2 Kings on Love And Pain

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We Will Still Love You

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 23:4-5, 2 Kings 6:22, Proverbs 25:21-22, Matthew 5:43-44, Romans 12:17-21, Psalm 37:8-9

The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most difficult ethical injunctions in all of scripture. Many of us do not know how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Martin Luther K...

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...

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...

lectionary

10th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 14:2, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 17:1-13, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:1-15, Matthew 13:31, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Matthew 26:26, Matthew 8:null, Galatians 6:2

Preaching Commentary Context The feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew occurs within a section where questions of Jesus’ identity are heightened. Two incorrect answers of who Jesus truly is are given in...

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...

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 ...

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&...

liturgy

Inspired by 2 Kings 17:7-23

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 1:7-23

All: O God, You have loved us so well. You have been kind to us. You have given us all that we need. You have kept us from danger. You have given us new life and forgiveness in Your Son, Jesus, but we...

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...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Numbers 21:4-9

Author

Casey Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 9:15, 2 Timothy 2:8

Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages of the Old Testament were unique. We could then comfortably read their for...

Quote

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. ...

Quote

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.

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Zephaniah 3:14-20

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! Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Zephaniah’s Context The book of Zep...

liturgy

Give us, Lord, a clear vision of the

Author

Caryl Mickelm

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, John 4:7-26, Acts 9:1-9, Matthew 14:28-31, 2 Kings 6:15-17

Give us, Lord, a clear vision of the truth, faith in your power, and confident assurance of your love.

Quote

Author

Nancy Spiegelberg

Keywords

Grace

Scripture

John 4:1-26, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 15:11-32, 2 Kings 4:1-7, Philippians 4:19, Psalm 23:5, Matthew 11:28-30

Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to you with my empty cup. . . . If only I had known you better, I’d have come running with a bucket.

blog

How Canonicity and Love Go Together

Author

Susan Lim

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 31:24-26, 2 Kings 22:8

Love Loving the Word of God is a great pursuit, but it’s not always easy. Like most love relationships, there are inevitable highs and lows. And as teachers of the Bible, many of us walk a delicate...

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 ...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Author

Casey Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 1:29, 2 Timothy 2:8

Lent 2024: Do This in Remembrance Look to the Cross AIM commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages...

Quote

Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 14:13-21, 2 Kings 4:1-7, John 4:10-14, 1 Kings 17:7-6, Isaiah 55:1, Psalm 23:5-6

Our Lord Jesus is ever giving, and does not for a solitary instant withdraw His hand. As long as there is a vessel of grace not yet full to the brim, the oil shall not be stayed…. He is a rock in the ...

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A Theology of Interruptions

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

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...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 14:13-21

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 14:2, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 17:1-13, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:1-15, Matthew 13:31, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Matthew 26:26, Matthew 8:null, Galatians 6:2

Context The feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew occurs within a section where questions of Jesus’ identity are heightened. Two incorrect answers of who Jesus truly is are given in 13:55 (“isn’t this the...

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...

liturgy

Almighty and most merciful God, you

Author

George Adam Smith

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:10-19, 2 Kings 22:8-20, Luke 24:13-35, Acts 8:26-40, Nehemiah 8:1-12, Romans 15:4

Almighty and most merciful God, you have given the Bible to be the revelation of your great love to us, and of your power and will to save us: grant that our study of it may not be made in vain by the...

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The Paradox of a Healing God and a Sick World

Author

Andy Reimer

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:25-27, Hebrews 9:27, Romans 8:22-23, John 11:25, Revelation 21:4, 2 Kings 13:14

I believe that it is the paradox between serving a healing God and the persistence of illness and even death that ultimately lies behind most theological debates about divine healing in the Church. ...

Quote

Author

Isaac Watts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 28:10-17, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, 2 Kings 6:15-17, Matthew 28:20, Acts 17:24-28, Psalm 139:

Within thy circling power I stand; On every side I find thy hand; Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, I am surrounded still with God. …O may these thoughts possess my breast, Where'er I rove...

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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...

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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...

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A Runner Misses the Forest for the Trees

Author

Louie Giglio

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 28:10–17, 2 Kings 6:15–17, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Luke 24:13–35, Ephesians 1:18–19, Psalm 19:1–4

The author and pastor Louie Giglio isn't the type of runner who enjoys the scenery—he's just trying to survive his workouts. And when he's running in freezing rain? He's barely thinkin...

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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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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