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"Faith does not conform itself to ideology but to experience.
And for the Christian this means the experience of the person of Jesus
Christ, not as someone who once lived in Galilee but who lives now in
all believers. . . . As a faith in a living person, it retains the
freedom to continually renew itself in ancient words and rituals."
(Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace)
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"In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the
earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a
mighty wind swept over the waters." (Gen. 1:1-2) |
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things
came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What
came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the
human race." (Jn 1:1-4) |
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"The Lord said to Abram: 'Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and
from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will
make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name
great, so that you will be a blessing.' " (Gen. 12:1-2) |
"You are a
chosen, race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so
that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. Once you were 'no people' but now you are
God's people." (1 Peter 2:9-10) |
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!
Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Dt. 6:4-5)
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"The
first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second
is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There
is no commandment greater than these." (Mk 12:29-31)
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"For thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend
my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself
among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue
them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and
dark. . . . The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the
injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, shepherding them rightly." (Ez. 34:11-12,16) |
" 'I am
the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not
his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the
wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay
and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I
know mine and mine know me . . . and I will lay down my life for the
sheep.' " (Jn 10: 10-15) |
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"This is what God asks of you, only this . . . To act justly, to love
tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) |
" ' Come to me, all you who labor
and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find
rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.' " (Mt. 11:28-29) |
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"If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his
descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be
accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see
the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall
justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give
him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the
mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among
the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for
their offenses. (Isaiah 52:10-12) |
"From that time on, Jesus began to show his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the
third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him, 'God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.'
He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an
obstacle to me. You are not thinking as God does, but as human
beings do.' Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wishes to
come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.' " (Mt. 16:21-25)
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"You have stored my tears in your flask." (Ps. 56:19) |
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more
death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away."
(Rev. 21:4) |
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