Ephesians on Rivers

liturgy

The voice of the Lord is over the waters

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 29:3, 9, Mark 1:11, Isaiah 43:1, Ephesians 1:13-14, Romans 8:15, Isaiah 42:1, Psalm 29:9

The voice of the Lord is over the waters and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” the heavens were torn open and the Spirit descended And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son Fear not,...

scripture guide

Scripture Guides, Matthew 3:13-17

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

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 sit aloft our pulpit an...

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 ...

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...

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...

illustration

A Brook became an Ocean

Author

Louie Giglio

Keywords

God

Scripture

Job 11:7-9, Ephesians 3:18-19, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 11:33, Psalm 145:3, Isaiah 55:8-9

Dan DeHaan, talked about man’s quest to grasp a full understanding of God’s character being like a boy following a trickling brook as it flowed downstream. Step by step, as he followed each babble and...

Quote

Author

Wendell Berry

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 3:8, Philippians 2:3-4, Galatians 5:14, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12

Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.

liturgy

Jesus, we receive your blessings and

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, John 7:37-38, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 5:3-4, Psalm 51:10

Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliver...

liturgy

Like Jonah, Jesus took our sins upon Him and cast them

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 1:, Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 1:18, Romans 8:1, Hebrews 8:12, Ephesians 1:7

Like Jonah, Jesus took our sins upon Him and cast them deep into the seas. They are as far off, forgotten, forgiven in Christ. Amen!

illustration

Hardships Force our Roots to Go Deep

Author

Our Daily Bread

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 2:6-7, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Ephesians 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:11, Romans 5:3-5

A. Parnell Bailey visited an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken down. The season was unusually dry and some of the trees were beginning to die for lack of water. The man giving the tour ...

illustration

Developing Deep Roots

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:16-17, Colossians 2:6-7, John 15:5, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:1-3

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I made the long drive from San Antonio, Texas, to Pasadena, California, where we now reside. We passed through hundreds of miles of southwestern desert, most of whic...

illustration

The Sap, the Strong Bond of Love

Author

Daniel Bourguet

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:1-16, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:7-26, John 21:15-19, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 3:17-19

The strong bond that unites the vine and the branches has to do with the sap that flows through them. Jesus does not here use the word “sap,” but nonetheless gives a lengthy excursus on love in a way ...

Quote

Author

Peter J. Leithart

Keywords

The Holy Spirit

Scripture

Ephesians 5:18, Ephesians 4:1-6, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:22, John 14:17

Follow the Spirit. Walk in the rhythm of the Spirit. Sing in the Spirit. Pray with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Sow to the Spirit. Reap from the Spirit. Preserve the unity of the Spirit. Be ...

illustration

The EAC

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:14, Matthew 7:13-14, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Colossians 2:8, Psalm 1:1-3, Ephesians 4:14, Romans 12:2

Perhaps the most intense place to experience drifting is commonly known as the EAC, the East Australian Current. If you’ve ever seen the Disney Pixar film Finding Nemo, you’ve been exposed to the EAC,...

Quote

Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 103:11, Psalm 36:5, Isaiah 55:9, Ephesians 2:4-5, Romans 5:20

God's mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.

liturgy

Pentecost Blessing

Author

Peter J. Leithart

Keywords

Scripture

John 16:13, Acts 9:1-19, Ephesians 4:3, Romans 8:14, Galatians 6:8, Ephesians 5:18-19

Follow the Spirit. Walk in the rhythm of the Spirit. Sing in the Spirit. Pray with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Sow to the Spirit. Reap from the Spirit. Preserve the unity of the Spirit. Be ...

illustration

Only the Dead Go with the Flow

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 5:9, Ephesians 6:13, 2 Timothy 4:7, Galatians 5:1, Hebrews 11:6, James 1:12

By illustration, I have been told that when a cow is born, she innately senses that her departure from her mother’s warm womb to a cold, scary, unknown world outside is upon her. In response, she will...

Quote

Author

Stanley Baldwin

Keywords

Faith

Scripture

Mark 11:22-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 26:3-4, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 56:3-4, Romans 1:17, 2 Corinthians 5:7

I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it.

illustration

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...

series

Oceans: 2, Acts 27:27-44

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 27:27-44, Acts 27:27-44, Acts 27:null, Acts 9:32-43, Acts 9:null, Isaiah 60:1-3, Isaiah 43:1-2, Lamentations 3:22-24, Ephesians 2:11-22, Acts 27:27-44

For purposes of practicality and relatability, this series considers the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea “oceans.” The point is to relate our present-day affinity for the ocean, seashore, and beach...

Quote

Author

Charles Wesley

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 86:5, Isaiah 55:7, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Micah 7:18

Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me?

liturgy

Kindness flows from you, Lord, pure and

Author

Gregory of Nyssa

Scripture

Romans 5:8-11, Genesis 3:8-21, Isaiah 61:10, Ephesians 2:13-14, Revelation 22:14, Hebrews 10:19-22

Kindness flows from you, Lord, pure and continual. You had cast us off, as was only just, but mercifully you forgave us; you hated us and you were reconciled to us, you cursed us and you blessed us; y...

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...

illustration

Digging Down Deep

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:5, Proverbs 12:3, Isaiah 61:3, Matthew 13:5-6, Ephesians 3:17-19

I’m more of an aboveground type of girl, as in, I like the stuff you can see. Flowers, trees, and vegetation symbolize life, growth, and transformation. The problem with focusing on external manifesta...

liturgy

Holy Spirit, Holy One

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:1-17, Ephesians 1:13-14, Acts 8:26-40, Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 8:14-16

ONE: People of God, Rejoice! Our Eternal and Beautiful God is near The One who gives us new birth by water and Spirit The One who names us beloved The One who delights in our very existence Come and w...

liturgy

Father – Your love is faithful through

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 1:3, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, Matthew 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Peter 1:2

Father – Your love is faithful through all generations Jesus – Your grace is extends from eternity into eternity. Spirit – Your presence knows no boundary or barrier. For that we praise you, Triune...

liturgy

Prayers for Lenten Season

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Isaiah 58:6-12, Romans 3:23-26, Ephesians 2:8-10, Psalm 139:23-24

Pastor: O Lord, in these Lenten days set our minds on Your things rather than the things of man, that we may listen for Your call and walk in Your ways. Lord, in Your mercy, People: hear o...

Quote

Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:10, John 1:16, Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 2:11-12

We can never sink so far that God’s grace will not reach us. At the same time, grace does not leave us there. It raises us to new heights.

liturgy

Dear Lord Jesus, we feel our sins. They

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 103:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:1, John 6:40, Romans 10:9-10, 1 John 1:9

Dear Lord Jesus, we feel our sins. They bite and gnaw and terrify us. Where shall we go? We will look to You, Lord Jesus, and believe in You. Although our faith is often weak, we look to You and find ...

illustration

Baptism Gives us Assurance in Our Faith

Author

Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Keywords

Baptism

Scripture

Zechariah 13:1, Ephesians 1:7, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27, Colossians 2:12, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21

For us, Jesus instituted two ongoing signs to confirm our confidence in the gospel of his grace, the first of which is baptism. Though simpler and less obviously supernatural than the ten plagues on E...

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