Christian Living on Crying

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A Prayer for Children in Worship

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Lutheran pastor Hans Fiene...in 2018...writing to parents who are worried about having children in church because of the sounds they make, Fiene said, For many years, there were no little children at ...

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Tears & The Kingdom of God

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:7, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21, James 4:8-10

Traditional Eastern Orthodox theology asserts that tears cleanse, renew and make way for the kingdom. When sin and the brokenness of the world give rise to godly sorrow, our hearts soften toward God a...

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Author

Charles R. Swindoll

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A teardrop on earth summons the King of heaven.

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He is With us in our Crying Out to God

Author

Wesley Hill

Scripture

Mark 15:34

When the great theologian Jürgen Moltmann was sixteen years old in 1943, he was drafted into the German army and was soon captured by the Allied forces. He wound up in a prisoner of war camp in Scotla...

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Merciful God, we turn away from the

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Merciful God, we turn away from the pains and cries of our world. Overwhelmed by its brokenness, we ignore the call to engage and love those who are hurting. Father, forgive us, strengthen us, and hel...

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A Consuming Fire

Author

John Starke

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Scripture

Exodus 24:17, Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29, Isaiah 6:5

“Holy, holy, holy.” What are they saying? Have you ever wondered that? What does that mean? Many people have tried to understand what God’s holiness means. Some describe it as his perfect morality. Go...

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Adapted from Psalm 130:1-6

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Psalm 130:1-6

All: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But ...

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Inspired by Psalm 130 (C)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 130:1-2

Out of the depths, we cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear our voice. Let your ears be attentive to our cries for mercy. Living in frailty and weakness with adversity in our path, we too often buckle in despa...

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Based on Psalm 142:5-7

Author

Bud Thoreen

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Scripture

Psalm 142:5-7

I cry out to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; save me from those who pursue me, f...

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Adapted from Psalm 130 (WEB)

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Scripture

Psalm 130:null

Out of the depths I have cried to you, oh Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. If you, oh Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But there i...

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Talking to God During Great Grief

Author

Austin Fischer

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Scripture

Job 1:null

The first funeral I officiated was for an eighteen-year-old girl killed in a car accident. To this day I’ve never experienced a more difficult funeral. And as I spoke and looked out into a sea of grie...

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Adapted from Psalm 57:1-2; 61:1-3

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Psalm 57:1-2, Psalm 61:1-3

Pastor: Heavenly Father, this morning as we worship in your presence, my mind settles on the fact that I have blown it. I’ve disobeyed your commandments, I’ve sinned so many times, and I have not love...

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Author

Washington Irving

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There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

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As your Servant Augustine said once

Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

As your Servant Augustine said once long ago, “O Lord, the house of my soul is narrow; enlarge it, that you may enter in. It is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases your sight; I confess it, I know...

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Based on Psalm 5:1-2, 4

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Scripture

Psalm 5:1-2, Psalm 5:4

All: “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may ...

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Adapted from Psalm 61:1-4

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 61:1-4

Leader: O God, listen to our cry! Hear our prayers! People: From the ends of the earth, we cry to you for help when our hearts are overwhelmed. Leader: Lead us to the towering rock of safety, for yo...

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Lord and God, sometimes we have

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Lord and God, sometimes we have thought, even said, that you were nowhere to be found, when life’s insecurities, disappointments, and crushing defeat left us empty and full of despair. In our desolati...

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In the silence, we raise our voice

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:1, Isaiah 6:5, Romans 5:8, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 John 1:9, Ezekiel 36:26

In the silence, we raise our voice before you. We wonder aloud why you are so far from us when we call. In the agony of our cry, we are reminded that it is we who have wandered from your fold, from th...

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Adapted from Hosea 4

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 4:1-2

Pastor: “Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the la...

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Adapted from Psalm 130

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 130:1-8

Leader: Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord! People: O Lord, hear our voices! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of our pleas for mercy! Leader: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O ...

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Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:24, James 1:5-6, Psalm 34:17, Philippians 4:6-7, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 21:22, 1 Peter 5:7

Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful that we can come to You at any time, about anything. We know that You listen to the earnest cries of our hearts. We know that You have great power; You are the Cr...

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Adapted from Psalm 40

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Scripture

Psalm 40:null

I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave my feet a firm place to stand. ...

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Adapted from Psalm 10 & Romans 7:21-25

Author

Hughes Oliphant Old

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 7:21-25, Psalm 10:null

Arise, 0 LORD; 0 God, lift up your hand. Forget not the afflicted. We call to you in our sorrow and frustration, Lord God, eternal, everlasting God. Why do you stand so far off? Why do you hide y...

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Adapted from Psalm 22

Author

Hughes Oliphant Old

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:null

Have you really forsaken us? Why are you so far away from where we need you? Why do you not pay attention to what seems to us So alarming? Why are you so otherworldly? Day and night we have cried...

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Psalm 20:1-5, "In times of trouble"

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 20:1-5

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm. May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem. May he remem...

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God Forsaken by God

Author

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:null, Mark 15:34, Matthew 27:46

Psalm 22:1 was on our Savior’s lips on the cross, and it is in that context a mystery: God forsaken by God! Christians have been trying to unravel this mystery for centuries, without reaching consensu...

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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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Secure in Her Presence

Author

David G. Benner

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 28:20, Exodus 33:14, John 1:5, Psalm 23:4, Genesis 1:3

Sigmund Freud tells the story of a three-year-old boy crying in a dark room of a home he was visiting one evening. “Auntie,” the boy cried, “talk to me! I’m frightened because it is so dark.” His aunt...

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Inspired by Revelation 21:3-6

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:3-6

Leader: Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. God dwells with us, and we are God’s people. People: God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no more mo...

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Author

Jonathan Edwards

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 7:24-37, Genesis 32:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 1 John 5:14-15

It is very apparent from the Word of God that He often tries the faith and patience of His people, when they are crying to Him for some great and important mercy, by withholding the mercy sought for a...

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