Current Affairs and Causes on Race And Reconciliation

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God of freedom, whether we like to

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God of freedom, whether we like to admit it or not, we do not treat everybody with equality. We silently judge others based on appearance, social status, and even race. Please give us the courage to m...

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MLK Day Prayers for Church Services: Liturgy & Sermon Resources

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17, Galatians 3:28, James 2:1, Ephesians 2:14

Updated for 2026. January 19, 2026 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day— the only U.S. national holiday commemorating a pastor. Under his leadership, non-violent civil rights advocacy achieved leaps f...

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Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

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Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:37, Luke 6:27, Luke 17:3-4, Luke 23:34, Matthew 26:28, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 5:44

Jesus is a reconciler of people, not a divider. He wants to bring people together, not finalize separations.

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Scripture

Galatians 3:28, Malachi 2:10, Romans 10:12-13, Colossians 3:11, Revelation 5:9-10

I think it is one of the tragedies of our nation, one of the shameful tragedies, that eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours, if not the most segregated hour, in Christia...

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day ri...

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O God, you created all people in your

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O God, you created all people in your image. We thank you for the astonishing variety of races and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of friendship, and show us your pre...

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Lord God, we rejoice in your

Author

Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

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Scripture

Matthew 24:42-44, Proverbs 31:8-9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Peter 1:3-4, James 5:7-8, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:20

Lord God, we rejoice in your resurrection and in your promise to return. Help us live today as people who await the fulfillment of your kingdom. We confess we often look for comfort outside of you. Be...

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God and Father of all, in your lovey ou

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Acts 10:34-35, Acts 2:1-12, John 4:1-42, Romans 12:10, 1 John 4:20-21

God and Father of all, in your love you made all the nations of the world to be a family, and your Son taught us to love one another. Yet our world is riven apart with prejudice, arrogance, and pride....

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Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right

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Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right side or your left side, not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your best side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition, but I just ...

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Gracious God, in Christ Jesus, you

Gracious God, in Christ Jesus, you teach us to love our neighbors but instead we build dividing walls of hostility. You show us how to love one another as sisters and brothers but instead we hide from...

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You give us prophets, holy God, to cry

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Scripture

Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Jeremiah 1:7-8, Ezekiel 2:4-5, Isaiah 6:8, Zechariah 7:9-10, Matthew 23:34

You give us prophets, holy God, to cry out for justice and mercy. Open our ears to hear them, and to follow the truth they speak, lest we support injustice to secure our own well-being. Give prophets ...

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MKL’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail-a Short History

Author

Esau McCaulley

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On April 12, 1963, eight clergy—two Methodist bishops, two Episcopal bishops, one Roman Catholic Bishop, a Rabbi, a Presbyterian, and a Baptist—wrote a letter addressed to the citizens of Alabama. Thi...

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Returning to a Better America

Author

Ken Wytsma

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Scripture

Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8 , Ecclesiastes 7:10, Psalm 146:3-7, Matthew 23:23-24, Philippians 3:13-14

There are many people who will always want to return to the time when America was great. But was there ever a time when America was a wonderful place for everyone? As I saw on a Facebook meme recently...

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Break Our Hearts

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

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Scripture

Ezekiel 36:24-28, Psalm 51:1-17, Jeremiah 31:31-34

Break our hearts, Jesus That we may weep as You weep Love as You love Break our hearts Jesus and raise our voices that we may speak and act so all may be safe so all may have opportunity so all may k...

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A Franciscan Blessing

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May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart. May God bless you...

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What Exactly Is Racial Reconciliation?

Author

Brenda Salter McNeil

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What exactly is racial reconciliation? If you asked ten different people, it’s likely you’d get ten different answers! At a gathering I attended of national multiethnic leaders—pastors, professors, di...

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A Review of "The Minority Experience" by Adrian Pei

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Galatians 3:28, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Proverbs 31:8-9, James 2:1-4, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17

Editors Note: This is perhaps less a review as a jumping off part to articulate some thoughts I developed while reading The Minority Experience. For a full review of the title, a cursory google search...

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Practicing Corporate Repentance

Author

George Yancey

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In his insightful work, Beyond Racial Gridlock, George Yancey provides a multi-faceted picture of both the brokenness of American race-relations, as well as a response couched in the gospel. In this e...

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O God, we thank thee thou that hast

Author

John S. Land

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O God, we thank thee thou that hast made man in thine own image. Help us to see ourselves as thou seest us, all standing in need of thy mercy yet dear unto thee. We confess to the many injustices and ...

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Lord—you not only know all things...

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Matthew 28:19-20, Isaiah 41:10, John 11:25-26, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Lord—you not only know all things... You notice all things. You notice when we are joyful—and You laugh, too. You notice when we are in grief or despair—and you cry with us. When we are alone or confu...

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Racial Reconciliation Not Needed?

Author

Ken Wytsma

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

In a recent Barna survey, only 56 percent of evangelicals agree that people of color are often placed at a social disadvantage, lower than the national average of 67 percent. At the same time, 95 perc...

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Author

Justin Martyr

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We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.

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John Perkins’ Journey from Segregation to Reconciliation

Author

Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14-16, Galatians 3:28

In 1970 John Perkins, an African American pastor and community organizer who lived on “the black side” of rural Mendenhall, Mississippi, was nearly beaten to death by white state police officers. The ...

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Author

Brenda Salter McNeil

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Reconciliation is about how to relate even after forgiveness and justice have occurred. It’s about how to delve even deeper into relationship with one another. An absence of hostility is possible with...

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Race and Friendship

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Colossians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 12:25-26, Romans 12:10, James 2:1, Galatians 3:28

In a 2009 stand-up special, Chris Rock made a funny, and perhaps true, statement: “All my black friends have a bunch of white friends. And all my white friends have one black friend.” It turns out, R...

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A New Thing Has Been Made

Author

Jonathan Cornell

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Scripture

Matthew 3:1-12, Galatians 3:26-29, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10-11

My kids love the movie Remember the Titans . It’s the story of the integration of the TC WIlliams High School Football Team in Alexandria, Virginia, in the 1960s Civil Rights era. The white players a...

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Adapted from the Brief Statement of Faith

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Genesis 1:27, Galatians 3:28

In sovereign love, you, O God, created the world good And made everyone equally in your image, Male and female, of every race and people, To live as one community. But we rebel against you; we hid...

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Adapted from Micah 6:6-8 (Hardwick 1)

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Scripture

Micah 6:6-8

Leader: How shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the exalted God? People: The Lord has shown you, O man, what is good. Leader: What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, P...

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Race Issues Over Coffee

Author

Melinda Joy Mingo

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One day while drinking coffee, laughing, and sharing stories with one of my best friends, who is white, an unexpected question about race came up. It just popped up out of nowhere as we were talking a...

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Racial Justice and our Global Witness

Author

The Lausanne II Press Conference

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:14-16, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

The most serious thing [concerning the credibility of our global witness] is the image around the world that evangelicals are soft on racial injustice. . . . One sign and wonder, biblically speaking, ...

current affairs and causes on Race and Reconciliation

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