Bible and Theology on Beginnings

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Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and always rise up bravely from a fall. I’m glad that you make daily a new beginning; ...

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God Was There First

Author

John Stott

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Scripture

Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-42, John 6:44, Ephesians 1:4-5

‘In the beginning God.’ The first four words of the Bible are more than a way of launching the story of creation or introducing the book of Genesis. They supply the key which opens our understanding t...

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Author

Douglas Adams

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In the beginning, the universe was created. This has been widely regarded as a bad move. (for contrast, and humor)

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Author

Francis S. Collins

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We have this very solid conclusion that the universe had an origin, the Big Bang. Fifteen billion years ago, the universe began with an unimaginably bright flash of energy from an infinitesimally smal...

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The Meaning of Easter

Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

1 Peter 1:3, Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, John 11:25-26, John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Here, then, is the message of Easter, or at least the beginning of that message. The resurrection of Jesus doesn’t mean, “It’s all right. We’re going to heaven now.” No, the life of heaven has been bo...

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Author

Ken Untener

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 11:13, Galatians 6:9, Philippians 1:6

"Oscar Romero's Prayer" It helps, now and then,to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime onl...

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Author

Rudolf Borchardt

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God’s garden, made “in the beginning,” does not lie behind us, but ahead of us, in hope, and, in the meantime, all around us as our place of work. History without gardens would be a wasteland. What th...

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The Beginning of the Psalms

Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:18-20 , Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 , 1 Samuel 16:23, 2 Samuel 23:1–2 , Isaiah 11:1–2, Luke 4:16–21, Acts 2:29–36, Psalm 22:

It is reported that after David’s secret anointing as king, he was called to play the harp for King Saul, who was abandoned by God and plagued by an evil spirit: “And whenever the harmful spirit from ...

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Our Place of Roots and Beginnings

Author

N. T. Wright

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In all our pilgrimages, we begin by going back to our roots. When Christians go to the Holy Land today, we do not go because God is present there in a way in which he is not in New York or Nottingham,...

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Baptism: A New Beginning out of the Watery Chaos

Author

Rowan Williams

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Scripture

Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 8:6-12 , Isaiah 32:14-17, Matthew 3:13-17, John 3:5-8, Romans 6:3-4

At the very beginning of creation, the book of Genesis tells us, there was watery chaos. And over that watery chaos there was, depending on how you read the Hebrew, the Holy Spirit hovering or a great...

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Leader: The good news is that Christ

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Leader: The good news is that Christ calls us to new life and enables us to begin again and again and again and again. Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. People: In Jesus Christ we...

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Pastor: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

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Scripture

John 1:14, Psalm 147:5, Lamentations 5:21

Pastor: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, People: and we have seen his glory, Pastor: glory as of the only Son from the Father, People: full of grace and truth. ...

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Goodness: A Home for Humanity

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:null, Genesis 2:null

In Genesis 1–2, God makes a home for his people. From the primeval wilderness and wasteland God begets beauty and form, building the grand house called Earth. God’s creative acts are not simply intend...

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The Rarity of Light

Author

Paula Huston

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:1-5, John 8:12, Psalm 27:1, Luke 2:9, Ephesians 5:8, Psalm 23:4, Luke 2:1-2

In the great scheme of things, light is actually quite rare. Geo-physicists tell us that 71 percent of the earth’s surface lies under the ocean, which means that most of our planet abides in eternal d...

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Father God–You are a God of grace and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Ephesians 4:2-3, Micah 6:8, John 16:33, Psalm 147:3, Romans 15:13, Jeremiah 17:14

Father God–You are a God of grace and abundance, who blesses us with more than a shower of blessings but a downpour of mercies. We rejoice with friends in new marriages, and in the strength of lasting...

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May those without hope take heart in

Author

Pamela C. Hawkins

Keywords

May those without hope take heart in you, O Christ. May those with no home find shade at your right hand. May those near the end see beginnings; may those at the last become first. At the foot of y...

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Risen Lord, Loving Father ... and

Risen Lord, Loving Father ... and Ever-Present Spirit: Thank You for reaching into our doubts, giving us the faith we lack. Thank You for Your gracious condescension reaching from the glories of heave...

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Lord of Hope and God of all that’s new—Father

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:12, Colossians 3:14, 1 Peter 3:8, Ephesians 4:2-3, Psalm 136:1

Lord of Hope and God of all that’s new—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We’re filled with wonder, gratitude, and joy inspired by the gifts of new life You freely give us. There’s the joy and wonder of eve...

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Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:10, Hebrews 10:14, Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 1:6

God's Kingdom is "present in its beginnings, but still future in its fullness. This guards us from an under-realized eschatology (expecting no change now) and an over-realized eschatology (ex...

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The Origin of University Sabbaticals

Author

Richard Bullock and Richard Bruesehoff

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In their beginnings, many universities were connected to the church and religious orders, and a sabbatical was considered a time to experiment, learn anew, or pray and meditate. That understanding, un...

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Justified?

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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There is a television show that has one of those beginnings that stick with you long after you’ve seen it. And it starts like this…A man, dressed like a cowboy enters an ultra sleek Miami club, lookin...

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Grace for the Long Road of Obedience

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

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Scripture

Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 1:6, John 21:15-19, Exodus 16:, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, John 15:1-8

Grace is not only needed for the occasion of conversion, the moment we suddenly (or slowly) come to our senses and realize that we are spiritually bankrupt, having nothing to bring to God and everythi...

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Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Ephesians 3:16-17, Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40, Psalm 23:1-3, Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: we hear your Word and sing your praises. We meet at the Table and partake of your Sacrament–the gospel made visible. You call us to yourself, and you send us out ...

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In My Beginning is My End

Author

Phillip Graham Ryken

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:null

It is characteristic of any great work of literature to have in its ending something that brings a sense of harmony to the whole. Like the finale of a symphony, or the confetti at the end of a nationa...

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Author

Basil of Caesarea

Keywords

To novices it is a beginning; to those who are advancing, an increase; to those who are concluding, a confirmation.

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From the very beginning was Your

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 24:35, Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12

From the very beginning was Your Word, Which spoke this world into being, Your Word, Which thunders from the skies, Your Word, Which flows like mountain streams, Your Word, Which whispers in morning b...

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Baptism: Out of the Watery Chaos

Author

Rowan Williams

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:5-6, John 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 3:16-17, Genesis 1:1-2

At the very beginning of creation, the book of Genesis tells us, there was watery chaos. And over that watery chaos there was, depending on how you read the Hebrew, the Holy Spirit hovering or a great...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms...

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Adapted from Genesis 1 / John 1 (WEB)

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:null, John 1:null

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. And God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. In ...

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

Scripture

2 Chronicles 7:14, James 4:6, Proverbs 29:23, Psalm 25:9, Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 18:4, Luke 18:14

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.

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