cares on Heartbreak

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 29:15–30, Job 1:2, 19:25, Isaiah 54:4–10 , John 21:15–19, Romans 8:35–39, Psalm 34:18

George Matheson was just entering the bewildering teenage years when doctors informed him he was going blind. Undeterred, he pressed on with his education and graduated from the University of Glasgow ...

liturgy

God of life, when life is broken

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, Ezekiel 37:1-14 , Lamentations 3:19-23, Luke 7:11-17 , 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Psalm 34:18

Leader: God of life, when life is broken, All: we turn to you. Loving Christ, when hearts are broken, you come to us. Holy Spirit, this broken world needs us; flow through us to all the...

illustration

Receiving Mercy Instead of Wrath

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:15-21, Exodus 34:6-7, Lamentations 3:22-23 , Luke 15:20-24, Romans 8:1, Psalm 103:13-14

God does for you what Bill Tucker’s father did for him. Bill was sixteen years old when his dad suffered a health crisis and consequently had to leave his business. Even after Mr. Tucker regained his ...

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

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

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...

liturgy

Adapted from James 4:8, 10

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:8, Proverbs 3:34, Matthew 11:28-30, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:17

Leader: Come near to God and he will come near to you. People: Wash your hands and purify your hearts. Leader: Grieve your sins and you will be forgiven. People: Humble yourselves befo...

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...

liturgy

God of love, we give thanks for the mystery

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

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 our gracious Father, our Creator

Author

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

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...

illustration

Negotiating with God

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Job 1:20-21, Daniel 3:17-18, Habakkuk 3:17-18, Luke 22:42, Psalm 34:18-19 , John 6:66-69

A few days ago I met with a young couple. Their toddler was injured in a car accident. When I visited them in the hospital, the child was on life support. As we stood outside the ICU and spoke, I saw,...

liturgy

Gracious God, you receive us in your gentle arms

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Kings 20:1-5, Exodus 15:25-26, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 4:18-19, Psalm 147:3

Gracious God, you receive us in your gentle arms. You anoint us with your healing presence. Help us to be mindful of your mercy, your deep compassion for the wounds of the world, and your willing pres...

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

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 ...

illustration

The Forgotten French Soldier

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 142:4-5, Isaiah 49:15-16, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 28:20, John 14:18, Romans 8:38-39, Lamentations 3:21-23, Psalm 40:1-12

This story is probably apocryphal, but conveys a truth nonetheless. During the early 19th century, following the Napoleonic Wars, a French soldier was captured and imprisoned. He was thrown into a...

liturgy

Let us pray for the whole Church of God

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Kings 5:1-14 , Jeremiah 33:6, Luke 4:18-21, James 5:14-15, Psalm 103:2-4

Leader: Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Brief silence Leader: Heavenly Father, with joy the Church continues to celebra...

liturgy

Gratitude for God's Great Mercy

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:36, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:23-35, Micah 7:18-19, Psalm 51:1-2, Titus 3:4-5, Zechariah 7:9

Gracious God, you have given us great mercy through Jesus, yet we have withheld mercy from others. Our hearts have been hardened by the world and our sin. Would you soften our hearts? And give us a de...

liturgy

Merciful God Hears Confession

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:8-13 , Micah 7:18-20, Hosea 14:1-4, Isaiah 55:7, Romans 8:1

Pastor: Almighty and merciful God has heard your confession. Hear and receive His words of forgiveness: "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not a...

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

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...

Quote

Author

Etty Hillesum

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:11-13 , Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 , Isaiah 30:15 , Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 6:6, Psalm 46:10

But it’s not so simple, that sort of “quiet hour”. It has to be learned. A lot of unimportant inner litter and bits and pieces have to be swept out first. Even a small head can be piled high inside wi...

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...

illustration

In the Old Testament, the book of Psalms is called

Keywords

Scripture

Job 1:20–21, Lamentations 3:19–24, 1 Samuel 1:10–18 , Psalm 42:5 , 2 Corinthians 6:10 , Romans 5:3–5

In the Old Testament, the book of Psalms is called, in Hebrew, “The Praises.” And yet the single largest category of “praises” within it consists of laments! That is, people were bringing before God t...

illustration

Divine Intervention & One more Step

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:4-10, Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 30:21, Acts 16:6-10, John 10:27-28, Psalm 91:11-12

One remarkable illustration concerns Peter Marshall, the Scot who in the middle of the twentieth century became one of America’s most widely acclaimed ministers. Through his outstanding qualities as a...

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...

Quote

Author

George MacDonald

Keywords

It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet. It...

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. ...

illustration

Was that God?

Author