revelation on Stuffing Pain

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—complacency. As a child,...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Acts 2:1-21 (Guide B)

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-21, Leviticus 23:, Exodus 32:, Acts 1:4, Genesis 11:, Psalm 130:5

What Are We Waiting For? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sang, “Every day you get one more yard, you take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part.” Waiting in love, in...

liturgy

Living and present Lord (Extended)

Author

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, Matthew 6:33, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 34:17, John 14:27

Prayer of Adoration Living and present Lord: You often surprise us, coming when we least expect it; or, You simply fold back the curtain to show us You’ve been there all along to give us hope and to ...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 8:1-4

AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Philippians 2:null, Philippians 2:7-8, John 1:11, John 14:2-3

Preaching Commentary Inexpressible Things This chapter of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence is rich indeed, revealing so much about Paul and his relationship to the Corinthian church, a church which...

lectionary

Pentecost

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-21, Leviticus 23:null, Exodus 32:null, Acts 1:4, Genesis 11:null, Psalm 130:5

Preaching Commentary What Are We Waiting For? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sang, “Every day you get one more yard, you take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part...

liturgy

Risen and present Lord: There’s no

Author

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:14-15, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 23:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 139:7-10

Risen and present Lord: There’s no place we go–near or far, high or low, familiar or strange–where you aren’t there with and even before us. There is no experience we have or feeling we feel that’s un...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 2:1-12 (Guide A)

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12, Micah 5:2

Preaching Angle: Irony When we discover a bit of irony in life, we feel like we’ve struck gold. When we stumble upon a bit of irony in Scripture, it’s holy gold! Maybe you read this sentence and didn...

lectionary

Christmas: Nativity of the Lord

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Preaching Commentary Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—co...

liturgy

Gracious God of love–Father, Son and

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 16:25-34, Genesis 45:1-15, Mark 2:1-12, Psalm 46:9, Isaiah 61:1

Gracious God of love–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We are grateful that You’ve revealed yourself to us, telling us that each of us are loved by You as children, each precious in Your sight, each a refl...

lectionary

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-20, Exodus 3:4, Genesis 22:1, Isaiah 6:8, 2 Kings 21:12, 2 Kings 19:3, Luke 17:2, Luke 2:12-26

Preaching Commentary The farther you go…the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it’s easy to fall off. —Anderson Cooper, Dispatches From The Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and ...

lectionary

19th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 21:33-46, Isaiah 5:2, Matthew 24:null

Preaching Commentary The Showdown The key to understanding today’s passage is to be found in Jesus’ previous confrontation with “the chief priests and elders” in Matt. 21.23-32. There, the religiou...

lectionary

Pentecost

Author

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15, John 15:26-27, John 16:4-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, Hebrews 12:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6

Preaching Commentary Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to Jo...

liturgy

God our Father, Savior and

Author

Keywords

God our Father, Savior and Sustainer—You are the God who knows our name, and the God who revealed Your name as “I Am Who I Am” and shows us Your face in the face of Jesus. You are known to us ... and ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Author

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6

Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to John’s Gospel that begins ...

lectionary

Transfiguration Sunday (Guide A)

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a), Luke 9:28-36, Luke 9:37-43a, Mark 5:35-43

Preaching Commentary There they are on top of a mountain praying with Jesus. Mount Tabor in lower Galilee? Mount Hermon in the far north of Israel near Syria? Some other mount? No one knows. Sudden...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 1:18-25 (Guide A)

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 8:1-4

Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In contrast to Luke...

liturgy

All Brought to Light

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Royal One, grant us strength to serve and keep on serving to risk and keep on risking to love and keep on loving Holy One, grant us faith to stand, trusting all will be revealed to bow, knowing all w...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 1 Samuel 3:1-20

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-20, Genesis 22:1, Exodus 3:4, Isaiah 6:8, 2 Kings 21:12, Jeremiah 19:3, 1 Samuel 2:12-26, Luke 17:2

The farther you go…the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it’s easy to fall off. Anderson Cooper, Dispatches From The Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival Hearing God&...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Philippians 2:7-8, John 1:11, John 14:2-3

Inexpressible Things This chapter of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence is rich indeed, revealing so much about Paul and his relationship to the Corinthian church, a church which he himself founded. Bu...

lectionary

Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Guide B)

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-14, Proverbs 8:22-23, 30-31, John 20:28-29

Preaching Commentary Introduction John 1 contains some of the richest Christological passages in all of Scripture. It rewards deep meditation on its meaning. Its use as the Christmas gospel text is...

liturgy

Inspired by Amos 5:18-24

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Amos 5:18-24

God has come to us and revealed Himself fully to us Yet too often we hide ourselves from His love and salvation Instead of focusing on you, Lord God, we focus on ourselves Instead of trusting yo...

illustration

Francis Collins’ Search for the Divine

Author

Francis S. Collins

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:11, Isaiah 55:1-3 , Exodus 33:18-23, Romans 8:22-23 , John 4:13-14 , Psalm 42:1-2

While the search for the divine has been somewhat crowded out in modern times by our busy and overstimulated lives, it is still one of the most universal of human strivings. C. S. Lewis describes this...

liturgy

Lord God, we acknowledge that your Word

Author

Paul Engle

Keywords

Lord God, we acknowledge that your Word is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. Your Word exposes us for what we really ar...

lectionary

Third Sunday in Lent

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:, Psalm 1:null, Psalm 119:null, Exodus 20:2-3, Galatians 3:24-26, John 14:6, Matthew 22:37-40

Lent 2021: A 40-day Heart Restoration Nature, Law, & Holiness Bonus Content: Video prep session with Austin Hill on Psalm 19 . Password: %h+CNTJ7 AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we ...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Deuteronomy 1:5, Exodus 18:13-27, Exodus 20:18-19, Exodus 33:11, Deuteronomy 34:10, John 1:21, John 6:14, Acts 3:22-23, 1 Timothy 2:5, Luke 24:27

Preaching Commentary Context A Copy of the Law or a Second Law? Like the other books in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), the title of the book of Deuteronomy comes from its tran...

Quote

Author

Jack Kinder

Keywords

You’re not made in a crisis—you’re revealed. When you squeeze an orange—you get orange juice. When you squeeze a lemon—you get lemon juice. When a human being gets squeezed—you get what is inside—posi...

lectionary

Transfiguration Sunday

Author