Monday’s section of this week’s lesson asks, Why is how we say something as important as, or even more important than, what we say? How do you react to this statement: “Truth is truth, and people need to take it or leave it”? What’s wrong with this true statement? A couple of years ago I … Continue reading –>
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV Before baseball season begins there is spring training, where all the players get back into shape so they can perform at their highest level during the season. During the off-season they may … Continue reading –>
We were in our last couple nights of evangelism meetings when a water pipe burst, flooding a room behind the sanctuary, near the baptistry entrance. One of the deacons told a local elder to help the other deacons pump the water out. The elder politely replied that he could not do that, because he had … Continue reading –>
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV … Continue reading –>
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Luke 23:34 NLT It may seem hard to pray for God to forgive and bless our enemies, but it’s a healing balm for us as well as for them. I once heard … Continue reading –>
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. John 17:18 NLT How did the Father send Jesus into the world? Did He send Him to a monastery where He spent all His time alone making sure He never came in contact with the world? No. The Father sent … Continue reading –>
I personally don’t trust online reviews. I don’t know the people giving the reviews. I have read some pretty scathing reviews about restaurants that I actually enjoyed. For all I know, the people giving the scathing review are just bitter people wanting to ruin the reputation of a perfectly decent establishment. But I do trust … Continue reading –>
Several years ago, a teenage girl who had several tragedies in her immediate family, started visiting our church with her parents. She was still trying to figure out who God was and who she was. Other kids started making remarks about her blue hair and strange wardrobe, so she declared she was not coming back … Continue reading –>
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles … Continue reading –>
As we are studying this week about how to deal with difficult texts I think one solution is to allow for the possibility that God was using what we call a “figure of speech,” which is when a word or phrase is used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect. Maybe even allow … Continue reading –>
