Matthew on Eyes

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Lord, you came to dwell among us, yet

Author

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 53:3, Luke 24:15-16, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25:37-40, John 1:10-11

Lord, you came to dwell among us, yet we did not recognize you. We still fail to recognize you. You show up in unexpected places and through unexpected people. We fail to see you in the people who are...

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Leader: The word of the Lord to the

Author

Jacob Traeger

Scripture

Matthew 13:14-15, Matthew 11:4-6, Psalm 51:17, Hebrews 3:15, Isaiah 6:9-10

Leader: The word of the Lord to the prophet Isaiah says: You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with the...

liturgy

LORD, too often we live for ourselves

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:13, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 4:22-24, Isaiah 55:7, Psalm 51:10-12, Matthew 6:33, Romans 12:2

LORD, too often we live for ourselves instead of how You have called us. Please forgive us for the times when we don’t strive to bring about Your kingdom here and now. Forgive us for the lack of imagi...

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Good morning, Father

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 6:19-21, Psalm 51:10-12, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Good morning, Father. While we slept last night – You were awake, sustaining our world, protecting us and readying a new day. Jesus – You hold us in the palms of Your hands: str...

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Heavenly Father, You have commanded us to love

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10-12, Colossians 3:12-13, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Peter 3:8, Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 22:37-39

Pastor: Heavenly Father, You have commanded us to love You above all things and our neighbors as ourselves. By Your Holy Spirit, mold and shape us into the image of Your Son, for we desire to look, ...

illustration

Tears & The Kingdom of God

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:7, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21, James 4:8-10

Traditional Eastern Orthodox theology asserts that tears cleanse, renew and make way for the kingdom. When sin and the brokenness of the world give rise to godly sorrow, our hearts soften toward God a...

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The Heart in Scripture

Author

J. Stowell

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 51:10, Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 6:21, Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Proverbs 4:23

The heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as “the place of cons...

liturgy

Gracious God, our hearts are often

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 5:8, Romans 7:21-23, James 4:8, Ezekiel 36:26, 1 John 3:3, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 24:3-4, Matthew 15:19-20, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:23-24, Titus 1:15, James 1:2-8, Matthew 12:25

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart.

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The Biblical Understanding of the Heart

Author

John Piper & Justin Taylor

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 4:23, Genesis 4:3–7, Ezekiel 36:26 , Luke 6:43-45 , Matthew 15:18-19, Psalm 51:10

When the Bible uses the term heart , it means the causal core of your personhood. The heart is your directional system. The heart is your steering wheel. Your behavior isn’t caused by the situati...

liturgy

God's Goodness and Our Healing

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:8, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26, James 4:8, 1 John 1:8-9, Mark 7:6-7, Hebrews 10:22

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart. Where there is hypocrisy in our life, please n...

Quote

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 1:4, Psalm 51:, John 4:7-26, Genesis 3:7-10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Matthew 11:28-29, 1 John 1:8-9

Our inclination is to reveal to God only what we feel comfortable in sharing. Naturally, we want to love and be loved by God, but we also want to keep a little corner of ourselves, where we can hide a...

liturgy

Jesus, we receive your blessings and

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, John 7:37-38, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 5:3-4, Psalm 51:10

Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliver...

Quote

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 5:3, Isaiah 6:5, Psalm 51:3-4, James 4:10

If I am in denial about my own weaknesses and sin, there will be a concomitant blindness to the greatness and glory of God.

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Adapted from James 4:8, 10

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:8, Proverbs 3:34, Matthew 11:28-30, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:17

Leader: Come near to God and he will come near to you. People: Wash your hands and purify your hearts. Leader: Grieve your sins and you will be forgiven. People: Humble yourselves befo...

liturgy

Gratitude for God's Great Mercy

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:36, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:23-35, Micah 7:18-19, Psalm 51:1-2, Titus 3:4-5, Zechariah 7:9

Gracious God, you have given us great mercy through Jesus, yet we have withheld mercy from others. Our hearts have been hardened by the world and our sin. Would you soften our hearts? And give us a de...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, as we live through the remainder

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Joel 2:12-13, Isaiah 1:18, Jonah 3:5-10, Matthew 6:16-18, Psalm 51:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Pastor: Heavenly Father, as we live through the remainder of this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son....

liturgy

Almighty God, too often we settle for

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:18, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 1:17, James 2:13, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:6

Almighty God, too often we settle for brokenness in our lives. Rather than offering forgiveness, we hold onto offense. Rather than pursuing justice, we turn away . Rather than offering mercy, we c...

liturgy

Most merciful God (expanded)

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:27, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10, James 5:16

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have n...

Quote

Author

Christina Rossetti

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 23:26, Romans 12:1, Matthew 2:11, 2 Corinthians 8:12, Psalm 51:16-17, Micah 6:6-8, John 6:1-13

What can I give Him Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man I would do my part,- Yet what I can give him Give my heart.

liturgy

Loving God, we confess today: We don’t

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Psalm 51:10, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Matthew 22:37-39, Romans 5:8

Loving God, we confess today: We don’t even know what love truly is. We talk about love when we talk about favorite television shows and foods. We talk about love as if it happens to us. We describe l...

liturgy

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:27, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10, James 5:16

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have no...

illustration

A Field of Chaff & Wheat Growing up Together

Author

John F. X. Harriott

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1–14 , 1 Kings 19:9–18, Isaiah 6:1–8, Matthew 13:24–30 , 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 , Psalm 51:17

The Church is not a clean, well-lit place where everything runs smoothly and actions automatically match ideals. It is, in the words of the Gospel, a field of chaff and wheat growing up together and b...

liturgy

O Lord, Accept Me in Repentance

Author

St John Chrysostom

Keywords

Scripture

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...

liturgy

Prepare Your Way in Us

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:3-4, Matthew 3:11, Acts 2:3-4, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26-27

Leader: Eternal God, Timeless One, come into this time. All: Loving Christ, you who are coming, enter in with your grace. Holy Spirit, Flame of Life, baptize us in your mystery. Burn in us ...

Quote

Author

John Chrysostom

Keywords

Healing

Scripture

Matthew 5:4, Psalm 6:6, Isaiah 1:18, Jeremiah 31:9, James 4:9-10, Joel 2:12-13, Psalm 51:17

The fire of sin is intense, but it is put out by a small amount of tears, for the tear puts out a furnace of faults, and cleans our wounds of sin.

liturgy

Faithful Father, Hear Our Prayers

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

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...

illustration

The Symptoms of Moral Disease

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Sin

Scripture

Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 6:6, Galatians 5:16-17, Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 12:33-34, Romans 7:18-20

Sin not only alienates; it enslaves. It separates us from God and it also brings us into captivity. We need now to consider the ‘inwardness’ of sin. It is more than the wrong things we do; it is a dee...

liturgy

God's Love: Our True Guide

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 64:8, Micah 6:8, Matthew 22:37-39, Romans 12:2, Psalm 51:10

O Holy God, we come before you in humility, recognizing we have resorted to competition rather than compassion. We have doubted the depth of your love for us, and in turn have been unloving to our fam...

Quote

Author

Dane C. Ortlund

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:17, Romans 7:18, Matthew 5:3, Romans 3:10

Feel your sinfulness. Let it humble you. Let it sober you. Beware of so filling your life with talk shows and phone calls that you don’t regularly stop and consider the ruinous condition of your life ...

liturgy

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Book of Common Prayer)

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10-12, Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 12:35-40 , 2 Timothy 2:20-21, Matthew 5:8 , James 4:8, John 14:1-3

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of ...

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