Christian Living on Release

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A Danger in Venting Your Anger

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Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:8, Proverbs 16:32, Ephesians 7:9, Proverbs 15:1

We often speak of unexpressed anger with metaphors of explosive pressure. We are like “a ticking time bomb” or “a volcano.” We are “bottling it up.” And sometimes letting it out feels good—cathartic. ...

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Tears & The Kingdom of God

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

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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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I Wanted to Be Free

Author

William Ury

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In a speech at the UN, former U.S. president Bill Clinton recalled a question he once asked Nelson Mandela: “Tell me the truth: when you were walking down the road that last time [as Mandela was relea...

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Author

Nunc dimittus

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Lord, you now have set your servant free, to go in peace as you have promised. For my eyes have seen the Light that you prepared for all the world to see, a Light to enlighten the whole world, and to ...

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Catch & Release

Author

Mike Herman

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I’ve been going to professional baseball games and trying to get a souvenir baseball as far back as I can remember. A foul ball, a home run ball or even a batting practice ball—anything would do. I w...

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Author

Kent Annan

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Confession produces freedom and restores right relationships, which releases the river of God’s justice to roll down. Yes, that river is sometimes fed by streams of tears. Confession includes lament, ...

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For All Prisoners

Author

Peter Marshall

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Lord Jesus, who came to liberate the captives, remember the prisoners, we pray, those locked up in jails. …Release from the prisons of their own making all those who struggle with habits that bind t...

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Rich Mullins: Tell the Joke

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

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A few weeks after Rich Mullins died in a car accident in 1997 at age forty-one, his friend and financial manager, Jim Dunning, went to collect Rich’s possessions. Mullins was a wildly successful Chris...

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Shame, Hypocrisy, and Empathy in The Scarlet Letter: A Pastor’s Take

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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The Puritans in American Literature “Welcome to Honors American Literature!” You probably haven’t heard that line since high school, right? After his first couple of weeks of school, my boy came home...

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5 Quotes on Summer

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Looking for inspiration for your summertime sermons? Here are five quotes that highlight different themes about summer. Quote 1 Comment: I love The Office , but in this short quotation...

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God of all nations, Savior of the

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:12, Revelation 7:9, James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 2:4, 1 Timothy 2:1-2

God of all nations, Savior of the Church and Lord of our hearts: We come to You, at this time, with our hands empty and our souls crying out: “Lord, help us!” “Do what only You can do!” Change the cou...

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Holy and Gracious God: Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

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Holy and Gracious God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We give you thanks for the gift of life, for the gift of Jesus our Savior, for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and for the gift of this sacrament that ...

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Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives

Author

Hildegard von Bingen

Keywords

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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Prayer of ConfessionGod, there are

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Prayer of Confession God, there are times when we are impatient. We are impatient with you. We want to know all the answers. We get frustrated when we don’t see your justice. Your plans and your way...

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Gracious God of love–Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 16:25-34, Genesis 45:1-15, Mark 2:1-12, Psalm 46:9, Isaiah 61:1

Gracious God of love–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We are grateful that You’ve revealed yourself to us, telling us that each of us are loved by You as children, each precious in Your sight, each a refl...

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Jesus: You gave us Your love at a high

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Hebrews 13:20-21, Philippians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 5:20

Jesus: You gave us Your love at a high price – Your own death on the cross in our place! By Your grace you give us eternal life and entrust to us Your creation. Thank You, Lord! We come today as Y...

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Lord—There’s nothing You call us to do

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

John 14:27, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 12:15, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 23:1-3

Lord—There’s nothing You call us to do that you don’t equip us to do. You ask us to release those we care about to You–then You furnish the faith to give them to You who have the love and power to mak...

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Opening Prayer based on Isaiah 9:6

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 9:6

Wonderful Counselor, open our ears So we may hear your song God is with us, God is near Mighty God, open our eyes So we may see you at work For goodness, truth, and justice Everlasting Father, open ...

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Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

1 Peter 5:6, Luke 18:13-14, James 4:10, Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:8

With the recent release of a new installment in the Indiana Jones movie series, our family decided to re-watch the original trilogy (I like to act as though Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never existe...

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Words Create Worlds: Thoughts from the Founder's Desk

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Have you ever heard the expression, "words create worlds?" It's been attributed to various people, but what's most important is just how true it is. I think I first grasped this in c...

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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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The Guilty Among the Innocent

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Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison. The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence—except for one man, who remained silent. Frederick called t...

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Practicing in Prison

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Liu Chi Kung, who placed second to Van Cliburn in the 1948 Tchaikovsky competition, was imprisoned a year later during the Cultural Revolution in China. During the entire seven years he was held, he w...

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Author

Francis MacNutt

Keywords

Too many Christians are broken in a destructive way—so badly broken that they cannot carry out the great commandment of loving God and neighbor. Their inner turmoil prevents them from carrying out God...

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Author

Dorothy C. Bass

Keywords

For all Christians, baptism embodies release from yesterday’s sin and receipt of tomorrow’s promise: going under the water, the old self is buried in the death of Christ; rising from the water the sel...

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“The Psalms Found Expression in His

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Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 1:1-6, Psalm 91:1-16, Psalm 37:1-40, Psalm 150:1-6, Psalm 46:1-11, Isaiah 40:8

In 1977, at the height of the Cold War, Anatoly Shcharansky, a brilliant young mathematician and chess player, was arrested by the KGB for his repeated attempts to emigrate to Israel. He spent thirtee...

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Play the Man

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 2:10, Matthew 5:10-12, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Peter 4:12-13, James 1:12, Psalm 46:1-3

Like a scene straight out of Gladiator, Polycarp was dragged into the Roman Colosseum. Discipled by the apostle John himself, the aged bishop faithfully and selflessly led the church at Smyrna through...

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A Short History of Repentance and Confession

Author

Annemarie S. Kidder

Keywords

The history of repentance is as old as humankind. We each carry the remembrance of wrongdoing in burdensome satchels, hoping that eventually someone will ease them off our back. We each know the feeli...

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A Conversation Between St. Francis and a Brother named Leo

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

One day Saint Francis and brother Leo were walking down the road. Noticing Leo was depressed, Francis turned and asked, “Leo, do you know what it means to be pure of heart?” “Of course. It means to h...

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A Brazilian Intercessor

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Exodus 32:9-14, Hebrews 7:25, John 14:16-17

Max Lucado tells the story of an intercession he experienced in Brazil in 1983. The transition was difficult enough with culture shock, but it was not helped by the fact that their possessions were he...

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