cares on God's Truth

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:21, Proverbs 3:5-6 , Deuteronomy 30:19-20 , John 14:6, Psalm 25:4-5, Matthew 11:28-30

Pastor: God our gracious Father, our Creator; Jesus, our Redeemer, the Way, the Truth, the Life; Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Guide, to You we lift our hearts in prayer. For those who have lost...

liturgy

Reconciled to God Through Christ

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 8:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 61:10, Psalm 32:1-2, Micah 7:18-20

Pastor: Lord of all, the demands of Your righteousness are too hard for us to fulfill alone, People: so we use this excuse to ignore Your law. Pastor: You forgive our iniquity and remember our sin...

illustration

Same Bible, Very Different God

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Last week, an atheist came up to me and asked how I could believe in a God who made parents eat their children. Naturally, I was a little confused. A lot of people have odd ideas about God, but ...

liturgy

God's Love: Our True Strength

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 13:8-9, Exodus 32:30-32, Philippians 2:3-8, Mark 10:42-45, Psalm 23:1-4

Almighty God, nothing is more powerful than love, yet we live as if your love is weak and doesn’t last. We confess our self-sufficiency and our pride. Help us live and grow in you, that we might disp...

liturgy

Grace and Assurance from God

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:18-20 , Luke 10:33-37, John 13:34-35, John 8:10-11, Luke 15:20-24 , Matthew 9:9-13 , Galatians 6:2

Gracious God, we desire to follow when you call. We long to live according to the ways of Jesus, yet we find ourselves stumbling. Forgive us for the times we have ignored your call to follow you in th...

liturgy

Trusting God's Goodness and Power

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:23-24, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 8:28, Matthew 17:20, Ephesians 1:18-19 , Isaiah 40:28-31

All-powerful God, overwhelmed by the sorrows and pains of the day, we are prone to doubting. We search for your goodness yet we cannot perceive it. We long for your greatness but we disbelieve it. H...

liturgy

God's Love: Our True Guide

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 64:8, Micah 6:8, Matthew 22:37-39, Romans 12:2, Psalm 51:10

O Holy God, we come before you in humility, recognizing we have resorted to competition rather than compassion. We have doubted the depth of your love for us, and in turn have been unloving to our fam...

liturgy

Bringing God's Peace to All

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 1:17, Matthew 5:9, James 3:18, Amos 5:24, John 14:27 , Jeremiah 6:14 , Proverbs 3:17

Almighty God, we settle for false peace. We see no need to rock the boat, so we allow injustice to rule and reign. God, give us the conviction to take on the work of peace-making. Give us the courage,...

liturgy

Hope Through Divine Light

Author

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, Psalm 27:1 , John 1:5, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 5:14-16, Proverbs 3:5-6, Ephesians 5:8-9

All-gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to ...

liturgy

God is my light and my salvation

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 27:, John 8:12, Philippians 4:6-7 , Matthew 6:25-34 , Isaiah 60:19-20 , Exodus 14:13-14, Psalm 27:1-3

Leader: God is my light and my salvation; of whom should I be afraid? All: Though violence rise all around me I will not be drawn into fear. One thing I asked of God, that will I seek af...

liturgy

God of all mercy and consolation

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:33-34, Isaiah 55:6-7, Romans 8:38

Pastor: God of all mercy and consolation, come to the aid of Your people, turning us from our sin to live for You alone. Give us the power of Your Holy Spirit that, attentive to Your Word, we may c...

liturgy

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God

Author

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:16-17, Lamentations 3:22

Pastor: Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another. People: Gracious God, have mercy on us. In Your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and...

liturgy

Full Armor of God

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-17, Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, Philippians 4:13, Psalm 27:1

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. People: Amen. Pastor: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. People: Put on the full armor of ...

liturgy

Called to Be God's Light

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16 , 1 John 4:18-19 , Acts 4:29-31 , Romans 12:9-11 , 2 Corinthians 3:12, Esther 4:14, James 2:14-17

Gracious God, you have called us to be light in a dark world, and we have remained hidden. Thinking of ourselves first, we have withheld courage and compassion. Merciful God, hear our confessions and ...

liturgy

God, we are thirsty for life, though we seek

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:1-2, Exodus 17:3-6, Isaiah 41:17-18, John 4:13-14, John 6:35, Psalm 63:1-5

God, we are thirsty for life, though we seek it in dry and barren places. We are hungry for grace, yet we work for that which does not satisfy our hearts. So we turn to you now, for you alone give us ...

Quote

Author

Horace Bushnell

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:26-28, Jeremiah 29:11, Exodus 1:15, Psalm 139:, Ephesians 2:10

God has a definite plan set for every man, one that, being accepted and followed, will conduct him to the best and noblest end possible. You exist for a purpose high enough to give meaning to life and...

illustration

Feed My Sheep

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 6:1-8, Exodus 33:12-23, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Acts 9:1-19, Matthew 17:1-8, Psalm 16:11

Sometimes, of course, the sense of God with us becomes much more distinct. My oldest brother, J. I. Willard, served for over thirty years as a minister under the blessing of God. But his entry into th...

liturgy

God's Whisper, Our Eternal Origin

Author

Adrian van Kaam

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:26-27, Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 44:2, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:13-16

Whisper to me again How you formed me in my mother’s womb, Fashioned me over generations, Over eons of unfolding of the earth Until it could bear life On its flaky crust, the dust From which you f...

liturgy

God's Power for World Healing

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 1:8, Matthew 5:14-16, Galatians 6:9, Isaiah 61:1-3, James 1:27, Romans 8:26-27, Nehemiah 2:17-18

Almighty God, the brokenness of this world is so vast that we doubt what we can do. Forgive us for giving up and leaving brokenness alone. Help us remember and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to ...

liturgy

Remembering God's Relentless Love

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 2:2-7, 14-20, Jeremiah 3:1-5, 12-14, 1 John 4:7-11, 19, Romans 5:6-8, Psalm 86:15

Gracious God, your love is greater than anything we can imagine. Yet, we are quick to run to other loves and forget about you. Forgive us for turning away from you. Help us to remember your relentless...

illustration

God Can Care for Us, Reputation and All

Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

There is a story of a medieval monk who was being unjustly accused of certain offenses. One day he looked out his window and saw a dog biting and tearing on a rug that had been hung out to dry. As he ...

liturgy

God of Our Salvation

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6-7, Psalm 85:4, Psalm 4:6, Hosea 14:1-4, Romans 8:1

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. People: Amen. Pastor: Seek the Lord while he may be found; People: call on him while he is near. ...

liturgy

Embracing God's Persistent Love

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 2:2-5, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 5:6-8, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 103:8-14

Our gracious God, you repeatedly move towards us, even when we pull away. You are not deterred by our rejection of you nor our running away from you. Your love is persistent. We confess our distrust o...

Quote

Author

Isaac Watts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 28:10-17, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, 2 Kings 6:15-17, Matthew 28:20, Acts 17:24-28, Psalm 139:

Within thy circling power I stand; On every side I find thy hand; Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, I am surrounded still with God. …O may these thoughts possess my breast, Where'er I rove...

illustration

Let a Person Feed on the Promises of God

Author

Dwight L. Moody

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 15:1-6, Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Matthew 6:31-33, Psalm 34:8-10

Is it possible that God’s promises are given less consideration and value today than in the time of evangelist Dwight Moody? Moody described the preciousness of God’s promises this way: Let a man ...

liturgy

God of love you are our only strength

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 33:27, Isaiah 40:29-31, Ruth 2:12, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Psalm 91:1-4

God of love you are our only strength, our only refuge, our only hope. Amid all the voices of fear in this world we turn to you for your grace. Speak to us and bring us safely under your wing. We pray...

illustration

Kindness and the Character of God

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 34:6–7, Genesis 39:21, Micah 6:8, Titus 3:4–5, Luke 6:35–36, Psalm 136:1

In the Old Testament, God is often praised for his kindness. There is a beautiful word in Hebrew— hesed —which is so rich in meaning that it gets translated in many ways. Very often it is translat...

liturgy

God of love, we give thanks for the mystery

Author

Keywords

God of love, we give thanks for the mystery of this meal, in which, even in our sin, you offer us love and grace. Therefore we are bold to confess our sin to you with one another. Merciful God,...

liturgy

God's Compassion and Our Calling

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:30-37, Matthew 25:35-40, Mark 6:34, 1 John 4:19-21, James 1:27 , Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:6-7

Father God, you see us; you have compassion; and you care for your greatest creation – people. You have also called us to notice, to listen, and to love others. Yet in our selfishness, we have ignored...

liturgy

Worship In Name Of God

Author