Service to others Quote by Stephen J. Nichols

““The church is the real thing when it is not consumed with the assertion of power in culture, but it is driven by service to others. The word ministry translates the Greek word diakonia, which means service. The church must be about serving others. When a church can lay claim to all three criteria, namely, preaching of the Word, being true to its confession, and focusing on serving, then it’s a church worth going to. And then it’s a church full of sermons worth listening to.””

Stephen J. Nichols

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Service to others Serving others

More by Stephen J. Nichols

“We are also brought into the church-community as a result of Christ’s death on the cross—a community of the forgiven, who should be quick…

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“Bonhoeffer and Luther draw on Christ’s paradox of gaining one’s life by losing it. So we come to the ultimate paradox: by service—and ultimately,…

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“It would be safe to say that by the nineteenth century, pietism had long since dislodged Puritanism as the dominant force in American religious life.”

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“The God-man who is humiliated is the stumbling block to the pious human being and to the human being, period.”

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“The ethics of the Sermon on the Mount are nothing less than extraordinary. To look at them as something that can be fulfilled within the ordinary and by ordinary means is foolish. Bonhoeffer writes that loving one’s enemies “demands more than the strength a natural person can muster.”4 Only from the perspective of the cross do the ethics of the…

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“Leaning on Augustine’s insight, Bonhoeffer sees the sanctorum communio as “the community of loving persons who, touched by God’s Spirit, radiate love and grace.”17”

Stephen J. Nichols

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“David McCullough has said, “We are shaped by those we never met.”

Stephen J. Nichols

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“A congregation that does not pray for the ministry of its pastor,” Bonhoeffer warns, “is no longer a congregation.”11 He then adds, “A pastor who…

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“We could summarize all of this background to Bonhoeffer’s christology in one sentence, albeit a complex one: The cross was a stumbling block to the Romans; the cross was a stumbling block to the Nazis; the cross was a stumbling block to moderns; and—unless we are humbled and brought low beneath the cross to see its power and beauty—the cross…

Stephen J. Nichols

“Gratitude is equally underrated and under-practiced. It too requires humility to say “thank you.” Saying “thank you” means one is dependent on the other,…

Stephen J. Nichols

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“His ecclesiology, though, is never an independent topic. It always flows from and back to Christ and his christology. Neither is Bonhoeffer content with…

Stephen J. Nichols

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“We seem especially susceptible to this pitting of spirituality against theology in American evangelical contexts. Perhaps we can chalk this up to the influence…

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Explore all 18 Stephen J. Nichols quotes

More Service to others quotes

I've always believed that service to others is rent we pay for our time on this planet.

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Service to others leads to greatness.

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“I recently came across an article that reviewed more than seven hundred scientific studies looking at the correlation between religious involvement and physical and mental health and was stunned to discover that those who attend religious services at least once a week tend to survive seven years longer than those who don’t.7 This is especially true when religious involvement includes…

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The American spirit wears no political label. In service to others and yes, in sacrifice for our country, there are no Republicans; there are…

Anonymous

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True greatness,true leadership,is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost. Often it comes with a painful baptism of suffering. But the true spiritual leader is focused on the service he and she can render to God and other people, not on the residuals and…

J. Oswald Sanders