Life on Planet Earth on Nurture

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God of nurture and care, You seek to

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Matthew 23:37, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:11, John 14:16-17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Ruth 2:8-12

God of nurture and care, You seek to gather us together as a mother hen gathers her chicks. You seek to be our refuge in times of trouble. As we have gathered together today, draw us closer to You, de...

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Nature vs. Nurture

Author

Jonathan Haidt

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For most of the late twentieth century, political scientists embraced blank-slate theories in which people soaked up the ideology of their parents or the TV programs they watched. Some political scien...

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Heavenly Father, You give us the

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Heavenly Father, You give us the strength to grow in Your likeness. We praise You today for Your constant nurture and support. Please help us to become more like You as we experience Your almighty pre...

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Prayer of Thanksgiving for Mothers

Author

Ryan Bundrick

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Scripture

Isaiah 49:15, Matthew 23:37-39, Hosea 11:3-4, Isaiah 66:13, Deuteronomy 32:18

God of all peace, We thank You for mothers For their nurture, For their unnoticed sacrifices, And for their care that showed us What Your love looks like before we knew Your name. We praise You for ...

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Genes on a Razor's Edge

Author

David Dobbs

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Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming sp...

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Gracious God, for the goodness and

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Gracious God, for the goodness and beauty of creation we thank you. For the way your creation nurtures and inspires us, we are grateful. Yet, the more we pay attention to the world, the more we see i...

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Where Does Leadership Come From?

Author

Chad Veach

Keywords

It’s an argument that may never be fully resolved, but scientific research has shown what most of us probably already suspected: there is some truth to both perspectives. One study focused on factors ...

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Personality Traits Come Right Out of the Box

Author

Anne Bogel

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Current research indicates that personality traits are hardwired; they’re largely hereditary and remain relatively constant throughout our lives.1 If we’re outgoing or reserved, energetic or subdued, ...

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Gracious God, forgive us today for the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Gracious God, forgive us today for the times when we don’t trust You to help us grow. Even though You nurture us daily, we often choose to live in our own strength, ignoring the plans You have for us....

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The North and South of Temperament

Author

Anne Bogel

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Even though Carl Jung first introduced the terms introvert and extravert back in 1921 (in his now-classic volume Psychological Types), the concepts—especially introversion—crashed into the public’s co...

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Author

Matt Haig

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Scripture

Genesis 25:29-34, Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, Proverbs 15:17, Matthew 6:25, 1 Timothy 4:4-5 , Psalm 34:8

No physical appearance is worth not eating pasta for.

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The Significant Reminder at the Milan Cathedral

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

James 4:14, Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 6:19-21, John 9:2, 1 John 2:17

Over the triple doorways of the Cathedral of Milan, there are carvings. One features a beautiful wreath of roses, accompanied by the inscription: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Another displa...

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Lifting Up My Soul

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 25:1

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. (Psalm 25:1 NRSV) When I’ve read this line previously, I’ve sometimes assumed that the main way I would lift up my soul was in personal prayer or corporate worship. ...

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Author

Norman Wirzba

Keywords

Gardening is never simply about gardens. It is work that reveals the meaning and character of humanity, and is an exercise and demonstration of who we take ourselves and creation to be. It is the most...

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Mother's Day Prayers for Worship: For Celebration and for Those Who Grieve

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Break out the carnations! Mother's Day is coming. Mother's Day is a little tricky for pastors, though. It's a spring morning, things are finally warming up (in Northern climes, anyway), an...

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We are people of desire. We want things

Author

Curt Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:22-32, Exodus 33:18-23 , 1 Samuel 1:9-20, Psalm 42:1-2, Mark 10:46-52, John 4:7-26

We are people of desire. We want things. We long for things. It is primal to our nature to yearn. As Saint Augustine reflected, “The whole life of the good Christian is a holy longing. . . . That is o...

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A Poem & Five Quotes on Winter

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

The trees are bare, the days are short, and there is a chill in the air. Here is a prayer and five quotes on winter. A Prayer "A Prayer for Winter" by Kayla Craig Every Season...

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God of Grace and Power ... and our

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

John 17:21, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:9, Matthew 5:4, Jeremiah 17:14

God of Grace and Power ... and our Friend, who sticks closer than a brother: You know when we stumble ... and You know when we manage to get it right. You know when we forget you, but You don’t forget...

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God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father,

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 4:14-17, Ruth 1:16-18, Mark 10:13-16, 1 Chronicles 29:19, Luke 15:11-32, Genesis 12:3, Joshua 24:15

God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name. You created us in Your image, making us for relationships, giving us meaning...

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Lord God, we rejoice in your

Author

Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

Keywords

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, we come with hesitant steps and

Author

Christine Sine

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 51:, Romans 8:9-17, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 10:1-10, Job 15:31-32

God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated, and uncover the ways we have strayed from Your truth. Expose the empty and barren places wher...

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Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 6:10, Romans 12:10, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 11:28-30

Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide to welcome us just as we are but who’s too loving leave us that way: in response to Your invitation we come humbly and boldly with our broken hearts and weak hand...

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False Following, Three Prayers Inspired by John 6.24-35

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:24-35

Jesus, forgive my false following my misplaced priorities my misuse of power my mistreatment of your good gifts Forgive me for believing destructive voices Forgive me for using you instead of loving ...

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Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

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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 ...

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Bread and Companionship

Author

Norman Wirzba

Keywords

Bread

The smell of freshly baked bread is enough to make people want to sit down, get comfortable, and enjoy several slices. The visible, aromatic, and tactile presence of a warm loaf invites sharing and co...

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A Holy and Humbling Mystery

Author

Norman Wirzba

Keywords

Food

Food is a holy and humbling mystery. Every time a creature eats it participates in God’s life-giving yet costly ways, ways that simultaneously affirm creation as a delectable gift, and as a divinely o...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

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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Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Temptation

Our minds are mental greenhouses where unlawful thoughts, once planted, are nurtured and watered before being transplanted into the real world of unlawful actions... These actions are savored in the m...

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Mother's Day Sermon Ideas: Four Verses That Find Motherhood in the Heart of God

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Mother’s Day is complicated for a pastor. Among the happy families that are celebrating, there are children who were abused by mothers, mothers who lost lost a child, and women suffering from inferti...

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