Christian Living on Nurture

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God of nurture and care, You seek to

Author

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Scripture

Matthew 23:37, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:11, John 14:16-17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Ruth 2:8-12

God of nurture and care, You seek to gather us together as a mother hen gathers her chicks. You seek to be our refuge in times of trouble. As we have gathered together today, draw us closer to You, de...

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Genes on a Razor's Edge

Author

David Dobbs

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Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming sp...

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Heavenly Father, You give us the

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Heavenly Father, You give us the strength to grow in Your likeness. We praise You today for Your constant nurture and support. Please help us to become more like You as we experience Your almighty pre...

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Author

N. T. Wright

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As a newborn baby breathes and cries, so the signs of life in a newborn Christian are faith and repentance, inhaling the love of God and exhaling an initial cry of distress. And at that point what God...

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Gracious God, for the goodness and

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Gracious God, for the goodness and beauty of creation we thank you. For the way your creation nurtures and inspires us, we are grateful. Yet, the more we pay attention to the world, the more we see i...

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Gracious God, forgive us today for the

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Gracious God, forgive us today for the times when we don’t trust You to help us grow. Even though You nurture us daily, we often choose to live in our own strength, ignoring the plans You have for us....

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You are who you Surround Yourself with

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:33-34, Proverbs 27:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1-2, Hebrews 10:24-25

Context matters. According to the Terman Study, which followed one thousand study participants from childhood until their death, the people we surround ourselves with are who we become. We see those a...

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God’s Spiritual Growth Plan

Author

John Ortberg

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Imagine a doctor’s office where every patient is told, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” If I have a headache, that is great advice, but if my appendix has just burst, I will be dead befo...

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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...

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Trust: That Rare & Priceless Treasure

Author

Paul de Jaegher

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 22:1-14 , Exodus 14:13-14, Proverbs 3:5-6 , Matthew 8:23-27, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 37:3-5

Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father. For him it has both charm and fascination. Among his countless children, whom he so greatly loves and whom ...

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Playing the Part in Oberammergau

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Scripture

Exodus 20:3, Isaiah 53:4-6, Matthew 16:24, John 19:17, Psalm 22:14

An American businessman went to Oberammergau to witness the famous passion play, just before the outbreak of World War II. Enthralled by this great drama that depicts the story of the cross, he went b...

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The Significant Reminder at the Milan Cathedral

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

James 4:14, Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 6:19-21, John 9:2, 1 John 2:17

Over the triple doorways of the Cathedral of Milan, there are carvings. One features a beautiful wreath of roses, accompanied by the inscription: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Another displa...

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Lifting Up My Soul

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 25:1

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. (Psalm 25:1 NRSV) When I’ve read this line previously, I’ve sometimes assumed that the main way I would lift up my soul was in personal prayer or corporate worship. ...

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Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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Let no Christian parents fall into the delusion that Sunday School is intended to ease them of their personal duties. The first and most natural condition of things is for Christian parents to train u...

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Mother's Day Prayers for Worship: For Celebration and for Those Who Grieve

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Break out the carnations! Mother's Day is coming. Mother's Day is a little tricky for pastors, though. It's a spring morning, things are finally warming up (in Northern climes, anyway), an...

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The Story of David: Seeking God in Times of Trouble

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 3:, Psalm 7:, Psalm 18:, Psalm 34:, Psalm 51:, Psalm 51:, Psalm 54:, Psalm 56:, Psalm 57:, Psalm 59:, Psalm 60:, Psalm 63:, Psalm 142:

Of the seventy-three psalms that are linked to David’s story, thirteen refer to specific incidents in his life. These references pull into focused clarity various parts of the story of this person who...

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When Rest is Radical: Why the Sabbath Matters for Christian Leaders

Author

Jason Jensen

Keywords

What Eric Liddell Did Not Do Scottish athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, whose story is told in the movie Chariots of Fire , was a favorite to win the hundred-meter sprint in the 1924 Paris Olym...

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We are people of desire. We want things

Author

Curt Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:22-32, Exodus 33:18-23 , 1 Samuel 1:9-20, Psalm 42:1-2, Mark 10:46-52, John 4:7-26

We are people of desire. We want things. We long for things. It is primal to our nature to yearn. As Saint Augustine reflected, “The whole life of the good Christian is a holy longing. . . . That is o...

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Psalm 1 | God's Law (Free Preview)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Scripture

Psalm 1:, Matthew 5:17, Matthew 5:3-12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Wisdom Song It is not too far a stretch to imagine an eager young person sitting at the feet of a well-seasoned elder and receiving the words of thi...

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God of Grace and Love—Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

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God of Grace and Love—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We come to you in prayer knowing that your steadfast love endures forever...and we give You thanks; thanks for the gift of life, the gift of new life...

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God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father,

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 4:14-17, Ruth 1:16-18, Mark 10:13-16, 1 Chronicles 29:19, Luke 15:11-32, Genesis 12:3, Joshua 24:15

God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name. You created us in Your image, making us for relationships, giving us meaning...

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God, we come with hesitant steps and

Author

Christine Sine

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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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Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 6:10, Romans 12:10, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 11:28-30

Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide to welcome us just as we are but who’s too loving leave us that way: in response to Your invitation we come humbly and boldly with our broken hearts and weak hand...

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Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

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The Psalmist draws us into prayer

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 66:16-19, Matthew 6:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Matthew 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 103:1-5

The Psalmist draws us into prayer saying: Come and hear, all you who honor God and let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him and God has surely listened and heard my prayer. Praise ...

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Prayer Service for Peace in Israel and Palestine

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-5, Psalm 86:1, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 65:5

Prayer Service for Peace in Israel and Palestine This service is designed as an evening, outdoor prayer vigil using handheld candles. Feel free to modify the order of worship as needed, including...

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When the Next Generation is Our Priority: Modeling the Faith for Our Children

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:13-15, John 20:24-29, Psalm 100:null

The 2023 survey that was conducted by the Wall Street Journal in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago found that only 39% of the 1000 adults polled deemed religion “very important” to ...

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Truth We Can Touch By Tim Chester Book Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

April 2020 is an interesting time to write a book review on the sacraments (or anything, for that matter). As Tim Chester, author of the book, Truth We Can Touch , points out, You can read you...

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Teaching Us His Name

Author

Marlena Graves

Keywords

Wilderness

God uses the wilderness experiences in our lives to teach us his name. If we, like Moses, wish to see God’s glory, it will often be in the wilderness that we see it. The beauty of the desert experienc...

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The Care and Cure of Souls

Author

David G. Benner

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1, James 5:14-15, Psalm 147:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Matthew 11:28-30

Gary Moon and David Benner, visionary leaders in contemporary Christian soul care, provide a helpful background on the origin of this phrase: The English phrase “care of souls” has its origins in th...

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