ALL RESOURCES BY George Cladis
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What's Your Spiritual Latitude? >
Are we, as a human race, doomed to live a range of attitudes mercurially determined, whirling like a passive weather vane, dependant on external circumstances?
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Pharaohs Tried to Take It With Them >
A tomb's size directly reflected a pharaoh's importance.
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A Biblical Pattern for Conflict Resolution >
A helpful pattern emerges from the first century Food4Widows program, and it is useful for work and every arena of life.
You Don't Say >
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.
Then he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, co…
"Grow" >
Jesus told a story of a man who went out to clear the land. He uprooted gnarled old trees and chopped up rotting stumps. He put a shoulder to large boulders and pushed them to the fringe. Then, using a sharp blade for a plow yoked to an ox, he turned…
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Don't Go It Alone >
A Harvard biologist found that ants identify death by smell. Similarly, sin in our lives gives off the scent of death.
Now Starring in Bethlehem >
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay
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A Gethsemane Moment >
Jesus withdrew from his disciples about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done."
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Jesus is Big Business >
American consumers want their Jesus on their own consumer terms.
A Few Good Souls >
For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many;
but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity,
as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.
II Corinthians 2:17
Jesus is big business.
Praise and worship…
Prison in a Bottle >
And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenc…
Only in an Advisory Capacity >
Somewhere around seventh grade, my boy scout troop was gearing up for the annual pinewood derby race: a contest where scouts whittle down a small rectangular block of pine into polished cars that race against each other. Of course, we all knew what…
Shall We Gather at The River? >
John the Baptist went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. . . . John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits …
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Like Regular Skydiving >
When a skydiver leaves the jump step under the wing, he arches, looking up at the plane.
A Bad Map and the Perfect Golf Swing >
I can't tell you how many times I've stood before an edgy bride and perspiring groom to recite what nearly every woman asks me to read at her wedding:
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Hurry Up and Wait >
Jesus used two images of the Christian life that are, well, boring: fishing and farming.
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What You See is What They Get >
Moses was a stuttering, reluctant 4H geek--not a slick leader.
Interpret That >
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to h…
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Perseverance Is a Corporate Responsibility >
Mahatma Ghandi once compared the Christian church to ten men trying to get a wagon up a hill.
Grounds for Patience >
Jesus told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?'
A Swan Dive Out of Heaven >
Based on Mark 6:30–44 in the New Testament
Dust-caked and baked in the hot Galilean sun, twelve dog-tired disciples straggled back to Jesus with news of all they had seen and done on their missionary journeys. Jesus…
I No Longer Liked Who I Was >
Seth Miller is a Nasdaq trader in New York City with a compelling and courageous personal story. I invited him to speak one Sunday as part of my sermon, and this is an excerpt:
"Several years ago, I had a crisis of faith. My job was all consuming.…
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Pardon Me, But Who's Chained to Whom? >
How can you turn around a difficult situation to advance the Kingdom of God?
Why No Saint Puah? >
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and set them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live." But the midwives feared God; they…
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Smell Like Sheep? >
Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved Scriptures in the world, but early Hebrews probably found it hard to swallow. God a shepherd? Definitely not kosher.
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Lute >
When Saul saw how successful David was, he was afraid of him. 1 Samuel 18:15 (Read 1 Samuel 16–27 for full context.)
He was a ruddy faced, straw-in-the-hair shepherd boy, too scrawny to amount to much. So when…
Dancing With God >
I treasure memories of my Greek-American upbringing and our extended family gatherings. No get-together was complete without food and dance. The yiayias (grandmothers dressed in black) and a host of others served roast lamb; lemon potatoes in olive…
Waiting For God >
Jesus told a parable, often called "The Prodigal Son," about a young man who, though his father was alive, insisted on his inheritance. The son left home immediately, spent frivolously, and wound up destitute. But the parable would be better titled…
Your Back’s Covered >
Far too often we experience people who trip us up, sabotage our work, or block our advance.
Refreshment for Weary Travelers >
A depressed, dejected Elijah staggers off into the wilderness. He collapses under a broom tree, one of the few sources of shade in the baked desert region. Steeped in a gloomy spirit, he asks God to end his life. How did this happen?
Ode to Joy! >
I am awash in a sea of deafening noise.
