We frequently repress our desire for love because love makes us vulnerable to being hurt. The word passion, which is used to express strong loving desire, comes from the Latin root passus, which means...
John 11:32-35, Acts 10:, John 5:1-9, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 4:3-6, Matthew 25:40
God of love—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You loved us before we ever knew You. Give us such a deep love for You, that we can see the world as You see it, feel the compassion You feel, and be a people ...
John 13:1-17, Luke 15:11-32, Acts 9:1-19, Matthew 26:36-46, Romans 1:16, Zephaniah 3:17, John 14:27
O God, your mercy is infinite and in your will is our peace. We learn your way so slowly; we choose your will so reluctantly. In this season of learning the limitlessness of your love, help us throug...
Acts 4:32-35, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 14:13-21, 1 Kings 17:8-16, Exodus 16:1-36, John 6:35, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
God—Father, Son and Spirit; You are a God of compassion and love. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we’ve known Your love, and experienced Your care and provision. Repeatedly You’ve answered our ...
1 Peter 3:18-22, 1 Peter 4:6, 1 Peter 4:12, Ephesians 3:14-19, Ephesians 3:null, Psalm 25:6-7, 1 Peter 4:10-11
Lent 2024: Do This in Remembrance The Sufficiency of Jesus' Sacrifice AIM commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? The times after Jesus’ ascension were both an excit...
Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:3-6
Deacon or other leader In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord, have mercy" ( or "Kyrie eleison"). For the holy Church of God, that it may be filled with truth and lov...
1 Peter 3:18-22, 1 Peter 4:6, 1 Peter 4:12, Ephesians 3:14-19, Ephesians 3:, Psalm 25:6-7, 1 Peter 4:10-11
Lent 2024: Do This in Remembrance The Sufficiency of Jesus' Sacrifice Ancient lens What's the historical context? The times after Jesus’ ascension were both an exciting time full of ...
A mother’s service is the most intimate, willing, and dependable of all services, because it is truest of all. None has been able to fulfill it properly but Christ, and he alone can. We know that ou...
Context The body of the letter continues in chapter 3. If it were not for chapters 4-6, we could even believe that Paul was about to close this letter after we read what appears to be a benediction i...
Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 63:, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:35, John 7:37-38, Revelation 1:5, Revelation 19:13
Preaching Commentary A Letter from Exile To understand this section of Revelation, we have to remember that it was written by someone in exile to communities who were suffering for their faith. Whe...
Leader: How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? People: How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? Leader:...
Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 5:7-9, Isaiah 53:1-12, 1 Peter 4:1, 1 Peter 3:18, Matthew 27:57-75, Matthew 28:, Mark 14:43-65, Mark 15:, Luke 23:26-56, John 19:1-37, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:3
A God who cannot suffer is poorer than any human. For a God who is incapable of suffering is a being who cannot be involved. Suffering and injustice do not affect him. And because he is so completely ...
Preaching Commentary Besieged from All Angles The context of this passage is best summed up with the words recorded throughout the letter: Trouble, Distress, Suffering, Hardship, Death at work, Jar...
Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 63:, Isaiah 55:1, John 6:35, John 7:37-38, Revelation 1:5, Revelation 19:13
A Letter from Exile To understand this section of Revelation, we have to remember that it was written by someone in exile to communities who were suffering for their faith. When we read Revelation 2-...
Advent 2020: Tear Down the Heavens Dressed in Righteousness Updated & expanded for 2023 AIM Commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? Living as Captives Our text t...
Genesis 22:1-14, Exodus 14:15-28, John 13:1-17, John 15:1-17, Psalm 23:, John 13:7
“ What I am doing, you do not understand now, but in a little while you will understand” Only Jesus knew This would be their last time together. The last supper they would share around the same...
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain an...
Isaiah 42:14 , Hosea 11:3-4 , Deuteronomy 32:18 , John 16:21 , Luke 13:34 , Psalm 22:9-10
[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 ...
In Jonathan Kozol’s book, Amazing Grace , he tells of the struggles and sufferings of people in a community in the Bronx, New York. He is amazed at the courage and resilience he found there. He then ...
Preaching Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Israel’s State of Mind The Book of Isaiah is a remarkable accounting of the history of the relationship people o...
Acts 7:55-60, Luke 9:22, Luke 12:8, Acts 2:34, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 23:34, Acts 8:1, Acts 9:1, Mark 9:40, Romans 5:6-11
Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Jesus’ Crucifixion, Stephen’s Martyrdom When Stephen saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,” the surrounding crowd of God’s people should have...
John 18:1-11, John 18:12-27, John 19:1-16a, John 19:31-37
Pastor: Almighty and everlasting God, as Isaac once carried the wood of the sacrifice on his back up the mountain, only to be delivered, so You willed Your Son Jesus Christ to carry the wood of the ...
Ancient lens What's the historical context? Living as Captives Our text today matches, at least in part, last week’s lectionary passage (Isaiah 40). Just as in Isaiah 40, a message of comfort...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Paul’s Relationship to Philippi There is practically no debate that Philippians was written by Paul. This letter is an intimate portray...
O Holy Spirit, come into my heart; By your power draw it to yourself, God, And give me charity with fear. Guard me, Christ, from every evil thought, And so warm and enflame me again With your mos...
Lord God, you have given yourself fully and completely To make us your people, a gift of grace to the world We confess that too often we have kept this grace for ourselves For the times when we’ve ...
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 ...