Life on Planet Earth on Justification

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Justified?

Author

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There is a television show that has one of those beginnings that stick with you long after you’ve seen it. And it starts like this…A man, dressed like a cowboy enters an ultra sleek Miami club, lookin...

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What can we say, O Lord, to justify

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

Matthew 6:12, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 61:1, Genesis 45:1-15, Ephesians 4:32

What can we say, O Lord, to justify ourselves? You shower us with grace upon grace. Your mercies are new every morning. And we find it hard to forgive others. Sometimes we are petty and hold grudges f...

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Author

Rowan Williams

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The church is a community that exists because something has happened that makes the entire process of self-justification irrelevant. God’s truth and mercy have appeared in concrete form in Jesus and, ...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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God has reserved to Himself the right to determine the end of life, because He alone knows the goal to which it is His will to lead it. It is for Him alone to justify a life or to cast it away.

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Adapted from Romans 5:6-8 & 2 Corinthians 5:21

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Romans 5:6-8, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Leader: God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21, ESV) People: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:null, Acts 9:1-19, Ephesians 2:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:1-11

Romans 6 shines a bright spotlight on the dangerous half-truth, currently fashionable, that ‘God accepts us as we are.’ Will ‘God’s acceptance’ do as a complete grounding of Christian ethics? Emphatic...

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Persuading Ourselves of the Truth

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 5:20, Galatians 6:3, 2 Timothy 3:13, Proverbs 12:15, Romans 1:21, 1 John 1:8

When we observe evil, sinful behavior from a distance, the inclination is simply to see people as acting with malicious intent. We assume they are “bad people.” But often the motivations that lead to ...

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Equivocating on Promises: Pierre from Tolstoy’s War & Peace

Author

Leo Tolstoy

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:11, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Galatians 5:16-17, Matthew 5:37, Proverbs 14:12

In this excellent little character study, Tolstoy describes the inner monologue of the character Pierre Bezuhov from War & Peace , who is able to justify and convince himself that a promise made ...

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The Empty Bench

Author

Arthur Miller

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The character Quentin from Henry Miller’s Play, After the Fall explains a life without God: For many years I looked at life like a case at law. It was a series of proofs. When you’re young you prove ...

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I tell you this: "To those who have

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:12, Romans 5:8-10

I tell you this: "To those who have received Christ and believed in his name, God has given the right to be called children of God." And "God shows his love for us in that while we were...

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Author

A. E. Houseman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:12, Psalm 77:19, Proverbs 3:5-6, Deuteronomy 29:29, Ecclesiastes 3:11

And malt does more than Milton can To justify God’s ways to man. Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink For fellows whom it hurts to think.

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The One Thing Going For Us

Author

Andy Crouch

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:8-9, Galatians 2:21, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 51:17, Luke 18:13-14, Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:9

As for Christians, well, we really have just one thing going for us. We have publicly declared… that we are desperately in need of Another to give us his righteousness, to complete us, to live in us. ...

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Romans 8:1-4

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:1-4

Leader: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done wha...

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Inspired by John 6:51-58 (short)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:13-14

Brothers and Sisters, be reassured. Your sins are not held against you. By the work of God in Christ, you are forgiven. God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the king...

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Hear the good news! Who is in a

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:34

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. (Romans 8:34, Phillips) Leader: Friend...

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Inspired by Jeremiah 33:14-16

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that when it seems all hope is lost, God is still working toward restoration. Friends, believe the Good News today: through the messiah, the righteous branch, our sins ...

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Let us pray to God the Father, God the

Author

Moucan

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 28:19, Genesis 1:1-2, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 104:5-6, Revelation 4:8

Let us pray to God the Father, God the Son, And to God the Holy Spirit, Whose infinite greatness Enfolds the whole world, In Persons three and one, In essence simple and triune, Suspending the earth a...

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Adapted from Isaiah 53:2-7

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 53:2-7

Pastor: For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised ...

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Isaiah 53:2-5

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Scripture

Isaiah 53:2-5

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised...

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Covered by the Blood

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

On a Saturday in September, 2013, one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in history took place in an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Four Gunman, part of the Al-Qaeda affiliate al Shabab, took the l...

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Where Does My Validation Come From?

Author

Alexandra Kuykendall

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 1:6, Romans 8:1

As Christians, we do not need to justify who we are; Jesus took care of that. We are loved and forgiven. When I’m tempted to advertise my accomplishments, qualifications, or résumés when talking with ...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:18-19, Romans 8:30, Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 1:7

Dealing with sin, saving humans from it, giving them grace, forgiveness, justification, glorification-all this was the purpose of the single covenant from the beginning, now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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Inspired by Psalm 51:1-4

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:1-4

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleans us from our sin. For we know ou...

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Adapted from Romans 10:9-10

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 10:9-10

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, And believe in your heart that God raised him from dead, You will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified. And with ...

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How we Hurt Others

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 37:23–28, Exodus 32:1–6 , Esther 3:1–6 , Luke 10:30–37, Philippians 2:3–4, Psalm 36:1–4

In his poem Cocktail Party , T. S. Eliot captures a fundamental truth about human nature and the source of much hurt in the world. People’s actions are rarely driven by outright malice—intended t...

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Adapted from Psalm 51:1-5

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:1-5

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; According to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from by sin. Against you, you only...

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Inspired by John 8 and Romans 5

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, Romans 5:null

Lord God, we know that you are life, the life which is the light of the world But sometimes we allow the darkness to close in We find ourselves driven apart from you We confess that we do not ...

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Adapted from Psalm 51:1-17

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Scripture

Psalm 51:1-17

Pastor: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. All: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! ...

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Adapted from Psalm 51 (ESV)

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Scripture

Psalm 51:1-12

Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. People: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my si...

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Adapted from Psalm 51 (BOCP)

Scripture

Psalm 51:1-13

Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses. People: Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin. F...

life on planet earth on Justification

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