Christian Living on Brokenness

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The Value Remains the Same

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 1:6, 1 John 3:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:29, Ephesians 2:10, Jeremiah 31:3

Garry Smalley was a Christian counselor and prolific author. He was known for one particular illustration about the intrinsic value each of us has as children of God. Speaking at a large event, he ask...

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A Biblical Understanding of Sin

Author

Richard Plass

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:25, Romans 8:7, James 4:4, Ephesians 2:1-2, Isaiah 59:2, 1 John 3:4

In the New Testament sin is not merely an individual, privatized transgression of a moral standard (sins is typically used for specific transgressions). It is far more radical than that. Sin is a mist...

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All: Gracious God, we have become

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:31-46, Micah 6:8, James 2:15-17, Luke 6:27-36, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Zechariah 7:9-10, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 21:13

All: Gracious God, we have become callous to those in need, holding back compassion yet unsparing with judgment. We defend our motivations, rather than using all you have given us to love and care for...

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A Deeper Faith

Author

Bob Goff

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 John 3:18, Romans 12:15, John 15:12-13, James 5:16, Galatians 6:2

In his introduction to Scott Sauls’ Book, Irresistable Faith, Bob Goff tells a story about a summer adventure hitchhiking across New England, which would ultimately lead to staying with a hermit in Ma...

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God of mercy, we ignore the needs of

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:35-36, James 2:15-17, Proverbs 19:17, 1 John 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:6-7

God of mercy, we ignore the needs of people around us all too often. We get caught up in our own issues and forget that there are millions of people who struggle for basic necessities on a daily basis...

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We Cannot be Closed to Others and Open to God

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:20-21, John 13:34-35, 1 John 3:17, Matthew 5:23-24, Hebrews 10:24-25

We cannot be closed off to one another and be open to God. That’s not how this works. Do you remember the commercial when the woman says “that’s not how this works, that's not how any of this work...

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Author

Sinclair B. Ferguson

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:3, Colossians 3:5, Hebrews 12:14, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Romans 12:1-2

The holiness of God teaches us that there is only one way to deal with sin- radically, seriously, painfully, constantly. If you do not so live, you do not live in the presence of the Holy One of Israe...

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Author

John Calvin

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 100:3, Romans 14:8, 1 John 3:1-6, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:15, Psalm 24:1, John 17:9

We are not our own: therefore, let us not set our own will as our rule, but submit ourselves wholly to God.

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Gracious God, our hearts are often

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 5:8, Romans 7:21-23, James 4:8, Ezekiel 36:26, 1 John 3:3, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 24:3-4, Matthew 15:19-20, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:23-24, Titus 1:15, James 1:2-8, Matthew 12:25

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart.

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Author

Pope Francis

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:13, Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:10, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-17

Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.

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Leader: Scripture teaches us that there

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 2:10, Isaiah 60:1-3, 1 John 3:1

Leader: Scripture teaches us that there is one good and holy God; that we were created in God’s image, to commit ourselves to Him, to do good works, to reflect His glory, and to know Him as loving Fat...

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Dear Lord, we come before You today as

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:27-28, Psalm 104:24-25, Romans 8:14-16, 1 John 3:1-3, Genesis 1:1-31, Hebrews 11:3, John 1:1-3

Dear Lord, we come before You today as Your children. We praise You as the God of all creation and the giver of life. You have made us, saved us, and called us to be Your people and to serve in Your K...

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Not Heeding the Call

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 13:16, Galatians 6:9-10, Proverbs 3:27, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:14-17

Just the other day, I was out on a bike ride for some exercise. Because I work for a high-end cycling company, I had the opportunity to test ride one the bikes we make – a bike that comes with a price...

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Coming to Grips with the Reality of Sin

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, Matthew 13:19, 2 Corinthians 11:14, John 8:44, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8

The psychotherapist M. Scott Peck spent many years of his practice as an agnostic. He, along with thousands upon thousands of his colleagues were taught that evil was a social construct, and therefore...

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Incarnation Essential to Reconciliation

Author

Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:9-10, Proverbs 19:17, Hebrews 13:2, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-16

In their thoughtful book on reconciliation, Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice share how Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement showed up in the lives of the working poor, which ultimately enable...

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Author

Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 58:1, 1 John 3:17

Both the Old and New Testaments indicate that caring for the poor is one of the primary indicators of saving faith (Isa. 58:1–12; 1 John 3:17–18). Doing nothing is simply not an option for a follower ...

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Wherever Help is Needed

Author

B. B. Warfield

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Romans 12:1, Matthew 10:39, 1 John 3:16, Ephesians 5:25

While written well over a century ago, this excerpt (from the great Princeton theologian) B.B. Warfield’s sermon “imitating the Incarnation continues to inspire the kind of life Christ calls us to: ...

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Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 9:37-38, Galatians 6:9-10, Romans 12:5, 1 John 3:1

Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our Father: You’ve blessed us beyond imagination. You redeem us, forgive us and lavish Your gifts on us: Thank You. You choose us, when we wouldn’t choose ourselves...

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Beloved: The Truth About Yourself

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 31:3, Psalm 139:13-14, Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 43:1-2, Deuteronomy 31:8, 1 John 3:1, Zephaniah 3:17

Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot...

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Author

Alexander Pope

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, Galatians 6:2, Colossians 3:13, James 5:16, 1 John 3:17

Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.

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Author

Benedicta Ward

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:18, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 4:18-22, James 1:22, Romans 12:1, Mark 10:15

It is possible also to come at Christianity from a rather different point of view as well, seeing it as something not too difficult but too simple for us, too basic, something to be apprehended theref...

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Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 John 3:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 51:10-12, Hebrews 12:1-2

Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace calls us toward growth and service in You. Yet today we acknowledge the many times we have forgotten Your mercy and rejected Your love. Forgive us when we sin agai...

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You have Called Me Brother

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 3:28, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-16, Romans 12:10, Genesis 1:26-31, Psalm 8:, Matthew 10:24, Mark 12:31

One day, as Leo Tolstoy, the renowned Russian author, was walking down the street when he encountered a man in worn, shabby clothing. The homeless man asked him if he had any money to spare. Tolstoy s...

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Practicing Compassion

Author

Mark Scandrette

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Psalm 86:15, Isaiah 42:3, Isaiah 42:3, 1 John 3:17, Luke 7:13, Matthew 9:36, Colossians 3:12

Imagine making the shape of a valentine heart with your hands and holding it up to your face. That’s the posture of seeing with compassion. You might picture yourself looking through the heart at a pe...

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May This Body Nourish Us in Faithfulness

Author

Jake Meador

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 5:9, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 53:5, Hebrews 12:2

At a funeral Mass for a friend of Archbishop Romero who was murdered by the government because of her faith in Christ, Romero invited those present to follow this Lord who died, this God who sacrifice...

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When Jesus speaks, our hearts burn

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 24:32, Luke 24:30-31, 1 John 3:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Revelation 5:12-13

When Jesus speaks, our hearts burn within us; Our eyes are opened when he breaks the bread. Beloved, we are God’s children now; When Christ is revealed, we will be like him. Worthy is Christ, the ...

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Caring Christians

Author

Ralph Neighbor

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 2:12, Matthew 5:16, Luke 6:32-35, Romans 5:8

Even if people reject the gospel, we still must love them. A good example of this was reported by Ralph Neighbour, pastor of Houston’s West Memorial Baptist Church (in Death And The Caring Community ...

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Free us, Lord, from our obsession with

Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 16:24, Acts 2:44-45, James 2:14-17, Mark 10:43-45, 1 John 3:17-18, John 13:14-15, Isaiah 58:6-7

Free us, Lord, from our obsession with ourselves long enough to care for others; to be so concerned about the well-being of the human community that me don’t have to worry about our place, our church,...

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Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:45, Romans 12:10, 1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Ephesians 4:32, John 10:11, Matthew 20:28

Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He is our Good Shepherd, whose leadership is less about the love of power, and more about the ...

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Author

Alexandre Dumas

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:13, Isaiah 30:18, Lamentations 3:22-23, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 15:20, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 John 3:1

God is full of mercy for everyone, as He has been towards you. He is a father before He is a judge.

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