2 Corinthians on Birth

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God–our Father, Lord and indwelling

Author

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Psalm 133:1, 2 Corinthians 9:13-14, Matthew 28:19-20

God–our Father, Lord and indwelling Spirit of grace and power: Thank you for hearing us when we pray whether in songs of rejoicing or through tears of sorrow. Thank you for gifts–for the gifts of musi...

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A Naming Ceremony

Author

Tim Chester

Keywords

Baptism

Scripture

Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:26-27

Your own baptism was a naming ceremony: you were baptized “in[to] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). That naming ceremony no more changed your heart than did ...

liturgy

Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh,

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 12:15, 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15-16

Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh, You know what it’s like to be us. You know what keeps us awake at night, or yanks us out of sleep in the early morning. You know what it’s like to have good days...

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Author

Original Author Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, John 12:46, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Isaiah 60:1

Blind in heart since my birth, I come to you, Light of the World...Let me live as a child of light.

Quote

Author

Ben Jonson

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:9, Luke 2:15-20, John 8:12, Hebrews 1:6, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 27:1, Luke 2:25-35

I sing the birth was born tonight, The author both of life and light, The angels so did sound it; And like the ravished shepherds Said, Who saw the light, and were afraid, Yet sarched, and tru they fo...

Quote

Author

Samuel Chadwick

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:5-8, Galatians 5:16-26, Romans 8:14, Philippians 1:19, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 2:12

The Christian religion begins in a New Birth in the power of the Spirit. It is developed under His guidance, and sustained by His presence; but ignoring the Spirit, it becomes a matter of education an...

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Lord Jesus Christ, at your birth the

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:13-14, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:8-20, Proverbs 16:18, John 12:43, Matthew 23:1-12, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Matthew 5:9, Luke 10:25-37, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10, Luke 22:54-62, Psalm 46:10, Matthew 26:36-46, John 14:13-14

Lord Jesus Christ, at your birth the angels gave glory to God in the highest heaven, and offered peace on earth to all humankind. We struggle to follow the heavenly host. All too often we focus on giv...

Quote

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:10-11, John 1:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 9:1-22, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 7:9-10

It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did ... for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of ...

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Christmas: A Tradition of Gift-Giving

Author

Emily Hunter McGowin

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:11, James 1:17, Matthew 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Proverbs 22:9, 1 Timothy 6:18, John 3:16

While Christmas traditions vary the world over, gift-giving is a central practice just about anywhere Christ's birth is celebrated. Sometimes gifts are exchanged on December 6, the feast day of S...

Quote

Author

O.P. Kretzmann

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:6-7, Philippians 2:6-8, Isaiah 53:2-3, Micah 5:2, Exodus 2:1-10, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Revelation 21:3-4

One of our troubles, is that we have romanticized and sentimentalized the stable and the manger…We see them through the warm glow of our comfortable homes, our candles and our well-fed bodies....Perha...

liturgy

Assurance of Pardon for Christmas

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Malachi 4:2, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:16, Titus 2:11, John 1:16, Isaiah 9:6

Leader: People of God, rejoice! The sun of righteousness has dawned with healing in His wings. To us a Child has been born; to us God’s Son has been given! His eternal reign has broken throug...

Quote

Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-4, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 1:16-17, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:12, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Luke 2:11-12

He by whom all things were made was made one of all things. The Son of God by the Father without a mother became the Son of man by a mother without a father. The Word Who is God before all time became...

liturgy

Baptism: Eternal Life in Christ

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 2:12-13, Ephesians 4:22-24 , Galatians 3:26-27 , Titus 3:4-7, Acts 2:38-41

Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turn us from the old life of sin:Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness a...

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Preference for the Christ-Child Over the Cross

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:10, Luke 2:7, John 19:18, Philippians 2:8-9, Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17

In the sixteenth century, Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci journeyed to China, bringing religious art to share the Christian story with those unfamiliar with it. The Chinese readily embraced images of t...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 2:1-20 (Guide A)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—complacency. As a child,...

Quote

Author

Charles Wesley

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 2:9, Revelation 21:3, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 8:9

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel

Quote

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:15-17, John 1:14, Micah 5:2, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Isaiah 57:15, Hebrews 1:3

“It seems, then,” said Tirian, smiling himself, “that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places.” “Yes,” said the Lord Digory. “Its inside is bigger than it...

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Is it in You?

Author

David Lomas

Keywords

Scripture

John 7:38, Ezekiel 3:26-27, Philippians 2:13, Luke 6:45, 2 Corinthians 13:5

This may be a corny illustration, but I think about the Gatorade commercial where they ask, “Is it in you?” It shows athletes literally sweating Gatorade out of their pores. The point is that since Ga...

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The Holy Spirit Births Faith

Author

Tim Chester and Christopher de la Hoyde

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:23, Titus 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:15-16, 1 John 5:6-8, John 14:15-17, John 7:37-39

Hannah was one of my wife’s work colleagues. She used to love spending time with our congregation, but she found the gospel message just plain weird. We did some Bible studies with her over the summer...

lectionary

Christmas: Nativity of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Preaching Commentary Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—co...

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Faithfulness in the Darkest Places

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:7–8, Genesis 50:20, Isaiah 61:1, John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 34:18

Josephine Bakhita’s life is a testament of God’s faithfulness in the darkest circumstances. She was born in Darfur, Sudan, among the Daju people. Her first years were happy, but at age eight she was k...

lectionary

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 21:5

preaching commentary Scripture’s proclivity for a new creation Some people have an aversion to describing a future day when the troubles of this world will have passed into oblivion, the kitchen-ta...

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The Reconciling Love of the Father

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:12-13, Romans 8:15-17, Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 2:12-13, Colossians 1:21-22, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

In her book Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home , Jen Pollock Michel reflects on the nature of home in a transient age. In this short excerpt, Michel reflects on the Biblical doctrine...

liturgy

God of the heavens and the earth, Giver

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 5:14-16, Isaiah 58:10-11, Psalm 82:3-4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God of the heavens and the earth, Giver of sun and showers, wind and calm: We praise You for Your grace and power, Your beauty, grace and care. You sustain us daily, and encourage us constantly. Than...

liturgy

Dear Lord, We come to you this evening

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, Luke 2:8-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Luke 19:1-10, Philippians 1:6, Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 2:11, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12

Dear Lord, We come to you this evening with great expectations. Expectations that your Son Jesus has been born, and that his life is a light for us and all people. We come with expectations that He c...

liturgy

jobs concluding, stages finishing

Author

Ted Loder

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18–19, Lamentations 3:22–23, John 12:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 4:4–5, Psalm 40:1–3

jobs concluding, stages finishing, grieving over, grudges over, blaming over, excuses over. O God, grant me your sense of timing. In this season of ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Isaiah 65:17-25

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 21:5

Scripture’s proclivity for a new creation Some people have an aversion to describing a future day when the troubles of this world will have passed into oblivion, the kitchen-table expression being “p...

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Tears & The Kingdom of God

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:7, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21, James 4:8-10

Traditional Eastern Orthodox theology asserts that tears cleanse, renew and make way for the kingdom. When sin and the brokenness of the world give rise to godly sorrow, our hearts soften toward God a...

liturgy

Father: You are good and You are

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Amos 5:24, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Colossians 3:13, Jeremiah 30:17, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 127:3, Isaiah 40:29

Father: You are good and You are strong. You want what is best. You act to bring it about .And you invite us to hold our hearts before You in prayer, so we can participate in what You do. Therefore, w...

liturgy

Leader: In Jesus Christ God has removed

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:5, Ephesians 2:19, Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 3:20, John 15:15, Isaiah 43:1

Leader: In Jesus Christ God has removed our sins from us and given us a new name. People: Now we are called Forgiven. Leader: In Jesus Christ God has assured us that he could never forget us. Peopl...

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