Christian Living on Mourning

liturgy

Living and present Lord (Extended)

Author

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, Matthew 6:33, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 34:17, John 14:27

Prayer of Adoration Living and present Lord: You often surprise us, coming when we least expect it; or, You simply fold back the curtain to show us You’ve been there all along to give us hope and to ...

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Playing for His Father

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 22:23, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Philippians 4:13, Hebrews 12:1-3, Psalm 19:93-94

A blind father, proud of his son who played Rugby at its namesake school, would listen intently to the roar of the crowd and the cheers for the winning team. Though he never saw his son in action, he ...

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Psalm 30 | Gratitude for Rescue and Healing

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 30:, 1 Samuel 13:14, Hebrews 12:2

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Autobiographies Have you ever thought about writing your autobiography? It would be a little like reliving your life, at least in miniscule. As a write...

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We Are Dust

Author

Luke A. Powery

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:19, Psalm 103:14, Job 42:5-6, Joel 2:12-13, Hebrews 12:1-3, Romans 3:20-26, Ecclesiastes 3:20

At the beginning of this season of Lent, on this Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that we are dust and to dust we will return. We are reminded of human fragility and failure. We are reminded that we are...

liturgy

Almighty God, who because of your great

Author

W. Walsham How

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 John 4:7-21

Almighty God, who because of your great love for humanity, gave your beloved Son to die for us upon the cross: Grant us a living faith in our Redeemer, and a grateful reminder of his death. Help us to...

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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...

Quote

Author

Brittany Burgunder

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 1:6, Psalm 147:3, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Peter 5:10, Isaiah 43:2, Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4

Sometimes the process of growth looks a lot like destruction and pain. But you’ll realize with time that you’re not breaking; you’re healing.

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COVID and Learning to Wait Well

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 13:1-2, Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 12:11, Romans 8:24-25

With the global coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, life stopped. Overwhelmed by the threat of a disease we couldn’t stop and for which we didn’t have the hospital capacity, everyone moved work and s...

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Cairns and Inherited Ways of Prayer and Worship

Author

Tish Harrison Warren

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:10, Psalm 61:2, Hebrews 12:1, Isaiah 30:21, Psalm 119:133

Years ago, during a vacation in New Hampshire, Jonathan and I climbed Mount Washington, which is notorious for erratic weather. It can change from sunny and warm to snowing in a few hours. The wind is...

Quote

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keywords

Healing

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Hebrews 12:11, 2 Corinthians 2:9-10, Philippians 1:12-14, 1 Peter 1:6-7

As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. ...

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Earrings with a Mushroom Cloud

Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 12:2

What would you think if a woman came to work wearing earrings stamped with an image of the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima? What would you think of a church building adorned w...

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True Healing Occurs When…

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:30, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 8:18, Hebrews 12:1-2, James 1:2-4

Paradoxically…healing means moving from your pain to the pain…When you keep focusing on the specific circumstances of your pain, you easily become angry, resentful, and even vindictive. You are inclin...

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St. Matthew’s Passion: Not Theater But Prayer

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:8, John 12:32, Isaiah 53:4-6, Luke 23:39-43, Hebrews 12:2

Another example struck me forcibly during the 2014 season of Promenade Concerts in the Albert Hall in London. (The “Proms,” as they are known, make up a major annual festival, offering world-class mus...

Quote

Author

Russian Toast

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Isaiah 40:31

Let us drink to the success of our hopeless cause.

liturgy

Adapted from “Spiritual Helps” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Arthur Bennett

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:10-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:103, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:26, John 3:16

Pastor: Eternal Father, it is amazing love, that you sent your Son to suffer in my place, that you have given me your Holy Spirit to teach, comfort, and guide me. Because of Jesus’ death in my place, ...

Quote

Author

Athanasius of Alexandria

Keywords

Scripture

John 10:17-18, Philippians 2:8, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Hebrews 12:2, Colossians 2:15, 1 Peter 3:18

He, the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, did not arrange the manner of his own death lest He should seem to be afraid of some other kind. No. He accepted and bore upon the cross a death inflicted by...

Quote

Author

William S. Stoddard

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Hebrews 12:2, Romans 5:8, Colossians 3:13, Luke 23:34

Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.

Quote

Author

Helen Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Joshua 1:9, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 27:13-14, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Hebrews 12:1-2

Discouraged not by difficulties without, or the anguish of ages within, the heart listens to a secret voice that whispers: "Be not dismayed; in the future lies the Promised Land.

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The Cross as an Enduring Image

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:2, Colossians 2:14-15, Philippians 2:8, Galatians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18

In 2000, the National Gallery in London put on a millennial exhibition entitled “Seeing Salvation.” That was a case in point—especially remembering that European countries tend to be far more “secular...

Quote

Author

Mark Buchanan

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:15-16, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Hebrews 12:1-2

A typical response to threat and burden is to want to flee it. It’s evacuation as the cure for trouble. If only I could get away is our mantra. Then I would be safe. Then I could enjoy my life. But wh...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, we confess that we see difficult

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, Acts 16:16-34, 1 Kings 17:8-16, James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Philippians 4:12-13

Heavenly Father, we confess that we often see difficult circumstances and discouragement as barriers to doing the work you have called us to do. Rather than rejoicing in what you have provided, we lam...

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Sticks & Stones in Your Bed

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:6-7, James 1:2-4, Psalm 94:12-13, Proverbs 3:11-12, Romans 5:3-5

Years ago, I read an old fairy tale about a wicked witch who lived in a remote cottage in the deep forest. When travelers came through looking for lodging, she offered them a meal and a bed. It was th...

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Shifting Our Focus

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 3:13-14, Psalm 25:15, Psalm 34:5

By shifting the focus away from myself and onto Christ and his love for me, I have noticed that everything comes into view. When Martin Luther was suffering under the weight of guilt, his spiritual di...

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John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 2:1, Galatians 2:20, Job 13:15, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Samuel 3:18

John Wesley’s covenant prayer demonstrates a level of sacrifice and devotion to Jesus that has been rarely matched. How many of us have asked for suffering, in order to experience the humility and the...

liturgy

For the beauty of human love Brother,

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:7-8, Colossians 3:14, Psalm 133:, Ephesians 6:1-4, Hebrews 12:1, Philippians 4:8, Psalm 100:, Ephesians 5:25-33, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

For the beauty of human love Brother, sister, parent, child. Friends on earth and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild; Lord of all, to thee we raise, This, our hymn of grateful praise...

liturgy

Loving God, you show us grace and

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 12:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 3:13, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 15:11-32, Jonah 3:1-10

Loving God, you show us grace and mercy, again and again and again. You shower gifts on us that we could never earn, and you are slow to punish us when we most deserve it. All too often, we forget to ...

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Physical Therapy and Spiritual Practice

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 8:13, 1 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Corinthians 9:27

My transition into my 40’s came with the obligatory hip surgery. The only way to stop the cycle of hip pain was to literally carve out some bone. Those parts had to be removed. But recovering my funct...

liturgy

Prayer of Confession for All Saints Day

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-3, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 40:31, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Run beloved, run Lay aside every weight Every worry Every excuse Every inner critic shouting against inspiration Lay aside the sin that clings so closely Every self-serving motivation Every self-medi...

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Disciplining Daily Deeds

Author

Kyle David Bennett

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:13, Hebrews 12:11, Proverbs 4:23, Philippians 4:8-9, Colossians 3:17, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Timothy 4:7-8

We can learn a thing or two about discipleship and the discipline required of a disciple from our fourth-century monastic brothers and sisters. Like them, we do basic, ordinary activities every day. W...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, we confess that we take stock

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 12:2, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14

Heavenly Father, we confess that we often take stock of your work and your goodness based on what we have and see in a particular moment. We follow the desires and encouragements of crowds rather than...

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