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4558 illustrations evoking awe
"'Through Christ'—here is everything. Not merely by Christ's help from a distance, but through union with Him, through participation in His life. His strength becomes ours because we are IN Him. This is no self-help; this is Christ-help through Christ-union." — Karl Barth.
"Our mission strategies are too small! God does immeasurably more than we plan, more than we expect, more than we imagine possible. The power at work in mission exceeds our programs. Expect God to surprise; He is doing more than we know." — Lesslie Newbigin.
"The LORD is my light—illuminating truth in a world of error. Through the Church's teaching, through the sacraments' grace, this light shines. Salvation comes through Christ in His Body; the stronghold is the communion of saints. Fear nothing when held by the Church." — St.
"The missionary walks into cultural darkness needing light. God's Word illumines not just personal morality but missional direction: where to go, what to say, how to witness. Scripture guides the sent church into unfamiliar territory. The Word lights the missional path." — Lesslie Newbigin.
"God's thoughts are infinitely higher—His wisdom incomprehensible. We cannot fit Him into our categories; our theology always falls short. This produces humility before mystery and confidence in sovereignty. What we cannot understand, we can trust." — John Calvin. Reformed: sovereign mystery.
"We are chosen IN CHRIST—the Chosen One. We are priests THROUGH CHRIST—the Great High Priest. We are holy BY CHRIST—the Holy One. Our identity is derivative, participatory, Christological. Apart from Him, we are none of these things; in Him, we...
"Through chrismation, you become priest, prophet, and king—sharing Christ's triple office. The royal priesthood participates in the Divine Liturgy, offering spiritual sacrifices. This dignity is theotic: you are being deified, becoming what Christ is by nature." — St. John Chrysostom.
"The missionary cannot rely on cultural competence or strategic planning alone. 'In all your ways acknowledge Him'—in every context, every culture, every challenge. Trust opens us to God's leading into unknown territory. The path becomes clear as we walk it." — Lesslie Newbigin.
"Faith is the beginning of theosis—participation in divine life. The 'substance' is the seed of divine life planted in us; the 'evidence' is the foretaste of deification. By faith we begin to see as God sees, to hope as God...
"God's thoughts transcend ours because He IS thought itself—pure act, infinite intellect. We reason discursively; He knows all in one eternal now. The distance between creature and Creator is infinite. Yet through analogy, through revelation, we know truly if not comprehensively." — St.
"No one knows the Father except through the Son. If you want to see God, look at Christ. He IS the way to God—no other path works. He IS the truth about God—all else is speculation. He IS the life...
"David prayed under the old covenant for what the new covenant provides: new hearts. Ezekiel promised it; Jeremiah foretold it; Christ accomplished it. In this dispensation of grace, the Spirit writes God's law on clean hearts. What David hoped for, we experience." — Warren Wiersbe.
"Sola gratia—grace alone. Not grace plus works, not grace plus merit, not grace plus anything. Even the faith by which we receive grace is itself a gift: 'and that not of yourselves.' From first to last, salvation is God's work,...
"Romans 8:28 does not promise that everything that happens is good. It promises that God is at work in everything, bringing good even from terrible circumstances. This is not passive acceptance but active hope that participates in God's redemptive work." — Barbara Brown Taylor.
"'He cares for you' affirms human dignity. God's care is not utilitarian—using us for purposes—but personal, valuing us in ourselves. We can cast cares because we are not cogs in a machine but beloved children. Divine care liberates from utilitarian anxiety." — Rowan Williams.
"John 3:16 is not about God rescuing people from the world, but about God loving the world so much that he sends his Son to rescue and redeem it. The goal is not escape but transformation—God putting the world right." — N.T.
"Every believer is a priest—not clergy alone but all. This holy nation includes all who respond to grace. Royal priesthood means access to God for all, intercession by all, ministry from all. The Spirit gifts every member for the body's work." — John Wesley.
"Cross-cultural mission demands wisdom—knowing when to speak, how to contextualize, what to challenge and what to receive. God gives this wisdom generously to missionaries who ask. Ask for wisdom to understand culture, communicate gospel, discern spirits." — Lesslie Newbigin. Missional: wisdom for mission.
"God's ways are not our ways—but in Jesus they are revealed. Human ways are violence; God's way is peace. Human ways are domination; God's way is servanthood. The cross shows how different God's thoughts are. Jesus IS God's higher way...
"Missionaries face wasting—disease, persecution, burnout. But daily renewal sustains mission. Light and momentary troubles produce eternal fruit in lives transformed. Eyes fixed on the unseen harvest, we do not lose heart. The mission is worth the cost." — David Bosch.
"We are light only because Christ is THE Light. We shine with borrowed brightness, reflected glory. The purpose: that they may glorify YOUR FATHER—soli Deo Gloria. We are not the source but the lampstand. Our calling is faithful reflection; the...
"Abundant life is God Himself—not health and wealth but HIM. Jesus came that we might have GOD fully, eternally, satisfyingly. The thief offers substitutes; Jesus offers the Source. Life abundant is knowing God; eternal life is enjoying Him forever." — John Piper.
"Missionary fruit comes from abiding in Christ. Programs without presence produce nothing lasting; strategies without spirituality bear no fruit. The sent church must be the abiding church. Apart from Him, our mission efforts are nothing; in Him, fruit remains." — Lesslie Newbigin.
"Inner renewal is new creation breaking in NOW. While the old body decays, resurrection life grows within. The unseen is more real than the seen; the eternal is present in the temporal. We live in overlap: dying and rising, wasting...