2 Kings on Irritations

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A Theology of Interruptions

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 18:1–8, 2 Kings 4:8–10 , Ruth 2:10–12, Luke 8:43–48 , Matthew 15:21–28, Psalm 145:8–9

I have a friend who says he wants to write a book on the life of Jesus and call it “a theology of interruptions.” Because, he says, so many of the things that Jesus said or did in the Gospel stories h...

liturgy

Dear Lord, I am filled with anger born of frustration

Author

Stanley Hauerwas

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 22:11–13, Amos 5:23–24, John 2:13–17, Mark 10:13–14, Romans 12:21, Psalm 4:4

Dear Lord, I am filled with anger born of frustration. I confess I know not whether my anger is of you. I just know I am filled with hope, which makes me angry that others are not so filled. Take away...

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Author

Henry Ward Beecher

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 6:8-23, Luke 23:34, Genesis 50:15-21, Acts 7:54-60, 1 Samuel 24:1-22, Proverbs 25:21-22

Every time your enemy fires a curse, you must fire a blessing, and so you are to bombard back and forth with this kind of artillery. The mother grace of all graces is Christian good-will.

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Author

Susan Sontag

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 20:1-7 , Job 2:1-10 , Numbers 21:4-9 , Mark 5:25-34, John 9:1-7, Psalm 103:2-4

Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick.

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An Invitation to Act

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 14:15-16, 2 Kings 5:9-14, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, John 5:1-9, Mark 10:46-52, Psalm 107:19-20

I am struck by all the things Jesus didn’t say or do in response to the litanies of pain and defensiveness he heard from people. Jesus didn’t say to the man, “You sound like a victim to me; what are y...

series

Lakes and Streams: 1, 2 Kings 5:1-14

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 5:1-14, Joshua 12:1-3, Joshua 12:1-3, Luke 4:27

For purposes of practicality and relatability, this series considers the Sea of Galilee to be a lake and classifies other fresh or mostly fresh water locations together under the same banner. Th...

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Why One Prayer led to Healing and not Another?

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 17:17-24, Numbers 20:7-12, 2 Kings 4:32-36, Mark 9:23-24 , James 5:14-15, Psalm 37:5

Agnes Sanford relates how, as the young wife of an Episcopal minister, her child came down with a serious ear infection. It lasted for six weeks while she prayed fearfully and fruitlessly. Then a ne...

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Author

Aldous Huxley

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 28:10-17, Exodus 3:1-6, 2 Kings 6:15-17 , Luke 24:13-32, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Psalm 119:18

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.

blog

Emotions are Divine: Why Pastors Need Biblical Permission to Feel

Author

David Lamb

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:35, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 6:1, Psalm 78:58, Psalm 78:40, Psalm 18:19, Psalm 25:6, Psalm 5:7, Exodus 20:5, Exodus 22:23, Isaiah 15:5, Luke 15:null, Genesis 23:2, Genesis 42:24, 1 Samuel 1:10, 2 Samuel 1:11-12, 2 Kings 8:11-12, 2 Kings 22:18-20, Mark 14:72, John 20:11, Acts 20:37, Revelation 5:4

When the Professor Weeps: A Personal Story About ten years ago, I was teaching a course on the psalms for my seminary students in the midst of a personal health crisis. It wasn’t in my notes, but I ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 17:11-19

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 18:9-14, 2 Kings 5:1-19

Context This Sunday’s passage takes place during Jesus’ long final journey to Jerusalem (which takes up over a third of Luke’s Gospel). In the preceding pericope the disciples have asked Jesus to in...

lectionary

18th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 18:9-14, 2 Kings 5:1-19

Context This Sunday’s passage takes place during Jesus’ long final journey to Jerusalem (which takes up over a third of Luke’s Gospel). In the preceding pericope the disciples have asked Jesus to in...

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Author

Gillian Marchenko

Keywords

Scripture

Job 1:2 , Ecclesiastes 9:11, 2 Kings 4:8–37 , John 9:1–3, Romans 8:18–28, Psalm 34:18–19

We probably got a bit too cocky about how well our lives were going. But after disability showed up in our family, we learned that life is not tame. It’s not here to align with our desires and plans. ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 2 Kings 5:1-14

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 5:1-14, Luke 4:27, Joshua 12:1-3

Many Israelites Had Leprosy, but Naaman Was Healed As we go from mountains to fresh water, we go from Elijah to Elisha. Despite having a double dose of Elijah’s power and a fraction of his hair, Eli...

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Bible Controversies come from our Hermeneutics

Author

R. C. Sproul

Keywords

Scripture

Nehemiah 8:1–8, Genesis 3:1–7, 2 Kings 22:8–13 , Luke 24:25–27 , 2 Timothy 2:15, Psalm 119:130

Many of the modern controversies surrounding the Bible—for example, human sexuality, creationism and the “openness” of God—revolve around questions concerning hermeneutics. The science of hermeneutics...

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The Poison Garden

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:8-9; 3:1-7, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 2 Kings 4:38-41, John 12:24, Romans 6:23, Psalm 1:3-4

In the north of England, there's a beautiful garden. It's full of delicate wildflowers, extravagant blossoms, verdant climbing vines, and tumbling water features. Like so many gems of English ...

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The Day of Epiphany

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 6:1–8, Genesis 28:10–22, 2 Kings 22:8–20, Acts 9:1–19, Luke 24:13–35 , Psalm 119:105

The Texas-based pastor Matt Chandler spent a decade working with teenagers, and during that time, he realized how a specific change takes place between sixth graders and ninth graders. As Chandler say...

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Author

Oscar Wilde

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 , 2 Kings 5:15-27, Isaiah 55:1-2, Matthew 16:26, Luke 12:16-21 , Psalm 49:6-8

A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

liturgy

Gracious God, you receive us in your gentle arms

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Kings 20:1-5, Exodus 15:25-26, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 4:18-19, Psalm 147:3

Gracious God, you receive us in your gentle arms. You anoint us with your healing presence. Help us to be mindful of your mercy, your deep compassion for the wounds of the world, and your willing pres...

lectionary

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-20, Exodus 3:4, Genesis 22:1, Isaiah 6:8, 2 Kings 21:12, 2 Kings 19:3, Luke 17:2, Luke 2:12-26

Preaching Commentary The farther you go…the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it’s easy to fall off. —Anderson Cooper, Dispatches From The Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and ...

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Caught on Camera

Author

Matt Chandler

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 12:14, Genesis 39:6-12 , 2 Kings 5:19-27 , Luke 12:2-3, Psalm 139:1-4, Acts 5:1-11

Several years ago I saw a television show called Caught on Camera . It featured clips of people being secretly filmed doing all manner of horrific things, precisely because they thought they were...

lectionary

Second Sunday of Advent

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 3:1-12, 2 Kings 1:8, Malachi 3:1-4, 2 Kings 22:8-13, Isaiah 40:3-5

AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Dry Spell It had been a dry period for “Team Israel,” 400 plus seasons without a shout out from God. Since the proph...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 3:1-12

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 3:1-12, Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 3:1-4, 2 Kings 1:8, 2 Kings 22:8-13

Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Dry Spell It had been a dry period for “Team Israel,” 400 plus seasons without a shout out from God. Since the prophet Malachi and hi...

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The Surprising Sale

Author

Robert B. Cialdini

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:45–46 , 1 Peter 1:18–19, Psalm 19:9–10, Isaiah 55:1–2, 2 Kings 5:9–14, Exodus 16:2–5, 31

A while ago, I encountered such a finding when I read a study that gave volunteers an energy drink designed to increase mental abilities. Some volunteers were charged the retail price of the drink ($1...

lectionary

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 3:1-5, 10, 1 Kings 12:, 1 Kings 14:21-31, 2 Kings 17:, Jonah 1:, Jonah 1:2

Preaching Commentary Context Assyria the Destroyer of the Northern Kingdom It is important to remember that in addition to there being seventeen books of prophecy in the Old Testament, each one of...

scripture guide

Scripture Guides, Luke 4:21-30

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 4:21-30, Mark 6:2-3, 1 Kings 17:7-34, 2 Kings 5:

Leaving Home I moved away from my hometown for graduate school when I was just shy of 30. I never went back. When I struck out from home, I lived in cities larger and more diverse than anything I had...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 1 Samuel 3:1-20

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-20, Genesis 22:1, Exodus 3:4, Isaiah 6:8, 2 Kings 21:12, Jeremiah 19:3, 1 Samuel 2:12-26, Luke 17:2

The farther you go…the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it’s easy to fall off. Anderson Cooper, Dispatches From The Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival Hearing God&...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 4:21-30, Mark 6:2-3, 1 Kings 17:7-34, 2 Kings 5:

Preaching Commentary Leaving Home I moved away from my hometown for graduate school when I was just shy of 30. I never went back. When I struck out from home, I lived in cities larger and more dive...

lectionary

Third Sunday of Advent

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Zephaniah 3:14-20, 2 Kings 22:, Isaiah 7:null

Check out our video discussion of the text with the author, Austin D. Hill. Click here to view! AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Zephaniah’s Context...

lectionary

Baptism of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 3:13-17, John 1:29, Romans 6:4, Ephesians 1:7, 2 Kings 5:null, Joshua 3:null

Preaching Commentary Defined by Action and Accessibility Action defines us. We either play the game or we sit on the sidelines. We either get our hands dirty and by doing so gain credibility or we ...

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Is our Capacity Set?

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:20-21 , Exodus 4:10-12, 2 Kings 4:1-7 , Isaiah 54:2-3 , Matthew 25:14-30 , Psalm 23:1-5

Too many people hear the word capacity and assume it’s a limitation. They assume their capacity is set—especially if they’re beyond a certain age. People give up on the idea that their capacity or the...

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