Loading...
Loading...
Radical discipleship, pacifism, and the church as a distinct counter-cultural community.
Key question: “How does this text call the community of faith to live as a distinct, counter-cultural witness to the Kingdom?”
25,639 sermon illustrations through the Anabaptist lens
"'Trust in the Lord'—not in armies, not in political power, not in violence. The world's understanding says secure yourself; God's way says trust Me. The straight path may look foolish to those who trust in swords, but it is the...
"'Great is Thy faithfulness'—sung by communities, not just individuals. The church together experiences daily mercy, shares daily bread, witnesses daily faithfulness. God's mercies come through the brother, the sister, the gathered community. Together we receive what we could not receive alone." — Stanley Hauerwas.
"The city on a hill is the church—an alternative polis visible to the world. Our communal life IS the light: peacemaking, mutual aid, reconciliation. The church does not have a social ethic; it IS a social ethic. The watching world...
"The new birth creates a clean heart—truly regenerate, truly changed. This is not external reform but internal transformation. The new creation lives differently: peaceably, simply, in community. A clean heart produces clean hands; inner renewal manifests in visible discipleship." — Menno Simons.
"Work 'as unto the Lord' means work that serves the community, not just individual gain. The church forms workers who value service over success, community over competition. Whatever you do, do it for the body, for the neighbor, for Christ's...
"Abundant life is not individual flourishing but communal existence—shared meals, mutual aid, common life. The thief is individualism that isolates; Jesus creates community that gives life. The church embodies abundant life together; alone we have mere survival." — Stanley Hauerwas.
"The church IS the community that does justice, loves mercy, walks humbly—together. This is not individual ethic but communal identity. The church embodies Micah 6:8 as alternative community. We practice justice within; we model it for the world. This is witness." — Stanley Hauerwas.
"We taste and see together—around the table, in shared meals, through mutual aid. God's goodness is experienced in community; solitary tasting misses the fullness. The church is meant to be a foretaste of the kingdom: taste our life together and...
"The courage God calls for is not military might but the strength to love enemies, to suffer rather than inflict suffering. Joshua's context was war; Christ's context transforms it. 'Be strong'—strong enough to put down the sword and take up...