Bible and Theology on Isolation

Quote

Author

Keywords

Through all this ordeal his root horror had been isolation, and there are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twi...

liturgy

Gracious God, We build walls to protect

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 73:25-26, John 15:15, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3:8-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 37:5

Gracious God, We build walls to protect ourselves, but it leads to isolation. We make independence the highest value, instead of complete dependence on You. Forgive us for our inability to surrender e...

illustration

More Isolated than Ever

Author

Alexandra Kuykendall

Keywords

Whether young or old, Americans are feeling more isolated. According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, about half of Americans have weekly interactions with their neighbors, which means ...

liturgy

Lord—You are coming in power

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Lord—You are coming in power someday—and You are already here, near at-hand. You know us entirely—you know our wants and needs, our dreams and hopes, our disappointments and griefs--and yet You are no...

Quote

Author

William James

Keywords

Isolation

No more fiendish punishment could be devised, were such a thing physically possible, than that one should be turned loose in society and remain absolutely unnoticed by all the members thereof. If no o...

illustration

The Two Conflicting Instincts with Shame

Author

Heather Davis Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:7-8, Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:7-9, James 5:16, Galatians 6:1-2

Shame has two conflicting instincts. It needs to isolate and hide, and it needs a community in which to be transparent. Hiding, of course, usually wins. It is the easier and more natural of the two. B...

illustration

Koinonitus

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 47:9, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:4-5, Matthew 28:19-20, 1 John 1:7

The ancient Greek word for intimate fellowship is koinonia. In the church, we can suffer from what might be called koinonitus: fellowship turned in on itself; cliques and enclaves and tight-knit group...

illustration

The Office Sign

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Sometimes we become so lonely, we'll do whatever we can to have some social interaction. Vulgar and with a quick wit, Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was a significant short-story writer and social cri...

liturgy

Lord of families, tribes, peoples,

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:1

Lord of families, tribes, peoples, nations and all the world: it’s for freedom You’ve set us free from sin, guilt, and judgment; free to do what is right and just, what is compassionate, gracious and ...

illustration

The Monster's Friend

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:17, 1 Samuel 18:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, Job 2:11-13, Ruth 1:16-17

I was listening to a lecture on friendship to prepare this sermon and the speaker used the movie The Bride of Frankenstein as an illustration. Now, for this to work, you have to put the movie Young...

Quote

Author

Jon Acuff

Keywords

Perfection

Perfectionism loves isolation. It would prefer you go it alone, convincing you that relying on others is cheating. You should just be strong enough not to need anybody ... Why does it tell you that? B...

Quote

Author

G. K. Chesterton

Keywords

There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one.

series

Psalm 22 | Feeling Forsaken by God

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:, Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, Hebrews 2:12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? A Structured Complaint The Psalmist organizes his complaint against God in three sections. The first two sections dramatize the complaint (vv. 1-11 and...

liturgy

Almighty God, during this tumultuous

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Almighty God, during this tumultuous time, we see so clearly our frailty and powerlessness. Any illusions of strength and grandeur have been stripped away. We are utterly dependent upon you. Even with...

liturgy

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

James 1:5, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18, Philippians 3:6-7, Matthew 6:31-33

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us on, help us stand; We’re tired, we’re weak, we’re worn; Thru the storm, thru the night, Lead us on to the light, Take our hand, precious Lord, Lead us home. The o...

liturgy

God of Love and Mercy—Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

John 16:33, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 15:13, Philippians 4:13, Isaiah 40:31

God of Love and Mercy—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: As those beloved by You...You give us the privilege of loving others and praying for them ... as we do today. We pray on behalf of those for whom th...

liturgy

Gracious God–Giver of all good gifts:

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Revelation 21:4, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 40:31, Ephesians 1:7

Gracious God–Giver of all good gifts: We praise You. You give us the wonder of creation and You give us life. We praise You, Father. You give us forgiveness of our sins with salvation and eternal life...

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...

liturgy

Blessing Students as They Return to School

Keywords

Welcoming One, we welcome you and we welcome another school year. Thank you for the blessings of learning and growing, thinking and creating, reasoning and discovering. Fulfill these blessings in ever...

Quote

Author

Andrew McGowan

Keywords

The body eaten is focused communally rather than individually, finding the Savior’s presence in the corporate consumption rather than in the elements taken in isolation.

series

Oceans: 1, Jonah 1:1-17

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 1:1-17, Isaiah 60:1-9, Psalm 48:7, Isaiah 23:1, Psalm 72:10, Isaiah 60:9, Isaiah 60:null, Isaiah 40:1-2

For purposes of practicality and relatability, this series considers the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea “oceans.” The point is to relate our present-day affinity for the ocean, seashore, and beach...

blog

A Master Craftsman and his Workshop

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

The Master & His Workshop I remember first walking into my friend Andrew’s new workshop, housed in a colonial-style barn and situated on an expansive wooded acreage on the Eastern Seaboard. Thin...

blog

Why Preach the Lectionary?

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:null

Introduction This message is primarily directed to my friends for whom the word “lectionary” sounds like a disease. I, too, once shared your visceral shudder when someone uttered the phrase “lectiona...

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

Wolves, Sheep, and Sheepdogs*

Author

Daniel G. Amen

Keywords

Sheep

In his book On Combat, Lieutenant Dave Grossman talks about people being in one of three categories on a bell-shaped curve: wolves, sheep, or sheepdogs. Most people fall into the category of being she...

illustration

The Gloryscope

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Glory

Sadly, many of us live this way every day even though God has designed the world in which we live to be a gloryscope. What does this term mean? Just as a telescope points you to the stars and magnifie...

Quote

Author

Peter J. Leithart

Keywords

The Trinity

None of the persons seeks his own; none seeks to know himself in isolation. Irreducibly different as they are, they are entangled in an eternal knot of perfect communion.

illustration

“It’s All Done”

Author

Mark Labberton

Keywords

I went to the IRS office in Oakland. I waited. And I waited. Eventually I was escorted through a warren of cubicles to the one where I was to meet the agent who would assist me. Alone in the bowels of...

illustration

Poverty from Differing Perspectives

Author

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

Keywords

We have conducted the previous exercise in dozens of middle-to-upper-class, predominantly Caucasian, North American churches. In the vast majority of cases, these audiences describe poverty differentl...

illustration

The Church of San Diego

Author

Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:12-13, John 17:21, 1 Corinthians 3:4, Romans 3:28, Acts 4:32

We were recently with a collection of pastors in San Diego and were asked to share about our common call to peacemaking. Fully aware of the posturing and isolation of many of these churches, we found ...

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

series

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

series

blog

blog

blog

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah