Christian Living on Captives

liturgy

Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and

Author

Scripture

Revelation 22:12, Titus 2:13, John 8:12, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:44

Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and will come again. Whether we know it or not, we live on the edge of Your advent every moment of every day either with anticipation or with anxiety. As if stumblin...

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Author

Edwin Markham

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:1-10, Ephesians 2:14, Galatians 3:28, 1 John 4:7-8, John 13:34-35, John 8:1-11, Luke 10:25-37

He drew a circle that shut me out— Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in!

liturgy

Gracious God, You have called us out of

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13-14, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 4:22-24, Matthew 16:24, Philippians 3:20-21, John 8:36

Gracious God, You have called us out of darkness and into the light of Your love. You have redeemed us and made us whole in order to set us free from bondage. The challenge You place before us is to d...

liturgy

Dearest Father, we long for light, but

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:43, John 1:1-14, John 8:12-20, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 27:, John 9:5, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Dearest Father, we long for light, but dwell in darkness. We crave the warmth of the sun, but crawl into our caverns of sin and sadness. We are a people who prefer the misery and melancholy that we kn...

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“I am Buying Your Soul”

Author

Victor Hugo

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1-15, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:20, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 15:11-32, John 8:1-11

One of the most powerful illustrations of grace and mercy in all of western literature has to be the great scene between Monseigneur Bienvenu and Jean Valjean in the stirring epic Les Miserables by Vi...

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The Gospel is Freedom

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 6:22, Galatians 5:1, John 8:36

Its [Romans] message is not that ‘man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains’, as Rousseau put it at the beginning of The Social Contract (1762); it is rather that human beings are born in sin ...

liturgy

The Song of Simeon

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23, Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:10-11

Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nat...

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Adapted from The Valley of Vision

Keywords

Scripture

Job 1:42, James 1:2-3, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Mark 5:1-20, John 8:36

Pastor: Father in Heaven, I have sinned times without number. I am guilty of pride and unbelief. I’ve failed to delight my heart in your Word and have neglected you in my daily life. All: My transgr...

liturgy

Let us remember that Christ forgives

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 19:1-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:1-11, Psalm 103:12

Let us remember that Christ forgives our sins because he bore them at Calvary, not because we deserve Christ’s pardon; and though our sins stubbornly cling to us, our Savior’s love releases us from th...

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Author

Bill Hull

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:24-25, Acts 9:1-19, Mark 10:17-22, Ephesians 4:1-2, John 8:31-32, Luke 9:23, Matthew 28:18-20

All who are called to salvation are called to discipleship, no exceptions, no excuses!

Quote

Author

Karl Barth

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 9:1-19, Luke 23:39-43, John 21:15-19, John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, John 1:16-17

We are forbidden to take sin more seriously than grace, or even as seriously as grace.

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Opening Our Eyes to Deception

Author

Jared C. Wilson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 1 John 4:1, Proverbs 14:15, John 8:32, Psalm 119:105

It’s important, then, to have our eyes open to this deception. How is it that so many modern promises sound true but in the end lead to our deception, or even our destruction? A long, long time ago, t...

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Darkness Sets In

Author

Phileena Heuertz

Keywords

Darkness

Scripture

Romans 7:24-25, 2 Corinthians 1:9-10, Psalm 88:18, John 8:12, Isaiah 9:2

Darkness. If you’ve experienced it, you know what I’m talking about. Darkness sets in long before we’re old enough to recognize it. It begins with anguish. We’ve been hurt, sometimes tragically, and w...

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Modern Man

Author

Tom Howard

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:13, John 8:36, Isaiah 30:1, Proverbs 14:12, Genesis 3:6-7

Modern man is “a bleak business…To our chagrin we discover that the declaration of autonomy has issued not in a race of free, masterly men, but rather in a race that can be described by its poets and ...

Quote

Author

Groucho Marx

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 5:20, 1 Samuel 16:7, Romans 12:2, 1 John 4:1, Proverbs 12:22, John 8:32

Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes.

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The Desert Monk with a Leaky Jug

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:21-35, John 8:1-11, Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 7:3-5, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Galatians 6:1-3

Solitude... keeps us from making judgments about other people’s sins. In this way real forgiveness becomes possible. The following desert story offers a good illustration: A brother . . . committed...

liturgy

Inspired by John 8 and Romans 5

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, Romans 5:null

Lord God, we know that you are life, the life which is the light of the world But sometimes we allow the darkness to close in We find ourselves driven apart from you We confess that we do not ...

liturgy

Nunc Dimittis

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, Luke 2:10-11, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, To be a light to lig...

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Re-Wilding and Restoring Balance to Nature

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, John 8:36

In 1995, the gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after a seventy-year hiatus. Scientists expected an ecological ripple effect, but the size and scope of the trophic cascade took th...

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Author

Madeleine L'Engle

Keywords

Grace

Scripture

Acts 9:1-19, Luke 23:39-43, John 21:15-19, John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32

We are suspicious of grace. We are afraid of the very lavishness of the gift.

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How Transformation Happens

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:11-14, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:1-2, Colossians 3:3-4, John 8:34-36, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 8:15-16

In The Good and Beautiful God , James Bryan Smith describes a new Christian he happened to know who came to him one day feeling dejected. He was so excited to be a follower of Jesus, but he just co...

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The Truth Will Set You Free

Author

Colleen Strachan

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:31-47, John 14:6, John 16:13, Luke 11:28, John 15:7, Matthew 7:24

Dallas Willard gave a series of lectures on the kingdom of God. In one, he discussed the popularity of the phrase, “The truth will set you free” by putting it in its proper kingdom context: The whole...

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 3:28, John 8:32, 1 Peter 3:15, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Acts 17:11, Colossians 2:8, Proverbs 22:6

It is always crucial to remember that our beliefs are formed not only through reason and argument but also through social conditioning.

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Author

Phillip Yancey

Keywords

Scripture

John 21:15-19, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:20-21, Luke 15:7

Repentance, not proper behavior or even holiness, is the doorway to grace. And the opposite of sin is grace, not virtue.

Quote

Author

Craig Groeschel

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:32, 1 Samuel 18:20, John 4:1-26, John 3:1-21, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 John 1:7, Ephesians 4:25

It’s difficult for people to love the real you when you are covering up who you really are. We connect with others when we take our mask off and let others in.

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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...

liturgy

Gracious and loving God—Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 9:1-19, Acts 10:, John 8:1-11, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 5:44

Gracious and loving God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We praise you for how wide, how high, and how deep is Your vast love for all people. Incarnate in Jesus, You offered Your life for the healing ...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, forgive us for delving

Keywords

Scripture

John 20:24-29, John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10

Heavenly Father, forgive us for delving so much into our own lives that we forget the love and purpose with which you have created us. When we are faced with doubt and despair, help us to turn to you ...

liturgy

O Lord our God, who first made light to

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, John 1:1-14, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

O Lord our God, who first made light to shine out of darkness and now awakens us again to praise your goodness and ask for your grace: accept now, in your boundless mercy, the offering of our worship ...

liturgy

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 51:22-23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:36, Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 103:12, Colossians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:7

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more. Live in the freedo...

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