Relationships and Community on Fatigue

liturgy

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us

Author

Scripture

James 1:5, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18, Philippians 3:6-7, Matthew 6:31-33

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us on, help us stand; We’re tired, we’re weak, we’re worn; Thru the storm, thru the night, Lead us on to the light, Take our hand, precious Lord, Lead us home. The o...

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The Power of a Grateful Heart

Author

John Kavanaugh

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 3:17–19 , Nehemiah 8:10 , Isaiah 61:1–3 , Philippians 4:11–13, James 1:2–4, Psalm 16:11

Gratitude has a ripple effect, spreading warmth and positivity to those around us. It is nearly impossible to hold onto resentment or self-pity while maintaining a grateful heart. John Kavanaugh share...

liturgy

Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:24, James 1:5-6, Psalm 34:17, Philippians 4:6-7, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 21:22, 1 Peter 5:7

Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful that we can come to You at any time, about anything. We know that You listen to the earnest cries of our hearts. We know that You have great power; You are the Cr...

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Erecting a Life Around Dysfunction

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

John 5:6, Isaiah 43:18-19, 2 Peter 1:3, James 1:4, Hebrews 12:1-2

Remember Miss Haversham in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations? Her entire life was defined by the fact that she was jilted on her wedding day. People can become very attached to their pain and i...

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Triumph and Failure in the World of Faith

Author

Ben Patterson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Romans 8:28, Psalm 27:14, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 130:5-6

Triumph and failure always go together in the wait of faith. They are the head and tail of the same coin. Show me a person who has had no struggle with waiting, whose faith has known no swings between...

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Attending to God Through His Pain

Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:19, Proverbs 18:13, John 7:24, Matthew 7:1-2, Psalm 25:9

I (Rich) remember a time while serving as a young pastor at Peace Community Church. At the beginning of my sermon every single Sunday an elderly believer in the church tilted his head to the right and...

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Author

Terry Tempest Williams

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:5, Romans 8:24-25, James 1:5-6, Romans 10:17, Isaiah 40:31, Proverbs 3:5-6

Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life. It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands. It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own. Faith becomes a teacher in the absence of fact.

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Not Interested in Being Meek

Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:2, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 3:4, Matthew 11:29, James 1:21

A friend of mine who is an entrepreneur was listening to a CD of a series of messages I had given on the Beatitudes. When he came to meekness, he told me, he skipped over it. He wasn’t interested in b...

liturgy

Generous Lord Jesus, We confess that we

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Hebrews 11:1, Luke 6:38, James 1:18-20, Matthew 9:36

Generous Lord Jesus We confess that we do not receive others with compassion. We object to being interrupted And respond with anger or frustration. We confess that we do not share generously Not trus...

Quote

Author

Richard Rohr

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 41:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Psalm 147:3, James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 61:1

If you do not transform your pain, you will surely transmit it.

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Struggling with Charity

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27

On the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. ...

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Sticks & Stones in Your Bed

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:6-7, James 1:2-4, Psalm 94:12-13, Proverbs 3:11-12, Romans 5:3-5

Years ago, I read an old fairy tale about a wicked witch who lived in a remote cottage in the deep forest. When travelers came through looking for lodging, she offered them a meal and a bed. It was th...

liturgy

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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Tappers and Listeners

Author

Chip and Dan Heath

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:13, Colossians 4:6, Proverbs 25:11, Luke 24:45, 1 Corinthians 8:1-2, James 1:19

In 1990, Elizabeth Newton earned a Ph.D. in psychology at Stanford by studying a simple game in which she assigned people to one of two roles: “tappers” or “listeners.” Tappers received a list of twen...

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A Change of Nuisance

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 34:17-19

While serving as British Prime Minister, Lloyd George had to deal with World War I, an economic depression, and the Sinn Fein movement attempting to effect Irish liberation, as well as many other smal...

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The Census Taker and the Country Woman

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 18:13, James 1:19, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Proverbs 18:2, Proverbs 15:23, Ecclesiastes 5:2, Genesis 11:7-9, 2 Timothy 2:24-25

Communicating with people is often easier said than done. Take for instance this apocryphal story of the census taker who had to venture many miles down a country road to reach a cabin. As the man pul...

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Preparing for Change

Author

Gerald L. Sittser

Keywords

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:11, James 1:19-20, Philippians 4:6-7, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 34:18

Change invariably leads to loss, loss to grief, grief to anxiety and, finally, anxiety to hostility. We need therefore, to acknowledge grief. We need to understand and choose to walk with the grieving...

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Silence Adding Days to Your Life

Author

Francis Chan

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:19, James 3:2, Matthew 12:36, Proverbs 10:19, Ecclesiastes 5:3

My friend Joi told me that when she was growing up, her parents invented a ploy to keep her from talking all of the time. They told her that people are allowed only so many words in one lifetime, and ...

liturgy

Adapted from The Valley of Vision

Keywords

Scripture

Job 1:42, James 1:2-3, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Mark 5:1-20, John 8:36

Pastor: Father in Heaven, I have sinned times without number. I am guilty of pride and unbelief. I’ve failed to delight my heart in your Word and have neglected you in my daily life. All: My transgr...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, our Savior told us,

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:11, James 1:5

Heavenly Father, our Savior told us, "Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for My sake will gain it." These are hard words. We confess that we oft...

liturgy

Eternal and Generous God, Every good

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:1, Romans 8:32, Luke 6:38, Psalm 34:10, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17

Eternal and Generous God, Every good gift comes from You. Your generosity is expressed best Through Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One, Who gave Himself for us. We acknowledge we often doubt Your will...

liturgy

Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 John 3:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 51:10-12, Hebrews 12:1-2

Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace calls us toward growth and service in You. Yet today we acknowledge the many times we have forgotten Your mercy and rejected Your love. Forgive us when we sin agai...

liturgy

Gracious God, you are the giver of

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:17

Gracious God, you are the giver of every good and perfect gift. You give us our talents, our freedom, and our financial resources. We struggle to give back to you from these gifts. We often worry that...

liturgy

Faithful and Good God–our Father,

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Matthew 11:28-30, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:5, 1 Peter 5:7, Isaiah 41:10

Faithful and Good God–our Father, Redeemer and Companion. You know all about us–and love us anyhow; nothing we are or do surprises you or puts you off. Therefore, we turn to you with assurance and tru...

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.

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

God of Grace and Power—our Friend, who

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:19, Romans 15:13, James 1:27

God of Grace and Power—our Friend, who sticks closer than a brother: You know when we screw up ...and You know when we manage to get it right. You know when we forget you ... but You never forget us. ...

liturgy

God of Grace–Father, Son, and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 62:8, Isaiah 53:4-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Matthew 28:18-20, James 1:5

God of Grace–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You are good and You are almighty. You alone are worthy of our faith and trust and so we come to You with our hopes and hurts, our disappointments and dreams...

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Who Didn't Make it Out?

Author

Jim Collins

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Proverbs 13:12, Numbers 14:, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28

Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great , interviewed Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking officer in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Regarding the ...

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True Healing Occurs When…

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:30, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 8:18, Hebrews 12:1-2, James 1:2-4

Paradoxically…healing means moving from your pain to the pain…When you keep focusing on the specific circumstances of your pain, you easily become angry, resentful, and even vindictive. You are inclin...

relationships and community on Fatigue

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