Christian Living on Sacrifice

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The Martyr's Mindset: Ignatius of Antioch and Death as Worship

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Matthew 16:25, Romans 8:17-18, Philippians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Psalm 116:115, Daniel 3:, Daniel 6:

How many modern Christians consider dying to be the worst thing that can happen to them? We pray for safety, healing, and protection, and rightly so. However, do we live in the truth that death has tr...

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Adapted from “Spiritual Helps” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Arthur Bennett

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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, ...

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Author

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

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Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 8:1-3, Colossians 1:19-20, Exodus 12:1-30, Leviticus 16:, John 18:28-19

In Christ as sacrifice, God our judge is judged in our place, reveals our perpetration of and collaboration with sin, ends our rebellion, forgives our guilt, cleanses us, makes us righteous, and estab...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

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Scripture

Matthew 16:24-26, Colossians 3:1-3, Romans 8:12-13, Romans 6:18-19, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:5, 2 Timothy 2:3-4, 1 Peter 4:1-2, Luke 9:23, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 14:26-28

Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end...

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Creator God, you who love us more than

Author

John Birch

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 4:4-6, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 14:16-17, Romans 8:14-16, Philippians 2:6-8, John 1:14, Jeremiah 31:3

Creator God, you who love us more than we can know, Who chose us from the very beginning to be family , We praise your holy name. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Word become flesh, Who dwelt among us and wa...

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The Faithfulness of a Few

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Proverbs 28:20, Revelation 2:10, Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:22, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, 1 Peter 4:12-14, Romans 8:35-37, John 15:18-20, Psalm 31:23, Matthew 25:21, 1 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Timothy 6:12, Matthew 24:45-46

Pliny, a Roman Governor serving around 112 AD, faced a challenging situation regarding Christianity. Many Church historians believe that by his time, it had become illegal to profess the Christian fai...

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Author

George MacDonald

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Scripture

Mark 10:35-45, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Philippians 3:10, Romans 8:17, 2 Corinthians 4:17, James 1:2-4

The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.

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Author

Martin Luther

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Scripture

Matthew 17:20, Psalm 34:8, Isaiah 26:3-4, Jeremiah 17:7-8, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 8:24-25, Proverbs 3:5-6

Faith is a free surrender and a joyous wager on the unseen, unknown, untested goodness of God.

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Name a Day and Give me a Hearing

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Revelation 2:10, Psalm 71:20-21, Philippians 3:10-14, Luke 21:16-19, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 8:17-18, James 1:12

One of the great leaders of the first generation after the apostles was a man named Polycarp. Polycarp, it is believed, was discipled by the apostle John and carried out a long and fruitful ministry i...

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Author

Henry Law

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Scripture

Philippians 2:5-8, John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:3, Matthew 20:28

What self denial! What self abasement! What self emptying! He, whom no infinitudes can hold, is contained within infant’s age, and infant’s form. Can it be, that the great ‘I AM THAT I AM’ shrinks int...

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The Christmas Gift

Author

Andy Cook

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:3, John 11:32-35, Romans 8:28, Genesis 37:50, James 1:17, Romans 6:23 , 1 Corinthians 12:28

A preaching professor at Harvard University tells the story of the year his 5-year-old son was working on an art project in his kindergarten class. It was made of plaster, resembled nothing in particu...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:3-4, James 2:14-17, Galatians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Romans 8:11

The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it...

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Foolishness to the Greeks

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 2:12, James 1:2-4, Matthew 5:11-12, Philippians 1:29, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17, John 15:20

Nevertheless, what was shameful, even odious, to the critics of Christ, was in the eyes of his followers most glorious. They had learnt that the servant was not greater than the master, and that for t...

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A Crown of Thorns

Author

Our Daily Bread

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:13-14, Acts 7:59-60, Hebrews 11:36-38, Matthew 5:10-12, Romans 8:18

John Huss, the Bohemian reformer, was burned at the stake in 1415. Before his accusers lit the fire, they placed on his head a crown of paper with painted devils on it. He answered this mockery by say...

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Lord, high and holy, meek and

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Scripture

Matthew 16:24-25, Philippians 1:21, Romans 8:18, Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, Psalm 23:4

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory. Let me lear...

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Gracious and Merciful God—Father, Son

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Romans 5:8-9, Romans 8:1-17, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 14:27, James 5:14-15, Philippians 4:6-7

Gracious and Merciful God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: When we wouldn’t love—You did. When we couldn’t do right—you could. When we wouldn’t give—You gave and gave all of yourself. So we come to You w...

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Author

Addison D. Bevere

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 1:13-14, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, Romans 8:9-11, 1 John 2:27, John 16:7-8, John 15:26-27

When he died, he sent his Spirit to teach us the intricacies of the art of living. That’s why his Spirit is the only One who can fill our spiritual vacuum, helping us become truly human.

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Incarnational Ministry: The Life of Father Damien

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:4, John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers. He moved to Kalawao, a village on the island of Molokai in Hawaii that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony...

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Prayer for Holy Saturday

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 11:1, Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 40:31

There are so many things we do not understand⁠ So many ways we long for change and closure⁠ Help us to trust you⁠ even when the situation is desperate and out of control⁠ Help us to follow you⁠ even...

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What Are We Grasping For?

Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

John 11:35, Romans 8:26, Psalm 42:3, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 26:38

Our culture is afraid of grief, but not just because it is afraid of death. That is natural and normal, a proper reaction to the Last Enemy. Our culture is afraid because it seems to be afraid of the ...

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Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives

Author

Hildegard von Bingen

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Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Romans 8:10-11, John 16:13, Isaiah 11:2, Galatians 5:22-23

Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures, spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures, glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us. Composer of all ...

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No Record of Wrongs, Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:5

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:5, Genesis 45:1-15, John 8:1-11, John 21:15-19, Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 49:16, Romans 8:1

Love keeps no record of wrongs. We keep to-do lists so we don’t forget We check them twice We carry them in our pockets Holding on to the pain The disappointment The failure Re-viewing the wrong Poi...

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Author

Richard Rohr

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:28, Luke 22:54-62, John 21:15-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 12:5-6, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4

We live a long time in order to become lovers. God is like a good parent, refusing to do our homework for us. We must learn through trial and error. We have to do our homework ourselves, the homework ...

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The Weight of Hell Shifts to the Weight of Glory

Author

Ann Voskamp

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Psalm 147:3, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:18

In her book The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp shares a beautiful exchange between her and her husband (The farmer). His encouragement is for all of us: that God uses the broken things in this world for good...

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God, we come with hesitant steps and

Author

Christine Sine

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 51:, Romans 8:9-17, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 10:1-10, Job 15:31-32

God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated, and uncover the ways we have strayed from Your truth. Expose the empty and barren places wher...

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Waiting: Leaning into the Pain

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:2–4, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25–26, Matthew 4:2–4, Romans 8:24–25, Psalm 130:5–6

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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Existential Brokenheartedness

Author

Austin Fischer

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:6-7, Habakkuk 1:2-3, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Isaiah 53:3, Psalm 22:1, Romans 8:18

In this short excerpt, pastor and author Austin Fischer describes a surprising dynamic that sometimes occurs in the life of a Christian: believing so strongly in a loving God that one cannot fathom th...

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Gracious Father, too often we base our

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, Romans 8:38-39, Titus 3:4-5, Isaiah 55:1, Psalm 103:10-12, John 15:9

Gracious Father, too often we base our worth on our performance. We believe if we do well, your love grows, and if we falter, your love lessens. Our God, how far this is from the truth. We confess our...

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The Mule in the Well

Author

Andy Cook

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 40:1-3, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28

A Louisiana farmer’s favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn’t pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. It would be the h...

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Leader: For those who live according to

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:5-8

Leader: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the min...

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