Matthew on God's Gifts

liturgy

For the gift of divine peace

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 6:24-26, Jeremiah 29:7, Isaiah 40:28-31, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 25:35-36, Psalm 34:17-18

Leader: For the gift of divine peace and of pardon, with all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord have mercy Leader: For the holy Christian Church, here a...

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What Does it Mean to be Blessed?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:24-30, Numbers 6:24-26, 1 Kings 17:8-16 , Matthew 5:3-12 , Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 34:18

The word blessed has been among the vocabulary I’ve removed from my daily life. In the faith of my young adulthood, it was a word that filled my conversations: a term to close out emails or to d...

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This Child is a Gift

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 4:10-12 , Isaiah 49:15-16, 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 18:1-5, Psalm 139:13-16, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

I will never forget the witness of an Episcopal priest named Tom Minifie several years ago in St. Luke’s Church in Seattle, Washington. He spotted a high-profile couple sitting in the last pew with th...

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Play to Your Strengths

Author

Ray Johnston

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 31:1-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Proverbs 18:16 , Romans 12:6-8, Psalm 139:13-16, Matthew 25:14-30

In an old joke, people refer to seminary as cemetery. Attending one does feel like that at times, so the last thing I expected to discover in a dingy classroom in the basement of a Pasadena seminary s...

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Defining the Soul is Difficult

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, 1 Kings 19:4-8 , Ecclesiastes 12:7 , Matthew 11:28-30, 3 John 1:2, Psalm 43:5, Psalm 42:5

The soul can be difficult to define. The great theologian Karl Barth confessed, “We shall search the Old and New Testaments in vain for a theory of the relation between the soul and body.” Your soul i...

liturgy

Blessed by Father, Son, Spirit

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Isaiah 58:6-12, John 15:1-8, Matthew 28:18-20, Psalm 1:1-3

Pastor: Go now, as God’s children, chosen and dearly loved, to bear fruit for His Kingdom – fruit that will last. May the almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless...

liturgy

Prepare for Christ's Coming

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 25:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-10, 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

We ask you, Almighty God, that our souls have their desire: that they would be kindled by your Spirit, that being filled, like lamps, by your divine gift, we may shine before the presence of your Son ...

lectionary

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 11:1-13, Matthew 18:23-35, Colossians 3:13, James 1:2-3

Context Jesus’ lesson on prayer in Luke’s gospel comes not in the context of a longer sermon (as with Matthew’s parallel in the Sermon on the Mount), but rather in response to a request from one of h...

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What it Means to Be "Childlike"

Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:3-4, Hebrews 11:1, Genesis 28:10-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 11:6, Luke 2:8-20, James 1:17

In his book of sermons titled The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner mentions two qualities of childlikeness. First, children have no fixed preconceptions of reality. If someone tells them that ...

liturgy

Father—you know us like no-one else;

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, Acts 16:25-34, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 9:20-22

Father—you know us like no-one else; and ...You love us like no-one else. Thank You for your manifold gifts. For the gift of life—we thank You. For the gift of each new day—we thank You. For the gift ...

liturgy

Father – Your love is faithful through

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 1:3, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, Matthew 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Peter 1:2

Father – Your love is faithful through all generations Jesus – Your grace is extends from eternity into eternity. Spirit – Your presence knows no boundary or barrier. For that we praise you, Triune...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we neglect

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:17, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 7:11, Psalm 103:2, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Isaiah 41:10, 1 Peter 4:10, Ephesians 1:3, John 15:5

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we neglect our reliance on you. We take for granted many gifts you give, but we also forget your desire to provide. Help us to receive those gifts, whether they are ph...

liturgy

Prayer of Confession Based on the Parable of the Sower

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:1-9, Matthew 13:18-23, Luke 8:4-15

As we gather on your good earth, before the bounty of your Word and Table, and the majesty of your holy presence, We remember and repent Forgive us, Abiding One, We keep you at a distance We defy you...

liturgy

Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 9:37-38, Galatians 6:9-10, Romans 12:5, 1 John 3:1

Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our Father: You’ve blessed us beyond imagination. You redeem us, forgive us and lavish Your gifts on us: Thank You. You choose us, when we wouldn’t choose ourselves...

liturgy

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...

liturgy

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:103, Luke 22:19, Psalm 34:18, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:16-17, Matthew 6:9-13, Numbers 6:24-26, Matthew 25:36, Psalm 33:12, Romans 8:26, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Acts 2:42

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that you have fed us with your Word [and at your table]. Grateful for your gifts and mindful of the communion of your saints, we offer to you our prayers for all pe...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Isaiah 60:1-6

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-6, Genesis 32:30, John 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Ephesians 5:8, Luke 1:78, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 49:6, John 1:5, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:5

Word Study Ἐπιφάνεια: The Greek word from which the English transliterates Epiphany is a combination of a preposition and a verbal idea. Epi -upon and fainō -to shine, illuminate. An epiphany is li...

lectionary

Epiphany of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-6, Genesis 32:30, John 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Ephesians 5:8, Luke 1:78, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 49:6, John 1:5, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:5

Preaching Commentary Word Study Ἐπιφάνεια: The Greek word from which the English transliterates Epiphany is a combination of a preposition and a verbal idea. Epi -upon and fainō -to shine, illumi...

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Christmas: A Tradition of Gift-Giving

Author

Emily Hunter McGowin

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:11, James 1:17, Matthew 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Proverbs 22:9, 1 Timothy 6:18, John 3:16

While Christmas traditions vary the world over, gift-giving is a central practice just about anywhere Christ's birth is celebrated. Sometimes gifts are exchanged on December 6, the feast day of S...

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The Plane Is Coming

Author

Emily Hunter McGowin

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:16, James 1:17, Matthew 2:11, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 12:10, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Ephesians 5:2

In rural Msinga, a municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the highlight of Christmas Day festivities is when men, newly returned home from work in the big cities, gather to sing a...

Quote

Author

D. L. Moody

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:17, Matthew 4:4, John 4:14, Revelation 22:17, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:35, Romans 10:17

Faith is the gift of God. So is the air, but you have to breathe it; so is bread, but you have to eat it; so is water, but you have to drink it.

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