Relationships and Community on Needs

liturgy

God of all mercies, Father Jesus and

Author

Scripture

Acts 4:29-31, 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Exodus 16:, Luke 10:25-37, Mark 1:29-32

God of all mercies, Father Jesus and our Father–You know us intimately ... and you still love us immensely. Therefore, we come confident of your welcoming embrace, your gracious attention and your lov...

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The Life-Sustaining Power of Hope

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:21–23, Isaiah 40:31, Genesis 50:20, Romans 5:3–5, 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, Psalm 42:11

Survival requires more than the basic biological necessities we readily acknowledge—oxygen, food, and water. It also demands something less tangible but equally vital: hope. When hope vanishes, the hu...

liturgy

A Prayer From Catherine of Siena

Author

Catherine of Siena

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10-11, John 16:12-15, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 2 Corinthians 10:1-6, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, Romans 8:38-39

O Holy Spirit, come into my heart; By your power draw it to yourself, God, And give me charity with fear. Guard me, Christ, from every evil thought, And so warm and enflame me again With your mos...

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New Mercies Each Day

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 103:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 23:3, Romans 8:38-39

One of the stunning realities of the Christian life is that in a world where everything is in some state of decay, God’s mercies never grow old. They never run out. They never are ill timed. They neve...

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Our Living Homes

Author

Trina McNeilly,

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1, Psalm 5:10-12, Proverbs 4:23, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 42:11

I love old homes. I’m always drawn to them. The character, the drama, the history. The possibility they possess in a different way than a new build does. Often when referring to older homes, people sa...

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God’s Inexhaustible Mercies

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 103:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 23:3, Romans 8:38-39, Hebrews 4:16

One of the stunning realities of the Christian life is that in a world where everything is in some state of decay, God’s mercies never grow old. They never run out. They never are ill timed. They neve...

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Hardships Force our Roots to Go Deep

Author

Our Daily Bread

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 2:6-7, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Ephesians 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:11, Romans 5:3-5

A. Parnell Bailey visited an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken down. The season was unusually dry and some of the trees were beginning to die for lack of water. The man giving the tour ...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, we confess that we are not always

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 64:8, 2 Corinthians 4:7, John 15:5, Matthew 13:1-23, Luke 10:25-37, John 6:1-14, Luke 1:26-38, Acts 10:

Heavenly Father, we confess that we are not always able, willing, and ready to be vessels of your work. Thank you for the times that you cultivate our receptive hearts and fruitful hands. In your abun...

liturgy

Most Holy God–Father, Son and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

John 16:33, Philippians 4:19, Psalm 91:1-2, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 29:11, James 1:5

Most Holy God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We celebrate Your presence and rejoice in Your light that shines in our lives and our world. Thank You for Your sustaining presence in the past year...that w...

Quote

Author

Victor Hugo

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:10, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 4:6, Romans 8:38-39, Luke 18:42, Isaiah 42:16, Psalm 146:8

We may remark in passing that to be blind and beloved may, in this world where nothing is perfect, be among the most strangely exquisite forms of happiness. The supreme happiness in life is the assura...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 103:1-5

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:1-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:22-23, Titus 3:5

Pastor: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! People: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, Pastor: who forgives all your iniquity, who h...

Quote

Author

Candice Bergen

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 90:17, 1 Peter 3:3-4, James 1:10-11, Ecclesiastes 3:11, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Isaiah 40:7-8, 1 Samuel 16:7

Though beauty gives you a weird sense of entitlement, it's rather frightening and threatening to have others ascribe such importance to something you know you're just renting for a while.

liturgy

O God our Father, who sent your Son to

Author

William Temple

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 1:9-10, 2 Timothy 1:7, Esther 4:, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Colossians 3:23-24, Hebrews 12:1-2

O God our Father, who sent your Son to be our Savior: renew in us day by day the power of your Holy Spirit; that with knowledge and passion, with courage and love, with gratitude and hope, we may stri...

liturgy

All: Gracious God, you promise that

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, John 1:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16

All: Gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to...

liturgy

God of mercy, we come before you with open hearts

Author

Keith D. Schroeder

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 4:1, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 80:3, Matthew 16:18, Isaiah 43:19

Leader: God of mercy, we come before you with honest hearts. We bring not only our praise, but also our pain. We confess that at times we have lost heart. Hear now our lament, and kindle in us your ho...

Quote

Author

Stanley Kunitz

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-4, Lamentations 3:31-32, Psalm 73:26, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 61:3

How shall my heart be reconciled to its feast of losses?

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Children Learning Courage

Author

Barbara Brown Taylor

Keywords

Scripture

Joshua 1:9, Exodus 20:21, Isaiah 42:16, John 12:46, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 27:1

Every now and then it shows through the clouds that are moving across its face. One moment it looks like the eye of a hawk in profile. The next it looks like the eye at the top of the pyramid on a dol...

Quote

Author

Oscar A. Romero

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:24-25, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Isaiah 55:8-9, Hebrews 11:33

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. . . . We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiah...

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Beautiful Feet

Author

Warren W. Wiersbe

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Matthew 5:11-12, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Matthew 23:11-12, Proverbs 31:30, Acts 4:13, Acts 5:40-42, Acts 17:30-31

A missionary was preaching in the village market, and some of the people were laughing at him because he was not a very handsome man. He took it for a time, and then he said to the crowd, “It is true ...

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People are the Key to Organizational Change

Author

Rich Karlgaard and Michael S. Malone

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1, James 1:5, Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 55:8-9

Here is the uncomfortable truth: Humans run to a much slower evolutionary clock than our inventions. To use an engineering term, we are the “gating factor” that keeps a process from running faster. It...

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The Most Private is Often What Resonates the Strongest

Author

Carl Rogers

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:10, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Isaiah 1:18, 2 Corinthians 4:2

The pyschologist Carl Rogers, a person who would know quite well the interior lives of others, has this to say of our inmost thoughts: I have most invariably found that the very feeling which has see...

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Is there any Hope?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Job 14:7-9, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:21-23 , Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Psalm 130:5-6

In his book The Grand Essentials , Ben Patterson recounts the story of an S-4 submarine that sank off the coast of Massachusetts, leaving its entire crew trapped inside. Despite numerous rescue a...

Quote

Author

Elisabeth Elliot

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:18-20, 1 Peter 2:21, Romans 5:3-4, Mark 15:16-24, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, James 1:2-4

If we do anything to further the kingdom of God, we may expect to find what Christ found on that road - abuse, indifference, injustice, misunderstanding, trouble of some kind. Take it. Why not? To tha...

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24 Honest Brand Slogans By Cliff Dickens

Author

Cliff Dickens

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:22, 2 Corinthians 4:2, Proverbs 12:22, Galatians 6:3, Matthew 23:27

Ikea: We throw in extra parts just to mess with you. Lays: Flavored Air Maybelline: Maybe it’s Photoshop Wikipedia: You’re Welcome, College Students Perrier: Rich People Water Bic: You Probably D...

Quote

Author

Charles F. Stanley

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 34:19

Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God's most effective tool for the advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that...

Quote

Author

Gregory Boyle

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Jeremiah 30:17, Job 19:19, Psalm 55:12-14, Isaiah 54:14

Part of the spirit dies a little each time it’s asked to carry more than its weight in terror, violence, and betrayal.

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Staying Alive

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:30–31, Lamentations 3:22–23, 1 Kings 19:11–13, James 5:10–11, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Psalm 92:12–14

An Irish Catholic priest, returning to his old parish in the warmth of spring, was delighted to spot an elderly man he had long known. “Pat!” he called out cheerfully. “You’re still with us—I’m glad t...

Quote

Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

1 Peter 4:12-13, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, Romans 8:17, John 15:18-20, 2 Timothy 3:12, Philippians 1:29, Luke 9:23

Jesus has many who love the kingdom of God, but few who bear a cross. He has many who desire His comfort, but few who desire His suffering. All want to rejoice with him, but few are willing to suffer ...

Quote

Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

Attacks

Scripture

Matthew 5:11-12, Job 23:10, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Psalm 66:10-12, Proverbs 17:3, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-4

For these attacks do not contribute to make us frail but rather show us to be what we are.

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The Stockdale Paradox

Author

Tod E. Bolsinger

Keywords

Scripture

John 16:33, Psalm 34:18-19, Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 4:12-13, Isaiah 40:31, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Romans 5:3-5

James Stockdale and what is now known as the Stockdale Paradox comes from his experience as a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam War. The Stockdale Paradox, made famous in Jim Collins’...

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