Galatians on Going To Church

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The Pastor’s Visit

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 150:1-6, Acts 2:42, Psalm 122:1, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 18:20, Colossians 3:16

The story is told of a man who had gone to church for several years but suddenly stopped attending. His pastor dropped by one evening unannounced. The man answered the door and invited him in. Of cour...

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The Language of God

Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:4-11, Galatians 3:28, 2 Corinthians 4:13, Ephesians 2:13-22, Philippians 1:27, Romans 12:5; 1

Writing to his parents while imprisoned on the day of Pentecost, the German Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this: At the tower of Babel all the tongues were confounded, and as a result men could no longe...

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Christian Geese

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Romans 13:11, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Galatians 4:9, Hebrews 5:12; 12:1, 1 Peter 2:9

The Danish philosopher and contrarian Soren Kierkegaard once compared Christians of his time to a flock of geese in a barnyard. Every week, they listened to an eloquent speaker who recounted the stori...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Jeremiah 1:4-10

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:4-10, Isaiah 6:null, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 4:10-12, Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:15, Ephesians 4:12

Calling People often give me weird looks when I talk about being “called” by God. A pastor can be “called” to devote their working time to shepherding a church. A parent can be “called” to invest in ...

lectionary

11th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:4-10, Isaiah 6:null, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 4:10-12, Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:15, Ephesians 4:12

Preaching Commentary Calling People often give me weird looks when I talk about being “called” by God. A pastor can be “called” to devote their working time to shepherding a church. A parent can be...

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A Deeper Understanding of Death to Self

Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

Carrying our Cross

Scripture

Galatians 2:19

A Lutheran pastor friend—the Reverend Bill Vaswig—and I once were discussing Galatians 2:19 and wondering what it means to be crucified with Christ. I mean, what are we actually talking about? Bill sa...

liturgy

Go in peace to love and serve the

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 13:28, John 13:12-17, Micah 6:8, Matthew 28:19-20, Galatians 5:13, Philippians 4:7

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

lectionary

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:1-6, 7-16, 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

preaching commentary A Tough Way to Start Ministry You don’t have to spend much time on Twitter or Facebook to be reminded that schadenfreude (taking joy from another's misfortune) is alive a...

lectionary

17th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a, James 3:13-18, James 4:1-3, 7-8, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null, Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54:null, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null

Preaching Commentary James' Intent James, the brother of Jesus, the leader of the earliest Christian church in Jerusalem, writes this letter to scattered Jewish believers who were going through...

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How Transformation Happens

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:11-14, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:1-2, Colossians 3:3-4, John 8:34-36, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 8:15-16

In The Good and Beautiful God , James Bryan Smith describes a new Christian he happened to know who came to him one day feeling dejected. He was so excited to be a follower of Jesus, but he just co...

lectionary

First Sunday after Christmas

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 4:4-7

Preaching Commentary Risk, Salvation, and the Fullness of Time Pharaoh’s daughter took a huge risk to raise and protect the child of a Hebrew slave, a child who should have been killed because of h...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide James 3:13-4:3; 7-8a

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:13-4:3; 7-8a, James 3:13-18, James 4:1-3, 7-8, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null, Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54:null, James 1:16-27, Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 37:4, James 4:3, Philippians 2:1-5, Psalm 121:null, Psalm 30:null

James' Intent James, the brother of Jesus, the leader of the earliest Christian church in Jerusalem, writes this letter to scattered Jewish believers who were going through very difficult times. ...

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Cruciform Love

Author

Brett McCracken

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 22:51, 1 Corinthians 16:null, 2 Corinthians 8:null, Galatians 2:null

Cruciform love is welcoming the immigrant simply because they bear the image of God, even if the only thing they bring to us is hassle and possible harm. Cruciform love is praying for those who persec...

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Fathers and Faith

Author

Lee Strobel

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:6-8, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Mark 10:17-22, Galatians 2:16

In his book The Case for Grace , pastor and author Lee Strobel describes a dream he had as a child after having a significant argument with his father. Strobel does what most of us would do at that...

lectionary

10th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:1-16, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 68:18, Philippians 2:5-11, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Acts 14:4, Romans 16:7, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 1:19, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:6, Romans 12:3-5, 1 Corinthians 12:14-27

Preaching Commentary Background to the Letter and Passage Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was probably intended for wider distribution and use among the various churches around Ephesus. As such, the...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Galatians 6:1-16

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:1-16, 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

A Tough Way to Start Ministry You don’t have to spend much time on Twitter or Facebook to be reminded that schadenfreude (taking joy from another's misfortune) is alive and well. Depending on w...

liturgy

Holy God, we confess that we have been

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:22-23, James 2:17, Romans 12:1-2, Revelation 3:15-16

Holy God, we confess that we have been lukewarm about living our faith in Jesus each day. We put off to tomorrow what we know in our hearts you want to happen today. We go through the motions of relig...

liturgy

Living And Loving Like Jesus

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Matthew 28:18-20, Galatians 2:20, Psalm 19:

Pastor: We who have been given new birth into a living hope, are sent now into the world - People: to look, live and love more like Jesus. Pastor: Go in peace to serve the Lord! Pe...

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A Different Approach to Baptism

Author

Bob Beasley

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:27, 1 Peter 3:21

Pastor Bob Beasley recounts this story: Our three-year-old daughter, Rena, sat with us during the baptismal service last Sunday night, which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, ...

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Scene Stealing through Pride

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:30, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Matthew 23:1-12, Galatians 6:14

One of the cardinal rules of improvisational theater is that actors must never steal scenes. In her book Improvisation for the Theater , Viola Spolin bluntly puts it this way: “Any player who ‘st...

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Changing Direction

Author

Fred Rogers

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:3-4, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 20:26-28, 1 John 3:18, 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

There was a story going around about the Special Olympics. For the hundred-yard dash, there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assembled at ...

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Defining the Gospel

Author

Carl Medearis

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Acts 4:12, Colossians 1:15-20, Galatians 2:21, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 6:23

I’ve been reading Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What . Miller took this point to an even further extreme. In his book, he tells a story about one occasion when he was speaking to a class at...

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Sticking With One Another

Author

Thomas G. Long

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-7, Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 23:4, Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:7-8, Romans 12:15, John 15:13

Robert Wuthnow told a story about a man named Jack Casey, who worked as a member of an ambulance rescue squad. When he was a child, Jack had oral surgery - five teeth pulled. The little guy was terrif...

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Finding Your Blue Flame

Author

Jennifer Fulwiler

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 1:6, Psalm 37:4, Galatians 6:9-10, Matthew 5:14-16, Colossians 3:23-24

I had just started dating my husband, Joe, when I met international speaker and bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi. He was a friend of Joe’s …but on this day he was an intimidating public figure. I wan...

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From Mediocre to Super Bowl Champions

Author

Bill Robinson

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 23:11-12, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Peter 5:2-3, James 1:19, Proverbs 15:1, Philippians 2:3-4

On Monday morning, February 2008, every sports page in the world heralded the New York Giants’ astonishing Super Bowl upset over the undefeated New England Patriots. And the big story within the story...

lectionary

15th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:1-17, James 1:27, Galatians 3:16, Colossians 3:11, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 3:25

Preaching Commentary A Highly Practical Text Often we come to scripture passages that require a bit of interpretive twists and turns to find ways of connecting the text to our modern-day lives in t...

lectionary

20th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:28-32, 33-44, Matthew 20:1-16, Matthew 24:null, Galatians 3:8

Preaching Commentary Kingdom Reversals This parable of Jesus is like the other two before it (cf., Matt. 21:28–32, 33–44) in that its focus is on kingdom reversals. Continuing the theme begun in Ma...

liturgy

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 2:19-22, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 2:9

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church has assembled. People: We are one body, with Christ as our head. Leader: What kind of body is this? People: The Body of Christ, brought together not by huma...

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What We Preach

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 2:4-5, Colossians 1:18, Philippians 2:8-11, Galatians 1:6-9, 1 Corinthians 2:2

A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. Over time, two things happened: the church lost its passion for Jesus and His gospel, and ivy began to grow on the a...

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...

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