Relationships and Community on Congregation

liturgy

Psalm 111

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 111:null

Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the deeds of the LORD! they are studied by all who delight in them. ...

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No More Long Sermons

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

One Sunday morning in a more traditional worship service, a rather verbose minister stepped up to the pulpit and announced to the congregation, "I've been told that I'll be moving on to l...

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Author

Deanna A. Thompson

Keywords

The local congregation is the place for care of the most vulnerable in society…The local congregation is small enough to recognize the special needs of its members.

liturgy

Prayers of the People, Form V

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:3-6

Deacon or other leader In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord, have mercy" ( or "Kyrie eleison"). For the holy Church of God, that it may be filled with truth and lov...

liturgy

Father of heirs and orphans, Salvation

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Father of heirs and orphans, Salvation of saint and sinner, Draw near and forgive us. Forgive us for clinging to law more than grace. Forgive us for choosing slavery when you offer us adoption. Forgi...

liturgy

Prayers of the People, Form VI

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:3-6

The Leader and People pray responsively In peace, we pray to you, Lord God. Silence For all people in their daily life and work; For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

I often found myself preferring the company of people outside my congregation, men and women who did not follow Jesus. Or worse, preferring the company of my sovereign self. But soon I found that my p...

liturgy

Prayers of the People, Form II

Keywords

In the course of the silence after each bidding, the People offer their own prayers, either silently or aloud. I ask your prayers for God's people throughout the world; for our Bishop(s) ; for t...

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We’ve Added Color!

Author

Sam Metcalf

Keywords

I was taking a tour of the Church of Scotland’s beautiful Glasgow Cathedral, which is technically the High Kirk of Glasgow. It is estimated that over 50,000 university students live within walking dis...

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Mother's Day Sermon Ideas: Four Verses That Find Motherhood in the Heart of God

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Mother’s Day is complicated for a pastor. Among the happy families that are celebrating, there are children who were abused by mothers, mothers who lost lost a child, and women suffering from inferti...

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Mother's Day Prayers for Worship: For Celebration and for Those Who Grieve

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Break out the carnations! Mother's Day is coming. Mother's Day is a little tricky for pastors, though. It's a spring morning, things are finally warming up (in Northern climes, anyway), an...

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The Politics of Ministry Book Review & Quotes

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:21

Picture this: you are just about a year into your first call as a minister. Everything seems to be going swimmingly. You caught up with a seminary friend over the weekend and you slightly brag about h...

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MLK Day Prayers for Church Services: Liturgy & Sermon Resources

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17, Galatians 3:28, James 2:1, Ephesians 2:14

Updated for 2026. January 19, 2026 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day— the only U.S. national holiday commemorating a pastor. Under his leadership, non-violent civil rights advocacy achieved leaps f...

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The Gospel and the Other: Preaching in an Age of "Us vs. Them"

Author

Andrew DeCort

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37

When conflict and division are driving both politics and media (including social media), the contrast between the way of the world and the way of Jesus stands out more than ever. How can pastors, task...

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Mission is Messy (Or, Why I Drank an Energy Drink at 7 in the Evening)

Author

Bradley Long

Keywords

I knew I'd pay for it later, but I drank it anyway. Have you had one of those energy drinks? The ones that have lots of caffeine and other ingredients meant to keep you awake? I don’t recommend t...

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Prayers of Lament for Times of Violence: A Liturgical Response

Keywords

We are again in a moment of intense anger, fear, and sorrow. We've been here too often, lately. In September 2025, prominent activist Charlie Kirk was killed in front of a crowd in Utah. This ca...

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How to Get Married, the Secular Edition

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:18, 24, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:2-3 , Colossians 3:13-14, Psalm 127:1

Where do you turn for marriage advice when you aren’t religious? This is becoming an ever-increasing question as western cultures become more and more secular. One option is to turn to the London-base...

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A Short History of World Religions in America (other than Christianity)

Author

Barbara Brown Taylor

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 56:6-7, Ruth 1:16-17, 1 Kings 8:41-43, Acts 2:5-6, Ephesians 2:14-15, Psalm 22:27

By many accounts the first Muslim in America was Estevancio of Azamor, a Moroccan guide for a Spanish expedition in 1528 that landed in Florida. A couple of centuries later, as many as a third of the ...

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Struggling to Stay Standing: A Story of Weakness & God’s Sufficiency

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 4:10-12, 1 Kings 19:4-5, Isaiah 40:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 46:1

In grad school, although I was studying to become a clinical psychologist, I started working at a Baptist church. I discovered then that I loved to preach . . . until one weekend when the sermon wasn’...

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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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No Body but Yours

Author

Andrew Arndt

Keywords

One of the Wonders of Ministry I love being a pastor for many reasons, not least because of how often I get a front-row seat to wonders. The following wonder happened on October 17, 2023. I share it...

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Sacred Space: Lessons from Ethiopia’s Church Forests

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Too Busy for God? American work culture is all-pervasive. For many members of your congregation, it can be a real fight to get actual time off—and cell phones and the internet has made it possible to...

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Four Years Later: Reflecting on Pandemic Ministry

Keywords

Lessons Learned in Quarantine and Beyond Do you remember that first Sunday when you stayed cloistered in your home with the immediate family, when you exchanged your dapper church clothes for a pair ...

liturgy

Father: Thank You for always being

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 34:14, Luke 15:20, Hebrews 4:14, Romans 6:4, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 25:4-5, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10, John 14:13, James 1:5, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Habakkuk 3:2, Isaiah 6:8, Matthew 28:19-20

Father: Thank You for always being ready to welcome us and listen to us. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior: born like us, experiencing all that we experience yet sinless, who d...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 22:25-31

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:25-31

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your heart...

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 and truth, holy and

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 41:10

God of grace and truth, holy and compassionate—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You hold the universe in Your hands and earth’s oceans hardly moisten Your palm; yet—You number the hairs of our heads and k...

liturgy

Compassionate God—In Christ, you enter

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-4, Psalm 33:22, Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:1, 1 Peter 5:7, Romans 12:15

Compassionate God—In Christ, you enter our condition; you experience our sorrow and our joy ... and redeem them. By Your Holy Spirit, you carry us along: in crisis and celebration, in despair and acco...

liturgy

Blessing College Students as They Leave for School

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Consider offering this blessing during worship the second Sunday in August. This is often the last Sunday college students are in worship before they return to school. This prayer could also be used d...

liturgy

Break Our Hearts

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 36:24-28, Psalm 51:1-17, Jeremiah 31:31-34

Break our hearts, Jesus That we may weep as You weep Love as You love Break our hearts Jesus and raise our voices that we may speak and act so all may be safe so all may have opportunity so all may k...

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