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lectionary
Epiphany of the Lord
Context Psalm 72 is one of two psalms (along with 127) that is attributed to Solomon, and it fits within a slightly larger group of psalms traditionally considered “royal psalms,” perhaps used as cor... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Psalm 72:1-14
Preaching Angles Having celebrated Christ’s reign on Christ the King Sunday in November and having sung (most likely) to the “King of kings” (forever and ever!) in the Hallelujah Chorus at some poi... -
liturgy
Let us pray for the whole Church of God
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... -
illustration
Struggling to Stay Standing: A Story of Weakness & God’s Sufficiency
In grad school, although I was studying to become a clinical psychologist, I started working at a Baptist church. I discovered then that I loved to preach . . . until one weekend when the sermon wasn’... -
illustration
A Living Martyrdom: To be True at All Costs
The hymnwriter and theologian F. W. Faber writes with beautiful prose the challenges that each one of us faces when it comes to living a life faithfully according to the truth that is within us: M... -
illustration
Lacking a Clear Path to Faith
One common mistake is assuming that everyone else finds faith easy, while we alone struggle. Yet there is comfort in recognizing that we are not alone in our pursuit of Christ in the midst of a broken... -
illustration
Discovering our Common Struggles
Get to know someone really well, and almost without fail, you will discover a person who routinely struggles to get out of bed in the morning. And not just because they’re tired. They can’t get out of... -
Quote
When we cannot find the words to pray, we are not faithless. We are feeling the fact that we are both embodied and vulnerable. -
illustration
Learning to Pray by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When our will wholeheartedly enters into the prayer of Christ, then we pray correctly. Only in Jesus Christ are we able to pray, and with him we also know that we shall be heard. And so we must learn ... -
Quote
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... -
illustration
Why One Prayer led to Healing and not Another?
Agnes Sanford relates how, as the young wife of an Episcopal minister, her child came down with a serious ear infection. It lasted for six weeks while she prayed fearfully and fruitlessly. Then a ne... -
Quote
The kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a far larger, homelier, less self-conscious caste of people who understand they are sin... -
liturgy
Lord Jesus Christ, you have said to us
Lord Jesus Christ, you have said to us “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” We admit those times when we fail to ask you for good things – that it can be easier to trust you wit... -
liturgy
Inspired by Genesis 32
In the morning when the sun rises we shall praise You, O Lord. People: You have delivered us through every long night and given us safe passage across rivers of struggle. Leader: The darkness is p... -
illustration
Putting the Saints into Circulation
There's an intriguing story about Oliver Cromwell, who, while serving as Lord Protector of England, faced a tricky cash flow issue. When he found himself short on precious metal for coins, he sent... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Luke 18:1-8
Ancient lens What's the historical context? Jesus' Strangest Tales Occasionally Jesus tells a parable that just doesn’t quite fit the framework of his teaching. Already in Luke we had... -
Quote
Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater tha... -
lectionary
19th Sunday after Pentecost
Ancient lens What's the historical context? Jesus' Strangest Tales Occasionally Jesus tells a parable that just doesn’t quite fit the framework of his teaching. Already in Luke we had... -
Quote
What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights with us is so great! If only we would let ourselves be dominated as things do by some immense storm, we would become strong too, and not need... -
liturgy
God—We’d like to have had a Hallmark
God—We’d like to have had a Hallmark card kind of week: gentle, quiet and serene, but it’s been anything but that. People died this week—and families and friends grieve. A man got bad news about cance... -
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Hope Chicago Given a Big Boost of Its Namesake
The celebrated CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes presented a segment on August 14, 2022, titled “Hope Chicago.” The segment tells a remarkable story about what happened to students at a high school on... -
Quote
There is in the psalms no quick and easy resignation to suffering. There is always struggle, anxiety, and doubt. God’s righteousness, which allows the pious to be met by misfortune but the godless to... -
illustration
Different Seasons, Different Challenges
Someone once quipped that we spend the first half of our lives struggling with the sixth commandment ( Thou shalt not commit adultery ) and the second half of our lives struggling with the fifth comma... -
Quote
Be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -
Quote
[A] rock-star preaches capitalism. Wow. Sometimes I hear myself and I just can’t believe it. But commerce is real. . . . Aid is just a stopgap. Commerce—entrepreneurial capitalism—takes more people ou... -
illustration
A Surprise in the Offering Plate
One Sunday, an usher brought to me an offering plate holding a bacon biscuit that a college student had deposited in the morning offering. A little note attached said, “Silver and gold have I none, bu... -
illustration
Jacob's Grip and the Unjust Judge
Jacob was on his way back to face his brother Esau whom he had wronged, and he wrestled with the angel until the break of day. When the angel tried to free himself from Jacob’s persistent grip, Jaco... -
blog
Waiting is Not Wasting Time: Advent 2024
God’s dealings with us are always on the order of what he did with Abram and Sarai. He makes his promises, and he will keep his promises; but just how and when he will keep them is something for which... -
illustration
He Guides Our Steps, Through All The Tangled Maze
The following poem is attributed to Nicholaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, the 18th century Moravian church leader and reformer. It captures well the ups and downs of life, the existential questions that emerge... -
illustration
In His Will is our Peace
One of the greatest struggles we face in this life is the temptation to compare ourselves to others. As Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” But in the final part of ...
![[A] rock-star preaches capitalism](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1549045267-210779aabcb4?ixid=M3w1NzU0OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwzfHxyb2NrJTIwc3RhcnxlbnwwfDB8fHwxNzM2NzgwMzI4fDA&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&q=80&auto=compress&fit=crop&w=200&h=200)
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