... made on Mt. Gerizim there in Samaria, not in Jerusalem (John 4: 19). They refused hospitality to Jesus and his followers. (3) Two of Jesus’ disciples, brothers James and John, asked Jesus if they could call down fire from heaven ... Jesus, God in the flesh, who loved you enough to give his very life to show you the way to God. 1. Best Jokes About Salespeople: 18 Stories To De-Stress, July 9, 2019 by Xant Team, https://www.xant.ai/best-jokes-salespeople/. 2. Contributed by: Oaktree. 3. “Chuck Smith Bible ...
... Jesus didn’t come to make our life better; he came to lead us from death to life. In the Book of John, chapter 17 verse 3, John writes, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Read ... fool: he saw his wealth only as an opportunity for pleasure; God saw his wealth as an opportunity for giving. Let’s look at verses 18-21 again: “Then (the fool) said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I ...
... beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father...And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace...No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. --John 1:14-18 Sometimes we get confused into thinking that Christianity is a spiritual religion, as if our faith is mostly a matter of ethereal, intangible, otherworldly things. Nothing could be further from the faith of Jesus. Jesus took the stuff of everyday life -- coins, mustard seeds ...
... of Israel to the sea (Exodus 14:8). "I pursued my enemies and overtook them," sang David after he had triumphed (Psalm 18:37). "Our pursuers were swifter than the vultures...they chased us on the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the ... here and there. "But there are other sheep," said the Good Shepherd, ''who are not of this fold. I go to seek them as well." (John 10:16). And when this pursuing pastor finds the lost, he puts that sheep on his shoulders, and breathlessly returns to the fold. "I found ...
... same — to share the gospel message of salvation. But we should still be cautious, for we still live in the days of Noah. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in the mid-eighteenth century, was returning home after conducting an evening worship service when he was robbed. The ... to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Andrew Jackson avowed, “One man with courage makes a majority.” Empowered by the Holy Spirit, you can make a ...
... Jesus wanted them to do next. Here Jesus speaks about himself as the shepherd, the guide and guard of those who love him. [Read John 10:11-18] I’m a city person. Too much open space makes me nervous, so when I started thinking about sheep, I had to call my ... his life for the sheep. The shepherd beyond all others — the great shepherd. In all of these “I am” sayings from John’s gospel, Jesus compared himself with the most ordinary things — light, bread, water, and in this passage, a shepherd. He ...
... The Father God the Father is the Omniscient One: all-wise, all-knowing. Nothing escapes his eye. He was wise enough to 18 create the universe. The Bible announces that Creation was the work of God. The story is told that Franklin D. Roosevelt and ... and astuteness that we can never claim as our own. It is rather that wonderful, divine Wisdom from him which quickens the believer. John and I were invited to preach for a week on the campus at the Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. While there, we were ...
... of lights] gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). The heart, the center of our being, that was the source of things wicked, has been overlaid with a new heart, a clean heart. We ... , 25). We might well wonder what this man did after he could hear and speak. People might have thought of all this after Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from his birth. Peter took him by the hand and raised him up. "Jumping up, he stood and began ...
... . In Mark's book, the twelve disciples appear as blockheads who stood around and scratched their heads whenever Jesus said or did anything significant. Mark never says Jesus loved Peter, James, John, or the others. But he insists Jesus loved this man. Maybe that's because (a) the man sought the kingdom of God and (b) he did what God commanded. But something ... Press, 1984), p. 81. 4. As quoted in Elizabeth O Connor, Letters to Scattered Pilgrims (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1979), pp. 17-18. "
... and lame, as well as strong (v. 8). This sounds like an early word that Jesus later echoed, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). God will gather; Jesus will build his church. Then why do we fret about his church, his people? He is ultimately in control. This is ... He provides leadership for every church, and each leader has the leadership gifts appropriate to the need of the group. John Clendenan, retired CEO of BellSouth, relates a story from the Galapagos Islands. As you may know, the Galapagos Islands ...
... spreading forth (1 Thessalonians 1:8), or as salt (Matthew 5:17), cancer (2 Timothy 2:17), ointment or fragrance (Proverbs 27:18). Influence is not an option for us; we all have it. The option is the kind of influence or how we will ... the eleven Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last ..." (John 15:16). The scriptures make crystal clear the fact of the divine call given by God to specific people for specific purposes is beyond debate ...
... the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever -- forever and ever" (Daniel 7:18). Tishra had learned from the Rabbi that she lived in a "fallen world." The experience of rampant evil in this fallen ... And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect" (Matthew 24:30-31). In the revelation given to John we hear of a future in which the saints will finally move beyond a "fallen world." The day is coming when there will be "a new ...
... status to become a slave? But here it is: He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, humbling himself to be obedient to the point of dying -- even the death reserved for terrorists and street scum. Notice, it does not say that God demanded his death. Indeed, in John 10:17-18, Jesus is quoted as saying, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I ...
Ash WednesdayJoel 2:12-182 Corinthians 5:20--6:2Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Spring Training As all those who follow baseball know, this is the time of spring training. Although in ... the dawn. All of these acts as well describe the ministry of welcome to those whom society has forgotten. Jesus also speaks of welcome in today's Gospel. The disciples of John the Baptist want to know why Jesus' apostles do not fast. Jesus, simply put, says that as long as he, the groom, is with them the apostles cannot fast. No, they ...
... by fear. What then shall we do? We must watch for signs of God's power, power even over Death, for we can then draw strength from those incidents. They can help us to have faith. Here's a third story. It comes from the New Testament (John 20:11-18). Mary Magdalene has gone to the tomb where Jesus' body has been laid after the crucifixion. She is weeping so hard that she mistakes the risen Christ for a gardener. After a few moments, she recognizes her Lord, and he tells her to announce to his brothers ...
... be if you have an empty nest? You have thought of yourself in a certain way for the last five years or the past 18 years. Now you will be different, because that relationship is different. Even more profound -- and much more painful -- are the losses caused by ... Jesus says, "Get behind me, Satan," he isn't saying that Peter is the Prince of Darkness. In fact, if it weren't for John Milton and possibly the book of Revelation, we wouldn't even think of Satan as the Prince of Darkness. Satan, throughout most of ...
... no heir had yet been born, God counted that as righteousness and a covenant ceremony took place (7-12 and 17-18). While we are no longer required to offer animals as a sacrifice, the season of Lent offers us many opportunities to affirm ... faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). This covenantal nature of God through faith that begins with Abraham continues today with the covenantal nature of God through Christ, you ...
... forcing them to repay the loan? Would that turn the world upside down or what? Do you wonder that Jesus was crucified? John Howard Yoder, a Mennonite theologian, wrote a well-known book back in the early '80s called The Politics of Jesus in ... of this vision. "The saints of the most High shall receive the kingdom, and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever" (Daniel 7:18). That same ability to grasp by faith and hope what is hidden from our eyes is what is necessary to penetrate those ironic and ...
... In contrast to the previous sins of Israel (Isaiah 40:2) and in contrast to the wrath and punishment of the Lord (Isaiah 42:18-25), now comes a new thing. "But now thus says the Lord." This new thing is to come about through the powerful word of ... look honestly at our situation. We need to acknowledge our sinfulness. We need to stand under the bright light of Christ's judgment. John the Baptist made that clear in his preaching about Jesus: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing ...
... the virtuous life as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. As it says in Proverbs, "Without a vision the people will perish" (29:18 KJV). In talking about the seven deadly sins we are seeking above all to proclaim the Good News, the gospel of Jesus ... again. And it makes us feel so good; like we are brand-new." 1. Shirley C. Guthrie, Christian Doctrine, Rev. ed. (Westminster/John Knox Press: Louisville, KY, 1994), p. 212. 2. Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey (Random House: New York, NY, 1959), pp. 37-38 ...
... town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). The point is, sons did not tell their fathers that they weren't going to work in the fields. The father would be disgraced ... at the lives of great saints. Everyone has feet of clay. Martin Luther was a man who needed enemies like other men need friends. John Wesley was an utter failure as a husband. Almost always, when I do a funeral for a man or woman who has been a ...
... made the distinction this way. "Some friends play at friendship, but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin" (Proverbs 18:24). This poses a question to us. If you want to make a finger count of your acquaintances, would ten fingers be ... what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father" (John 15:15). "What a friend we have in Jesus," so we sing. But ask this, what kind of friends does Jesus have in us? Are we ...
... positive thought, a vision of better things to come. Visit the Hall of Faith: Abraham and Moses, David and Isaiah, John the Baptizer and the Twelve Apostles believed God was inspiring them to look into the future expecting better and ... Good News Bible, The New English Bible, and others.2. Robert Schuller, Hour of Power, and other sources.3. CBS-TV 5/18/88.4. Frederica Harris Thompsett, Professor of Church History at Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has written in depth on these issues ...
... it his own or his parents’ sin?” And Jesus replies, “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins.” (John 9:2-3 TEV) The essence of what Leslie Weatherhead once said to parents grief-stricken over the untimely death of their little son in ... something rash. “How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!” (2 Samuel 12:18 TEV) Have you ever underestimated the ability of another to cope? Sometimes we overestimate, but I have the sense that more ...
... children who had come to hear Jesus and to be healed. The sun's glow worked out upon the gently moving sea. It may have been John, the youngster, who was last into the boat. His push was the final one freeing it from the gravel along the shore. Soon a small sail ... controlled by someone's shout off the back end of a boat. But that is the recounting that Mark gives - and Matthew (8:18) and Luke. (8:22) Some students of the Bible and of psychology have suggested that Jesus' word to the wind and rain, giving ...