Christian Living on Seasons

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Hard seasons can cause us to look at God in an unhealthy way. Instead of asking God what He needs us to see in these seasons, we may constantly find ourselves asking Him if He really knows what He is ...

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Walter Brueggemann

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The world is God’s way of bestowing blessings upon us. Our times are ordered by God according to the seasons of the year, according to the seasons of life, according to the needs of the day.

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Charles R. Swindoll

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When you accept the fact that sometimes seasons are dry and times are hard and that God is in control of both, you will discover a sense of divine refuge, because the hope then is in God and not in yo...

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Heavenly Father, we stand in awe of

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Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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John 14:6, Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 40:28, John 14:6, Psalm 100:3, Colossians 1:16, Romans 5:8

Heavenly Father, we stand in awe of Your creation. You are the master of design. You know the change of seasons, You know the orbit of planets, and You know exactly what human beings were made for: a ...

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Lord of yesterday, today, and tomorrow

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Richard Herman

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Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:8, Isaiah 44:6, Psalm 90:2, Malachi 3:6, Colossians 1:17, 2 Peter 3:8, Isaiah 41:4, Romans 11:36

Consider using the prayer of adoration by itself or as a prelude to the prayer of confession. Prayer of Adoration Lord of yesterday, today, and tomorrow: You alone rule the universe; setting time...

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Gracious and loving God, Father, Son

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Richard Herman

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James 5:15, Psalm 147:3, Galatians 3:28, Matthew 5:44, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55, Ephesians 4:32

Gracious and loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We praise you for how wide, how high, and how deep is Your vast love for all people. Incarnate in Jesus, You offered Your life for the healing of ...

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O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain

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Psalm 118:24, James 1:17, Psalm 136:1, Philippians 4:19, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain of all mercies, in whom are all the springs of our life; all glory, thanks and praise be unto thee for thine unfailing goodness; for thy faithfulness which is fr...

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The Meaning of Rituals

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JR Woodward

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Exodus 12:14, Exodus 13:8-9, Joshua 4:6-7, Acts 2:42, Joel 2:15-16

Rituals are procedures or routines that are fused with meaning. Ritual actions include various rites of passage (birth, marriage, death) or calendrical rites (religious holy days, national holidays), ...

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God of grace, power and glory –

Author

Richard Herman

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1 Corinthians 15:57, 1 Chronicles 16:11, Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:13, Psalm 121:2

God of grace, power and glory – Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer – and our Father: When we’re tempted to think it’s all up to us: to change the world, to overcome evil, to establish Your kingdom. to m...

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Throwing Away Valuable Resources

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Psalm 42:, Philippians 3:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 11:24-30

In many parts of the country, leaf clean-up is an annual chore. They fall from the trees, blanket our lawns, and we often bag them up and toss them out (or burn them). There’s a lesson in this… In my...

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Lord our Lord – How majestic is Your

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Psalm 8:1-9

Lord our Lord – How majestic is Your name in all the earth. The sun’s light is but a dim flicker next to the brightness of Your glory. Your care is far more intimate than that of a mother sparrow hove...

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Author

Brian O’Connell

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The season of Epiphany is an invitation to follow Jesus into the ways of gratitude and joy,. We are no longer bound by the dissatisfaction of our consumer culture that tells us to keep striving for mo...

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Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

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The spiritual journey is a marathon of seasons. Sometimes you can hold your own. Sometimes your side aches, you're hot and you can't get your breath. Spiritual disciplines are intentional ways...

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Farm Animals Prefer the Familiar to the Good

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Mia Levetan

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Galatians 5:1, Numbers 14:4, Exodus 16:3, Luke 9:62, 2 Peter 2:22, Proverbs 26:11

There is a story about a farmer who had a few animals he kept in a barn that had gotten old, drafty, and leaky. Concerned for his animals' well-being, the farmer decided to build a new barn. He bu...

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Brian D. McLaren

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These special holidays give rise to various liturgical calendars that suggest we should mark our days not only with the cycles of the moon and seasons, but also with occasions to tell our children the...

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Wrestling with the Devil or God?

Author

Ronald Rohlheiser

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Scripture

Genesis 32:24-28, Genesis 32:30, Hosea 12:3-4, Hebrews 5:12-14, 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, Luke 9:23-24, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Maturation is a lifelong journey with different phases, human and spiritual. And it has many setbacks. What can be helpful is to have a grasp of the natural seasons of our lives and how these interfac...

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Digging Down Deep

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

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Scripture

John 15:5, Proverbs 12:3, Isaiah 61:3, Matthew 13:5-6, Ephesians 3:17-19

I’m more of an aboveground type of girl, as in, I like the stuff you can see. Flowers, trees, and vegetation symbolize life, growth, and transformation. The problem with focusing on external manifesta...

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Topsoil and Christ

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Wendell Berry

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The most exemplary nature is that of the topsoil. It is very Christ-like in its passivity and beneficence, and in the penetrating energy that issues out of its peaceableness. It increases by experienc...

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The Maturation Process of the Soul

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Ronald Rohlheiser

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Malachi 3:2-3, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Proverbs 17:3, Psalm 66:10-12, Isaiah 48:10, John 15:1-2

The human soul is like a fine wine that needs to ferment in various barrels as it ages and mellows. The wisdom for this is written everywhere, in nature, in scripture, in spiritual traditions, and in ...

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How Our Limits Help Us

Author

Ashley Hales

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Exodus 32:1, Genesis 18:10–14, Habakkuk 2:3, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:23–25, Psalm 27:14

We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it. But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re...

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Prep for Pentecost

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Jack Levison

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Pentecost Came Like Wildfire I’m lying on an ice pack early this morning, doing my back exercises and listening to Pray as You Go , a tool for meditation, with monastery bells, music, and a Bible re...

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The Importance of Listening to God

Author

Alan Fadling

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Scripture

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, John 10:4

Over the years, I have led hundreds of retreats that have at their center a few hours to be alone and quiet in listening prayer. At one such retreat, one participant shared a conversation she had wit...

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Finding the Right Pastoral Work–Life Balance: A Few Unbalanced Thoughts

Author

Dan Baumgartner

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Scripture

John 15:null

I might not be the best person to be writing this. After an eleven-year career in business in my twenties and early thirties, I’ve been an ordained pastor now for nearly twenty-seven years. There are...

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Most Blessed, Most Beautiful Christ, A Prayer for Thanksgiving

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:21-23

A Prayer for Thanksgiving Services Long-time TPW contributor Rev. Lisa Degrenia has contributed this prayer of thanksgiving which you can use in your Thanksgiving Day services (or Sunday services a...

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Book Review: Spiritual Practices in Community

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Kayla Zowada

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Many of us have been involved in small group ministry, and if we are honest with ourselves, there are seasons when the groups can lack the dynamism of a fully-flourishing Christian ministry. This is w...

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Do You Know Where You Are Going?

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Charles Swindoll

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In his book Growing strong in the Seasons of Life , the author Charles Swindoll tells a story about the 19th Century agnostic Thomas Huxley. The story goes like this – Huxley was in Dublin and was ru...

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The Land Slows Us Down

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Jennifer Dukes Lee

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Isaiah 55:10-11, John 15:1-2, Matthew 13:31-32, Deuteronomy 11:10-12, Psalm 65:9-10, Leviticus 25:23, Genesis 1:11-12

It’s been right here all along—the land teaching us how to un-hurry our hurry-sick hearts. Land speaks stunning truths through Scripture. The Hebrew word for land is eretz. It is the fifth most freque...

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The Perfect Storm

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Andy Cook

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To understand why the Andrea Gail never had a chance, one needs only to search the clues along the shoreline of the Eastern Seaboard. At first, it went by the name of the “Halloween Storm,” given its...

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How we Deal with the Desert

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hosea 2:14, Isaiah 43:19, Psalm 63:1, Matthew 4:1, Deuteronomy 8:2

We all go through desert seasons and have the opportunity to determine how we will respond. The cyclical frustrations I faced in regard to my desire for control, fear, and the longing to feel chosen w...

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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Direction

You may readily judge whether you are a child of God or a hypocrite by seeing in what direction your soul turns in seasons of severe trial. The hypocrite flies to the world and finds a sort of comfort...

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