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liturgy
Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace
Eternal and Glorious God, Your grace calls us toward growth and service in You. Yet today we acknowledge the many times we have forgotten Your mercy and rejected Your love. Forgive us when we sin agai... -
lectionary
Good Friday
Preaching Commentary Introduction The lectionary text from John is an exceedingly long passage, but covers the main events that we commemorate on Good Friday. For that reason, I am going to break u... -
lectionary
Good Friday
Preaching Commentary What is “Good” about Friday? For the work-a-day world in the United States of America, Fridays are good. TGIF, “Thank God It’s Friday!” is an interjection we use to convey reli... -
illustration
The Poor in Spirit at an Oregon State Correctional Institution
In June 2024, I (A. J.) had the opportunity to visit the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, Oregon, to meet with a group of inmates who had read one of my recent books. The experience was... -
liturgy
Psalm 22, Deus, Deus meu
May be divided for responsive reading. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, John 18:1-19:42
The lectionary text from John is an exceedingly long passage, but covers the main events that we commemorate on Good Friday. For that reason, I am going to break up the text into manageable chunks. I ... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Psalm 22 (Guide A)
What is “Good” about Friday? For the work-a-day world in the United States of America, Fridays are good. TGIF, “Thank God It’s Friday!” is an interjection we use to convey relief that the work week i... -
illustration
The Diamond Merchant
A wealthy Dutch collector was searching for a rare diamond to complete his collection. When a renowned New York dealer located the perfect stone, he invited the man to come see it in person. The Du... -
liturgy
Good Friday Tenebrae Worship Service
Preparation Depending on which parts of the service you will incorporate, you will want to gather the following materials. A wooden cross, paper, pen, nails, and a hammer (or pushpins). Eno... -
illustration
Dost Thou Know Before Whom Thou Speaks?
Hugh Latimer was the Bishop of Worcester, England during the reign of King Henry VIII. On one occasion he preached a sermon that offended the king, who sat in the audience. The king commanded Latimer ... -
blog
Good Friday | Psalm 22 | Forsaken and Alone
Reflection The television series Alone follows ten individuals who are left to fend for themselves and by themselves in the wilderness. Now, these aren’t everyday individuals plucked from Main St... -
liturgy
Affirmation of Mission (based on Confession of 1967)
Our mission is the mission of Jesus Christ. He lived as an ordinary human being. We will care for the common life of humanity. He served men and women. We are committed to working for human wel... -
illustration
Don’t Professionalize Pastoral Ministry
Ministers run the awful risk . . . of ceasing to be witnesses to the presence in their own lives — let alone in the lives of the people they are trying to minister to — of a living God who transcends ... -
illustration
Finding Your "Why"
Every one of us has a WHY, a deep-seated purpose, cause or belief that is the source of our passion and inspiration. You may not yet know what yours is or how to express it in words. But we guarantee,... -
Quote
Passion creates, addiction consumes.” -
liturgy
Flourish in Your Will
Dearly Beloved, the ax lying at the root of the trees is not for punishment, but pruning. Therefore, trusting in God’s tender mercy, we examine ourselves, that we may see ourselves clearly... -
liturgy
God of justice, you repeatedly call us
God of justice, you repeatedly call us to action, but we so often fail to respond. Your word convicts us, demonstrating that inaction is just as sinful as the wrong actions. Lord of mercy, forgive us ... -
illustration
“FIRE”
We must journey to the edge of heat if we would catch the flame. When Blaise Pascal died in 1662, his servant found a scrap of paper hidden in the lining of his coat. It turned out to be a testimony o... -
Quote
[Christ] gives the analogy of bitter labor and says: “A woman when she bears a child has anguish and sorrow” (John 16:21) and He applies all of this to His suffering, in which He so hard and bitterly ... -
liturgy
Lord of all creation, you make us into
Lord of all creation, you make us into a new creation, your followers sing new songs of praise to you, and yet we so easily fall into routines as we worship you. Too often we offer you lip service wit... -
Quote
The early church fathers named the primary sin patterns “passions,” borrowing a Latin term that could also be translated “sufferings ” As we live out a unique pattern or “face” of sin, we begin to thi... -
liturgy
Gracious God, you have called us to be
Gracious God, you have called us to be a unified body, working together that which you have willed for the world. In our apathy, we fail to participate in the work you have called us to do. In our div... -
illustration
Never Give up
In the second century before Christ the great rival to Roman power in the Mediterranean world was Carthage, the Phoenician city-state located on the north African coast. It had been founded in 822 B.C... -
liturgy
Holy God, You call us to a passionate,
Holy God, You call us to a passionate, all-consuming faith. Yet, so frequently, we give You half-hearted obedience or distracted, leftover moments of our time. You tell us that we are the salt of the ... -
Quote
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. -
liturgy
O God our Father, who sent your Son to
O God our Father, who sent your Son to be our Savior: renew in us day by day the power of your Holy Spirit; that with knowledge and passion, with courage and love, with gratitude and hope, we may stri... -
illustration
Chess and Surrender to God: The King is Infinity Points
We sometimes imagine surrender to God as emotional starvation. Every pleasure feels suspicious, and every passion feels in competition with our love of God. We think that the more miserable we are in ... -
liturgy
Adapted from Psalm 1 (WEB)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord. On his law he medita... -
Quote
The Cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us. -
Quote
In the composition of the human frame there is a good deal of inflammable matter, however dormant it may lie for a time, and…when the torch is put to it, that which is within you must burst into blaze...
![[Christ] gives the analogy of bitter labor](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1667357307700-e91503af11c1?ixid=M3w1NzU0OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw0MDR8fGdpdmluZyUyMGJpcnRofGVufDB8MHx8fDE3NDAwNDIwNzZ8MA&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&q=80&auto=compress&fit=crop&w=200&h=200)
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