Relationships and Community on Saving The World

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Returning to a Better America

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8 , Ecclesiastes 7:10, Psalm 146:3-7, Matthew 23:23-24, Philippians 3:13-14

There are many people who will always want to return to the time when America was great. But was there ever a time when America was a wonderful place for everyone? As I saw on a Facebook meme recently...

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Losing Everything

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:15, Philippians 3:5-11, Matthew 19:16-30, John 12:20-26, Mark 8:27-38, Hebrews 11:1, Jeremiah 29:11

A ship went down in a storm, and only one man survived. He was fortunate enough to land on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. With just a few items in his pocket, he was able to build a small...

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Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us

Author

Richard Herman

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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When the Mission is Clear

Author

Hugh Halter

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:28-30, Matthew 16:24, 2 Timothy 2:3, Philippians 3:8, John 12:24, Hebrews 11:38, Acts 20:24

A documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s early twentieth-century exposition to the South Pole shows the classified ad Shackleton put in a London newspaper: Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wa...

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Gracious God, You have called us out of

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13-14, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 4:22-24, Matthew 16:24, Philippians 3:20-21, John 8:36

Gracious God, You have called us out of darkness and into the light of Your love. You have redeemed us and made us whole in order to set us free from bondage. The challenge You place before us is to d...

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Throwing Away Valuable Resources

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 42:, Philippians 3:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 11:24-30

In many parts of the country, leaf clean-up is an annual chore. They fall from the trees, blanket our lawns, and we often bag them up and toss them out (or burn them). There’s a lesson in this… In my...

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The Treasure of a Lifetime

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:44, Hebrews 14:26, Colossians 2:2-3, Philippians 3:8, Luke 12:33-34

A first-century Hebrew walks alone on a hot afternoon, staff in hand. His shoulders are stooped, his tunic stained with sweat. But he doesn’t stop to rest. He has pressing business in the city. He vee...

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Holding on to Earth

Author

John Shea

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 19:29, Revelation 21:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Hebrews 11:16, Philippians 3:20, John 14:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21

There once lived a peasant in Crete who deeply loved his life. He enjoyed tilling the soil, feeling the warm sun on his naked back as he worked the fields, and feeling the soil under his feet. He love...

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Forgive us for our many sins. Like Eve,

Author

Barbara Duguid

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 3:23-24, Hebrews 4:15=-16, Psalm 51:10-12, Philippians 3:13-14

Forgive us for our many sins. Like Eve, we are easily captivated by the objects that our eyes desire. We fall so often, and when we do, we run and hide in shame instead of running to you to confess ou...

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From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 15:52-53, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:1-5, Philippians 3:20-21, Hebrews 13:14

The biblical narrative begins and ends at home. From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem we are hardwired for place and for permanence, for rest and refuge, for presence and protection. We long fo...

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Getting to Do the Things She Loves

Author

Chris Spielman

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Chris Spielman was at one time a paragon of athletic performance. A two-time All-American Linebacker at Ohio State University, and later three-time all pro for the Detroit Lions, Spielman knew what it...

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What is the Gospel?

Author

Carl Medearis

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 1:16, Philippians 3:8-9, Colossians 1:27-28, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, John 14:6

I recently visited a missions school at a large church in Waco, Texas, and decided to try a similar test in a class-sized proportion. “Tell me,” I said to the group, “what is the gospel?” A young lady...

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Gracious God, We build walls to protect

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 73:25-26, John 15:15, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3:8-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 37:5

Gracious God, We build walls to protect ourselves, but it leads to isolation. We make independence the highest value, instead of complete dependence on You. Forgive us for our inability to surrender e...

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Author

Leo Tolstoy

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

Acts 20:24, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Colossians 3:1-2, Romans 14:17, Philippians 3:13-14, Matthew 6:33

The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.

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Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Luke 18:29-30, Mark 10:28-30, Matthew 19:29, Philippians 3:8, Luke 14:33, Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it.

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Leader: In Jesus Christ God has removed

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:5, Ephesians 2:19, Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 3:20, John 15:15, Isaiah 43:1

Leader: In Jesus Christ God has removed our sins from us and given us a new name. People: Now we are called Forgiven. Leader: In Jesus Christ God has assured us that he could never forget us. Peopl...

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Prayer of Confession for All Saints Day

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-3, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 40:31, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Run beloved, run Lay aside every weight Every worry Every excuse Every inner critic shouting against inspiration Lay aside the sin that clings so closely Every self-serving motivation Every self-medi...

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We need a Different Kind of Testimony

Author

Emily P. Freeman

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-16, 1 Samuel 16:6-13, Jonah 3:4 , Luke 15:25-32, Philippians 3:4-9, Psalm 103:8-12

In her book, Grace for the Good Girl , Emily P. Freeman charts her early years growing up in the church believing in grace but living according to the rules of perfection. One thing that would, a...

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Adapted from “A Cry for Deliverance” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Matthew 6:13, Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Galatians 2:20

Pastor: Heavenly Father, save me from sin! I know I am righteous only through Jesus’ righteousness, but I greatly desire to be more like him! I am your child, so help me to resist the temptation to si...

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Author

Malcolm Muggeridge

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:2, Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:1-2, Philippians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Hebrews 11:10

The trouble with kingdoms of heaven on earth is that they're liable to come to pass, and then their fraudulence is apparent for all to see. We need a kingdom of heaven in Heaven, if only because i...

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Adapted from Philippians 3:7-8, 10

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:7-8, Philippians 3:10

"But whatever gain we had We count as loss for the sake of Christ. We consider everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord." For his sake we will...

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“I’m Going Home, I’m Going Home”

Author

James S. Hewett

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:20-21, Revelation 21:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:1, Psalm 23:6, John 14:2-3

A prominent citizen in town was dying. As he lay in his lovely home, the best doctors surrounding him, he whispered, with a note of despair, ‘I’m leaving home, I’m leaving home.’ Across town there la...

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Author

Jonathan Edwards

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 9:23, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 27:4, Philippians 3:13-14, Romans 14:17, Matthew 13:44, Colossians 3:1-2

The seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life.

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Heavenly Father, forgive us for the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:15-16, Philippians 3:13-14, John 3:16-21, Psalm 13:5-6, Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 117:1-2, Zephaniah 1:12

Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times when we take advantage of your unfailing love. You forgive us day in and day out, you never fail us, and you’ll never leave us. As a result, we become complac...

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Author

David Livingstone

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 20:35, Proverbs 3:9, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33-34, Philippians 3:7-8, Matthew 13:44-46

I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving o...

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Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 , Isaiah 6:8, Jonah 1:1-3 & 3:1-3 , Matthew 16:24-26 , Philippians 3:7-14, Psalm 139:13-16

If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living...

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Author

Stanley Hauerwas

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:24-25, Luke 14:27, Acts 5:29, Philippians 3:20, Matthew 28:18-20, Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 22:28

We would like a church that again asserts that God, not nations, rules the world, that the boundaries of God's kingdom transcend those of Caesar, and that the main political task of the church is ...

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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

William Law

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

James 4:4, Romans 12:2, Mark 8:36, Colossians 3:1-2, Matthew 13:44-46, Philippians 3:7-8

If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.

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Author

Blaise Pascal

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:13-14, Romans 12:18, Colossians 3:13, James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 147:3

Time heals griefs and quarrels, for we change and are no longer the same persons. Neither the offender nor the offended are any more themselves.

relationships and community on Saving the World

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