Matthew on Balance

Quote

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:31 , Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Proverbs 3:5-6 , Matthew 11:28-30, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 1:3

We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.

liturgy

Creator God, our Source and our Home

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 4:18-19, Galatians 5:22-23, Genesis 1:1-2 , Isaiah 61:1-3, Micah 6:8

Leader: Creator God, our Source and our Home, we belong to you. All: We praise you, and we gather to worship you and give our lives to you. Living Christ, you establish justice, overthrow the ...

lectionary

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 42:1-4, Hebrews 12:2, Genesis 1:3, Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 8:3, Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8

Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness....

Quote

Author

Thomas Sowell

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:28, Deuteronomy 8:18, Matthew 25:14-30, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Psalm 128:2

Many economic fallacies are due to conceiving of economic activity as a zero-sum contest, in which what is gained by one is lost by another. This in turn is often due to ignoring the fact that wealth ...

liturgy

Broken Bread, Poured Out Wine

Author

Sarah Bourns Crosby

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:26-28, Exodus 24:3-8, Matthew 26:26-29, John 15:1-17, Psalm 22:

And they watched Him now, And they wondered. What could Jesus mean? This bread was His body? This wine was His blood? And they didn’t yet know, But one day they would. That before He...

liturgy

God, the fact that we feel

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 24:1, Genesis 1:26, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17

God, the fact that we feel uncomfortable is evidence that we perceive the injustices in our world. We don’t ask you to help us hear the cries of injustice, but rather to give us courage to act against...

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...

Quote

Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:31, Job 12:7-10, Isaiah 55:12-13, Matthew 6:26-29, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1

Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will percei...

Quote

Author

Wendell Berry

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 133:1, Genesis 1:31, 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12:4-5, Matthew 18:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.

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...

liturgy

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-17, John 1:1-14, Genesis 1:3-4, John 8:12-20, James 1:1-18, Ephesians 5:8-9, 1 John 1:5-10

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are an...

Quote

Keywords

Beauty

Scripture

Matthew 6:28-29, 1 Peter 3:3-4, Proverbs 31:30, Genesis 1:31, Isaiah 61:3, Song of Solomon 4:7

Beauty is that which, when seen, pleases.

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...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Psalm 98

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Scripture

Psalm 98:null, Exodus 34:6-7, Exodus 32:, Genesis 1:12, Hebrews 1:1-2, Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 15:8-9

Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Dissolving the Divisions Generally speaking, the Psalms divide the people of the earth into two groups: “Israel” and “the nations.” Psalm 98 surpr...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Job 38:1-11

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

Job 38:1-11, 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 t...

illustration

Our Relational Design

Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:23-24, Matthew 19:4-5, 1 Corinthians 11:11, Ephesians 5:31-32

Maleness and femaleness is the fundamental way we carry our relational design. Interestingly, the English word sexuality comes from the Latin word sexus, which means “being divided, cut off, separated...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 4:12-23

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 42:1-4, Hebrews 12:2, Genesis 1:3, Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 8:3, Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8

Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. I can’t imagine a 40 d...

illustration

Taking Care for the Next Generation

Author

Alan Wilson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:28, 1 Chronicles 29:14-16, Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 4:2

Known for their luxury watches, Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe has also become well-known for its clever advertising slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe; you merely take care of it for t...

liturgy

Let us pray to God the Father, God the

Author

Moucan

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 28:19, Genesis 1:1-2, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 104:5-6, Revelation 4:8

Let us pray to God the Father, God the Son, And to God the Holy Spirit, Whose infinite greatness Enfolds the whole world, In Persons three and one, In essence simple and triune, Suspending the earth a...

liturgy

God of majesty and power, Who spoke and

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-3, Genesis 2:7, Matthew 10:30, Psalm 139:1-4, Romans 5:8, Luke 19:1-10, Hebrews 13:15

God of majesty and power, Who spoke and this world was, Who breathed and this world lived, Who counts the hairs upon our head, Who sees our thoughts and reads our hearts, Who loves us more than we des...

illustration

Building for Glory and Good

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:26–28, Exodus 35:30–35, Proverbs 8:22–31, Matthew 25:14–30, Colossians 3:23–24, Psalm 104:24

I love watching young boys and girls build things with Legos. Their small, creative masterpieces cannot help but reflect their image-bearing nature and remind us we were all made to make things. When ...

liturgy

Peace Among Nations Prayed

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-5, Isaiah 60:1-3, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14-16, Psalm 27:1

Pastor: Let us pray to the God who has given us the light of day and the Light of eternal life through Jesus Christ, His Son. Lord, make the beauty of Your Light shine brightly on us so that it m...

liturgy

The Nicene Creed (Contemporary)

Author

Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 10:9-10, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 8:11, Matthew 1:20-23, Philippians 2:6-11, John 1:1-3, Genesis 1:1

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally b...

illustration

Don’t Forget What Your Body Communicates

Author

Alexandra Kuykendall

Keywords

Communication

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:1, Exodus 14:14, Genesis 1:27

Nonverbal communication can make a huge difference in how a question is received. Only 7 percent of what we say is conveyed through words, 38 percent through vocal element (tone), and the remainder th...

Quote

Author

Julian of Norwich

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 33:8, Genesis 16:, John 10:11-18, Genesis 1:2, Matthew 6:26, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 139:13-14

And in this vision, he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, and to my mind’s eye it was as round as any ball. I looked at it and thought, ‘What can this be?’...

illustration

George McDonald’s Great Fear

Author

George MacDonald

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 8:, Genesis 1:31, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 104:24-25, Psalm 96:11-12, Psalm 65:9-13, Matthew 6:28-29

George MacDonald, The Scottish author who had a profound effect on C.S. Lewis among others, once wrote a letter to his father about what he believed would be a great obstacle to his faith; that once h...

liturgy

The Apostles' Creed

Author

Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1, John 3:16, Matthew 16:16, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 27:24-26, 1 Peter 3:18-19

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, ...

illustration

Baptism: A New Beginning out of the Watery Chaos

Author

Rowan Williams

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 8:6-12 , Isaiah 32:14-17, Matthew 3:13-17, John 3:5-8, Romans 6:3-4

At the very beginning of creation, the book of Genesis tells us, there was watery chaos. And over that watery chaos there was, depending on how you read the Hebrew, the Holy Spirit hovering or a great...

illustration

Creation Continued

Author

Albert N. Wolters

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:9, Romans 8:19, Matthew 5:14, Isaiah 65:21-22, Psalm 8:6, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 1:28

The earth had been completely unformed and empty; in the six-day process of development God had formed it and filled it—but not completely. People must now carry on the work of development: by being f...

illustration

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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