Christian Living on Four Gospels

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So central are miracle reports to the Gospels that one could remove them only if one regarded the Gospels as preserving barely any genuine information about Jesus. Indeed, it is estimated that more th...

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Reading the Gospels for the First Time

Author

Os Guinness

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Scripture

Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 6:24, James 1:6-8, Luke 14:34-35, Revelation 2:4-5, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:18

Thomas Linacre was king’s physician to Henry VII and Henry VIII of England, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and friend of the great Renaissance thinkers Erasmus and Sir Thomas More. Late i...

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An Attempted Refutation of the Gospel

Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

Mark 16:15-16, Philippians 1:6, Acts 16:31, John 1:12-13, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 1:16

[In the middle of the twentieth century a] young Russian communist went to a meeting one night where he heard a Christian expounding his faith. The communist was angry. How could anyone still believe ...

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The Meaning of Easter

Author

N. T. Wright

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Scripture

1 Peter 1:3, Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, John 11:25-26, John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Here, then, is the message of Easter, or at least the beginning of that message. The resurrection of Jesus doesn’t mean, “It’s all right. We’re going to heaven now.” No, the life of heaven has been bo...

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Adapted from Acts 10:34-43

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Acts 10:34-43

Pastor: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good n...

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Adapted from Luke 24:44-47a

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Luke 24:44-47

Pastor: Jesus said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” All: ...

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Jesus: The Story-Tellin’ Man

Author

James Boice

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Scripture

Mark 12:37, Matthew 19:24, Matthew 7:5, Mark 3:25, Mark 7:27, Mark 8:15, Luke 15:11–32, Luke 10:25–37, Luke 18:9–14-, 25:31–46

One of my daughters has been singing a song about Jesus that contains the line “Jesus was a story-tellin’ man.” When I first heard that line it seemed a bit flip, as so many contemporary Christian son...

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The Joyful Announcement of the Gospel of God

Author

Darrell W. Johnson

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Sermon on the Mount

Pastor and Professor Darrell W. Johnson sets the scene for the Sermon on the Mount with great description. This could serve as a model for the beginning of a sermon on the S.O.M. They were sitting i...

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Adapted from Luke 4:18-19

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Luke 4:18-19

Jesus says to us, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight...

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And the Rest...

Author

Darren Pollock

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Scripture

John 21:1-19

The presence of two anonymous disciples in the list in v. 2 [of John 21] (“…Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples ...

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Adapted from Luke 4:18

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Luke 4:18

Leader: As Jesus began his earthly ministry, he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” People: Through the Holy Spirit, we too have ...

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Author

Max Lucado

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Matthew loved the magi. He gave their story more square inches of text than he gave the narrative of the birth of Jesus. He never mentions the shepherds or the manger, but he didn’t want us to miss th...

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Jesus’ Trial

Author

John Stott

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Trials

In his seminal work, The Cross of Christ , British pastor and author John Stott describes the unique, upside-down kingdom instituted on the cross: One of the fascinating features of the Gospel writ...

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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Charles Teixeira

Scripture

Mark 5:21-43, Mark 5:17-21, Leviticus 15:7

Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....

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What is the Gospel?

Author

Carl Medearis

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Scripture

Romans 1:16, Philippians 3:8-9, Colossians 1:27-28, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, John 14:6

I recently visited a missions school at a large church in Waco, Texas, and decided to try a similar test in a class-sized proportion. “Tell me,” I said to the group, “what is the gospel?” A young lady...

liturgy

Cast Your Net, Based on John 21

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

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Scripture

John 21:1-19

Cast your net again, We know this familiar foolishness So we cast it… we cast it wide, drag it deep, sweep it around the sea Suddenly! So many fish! The cry goes up with our hope It is the Lord! It...

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Author

N. T. Wright and Michael Bird

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Scripture

Matthew 28:18, John 14:6, John 1:18, Matthew 7:29

Jesus did not tell his disciples that all authority is vested in the books that they would write; he insisted that it was vested in his own person. And yet Jesus’ authority operates through the New Te...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

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I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends, and myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know none of them are like this. Of this [gospel] text there are only two possible ...

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Inspired by Matthew 4:12-23

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23

All: Holy Father, You are gracious to call us to Yourself. You are the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Treasure of treasures, worthy of our lives. And just like Jesus called out His disciple...

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Inspired by Luke 24:13-33

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Luke 24:13-33

The risen Lord comes alongside us this morning. He speaks the truth of Scripture into our waxing and waning hearts. He blesses us with his presence on our pilgrim journey through life’s often difficul...

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Like the crowds who followed Jesus, we

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Scripture

Matthew 11:28, Galatians 3:28, Isaiah 55:1-2, Matthew 5:6, Psalm 34:18, Mark 2:3-5, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Like the crowds who followed Jesus, we come today from different places. We’ve had different weeks, different challenges, and different joys. And yet we come united by the risen Lord Jesus, who meets ...

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The Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate Has a Question

Author

Peter Marshall

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Scripture

1 John 2:3-4, Luke 11:28, John 14:15, Matthew 7:24-25, James 1:22

I wonder what would happen if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it, began reading again...

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He Breathed on Them

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Scripture

John 20:19-23, Genesis 2:7, 1 Kings 17:17-24, Ezekiel 37:9- 10

[A] vivid scene from the Gospel of John [John 20:19-23]. It’s intimate from the start-a stunningly private scene that occurs behind locked doors among dear friends. The scene begins with a friendly gr...

liturgy

Leader: As Jesus healed the afflicted

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 1:7

Leader: As Jesus healed the afflicted and restored those who have died, he also forgives our sins and gives us new life. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. People: In Jesus Christ we are f...

liturgy

Adapted from Mark 1:2-4, 7-8

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 1:2-4, Mark 1:7-8, Isaiah 40:3

Leader: As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; People: the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the ...

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Incarnation is a Dirty Business

Author

William Rowley

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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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The Courage of the First Disciples

Author

Charles Martin

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These disciples turned the world upside down because they saw a dead man come back to life by the power of God. And whatever that “knowing” and “seeing” did in them, it did it at a deep level because ...

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Author

Henry Ward Beecher

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I call the New Testament the Book of Joy. There is nowhere in the world another book that is pervaded with such a spirit of exhilaration.

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Author

N. T. Wright

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The New Testament insists that we put Jesus at the centre of the picture and work outwards from there.

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Author

Athanasius of Alexandria

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Scripture

Revelation 22:18-19, Acts 8:26-40, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalm 119:105

These are fountains of salvation that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let ...

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