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Featured image for “Finding Your Story in God’s Story”
November 27, 2017
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Essays

Finding Your Story in God’s Story

by Todd Zuidema
…uld remember this: We read in community. We hear in community. We learn in community. It is in community that we can continue to be shaped and formed by God’s Word. I don’t know how many churches continue to do family visiting. For some it seems anachronistic, an antique of a practice. Sitting across a table with someone and talking about how a favorite verse of the Bible has shaped and changed our life is extremely personal, but can be so rewardi…
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Featured image for “A Song for the Generations”
August 29, 2017
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Devotions

A Song for the Generations

by Kristen Uroda
…e loss of the intimacy of His presence. Without God’s favor, suffering and defeat would come upon the Israelites for their unfaithfulness, and they would only have themselves to blame. As Moses passes, and the story of the Israelites continue, Scripture shows us they forgot who their Rock was (the one who brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land), and their disobedience to the covenant they made with God was their eventual downfall out…
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Featured image for “A New Social Pietism”
January 24, 2019
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Essays

A New Social Pietism

by Caleb Schut
…ur obstinate willingness to continue sitting on our hands. “If you want to come to our black churches, you are welcome,” he said. The room felt split. I felt split. He made me aware of my skin color in a prophetic way. I was responsible for it. What does it mean to be a white pastor in a predominantly white church on the north side of a city divided into north and south, black and white? What obligation do majority-white churches have to the most…
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Featured image for “Engaging in Politics: Christian Leadership in Every Capacity”
January 29, 2016
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Essays

Engaging in Politics: Christian Leadership in Every Capacity

by
…cts every aspect of life. The more Christians that engage politics with an open-minded and biblically focused perspective, the more we can advance the Kingdom through government. If you agree that Christians should be leaders in politics, consider some of the following ways to get more involved. Joining an organization at the county level is a great place to start. Every county has an established organization that promotes the values of its respec…
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Featured image for “Gun Politics Aren’t About Guns”
January 28, 2016
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Essays

Gun Politics Aren’t About Guns

by Donald Roth
…pulace is. The Gun Control Advocate The Gun Control Advocate stereotype is comparatively a little less clearly defined, but it has some discernible features, particularly when viewed through the lens of those opposed to it. To the other side, gun control advocates are urban, Northeastern liberals who are personally afraid of guns and who seek to foster an oppressive and interventionist government system on the backs of a disarmed populace. Again,…
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Featured image for “Suffering, Double Negatives, and the Friday We Call ‘Good’”
March 30, 2018
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Essays

Suffering, Double Negatives, and the Friday We Call ‘Good’

by Howard Schaap
…ering must necessarily consider where these “bad or unpleasant” somethings come from. However, we must always consider suffering through concrete examples—or so it seems to me—in order to keep this from being a merely academic exercise. When I think of suffering and its origins, I think of my aunt Marie, who as a young woman was “subjected to” polio. Recently, I saw pictures of Marie in her youth, when she was a thin young girl dating my uncle Ber…
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Featured image for “Becoming Artist Christians”
April 12, 2022
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Essays

Becoming Artist Christians

by Vaughn Donahue
…new theatre professor, Karen Bohm Barker, stood in front of us all. She welcomed back the upperclassmen and welcomed in the new freshman class. She talked about the work we would be doing in the coming months, both on and off the stage. I don’t recall all that was said or how it was phrased, but I do know that in this moment she used the term “artist Christians” to describe all of us in that room. I remember thinking it sounded like a funny and un…
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Featured image for “Faith Revealed”
July 19, 2017
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Devotions

Faith Revealed

by Lisa Gierlach-Walker
…n, one day, I hear it or read it afresh, and bam! It’s as if the world has opened up and I come to understand it so plainly. It is easy to get impatient, but when the time is right, God in His wisdom reveals what we should know, and we have that “aha!” moment. We belong to God, and God promises to use our faith to reveal Himself and His will to us as He determines. And so, we should stand firm in our faith. Let us find comfort in knowing that we a…
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Featured image for “Slacktivism: Social Media Activism and Its Effectiveness”
November 13, 2018
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Essays

Slacktivism: Social Media Activism and Its Effectiveness

by Abby Foreman
…about desired action, and be respectful and civil. Share stories of faith commitment or experiences as they relate to commitment to the cause. Work to establish a relationship with the elected official and staffers. Collaborate with others who are also committed—there may not be agreement on all things, but there may be common ground on this one issue and its importance. Find trusted organizations like Bread for the World that can inform about ad…
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Featured image for “Being Grateful for my “Stupid Little Life”: Why We Need Movies”
February 10, 2016
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Essays

Being Grateful for my “Stupid Little Life”: Why We Need Movies

by Jason Lief
…re we “get it.” These films assume that truth is simple, obvious, and well-defined. Instead of opening us up to the power and possibility of a divinely inspired imagination, they leave us with an overly simplistic form of religion. The mystery of God’s Kingdom does not need explanation; it needs poetry. It needs new parables that inspire, mystify, and leave us yearning for more. We need parables that inspire the type of awe and wonder experienced…
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Featured image for “Humming the Tune”
February 3, 2017
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Devotions

Humming the Tune

by Herm Van Niejenhuis
…just-plain-bad can touch, showing me slivers of the light from the kingdom come and coming that is just about out of reach. My favorite “humming” story comes out of a 2nd world war prisoner camp in Japan. It was a place of torture and humiliation—awful. Each day, the sloughing prisoners were paraded out to work fields in sweltering heat: unfed, unwashed, miserable. But one of them was a hummer, “and he as he watched and waited ‘til his billy boile…
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Featured image for “A Look at the Movies of 2015”
December 18, 2015
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Culture

A Look at the Movies of 2015

by John Vander Stelt
…0s life is played by John Cusack. A masterful job of film editing makes it compelling to watch unfold. Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg has effortlessly transported us to so many eras in history throughout his career. This time it’s the Cold War; an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet-captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers….
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Featured image for “Power in a Name”
March 7, 2023
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Essays

Power in a Name

by Jessica DeWit
…r meaning, don’t underestimate the power a great name can provide. Family Center. (n.d.) Meaning and Origin of: Calvin.  ↩ New International Version Bible. (1984). International Bible Society. (Original work published in 1973).  ↩ Teaching for Transformation is a program of CACE (Center for the Advancement of Christian Education), a project of Dordt University.  ↩ Apparently, a lot of moms were thinking the same thing for the bountiful amount of g…
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Featured image for “Social Issues on Social Media”
January 20, 2017
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Essays

Social Issues on Social Media

by Neal DeRoo
…t out because that’s not something they care about? Am I desiring to build community and create safe spaces for expression, dialogue, validation and affirmation? If so, how do I bring in the people who need that community—and keep out the people who threaten to undermine it? How do I make sure that I myself am not undermining someone else’s safe community through my words and actions? If not every post is shared because people want to debate the t…
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Featured image for “Christ’s Footprint”
May 25, 2017
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Devotions

Christ’s Footprint

by Marta Vander Top
…ere we were, two thousand years later, from “the ends of the earth” Sioux Center, Iowa, still proclaiming the name of Jesus. The word “power” that Jesus speaks of in verse eight is an incredibly strong word. The Greek word “dunamis” is the same root word for the English word “dynamite.” This power that Jesus gives us is explosive, wild, and uncontainable. It’s a pretty radical concept that this kind of explosive power resides within me. As our gro…
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Featured image for “Forgotten Treasure”
February 6, 2017
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Devotions

Forgotten Treasure

by Emily Scatterday Holehan
…apers, and it’s revealed to be a priceless treasure. Take Rue Ferguson for example. An old painting of a lone man holding a shovel hung on the wall behind a door. “If the door was open,” Ferguson told an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow, “you couldn’t even see the painting.” Well, apparently it was an early 20th century piece of artwork by the famous Diego Rivera when the artist was only 18 years old. It is appraised at $800,000 to 1 million dollars…
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Featured image for “Top 5: Classic Movies For Summer Vacation”
June 3, 2022
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Culture

Top 5: Classic Movies For Summer Vacation

by Josh Matthews
…sic still worth watching. To Be or Not To Be (1942) This mid-war screwball comedy is about an acting company staging “Hamlet” while being embroiled in an espionage saga. Directed by Hollywood great Ernst Lubistch, the second half of the film is both insane and potent, as one of the actors repeatedly pretends to be Hitler in front of Nazi officers. (In general, the great screwball comedies are among the great films. For more in this vein, check out…
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Featured image for “Creative Consumption”
January 20, 2016
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Essays

Creative Consumption

by Sara Alsum-Wassenaar
…ore with less. When your focus is more on giving than taking, you are more open to focusing on your community and being stewards of what God has given us. Consumption and wholeness Consumerism is driven by a mentality that a product will satisfy a desire. For example, if you want to be beautiful, then you should use this facial moisturizer, or if you want to have lots of friends, then you should drink this beverage. Once you accumulate enough of t…
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Featured image for “The Voice of His Word”
May 27, 2017
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Devotions

The Voice of His Word

by James Calvin Schaap
…igan, I mean I grew up close enough to hear its continuous roar through my open bedroom window, close enough to ride my J.C. Higgins down to the beach and go skinny-dipping, one fairly comfortable mile from the steeple of the Dutch Calvinist church where I went to catechism on Saturday mornings. I grew up on Lake Michigan the way some people grow up on meat and potatoes. In high school we’d pair off, snuggle up in our cars at the end of the lake r…
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Featured image for “For the Love of Mathematical Research: A Conversation with Undergraduate Research Students”
August 11, 2021
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Essays

For the Love of Mathematical Research: A Conversation with Undergraduate Research Students

by Mike Janssen
…f God’s creation or a reflection of his character just because it can’t be examined under a microscope. Instead, we can’t help but see God’s wisdom and power revealed through mathematics. The complexity, depth, and mystery of mathematics leads us to trust in God’s sovereignty over His Creation. Though we believe that mathematics is in itself a valuable mode of exploration, we also celebrate its connection to other areas of study. Mathematics is in…
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Featured image for “Sin and Glory”
July 19, 2017
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Essays

Sin and Glory

by Caleb Schut
…indness to sit patiently with her, to hold her hand. It is sin that lashes open the skin of Christ, and it is sin that he carries to the cross, but there is glory in that he comforts those mourning and forgives those who hate. Sin takes away his life, but glory startles him awake on the third day. It is sin and glory that I ride through on the dark Chicago streets of July 4th. Over this weekend, 100 people will be shot and 15 will be killed on the…
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Featured image for “Comfort”
March 11, 2016
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Spotlights

Comfort

by Dennis Vander Plaats
…sed in the Calvinist tradition. The doctrine of the providence of God is a comforting doctrine but can be complex and troubling as well. God’s providence ensures that nothing happens by chance, but that He rules and governs all things. Understanding that nothing happens without His will, Gloria’s cancer and devastating prognosis made us wonder what God was up to. If God is really in charge of everything, why was the timing of this cancer so out of…
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Featured image for “Fighting for Dignity in Undignified Times”
July 31, 2018
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Essays

Fighting for Dignity in Undignified Times

by Gustavo Maya
…ordered ICE to crack down on undocumented immigrants by surveilling Latino communities. He has threatened to withhold federal funding from “sanctuary” states. Now come reports that detained immigrant families are being separated, children ripped from their parents’ arms. Given anti-immigrant hysteria and draconian policies, we shouldn’t find it shocking when tragedy strikes people fleeing ICE as occurred to Santos Hilario Garcia and Marcelina Garc…
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Featured image for “Practicing Prayerful Communication”
June 20, 2017
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Devotions

Practicing Prayerful Communication

by Gwen Marra
…l-knowing and all-powerful? Why does he need me to pray? I find it easy to come to God with my prayers when I am in great need. When someone I know is hurting, I pray to God asking for help for them. I pray before meals and when I have my devotions. Lately, I have been challenging myself not only to make prayer more than just a routine or a habit, but also to interweave it in my day. I have been praying to God to open my eyes to see him throughout…
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Featured image for “Thin Places”
February 24, 2017
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Devotions

Thin Places

by Annastasia Boncyzk
…to the college library and surrounded by academic buildings. It is always open. Light from the stained glass windows rests on a statue of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. With wooden pews and altars, gentle instrumental music, and simple stone architecture, it is a true sanctuary in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our campus. As an undergraduate, I would find myself here when I needed rest, stillness, and solitude. As a staff member at th…
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