Arts and Culture on Stars

liturgy

O Lord. You created the stars and named

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 8:4

O Lord. You created the stars and named every one of them. We have named some of the clusters like Pleiades or Orion. The Big and Little Dippers, Aquarius, Libra, Andromeda. But we can’t name them all...

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Bright Spark, Shot from a Higher Place

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 24:15-18 , Malachi 3:2-3, Isaiah 6:5-7, Psalm 51:10-12 , 2 Corinthians 3:18, Revelation 22:5

Thus the incomparable George Herbert writes of our glorification in his poem “The Star”: Bright spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviour’s face, Canst thou be any where ...

Quote

Author

Vincent van Gogh

Keywords

When I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion, then I go out and paint the stars.

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 148 (NRSVUE)

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 148:1-4, Psalm 148:null

Leader: Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. People: Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Leader: Praise him, sun and moon...

liturgy

Lord, high and holy, meek and

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:24-25, Philippians 1:21, Romans 8:18, Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, Psalm 23:4

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory. Let me lear...

liturgy

Almighty God, you are king of

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1-2, Luke 18:13-14, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 32:5, Isaiah 57:15, James 4:10

Almighty God, you are king of everything. You are Lord of our lives. You control the stars in heavens. And you humbled yourself to be a servant to us. In response to this, we continue to reign as king...

illustration

When Even Science Has a Bias

Author

Brenda Salter McNeil

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:1-4, Romans 2:11

Brock Schroeder used to teach astronomy at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois, and he prided himself on being open to exploring a wide range of perspectives in his life and work. In the natural sc...

illustration

Sherlock Holmes and Watson Go Camping

Author

Geoff Anandappa

Keywords

Scripture

Job 38:7, Psalm 8:3-4, Genesis 15:5, Daniel 12:3, Matthew 2:2

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. In the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me wh...

liturgy

A Prayer for the Future

Author

Francis Drake

Keywords

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves; when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lo...

Quote

Author

Francis S. Collins

Keywords

When you look from the perspective of a scientist at the universe, it looks as if it knew we were coming. There are 15 constants—the gravitational constant, various constants about the strong and weak...

illustration

I Made You

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Society still has its share of fifth sparrows: indistinct souls who feel dispensable, disposable, worth less than a penny. They drive carpools and work in cubicles. Some sleep beneath cardboard on the...

blog

A Poem & Five Quotes on Winter

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

The trees are bare, the days are short, and there is a chill in the air. Here is a prayer and five quotes on winter. A Prayer "A Prayer for Winter" by Kayla Craig Every Season...

illustration

It Just Happened

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-31, Psalm 90:1-3, Psalm 33:6-9, Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:16

Robert Ingersoll, the well-known agnostic, once visited Henry Ward Beecher, the abolitionist and celebrated American preacher of the time. While there, he noticed a stunning globe that displayed the s...

blog

Spare: Privilege and Pain

Author

Colleen Strachan

Keywords

What do the royals and a Rorschach test have in common? Both provoke reactions that tell us more about the attitudes and beliefs of the beholder than about the object of their gaze. This is not to say...

Quote

Author

Mother Teresa

Keywords

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how ...

Quote

Author

Robert Louis Stevenson

Keywords

The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plai...

blog

Truth We Can Touch By Tim Chester Book Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

April 2020 is an interesting time to write a book review on the sacraments (or anything, for that matter). As Tim Chester, author of the book, Truth We Can Touch , points out, You can read you...

illustration

The Meaning of a Name

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Names

The meaning of a name is not discovered through scholarly etymology or through meditative introspection. It is not validated by bureaucratic approval. And it certainly is not worked up through the van...

illustration

Community & Identity in the Himba People

Author

Ann Voskamp

Keywords

There’s a brilliant family of people in Africa, called the Himba. When a Himba woman is expecting a child, she goes out into the wilderness with a few of her sisters, and together they wait till they ...

illustration

Practicing Corporate Repentance

Author

George Yancey

Keywords

In his insightful work, Beyond Racial Gridlock, George Yancey provides a multi-faceted picture of both the brokenness of American race-relations, as well as a response couched in the gospel. In this e...

Quote

Author

Edward Glaeser

Keywords

On a planet with vast amounts of space, we choose cities.

liturgy

Adapted from multiple scriptures on Light and Darkness

Keywords

Scripture

John 12:35-36, John 8:12, Isaiah 60:1-3, Isaiah 60:5, Isaiah 60:1-3

Leader: Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you." People: Arise, shine; for your light has come, an...

illustration

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...

liturgy

Almighty and Everlasting God, who are

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 72:18-19, Isaiah 60:1-3, Matthew 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 4:6

Almighty and Everlasting God, who are the brightness of faithful souls and the desire of all nations; so fill the world with your glory and show yourself by the radiance of your light that all the peo...

liturgy

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...

liturgy

Adapted from John 12 and Isaiah 60

Keywords

Scripture

John 12:35-36, Isaiah 60:1-3, John 12:null, Isaiah 60:null

Leader: So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you.” People: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the gl...

illustration

Reducing People to the Madness of a Single Moment

Author

Jonathan K. Dodson

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 11:2, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Philippians 2:3-4, Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 23:1-12

In his thoughtful book, Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes , Jonathan K. Dodson points out our blind-spots with respect to pride: We rarely think of ourselves as proud. I...

liturgy

Adapted from Isaiah 60:1-5a

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-5, Isaiah 60:19

Leader: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. People: For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will ar...

liturgy

Adapted From Psalm 57:7-10

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 57:7-10

Pastor: My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! All: Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! Pastor: I will give thanks to you, O ...

Quote

Author

Tony Reinke

Keywords

Satan blinds hearts by filling eyes with worthless things. His veil over human hearts today is a veil of pixels, and the chains of his spiritual bondage are tethered to the world’s theater.

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