Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Isaiah 55:3, Matthew 11:15, Luke 8:8, James 1:19-20, Psalm 46:10
The very first word of the Rule of St. Benedict, that famous text that has guided the life of monastic communities since the sixth century, is listen . I want for us to put listening back where i...
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 10:null, Exodus 34:6
Preaching Commentary The Touch of Jesus The highlighted texts from Matthew 9 include Jesus’ call of Matthew, the tax collector, as well as two accounts of healings (the woman with the discharge of ...
Jeremiah 29:13, Ephesians 2:8-9, Matthew 18:12-14, Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 55:6-7
It is a Masai elder who tells the story. It comes from the book, Christianity Rediscovered, in which the Roman Catholic missionary, Vincent Donovan, shares his discoveries as he worked among Masai peo...
Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, James 4:6, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Romans 12:3, Matthew 23:1-12, Psalm 25:9, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Hebrews 4:16
All: Knowing God, we often believe our way is the best way. In our arrogance, we ignore your will and your ways. We confess our dependence on knowledge and our independence from you. Thank you that yo...
1 Kings 8:27, Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 6:33, Deuteronomy 6:5, Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:24, Luke 9:23, Romans 11:33
God of all times and places, we confess that we try to limit our exposure to you. We try to limit your presence to a tidy little box, safely tucked away where we can pull you out as needed. We try to ...
Joel 2:12-14, Isaiah 55:7, Matthew 26:26-29, John 15:1-8, Psalm 51:10
Leader: Heavenly Father, as we enter this Lenten season of repentance and renewed devotion, we pray that You would remember us according to Your steadfast love and goodness in Christ and instruct an...
Daniel 3:16-18, 1 Kings 18:21, Isaiah 55:8-9 , Romans 14:5-8, Psalm 119:105, Matthew 7:15-16
First, most Christians attach their convictions to Christ personally. In other words, we form our convictions in order to please Jesus, not ourselves. Convictions do not express what we think or feel ...
Psalm 63:, Isaiah 55:1-2, Exodus 33:18-19, Jeremiah 31:3, Matthew 5:6 , John 4:13-14 , Romans 8:38-39
Leader: O God, you are my God. I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. All: My flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land without water. So I gaze at your glory, your presence in every mome...
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...
John 8:12, Jeremiah 32:17, Matthew 19:26, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 12:15, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Psalm 119:10-11
God of Love and Lord of Hope: Nothing is too difficult for you ...while so much is beyond our abilities to understand, to do, and to care for. Therefore we turn to You knowing that you do all things w...
The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed b...
Isaiah 55:8-9, Jonah 4:1-11, Numbers 22:21-34, Matthew 9:10-13, Mark 2:23-28, Psalm 19:12-14
It takes a great deal of freedom and love to be therapeutic with a group. Many years ago when Emil Brunner, the great Swiss theologian, was lecturing in this country, it was reported that when he prea...
Isaiah 55:8-9, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:9-13, Romans 8:26-27, Psalm 23:
Pastor: Friends in Christ, I urge you all to lift up your hearts to God and pray with me as Christ our Lord has taught us and freely promised to hear us. People: Our Father, who art in heave...
James 1:22-25, Isaiah 30:21, Proverbs 2:1, Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 7:24-25, Romans 10:17, 1 Samuel 3:, Isaiah 55:3, Matthew 11:15, Acts 16:14
Father God, you come to us in the everyday. You give us your Word and your Spirit that we might hear your voice, and follow your ways. We confess that we have neglected your words to us and pretended ...
Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 14:2, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 17:1-13, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:1-15, Matthew 13:31, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Matthew 26:26, Matthew 8:null, Galatians 6:2
Context The feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew occurs within a section where questions of Jesus’ identity are heightened. Two incorrect answers of who Jesus truly is are given in 13:55 (“isn’t this the...
Isaiah 55:6–7, Ezekiel 36:26–27, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 6:13, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10–12
O Lord, accept me in repentance. O Lord, do not leave us. O Lord, lead us not into temptation. O Lord, grant us good thoughts. O Lord, grant us tears and remembrance of death and guilt for our sins. O...
We praise You, Heavenly Father for sending us Your Word to instruct and convict us. You also sent Your Holy Spirit to guide and encourage us as we learn more about Your Word. Help us today to gain new...
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, Isaiah 55:10-11, 1 Kings 19:5-8, Matthew 4:4, John 6:35, Psalm 19:7-10
God, we do not live by bread alone, but by the Word that comes from you. We are hungry for your Word. We are thirsty for your peace. Speak to us, nourish our souls, and revive us with your love. Grant...
Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 14:2, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 17:1-13, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:1-15, Matthew 13:31, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Matthew 26:26, Matthew 8:null, Galatians 6:2
Preaching Commentary Context The feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew occurs within a section where questions of Jesus’ identity are heightened. Two incorrect answers of who Jesus truly is are given in...
James 4:3, 1 John 5:14, Matthew 6:8, John 15:7, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 11:11-13
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'm glad I'm not God!" Too much responsibility! In the 2003 movie "Bruce Almighty," Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) gains God’s divine powers b...
Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, Isaiah 55:10-11, 2 Corinthians 9:6
Almighty and gracious God, we pray that you would sow the seed of your Word in our hearts. Send down upon us your heavenly grace; That we may bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, And on the ...
Isaiah 55:1-3, John 3:1-5, Matthew 1:25-27, John 3:16-17, Psalm 145:8-9
Justin Martyr (ca. 100–165), the most renowned apologist of the second century, dedicated his life to defending Christianity as the one true philosophy. Engaging the Greek philosophers and intellectua...
2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 15:4, Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Peter 1:19-21, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 24:35
In the book A Peculiar Glory , John Piper describes how he maintained a traditional view of scripture, even after he went on to advanced theological studies in California and Germany. He describes hi...
2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 15:4, Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Peter 1:19-21, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 24:35
Many people these days feel an absence in their lives, expressed as an acute desire for “something more,” a spiritual home, a community of faith. But when they try to read the Bible they end up throwi...
Matthew 9:9-13, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 10:null, Exodus 34:6
The Touch of Jesus The highlighted texts from Matthew 9 include Jesus’ call of Matthew, the tax collector, as well as two accounts of healings (the woman with the discharge of blood and the ruler’s d...
Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9 , Luke 9:23-24, Philippians 2:3-4 , Matthew 6:33-34, Psalm 37:5-6
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams observes that the biblical ideal is not so much that we need to deny the self as to decenter the self: To see the self in truth, as an integral member of a comm...
Matthew 5:1-48, Matthew 6:1-34, Matthew 7:1-29, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 15:4, Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12-13, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 24:35
After a sojourn in the United States where he experienced the vibrancy of Black churches, Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned to Germany in 1931 to teach at the University of Berlin. His pastoral ministry co...
Isaiah 55:6-7, Psalm 85:4, Psalm 4:6, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 15:11-32
Pastor: Seek the Lord while he may be found; People: call on him while he is near. Pastor: Let the wicked forsake their ways People: and the unrighteous their thoughts. Pas...