Relationships and Community on Creation

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Psalm 33:8, Genesis 16:, John 10:11-18, Genesis 1:2, Matthew 6:26, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 139:13-14

And in this vision, he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, and to my mind’s eye it was as round as any ball. I looked at it and thought, ‘What can this be?’...

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Wound With Mercy Round and Round

Author

James Bryan Smith

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Scripture

Romans 8:38, Psalm 139:7-10, Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 103:17-18, Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah 31:3

Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from God’s love. St. Paul reminded the Romans of this when he wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things p...

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Inspired by Psalm 139

Author

Darren Pollock

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Scripture

Psalm 139:null

Leader: The Lord searches us and knows us. God discerns our thoughts and is acquainted with all our ways. People: Even the darkness is not dark to God; the night is as bright as the day, for darknes...

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Author

Bernard of Clairvaux

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Scripture

Romans 12:1, Psalm 139:13-14, Genesis 15:, Isaiah 43:1, 1 John 4:19

Why should not the creature love His creator, who gave him the power to love? Why should he not love Him with all his being, since it is by His gift alone that he can do anything that is good? It was ...

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Call to Worship for Christ the King Sunday

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

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Scripture

Matthew 18:20, Psalm 139:7-10, Acts 17:27-28, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Psalm 145:3, Revelation 22:13, Isaiah 44:6

Come, Worship The Alpha and Omega The Beginning and the End The First and the Last Unmatched Majesty, drawing near closer than breath closer than pulse Meeting you here Meeting you now

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Adapted from Psalm 139 (NIV)

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Psalm 139:null

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my w...

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Recovering the Heart of Humanity

Author

Adam S. McHugh

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Genesis 1:26-27 , Exodus 33:11-23 , Isaiah 43:1-4, John 10:1-15 , Luke 7:36-50, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-16

I am convinced that the scourge of our scientific and technological age is depersonalization. There is a heartbeat pulsating at the center of the universe, giving life and meaning to everything, but o...

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God of the Impossible – Father, Son and

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Jeremiah 32:17, Luke 1:37, Isaiah 43:25, Romans 8:38-39, Psalm 139:7-10

God of the Impossible – Father, Son and Holy Spirit: There’s nothing too hard for you to do, Nothing too complex for You to understand, No place we go that You’re not there, No sin too heinous tha...

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

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Scripture

Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 18:10-14, Psalm 139:1-4, 1 Kings 19:, Genesis 16:, 1 Peter 5:7

You are good and all-powerful, caring for each one of us as though the only one in your care.

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Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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Scripture

Proverbs 18:17, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 19:11, Psalm 139:23-24, Romans 14:13

It is always easier for us to want to purify other people, and attempt a moral reformation among our neighbors. (Yet) how much have I helped to make her what she is?

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Faithful God, our Father, Lord and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 139:13-16, John 16:33, Ephesians 4:3-6, Isaiah 40:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Matthew 5:9

Faithful God, our Father, Lord and Counselor: By your grace you know our names before we are even born. By your grace you call us your own sons and daughters. By your grace you give us an eternal purp...

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Prayer of Adoration We praise you, Lord

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Luke 15:11-24, 1 John 1:9, Luke 22:54-62, Romans 3:23, Luke 19:1-10, Psalm 139:1-4, Job 38:1-4

Prayer of Adoration We praise you, Lord for you are all-wise and all-powerful, faithful, loving and gracious, holy, just, merciful, constant and pure, omnipresent, intimate and immortal. You are big...

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This Child is a Gift

Author

Brennan Manning

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Scripture

Exodus 4:10-12 , Isaiah 49:15-16, 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 18:1-5, Psalm 139:13-16, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

I will never forget the witness of an Episcopal priest named Tom Minifie several years ago in St. Luke’s Church in Seattle, Washington. He spotted a high-profile couple sitting in the last pew with th...

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Home is Three Persons

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

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Scripture

John 14:23, Genesis 12:1, Psalm 139:7-10, Hebrews 13:14, 2 Corinthians 6:16

In her book Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home, Jen Pollock Michel reflects on the nature of home in a transient age. In this short excerpt, Michel relates home to the Trinity, the ...

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Ever loving and eternal God, source of

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 36:9, Isaiah 60:19, John 8:12, 1 John 1:5, Psalm 139:11-12, Romans 8:38-39

Ever loving and eternal God, source of the light that never sets and of the love that never fails. Life of our life, Father of our spirits; draw near to us, and by the remembrance of your ancient merc...

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Blessing the Women: A Prayer for Mother’s Day

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:13-14

Loving God, You knit us together in our mother’s womb and breathe us into being. Thank you for the gift of life and for bringing us into this world through our mothers. We recognize the risk they took...

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If Hollywood decided to make a movie

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:20, Exodus 3:1–12, Ruth 1:16–17 , Hebrews 12:1–2, Luke 7:36–50, Psalm 139:16

If Hollywood decided to make a movie about your life, what would it look like? What genre would it be? Action/Adventure? Drama? Comedy? Who would play you? Tom Cruise? Denzel Washington? For most of u...

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God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:7-10, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 40:31, Luke 10:25-37, John 11:32-35

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You are always and forever for us: We can’t run away from Your presence; nor out-sin Your amazing grace and forgiveness. We can’t exhaust Your unconditional love nor ...

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Which God Do You Believe In?

Author

Timothy Jennings

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Scripture

Psalm 139:1-4, Luke 19:1-10, Ephesians 3:17-19, Philippians 4:8, Romans 5:5

Does it matter which God-concept we hold to? Recent brain research by Dr. Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania has documented that all forms of contemplative meditation were associated with posit...

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Caught on Camera

Author

Matt Chandler

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Scripture

Ecclesiastes 12:14, Genesis 39:6-12 , 2 Kings 5:19-27 , Luke 12:2-3, Psalm 139:1-4, Acts 5:1-11

Several years ago I saw a television show called Caught on Camera . It featured clips of people being secretly filmed doing all manner of horrific things, precisely because they thought they were...

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The Nebulous "They"

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 1:10, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 139:13-14, Proverbs 29:25, Romans 8:31, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Samuel 16:7, Romans 12:2, John 1:12

George Herbert Mead, an influential early 20th-century sociologist, coined the term “generalized other” to describe the vague group we consider when shaping our actions. How often do we behave a certa...

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

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Scripture

John 6:35, Psalm 27:4, John 4:1-26, Luke 10:38-42, Psalm 139:13-14, Ephesians 3:17-19, Psalm 63:1-4

What is it then that I love when I love you? Not bodily beauty, and not temporal glory, not the clear shining light, lovely as it is to our eyes, not the sweet melodies of many-moded songs, nor the so...

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Author

Isaac Asimov

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Assumptions

Scripture

2 Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:5, Psalm 139:23-24, Matthew 7:3-5, Isaiah 55:8-9, Colossians 3:2

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.

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Author

Gregory of Nyssa

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 34:5, Isaiah 61:7, Hebrews 12:2, Romans 10:11, Isaiah 54:4, Psalm 139:14

Our godlike beauty is hidden beneath curtains of shame.

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Desperate for Attention

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 16:13, Exodus 33:14, Isaiah 49:15–16, Matthew 18:3–4, Luke 15:20–24, Psalm 139:1–3

We’re little children wandering the aisles of the internet because we’ve lost the presence of our loving parent. We are desperate for the attention of a good Father who sees us. We have no idea how to...

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Author

Thomas Merton

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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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Beloved: The Truth About Yourself

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Scripture

Jeremiah 31:3, Psalm 139:13-14, Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 43:1-2, Deuteronomy 31:8, 1 John 3:1, Zephaniah 3:17

Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot...

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The Perfect (Mythical) Woman

Author

Richella J. Parham

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 6:4-5, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Psalm 139:14, Romans 12:4-5, Philippians 4:11-13

In her excellent little book (Mythical Me), Richella Parham begins by describing a single event that led to a personal journey into addressing her struggles with comparison. Having recently moved to a...

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Even in our moments of doubt, our lack of faith

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, Mark 6:1-13, Romans 5:1, Psalm 139:1-18, Matthew 6:14-15, Mark 11:25-26, Acts 5:31

Even in our moments of doubt, our lack of faith, and the blindness which means we fail to see God amongst us, God is still at work. God is still healing. God is still forgiving. Even when you fail to ...

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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...

relationships and community on Creation

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