Bible and Theology on Rights

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Scripture

Romans 12:1, Luke 1:38, Luke 5:1-11, Mark 10:17-27, Genesis 22:1-18, Ephesians 2:10

I asked her what was so scary about unmerited free grace? She replied something like this: If I was saved by my good works -- then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through....

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Author

Dr. Seuss

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I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights."

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Great God Almighty Done Parted the Red Sea One Mo’ Time

Author

Andrew Young

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Scripture

James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:1-2, Romans 8:31, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Matthew 5:10-12, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 46:1

Easter Sunday dawned with Martin [Luther King] in jail. . . . We planned a march from New Pilgrim Baptist Church to the city jail for the afternoon of Easter Sunday. . . . By the time church ended som...

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Author

N. T. Wright

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"Righteousness," within the lawcourt setting-and this is something that no good Lutheran or Reformed theologian ought ever to object to-denotes the status that someone has when the court has...

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Biblical Rigtheousness Goes Beyond the Private

Author

John R. W. Stott

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Scripture

Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:16-17, Amos 5:24, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 7:9-10

For biblical righteousness is more than a private and personal affair; it includes social righteousness as well. And social righteousness, as we learn from the law and the prophets, is concerned with ...

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Author

Nicholas Wolterstorff

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Colossians 3:15, Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 9:6-7, Romans 14:17, Psalm 85:10, Micah 4:3-4

In shalom, each person enjoys justice, enjoys his or her rights. There is no shalom without justice. But shalom goes beyond justice. Shalom is the human being dwelling at peace in all his or her relat...

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Author

J. Paul Getty

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The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights.

liturgy

Prayer for Sound Government

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Scripture

1 Timothy 2:8, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 21:1, Daniel 2:21, Proverbs 29:2, Romans 13:1-7

The responses in bold may be omitted. O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep t...

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A New Thing Has Been Made

Author

Jonathan Cornell

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Scripture

Matthew 3:1-12, Galatians 3:26-29, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10-11

My kids love the movie Remember the Titans . It’s the story of the integration of the TC WIlliams High School Football Team in Alexandria, Virginia, in the 1960s Civil Rights era. The white players a...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Author

Eunice McGarrahan

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Scripture

1 Peter 3:13-22

Summary The Text: 1 Peter 3:13-22 In the first chapter of this letter, Peter sets out the reason for writing. He affirms the eternal state of the believer: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lo...

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A Christianity for Those with their Backs Against the Wall

Author

Howard Thurman

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Scripture

Exodus 3:7–10, Isaiah 58:6–10 , Amos 5:21–24, Luke 4:16–21, James 2:1–7, Psalm 9:9–10

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that I have heard a sermon on the meaning of religion, of Christianity, to the man who stands with his back against the wall. It is urgent th...

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We Will Still Love You

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Scripture

Exodus 23:4-5, 2 Kings 6:22, Proverbs 25:21-22, Matthew 5:43-44, Romans 12:17-21, Psalm 37:8-9

The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most difficult ethical injunctions in all of scripture. Many of us do not know how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Martin Luther K...

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A Fixed Pie Or A Growing Pie?

Author

Tom Nelson

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Scripture

Genesis 41:46-57 , Proverbs 31:10-31, Deuteronomy 8:17-18, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 12:13-21, Psalm 128:1-2

Seeing that wealth is neither to be avoided nor praised but rather stewarded wisely and generously, how should we think about material wealth creation? This is an important question worthy of thoughtf...

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A Short History of Christian’s Fighting for Justice

Author

Justin Giboney

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Scripture

Micah 6:8, Exodus 3:7–10, Isaiah 58:6–7, Luke 4:18–19, Romans 13:1–4, Psalm 72:12–14

There are also many historical examples of Christians faithfully using political means to fight for justice and righteousness. William Wilberforce: Politician and Abolitionist William Wilber...

liturgy

Merciful God, We come before you with

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Merciful God, We come before you with thankful hearts. Thankful for the many gifts you have given us. You have clothed us and given us shelter. You have given us food to fill our stomachs, friendship...

liturgy

Based on I Timothy 4:10 (NEB)

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We have set our hope on you, our living God, as those who set course for home from distant places. But we need your help if we are to keep on course: we need fresh sight of you, on which to check our ...

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Pursuing the Common Good Throughout History

Author

Don Everts

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Scripture

Matthew 22:39, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Corinthians 10:24, Romans 15:1-2, Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:10, Acts 20:35, Matthew 25:35-40, Isaiah 58:6-7, Proverbs 19:17, Luke 10:30-37, James 2:15-16, 1 John 3:17, Proverbs 31:8-9, Matthew 25:40, Acts 11:29-30, 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35, 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

Pursuing the common good has been a strong marker of the Christian church from the very beginning. The early church had many habits that they became known for, of course—including meeting frequently, ...

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Justice Requires Action

Author

Michelle Ferrigno Warren

Keywords

Justice

Scripture

Proverbs 1:20-22, John 3:18, Isaiah 5:24

Injustice is not okay. In recent years, people have been waking up, some for the first time to the reality that systems do not work for everyone, that civic engagement is important and that leadershi...

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Preaching on Parables: A Simple Framework to Teach Them Effectively

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Matthew 22:null, Matthew 22:1

A Special Kind of Story Most Christians have some idea of what a parable is. Ask an adult Sunday school class and you might hear: “It’s a story!” Another might chime in, “with a moral message!” Mer...

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Peace Keeping vs. Peacemaking

Author

Rick Love

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Scripture

Jeremiah 6:14, Jeremiah 8:11, Ezekiel 13:10, John 5:42

Peacekeepers are conflict avoiders, sweeping important issues under the carpet so no conflict manifests itself. This often happens in families and churches. This also happens between alienated ethnic ...

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The Beatitudes: An Antidote to Superficial Christianity

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

The Beatitudes

This blog post started as the introduction to a book review (details below), but I rather quickly realized I had two posts on my hands, not one: There are two quotes about the beatitudes that I lov...

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There’s Nothing He Can’t Ask Me

Author

Timothy Keller

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I asked her what was so scary about unmerited free grace? She replied something like this: “If I was saved by my good works — then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through....

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Author

Harvie M. Conn and Manuel Ortiz

Keywords

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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Coming To Terms with Institutional Racism

Author

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Keywords

Racism

Christians in America must come to terms with how institutional racism has infected us. Few white persons in twenty-first-century America see themselves as racist. (Even fewer Asian, Latino, or Africa...

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Traversing a Timeless Biblical Demand & Our Particular Place and Time

Author

Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer

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During the 1992 presidential election, I (Rick) was directing the small group ministry at our church. Bill Clinton was running against George H. W. Bush, and given that many evangelicals found Bill Cl...

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Curious About Oregon

Author

D. L. Mayfield

Keywords

The Latin root of curiosity means “cure,” which makes me wonder if it isn’t a way to heal some of our oldest sicknesses. Like, perhaps, the “amnesia of affluence” that theologians point out in the Bib...

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Which Doll is Prettiest?

Author

Melinda Joy Mingo

Keywords

In the 1940s, two black psychologists who were married to each other, Kenneth and Mamie Clark, were instrumental in the civil rights movement, conducting important research about the effects of race a...

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The Narrative of Racial Difference

Author

Bryan Stevenson

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In this excerpt by Bryan Stevenson, the civil rights attorney and author of Just Mercy, explains the origins of racial identity and difference, necessitated by a slave-based (American Christian) socie...

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The Unmaking of the Ungodly

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 11:null, Romans 4:17

In this excerpt from a sermon preached at Trinity Church, Boston, the Episcopalian Priest Fleming Rutledge describes the amazing work of Will Campbell: The last time I was here, your rector Sam Lloy...

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You Become What You Worship

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Two golden rules at the heart of spirituality. You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character o...

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