2 Corinthians on Enlightenment

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Descend upon our hearts, Spirit of God,

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 40:29-31, John 14:26, Romans 8:26-27

Descend upon our hearts, Spirit of God, For our wills are weak, and we need your power. Our spirits are dry, and we need your refreshment. Our minds cannot comprehend, and we need your enlightenment....

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Author

Austin Fischer

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, Romans 12:2, Colossians 2:8, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 11:1

By misinterpreting the Enlightenment and the corresponding rise of empiricism as an existential threat to Christian faith, many frightened Christians sequestered themselves into rooms of certitude.

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Lord, may your glorious Majesty

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Scripture

John 14:16-17, Matthew 26:36-46, Psalm 32:8, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Acts 9:1-19, 1 Corinthians 2:2, 1 Timothy 1:17

Lord, may your glorious Majesty surround us, the blessed Trinity protect us, and the eternal Godhead preserves us. Your unlimited mercy support us; your loving kindness encompass us; your favor c...

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Atheism from a Historical Perspective

Author

Os Guinness

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Colossians 1:16-17, Acts 17:24-25, 2 Corinthians 4:6

From a historical perspective it is atheism that was old and the Christian faith and its good news that burst on the world as new. Once commonly called “atomism,” the genealogy of atheism can be trace...

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Called to Be God's Light

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16 , 1 John 4:18-19 , Acts 4:29-31 , Romans 12:9-11 , 2 Corinthians 3:12, Esther 4:14, James 2:14-17

Gracious God, you have called us to be light in a dark world, and we have remained hidden. Thinking of ourselves first, we have withheld courage and compassion. Merciful God, hear our confessions and ...

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The Devils Logic [Part 2 of 2]

Author

Jared C. Wilson

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 3:13, 2 Corinthians 11:14, Proverbs 7:21-23, James 1:14-15, Genesis 3:6

If I were making a list of benefits like the one Mike McKinley imagines, only this time using the devil’s actual logic, it might look more like this: Experience the excitement of new romance. Get th...

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Author

Dante Alighieri

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Scripture

Revelation 21:2, Matthew 26:10, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Romans 10:15

Beauty awakens the soul to act.

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Author

Victor Hugo

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Scripture

Revelation 21:23, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 36:9, Isaiah 60:1

To love beauty is to see light.

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Chiaroscuro: Light and Dark Together

Author

Nancy Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:3-4, Exodus 10:21-23, Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 112:4

The very nature of light provides contrast. In juxtaposition, differing levels of light illuminate in extraordinary ways, helping us to see what we’ve been missing. In the late 1400s, the art world ma...

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Jonathan Edwards’s Consecration

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Corinthians 8:5, Psalm 73:26, Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1, Joshua 3:5

Jonathan Edwards is one of America’s most influential philosophers and theologians. Edwards wrote dozens of books, sparked the First Great Awakening, and was influential in the lives of hundreds of mi...

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Author

John O'Donohue

Keywords

Beauty

Scripture

Isaiah 33:17, Psalm 90:17, Philippians 4:8, Song of Solomon 2:10-12, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Isaiah 6:13, Ecclesiastes 3:11

When we lose sight of beauty our struggle becomes tired and functional. When we expect and engage the Beautiful, a new fluency is set free within us and between us. The heart becomes rekindled and our...

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Author

Helen Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:1-23, Isaiah 6:9-10, John 9:39-41, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:18

I have walked with people whose eyes are full of light, but who see nothing in wood, sea, or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books.... It were better far to sail forever in the night of blind...

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The Cycle of Upheaval

Author

Phyllis Tickle

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 17:26, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Romans 8:22, Matthew 24:6, Jeremiah 6:16, Ecclesiastes 1:9

Every five hundred years, give or take a decade or two, Western culture, along with those parts of the world that have been colonized or colonialized by it, goes through a time of enormous upheaval, a...

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Regaining Sight

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 146:8, Isaiah 35:5, Isaiah 42:16, John 9:, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:18

In Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she mentioned the work of Marius Von Senden who became curious about the effect it had on people who had been born blind to...

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Missing the Stars

Author

Keywords

Blindness

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:18, Colossians 3:1-2, Ephesians 1:18, Psalm 119:18, Matthew 13:16-17, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1

Søren Kierkegaard told a parable about a rich man riding in a lighted carriage driven by a peasant who sat behind the horse in the cold and dark outside. Precisely because he sat near the artificial l...

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Charles Darwin’s Loss of Happiness

Author

Charles Darwin

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:2-3, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 4:8, Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, Ecclesiastes 3:11

Charles Darwin, known for his theory of natural selection, noticed that his later life included a “loss of happiness.” While he never acknowledged that it might have been related to his changing world...

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Author

G. K. Chesterton

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 6:8-10, Mark 8:35, Mark 9:35, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Paradox has been defined as “Truth standing on her head to attract attention."

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Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:4–13, Lamentations 3:19–26, Isaiah 40:28–31, Matthew 11:28–30, 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Psalm 42:5–11

One of the dangers of living in a constant state of distraction is that we never go to the bottom of our pain, our sadness, our emptiness, which means we never find that rock-bottom place of the peace...

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Author

Wendell Berry

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:16-17 , Exodus 20:8-10 , Job 38:4-11 , Psalm 90:12, Matthew 6:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9

We will have to start over, with a different and much older premise: the naturalness and, for creatures of limited intelligence, the necessity of limits.

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The Effects of Light Deprivation

Author

Joan Chittister

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 5:8, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 27:1, John 1:5

Psychologists tell us that one of the most difficult conditions a person can be forced to bear is light deprivation. Darkness, in fact, is often used in military captivity or penal institutions to bre...

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Author

Anonymous

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:14-15, Romans 1:19-20, Luke 24:16, 2 Corinthians 4:4

We don't know who discovered water, but we know it wasn't a fish

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Bright Spark, Shot from a Higher Place

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 24:15-18 , Malachi 3:2-3, Isaiah 6:5-7, Psalm 51:10-12 , 2 Corinthians 3:18, Revelation 22:5

Thus the incomparable George Herbert writes of our glorification in his poem “The Star”: Bright spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviour’s face, Canst thou be any where ...

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All: Gracious God, you promise that

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, John 1:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16

All: Gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to...

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The Gospel is Freedom

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 6:22, Galatians 5:1, John 8:36

Its [Romans] message is not that ‘man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains’, as Rousseau put it at the beginning of The Social Contract (1762); it is rather that human beings are born in sin ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:3-6, 2 Corinthians 3:, 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, Mark 9:5-6, Jeremiah 1:33-34, Exodus 34:29-35

Ancient Lens What’s the historical context? Mixed Loyalties Diving straight into 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 without giving a nod to 2 Corinthians 3:1-4:2 gives a strange impression, because Paul’s point...

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...

liturgy

Leader: Tonight old dreams die and new

Author

Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:13-14, Luke 2:8-20, Romans 15:13, Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 96:11-12, Luke 2:20, John 1:9, Luke 2:29-32, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 4:16, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:6-9

Leader: Tonight old dreams die and new dreams come to life. The Promise is fulfilled! People: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace. Leader: Hope gives way to joy and prayer to proclamati...

liturgy

Jesus Christ is the light of the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 27:, John 9:5, Matthew 4:12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Psalm 72:2-14, Colossians 1:26-29

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He will judge the people with righteousness and defend the cause of the poor. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The mystery of the ages is revealed; th...

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Author

Isaac Asimov

Keywords

Assumptions

Scripture

2 Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:5, Psalm 139:23-24, Matthew 7:3-5, Isaiah 55:8-9, Colossians 3:2

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.

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Author

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12, Titus 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:12, Matthew 5:3-10, Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:1, Genesis 12:1-4, Ephesians 4:22-24, Isaiah 1:18

Moonless darkness stands between. Past, the Past, no more be seen! But the Bethlehem-star may lead me To the sight of Him Who freed me From the self that I have been. Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy...

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