Christian Living on Jesus' Return

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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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Author

R. Kent Hughes

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Luke 12:32-40, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44, Luke 21:25-28, John 5:28-29, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 1:7

Brothers and sisters, the coming of Christ is near. The ultimate epiphany is just around the corner. If we think otherwise, we tragically impoverish our souls. Most Christians think little of Christ’s...

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Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and

Author

Richard Herman

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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Almighty and gracious God, we pray that you would sow the seed of your Word in our hearts.

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Scripture

Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, Isaiah 55:10-11, 2 Corinthians 9:6

Almighty and gracious God, we pray that you would sow the seed of your Word in our hearts. Send down upon us your heavenly grace; That we may bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, And on the ...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

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The world might stop in ten minutes; meanwhile, we are to go on doing our duty. The great thing is to be found at one’s post as a child of God, living each day as if it were our last, but planning as ...

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C. S. Lewis on the End of the World

Author

C. S. Lewis

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Scripture

Luke 21:5-19

If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children...

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The Parousia Defined

Author

James Bryan Smith

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 4:15-17, James 5:7, Matthew 25:31-32, Titus 2:13, Revelation 22:12-13

Paul’s term for the return of Jesus is called the parousia. Parousia was used to describe an imperial visit by a king to a city. People would send a delegation outside the city gates to greet the dign...

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Even as we eagerly await your return,

Author

Bud Thoreen

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Scripture

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 15:11-32, Acts 7:54-60, John 21:15-19, Matthew 25:1-13, Revelation 22:12

Even as we eagerly await your return, Lord Jesus, we must confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart, with our entire mind, nor with all of our strength. We have loved our rituals and our...

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1 Corinthians 1:3 7 & 8 "May God our Father and the Lord

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong t...

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Ephesians 2:1-22 | From Death to Life in God’s Family

Author

Bradley Long

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:1-22

Context Standard Letter Format Recall the Greco-Roman letter form that Paul uses in Ephesians: Salutation and Greeting Thanksgiving Body Exhortations/Encouragements Closing/Farewell...

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Life in Reverse: Short Term Spiritual Memory Loss

Author

Casey K. Tygrett

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Joshua 4:6-7, 2 Peter 1:12-13, James 1:23-25, John 14:26, Revelation 2:5

In the film Memento , we meet Leonard, who is searching for the man who killed his wife. He appears to be the typical Hollywood hero of the early 2000s. The hair is right; the jaw line, the atmospher...

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In this season of waiting

Author

Austin D. Hill

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As you continue in this season of waiting, may your waiting refine you. May you grow in the likeness of Jesus each day while we await his return. And may the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus ...

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The Principle to Persuasive Christian Communication

Author

Willowbank Report

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 10:1, Ephesians 4:2-3, Romans 12:3, Colossians 4:6, Matthew 23:11-12, Proverbs 11:2, James 1:19

In a statement created by Christian leaders across the world, the Lausanne Willowbank Report calls for church leaders to return to the humility and servanthood that Jesus manifested in His earthly min...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that we come to

Author

Allen Thompson

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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

Heavenly Father, we confess that we come to this day of resurrection as imperfect people. Although we may have faith, we also carry doubts and apprehensions. Just as Jesus’s disciples were unsure of h...

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The Definition of Repentance

Author

Frank Viola

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17

If you could reduce the gospel to one word, most scholars would choose metanoia—the Greek word translated “repentance” in the New Testament… Most of the time we translate both “meta-noeo” and “meta-no...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Preaching

Preach [and live] as if Jesus was crucified yesterday, rose from the dead today, and is returning tomorrow.

lectionary

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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Forgiving a Concentration Camp Guard

Author

Scott Sauls

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Scripture

Acts 7:54-60, Genesis 45:1-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Colossians 3:13, Luke 23:34

After the defeat of Hitler’s Nazi regime in World War II, Holocaust survivor and Christian Corrie ten Boom returned to Germany to declare the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. One evening, after giving her...

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Jesus, the Prodigal Son

Author

Frère Pierre Marie

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Scripture

Philippians 2:6-8, John 1:10-11, Isaiah 53:3-4, Matthew 11:19, Mark 15:34, Isaiah 53:12, Luke 15:20-24, Revelation 7:13-14

In this excerpt, the French monastic leader Frere Pierre Marie, shares an interpretation of Jesus as the true prodigal son—bringing all of us home with him: He, who is born not from human stock, or ...

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Psalm 22 | Feeling Forsaken by God

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 22:, Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, Hebrews 2:12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? A Structured Complaint The Psalmist organizes his complaint against God in three sections. The first two sections dramatize the complaint (vv. 1-11 and...

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Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh,

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 12:15, 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15-16

Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh, You know what it’s like to be us. You know what keeps us awake at night, or yanks us out of sleep in the early morning. You know what it’s like to have good days...

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Blessing Students as They Return to School

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Welcoming One, we welcome you and we welcome another school year. Thank you for the blessings of learning and growing, thinking and creating, reasoning and discovering. Fulfill these blessings in ever...

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Adapted from Malachi 2 and 3

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

Malachi 2:

Has not the one God made you? We belong to God in body and in spirit And what does the one God seek? To be on our guard and to be faithful. The Lord will send his messenger, The Lord, whom w...

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COVID and Learning to Wait Well

Author

Ashley Hales

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Scripture

Psalm 13:1-2, Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 12:11, Romans 8:24-25

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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Waiting: Leaning into the Pain

Author

Ashley Hales

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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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Waiting is Not Wasting Time: Advent 2024

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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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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Hear what the Apostle Paul says to God’s people in Romans 12

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

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Scripture

Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 116:1-5, 7-9

Pastor: Hear what the Apostle Paul says to God’s people in Romans 12: I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and a...

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A New Direction for Family Discipleship

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

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If the Prof is 10 min late... I was in my freshman year in college, and Statistics was the final class before Thanksgiving break. When the professor was ten minutes late, I and several others got up ...

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God of grace–generous Giver of all good

God of grace–generous Giver of all good gifts: You bless us abundantly every day—In Your Son our Savior who makes us new creations; in the smile of child, the greeting of a friend and the hug of a...

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Inspired by Deuteronomy 29

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Deuteronomy 29:null

Pastor: God our Redeemer, you have saved your people through Jesus Christ, your Son. You have delivered your people out of slavery to sin and have freed us into new life. Yet, we still wander through ...

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