Faith and Work on Fall Of Humanity

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Good and Gracious God, Father, Son, and

Good and Gracious God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: we come to You as an impatient people filled with a multitude of desires and needs. We yearn for simple things--the arrival of warm weather, enough...

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Author

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

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[The fall is the] vandalism of shalom.

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Author

Eugene Peterson

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The Latin words humus, soil/earth, and homo, human being, have a common derivation, from which we also get our word 'humble.' This is the Genesis origin of who we are: dust - dust that the Lor...

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All the Succession of Time

Author

Jeremy Taylor

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All the succession of time, all the changes in nature, all the varieties of light and darkness, the thousand thousands of accidents in the world, and every contingency to every one, preaches our funer...

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Dostoyevsky and the Last Judgment

Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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Scripture

1 Timothy 1:15, Romans 5:8, Luke 19:10, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 9:13, Luke 15:11-32

At the last Judgment Christ will say to us, "Come, you also! Come, drunkards! Come, weaklings! Come, children of shame!" And He will say to us: "Vile beings, you who are in the image of...

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The Tragedy of the Digital World

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

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Scripture

Exodus 24:15–18, 1 Kings 19:9–12, Isaiah 30:15, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:15–16, Psalm 2:1–2

Recently a professor shared with me a college student’s reflections in response to my earlier writings on solitude and silence: I was not born into a world relatively unaffected by technology lik...

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In the early fifth century, even as Rome

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 23:2, Daniel 3:16-18, 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, Matthew 5:9-10, Romans 12:19-21 , Psalm 82:3-4

In the early fifth century, even as Rome had officially embraced Christianity, the brutal spectacle of gladiatorial combat continued in the Colosseum, drawing massive crowds. One day, a Christian herm...

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The Deepwater Horizon Crisis and Our Need for a Savior

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Scripture

Romans 3:21-31, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Colossians 2:13-14

In 2010, an oil rig named “Deepwater Horizon” suffered a catastrophic failure. Due to improper installation of the cement seal, a malfunctioning blowout preventer, and cost-cutting decisions by corpor...

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Living Faith Through Selfless Service

Author

Oscar A. Romero

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Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Samuel 17:, 1 John 12:24-25, Matthew 16:25, Psalm 116:15

Whoever seeks to avoid danger at all costs may ultimately lose the fullness of life, but the one who, out of love for Christ, dedicates themselves to serving others discovers a life that endures. Arch...

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Author

Gordon T. Smith

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Scripture

1 Kings 17:8-16, Exodus 16:16-18, Matthew 25:31-46 , Luke 10:25-37, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Psalm 41:1-3

Robert Lupton offers insight into the complexities of human impoverishment, reminding us that in spite of our best intentions sometimes our philanthropic efforts can yield unintended consequences: “Wh...

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Author

Dan B. Allender

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Shalom is shattered by sin, by the intrusion of a lie, a distortion of the truth that mars the pleasure of being naked, transparent, trusting and true.

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The Cross Was The Devil's Mousetrap

Author

Os Guinness

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13, Revelation 5:9-10, Isaiah 53:

The cross, Martin Luther wrote, was the devil’s mousetrap. The devil smelled cheese, and wham, felt steel. Thus, we see a little baby lying defenseless in a crib at Bethlehem, and a tortured man hangi...

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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...

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Labor Day Prayer

Author

Walter Rauschenbush

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Isaiah 58:10, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 31:8-9, Micah 6:8, Galatians 6:9-10, James 2:45-17

O God, Father of us all, we praise you for so binding humanity together that we must each lean upon the strength and labor of others. We ask your blessing on all men and women who have worked to build...

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Author

Abraham Lincoln

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Sabbath

As we keep or break the Sabbath day, we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.

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Author

Dan B. Allender

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We're in the presence of a good story when the flaw that shatters shalom is also the doorway to redemption... Whether it be our own flaw or the sin of others, God uses the raw material of sin to c...

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Oh Lord, our Lord, When you called your

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Oh Lord, our Lord, When you called your child Abraham out of Ur, You were beginning a new project in human history. You were creating a new people. A people who would be known as salt and light, A peo...

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The Sacred Alters of Modern Life

Author

A. J. Swoboda

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Our 24/7 culture conveniently provides every good and service we want, when we want, how we want. Our time – saving devices, technological conveniences, and cheap mobility have seemingly made life muc...

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Author

H.H. Farmer

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-16 , Jonah 1:3, Proverbs 1:20-33, Acts 9:1-19, Romans 1:18-32, Psalm 1:1-6

If you go against the grain of the universe, you get splinters.

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Divine Do-Overs: God's Renewable Compassion

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:5, Lamentations 3:22–23, Jonah 3:1–10 , Isaiah 1:18, Luke 15:11–32, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 103:10–12

Hope remains possible even amid our failures—whether we disappoint God, let down our families, or fall short of our own expectations—because divine compassion operates like an inexhaustible well. Each...

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Holding on to Earth

Author

John Shea

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:29, Revelation 21:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Hebrews 11:16, Philippians 3:20, John 14:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21

There once lived a peasant in Crete who deeply loved his life. He enjoyed tilling the soil, feeling the warm sun on his naked back as he worked the fields, and feeling the soil under his feet. He love...

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A Prayer of Absolution for the Overchallenged

Author

David Zimmerman

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:18, Galatians 5:22-23

Good God, We have a lot going on. You are a God of grace, And we are made in your likeness. Let us then be people of grace. Meet our human concerns with the fruit of your Spirit: Love for ourselves...

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Who to Reach for In Death

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 22:6–14, Exodus 14:21–22, Isaiah 41:13, Matthew 14:30–31, John 11:25–26, Psalm 23:4

The story of young Matthew Huffman came across my desk the week I was writing this chapter. He was the six-year-old son of missionaries in Salvador, Brazil. One morning he began to complain of fever. ...

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Ideas Have Consequences & Doomsday Prepping

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Let’s talk about how our beliefs shape our actions, especially when fear is involved. You've probably heard the phrase, "ideas have consequences," right? It's easy to see this in act...

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The One Ring and the Failure of Willpower

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:34-36, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:5, Romans 7:15-24, Proverbs 20:9, Numbers 21:

Nearly everybody knows of at least one sin habit in their life that they wish to leave behind them. Yet, no matter what they do, it seems impossible for them to be free of this habit, character flaw, ...

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Work

Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a true...

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When Ideas have Consequences

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-16 , Exodus 32:1-35 , 1 Kings 12:1-20 , Matthew 7:24-27, Psalm 1:1-6, Romans 1:18-32

In 1889, the French novelist Paul Bourget penned The Disciple , where he depicted the life of a renowned philosopher and psychologist, whose existence was marked by a seemingly monotonous routine...

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Faithful God–Father, Son and Holy

Faithful God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You are always there in times of transition or trial, times of uncertainty and anxiety, or times of accomplishment and celebration. You do not leave us nor fo...

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Inspired by Proverbs 15:1-16

Author

Dustin Ray

Scripture

Proverbs 15:1-16

Pastor: O wise and wonderful God, in our quick temper and selfish pride, we have not followed your example—you are slow to anger, abounding in love, and show steadfast faithfulness to your children. ...

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God of grace and God of glory on your

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Amos 5:24, Psalm 85:6, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 40:29, Psalm 147:3, James 1:5

God of grace and God of glory on your people pour your power...Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the facing of this hour. Lord—we need You...today, tomorrow and forever. We need you to heal those ...

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