Arts and Culture on Shepherds

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Shepherds versus Farmers?

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In Understanding Genesis Nahum Sarna explodes the myth that in the story of Cain and Abel represents a biblical preference for the shepherd over the tiller of the soil. He points out that “there is no...

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A Basic Set of Wants

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

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Scripture

Psalm 23:null

In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament) , scholar Ken Bailey describes the nature of David’...

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The Drama of Humanity & Nations

Author

Thomas Kelly

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:26-27, Ezekiel 36:26, Revelation 3:20, Psalm 139:7-10, Luke 15:20

In his excellent little book, A Testament of Devotion , Thomas Kelly describes the inward reality that governs the course of history: Out in front of us is the drama of men and of nations, seethi...

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Adapted from Jeremiah 31:7-13

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Scripture

Jeremiah 31:7-13

Leader: Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. People: Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Leader: See, I will bring them fr...

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Anointing as Hospitality

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:null, Psalm 23:5, Isaiah 61:1, Luke 10:34, Luke 7:35-50

In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament ) , scholar Ken Bailey provides helpful context t...

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Sheep Over Goats… Literally?

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:32-33

While in seminary I did some research and editing work for a missiology professor, and I came across a story of a missionary who took Jesus’s illustration of sheep and goats quite literally when worki...

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To You, Present Lord—Emmanuel—the One

Author

Daniel Morris

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To You, Present Lord—Emmanuel—the One who is with us, we confess: In hearing Your voice, we have closed our ears. In sensing Your leading, we have turned away. In feeling Your presence, we have hidden...

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Re-Wilding and Restoring Balance to Nature

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, John 8:36

In 1995, the gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after a seventy-year hiatus. Scientists expected an ecological ripple effect, but the size and scope of the trophic cascade took th...

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We ask you, Lord and master, to be our

Author

Clement of Rome

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Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Matthew 5:3-4, Isaiah 61:1, James 4:10, Psalm 145:14

We ask you, Lord and master, to be our help and support. Save those in trouble; have mercy on the humble; raise the fallen; reveal yourself to the needy; heal the ungodly; return the wanderers of your...

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The Heroes of the Bible (mostly) had Regular Jobs

Author

John Ortberg

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Most of the heroes in the Bible had what we would think of as secular vocations. Isaac developed real estate, Jacob was a rancher, and Joseph was a government official (in charge of agriculture, the e...

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Adapted from Psalm 80

Author

Kimberly Bracken Long

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Scripture

Psalm 80:null

Shepherd of Israel, God of hosts, we have turned away from you, neglecting the welfare of your creation, ignoring the plight of your people, trampling on the creatures and the plants you have made, t...

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Adapted from Psalm 95

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Scripture

Psalm 95:1-7

Leader: O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! People: Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with song...

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On the Outside Trying to Get Into Christmas

Author

Bill Gaultiere

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew 1:23-24

Isolated at Christmas It’s an isolating feeling to be on the outside looking in. We’ve all felt it. Some of us especially feel this way at Christmastime. We might relate to Frank Abagnale in the mov...

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Author

Harvie M. Conn and Manuel Ortiz

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Scripture

Matthew 5:25, Matthew 23:7, Mark 5:56, Matthew 25:27, Luke 19:23, Mark 12:1-12, Matthew 8:5, Matthew 9:10, Luke 5:27

One could not live in any village in lower Galilee and escape the effects and ramifications of urbanization.” Life here was urbanized and urbane as anywhere else in the Empire. Did these urban influen...

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Adapted from Psalm 48

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 48:null

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised His holy mountain is the joy of all the earth. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God. Walk about Zion, that you may tell the next generation t...

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Adapted from Psalm 100 (WEB)

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 100:null

LEADER: Shout for joy to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. ALL: Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who made us, and we are his. We are...

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

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

We ask you, God, to help and defend us. Deliver the oppressed, pity the insignificant, raise the fallen, show yourself to the needy, heal the sick, bring back those of your people who have gone astray...

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Adapted from Psalm 100 (ESV)

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Scripture

Psalm 100:null

Leader: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! People: Serve the Lord with gladness! Leader: Come into his presence with singing! People: Know that the Lord, he is God! Leader: It is ...

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Rabbinic “Tentmakers”

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Work

In the world of the rabbis, a scholar was expected to earn his keep by engaging in a secular profession. The Mishnah tractate Avot reads: Make them [the words of the Law] not a crown wherewith to mag...

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The Land Slows Us Down

Author

Jennifer Dukes Lee

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Scripture

Isaiah 55:10-11, John 15:1-2, Matthew 13:31-32, Deuteronomy 11:10-12, Psalm 65:9-10, Leviticus 25:23, Genesis 1:11-12

It’s been right here all along—the land teaching us how to un-hurry our hurry-sick hearts. Land speaks stunning truths through Scripture. The Hebrew word for land is eretz. It is the fifth most freque...

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Adapted from Psalm 126 (ESV)

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 126:

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The LORD ha...

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Author

N. T. Wright

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Many first-century Jews thought of themselves as living in a continuing narrative stretching from earliest times, through ancient prophecies, and on toward a climactic moment of deliverance which migh...

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Adapted from Isaiah 2:2-5

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 2:2-5

Pastor: It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the na...

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Metaphors, Parables and Dramatic Actions

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16

The biblical writers and reciters make extensive use of metaphors, parables and dramatic actions. Jesus does not say, “God’s love is boundless.” Instead, he tells the story of the prodigal son. He doe...

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The Song of Simeon

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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...

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Adapted from Isaiah 49:8–16a

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Scripture

Isaiah 49:8-16

Sing for joy, heavens and earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! Our Creator has comforted the people and will have compassion for the ones who are suffering. Come out! The imprisoned shall h...

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Inspired by Isaiah 60:1-3

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, Brothers and Sisters, for your light has come! The Glory of the Lord rises upon you. Do not let the darkness that covers the earth cover your faith. Do not allow the thick darkness that is over...

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O God, your unfailing providence

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O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live: Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep, and grant that we may never forget that our comm...

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To Be One of the Great Ones Is Not What It Seems

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 53:2, Micah 6:8

For those of us who live in the shadow of self-doubt, who may wonder what meaning a life of relative anonymity may have in a society filled with the cult of celebrity in which likes, reposts, and digi...

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Story as Worldview and the Example of Passover

Author

N. T. Wright and Michael Bird

Keywords

Stories, after all, are one of the most basic modes of human life and are a characteristic expression of worldview. Human life is constituted by a series of stories, implicit and explicit, that makes ...

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