps us from feeling our loneliness.
John Ortberg -
Sin is protean. It is a cancer that keeps mutating, and just when you think you have killed off one form, it turns out a deadlier strain yet is threatening your heart.
John Ortberg
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Jesus viewed his own destiny - to be glorified in and through death - as an expression of a kind of cosmic principle: the pathway to life runs through death.
John Ortberg -
When I teach the formal curriculum, I have the chance to think about it ahead of time. I can rehearse it. I can illustrate it with self-deprecating humor and humble-sounding personal disclosure. I can try to make it comes out just right.
John Ortberg -
What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.
John Ortberg -
Authentic spiritual authority is what puts you in touch with reality.
John Ortberg -
The single dynamic that helps people be most aware of God and most experiencing the fruit of the Spirit is gratitude.
John Ortberg -
Ghettos and barrios and abusive homes and trauma wards may produce scarred souls; they can cripple more human spirits than they strengthen.
John Ortberg
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Evil exists. Evil is real. One of the hallmarks of evil is that it seeks to convince its victims that it exists 'out there.'
John Ortberg -
Tithing is considerably less popular than words like generosity or sharing.
John Ortberg -
The question isn't if someone will sign up for spiritual formation; it's just who and what our spirits will be formed by.
John Ortberg -
Prudence is what makes someone a great commodities trader - the capacity to face reality squarely in the eye without allowing emotion or ego to get in the way. It's what is needed by every quarterback or battlefield general.
John Ortberg -
Gratitude is what we radiate when we experience grace, and the soul was made to run on grace the way a 747 runs on rocket fuel.
John Ortberg -
Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader.
John Ortberg
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Normally, if someone's legacy will outlast their life, it's apparent when they die. On the day when Alexander the Great, or Caesar Augustus, or Napoleon, or Socrates, or Muhammad died, their reputations were immense. When Jesus died, his tiny, failed movement appeared clearly at an end.
John Ortberg -
At the heart of Christian faith is the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.
John Ortberg -
Death is the prerequisite to resurrection, the new life God intends.
John Ortberg -
Prudence is foresight and far-sightedness. It's the ability to make immediate decisions on the basis of their longer-range effects.
John Ortberg -
A simple way to address hidden curriculum issues is to spend time talking with staff and key leaders about their spiritual lives.
John Ortberg -
Some leaders are not intimidated by opposition; they actually thrive on it. It wakes them up. It energizes them. It calls them to battle. It causes them to mobilize their thoughts and energy.
John Ortberg
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We all want to feel spiritually vigorous, and we hurt when we don't. This pain is intensified for people who lead church ministries.
John Ortberg -
Real spiritual authority has to do with the truth of the actual words being spoken, and the spirit of the person behind the words. Really, authority is about truth: honest-living truth.
John Ortberg -
Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world.
John Ortberg -
When it comes to sermon writing, generally there are two problems. Some preachers love the research stage but hate the writing, and they start writing too late. Others don't like doing research, so they move way too fast to the writing part.
John Ortberg