Colossians on Prosperity

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 128 & Colossians 3

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 128:null, Colossians 3:null

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. And [w]hatever you do, work at it with all your h...

liturgy

Praise to God, Immortal Praise

Author

Anna L. Barbauld

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:1-2, James 1:17, Psalm 118:24, Philippians 4:4, Colossians 3:16

Praise to God, immortal praise. For the love that crowns our days; Bounteous Source of every joy. Let your praise our tongues employ. All to you, our God, we owe, Source whence all our blessings fl...

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Author

Winston S. Churchill

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 14:23, Deuteronomy 8:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 128:2

Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon.

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A Business Legacy: Providing More Value for its Customers

Author

Larry Weber

Keywords

Business

Scripture

Isaiah 85:10, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 5:16, Genesis 1:28, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 19:21

Discovering a moral mission requires a little soul searching. Typically, it involves an exercise that serves to identify an intrinsic value embedded in a company’s DNA, which is a logical extension of...

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What You Think About God Determines Your Life

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 4:15-16, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15-16, Psalm 50:21, Isaiah 40:18, Exodus 20:3-5, Romans 1:25

Put another way, what you think about God will shape your destiny in life. If you think of God as homophobic, racist, and mad at the world, this distorted vision of reality will shape you into a relig...

Quote

Author

Bono

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 14:23, Deuteronomy 8:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 128:2

[A] rock-star preaches capitalism. Wow. Sometimes I hear myself and I just can’t believe it. But commerce is real. . . . Aid is just a stopgap. Commerce—entrepreneurial capitalism—takes more people ou...

liturgy

Praise to God, eternal praise

Author

Anna L. Barbauld

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 34:1, Hebrews 13:15, James 1:7, Matthew 7:11, Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 22:37-39, Psalm 51:1-2, Psalm 145:8-9, Psalm 51:15

Praise to God, eternal praise, For the love that crowns our days; Abundant Source of every joy. Let your praise our tongues employ. All to you, our God, we owe, Source whence all our blessings flow...

liturgy

Work with God's Purpose

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 16:3 , Micah 6:8 , Ecclesiastes 3:13 , James 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Mark 10:42-45

O God, who gives to every man and woman their work, and through their labors does accomplish your purposes upon earth: Grant your blessing, we beg you, to those who are engaged in the work and busines...

liturgy

Continue Your Good Work

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:13-20, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Ephesians 2:1-10, Colossians 1:1-14, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Beautiful and Blessed Creator, Maker of Heaven and Earth, You work for reconciliation and grace, wholeness and hope. Empower us to share abundantly in your good work through creativity and co...

liturgy

Easter Joy and Peace

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 24:1–12, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Colossians 3:15, Isaiah 25:3, John 14:27

Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you strong in resurrection faith. The Lord make His face shine on you and graciously let Easter joy dawn within you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you...

liturgy

Colossians 1:9b-12

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:9

May you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work ...

Quote

Author

Dwight L. Moody

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Ruth 1:16-18, Mark 2:1-12, Genesis 22:1-19, Colossians 3:14

Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy.

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Doing the Work Before the Work

Author

Stephen W. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 24:27, James 1:5, Matthew 7:24-25, Proverbs 21:5, Colossians 3:16-17, Isaiah 40:3-4

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith provides an important analogy about the importance of spiritually preparing ourselves for the adversity and challenges that come with su...

Quote

Author

St. Thomas Aquinas

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 12:11, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Psalm 128:2

To live well is to work well.

liturgy

Blessings and Peace in Christ

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-4 , 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2 Peter 1:3, Colossians 3:12, Isaiah 41:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:13

Pastor: Now to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout (insert your community) and the surrounding communities, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sa...

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Crafting Excellence Amid Constant Shifts

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 31:1-5 , Proverbs 22:29, Ecclesiastes 9:10 , Matthew 25:14-30 , Colossians 3:23-24 , Psalm 90:17

The wonderful word master used to describe the person who is at the top of his or her craft, whatever the profession. It was a title that one could work toward and with some degree of confidence ascri...

liturgy

Adapted from the Parable of the Sower

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:18-23, Jeremiah 17:8, Colossians 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:11

Pastor: “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what wa...

lectionary

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Acts 9:1-18, Hebrews 12:2, Colossians 3:9-10

Preaching Commentary Besieged from All Angles The context of this passage is best summed up with the words recorded throughout the letter: Trouble, Distress, Suffering, Hardship, Death at work, Jar...

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Oaks of Righteousness

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:3, John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 2:6-7, Hebrews 6:12

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling contrasts our overly busy lives with a vision of the kingdom from Isaiah chapter 61: Isaiah envisioned a kingdom in which those people in need ...

Quote

Author

Brian Zahnd

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:1-4, Ephesians 2:19-22, Isaiah 9:6-7, Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 14:17

The kingdom of God is an alternative arrangement of human society around Jesus which leads to human flourishing.

liturgy

Heavenly Father, give us hearts that

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 5:7, Lamentations 3:25-26, Psalm 37:7, Colossians 3:15, James 5:7-8

Heavenly Father, give us hearts that wait with faith. Build in us the assurance that you are at work and in control. Forgive us for our impatience, our uneasiness, and our wandering desires when we do...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Revelation 21:10, 22:1-5

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:10, Revelation 21:2, 10, 22-27, Revelation 22:1-5, 1 Kings 6:20, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 3:23-24, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:23, Genesis 1:26-27, Exodus 33:20-23, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, Mark 15:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Exodus 28:15-21, 29-30, John 4:13-14, John 7:37-38, Matthew 27:46, John 3:2, Romans 8:29

Pulling Back the Curtain The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a “pulling back of the curtain” to reveal both the unseen realities of the present (what is really going on in the world from God’s perspect...

liturgy

The blessing of Almighty God

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 31:8, Proverbs 3:5-6 , Micah 6:8 , John 14:6 , Colossians 2:6-7, Psalm 23:1-3

Pastor: The blessing of Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you as you follow Him and grow to look, live and love more like Jesus every day. People: He is the way, the tr...

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Paul's Achievement's Today

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:4-6, Isaiah 64:6, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Colossians 3:3-4, Galatians 2:20

Paul give us an excellent example of what looking at people from a worldly point of view looks like in Philippians chapter 3: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, ...

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The Treasure of a Lifetime

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:44, Hebrews 14:26, Colossians 2:2-3, Philippians 3:8, Luke 12:33-34

A first-century Hebrew walks alone on a hot afternoon, staff in hand. His shoulders are stooped, his tunic stained with sweat. But he doesn’t stop to rest. He has pressing business in the city. He vee...

illustration

Excellence, the Jeremiah Way

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:12, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:16-17, Colossians 3:12-14, Micah 6:8, Philippians 3:7-8

In Jeremiah it is clear that the excellence comes from a life of faith, from being more interested in God than in self, and has almost nothing to do with comfort or esteem or achievement. Here is a pe...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5, Revelation 21:2, 10, 22-27, Revelation 22:1-5, 1 Kings 6:20, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 3:23-24, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:23, Genesis 1:26-27, Exodus 33:20-23, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, Mark 15:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Exodus 28:15-21, 29-30, John 4:13-14, John 7:37-38, Matthew 27:46, John 3:2, Romans 8:29

Preaching Commentary Pulling Back the Curtain The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a “pulling back of the curtain” to reveal both the unseen realities of the present (what is really going on in the wo...

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The Patterns of Our Achievements

Author

Malcolm Gladwell

Keywords

Achievement

Scripture

Isaiah 51:1-2, Colossians 3:16, Psalm 78:4-6, Proverbs 22:6, Acts 17:26, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 2 Timothy 1:5

People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all themselves. But in fact they are invariably the benefici...

Quote

Author

D. Douglas Meeks

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 6:19, John 17:21, Ephesians 1:10, 1 Peter 1:3-4, Colossians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Hope orients all thought, action, and relationships to God’s ultimate redemption of the creation and to the ultimate communion with the triune God...hope is the steady orientation to God’s making all ...

Quote

Author

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Hebrews 12:11, Isaiah 40:31, Proverbs 24:16, 2 Timothy 1:7

These periods of struggling to overcome challenges are what people find to be the most enjoyable times of their lives. A person who has achieved control over psychic energy and has invested it in cons...

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