Isaiah 54: 4 | The Pastor's Workshop

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Isaiah 5:1-7

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 8:8-16, Jeremiah 2:21, John 15:1-8, Hebrews 9:15

Ancient Lens “ What’s the historical context?” The Fruits of a Loving God Wine, grapes, vines, vineyards, fertile hillsides, are all products of a loving creator God. All are also elements of ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, John 6:35, 41-51

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:35, 41-51, Isaiah 54:13-14, Exodus 16:1-36, Numbers 11:1-9, 2 Samuel 18:5-33, Psalm 130:, 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:1-8, Ephesians 4:25-32, Ephesians 5:1-2

Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Back to the Wilderness As he has been doing, Jesus calls the people’s minds back to the wilderness during The Exodus and reminds them of the manna ...

lectionary

12th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:35, 41-51, Isaiah 54:13-14, Exodus 16:1-36, Numbers 11:1-9, 2 Samuel 18:5-33, Psalm 130:, 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:1-8, Ephesians 4:25-32, Ephesians 5:1-2

Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Back to the Wilderness As he has been doing, Jesus calls the people’s minds back to the wilderness during The Exodus and reminds them of the manna ...

lectionary

10th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 8:8-16, Jeremiah 2:21, John 15:1-8, Hebrews 9:15

AIM Commentary Ancient Lens “ What’s the historical context?” The Fruits of a Loving God Wine, grapes, vines, vineyards, fertile hillsides, are all products of a loving creator God. All are ...

illustration

Is our Capacity Set?

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:20-21 , Exodus 4:10-12, 2 Kings 4:1-7 , Isaiah 54:2-3 , Matthew 25:14-30 , Psalm 23:1-5

Too many people hear the word capacity and assume it’s a limitation. They assume their capacity is set—especially if they’re beyond a certain age. People give up on the idea that their capacity or the...

Quote

Author

Gregory Boyle

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Jeremiah 30:17, Job 19:19, Psalm 55:12-14, Isaiah 54:14

Part of the spirit dies a little each time it’s asked to carry more than its weight in terror, violence, and betrayal.

Quote

Author

Margaret Thatcher

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:22-23, 2 Timothy 4:16-17, Psalm 109:2-3, Isaiah 54:17, Romans 12:19, Proverbs 26:4-5

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

scripture guide

Scripture Guide Luke 6:17-26

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:17-26, Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 4:33, Luke 16:19-31, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 12:6, Isaiah 41:17, Zephaniah 3:12, Luke 4:18, James 4:8-10, Luke 5:11, 28, Luke 14:25-33, 1 Peter 4:14, Jeremiah 17:5-10, Jeremiah 6:13

The context The beatitudes are one of the most well-known aspects of Jesus teaching. As in the more familiar account in Matthew (5:1-12), Luke presents these words as Jesus’ first public teaching; hi...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:17-26, Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 4:33, Luke 16:19-31, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 12:6, Isaiah 41:17, Zephaniah 3:12, Luke 4:18, James 4:8-10, Luke 5:11, 28, Luke 14:25-33, 1 Peter 4:14, Jeremiah 6:13

Preaching Commentary The context The beatitudes are one of the most well-known aspects of Jesus teaching. As in the more familiar account in Matthew (5:1-12), Luke presents these words as Jesus’ fi...

illustration

When Fire Makes Things Grow

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Scripture

1 Peter 1:6-7, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Hebrews 12:11-13, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Zechariah 13:7-9, Daniel 3:, Isaiah 48:10

Trivia time! What natural disaster is the most destructive to a forest? Chances are that the first thing that comes to mind is a forest fire. After all, fire is pure destruction to plants. What possib...

illustration

Consolation Defined

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 12:15, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 46:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Ruth 1:16-18, John 11:32-35, John 14:1-4

The etymology of certain words can profoundly enrich our understanding and experience of life. Consider the word “consolation.” Its roots lie in the Latin words “con-” meaning “ “to be ” and “solus,...

liturgy

God of nations and Lord of all

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 15:5-6, Isaiah 58:10-11, Psalm 34:18-19, Matthew 5:4, Isaiah 41:10

God of nations and Lord of all creation: You were there at the beginning of time and at our beginning, and You will be there at the ending and when we finally come home. There is no time You are not t...

illustration

Entering the Darkroom

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:12, Romans 5:3-4, Isaiah 45:3, Ephesians 2:10

While we are now surrounded by a never-ending number of pixels with our smartphones, there once was a time where the process of developing photographs took something much more significant than pointin...

illustration

This is the Last of Earth

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:12, Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:1, Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7

John Quincy Adams, the son of the second president John Adams, dedicated his life to public service and the great American project, serving in numerous distinguished positions throughout his career. H...

illustration

There is an Ebb and a Flow

Author

Chuck Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, James 2:13, Psalm 46:1-2, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 103:8-10, Lamentations 3:22-23

Dear Lord, Today I thought of the words of Vincent Van Gogh. It is true that there is an ebb and flow but the sea remains the sea. You, oh God, are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs i...

illustration

Embracing Failure

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18-19, John 21:17, Luke 22:61-62, Romans 5:3-5, Micah 7:8, Psalm 73:26, Proverbs 24:16

A common trait of human beings is a fear of failure. Most of us find ways of coping with it, but whenever failure rears its ugly head, it’s difficult not to experience the sting of feeling like we are...

illustration

Making Pearls Out of Irritations

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Job 23:10, Psalm 119:71, Hebrews 12:11, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 5:3-5, Isaiah 48:10

Most of us are aware of the fact that pearls come from oysters, but do you know how they are formed? It all begins with an irritation. Some foreign particle, for example, a piece of sand, works its wa...

Quote

Author

Abraham J. Heschel

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Job 23:10

Faith like Job’s cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken.

Quote

Author

Nancy Ortberg

Keywords

Faith

Scripture

Isaiah 43:2, Hebrews 12:11, Psalm 46:1, 2 Timothy 1:7-8, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 1:6-7

Someone once said that faith is not a personal possession until you have suffered. That person understood that the very nature of faith requires the grit and courage to be in the dark so you can event...

Quote

Author

Oswald Chambers

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:67, Isaiah 48:10, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Philippians 3:10, Romans 5:3-5

We all know people who have been made much meaner and more irritable and more intolerable to live with by suffering: it is not right to say that all suffering perfects. It only perfects one type of pe...

Quote

Author

Rainer Maria Rilke

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:4, Philippians 3:13-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Psalm 30:5, Romans 5:3-5

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.

Quote

Author

Charles F. Stanley

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 34:19

Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God's most effective tool for the advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 5:1-11

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Isaiah 6:1-8, Jeremiah 16:14-21, Jeremiah 16:16

Peter's and Isaiah's Confessions Jesus calling the disciples from their fishing appears in Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20, and Luke 5:1-11. Yet only Luke makes the beautiful connection between...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Isaiah 6:1-8, Jeremiah 16:14-21, Jeremiah 16:16

Preaching Commentary Peter's and Isaiah's Confessions Jesus calling the disciples from their fishing appears in Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20, and Luke 5:1-11. Yet only Luke makes the beaut...

Quote

Author

Mark Buchanan

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:15-16, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Hebrews 12:1-2

A typical response to threat and burden is to want to flee it. It’s evacuation as the cure for trouble. If only I could get away is our mantra. Then I would be safe. Then I could enjoy my life. But wh...

liturgy

Creator God, our Source and our Home

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 4:18-19, Galatians 5:22-23, Genesis 1:1-2 , Isaiah 61:1-3, Micah 6:8

Leader: Creator God, our Source and our Home, we belong to you. All: We praise you, and we gather to worship you and give our lives to you. Living Christ, you establish justice, overthrow the ...

liturgy

Let us pray for the whole Church of God

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Kings 5:1-14 , Jeremiah 33:6, Luke 4:18-21, James 5:14-15, Psalm 103:2-4

Leader: Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Brief silence Leader: Heavenly Father, with joy the Church continues to celebra...

illustration

Imagining the Kingdom

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25, Micah 4:1-4, Exodus 3:7-10 , Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 146:7-9

Author and Episcopal priest Stephanie Spellers suggests that instead of imagining a kingdom, a better way for us to understand what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of this script, this new way of livi...

illustration

Is there any Hope?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Job 14:7-9, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:21-23 , Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Psalm 130:5-6

In his book The Grand Essentials , Ben Patterson recounts the story of an S-4 submarine that sank off the coast of Massachusetts, leaving its entire crew trapped inside. Despite numerous rescue a...

illustration

Reducing God to Manageable Terms

Author

A. W. Tozer

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1-6 , 1 Samuel 4:3-10, Isaiah 40:18-25, Matthew 16:13-20, Acts 5:1-11 , Psalm 115:4-8

A. W. Tozer once wrote, Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a ...