Current Affairs and Causes on Hope

illustration

May This Body Nourish Us in Faithfulness

Author

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 5:9, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 53:5, Hebrews 12:2

At a funeral Mass for a friend of Archbishop Romero who was murdered by the government because of her faith in Christ, Romero invited those present to follow this Lord who died, this God who sacrifice...

illustration

Paul Miki’s Testimony

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Daniel 3:16–18, Daniel 6:19–22, Acts 7:54–60, Matthew 5:10–12, Psalm 116:15

Christianity first reached Japan in 1549, due to the heroic missionary work of the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier and his companions. In the next sixty years, over three hundred thousand Japanese citize...

liturgy

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...

liturgy

Father–nothing escapes your notice, is

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:19, Revelation 21:4, Romans 8:26, Acts 1:8, Psalm 46:1, Matthew 5:9

Father–nothing escapes your notice, is beyond your care or too hard for you to take on, whether it concerns nations or individuals. You have a heart for all the world–not just our little piece of it. ...

liturgy

Gracious God—Father, Son and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16

Gracious God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You are the light of life, the One who speaks light into darkness and gives us hope like the rising sun as night gives way to morning. With the light of joy:...

liturgy

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Ephesians 4:32, James 5:15-16, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the author of change, who’s constantly doing “a new thing,” which makes us sit up and take notice. We admit, we’d be more comfortable with a pred...

liturgy

Father: You are good and You are

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Amos 5:24, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Colossians 3:13, Jeremiah 30:17, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 127:3, Isaiah 40:29

Father: You are good and You are strong. You want what is best. You act to bring it about .And you invite us to hold our hearts before You in prayer, so we can participate in what You do. Therefore, w...

liturgy

God of nations and Lord of all

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 15:5-6, Isaiah 58:10-11, Psalm 34:18-19, Matthew 5:4, Isaiah 41:10

God of nations and Lord of all creation: You were there at the beginning of time and at our beginning, and You will be there at the ending and when we finally come home. There is no time You are not t...

liturgy

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 ...

liturgy

A Contemporary Lament for Violence

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-14, Matthew 5:21-22, Exodus 20:13, 1 John 3:15, Deuteronomy 5:17, Romans 12:19, Genesis 9:6, Matthew 5:4, 9, Revelation 21:4

Notes on prayer: This prayer is designed for a leader and a congregation, but it could be further divided so that the Leader/People response sections are "voice 1" and "voice 2." ...

illustration

Tell Them About the Dream, Martin!

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 2:8, Proverbs 21:3, Romans 12:21, Isaiah 1:17, Galatians 3:28

Most of us in the United States know the famous “I have a Dream” speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the 1963 March on Washington. On a sweltering, humid day in the n...

liturgy

Faithful God, our Father, Lord and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 139:13-16, John 16:33, Ephesians 4:3-6, Isaiah 40:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Matthew 5:9

Faithful God, our Father, Lord and Counselor: By your grace you know our names before we are even born. By your grace you call us your own sons and daughters. By your grace you give us an eternal purp...

liturgy

Lord: In our times of weakness and our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Colossians 3:12, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:18, Matthew 5:9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord: In our times of weakness and our hours of need, Yours is the strength that enables us to carry on, Yours the shoulder we rest our heads upon. When our load is heavy and too much to bear, Yours a...

liturgy

God—our Father ... our Savior ... our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Romans 8:28, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 5:14-16, James 1:5, Psalm 30:2

God—our Father ... our Savior ... our Counselor and Friend: Thank you for daring to meet us at the most unlikely places, and in the most unexpected times of our lives. Thank you for redeeming our pain...

illustration

A Nice Theory

Author

Lynn Anderson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:10, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17-18, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 11:25, Luke 6:38

Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” “Well,” you say “that is a nice theory—but is it really true?” There is really only one way to find out: Give! Give generously and consistently, ...

liturgy

Jesus, we receive your blessings and

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, John 7:37-38, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 5:3-4, Psalm 51:10

Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliver...

liturgy

Jesus – Savior: Praise You. Thank

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Philippians 2:6-7, Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 5:44, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:15

Jesus – Savior: Praise You. Thank You. We’d never have done what You did We’d never give up so much for someone else who cared so little about us. … and we can’t imagine anyone doing it for us. But Yo...

illustration

Somebody Does Care

Author

Matthew Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:4, Galatians 6:2, John 13:34-35, Matthew 5:14,16, Isaiah 58:10, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Proverbs 27:9

Many years ago, I was on my way home from work and a friend came to mind. It occurred to me that I hadn’t heard from him for a few days, and I knew he had been having a tough time. (This was before th...

liturgy

God of glory, you sent Jesus among us

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 5:16, John 8:12, Romans 12:2, James 5:16

God of glory, you sent Jesus among us as the light of the world, to reveal your love for all people. We confess that our sin and pride hide the brightness of your light. We turn away from the poor; we...

illustration

What Does it Mean to be Blessed?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:24-30, Numbers 6:24-26, 1 Kings 17:8-16 , Matthew 5:3-12 , Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 34:18

The word blessed has been among the vocabulary I’ve removed from my daily life. In the faith of my young adulthood, it was a word that filled my conversations: a term to close out emails or to d...

illustration

It is Well

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:4, Psalm 147:null, Psalm 34:18, Revelation 21:1-8, 2 Corinthians 1:3-12, Romans 8:18-28, John 11:null, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, John 14:27, 1 Peter 5:7, Daniel 6:, Psalm 46:, Psalm 23:, Job 1:, Job 2:, 2 Samuel 11:, 2 Samuel 12:

If you ever travel to Jerusalem and are looking for sites to see, beyond all the ‘must-see’ sites related to Ancient Israel, the Temple Mount, and the sites associated with Jesus, you might venture to...

liturgy

Almighty God, too often we settle for

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:18, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 1:17, James 2:13, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:6

Almighty God, too often we settle for brokenness in our lives. Rather than offering forgiveness, we hold onto offense. Rather than pursuing justice, we turn away . Rather than offering mercy, we c...

liturgy

We ask you, Lord and master, to be our

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Matthew 5:3-4, Isaiah 61:1, James 4:10, Psalm 145:14

We ask you, Lord and master, to be our help and support. Save those in trouble; have mercy on the humble; raise the fallen; reveal yourself to the needy; heal the ungodly; return the wanderers of your...

liturgy

Loving and forgiving God, we want to

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:1-3, Galatians 2:20, John 13:34-35, Matthew 5:14-16, Psalm 51:10, James 4:17, Acts 1:8

Loving and forgiving God, we want to answer your invitation to experience a Christ-centered life. Yet all too often, our lives are much more centered around our ourselves than around Jesus. Jesus send...

liturgy

Like the crowds who followed Jesus, we

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

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 ...

Quote

Author

Lois Barrett

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 3:18, Romans 14:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 8:16-17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 32:17

Shalom envisions the full prosperity of a people of God living under the covenant of God’s demanding care and compassionate rule. In the prophetic vision, peace such as this comes hand in hand with ju...

illustration

Seeking a Better Way

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 11:1-9 , Isaiah 58:6-12, Jeremiah 29:4-7, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 133:

In the land whose founding metaphor was the mutuality of John Winthrop’s seventeenth-century vision of a “city set on a hill,” we live more and more in estranged, hostile, exclusive enclaves, linked o...

liturgy

Responsive Prayer of the Beatitudes

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:3-12, Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 5:9, Matthew 5:8, Matthew 5:7

Pastor: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. All: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Pastor: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the...

illustration

Loving Your Enemies & Costly Love

Author

Brett McCracken

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:44

One of the costliest requirements of Christlike love is Jesus’s call to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5: 44). What does this look like for Christians in today’s world...

liturgy

Prayer for Peace Among the Nations

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:7, James 3:18, Romans 14:17, Matthew 5:9, Jeremiah 29:7, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 2:4

Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the ki...

illustration

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations