Relationships and Community on Freedom

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God of freedom, whether we like to

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God of freedom, whether we like to admit it or not, we do not treat everybody with equality. We silently judge others based on appearance, social status, and even race. Please give us the courage to m...

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Author

Lesslie Newbigin

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True freedom is not found by seeking to develop the powers of the self without limits, for the human person is not made for autonomy but for true relatedness in love and obedience; and this also entai...

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Freedom Rings

Author

Brian Peterson

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Divorced couples in Albuquerque, New Mexico, can take advantage of a new business in town. The company is called Freedom Rings: Jewelry for the Divorced. Founded by jeweler and divorcee Lynn Peters, t...

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Author

Philip Schaff

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Freedom of religion is one of the greatest gifts of God to man, without distinction of race and color. He is the author and lord of conscience, and no power on earth has a right to stand between God a...

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Go in the love and peace of Christ,

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:14-16, Mark 5:1-20, Galatians 5:1, John 20:19-21, John 14:27

Go in the love and peace of Christ, claiming your freedom to live victoriously in Christ’s love, and in harmony with our brothers and sisters who have been reconciled by Christ’s grace. Amen.

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Freeing Modern-Day Slaves in South Asia

Author

Gary A. Haugen

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Scripture

Exodus 1:15-21 , Isaiah 58:6, Jeremiah 22:3 , John 8:32, Acts 16:16-40, Psalm 146:7-9

A particularly brutal set of slave owners we recently encountered in South Asia held more than twenty slaves in a rice mill. They and their thugs beat the slaves, sexually assaulted the women, even do...

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Thank you Lord God for the opportunity

Author

John Birch

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Scripture

Psalm 27:4, 1 Chronicles 16:29, Philippians 4:6-7, John 4:23-24, Matthew 11:28, Psalm 100:4, Hebrews 10:24-25

Thank you Lord God for the opportunity of worship, for the freedom to be amongst your family meeting together in your house, and in the warmth of your embrace Thank you that in worship we can put asid...

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Adapted from Isaiah 49:8–16a

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Scripture

Isaiah 49:8-16

Sing for joy, heavens and earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! Our Creator has comforted the people and will have compassion for the ones who are suffering. Come out! The imprisoned shall h...

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The Gift of an Invitation

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

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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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Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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The world says: "You have needs — satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This ...

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O Lord Jesus Christ, who has

Author

Joseph E. McCabe

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O Lord Jesus Christ, who has established your church as the bulwark of true freedom, and has committed to all believers the ministry of reconciliation, continue your work of reforming and cleansing wi...

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The Two Sides of Forgiveness

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Genesis 50:15-21, Exodus 34:6-7, Micah 7:18-19, Luke 7:36-50 , Matthew 18:21-35, Psalm 103:10-12

There are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others because we have not be...

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Almighty and Everlasting God, in whom

Author

John Watson

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Scripture

Acts 17:28

Almighty and Everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being, who has created us for yourself, so that our hearts are restless until they find rest in you, grant to us purity of heart and...

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Prayers of the People, Form VI

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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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Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are

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Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are God’s people, called by God’s love in Jesus the Christ, not because we are adequate or worthy, but because of God’s acceptance of us. Pastor: Why have you c...

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Gracious God, you are the giver of

Author

Chip Hardwick

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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...

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Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 51:22-23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:36, Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 103:12, Colossians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:7

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more. Live in the freedo...

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Author

Nelson Mandela

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When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

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Prayer for our Country

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Scripture

James 1:5, 1 Timothy 2:8, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Proverbs 29:2, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Modern Language Version Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly ask that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bles...

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Adapted from Luke 4:18-19

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Scripture

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus says to us, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight...

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Father God: It is sometimes hard for us

Author

Richard Herman

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Father God: It is sometimes hard for us to understand what You do. We are in trouble. We want You to come rescue us right now, like the cavalry riding over a hill or the Lone Ranger appearing out of n...

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We cannot have true justice unless

Author

John M. Perkins

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Scripture

Micah 6:8, Exodus 22:21-22 , Isaiah 58:6-7 , Matthew 22:37-39, James 2:1-9 , Psalm 103:6

We cannot have true justice unless it is motivated by love, just as God’s greatest act of justice, sending Jesus to die for us, was motivated by love. Years ago, before the emancipation of slaves, Fre...

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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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Holy God, to Your grace how great a

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Holy God, to Your grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I l...

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Adapted from Numbers 23:19-22

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 23:19-22

Leader: God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. All: Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Leader: The LORD...

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Dear Christ, hasten to me. Release me

Author

Aelred of Rievaulx

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Philippians 4:19, James 4:8, Hebrews 4:16, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 34:18, 1 John 1:9

Dear Christ, hasten to me. Release me from my sins. Free my arms from the chains of evil, that I may embrace you. Lift the scales of ignorance from my eyes, that I may see you. Why do you delay? What ...

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Inspired by Deuteronomy 29

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 29:null

Pastor: God our Redeemer, you have saved your people through Jesus Christ, your Son. You have delivered your people out of slavery to sin and have freed us into new life. Yet, we still wander through ...

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Adapted from Colossians 3:12-17

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-17

Leader: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience All: bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against an...

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Brothers and sisters, be assured of

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 3:14

Brothers and sisters, be assured of this, when we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sin...

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Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Dearest Brothers and Sisters, the One who was rejected by family, friend, and neighbor, is the One who expresses love for sinners like us. He epitomizes the love of which Paul wrote to the Corinthian ...

relationships and community on Freedom

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