The Curse is Broken

Scripture References: Leviticus 16:3-15, 19-22; Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 16:16-18; Galatians 3:13-14; Deuteronomy 21:23

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Glorify God. Keep a Journal.

We may think of journaling as a bit archaic—maybe even Victorian. I certainly did when my then-boyfriend suggested we start one together. But church history shows us that journaling does not belong to a particular time or place or age. It has been useful to Christians of all ages for thousands of years—and still is, despite the technology that threatens it. Journals are as diverse as their authors, each writing for particular reasons and benefits, though there is a common theme. Looking at examples from the last 2,000 years can illuminate the benefits of journaling in the 21st century.

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11 Back-to-School Prayers

The following is a collection of prayers related to the start of school. As both a professor of worship and a parent of two school-age children, I tried to imagine the sorts of things that parents and kids, teachers, school administrators, and community leaders might be feeling in light of the unpredictable realities that face them this fall. My hope is that, in praying these prayers, they will sense in palpable and deeply personal ways the care-filled love of the Good Shepherd who knows them by name. In the end, the goal is simply to pray as one can and when one can, trusting always that the Spirit prays in and for us when we can no longer find the right words or even the will to pray.

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Preparing for a New Year – Part 3

Scripture References: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-22 Philippians 3:14; Ephesians 5:14-16; Isaiah 26:19; John 14:12; Haggai 2:9; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:27; Philippians 3:14; Isaiah 43:18-19

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Preparing for a New Year – Part 2

Scripture References: Psalm 119:18; Leviticus 23:23-25; Colossians 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Genesis 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; Psalm 118:16-19; Ephesians 5:14-16; Isaiah 26:19; Matthew 25:1-13  

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Helping One Another Persevere in the Faith

The New Testament presents the Christian life as a journey, a pilgrimage—what one Christian author has described as “a long obedience in the same direction.” In Scripture, we see a picture of the Christian life with all of its anquish and simulatenous hopefulness. A spiritual struggle, a battle, continues throughout one’s life. This struggle is quite real as exemplified in the life of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:14-25 and his teaching in Ephesians 6:10-17. And his own difficulties on full display in 2 Corinthians 11 must not be ignored.

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Preparing for a New Year

Scripture References: Isaiah 43:18-19; John 16:7b-11; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Psalm 22:3; 1 Corinthians 14:4; James 2:26

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