[Re: Super Bowl ads]
DSC: This is one of the best ads I’ve seen in a long time. Highly relevant to the U.S. right now.
On 02/09/2026,
in collaboration, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, United States, vendors, youth,
by Daniel Christian
On 01/30/2026,
in 24x7x365 access, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.
2 Hear my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
On 01/23/2026,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 Lord, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Savior.
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
On 01/12/2026,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, youth,
by Daniel Christian
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
and forget not all his benefits—
Would you like to know more about prayer and communicating with God? Then check out these resources!
On 01/07/2026,
in communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, youth,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Over the last year, our church has been heavily focused on the topic of prayer. Much of that has to do with a book given to our leadership team called, “Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice written by Joan S. Gray.
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Gray does an incredible job packing a lot of material into a very concise book. In it, she describes the difference between a rowboat church (which relies on human efforts) and a sailboat church (which relies upon the LORD to guide it, resource it, and empower it). She asserts that the main purpose of a sailboat is to leave the dock and set out on the waters of life to achieve what the LORD guides us to by His Holy Spirit. And prayer is a key element of this book and this process.
So as I was reading it, I began compiling resources from Scripture and from several other books that I read on the topic of prayer. If you would like to see those passages as well as my notes on those books, please see this PDF document.
May the LORD bless your reading of it, as you seek to deepen your relationship — and your communications — with Him.
On 12/22/2025,
in Daniel S. Christian, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Luke Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 2 give a nice background to the birth of Jesus.
Also, The Chosen team has a two-day Christmas marathon of their Christmas episodes on YouTube. It started at 9am EST on 12/24 and goes through midnight on Christmas Day. See: https://www.youtube.com/live/0Ru59RASbhw
To watch The Chosen video series, see:
On 12/15/2025,
in ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Psalm 16:1
A miktam[a] of David.
Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
On 11/22/2025,
in ethics, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, relationships, religion, society, youth,
by Daniel Christian
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
On 11/12/2025,
in Emotion, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
On 11/05/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
24For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
24 How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
27 All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
On 10/23/2025,
in Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, media/film, relationships, religion, society, sociology, story, storytelling, television,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
I posted an excerpt of this in another posting, but I wanted to highlight these two powerful, extremely well-done video series for those who might be interested in them.
The House of David is very well done! I enjoyed watching Season 1. Like The Chosen, it brings the Bible to life in excellent, impactful ways! Both series convey the context and cultural tensions at the time. Both series are an answer to prayer for me and many others — as they are professionally-done. Both series match anything that comes out of Hollywood in terms of the acting, script writing, music, the sets, etc. Again, both of these series are very well done.
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A sampling of others who cover The Chosen includes:
- Cornerstone’s Guides to The Chosen — from cornerstonefamily.com
- Experience The Chosen — from thechosen.tv
- Northstar Church’s Guide to the Chosen — from northstarfamily.org
On 10/06/2025,
in Access to Justice (A2J), communications, ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, relationships, religion, youth,
by Daniel Christian
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool — how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
On 09/28/2025,
in art, creativity, Emotion, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, society, sociology,
by Daniel Christian
Tenderness and Empathy Prevail in Bisa Butler’s Nostalgic and Vibrant Quilts — from thisiscolossal.com by Bisa Butler and Kate Mothes
