Luke on Leadership

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The Art of Followship

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Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:16, Philippians 2:5-7, John 13:34-35, Matthew 11:29, Mark 8:34-35, Luke 9:23

Editor’s Note: The following illustration came from one of my own (Stu’s) sermons, as I was trying to help the congregation make a paradigm shift from the church as a building, to the people of God: ...

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Power is for Service

Author

Spiritual Disciplines

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Scripture

Luke 22:27, Matthew 23:11, Philippians 2:5-7, Galatians 5:13, John 13:14-15, Mark 10:45

The way most of us serve keeps us in control. We choose whom, when, where and how we will serve. We stay in charge. Jesus is calling for something else. He is calling us to be servants. When we make t...

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Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 19:1-10, Proverbs 25:21-22, Luke 6:27-28, Matthew 5:44-45, Romans 5:8

If you want to impact someone’s life, love them when they least expect it and least deserve it.

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Author

Henry Drummond

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:10, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 John 4:7-8

Is life not full of opportunities for learning love? Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them. The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. A...

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Rescuing His Pursuer

Author

Ronald A. Wells

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:8, John 13:1-17, Acts 7:54-60, Luke 23:34, 1 Peter 2:21-23, Romans 12:20-21, Matthew 5:43-44

In sixteenth-century Holland, the Mennonites were outlawed and, when caught, often executed. One of them, Dirk Willens, was being chased across an icefield when his pursuer broke through and fell in. ...

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Maundy Thursday | John 13:1-17, 31b-35 | A New Commandment

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-35, Luke 22:25-27, Matthew 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45

Reflection We all are aware of cultures that have a hierarchy—a pecking order. The elite and the hoi polloi. The acceptable and the unacceptable. In such cultures, the hierarchy determines the role. ...

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Humble

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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...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Author

Geoff Helton

Keywords

Scripture

John 10:11-18, John 9:null, Genesis 4:2-4, Numbers 14:33, 1 Samuel 16:11, 2 Samuel 5:2, Isaiah 56:11, Zechariah 10:2, Jeremiah 23:1-2, Jeremiah 50:6, Zechariah 10:2-3, John 10:11-18, Ezekiel 34:11-16, Psalm 23:, Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 18:12-14, John 13:1, John 15:13, John 9:34-35

Preaching Commentary Context Signs and Dialogue There’s a reoccurring pattern in Johns’s Gospel in which Jesus performs a sign, which is followed by dialogue and then commentary from Jesus that pr...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6

Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to John’s Gospel that begins ...

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Free us, Lord, from our obsession with

Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 16:24, Acts 2:44-45, James 2:14-17, Mark 10:43-45, 1 John 3:17-18, John 13:14-15, Isaiah 58:6-7

Free us, Lord, from our obsession with ourselves long enough to care for others; to be so concerned about the well-being of the human community that me don’t have to worry about our place, our church,...

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Author

Dorothy Day

Keywords

Love

Scripture

1 John 4:7-8, Luke 10:25-37, Romans 13:8, John 13:34-35, 1 John 4:16, 1 Corinthians 13:13

The final word is love.

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Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

Leviticus 19:18 , Ruth 1:16–17, 1 Samuel 18:1–4 , John 13:34–35, Luke 7:36–50 , Psalm 136:

The new command is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate, profound enough that the most mature believers are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it i...

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Discipleship is like Learning a Language through Immersion

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Luke 9:23-24, Mark 8:34, John 13:34-35, Colossians 1:28-29, 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 Corinthians 4:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, Hebrews 6:11-12

One of the fastest ways to learn a language is by immersion . This term can mean a few different things, but the basic idea in all of them is that you are exposed to that language in your social inte...

lectionary

Pentecost

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15, John 15:26-27, John 16:4-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, Hebrews 12:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6

Preaching Commentary Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to Jo...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday in Lent, Liturgy of the Palms

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 26:14-27:66, Luke 22:3, John 13:2, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-4

AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Betrayal and Supper Judas’ motivation for betraying Jesus is not clear in Matthew and Mark. It certainly was not the ...

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Author

Karl Barth

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 8:1-4, Luke 7:36-50, Acts 2:44-47, John 13:12-15, Luke 10:25-37

Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.

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Pastor: Lord Jesus Christ, in this world of unrest and strife

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:16, Ruth 1:16-17, Matthew 9:9--13, Luke 10:25-37, 1 Corinthians 12:, John 13:34-35, Acts 2:42-47

Pastor: Lord Jesus Christ, in this world of unrest and strife You founded Your holy Christian Church through faith as a kingdom of peace and joy. You have established this worldwide communion of sai...

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Kin and Kindness: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 2:11, John 1:14, Luke 10:33-36, John 13:14-15, Titus 3:4-5, Galatians 3:28, Luke 15:20

I started reading The Kindness of God by Catholic theologian and philosopher Janet Soskice. In her examination of the etymology of the word kindness, Soskice helped me see it for the first time as...

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O God, your mercy is infinite and in

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Scripture

John 13:1-17, Luke 15:11-32, Acts 9:1-19, Matthew 26:36-46, Romans 1:16, Zephaniah 3:17, John 14:27

O God, your mercy is infinite and in your will is our peace. We learn your way so slowly; we choose your will so reluctantly. In this season of learning the limitlessness of your love, help us throug...

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The Boodle Feast

Author

Rick Love

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:28, 1 Peter 4:9, Matthew 25:35, Luke 14:12-14, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2

In his helpful book Peace Catalysts , Rick Love shares a poignant example of how sharing a meal can break down the familiar walls of status, power, and economics: In 2011, my wife, Fran, and I we...

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Author

St. Thomas Aquinas

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:10-11, John 13:1-17, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:25-37, Romans 12:9-10

To love is to will the good of another. .

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Palm Sunday | Mark 11:1-11 | A Different Kind of Triumph

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-35, Luke 22:25-27, Matthew 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45

Reflection Most of us are familiar with the words attributed to the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, “ Veni, Vidi, Vici .” I came. I saw. I conquered. That is the way of imperial rulers in their conquest...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:14, Luke 10:25-37, John 13:34-35, 1 John 3:18, Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 Corinthians 14:1

Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does.

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:1-12, 1 Peter 4:8-10, Acts 9:36-42, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:35-40, Galatians 6:2

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. Th...

liturgy

Adapted from Luke 22:15-16, John 13:34-35, John 3:14-17, Hebrews 10:19-22

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 22:15-16, John 13:34-35, John 3:14-17, Hebrews 10:19-22

Grace to You and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by hi...

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Author

Fred Rogers

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:19, Ruth 1:16-18, John 13:12-17, Luke 10:25-37, John 4:1-26

Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.

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Author

Donald Grey Barnhouse

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:1-11, Psalm 113:5-8, Romans 5:8, Philippians 2:6-8, John 13:14-15, Luke 15:11-32

Love that reaches up is adoration. Love that reaches out is affection. But love that stoops is grace.

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Author

William Barclay

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 20:28, Philippians 2:5-8, John 13:14-15, Mark 14:36, Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 7:1-10

He did not desire to dominate men; He desired only to serve men. He did not desire His own way; He desired only God’s way.

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Love Does not Insist on Its Own Way

Author

Dave Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Philippians 2:3-4, Colossians 3:12-14, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, Genesis 37:50, 1 Peter 4:8

Once, while on vacation, on our way to church, Terri and I got into a disagreement over something. When I felt I was losing, to make my point, I stopped the car and got out. We were on a country road....

liturgy

Creator of all things, Alpha and

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-4, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, John 4:1-26, John 14:16-17, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Isaiah 61:1

Creator of all things, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Father, Shepherd, Servant, Brother, Priest and King. Whose love poured out mends broken hearts. Whose wounded hands reach out to all. Whose S...

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