John on Rhythms

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Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, 1 Kings 19:11-12 , Ezekiel 37:9-10, Psalm 42:1-2 , Philippians 4:6-7, John 20:22

Breath has a rhythm to it, a cadence of inhales and exhales. Prayer has a rhythm too, a cadence of inhaling God’s grace and exhaling our fears.

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Embodiment as an Antidote to Screen Fatigue

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Exodus 20:8–10, 1 Kings 19:5–7, John 1:14, Matthew 11:28–29, Psalm 34:8

In this short excerpt, author Ashley Hales describes the disembodying reality of being glued to screens, and a few ways to become back in touch with our embodied selves: Perhaps we look to a scree...

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Joy With Flesh On

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:31, Exodus 16:4–5, Isaiah 40:31, Mark 10:14–15, John 15:5,11, Psalm 16:11

I have a photo of one of my children: on a day of pure sunshine, he is running down the hillside, leading with his chest, his smile and stride wide as his speed picks up. Running is pure delight. Agai...

blog

Finding the Right Pastoral Work–Life Balance: A Few Unbalanced Thoughts

Author

Dan Baumgartner

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:null

I might not be the best person to be writing this. After an eleven-year career in business in my twenties and early thirties, I’ve been an ordained pastor now for nearly twenty-seven years. There are...

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This Blasted Smartphone!

Author

Tony Reinke

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 63:1, Romans 12:2, John 4:13-14, Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, Exodus 32:1-6, Jeremiah 2:13

Tony Reinke does a great job capturing the deep ambivalence many of us feel about our smartphones in this short excerpt: This blasted smartphone! Pesk of productivity. Tenfold plague of beeps and ...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Author

Casey Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 1:29, 2 Timothy 2:8

Lent 2024: Do This in Remembrance Look to the Cross AIM commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Numbers 21:4-9

Author

Casey Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 9:15, 2 Timothy 2:8

Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages of the Old Testament were unique. We could then comfortably read their for...

Quote

Author

Eugene O’Neill

Scripture

John 10:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18, Romans 8:15, Isaiah 55:12

Why am I afraid to dance, I who love music and rhythm and grace and song and laughter? Why am I afraid to live, I who love life and the beauty of flesh and the living colors of the earth and sky and s...

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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 ...

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Rightly Tuning Grace and Truth

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

2 Samuel 12:1-13, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 4:15, Psalm 85:10, John 8:1-11, John 4:1-26

When a musical instrument’s strings go loose, it sounds awful. But you can also overtighten the strings, breaking them or creating discord. There’s a perfect tension to grace and truth, which makes th...

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Restlessnes Keeps the Pedal to the Metal

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:5, James 3:16, Mark 8:36, Luke 12:15, Isaiah 57:20, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 John 2:16

Restlessness keeps the pedal to the metal. To offer a suggestive analogy in this vein: several years ago there was a recall on some Toyota vehicles. Evidently the cars would be given to sudden and unc...

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Discipleship Begins with Active Listening

Author

Adam S. McHugh

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 , Matthew 4:19-20, John 10:27, Luke 11:28, Psalm 85:8

The interplay between listening and obedience expresses itself in our lives all the time. Sound has the ability to “command” us, to summon a response in us, forcing us to take notice. Unlike visual ...

liturgy

jobs concluding, stages finishing

Author

Ted Loder

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 43:18–19, Lamentations 3:22–23, John 12:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 4:4–5, Psalm 40:1–3

jobs concluding, stages finishing, grieving over, grudges over, blaming over, excuses over. O God, grant me your sense of timing. In this season of ...

Quote

Author

Washington Irving

Keywords

Christmas

Scripture

Luke 2:8-14, Acts 2:42-47, Matthew 14:13-21, John 2:1-11, Romans 15:7, 1 Peter 4:9, Luke 14:15-24, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, Luke 10:27, Hebrews 10:24-25

Now Christmas is come, Let us beat up the drum, And call all our neighbors together, And when they appear, Let us make them such cheer, As will keep out the wind and the weather.

liturgy

Advent Is

Author

Sarah Bourns Crosby

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 27:, John 1:1-18

Toes curled at the edge before jumping from the plane Bodies crouched in position before bursting from the gate Ballerinas posed behind the curtain front and center stage A child perched on sh...

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...

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 ...

Quote

Author

Jennifer Tucker

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Ezekiel 37:5-6, Job 33:4, Psalm 150:6 , Acts 17:25, John 20:22

Breathing is one of the few body processes that can be regulated both consciously and unconsciously. We cannot intentionally lower our heart rate or willfully regulate our blood pressure, but we can c...

Quote

Author

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Malachi 4:2, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Revelation 22:16, Psalm 30:5

Rise, happy morn, rise, holy morn Draw forth the cheerful day from night; O Father, touch the east, and light The light that shone when Hope was born.

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God's Joy Moves From Unmarked Box to Unmarked Box

Author

Anne Lamott

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, Isaiah 6:3, John 1:9-10, Colossians 1:16-17

"God's joy," said by the Persian mystic Rumi, "moves from unmarked box to unmarked box, from cell to cell. As rain water down into flower bed. As roses up from ground. Now it looks ...

liturgy

To the Trinity be praise! God is

Author

Hildegard von Bingen

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 1:3, Matthew 28:19-20, John 10:30, Matthew 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Peter 1:2

To the Trinity be praise! God is music, God is life that nurtures every creature in its kind. Our God is the song of the angel throng and the splendor of secret ways hid from all humankind, But God o...

Quote

Author

Edith Humphrey

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:14, Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Matthew 28:20, Acts 17:27-28

The great pattern of life is the ecstasy and intimacy of God, who went out of the self to the extreme point, and so dwells among us in an intimacy we can hardly imagine.

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Listen for the Flutes

Author

Stephen Macchia

Keywords

Scripture

John 10:3-5, Romans 10:17, Hebrews 5:14, 1 Kings 19:11-13, Isaiah 30:21

We must tune our ears to hear God’s voice. It’s like the child who was told by his father during a symphony orchestra concert, “Listen for the flutes in this song. Don’t they sound beautiful?” The chi...

liturgy

Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives

Author

Hildegard von Bingen

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Romans 8:10-11, John 16:13, Isaiah 11:2, Galatians 5:22-23

Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures, spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures, glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us. Composer of all ...

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The Oughts and Shoulds

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Desire

Scripture

Matthew 6:1-2, John 5:44, Romans 12:2, Galatians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Titus 3:4-7, Psalm 37:4

In her book Invitation to Retreat, Ruth Haley Barton shares some of the many insights she has had since she began intentionally taking inattentional retreats to re-connect with God and her own desires...

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What Are We Grasping For?

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:35, Romans 8:26, Psalm 42:3, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 26:38

Our culture is afraid of grief, but not just because it is afraid of death. That is natural and normal, a proper reaction to the Last Enemy. Our culture is afraid because it seems to be afraid of the ...

Quote

Author

Robert E. Webber

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:23-24, Matthew 25:35-40, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 96:7-9, Matthew 6:9-13, Hebrews 10:19-20

Ancient worship . . . does truth. All one has to do is to study the ancient liturgies to see that liturgies clearly do truth by their order and in their substance. This is why so many young people tod...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Ephesians 4:1-16 (Guide A)

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:1-16, 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Psalm 51:1-12, John 6:24-35, 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

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, there is no particular cri...

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Getting Your Money’s Worth

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:16, John 9:4, Isaiah 30:15, Habakkuk 2:20, Zechariah 2:13

In the last class I taught at Regent, an obviously irritated young woman came up to me and said, “Dr. Peterson, three times during your lecture you did not say anything for twenty seconds. I know beca...

liturgy

Lord, we come together in worship knowing all the storms

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25, Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 6:45-53, Matthew 14:22-34, John 6:15-21, Jonah 1:, Nahum 1:3, Psalm 107:29, Psalm 29:

Lord, we come together in worship knowing all the storms of our lives are still swirling and raging. We invite you to come, speak to our hearts in the same ways you spoke to the waves: “Quiet. Be Stil...

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