Christian Living on Guests

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Welcomed Guests

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Scripture

Isaiah 25:6, Matthew 26:26-28, Acts 2:42-46, Psalm 23:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, John 6:56, Revelation 3:20

For Christians, to share in the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, means to live as people who know that they are always guests – that they have been welcomed and that they are wanted. It is, perhaps, the...

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Adapted from Acts 2:42-46

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

Acts 2:42-46

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread; and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ...

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The Pastor’s Visit

Author

Source Unknown

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Scripture

Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 150:1-6, Acts 2:42, Psalm 122:1, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 18:20, Colossians 3:16

The story is told of a man who had gone to church for several years but suddenly stopped attending. His pastor dropped by one evening unannounced. The man answered the door and invited him in. Of cour...

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Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

Luke 12:33-34, Luke 18:28-30, Acts 2:44-45, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:29-30, Luke 14:26

Family and property, then, were not for the ancient Jew simply what they are to the modern western world. Both carried religious and cultural significance far beyond personal, let alone “individual,” ...

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Eating Together as a Family

Author

Terry A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:20, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Proverbs 15:17, Isaiah 25:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Acts 2:46, Psalm 128:3

We become who we are in the environment of home. We are shaped by our families. Home is formative. Sociologist Cody C. Delistraty explored the most recent scientific literature for Atlantic Monthly an...

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The Flow of Abundance

Author

Mark Scandrette

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:16-30, Acts 2:42-47

We are meant to be part of the flow of abundance: to open our hands to receive what we need and share what we have with others. Jesus taught his followers to be radically generous when he said: “Sell ...

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We praise and thank you, O Lord, that

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Scripture

Psalm 119:103, Luke 22:19, Psalm 34:18, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:16-17, Matthew 6:9-13, Numbers 6:24-26, Matthew 25:36, Psalm 33:12, Romans 8:26, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Acts 2:42

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that you have fed us with your Word [and at your table]. Grateful for your gifts and mindful of the communion of your saints, we offer to you our prayers for all pe...

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Almighty God—Father, Son and Holy, We Ask

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Acts 2:17, Acts 4:10, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 15:13, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30

Almighty God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We ask Your blessing on the people in this place. May the despairing find hope—and proud be humbled. May the doubting find faith—and the anxious be encouraged...

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The Payoff

Author

Philip Graham Ryken

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:26-28, Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, John 6:35

If we are honest with ourselves, for many of us who celebrate the sacraments on a regular basis, at times we take them for granted. We lose sight of their nature to inspire and remind us of our covena...

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O God, we thank you that you have not

Author

William Barclay

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 119:105, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Samuel 1:24-28, Acts 2:42-47

O God, we thank you that you have not treated us as we deserve. We thank you that, though you are Creator, Judge and King, you are also Father, so that, though we are wandering children, there is alw...

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God–Creator of the universe, Redeemer

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:42-47, Philippians 2:1-5, Mark 2:1-2, Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 10:25-37, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God–Creator of the universe, Redeemer of humanity, Sustainer of your people, and our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. You hold the galaxies in the palm of your hand–and yet You know each of us by nam...

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Invocation of the Holy Spirit

Author

The Northumbria Community

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:26, Acts 9:1-19, Matthew 17:1-8, Isaiah 61:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:1-41

Most powerful Holy Spirit, come down upon us and subdue us. From heaven, where the ordinary is made glorious, and glory seems but ordinary, bathe us with the brilliance of Your light like dew.

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What is Fellowship?

Author

James I. Packer

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:42-47, 1 John 1:3, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 John 1:7, Romans 12:4-5, Galatians 6:2, 1 Corinthians 1:9

What is meant by fellowship in this verse? Gossip? Cups of tea? Tours? No. What is being referred to is something of a quite different order and on a quite different level. “They met constantly to hea...

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Inspired by Acts 2 (1)

Author

James Ferguson

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:null

O God, the Father Almighty, who has promised to give the Holy Spirit to those that ask you,; look graciously upon us assembled with one accord in one place to make our prayer to you, and to wait for y...

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The Church's Funeral

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 4:15-16, Revelation 3:1-3, James 2:17, Matthew 16:18, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Peter 2:4-5, Romans 12:4-5, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Corinthians 3:9

The story goes about a young man (or woman!) with dreams of growing a small church nestled in rural Oklahoma. Despite his relentless efforts, the church continued to teeter on the edge of extinction a...

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Almighty God, we pray for your

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 5:10, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 9:20-22, Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 73:26

Almighty God, we pray for your blessing on the church in this place. Here may the faithful find salvation, and the careless be awakened. Here may the doubting find faith, and the anxious be encou...

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Jesus, we bless you and honor you for

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:46-52, Hebrews 4:16, Acts 2:1-4, Romans 5:5, John 6:1-14

Jesus, we bless you and honor you for your unending mercy, a flood of grace, pouring out and spilling over. We receive your mercy. We receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them r...

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The Threat of the Christians

Author

Michael Frost

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:27, Hebrews 13:2-3, 1 Peter 2:12, Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:13, Acts 2:44-45

The fourth-century emperor Julian (AD 331-336) feared [Christians] might take over the empire. Referring to Christians as “Galileans” and Christianity as “atheism” (because of their denial of the exis...

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Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

Hebrews 10:24-25, Ephesians 4:11-13, Acts 2:42-47, Colossians 1:18, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22

Churches are not the kingdom of God, but are primary and inevitable expressions, outposts, and instrumentalities of the presence of the kingdom among us.

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O God, whose glory it is always to have

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Scripture

Acts 2:, John 16:8, Isaiah 40:8, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:17

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchan...

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Prayers of the People, Form IV

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Scripture

Genesis 2:15, Acts 2:1-41, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 10:25-37, John 11:25-26, Revelation 21:4

Deacon or other leader Let us pray for the Church and for the world. Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glo...

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Embodying a Decision

Author

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 6:2, Matthew 4:19-20, Hebrews 11:8, Acts 2:37-38, Mark 10:50

Billy Graham had a weekly radio show titled The Hour of Decision. Normally it was a tape recording of the service and message he’d given at a recent evangelistic rally. And at the conclusion of every ...

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Author

Dan B. Allender & Larry Crabb

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 18:21–22, Nehemiah 8:1–3, Isaiah 61:1–2, Acts 2:44–47, 1 Corinthians 12:12, 26, Psalm 133:1

The more I understand people and their needs, the more I am persuaded that God has uniquely designed the local church to respond to those needs.

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Prayers of the People, Form I

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, Acts 2:42-47, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 17:11-19, Psalm 68:19

Deacon or other leader With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord, saying "Lord, have mercy." For the peace from above, for the loving-kindness of God, and for the ...

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Author

Abraham Kuyper

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:5-8, John 1:32, Luke 3:22, Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Acts 2:1-4, John 20:22

Of Him nothing appears in visible form; He never steps out from the intangible void. Hovering, undefined, incomprehensible, He remains a mystery. He is as the wind! We hear its sound, but can not tell...

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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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Creator of all things, Alpha and

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-4, John 13:1-17, Luke 10:25-37, John 4:1-26, John 14:16-17, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Isaiah 61:1

Creator of all things, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Father, Shepherd, Servant, Brother, Priest and King. Whose love poured out mends broken hearts. Whose wounded hands reach out to all. Whose S...

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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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A Different Approach to Baptism

Author

Bob Beasley

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:27, 1 Peter 3:21

Pastor Bob Beasley recounts this story: Our three-year-old daughter, Rena, sat with us during the baptismal service last Sunday night, which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, ...

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Lord–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Thank

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Nehemiah 1:1-11, Acts 16:25-34, Mark 4:35-41, Acts 2:1-13, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 11:28-30, Acts 1:8

Lord–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Thank You that there’s no place we can hide from Your Spirit, no place we can flee from Your presence. We can’t go beyond the reach of Your love, nor out-distance the...

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