Matthew on Self Actualization | The Pastor's Workshop

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The Christian Self-Actualization Plan

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Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:13-14, Matthew 16:24-25, Romans 12:4-5, Philippians 2:3-4, Ephesians 2:8-10

In her excellent book on following Jesus in the suburbs, Ashley Hales describes one of the ways in which our discipleship has been influenced by modern secular trends such as the desire for self-actua...

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Author

Craig Dykstra And Dorothy Bass

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Scripture

Ecclesiastes 12:13, Proverbs 3:5-6, Nehemiah 6:3, Matthew 6:33, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 90:12

We long to see our lives whole, to know that they matter. We wonder whether our many activities might ever come together in a way of life that is good for ourselves and others. Lacking a vision of a l...

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Becoming the Person God Wants Us to Be

Author

Trevor Hudson

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Scripture

Isaiah 43:1, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 6:4-5, Romans 14:4, 12, 1 Corinthians 12:4-18, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Corinthians 12:

Each one of us is called to live the truth of our unrepeatable uniqueness. We are not meant to model ourselves after others, however wonderful they may be. A delightful Jewish parable makes this point...

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Author

A. W. Tozer

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Scripture

Matthew 17:20, Matthew 19:20, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, Luke 18:27, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 4:13, Philippians 2:13

God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.

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Cultivating Blessing Through Our Work

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Jeremiah 29:4–7, Proverbs 11:24–25, Matthew 5:13–16 , Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 90:17

Looking through the lens of Holy Scripture, human work must be seen first and foremost as value contribution, not economic compensation. We can have a flourishing, fruitful life even if we don’t get a...

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Free to Love and Be Loved

Author

Lisa Sharon Harper

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Scripture

Hosea 1:null, Hosea 2:null, Hosea 3:null, Matthew 16:18, Mark 10:13-16, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:9-10, Ephesians 2:4-5, Acts 4:9-10, Acts 13:9

Here’s a testimony from Lisa Sharon Harper, author of The Very Good Gospel: Harper grew up as a child of a single mother. After her parents divorced, she and her mother moved from Philadelphia where ...

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Affirmation of Mission (based on Confession of 1967)

Scripture

Philippians 2:4-11, Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:35, Mark 10:42-45, Ephesians 2:10, John 13:12-17

Our mission is the mission of Jesus Christ. He lived as an ordinary human being. We will care for the common life of humanity. He served men and women. We are committed to working for human wel...

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Living Fully in God’s Call

Author

Tom Nelson

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Scripture

Genesis 12:1-4 , Exodus 3:1-12, Micah 6:8, Matthew 4:18-22 , Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 90:12 , Matthew 9:9

It is helpful to understand the call of God in three distinct ways. First, there is the call to be a Christian. The God of creation invites us to respond to his love. This call comes through Jesus, wh...

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The Two Runners

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

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The Three Lies

Author

Jennie Allen

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 13:25-33, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 10:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Genesis 1:27, Luke 10:6-7, Ephesians 2:10

My friend Christina, a licensed therapist, tells me that Psychiatry 101 teaches therapists that when you and I choose to believe a lie about ourselves, it’s one of these three lies we believe: I’m he...

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The Heart’s Foundation

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:24-25, Luke 6:48, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:19-20

At the bottom of every person’s heart there is an uttermost foundation. At the beginning of The Two Towers, the second Lord of the Rings movie, Gandalf battles the Balrog while they plummet down an in...

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Author

Jen Hatmaker

Keywords

Achievement

Scripture

Luke 18:10-14, Matthew 6:1, Ephesians 2:8-9, James 4:10, Galatians 6:4, Micah 6:8, Romans 12:3

In the Christian subculture, there is an unspoken standard, a notorious goal to “win the contest.” It’s there, the contest. We don’t say it out loud, because it sounds ludicrous spoken into the open a...

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Living a Grace-Filled Life

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 1:6, Romans 12:2, Matthew 14:22-33, 1 Corinthians 1:31, Ephesians 2:8-9

According to Dallas Willard, grace is “God doing in us and for us what we could not do ourselves.” We are meant to be forgiven by grace; we are also meant to live by grace. We often believe that only...

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Jesus My Glory

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:6-17 , Ephesians 2:8-10, Acts 16:31-34, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 2:5-8 , Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:1-2

O Lord God, You have commanded us to believe in Jesus; and I would flee to no other refuge, wash in no other fountain, build on no other foundation, receive from no other fullness, res...

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Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 36:26-27, Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:15-21, James 1:27, Ephesians 2:10, Isaiah 61:1

The Holy Spirit says: You are it. You are God's plan. In a thirsty world, people need to be refreshed. It is a broken world, and people need to be healed. Now get out there and do it!

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Continue Your Good Work

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Scripture

Matthew 5:13-20, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Ephesians 2:1-10, Colossians 1:1-14, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Beautiful and Blessed Creator, Maker of Heaven and Earth, You work for reconciliation and grace, wholeness and hope. Empower us to share abundantly in your good work through creativity and co...

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Author

Nicholas Wolterstorff

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Colossians 3:15, Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 9:6-7, Romans 14:17, Psalm 85:10, Micah 4:3-4

In shalom, each person enjoys justice, enjoys his or her rights. There is no shalom without justice. But shalom goes beyond justice. Shalom is the human being dwelling at peace in all his or her relat...

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Jesus–our Lord, Savior, Friend and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 23:1-2

Jesus–our Lord, Savior, Friend and Companion: To be “in” You is to no longer be strangers to Your Father, or to one another. In You–we are brought near. In You–we are redeemed and forgiven. In You–we ...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:17, Hebrews 6:10, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 5:16

What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neig...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 4:3-6, Romans 8:14-15, 2 Samuel 9:7, Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 5:3, Romans 8:16-17 , Ephesians 2:4-7, Psalm 103:8-13

A true Christian is both a beggar and an heir.

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Dysfunctional Greeting Cards

Author

Wayne Stiles

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5, Matthew 6:6-8, Matthew 6:6-8, Galatians 50:20

I’m convinced some company today could make a killing if it had the guts to market dysfunctional greeting cards. Most birthday or holiday cards gush with flowery sentiments such as, “To the greatest f...

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Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, Galatians 2:20, Romans 1:17, James 2:26, Hebrews 111:1

Faith is a how and, more specifically, a way of living in light of an event.

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Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 2:19-22, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 2:9

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church has assembled. People: We are one body, with Christ as our head. Leader: What kind of body is this? People: The Body of Christ, brought together not by huma...

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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Our Unworthy Cornerstones

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:20, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Peter 2:6-8, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Hebrews 12:27-28, Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17

The cornerstone was a critical element of ancient architecture, the anchor that the rest of the building relied on. The cornerstone was the stone that set the alignment of the entire building. Every o...

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A Christmas with Home Alone

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:20-21, 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 2:13-14, Matthew 5:23-24, Psalm 51:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Luke 19:1-10

Richness in the Slapstick I don’t know about you, but when I think of insightful, theologically rich content on Christmas , I don’t naturally start with blockbuster films. And no, I’m not referring ...

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Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

John 21:15-19, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 19:1-10, Matthew 9:9-13, Ephesians 2:4-5, Hebrews 12:10-11

God loves you just as you are but too much to leave you that way.

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Author

Karl Barth

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 15:6, Habakkuk 2:4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1-2, Matthew 17:20, Psalm 62:5-6

Only faith survives; faith which is not a work, not even a negative work; not an achievement, not even the achievement of humility. . . . Faith is the ground, the new order, the light. . . . Faith is ...

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Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 5:8, Psalm 40:2, Isaiah 61:1, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 11:28

Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.

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...

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