Psalm on Freedom | The Pastor's Workshop

liturgy

Nunc Dimittis

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, Luke 2:10-11, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, To be a light to lig...

liturgy

The Song of Simeon

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23, Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:10-11

Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nat...

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....

illustration

How we Deal with the Desert

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hosea 2:14, Isaiah 43:19, Psalm 63:1, Matthew 4:1, Deuteronomy 8:2

We all go through desert seasons and have the opportunity to determine how we will respond. The cyclical frustrations I faced in regard to my desire for control, fear, and the longing to feel chosen w...

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...

Quote

Author

Viktor E. Frankl

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 39:9, Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 6:20-21, Matthew 4:4, Hebrews 11:24-26 , Psalm 78:4

Man is pushed by drives. But he is pulled by values.

Quote

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:1-12, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Genesis 32:22-32 , Psalm 62:1-2 , Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:35

Solitude is an opportunity to interrupt this cycle by turning off the noise and stimulation of our lives so that we can hear our loneliness and our longing calling us deeper into the only relationship...

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Vocation: A Calling From God

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:10-12, Isaiah 49:1, Romans 11:29, Matthew 4:18-19, Ephesians 4:1, Psalm 139:13-16

I can lose my job; I might be released from a position. My career can come to an end when I retire from the organization I work in. But my vocation comes from God; it remains and is not in the end som...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 91

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 91:, Deuteronomy 33:27, Psalm 27:5, Matthew 4:6, 2 Samuel 22:3, Isaiah 25:4, John 10:28-29

Leader: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, People: I Will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Leader: For he...

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Our Invitations Determine our Future

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:1-7, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Jonah 1:1-3, Matthew 4:18-22 , Luke 9:57-62 , Psalm 25:4-5

The things we say yes to and the things we say no to determine the terrain of our future. My convoluted journey is posted with invitations, and my RSVPs account for the twists and turns. Sometimes, ha...

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Sad Will be the Day

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 6:8 , Exodus 3:10-12 , Nehemiah 2:2-5, Philippians 3:12-14, Psalm 42:1-2, Matthew 4:18-20

Phillips Brooks, the author of the famous hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” He wrote: Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life he is living, with the thoug...

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The Bible a Great Comfort

Author

Andy Cook

Keywords

Scripture

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, Isaiah 41:8-10, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 46:, Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Samuel 19:, 1 Samuel 20:, 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Acts 21:27-36

For seven years, Terry Anderson was held as a hostage of Shiite Muslim fundamentalists. The former reporter for the Associated Press had been taken captive and held as a political prisoner, and for se...

liturgy

O Lord our God, who first made light to

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, John 1:1-14, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

O Lord our God, who first made light to shine out of darkness and now awakens us again to praise your goodness and ask for your grace: accept now, in your boundless mercy, the offering of our worship ...

liturgy

Eternal Light, who has folded back the

Author

Carl A. Glover

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1, Psalm 119:105, John 9:5, Matthew 4:12-17, John 12:35

Eternal Light, who has folded back the curtain of darkness and caused the dawn of a new day to brighten the earth, we ask you to gladden our hearts with your light. Give us the light of faith, that do...

liturgy

Leader: Tonight old dreams die and new

Author

Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:13-14, Luke 2:8-20, Romans 15:13, Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 96:11-12, Luke 2:20, John 1:9, Luke 2:29-32, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 4:16, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:6-9

Leader: Tonight old dreams die and new dreams come to life. The Promise is fulfilled! People: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace. Leader: Hope gives way to joy and prayer to proclamati...

illustration

Pragmatism vs. the Pursuit of Truth

Author

R. C. Sproul

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 1:15–21, Daniel 3:16–18 , 1 Kings 3:16–28 , Matthew 4:1–11, Galatians 1:6–10, Psalm 73:

Pragmatism may be defined simply as the approach to reality that defines truth as “that which works.” The pragmatist is concerned about results, and the results determine the truth. The problem with t...

Quote

Author

Tod E. Bolsinger

Keywords

Scripture

Daniel 1:8, Genesis 37:39–50, Exodus 2:4, 14–17, Matthew 4:1–11, 2 Corinthians 11:23–29, Psalm 46:

Resilience is not something that can be mustered in a moment of “rising to the occasion.” It is formed over a long period before the crisis of testing so that it can continue the transformation during...

Quote

Author

Robert Quinn

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-4, Exodus 13:17-18, Matthew 4:18-22, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 5:7

In embarking on the journey, we must leave the world of certainty. We must courageously journey to a strange place where there are a lot of risks and much is at stake, a place where there are new prob...

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Discernment: Distinguishing the Real from the Phony

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:1, 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Kings 19:11-13 , Genesis 41:15-40 , Isaiah 30:20-21, Matthew 4:1-11, 1 John 4:1-3, Psalm 42:5-11

Scripture also speaks of “discernment of spirits” and encourages us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” This aspect of discernment helps us to distinguish the real from the phony, ...

liturgy

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:9-16, 105, 111, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Joshua 1:8, Nehemiah 8:8-10 , Matthew 4:4, Luke 24:27, 32

Pastor: Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. People: I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Pastor: I praise You, O Lord; teac...

liturgy

God of light and truth, you are beyond

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

God of light and truth, you are beyond our grasp or conceiving. Before the brightness of your presence the angels veil their faces. With lowly reverence and adoring love we acclaim your glory and sing...

liturgy

We ask you. God, to help and defend us.

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 121:7-8, Psalm 9:7-9, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 4:23-25

We ask you God, to help and defend us. Deliver the oppressed, comfort the poor, lift up the fallen, show yourself to the needy, heal the sick, bring back those of your people who have wandered, feed t...

illustration

Fasting Reveals That Which Controls Us

Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:4, Daniel 10:3, Psalm 69:10, Acts 13:2-3, Joel 2:12, Isaiah 58:6

More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. … We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride controls us, ...

illustration

The Paradox of Technology

Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 11:1-9 , Exodus 32:1-6, Isaiah 44:9-20 , Matthew 4:1-4 , 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Psalm 20:7

Here is the heart of the paradox: Technology is a brilliant, praiseworthy expression of human creativity and cultivation of the world. But it is at best neutral in actually forming human beings who ca...

illustration

The Most Common Complaint

Author

Matt Haig

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:1-18, Psalm 88:null, Psalm 102:7, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 15:11-32

A therapist once told me that the most common complaint he heard from his patients was the feeling that they didn’t belong. The feeling of being an imposter, or of being outside things, of not fitting...

illustration

Living Fully in God’s Call

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

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...

liturgy

Jesus Christ is the light of the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 27:, John 9:5, Matthew 4:12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Psalm 72:2-14, Colossians 1:26-29

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He will judge the people with righteousness and defend the cause of the poor. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The mystery of the ages is revealed; th...

Quote

Author

Iain Matthew

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-4, Exodus 13:17-18, Matthew 4:18-22, Psalm 23:, John 16:33

The journey has to feel like night because it leads to the unknown. If Christianity meant mere maintenance, then bewilderment or darkness would spell disaster. But . . . darkness is a condition of the...

illustration

Lori Loughlin and The Problem with Shortcuts

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 27:35-36 , 2 Samuel 6:6-7, Exodus 32:1-4 , Matthew 4:8-10, Psalm 37:7, Acts 5:1-5

How many shortcuts have been justified with the best of intentions? At the sentencing for her role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal, actress Lori Loughlin addressed the court: “I mad...

illustration

When our Prayers Crash into the Ground

Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:16 , 1 Kings 18:20-40, Job 1:20-22, Matthew 4:5-7, John 20:24-29, Psalm 73:1-3, 16-17

Nine-year-old Leo Tolstoy , convinced God would help him fly, dove headfirst out a third-floor window and had his first major crisis of disappointment with God. Fortunately, Tolstoy survived the cr...

psalms on Freedom

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