Christian Living on Performance

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A Saxophonist's Spiritual Revelation

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Scripture

Luke 2:1-35, 2 Timothy 4:6-7, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 2:10

John Coltrane stands out as one of the giants of 20th-century jazz. His legacy is a generation of hearts touched and the light of God shining through his songs. Yet, for years, his work was haunted by...

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Author

Henry Ward Beecher

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Scripture

1 Peter 2:2, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Genesis 37:50, Exodus 3:11–12 , Isaiah 40:29–31 , John 15:1–5, Romans 5:3–5, Psalm 1:1–3, Luke 2:40, 52; 1

Christian character is not an act but a process, not a sudden creation but a development. It grows and bears fruit like a tree; it requires patient care and unwearied cultivation.

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Author

Jean Pierre de Caussade

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Scripture

Mark 15:21-39, John 4:4-42, 2 Kings 5:1-14, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Luke 2:1-7, John 9:1-3, 2 Corinthians 12:9

[God’s grace is] always hidden under the strangest appearances.

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Almighty God, you have surprised us

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 13:44, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:7-10, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 2:1-20, John 4:7-26, John 21:1-14, Luke 24:13-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 2:25-38, Luke 1:35-38, Hebrews 13:2, Isaiah 43:19

Almighty God, you have surprised us with your presence in unexpected ways. In the expectations of our routine, we have missed the treasure that you place before us. We come to worship you in community...

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Author

Meister Eckhart

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Scripture

Luke 2:49

What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.

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Your grace, O God, has appeared for the

Author

James G. Kirk

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 1:25, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 2:10, Luke 2:25-32, Titus 3:4-5, 1 Kings 18:39, Titus 2:11

Your grace, O God, has appeared for the salvation of all, calling us to renounce false gods and irresponsible love. In the midst of our sin, Christ has appeared as a sign of our hope, redeeming us and...

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Adapted from Psalm 29:1, 3-5, 7-9, Luke 2:14, Revelation 4:8,11

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Scripture

Psalm 29:1, Luke 2:14, Psalm 29:null

Leader: Then let us wait for the Lord, and in this season of Lent, let us wait by the cross. "Ascribe to the Lord, glory and strength." Glorify God's holy name. People: We worship the L...

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Waiting is Not Wasting Time: Advent 2024

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:29-32

God’s dealings with us are always on the order of what he did with Abram and Sarai. He makes his promises, and he will keep his promises; but just how and when he will keep them is something for which...

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Author

Pope Paul VI

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 1:26-38, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:25-35, John 1:14, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 3:13-17, John 3:1-21, Matthew 17:1-8

We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice.

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Author

Bette Dickinson

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:8-11, Matthew 5:3, Philippians 2:6-8, Isaiah 57:15, Micah 5:2

The shepherds show us that we don’t prepare to receive the king of heaven the same way we prepare to meet the celebrities of our day, through earthly displays of showiness. In fact, receiving our King...

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Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 2:1-20, Titus 3:4-5, Romans 5:6-8

Grace is God loving, God stooping, God coming to the rescue, God giving himself generously in and through Jesus Christ.

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O Merciful God, who came in Jesus

Author

Ernest Fremont Tittle

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, Jeremiah 1:7-8, Micah 6:8, Psalm 27:1, Luke 2:25-32

O Merciful God, who came in Jesus Christ with saving power to a world that walked in darkness and in the shadow of death, we praise and bless you for all those your servants who helped prepare the way...

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Mary & Joseph were Poor

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:22-24, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Isaiah 9:6-7, Philippians 2:6-8, John 1:14, Isaiah 61:1

They were poor. We know this because the two young turtledoves Joseph and Mary brought was the smallest offering they were allowed as devout Jews and yet the largest they likely could afford. With tw...

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Psalm 133 | Unity

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 133:, Luke 2:41-52, Zechariah 9:9

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Packed with Singular Meaning, A Pilgrim Song We have three verses packed with singular meaning⸺unity. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers and si...

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Author

Alan Redpath

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:11, Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 19:11-16, Matthew 24:44, Titus 2:13

The immense step from the Babe at Bethlehem to the living, reigning triumphant Lord Jesus, returning to earth for his own people--that is the glorious truth proclaimed throughout Scripture. As the bel...

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Preference for the Christ-Child Over the Cross

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:10, Luke 2:7, John 19:18, Philippians 2:8-9, Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17

In the sixteenth century, Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci journeyed to China, bringing religious art to share the Christian story with those unfamiliar with it. The Chinese readily embraced images of t...

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Receive and Rejoice!

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:20

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. – Luke 2:20 Receive and Rejoice! A joy greater than words A great and glorious joy....

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The Great Exchange

Author

John Chrysostom

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:6-8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, John 1:14, Luke 2:7, Isaiah 9:6, John 3:16

The incarnation has often been described as “The Great Exchange,” whereupon God took on human form so that we might participate in God's divine life (through the Holy Spirit). In a sermon on the n...

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The Psalmist declares: Praise be to

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 95:1-2, Luke 2:8-20, Acts 16:25-34, 2 Samuel 6:12-15, Colossians 3:16-17, Revelation 4:11, Psalm 103:1-2

The Psalmist declares: Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens, our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Therefore, Come let...

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Incarnation is a Dirty Business

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 14:19-20, John 9:6-7, Mark 2:3-4, John 13:4-5, Mark 1:40-42, Luke 2:7, John 1:14

The gospels are earthy. People are close to the earth. They travel here and there by foot. They eat the live heads of grain growing from the soil as they walk through the fields. They get grubby and h...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Luke 2:16-19, Mark 1:15 , Isaiah 9:6, John 1:15, Matthew 1:23, Colossians 1:15-17

The kingdom of the Christ-child gets to work when we stop, and pause, and look in wonder once more at the baby lying in the manger, and like Mary ponder in our hearts what it all means. Only through d...

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The Meaning of “What Did You Wear?”

Author

Deborah Tannen

Keywords

Scripture

Song of Solomon 8:7, 1 John 4:7-8, Proverbs 19:22, Ruth 1:16-17, Genesis 17:21, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 2:36-38

My Great-Aunt May had a love affair when she was in her 70’s. Obese, balding, her hands and legs mishappen by arthritis, she did not fit the stereotype of a woman romatically loved. But she was — by a...

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The Worst Good News

Author

Hugh Halter

Keywords

Gospel

Scripture

1 Peter 1:3, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 10:15, Isaiah 61:1, Luke 2:10-11

What’s the worst good news you’ve ever received? Here are a few that come to mind for me. “Mr. Halter, this is Bill from the Ford service department. I’ve got some good news for you. All the smoke yo...

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O Simplicitas

Author

Madeleine L'Engle

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:19, John 1:14, Matthew 2:9-11, Luke 2:8-12, Matthew 2:1-2, Luke 2:6-7

An angel came to me And I was unprepared To be what God was using. Mother I was to be A moment I despaired, Thought briefly of refusing. The angel knew I heard According to God’s word, ...

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Humble

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-8, Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 53:2-3, John 13:4-5, Hebrews 2:14-17, Luke 22:27, Mark 10:42-45

Humble. Before Jesus, almost no pagan author had used “humble” as a compliment. Yet the events of Christmas point inescapably to what seems like an oxymoron: a humble God. The God who came to earth ca...

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Stooping Down to Our Level

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:6-8, Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:23, Luke 2:11-12, Hebrews 2:17, Romans 8:3

One thing we often do as human beings is take for granted how our physical presence can impact those around us. Do you remember how big your parents seemed when you were a kid? They were massive! Over...

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Author

David Jeremiah

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:27, Matthew 1:22-23, Luke 2:15-20, Luke 10:38-42, Galatians 2:20, John 15:4-5, Matthew 17:1-9, John 6:35, Matthew 28:20, Joshua 1:9

All the Christmas presents in the world are worth nothing without the presence of Christ.

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Adapted from John Francis Wade’s "O Come, Let Us Adore Him"

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:10-11, Psalm 100:2, Luke 2:8-20, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:15-16, Revelation 19:16, Luke 2:8-20, Psalm 95:6, Philippians 2:10-11, Luke 2:25-38, John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:11

Leader: O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, People: O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Leader: Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us ador...

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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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The Child Born in the Night Among Beasts

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2-4, 1 Kings 19:11-13, Luke 2:6-7, Philippians 2:5-8, Psalm 22:6-8 , Matthew 1:22-25

In this excerpt, Frederick Buechner shares a meditation on the vulnerability of Jesus’ birth: The child born in the night among beasts. The sweet breath and steaming dung of beasts. And nothing is...

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