Bible and Theology on Foundations

liturgy

O God, you are the sure foundation and

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 62:6, 1 Peter 2:4-6, 2 Timothy 2:19, Psalm 18:2, Ephesians 2:19-20, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 3:11

O God, you are the sure foundation and the certain cornerstone. Building on you brings life, yet we often turn away and try to find hope by building on other foundations. Self-esteem, money, career, f...

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The Fruit Comes at the End

Author

Banning Liebscher

Keywords

In the growth cycle of fruit-bearing plants, fruit comes at the very end. The cycle starts with a seed being planted in the ground. When watered, the seed will break open and begin to put down roots. ...

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Our Unworthy Cornerstones

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:20, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Peter 2:6-8, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Hebrews 12:27-28, Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17

The cornerstone was a critical element of ancient architecture, the anchor that the rest of the building relied on. The cornerstone was the stone that set the alignment of the entire building. Every o...

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A Firm Foundation of Joy

Author

Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw

Keywords

Children—and then adults—with a firm foundation of joy also have the capacity to make positive contributions in the world. It starts with play and exploration. When a child has a firm foundation of jo...

Quote

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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A Firm Conviction

Author

Ben Patterson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:28-31, Ephesians 3:20-21, Psalm 147:5, James 1:5, Proverbs 3:5-6

The foundation of faith is a firm conviction regarding three things about God—his perfect love, wisdom and power. Like a three-legged stool, no combination of two will do. There must be all three for ...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm. 46; Matt. 7:21–29

Author

Kimberly Bracken Long

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:null, Matthew 7:21

God, our rock and refuge, there are plenty of things that we allow to erode our faith in you. When life gets stormy, we let our uncertainty cloud our trust in you. We think we know better and start re...

liturgy

Adapted from Lamentations 3:22-24 and Ephesians 2:11-22

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-24, Ephesians 2:11-22

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. ‘The Lord is our portion,’ says our souls, ‘therefore, we will hop...

Quote

Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Because I am a Christian, therefore, every day in which I do not penetrate more deeply into the knowledge of God's Word in Holy Scripture is a lost day for me. I can only move forward with certain...

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A Workable Structure for Life

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Worship gives us a workable structure for life. The psalm says, “Jerusalem, well-built city, built as a place for worship! The city to which the tribes ascend, all God’s tribes go up to worship.” Jeru...

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The Future Orientation of the Beatitudes

Author

Jonathan K. Dodson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:53-58, Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 6:20-22, 1 Corinthians 15:53-58

In his thoughtful book, Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes , Jonathan K. Dodson describes one of the keys to understanding the beatitudes: live faithfully now, experience...

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An Appeal for Mercy at the Heart of our Faith

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:13, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:4-5, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 5:7

When Johann Sebastian Bach sought to convey the heart of Christian truth through music, he chose the Mass as his foundation. His B Minor Mass begins with a heartfelt plea from the full chorus and orch...

liturgy

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: our Creator

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. You are Good and You are Strong; You are Faithful and You are Loving. You care about our deepest needs: what keeps us awake at ni...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 40

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 40:null

I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave my feet a firm place to stand. ...

Quote

Author

Angela Doll Carlson

Keywords

When I am away from Liturgy for too long, I find I burn for it now, for the steadiness of the calendar, the words" that ring out in repetition, the heavy scented air. When I return each week, I a...

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You Are the Tree

Author

Jake Meador

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 1:null

In the film Of Gods and Men , director Xavier Beauvois tells the story of a small group of mostly French monks living in Algeria during a time of civil unrest. These monks live a life of quiet fideli...

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The Elderly Contractor

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 127:1, Matthew 25:23, Luke 16:10, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 22:29, 1 Corinthians 3:13-14, Galatians 6:7

An elderly master carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He w...

Quote

Author

Ken Untener

Keywords

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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The Great Wall of China & The Desire for Safety

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 4:23, 1 Samuel 15:22, Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Psalm 127:1

The Great Wall of China was an immense and costly project, built with tremendous effort and resources, designed to provide security and protection. Yet, within a few years of its completion, it was br...

lectionary

Third Sunday of Easter

Author

Paul Koptak

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:17-23, Isaiah 40:6-8

(Scripture quotations below are from ESV unless noted otherwise.) Liturgical Context On this Third Sunday of Easter, the Revised Common Lectionary texts harmonize with the epistle’s praise of Jesus...

series

Psalm 1 | God's Law (Free Preview)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Scripture

Psalm 1:, Matthew 5:17, Matthew 5:3-12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Wisdom Song It is not too far a stretch to imagine an eager young person sitting at the feet of a well-seasoned elder and receiving the words of thi...

liturgy

Creator Spirit, by whose aid The

Author

John Dryden

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:5-6, Ezekiel 37:1-14, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Romans 8:11, Psalm 104:30, Genesis 1:1-2

Creator Spirit, by whose aid The world's foundations first were laid, Come, visit every pious mind; Come, pour thy joys on humankind; From sin and sorrow set us free, And make thy temples worthy t...

liturgy

We Will Rise From the Ruins

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 58:11-12, Isaiah 58:1-14

We will rise From the destruction From the ruins From the sin and isolation We will rise Building strong foundations Bridging the breach Making a way, a highway to our God We will rise in our ce...

Quote

Author

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

Keywords

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish...

Quote

Author

Otto Friedrich Bollnow

Keywords

The virtue of gratitude . . . directly touches the ultimate foundations of human existence, for there is hardly another quality of man that is so suited to reveal the state of his inner spiritual and ...

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Hope Can Be Hard to Come By

Author

John Piper

Keywords

Hope

Scripture

Psalm 18:6, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:17-18, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:21-23, Philippians 4:13

But hope is hard to come by. I should know. I remember the time when I was once busy dying. It wasn’t long after I had broken my neck in a diving accident that I spent one particularly hopeless week i...

Quote

Author

Steven Boyer and Chris Hall

Keywords

The foundation of all reality, the imaginable source of everything that is, is not just a monolithic “T”, ‘but also a remarkably mutual we,’ a communion of distinct persons supremely united in persona...

Quote

Author

Christopher J. H. Wright

Keywords

Mission

Fundamentally, our mission (if it is biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of G...

Quote

Author

Edmund Burke

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:2, Matthew 23:12, Colossians 3:12, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:4, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6

True humility—the basis of the Christian system—is the low but deep and firm foundation of all virtues.

illustration

The Giving Path

Author

John M. Templeton Jr

Keywords

In More Give to Live, Dr. Douglas Lawson provides evidence that the urge toward generosity begins early in life. He describes a continuum that he calls the “Giving Path.” This path begins with parents...

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