Romans on Courage

liturgy

Dear Lord, we come before You now as

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:1-2, Romans 3:23-24

Dear Lord, we come before You now as Your children who need You. God, You are the Creator of all things, the Giver of life itself. You have made us in Your image and invited us to be Your children and...

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

John Chrysostom

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 3:23-24, Luke 18:13-14, Psalm 51:1, James 2:13, 1 Peter 1:3

Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.

illustration

Moving the Fence

Author

Mike Yaconelli

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:1-10, Galatians 3:28, Romans 3:22-24, Ephesians 2:14, Acts 10:9-48, Luke 10:25-37, John 4:4-26

In the Second World War, a group of soldiers were fighting in the rural countryside of France. During an intense battle, one of the American soldiers was killed. His comrades did not want to leave his...

Quote

Author

Karl Barth

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:12, Romans 4:13-25, John 6:44, Acts 9:6-3, Ephesians 2:8-9

Faith means to be apprehended by that which is not ourselves, to be seized by God.

liturgy

Since we have a great high priest who can sympathize

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 28:13, Titus 3:5, Acts 3:19, Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 51:17, Romans 3:23-24

Leader: Since we have a great high priest who can sympathize with our weakness, let us boldly approach the throne of grace, confident that there we will receive God’s mercy and grace in our time of ne...

liturgy

Saved by Grace through Faith

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 2:12, Philippians 2:13, Romans 8:11

Leader: This week may you remember that it is by grace that you’re saved, through faith. It’s not of your own doing—it’s a gift of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. May the same power that rais...

lectionary

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:11-22, Romans 6:6, Psalm 23:null, Lamentations 3:22-24, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Romans 6:6, Psalm 89:null

Preaching Commentary Paul’s Prize Fight Paul pulls no punches in this letter to the church of Ephesus. It is an onslaught of theological intensity from the first ring of the bell. Like a prize figh...

blog

Les Misérables: A Tale of Transformative Grace

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 3:10, Romans 8:38-39, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 23:1-4, Isaiah 40:31, Jeremiah 29:11

A Great (and Weighty) Work of Literature That Will Delight Like Moby Dick and War and Peace , Les Misérables is a hefty novel. Affectionately known as the ‘Brick’ for its formidable length, it c...

Quote

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 5:8, Psalm 40:2, Isaiah 61:1, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 11:28

Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.

liturgy

Lord Jesus, we approach Your throne with confidence

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 10:19-23, Philippians 4:6-7, Ephesians 2:18, Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:29

Lord Jesus, we approach Your throne with confidence, though we recognize the sin in our lives. Help us to hold on to the good and growing work You have begun in us. Continue to grow us into Your liken...

illustration

Fathers and Faith

Author

Lee Strobel

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:6-8, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Mark 10:17-22, Galatians 2:16

In his book The Case for Grace , pastor and author Lee Strobel describes a dream he had as a child after having a significant argument with his father. Strobel does what most of us would do at that...

Quote

Author

Woodrow Kroll

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:4-5, Titus 3:5, Luke 18:13-14, James 2:13, Micah 7:18

Justice is for those who deserve it; mercy is for those who don't.

illustration

Entering the Darkroom

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:12, Romans 5:3-4, Isaiah 45:3, Ephesians 2:10

While we are now surrounded by a never-ending number of pixels with our smartphones, there once was a time where the process of developing photographs took something much more significant than pointin...

illustration

The Unmerited Gift of Grace

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:6, Luke 23:39-43, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:6-8

If you’re not stunned by the thought of grace, then you aren’t grasping what grace offers you, or what it cost Jesus. In 1987, eighteen-month-old “Baby Jessica” fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well....

illustration

What Do You Believe Doc?

Author

D. Michael Lindsay

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Mark 9:24, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:17, Hebrews 11:6

In a quiet hospital room in North Carolina, an eager young doctor with a bright future evaluates his elderly patient with not much future left at all. She has a terminal heart condition, inoperable. A...

Quote

Author

Stanley Baldwin

Keywords

Faith

Scripture

Mark 11:22-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 26:3-4, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 56:3-4, Romans 1:17, 2 Corinthians 5:7

I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it.

illustration

The Lion and Its Prey

Keywords

Scripture

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...

liturgy

Jesus My Glory

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:6-17 , Ephesians 2:8-10, Acts 16:31-34, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 2:5-8 , Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:1-2

O Lord God, You have commanded us to believe in Jesus; and I would flee to no other refuge, wash in no other fountain, build on no other foundation, receive from no other fullness, res...

lectionary

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 2:3, Romans 5:10, Luke 5:31, Matthew 10:30, 1 Peter 5:8, Psalm 73:4-7, 13, 18-20

Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Wheat and Weeds Grow Even in the Church God’s good creation grows food for all living creatures. God made the Earth, God made all the plants, and God made all ...

lectionary

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:27-38, Isaiah 50:6, Lamentations 3:28-30, Psalm 37:null, Romans 5:7-8, Matthew 18:23-35, Deuteronomy 10:17-19, Leviticus 19:33-34, Ephesians 2:11-22, Galatians 3:28

Preaching Commentary The context Having addressed his disciples with the blessings and woes (6:20-26), Jesus now addresses the multitude of people (6:17, cf. 7:1). As with the blessings and woes, L...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, by your love and kindness, you saved us.

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:3-5, Ephesians 2:7-8, Colossians 3:12, Titus 3:4-5, Romans 5:8

Leader: Heavenly Father, by your love and kindness, you saved us. Not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of your great mercy. People: Teach us to more fully understand your ...

blog

Sermon Illustration Tuesday (11.6.18)

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:4, John 3:1-21, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 3:3-7

In the novel, Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley, Buddy Crawford, a horse trainer, has a “born again experience but things don’t go according to plan. This is his prayer: “One night, when he was praying...

liturgy

Dear Lord Jesus, we feel our sins. They

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 103:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:1, John 6:40, Romans 10:9-10, 1 John 1:9

Dear Lord Jesus, we feel our sins. They bite and gnaw and terrify us. Where shall we go? We will look to You, Lord Jesus, and believe in You. Although our faith is often weak, we look to You and find ...

illustration

The Two Runners

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

Quote

Author

Dorothy Day

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:5, Matthew 21:22, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 11:6, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 10:17

The only conclusion I have ever been able to reach is that we must pray God to increase our faith, a faith without which one cannot love or hope. 'Lord I believe, help though my unbelief.’

liturgy

Your torture puts hostility to

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:28, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 5:8

Your torture puts hostility to death Your broken body breaks down every dividing wall Your blood makes us blood What wondrous truth What dazzling grace Bring us near again, Jesus Help us remember an...

Quote

Author

Philip Melanchthon

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:26, Galatians 2:15-16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 3:23-31, 1 Peter 1:6-9

But we must add at once that the pious will not cease from good works simply because it is impossible to gain any merit by them. Rather, the greater our faith, the more and greater our works…. For sin...

Quote

Author

Darth Vader

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:8-9, Ephesians 2:8, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 10:17, Mark 9:23, Matthew 17:20, James 1:6

I find your lack of faith—disturbing.

illustration

“I am Buying Your Soul”

Author

Victor Hugo

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1-15, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:20, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 15:11-32, John 8:1-11

One of the most powerful illustrations of grace and mercy in all of western literature has to be the great scene between Monseigneur Bienvenu and Jean Valjean in the stirring epic Les Miserables by Vi...

liturgy

lectionary

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

lectionary

blog

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

lectionary

lectionary

liturgy

blog

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

illustration

A

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

P

R

S

W

Exodus

Psalm

Proverbs

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Micah

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

Titus

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

1 John