Sermon Resources on Nurture

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God of nurture and care, You seek to

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:37, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:11, John 14:16-17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Ruth 2:8-12

God of nurture and care, You seek to gather us together as a mother hen gathers her chicks. You seek to be our refuge in times of trouble. As we have gathered together today, draw us closer to You, de...

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Nature vs. Nurture

Author

Jonathan Haidt

Keywords

For most of the late twentieth century, political scientists embraced blank-slate theories in which people soaked up the ideology of their parents or the TV programs they watched. Some political scien...

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Prayer of Thanksgiving for Mothers

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 49:15, Matthew 23:37-39, Hosea 11:3-4, Isaiah 66:13, Deuteronomy 32:18

God of all peace, We thank You for mothers For their nurture, For their unnoticed sacrifices, And for their care that showed us What Your love looks like before we knew Your name. We praise You for ...

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Heavenly Father, You give us the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Heavenly Father, You give us the strength to grow in Your likeness. We praise You today for Your constant nurture and support. Please help us to become more like You as we experience Your almighty pre...

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Genes on a Razor's Edge

Author

David Dobbs

Keywords

Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming sp...

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The Gift of Silence & Reflection

Author

Matt Markins, Mike Handler, and Sam Luce

Keywords

When Fred ( also known as Mr. ) Rogers gave the commencement address to the Marquette University graduates of 2001, he did something for each of those in attendance; he gave them the gift of silen...

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May you refuse to do battle against

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 42:3, 1 Kings 19:5-8, Jeremiah 31:3-4, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Luke 7:36-50, Psalm 34:18

May you refuse to do battle against the parts of yourself that need love the most. Set down your sword. Say hello to every shard. Hello, grief. Hello, sadness. Hello, anger. Hello, madness. ...

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For several years, Jason and I nurtured

Author

Bryan C. Loritts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:15-21, 1 Samuel 24:1-12, Micah 7:18-19, Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:31-32, Psalm 103:10-12

For several years, Jason and I nurtured a friendship that led us to decide to work together because we knew each other so well. But things soon became complicated between us. I began to notice some tr...

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Recognizing Her Own

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 49:15, John 10:14, Luke 12:6-7, Psalm 139:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:19, Isaiah 43:1, Matthew 10:29-31, Psalm 91:4, Deuteronomy 32:11, Job 39:1-2, Luke 15:4-6

The guillemot, a small Arctic seabird, nests in dense colonies on the rocky cliffs of the North Atlantic and Arctic. Thousands of these birds gather in tight spaces, with hundreds of females laying th...

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Gracious God, for the goodness and

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Gracious God, for the goodness and beauty of creation we thank you. For the way your creation nurtures and inspires us, we are grateful. Yet, the more we pay attention to the world, the more we see i...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

As a newborn baby breathes and cries, so the signs of life in a newborn Christian are faith and repentance, inhaling the love of God and exhaling an initial cry of distress. And at that point what God...

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Where Does Leadership Come From?

Author

Chad Veach

Keywords

It’s an argument that may never be fully resolved, but scientific research has shown what most of us probably already suspected: there is some truth to both perspectives. One study focused on factors ...

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Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

Keywords

The primary factor that determines the pattern a child will land on is trust. Trust is born and nurtured in the infant through the consistent and reliable care of the primary caregivers. Trust is the ...

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Personality Traits Come Right Out of the Box

Author

Anne Bogel

Keywords

Current research indicates that personality traits are hardwired; they’re largely hereditary and remain relatively constant throughout our lives.1 If we’re outgoing or reserved, energetic or subdued, ...

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Gracious God, forgive us today for the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Gracious God, forgive us today for the times when we don’t trust You to help us grow. Even though You nurture us daily, we often choose to live in our own strength, ignoring the plans You have for us....

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The North and South of Temperament

Author

Anne Bogel

Keywords

Even though Carl Jung first introduced the terms introvert and extravert back in 1921 (in his now-classic volume Psychological Types), the concepts—especially introversion—crashed into the public’s co...

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"Look at Me!"

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 11:1-9, Proverbs 27:2, Isaiah 2:11-12, Matthew 6:1-4, Philippians 2:3-4, Psalm 115:1

Children have a tendency to say, “Look at me!” On the tricycle: “Look at me go!” On the trampoline: “Look at me bounce!” On the swing set: “Look at me swing!” Such behavior is acceptable for children....

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The Soul Stream

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

There once was a town high in the Alps that straddled the banks of a beautiful stream. The stream was fed by springs that were old as the earth and deep as the sea. The water was clear like crysta...

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The DIfficulty of Grasping the Unsearchable Riches of the Gospel

Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:8, Exodus 14:21–31, Isaiah 55:1–3 , 2 Kings 4:1–7, Luke 15:11–32, Psalm 23:1–6

Some years ago our pastor told an unusual story about a Southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance to a former slave who had served him faithfully all his life. That was quite a sum of m...

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Author

David Putman & Ed Stetzer

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 29:13, Malachi 3:10 , Exodus 20:8-10, Hebrews 10:24-25, Luke 4:16, Psalm 84:10

The Barna Research Group reports that in the United States about 10 million self-proclaimed, born-again Christians have not been to church in the last six months, apart from Christmas or Easter.

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Author

Matt Haig

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 25:29-34, Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, Proverbs 15:17, Matthew 6:25, 1 Timothy 4:4-5 , Psalm 34:8

No physical appearance is worth not eating pasta for.

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In the sixteenth century the Reformers declared

Author

R. C. Sproul

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1–3 , Exodus 20:1–17, Daniel 6:16–23, Luke 10:25–37, Romans 3:21–26, Psalm 119:105

In the sixteenth century the Reformers declared their total confidence in what they called the perspicuity of Scripture. What they meant by that technical term was the clarity of Scripture. They maint...

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We are Fed as we Feed

Author

Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:4-18, 1 Kings 17:8-16, Isaiah 55:1-2 , John 6:32-35, Matthew 14:13-21, Psalm 37:25-26

Celebrated as one of the greatest writers of all time, French writer Marcel Proust (1871–1922) filled out a personal questionnaire at the start of his career for a magazine like the one we know today ...

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Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 52:7, Exodus 3:12, Ephesians 6:10, Ephesians 6:14-15 , Psalm 29:11 , Matthew 28:19-20

Pastor: Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, with feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Go out into the world with joy and hope, standing firm in...

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He Breathed on Them

Keywords

Scripture

John 20:19-23, Genesis 2:7, 1 Kings 17:17-24, Ezekiel 37:9- 10

[A] vivid scene from the Gospel of John [John 20:19-23]. It’s intimate from the start-a stunningly private scene that occurs behind locked doors among dear friends. The scene begins with a friendly gr...

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In You alone we put our hope

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:28-31, Lamentations 3:21-24 , Joel 2:28-29, Romans 5:1-5 , Acts 2:1-4, 17-21, Psalm 62:5-8

Pastor: In You alone we put our hope, God the Father, Creator and Sustainer, People: who gives all good things, seen and unseen. Pastor: In You alone we put our hope, God the Son, Savi...

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There is one Body and one Spirit

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:4-6, Romans 6:4

Pastor: There is one Body and one Spirit People: There is one hope in God’s call to us. Pastor: One Lord, one faith, one Baptism, People: one God and Father of us all. ...

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God promised: "I will pour water on the thirsty land

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 44:3, John 14:15-17, John 14:26, Acts 2:38-39

Pastor: God promised: "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants." Jesus promi...

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Do You Trust God?

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 3:17-19, Job 1:20-21, Daniel 6:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 , Psalm 136:1, Philippians 4:6-7

Let’s say I interviewed ten people, asking each the same question—“Do you trust God?”—and each answered, “Yes, I trust God,” but nine of the ten actually did not trust him. How would I find out which ...

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Trust: That Rare & Priceless Treasure

Author

Paul de Jaegher

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 22:1-14 , Exodus 14:13-14, Proverbs 3:5-6 , Matthew 8:23-27, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 37:3-5

Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father. For him it has both charm and fascination. Among his countless children, whom he so greatly loves and whom ...

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