Reading Resources to Encourage and Equip Your Soul
Richard Parrish Ministries provides timely blogs and articles to help you grow in your relationship with Christ. We encourage you to learn more and join us as we extend care for the soul.
Discover Hope and Encouragement!
First Week of Advent: The Day Is Coming
Hope, love, joy, and peace! It’s difficult to live without these gifts, and it’s increasingly essential that we rediscover them.
Thanksgiving: A Posture of the Heart
This Thanksgiving, as we gather around tables laden with food, let us remember that gratitude is more than a response to blessing—it is a posture of the heart.
A Song of Assurance
Many today are experiencing (directly or indirectly) the symptoms of distress. So have others who have preceded us.
A Song for The Wilderness
In many ways, we face barriers and feel our environment is more like a wilderness than a paradise.
Be Good Citizens
Political division isn’t anything new. Just ask the apostle Paul.
Pray Or Criticize?
Even non-religious people recognize it’s polite to wrap our concern and heartfelt empathy in the verbal cloak of “prayer.”
From Anxiousness to Assurance!
“When Israel’s anxiousness increases, Isaiah’s words encourage the weak and faint-hearted. God is preparing what Israel sees as a desert before them as their exit route.”
Humility & Conflict
Humility is not always a word we associate with bravery or strength or progress. In fact, we might even associate humility with weakness, passivity, or timidity.
Dependability & Conflict
Trust is so important. The ability to depend on something or someone is foundational to our lives, our sanity, and overall well being. So many aspects of our lives are built upon the reliability and steadiness of things—everything from a simple morning routine to an annual family get together.
Misplaced Desires (Where it All Begins)
“Misplaced desire will quickly turn to covetousness—the sin of never being satisfied and always wanting more."
The Origin of Conflict
When our desires fail to become a reality, James says we “murder.”
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Curse, Conflict, and Christ
... the answer to the curse of our condition is Christ. The solution to all conflict is Christ. Christ is the cure.
Connection with Christ: our Comfort in Conflict
"We do not live in a conflict-free world. It’s not realistic to think we can go through life without experiencing conflict."
Two Paths
“Path” is a metaphor for a particular way of living, a style of behavior, and an attitude to life. There are two paths we can choose. Each way defines our character.
Free To Serve Others
We advocate for “free speech,” and resent being told what we can—or cannot—do. Public protests fill our streets with people defending their “rights” and persuading others to champion their “cause de jour.”
Free from SIN, Not Righteousness
God has freed us from sin…but what should we be doing in its absence?
Free From Slavery
Most people today revolt against the thought of slavery—and rightfully so.
Free to Love, Not Lust
We love freedom. But freedom is not a license to lust!
A Fulfilled Life
It happens more frequently as we age. It wasn’t as noticeable when I was in my 20’s, 30’s, or 40’s. But lately, I’m more aware of how time appears to be passing, more quickly.
A Present Help in Trouble
Even a casual look at the conditions of our world indicates we’re in trouble.
Trusting the Lord and Doing Good in a World of Deception
Broken promises make trust challenging. It’s easier to trust when our checkbooks are fat. But when our economy spirals out of control, we question those continually telling us how great things are.
Ancient Landmarks…Modern Implications
“Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.” - Proverbs 22:28 (ESV)
The Cost of Freedom
July 4th is a special day for Americans. It marks the day our nation’s Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 (248 years ago).
Trusting God’s Word in a World Gone Wild
Who among us is not troubled by the conditions of our world? The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel and Hamas may seem miles away.
In God We Trust: Our Anchor in Uncertain Times
I’m from an era where one’s word was their bond. When someone committed to something, you could trust them to ful fill their promise.
Character Assassination
Unresolved conflict can bring out the worst in us. You’ve tried to resolve issues but appear to be at a stalemate. What do you do? One...
“Lumpy Carpets”
Recognizing conflict appears to be reasonably straightforward. But is it? When two individuals have a heated argument over some...
Let Go of Anger
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many...
Be Angry for The Right Reason!
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!” (Psalm 37:8 ESV). “And he [Jesus] looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of...
Keep “Short Accounts,”Not “Long Accounts”
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV). As a...
Guard Your Anger
“A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression” (Proverbs 29:22 ESV). Have you noticed? There are a...
How Well Do You “Shabbat?”
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8 ESV). “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days...
Waiting In Hope
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” (Psalm...
Thirsty!
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2). Do...
Shepherd or Starbucks?
For me, the ministry is more than a profession. Perhaps it’s that understanding that keeps me in the game. I admit: there have been times...
E Is Not Enough
One day, I had an early appointment at the office. Where I live, traffic congestion is extremely heavy from 6 in the morning until around...
Bringing Hope to Uzbekistan Women
Meet Zamira. She is a woman who spreads the transformative power of God’s love everywhere she goes! She brings hope to Uzbekistan’s often...
Handling Anxiety
What are five years of your life worth? A study from the Daily Mail revealed we waste years of our lives worrying. Their research shows...
ARMENIA UPDATE REPORT!
I just returned from a blessed trip to Armenia, where I witnessed firsthand the powerful work God is doing through our ministry and His...
Armenia Trip
I am setting out to Armenia this week to minister to pastors and leaders and to check on several of RPM’s ministry projects. I will be...
Thankful for God’s Work in Armenia
I thank God for a safe and productive trip to Armenia! One of the most impactful parts of my trip was spending time with refugees from...
Make Us One
When I was young, I was asked to serve a congregation in Southern California. Full of zeal and short on leadership experience, I was...
Freedom to Speak
It appears that rudeness is more popular than respectful behavior these days. I’m appalled at the growing inflammatory conduct displayed...
Armenian Refugee Update
Where will we go? What will we do? How will we survive? These are agonizing questions that arise because of adversity. These are...
Despair and Hope
The other day I read the following passage from Psalm 6: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones...
Hear from pastors, leaders, and learners who have been impacted
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Rev. John Fairchild
Pastor, Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church
Deacon Richard Kijewski
Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
Inspiring and Compassionate Speaker
Invite Richard Parrish to speak at your church, event, or podcast!
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