John on God's Character

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God’s Self-Revelation

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:13-14, Exodus 6:2-3, Isaiah 42:8, Exodus 33:19, John 17:6, 1 Kings 18:36-39, Exodus 34:5-7

There are no vowels in the Hebrew (YHWH), which makes it impossible to know exactly what the word is. Some old translations say ‘Jehovah’. Modern scholars tend to speak of ‘Yahweh’. When the word appe...

liturgy

God of power, love and wisdom: you’ve

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11, John 8:1-11, Acts 9:1-19, Luke 15:11-32, 2 Timothy 1:9-10, Titus 3:3-7, Romans 5:8

God of power, love and wisdom: you’ve known us and loved us from before we even were, and extended your grace to us before we knew your name. You save us from ourselves – from our arrogance, rebell...

liturgy

Prayer of Adoration Good and Gracious

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:16, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, Isaiah 43:25, 1 John 1:8-9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 139:1-4

Prayer of Adoration Good and Gracious Lord, You hold us in the palm of Your strong hand, working all things for our good and to Your glory. There is no place we can go that escapes your notice and i...

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Staying Quiet in a Noisy World

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:12, Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 26:41, Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:11-12, John 10:10

In the Critically acclaimed 2018 horror film A Quiet Place , Earth faces an alien invasion unlike any other. In the movie, the aliens behave like merciless monsters, using their lightning-fast sp...

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Our God is Great as God is Good

Author

Gardner C. Taylor

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:8, Psalm 90:2, James 1:17, Psalm 145:3, 1 John 4:8

The great African-American preacher Gardner Taylor, preacher of the Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn for over 40 years, begins one of his sermons with a paean to the God revealed to us in the 66 boo...

liturgy

Adapted from 1 John 4:7-16

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:7-16

“Dear friends, Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God…. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his So...

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A Trinitarian Deficit Disorder

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Luke 19:10

A student of mine, Josiah Brown, oversees the student outreach team. He and some of our students go to youth groups to teach the youth about Christian spiritual formation. They talk about what formati...

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A Trinitarian Deficit Disorder

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, John 10:30, 1 John 4:8-16, Romans 8:32

A student of mine, Josiah Brown, oversees the student outreach team. He and some of our students go to youth groups to teach the youth about Christian spiritual formation. They talk about what formati...

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“An Old Man with a White Beard”

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, John 14:9, Revelation 1:12-16, Philippians 2:5-7, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15-16

My friend and colleague Keas Keasler, who teaches a class on spiritual formation, recently asked the class to close their eyes and picture God. After a few moments he had them open their eyes and, if ...

liturgy

Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 1:23, James 4:10, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re sufficient in everything. You can create without us; save without our assistance; bring good out of evil, hope from despair and restore what we mess up. You’re soverei...

liturgy

Inspired by 1 John and John 20

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 20:null

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. But often, we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness. By doing so, we lie and do not live out the truth. We too easily claim t...

liturgy

The Lord calls to all to “Come and see” who He is

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:4, Isaiah 55:6-7 , Jonah 3:1-10, Ezekiel 6:25-27, John 1:35-39 , Psalm 66:16-20

Pastor: The Lord calls to all to “Come and see” who He is, repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ. Silence for personal confession. Pastor: Merciful God, People: we confess ...

liturgy

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Ephesians 4:32, James 5:15-16, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the author of change, who’s constantly doing “a new thing,” which makes us sit up and take notice. We admit, we’d be more comfortable with a pred...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Psalm 130

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 130:, 1 John 4:8, Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 107:

ANCIENT LENS What’s the historical context? Historical Background The Songs of Ascents celebrate the journey from Babylonian captivity to freedom in the homeland of Judah, and ultimately celebrat...

series

Psalm 130 | Waiting upon God

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 130:, 1 John 4:8, Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 107:

ANCIENT LENS What’s the historical context? Historical Background The Songs of Ascents celebrate the journey from Babylonian captivity to freedom in the homeland of Judah, and ultimately celebrat...

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Emotions are Divine: Why Pastors Need Biblical Permission to Feel

Author

David Lamb

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:35, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 6:1, Psalm 78:58, Psalm 78:40, Psalm 18:19, Psalm 25:6, Psalm 5:7, Exodus 20:5, Exodus 22:23, Isaiah 15:5, Luke 15:null, Genesis 23:2, Genesis 42:24, 1 Samuel 1:10, 2 Samuel 1:11-12, 2 Kings 8:11-12, 2 Kings 22:18-20, Mark 14:72, John 20:11, Acts 20:37, Revelation 5:4

When the Professor Weeps: A Personal Story About ten years ago, I was teaching a course on the psalms for my seminary students in the midst of a personal health crisis. It wasn’t in my notes, but I ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Hosea 1:10-20

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 1:10-20, Hosea 11:1-11, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Luke 12:13-21, John 1:13

The Good News or the Bad News? Which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Well, if you’re preaching Hosea these next two weeks, it doesn’t matter what you want. You’re getting the bad ...

lectionary

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 1:2-10, John 1:13

Preaching Commentary The Good News or the Bad News? Which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Well, if you’re preaching Hosea these next two weeks, it doesn’t matter what you want. ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Hosea 1:2-10

Author

Allen Thompson

Scripture

Hosea 1:2-10, John 1:13, Psalm 85:null, Genesis 18:20-32, Psalm 138:null, Hosea 1:null, Colossians 2:6-15, Luke 11:1-13, Colossians 1:15-28

The Good News or the Bad News? Which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Well, if you’re preaching Hosea these next two weeks, it doesn’t matter what you want. You’re getting the bad ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Ephesians 4:17-5:2

Author

Bradley Long

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:17-32, Ephesians 5:1-2, John 17:14-16

Context— Looking Ahead The next 2 weeks (Week 5 – 4:17-5:2; and Week 6 – 5:3-21) move into more of the practical application of what we’ve seen thus far in Ephesians. The week after that (Week 7 – ...

series

Ephesians 4:17-5:2 | Living the New Life

Author

Bradley Long

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:17-32, Ephesians 5:1-2, John 17:14-16

Context— Looking Ahead The next 2 weeks (Week 5 – 4:17-5:2; and Week 6 – 5:3-21) move into more of the practical application of what we’ve seen thus far in Ephesians. The week after that (Week 7 – ...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 10:40-42, John 20:21, Acts 1:18, 2 Peter 2:13, Luke 17:10, John 3:18, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 5:20, James 5:14, Colossians 3:17, Acts 3:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Acts 20:35

preaching commentary The Transitive Property of Welcoming In elementary school math you learn various basic principles of working with numbers…the commutative property, the associative property, th...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 10:40-42

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 10:40-42, John 20:21, Acts 1:18, 2 Peter 2:13, Luke 17:10, John 3:18, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 5:20, James 5:14, Colossians 3:17, Acts 3:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Acts 20:35

The Transitive Property of Welcoming In elementary school math you learn various basic principles of working with numbers…the commutative property, the associative property, the distributive property...

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Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9, John 4:1-26, Jonah 1:4, Luke 19:1-10, Hosea 1:3, Acts 9:1-19

I have come to know a God who has a soft spot for rebels, who recruits people like the adulterer David, the whiner Jeremiah, the traitor Peter, and the human-rights abuser Saul of Tarsus. I have come ...

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...

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, Isaiah 40:21-31

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:21-31, Deuteronomy 1:5, Deuteronomy 4:25-26, Deuteronomy 28:49-52, Leviticus 26:, Genesis 15:, Exodus 6:6-7, Leviticus 26:11-12, Jeremiah 30:22, John 8:34, Romans 6:17-18

Context A Dire Warning All the way back in the Pentateuch God warned the people of Israel that their residency in the promised land was predicated upon their obedience to the Torah . This can be ...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:21-31, Deuteronomy 1:5, Deuteronomy 4:25-26, Deuteronomy 28:49-52, Leviticus 26:null, Genesis 15:null, Exodus 6:6-7, Leviticus 26:11-12, Jeremiah 30:22, John 8:34, Romans 6:17-18

Preaching Commentary Context A Dire Warning All the way back in the Pentateuch God warned the people of Israel that their residency in the promised land was predicated upon their obedience to the ...

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Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:5-6, John 3:16-17, 1 John 1:9, Ezekiel 36:25-26, Romans 6:23

Defilement is what sin does to us; damnation is what sin introduces as our eternal end. Except for God’s intervention. We have needs, and God addresses our needs. Even our sin, the most destructive re...

liturgy

The God we worship is steady and faithful

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 55:8-9, Jeremiah 1:5, 1 John 4:19, Psalm 139:7-10, Psalm 42:11, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Leader: The God we worship is steady and faithful; People: Yet He continues to surprise us. Leader: Before we ever knew about God. People: He knew us and loved us. Leader: Even if we are...

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