Bible and Theology on Worldly Power

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O King of all people

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Scripture

Revelation 19:16, Isaiah 9:6-7, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, Colossians 1:16, Daniel 7:14, Psalm 145:13, Revelation 11:15

O King of all people, Master of our lives, entering into your glory by your cross, to whom all authority is given, both in heaven and on earth: We acknowledge your sovereignty over every realm of life...

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Lord, we believe your Word when you say

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Lord, we believe your Word when you say that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You have given us all that we need to live faithfully as your chosen people. But just as often as we tu...

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Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Most Holy Lord, we speak with eloquence, but have no love. We speak truth to power, pontificate, and smugly consider our knowledge superior to others, but display little to no charity. We give sacrifi...

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Zacchaeus' Real Power

Author

Diana Butler Bass

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:1-10

In her book, Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks , Diana Butler Bass provides an insightful reflection on how Zaccheaus rose to become chief tax collector of Jericho: Since Zacchaeu...

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We all Worship Something

Author

David Foster Wallace

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In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the ...

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Still Creatures

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:8-14

For all the gifts and abilities that God has given us, we are still his creatures who do not possess the divine control over life. But that limit is rejected in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The ...

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Good, Good Soil based on the Parable of the Sower

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, Luke 8:1-15, Mark 4:1-20

Jesus, you sow yourself The Word of Truth, generously The Word of Life, graciously Defend us from the Evil One Who seeks to snatch us away Fortify us for hard times and costly discipleship That we m...

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Lord God, we rejoice in your

Author

Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 24:42-44, Proverbs 31:8-9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Peter 1:3-4, James 5:7-8, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:20

Lord God, we rejoice in your resurrection and in your promise to return. Help us live today as people who await the fulfillment of your kingdom. We confess we often look for comfort outside of you. Be...

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Author

Richard Mather

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Experience shows that it is an easy thing in the midst of worldly business to lose the life and power of religion, that nothing thereof should be left but only the external form, as it were the carcas...

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The Nobodies of Nazareth

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:46, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Matthew 20:16, Luke 1:51-53, James 2:1-9, Matthew 11:25, Isaiah 52:2-3, Philippians 2:5-8

The world has always despised people from the wrong places and with the wrong credentials. We are always trying to justify ourselves. We need desperately to feel superior to others. And everything abo...

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Your Joy is Our Strength

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 3:2, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Acts 2:44-45, Luke 1:38, Psalm 16:11, Nehemiah 8:10

Wondrous God Father-Son-Spirit Your joy is our strength Nothing more Nothing less Nothing else Grant us grace to receive you and your joy Grant us grace to trust it above all other powers and plans ...

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Organizing the World Quickly

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Psalm 2:2-4, Isaiah 9:6, Proverbs 21:1, Daniel 2:21

The Yalta Conference, helmed by Allied leadership (Most notably Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin) came at the conclusion of hostilities in Europe during WWII. It dealt with a...

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Foolishness and Nobility Are Similar

Author

Os Guinness

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 1:7, 1 Samuel 25:, Luke 12:16-21

The Hebrew word for “fool” is very close to the Hebrew for “noble,” with only one letter different, and it is sometimes only in the outcome of their lives that the people considered noble by the peopl...

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Based on Psalm 146:1-6

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 146:1-6

Leader: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! All: I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Leader: Put not your trust in princes, in h...

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Palm Sunday | Mark 11:1-11 | A Different Kind of Triumph

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-35, Luke 22:25-27, Matthew 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45

Reflection Most of us are familiar with the words attributed to the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, “ Veni, Vidi, Vici .” I came. I saw. I conquered. That is the way of imperial rulers in their conquest...

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The Ways of Power

Author

Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Zechariah 4:6, Matthew 4:8-10, Matthew 20:25-28, Philippians 2:5-8

“You are so wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?” “No!” cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. “With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a p...

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Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

Power is the ability to make something of the world.

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We pray to You our Lord, our Savior,

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:16, Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:7, Psalm 103:12

We pray to You our Lord, our Savior, our Merciful God, that all our sins may be forgiven. Our sins are like a straight jacket, binding us, and keeping us from relationship with You. Although we know w...

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Heavenly Father, it is astounding how

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Heavenly Father, it is astounding how many ways we find to doubt You. At times we doubt Your power and Your ability to do actual miracles in our lives. In other situations, we doubt that Your methods ...

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Lakes and Streams: 1, 2 Kings 5:1-14

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Kings 5:1-14, Joshua 12:1-3, Joshua 12:1-3, Luke 4:27

For purposes of practicality and relatability, this series considers the Sea of Galilee to be a lake and classifies other fresh or mostly fresh water locations together under the same banner. Th...

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Mother's Day Sermon Ideas: Four Verses That Find Motherhood in the Heart of God

Author

Ryan Bundrick

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Mother’s Day is complicated for a pastor. Among the happy families that are celebrating, there are children who were abused by mothers, mothers who lost lost a child, and women suffering from inferti...

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Socrates and Jesus against the World

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 8:35-36, Mark 10:25, Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 18:18-29

Those not familiar with ancient Greek philosophy may be surprised to find deep resonance with the teachings of Jesus. When on trial for his life, the 70-year-old Socrates pugnaciously responded that,...

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The Cost of Success

Author

Stephen W. Smith

Keywords

J.B. Phillips was a successful pastor and prolific author in the mid-twentieth century. He was a colleague and friend of C. S. Lewis’s, and it was Lewis who personally endorsed Phillips’s translation ...

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Author

Duane Elmer

Keywords

Power is meant to be shared with the goal of empowering others. Hoarded power weakens others and exalts oneself. Power, when grounded in biblical values, serves others by liberating them. It acknowled...

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Psalm 46 | God as Refuge

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Scripture

Psalm 46:, Matthew 5:45

Introduction What does it mean for God to be our refuge and strength? The context in which this psalm was written is vastly different than our own, and often we carry on our lives as if nothing trul...

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Road Trips: 1, Genesis 12:1-9

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-9, Genesis 12:1-9, Exodus 13:17-22, Genesis 11:null

Road Trips in Scripture While the definitions of “oceans” and “lakes” had to be qualified a bit in order to relate biblical locations to our present-day vacations, road trips—like mountains—can be fo...

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Lord Jesus Christ, strip us of all

Author

Paul E. Hoffman

Keywords

Lord Jesus Christ, strip us of all false notions of power. Teach us to love the world as you love it, with a generous share of selfless compassion—the foundation for true power. Amen.

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Thomas Aquinas on Peter’s Wealth

Author

Jake Meador

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 3:null

An old joke can sum up the failure nicely: It’s said that Thomas Aquinas was once brought into a great city where he was to meet the pope. He saw huge churches, clerics in ornate garb, and great armie...

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Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Money is power. Power is not intrinsically evil, of course, but it is intrinsically dangerous.

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Author

Lesslie Newbigin

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 5:2-3, James 4:4, Philippians 2:5-8, John 18:36

When the Church tries to embody the rule of God in the forms of earthly power it may achieve that power, but it is no longer a sign of the kingdom.

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