Luke 1: 44 | The Pastor's Workshop

liturgy

God is our provider, our protector, and our salvation

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-13, Mark 1:12-13

Leader: God is our provider, our protector, and our salvation. The voice of the world says: “Turn to me to provide you food, shelter, and everything you need.” People: The Word of God is our bread....

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Should We Trust the Virgin Birth?

Author

Malcolm Muggeridge

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 18:10-14 , Isaiah 7:14 , Exodus 4:1-5, Psalm 139:13-16 , Luke 1:26-38, John 20:24-29, Matthew 1:22-25

To a twentieth-century mind the notion of a virgin birth is intrinsically and preposterously inconceivable. If a woman claims–such claims are made from time to time–to have become pregnant without sex...

liturgy

Gracious God, with joy and thanksgiving we gather as Your people

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 1:18-25, Galatians 4:4-6, Luke 2:1-20, Philippians 4:7, Romans 5:1, Micah 5:2, John 1:14

Pastor: Gracious God, with joy and thanksgiving we gather as Your people to ponder anew the timeless story of Christ’s birth. For at just the right time, You worked in the most unlikely ways to fulf...

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St. Anthony, the Great Desert Monk

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:21, Isaiah 30:15, Mark 1:35, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13

St. Anthony, the “father of monks,” is the best guide in our attempt to understand the role of solitude in ministry. Born around 251, Anthony was the son of Egyptian peasants. When he was about eighte...

liturgy

O God, who looked on us when we had

Author

Ambrose of Milan

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 1:26-38, Titus 2:13-14, Galatians 4:4-5, John 1:14

O God, who looked on us when we had fallen down into death, and resolved to redeem us by the Advent of your only begotten Son; grant, we beg you, that those who confess his glorious Incarnation may al...

liturgy

Sovereign God. your power and your

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 5:8-14, Luke 1:46-55, Isaiah 6:1-8, Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 100:4-5, Ephesians 2:4-5

Sovereign God. your power and your glory are beyond our understanding; your mercy is vast and your tenderness without end. Look in love upon us assembled in this house of prayer, and show your mercy a...

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The Master of the Universe Born a Baby

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 1:17-18, Luke 1:38, John 1:14, Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:45, Galatians 4:4-5

The promised Messiah, whose voice sounds like rushing waters, who holds the key to death and Hades, also grew in secret in Mary’s womb. He kicked and elbowed as all babies do, and came at the appointe...

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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What is a Christian?

Author

Bill Rodenberg

Keywords

Christians

Scripture

2 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:18, Mark 5:19, Luke 14:23, Acts 1:8, Matthew 5:16, Luke 8:16, Philippians 2:15, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-8, Psalm 12:6-8, Psalm 91:1-2, Luke 8:39, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 5:13, 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Timothy 3:1-5

The word “Christian” has lost much of its meaning in our culture. It means “Christ in one.” As you communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ, this is what God expects of a Christian: He expects us to...

Quote

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...

Quote

Author

Dave Barry

Keywords

Alcohol

Scripture

Romans 14:17, Luke 7:34, Isaiah 25:6, Proverbs 3:10, John 2:10, 1 Timothy 4:4

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.

liturgy

Benediction (inspired by Luke 19: 1-10)

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 4:40, 1 John 4:19, Colossians 1:27-29

You can heal, Christ has touched you. You can love, Christ has sought you. You can give yourself away. Christ has come walking and called you. You can break the barriers from which others suff...

lectionary

First Sunday after Christmas

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:22-40, Leviticus 12:null, Exodus 13:1-16, Luke 2:47, Luke 2:51

Preaching Commentary Unexpected Circumstances Strange days, unexpected times: a belief-defying announcement of a pregnancy, a wearying journey to be taxed, an uncomfortable birthing bed in a hewn...

lectionary

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 2:3, Romans 5:10, Luke 5:31, Matthew 10:30, 1 Peter 5:8, Psalm 73:4-7, 13, 18-20

Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Wheat and Weeds Grow Even in the Church God’s good creation grows food for all living creatures. God made the Earth, God made all the plants, and God made all ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Mark 4:35-41 (Guide A)

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, Jonah 1:, Psalm 107:23-32, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25

Peter's Perspective? While this narrative of Jesus calming the storm occurs in Matthew (8:23-27) and Luke (8:22-25), Mark’s account in 4:35-41 is the fullest account of that day. This has led som...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Mark 4:35-41 (Guide B)

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, Psalm 107:, Jonah 1:, Genesis 1:, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25, Psalm 74:14, Psalm 104:26, Genesis 1:21

Note: This was originally part of a guide for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (RCL Year B) , which includes Job 38:1-11 and Mark 4:35-11. I have adapted the discussion of each of these two...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Guide B)

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, Job 38:1-11, Psalm 107:, Jonah 1:, Genesis 1:, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25, Psalm 74:14, Psalm 104:26, Genesis 1:21

A Sopping Wet Week in the Lectionary Today’s readings are thoroughly wet. In Job, God is master of the sea, Psalm 107 concerns mariners in the storm, Paul is a little drier, but still gets shipwrecke...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Guide A)

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, Jonah 1:, Psalm 107:23-32, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25

Peter's Perspective? While this narrative of Jesus calming the storm occurs in Matthew (8:23-27) and Luke (8:22-25), Mark’s account in 4:35-41 is the fullest account of that day. This has led som...

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...

illustration

Humor Preludes Faith and Begins Prayer

Author

Os Guinness

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:22, Luke 6:21, Philippians 4:4, 1 Peter 1:8, Nehemiah 8:10

Humor points to faith in that both humor and faith spring up in response to the reality of the paradox and the incongruities at the heart of human experience. But while humor responds well to the lowe...

liturgy

Go, as God's people of joy

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:1-10, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 118:24, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Go, as God’s people of joy, carrying in your hearts the good news that our God delights to seek and save all who are lost. May you know how deeply Christ values each and every person who you encounter...

liturgy

Lord God, you call us but we do not always hear

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 1:9, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:4, Luke 9:26, Matthew 9:26, Mark 8:38

Leader: Lord God, you call us but we do not always hear. Sometimes your word comes to us in unexpected ways. Sometimes we mistake your voice for something else. Sometimes we just don’t want to listen....

Quote

Author

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:3-10 , 1 Samuel 15:13-24 , Isaiah 29:13-15 , Luke 18:9-14, James 2:10-13 , Psalm 32:3-5

We readily confess our little faults in order to suggest that we have no big ones.

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We need a Different Kind of Testimony

Author

Emily P. Freeman

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-16, 1 Samuel 16:6-13, Jonah 3:4 , Luke 15:25-32, Philippians 3:4-9, Psalm 103:8-12

In her book, Grace for the Good Girl , Emily P. Freeman charts her early years growing up in the church believing in grace but living according to the rules of perfection. One thing that would, a...

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Stepping Over our Wounds

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:6-7, 1 Samuel 1:6-8, 18 , Luke 15:28-32, Jonah 4:1-4 , Ephesians 4:31-32, Psalm 55:22

Sometimes we have to “step over” our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there...

Quote

Author

Garrison Keillor

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 11:4 , Ecclesiastes 4:4, 1 Samuel 18:6-9 , Matthew 6:1-2 , Luke 10:38-42, Psalm 127:1-2

I lust after recognition, I am desperate to win all the little merit badges and trinkets of my profession, and I am of less real use in this world than any good cleaning lady.

liturgy

Rejoicing in Jesus' Holy Name

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:10-11, Isaiah 40:31, Acts 16:25-34 , 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:4-7 , Matthew 25:1-13, Luke 2:10-1

O Lord our God, we ask that you help us to stay watchful and alert as we await the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, so that when he arrives and knocks, he will not find us asleep in sin, but...

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Your Cell Will Teach You Everything

Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Matthew 5:5-15, Daniel 3:19-27, Exodus 13:21-22, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 5:16, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Genesis 32:24-30, Psalm 62:1, Hosea 2:14, Habakkuk 2:1, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Isaiah 26:3

A certain brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the Elder said to him: Go, sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything. An elder said: The monk’s ce...

Quote

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.

liturgy

Heavenly Father, You shower Your love

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 1:9-20, Acts 2:1-4, John 4:1-26, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 23:6, Galatians 5:22-23

Heavenly Father, You shower Your love on us throughout every stage of life. We praise You for Your steadfast love. Through Your Son we see the extent of that love while through Your Spirit we experien...