Hebrews on The Epiphany

lectionary

Epiphany of the Lord

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Matthew 2:1-12, Hebrews 7:1-2, Genesis 14:8, John 10:10-14

Context Psalm 72 is one of two psalms (along with 127) that is attributed to Solomon, and it fits within a slightly larger group of psalms traditionally considered “royal psalms,” perhaps used as cor...

liturgy

As those three magi brought you gifts,

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 10:9, 1 John 1:9

As those three magi brought you gifts, we are reminded of your majesty, oh Christ. You are the savior of the world who embraced human frailty that we might receive salvation. We ask your forgiveness f...

lectionary

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 42:1-4, Hebrews 12:2, Genesis 1:3, Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 8:3, Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8

Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness....

liturgy

God of light and truth, you are beyond

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

God of light and truth, you are beyond our grasp or conceiving. Before the brightness of your presence the angels veil their faces. With lowly reverence and adoring love we acclaim your glory and sing...

lectionary

Baptism of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 1:4-11, Mark 1:1-3, Isaiah 40:3, Mark 2:7, Philippians 2:7, Isaiah 53:null, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 8:9

Preaching Commentary Enter John the Baptist John the Baptist enters the stage in Mark 1 as the “voice of one crying in the wilderness,” (Isaiah 40:3) whose message and ministry is to “prepare the w...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Psalm 72:1-14

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 72:1-14, Matthew 2:1-12, Hebrews 7:1-2, Genesis 14:8, John 10:10-14

Preaching Angles Having celebrated Christ’s reign on Christ the King Sunday in November and having sung (most likely) to the “King of kings” (forever and ever!) in the Hallelujah Chorus at some poi...

liturgy

O Lord our God, who first made light to

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, John 1:1-14, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

O Lord our God, who first made light to shine out of darkness and now awakens us again to praise your goodness and ask for your grace: accept now, in your boundless mercy, the offering of our worship ...

liturgy

Assurance of Pardon for Christmas

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Malachi 4:2, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:16, Titus 2:11, John 1:16, Isaiah 9:6

Leader: People of God, rejoice! The sun of righteousness has dawned with healing in His wings. To us a Child has been born; to us God’s Son has been given! His eternal reign has broken throug...

Quote

Author

Charles Wesley

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 2:9, Revelation 21:3, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 8:9

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel

illustration

A Dream of Immanuel

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 2:14, John 3:16

When he was a young boy, twelfth-century church leader Bernard of Clairvaux fell asleep outside a church while waiting to go in for a Christmas Eve service. In his sleep he had a dream, a kind of visi...

Quote

Author

Austin Farrar

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Revelation 21:1-3, Matthew 4:4 , Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 1:3

Even in another life, as St. John sees it in his vision, we do not rise to God, but he descends to us, and dwells humanly among human creatures, in the glorious man, Jesus Christ. And that will be his...

illustration

Humble

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-8, Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 53:2-3, John 13:4-5, Hebrews 2:14-17, Luke 22:27, Mark 10:42-45

Humble. Before Jesus, almost no pagan author had used “humble” as a compliment. Yet the events of Christmas point inescapably to what seems like an oxymoron: a humble God. The God who came to earth ca...

liturgy

Lord, you came to dwell among us, yet

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 53:3, Luke 24:15-16, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25:37-40, John 1:10-11

Lord, you came to dwell among us, yet we did not recognize you. We still fail to recognize you. You show up in unexpected places and through unexpected people. We fail to see you in the people who are...

liturgy

Almighty God, you have surprised us

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 13:44, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:7-10, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 2:1-20, John 4:7-26, John 21:1-14, Luke 24:13-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 2:25-38, Luke 1:35-38, Hebrews 13:2, Isaiah 43:19

Almighty God, you have surprised us with your presence in unexpected ways. In the expectations of our routine, we have missed the treasure that you place before us. We come to worship you in community...

Quote

Author

Jeremy Begbie

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:34-35 , Philippians 2:8, Isaiah 53:3-5, Hebrews 2:14-15, Isaiah 9:6 , Galatians 4:4-5 , Romans 6:23

Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single most dangerous feature of our Church and culture-and the senti...

Quote

Author

Kathleen Norris

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:53-56, Matthew 26:26-28, Colossians 1:19-20, Hebrews 2:14-15, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Philippians 2:6-8

The Incarnation [and I might add Communion] remains a scandal to anyone who wants religion to be a purely spiritual matter, an etherized, bloodless bliss.

illustration

Our Christmas is Complete

Author

Tsh Oxenreider

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:15, Hebrews 13:2, Luke 2:7

There is a story from Czech bishop Monsignor Hnilica of a Christmas Eve with Saint Teresa of Calcutta. There was a knock on the convent’s door during their simple but festive dinner, and the nun who w...

liturgy

Father, in this holy night Your Son our Savior

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-25, Romans 8:38-39, Hebrews 1:3, Galatians 4:4-5, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14

Pastor: Father, in this holy night Your Son our Savior was born in human flesh. Renew Your Church as the Body of Christ. People: Holy God, hear our prayer. Pastor: In this holy night...

blog

Keeping Christ at the Center

Author

Dan Baumgartner

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4, John 1:18, John 10:30, John 14:9

Christmas in May I’m pretty sure it was Stephen Covey, back in the day ( The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People ) who originally said, “The main thing is to let the main thing be the main thing...

liturgy

The Child of Glory, the Child of Mary

Author

Calvin Miller

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:7, Philippians 2:7, Hebrews 2:9, Genesis 15:

The Child of glory, The Child of Mary, Born in the stable; The King of all, Who came to the wilderness And in our stead suffered; Happy they are counted Who to Him are near. When He Himself sa...

Quote

Author

Luci Shaw

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 1:30-33, Isaiah 7:14, Hebrews 2:14-15, Luke 1:38, Luke 2:19

And when she, birth-giver— her ordinary vision arrowed down between her legs, through pain and straw, to her son’s dark, slime-streaked hair, to his very skin, red with the struggle of being born—she ...

illustration

Coming Down

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 2:14-15, Colossians 1:19-20, 2 Corinthians 8:9

C.S. Lewis on the Incarnation: We catch sight of a new key principle—the power of the Higher, just in so far as it is truly Higher, to come down, the power of the greater to include the less. . . . ...

Quote

Author

Ben Jonson

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:9, Luke 2:15-20, John 8:12, Hebrews 1:6, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 27:1, Luke 2:25-35

I sing the birth was born tonight, The author both of life and light, The angels so did sound it; And like the ravished shepherds Said, Who saw the light, and were afraid, Yet sarched, and tru they fo...

Quote

Author

Richard Rohr

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:2, Romans 12:1, James 1:27, Colossians 3:17, Micah 6:8

Let’s state it clearly: One great idea of the biblical revelation is that God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concrete incarnations of life, and not throug...

liturgy

God of majesty and power, Who spoke and

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-3, Genesis 2:7, Matthew 10:30, Psalm 139:1-4, Romans 5:8, Luke 19:1-10, Hebrews 13:15

God of majesty and power, Who spoke and this world was, Who breathed and this world lived, Who counts the hairs upon our head, Who sees our thoughts and reads our hearts, Who loves us more than we des...

Quote

Author

G. K. Chesterton

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:7, Matthew 8:20, Isaiah 52:2-3, Hebrews 13:2, John 14:2-3, Micah 5:2

Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.

Quote

Author

John F. Walvoord

Keywords

The Incarnation

Scripture

Hebrews 12:2, John 17:5, Romans 8:3, Isaiah 53:5, Hebrews 2:14-15

To achieve the divine purpose of becoming the Savior, the divine glory needed to be veiled. Christ voluntarily, moment by moment, submitted to human limitations apart from sin. The humiliation was tem...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 4:12-23

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 42:1-4, Hebrews 12:2, Genesis 1:3, Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 8:3, Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8

Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. I can’t imagine a 40 d...

Quote

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:15-17, John 1:14, Micah 5:2, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Isaiah 57:15, Hebrews 1:3

“It seems, then,” said Tirian, smiling himself, “that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places.” “Yes,” said the Lord Digory. “Its inside is bigger than it...

Quote

Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 1:14, Revelation 22:12, Hebrews 13:8, Galatians 4:4-5, Micah 5:2

Christmas is fast approaching. And now that Christ has aroused our seasonal expectations, he’ll soon fulfill them all!

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