Bible and Theology on Set Apart

Quote

Author

Keywords

Like trees, words have roots. Dig underneath the letters’ soil and you’ll discover its definition. The root word of “holy” means “to cut” or “to separate.” When applied to everything outside of God, w...

illustration

Holy Dishes

Author

Jackie Hill Perry

Keywords

There’s a sermon by the great Tony Evans in which he uses an illustration involving dishes to make sense of the term “holy.” In his home, and in most homes really, there are two types of dishes. There...

Quote

Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

But on the seventh day God stops not only to bless but to “hallow” or set apart the sabbath. The holiness of God is revealed not just in what he does but how he rests.

illustration

Hallowed or In Vain?

Author

Tony Evans

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:9

The Lord’s Prayer begins, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). The term “hallowed” and the word “holy” comes from the same root word. It means “apart, or sanctified.” Go...

illustration

Hallowed Ground

Author

Kevin DeYoung

Keywords

Holiness

When someone or something is holy it is set apart. In the Gettysburg Address (1863), Abraham Lincoln declared the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania to be “hallowed ground.” Because of the momentou...

illustration

Paradise: A Set Apart Place

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 51:3, Genesis 1:28, Psalm 104:14-15, Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:8-9

The first garden (Eden) was perfection. In it was the possibility not only for the purest fulfillment of the human race but for all of creation. It was meant to be a paradise, which is, in fact, no di...

liturgy

God of righteousness, you are holy, set

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

God of righteousness, you are holy, set apart from everything in creation. All too often we disregard your commandments. We ignore the instruction you have given us. We don’t listen to your Spirit’s l...

Quote

Author

Michael Pollan

Keywords

A garden should make you feel you've entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on...

illustration

Sanctification is a Process

Author

Paul E. Little

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Hebrews 10:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:3

Sanctification is a process. Basically, the word sanctified means “set apart.” The term saint comes from the same root and means “a set-apart one” to the Lord. Another word with the same meaning is ho...

blog

All Saints' Day Liturgy and Prayers: Two Options for Your Church

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

I wouldn’t be surprised if, as a Protestant pastor, you approach All Saints’ Day with a little unease. After all, because Protestant churches tend not to have a special class of canonized exemplars ...

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...

illustration

The Lowliest Tree

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:4-5, Luke 2:

God’s love for the vulnerable is beautifully portrayed in the beloved animated classic A Charlie Brown Christmas . The climactic moment, when Linus walks into the spotlight with his blanket and r...

illustration

O Simplicitas

Author

Madeleine L'Engle

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:19, John 1:14, Matthew 2:9-11, Luke 2:8-12, Matthew 2:1-2, Luke 2:6-7

An angel came to me And I was unprepared To be what God was using. Mother I was to be A moment I despaired, Thought briefly of refusing. The angel knew I heard According to God’s word, ...

illustration

The Perfect Soil for Winemaking

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

My first call to ministry was in Eastern Washington state. It turned out to be one of the most prolific winemaking regions in the country. One of the things I learned from a local winery was really qu...

liturgy

Loving God, You created us to be Your

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Loving God, You created us to be Your people, made in Your image, and set apart for Your glory. But we have chosen to disobey You, and have determined that our way is better than Your way. We have bec...

Quote

Author

Mike Cosper

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:8

The garden itself was more than an agricultural project. It was a meeting place for God and man, where God “walked” among humanity (Gen. 3:8). It was the first temple, the first sacred space, set apar...

illustration

The Origin of the Word “Sacrament”

Author

Tim Chester

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:27, Colossians 2:2, 1 Timothy 3:16

The word “sacrament” comes from the Latin word sacramentum. It was used in two ways at the time. First, it described the oath taken by soldiers in the Roman army. It was a sacred pledge of allegiance....

Quote

Author

Matthew Henry

Keywords

The Sacraments

Thou hast taken me into covenant with thee, for I am a baptized Christian, set apart for thee and sealed to be thine; thou hast laid me, and I have also laid myself, under all possible obligations to ...

lectionary

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

A Note of Understanding The Lectionary and the Liturgical Calendar Preaching from the lectionary isn’t always easy. When the assigned texts align with major moments in the liturgical calendar—Christ...

lectionary

Good Friday

Author

Jonathan Cornell

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9, Hebrews 5:7-9

Ancient Lens What Can We Learn From the Historical Context? Old and New Testaments Meet Hebrews is a rich tapestry of intricately woven theology that spans the Old and New Testaments. With Christ...

liturgy

O Lord and Father of the household of

Author

Hughes Oliphant Old

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-2, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:10, Micah 6:8, James 5:16

O Lord and Father of the household of faith, we thank you for the gift of faith worked within us by your Holy Spirit. We thank you for having called us to yourself, for consecrating us to your ser...

illustration

Red Letter Christians

Author

Shane Claiborne

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 22:37-40, John 13:34-35, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 7:12

Several years ago, a radio DJ in my home state of Tennessee was interviewing a friend of mine, Jim Wallis. This DJ was an interesting cacophony of things: he was a Jewish country music DJ who didn’t s...

illustration

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...

liturgy

Gracious God, I am reminded today of

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

John 16:33, Revelation 21:4, Matthew 5:4, Lamentations 3:22-23, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 53:4-5, Romans 8:18

Gracious God, I am reminded today of the horrible pain that sin causes. How many lives are destroyed by sin? How many families rent apart? How many parents overcome with grief? And this is just the be...

liturgy

Lord–some of us are running or dancing

Lord–some of us are running or dancing into the celebration to come; others of us are tired, limping or stumbling into it. Either way–You are standing there in Your love, with arms open wide, to recei...

illustration

Which “World” Are we Talking About?

Author

C. J. Mahaney

Keywords

World

Scripture

John 2:15, Genesis 1:31, John 3:16

The “world” of 1 John 2:15 doesn’t refer to the created order or to the blessings that come from living in a modern society, such as modern conveniences or medical and scientific advances. For God cre...

illustration

Death and Life in Your Hands

Author

Harold L. Senkbe

Keywords

Let’s call her Roberta; she was clearly near the end of a very long journey toward death’s door. Roberta’s cancer was a particularly nasty variety; by now it had eaten its way into most of her vital o...

illustration

A Day Away

Author

Elton Trueblood

Keywords

Retreat

One rare but powerful item of discipline is the requirement that the recruit of the company undertake a personal experience of solitude at least once a month. This is patterned consciously on the expe...

illustration

A Sabbath Box

Author

Wayne Muller

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 20:8-10, Luke 10:41-42

Make a Sabbath box. When you set aside time for Sabbath—whether it is an hour, a morning, or a day—put in the box those things you do not want to use…. You can also use the Sabbath box to hold all the...

Quote

Author

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

Keywords

Everything in the universe is all jumbled together. So God begins to do some creative separating: he separates light from darkness, day from night, water from land, the sea creatures from the land cru...

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

blog

lectionary

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

lectionary

lectionary

liturgy

illustration

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

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