Relationships and Community on Wonder

liturgy

The Word of the LORD is true and

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:9-10, Luke 4:16-21, Acts 8:26-39, Nehemiah 8:1-12, Isaiah 55:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, John 14:26

The Word of the LORD is true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb. As we turn to your Scripture, s...

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The Gift of an Invitation

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:1–3, Exodus 3:1–12, Proverbs 9:1–6, Matthew 11:28–30, John 1:35–39, Psalm 3:4:8

One of the reasons I love a good invitation is that I get tired of being told what to do. As the very responsible oldest daughter of a pastor and someone who entered vocational ministry at a young age...

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The Prodigal Daughter

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:4-5, Luke 19:1-10, Genesis 37:50, Isaiah 55:7, Psalm 103:8-12, Jeremiah 31:3

In What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Philip Yancey offers an updated version of the parable of the prodigal son. Growing up in the countryside in Michigan, a young girl rebels against her old-fashioned...

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On Changing your Mind

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:25, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 28:26, James 4:13-15, 1 Corinthians 8:2, Proverbs 14:12, Luke 7:30

Joseph Lister was a British surgeon and the founder of anti-septic medicine. That may sound incredibly boring, but the effects of his discovery were profound. Prior to Lister, surgeons had virtually n...

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The Power of Invitations

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-3, Exodus 3:10-12, Isaiah 55:1-3 , Luke 14:16-24, Matthew 11:28-30 , Psalm 23:5

Invitations are powerful. Like tides, they ebb and flow, shaping the contours of our existence. Some invitations we desperately want but never get—“Will you marry me?” or “Would you consider a promoti...

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Author

Charles Wesley

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 86:5, Isaiah 55:7, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Micah 7:18

Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me?

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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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Author

Alistair Begg

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 17:20-21, 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, Revelation 11:15, Daniel 2:44, Isaiah 55:10-11, Matthew 13:33

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It happens quietly. It happens inevitably. Don’t underestimate God’s power.

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Grace Upon Grace

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:1–12 , 1 Kings 8:10–11, Isaiah 55:6–9 , John 1:16, Philippians 3:10–14, Psalm 84:5–7

A number of mature Christians have described the Christian journey as one in which the follower of Jesus experiences different levels of grace. Let us imagine . . . that there are many rooms in t...

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Author

Gayle Somers

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Ephesians 3:20-21, Romans 5:8, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 103:10-12

All the cards in the deck of revelation about God’s mercy and kindness are stacked in favor of the unthinkable.

Quote

Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 103:11, Psalm 36:5, Isaiah 55:9, Ephesians 2:4-5, Romans 5:20

God's mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.

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Why?

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:11–12, 1 Kings 19:9–12, Isaiah 55:8–9, Luke 1:34–38 , John 20:24–29, Psalm 13:1–2

Larry King, who has made his living speaking to people as a television talk show host, believes that asking questions is the secret of good conversation. He says, "I'm curious about everythin...

liturgy

God welcomes all who come to him

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6

God welcomes all who come to him. In weakness or strength. With much, or with little. Seek the Lord, while he can be found Call on him while he is near And be confident that Jesus will look upon you w...

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Author

Thomas Watson

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 86:15, Nehemiah 9:17, Micah 7:18-19, Isaiah 55:7, Exodus 34:6-7

God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us. Mercy is His nature.

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Author

David Dickson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:11-12, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, Psalm 36:5-6, Romans 5:20-21, Isaiah 55:7-9, Micah 7:18-19

Our mind cannot find a comparison too large for expressing the superabundant mercy of the Lord toward his people.

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The Surprising Sale

Author

Robert B. Cialdini

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:45–46 , 1 Peter 1:18–19, Psalm 19:9–10, Isaiah 55:1–2, 2 Kings 5:9–14, Exodus 16:2–5, 31

A while ago, I encountered such a finding when I read a study that gave volunteers an energy drink designed to increase mental abilities. Some volunteers were charged the retail price of the drink ($1...

Quote

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

Revelation 21:2-4, Isaiah 25:6, Luke 13:18-19, Isaiah 55:1-2, Revelation 19:9

They are prepared for a God who strikes hard bargains but not for a God who gives as much for an hour's work as for a day's. They are prepared for a mustard-seed kingdom of God no bigger than ...

liturgy

Isaiah 55:6-9, "Seek the Lord while he may be

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-9

Leader: Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on h...

liturgy

Isaiah 55:6-9

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, to o...

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The Kingdom is Not a Mad Scramble for “Enough”

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:1–36 , Isaiah 55:1–2, 1 Kings 17:8–16, Matthew 14:13–21, 2 Corinthians 9:6–11, Psalm 23:1–5

I was recently at a eight-year-old’s birthday party, and at this birthday party there was a piñata. All of the kids took turns whacking a paper mache shark with a PVC pipe until eventually the shark b...

liturgy

LORD, too often we live for ourselves

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:13, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 4:22-24, Isaiah 55:7, Psalm 51:10-12, Matthew 6:33, Romans 12:2

LORD, too often we live for ourselves instead of how You have called us. Please forgive us for the times when we don’t strive to bring about Your kingdom here and now. Forgive us for the lack of imagi...

liturgy

When we allow darkness to overcome the

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:5, Ephesians 5:18, Isaiah 55:2, Luke 12:15, Ezekiel 36:26

When we allow darkness to overcome the light, forgive us, Lord. When we reduce Christmas to plastic and tinsel, have mercy on us, Father. When hardness of heart keeps us from seeing and hearing an...

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A Savior Who Was a Spitter

Author

Steve Arterburn and Jack Felton

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:21–23, Exodus 3:7–10, Isaiah 55:10–11, John 9:1–7 , Acts 10:34–35 , Psalm 19:3–4

Some time ago, I read about the work of a Wycliffe Bible translator in a remote village in Papua New Guinea. When the opening chapters of Genesis were first translated into the native language, the at...

liturgy

Like the crowds who followed Jesus, we

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28, Galatians 3:28, Isaiah 55:1-2, Matthew 5:6, Psalm 34:18, Mark 2:3-5, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Like the crowds who followed Jesus, we come today from different places. We’ve had different weeks, different challenges, and different joys. And yet we come united by the risen Lord Jesus, who meets ...

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Taking the Measure

Author

Jen Wilkin

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Kings 18:33-35, Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 7:1-2, Psalm 139:1-3, Luke 6:38

One of my favorite movies is Hoosiers (1986). It tells the story of a small-town basketball team from Hickory, Indiana, that finds greatness under the leadership of their coach, Norman Dale. The...

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Rejecting Grace

Author

Brett McCracken

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 4:2, Luke 23:39-43, Matthew 20:1-16, Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 55:8-9

There’s a gut–wrenching scene in the Korean film Secret Sunshine that captures the scandal of grace better than any film I’ve ever seen. The scene takes place in a prison, as protagonist Shin-ae (Jeon...

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What A Return to God’s Mercy Really Meant

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:20-24, Psalm 51:1-2, Ephesians 2:4-5, Isaiah 55:7, Micah 7:18-19, Romans 5:8

Rembrandt painted the picture of the prodigal son between 1665 and 1667, at the end of his life. As a young painter, he was popular in Amsterdam and successful with commissions to do portraits of all ...

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Repentance: A Mental Revolution

Author

Lesslie Newbigin

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-9 , Jonah 3:1-10, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Mark 1:14-15, Romans 12:2, Psalm 51:10-12

Lesslie Newbigin, the great missiologist and missionary, shares a powerful analogy of repentance from his days serving as a missionary in India. I remember once visiting a village in the Madras di...

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God in the Dock

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Job 40:2, Isaiah 45:9, Daniel 4:35, Isaiah 55:8-9

The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge...

liturgy

Adapted from Isaiah 55:6-7

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-7

Leader: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. People: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Leader: Let him return to the Lord, and he ...

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