Praying Our Way into the Lord’s Prayer. “Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As He finished, one of His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just like John taught his disciples.’ Jesus said, ‘This is how you should pray. Pray like this:’ ” (Luke 11:1-2). Teach us to …
Yes and Amen: Introduction. “In Christ is found the Yes! to all God’s promises, and therefore it is through Him that we answer Amen! to give praise to God. As His Yes! and our Amen! ascend to God, we bring Him glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20). YES: the answer in the affirmative. AMEN: (Hebrew, related to the root …
The Gospel According to Haggai. “Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Take courage! Do not fear.” (Haggai 2:4-5). The first …
Behold! Wisdom. There are some individual words and short phrases in Scripture that need to be highlighted as they are read, words or phrases that are significant or point to something meaningful. Some phrases might be: Fear not. Here I am. Woe to you. One another. And maybe some words are: Amen. Hallelujah. Blessed. Abba. …
Behold! Obedience. There are some individual words and short phrases in Scripture that need to be highlighted as they are read, words or phrases that are significant or point to something meaningful. Some phrases might be: Fear not. Here I am. Woe to you. One another. And maybe some words are: Amen. Hallelujah. Blessed. Abba. Come. …
Obadiah and Esau. “For the violence you did against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off for ever.” (Obadiah 1:10) Jacob and Esau were twin brothers to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 25), a beloved patriarch and matriarch of the people of Israel. These two brothers struggled against one another in the …
Nahum and Judgment. “The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose Him, and continues to rage against his enemies! The Lord is slow to anger, but his power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished.” (Nahum 1:2-3). There is a good reason why …
Identify Your Self. “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27). This is the age of finding one’s identity. It’s the way everyone wants to define themselves. We want to lay claim to who we are at the deepest level. …
The Death of God. What if we didn’t know the end of the story? What if we didn’t yet know about the empty tomb? Yes, it’s true that Jesus predicted His rising from the dead on a number of occasions with His Twelve. But tell that to the traumatized disciples, who just lost their best …
The Gospel According to Gideon. “Then Yahweh turned to Gideon and said, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!’ ‘But Lord, Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my …
The Gospel According to Aaron. “… But Moses pleaded with the Lord, ‘O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied and my words get tangled.’ Then the Lord asked Moses, ‘Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides …
The Gospel According to Miriam. “Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the …