Build Up One Another. “Edify one another, just as you have already been doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Edify: to build up a person or a community; to strengthen; to empower; to affirm certain qualities; to help someone or a group to grow, to reach maturity; to construct a building, an edifice, of faith and character …
Bear One Another’s Burdens. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens… Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.” (Ps. 68:19; Galatians 6:2). Bearing Burdens: to lift up and carry; to take up and walk with; to intercede for someone else, whether through prayer or caregiving, whether tangible …
Garments of Splendor. “Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” (Romans 13:14, NLT)). a. Two Coats (a traditional song, performed by Patty Loveless, from her bluegrass album Mountain Soul): “Two coats were before me, an old and a new; I …
Digesting the Word – On Scripture as Food “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” (St. Jerome). “Nobody’s fault but mine, nobody’s fault but mine. When I die and my soul be lost, ain’t nobody’s fault but mine. I got a Bible in my home, I got a Bible in my home. If I don’t …
I AM at the Table with Judas. “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’ I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that …
I AM on the Water. “Jesus called out to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! The I AM is here!’” (John 6:20). CONTEXT a. Jesus and His disciples had just crossed the Sea of Galilee, or the Lake, and found themselves on a hill where they could sit down and relax. A huge throng of people was …
I AM at the Well. “Then Jesus told her, ‘I AM who speaks to you.’” (John 4:26). Jesus and His disciples were walking in the Judean countryside to return to their home territory in Galilee. Jesus decided to go straight through the central district of Samaria, which was directly in their path between Judea and …
The Shaming of I AM. “The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and elders also mocked Jesus. ‘He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but he can’t save himself! So he is the ‘King of Israel,’ is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, …
The Fruit of the Spirit is Love – What love looks like. Yes, the fruit of the Spirit is love. Pure and simple, love is the supreme fruit. All those qualities listed in Galatians 5:22-23… joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… are all aspects of the one unifying fruit, love. Those virtues …
Jesus and Sinners: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Barbara Brown Taylor, in her sermon “In the Name of Law and Order,” posed an intriguing question: Who was Jesus thinking of when He asked the Father to forgive “them?” Who is “them?”I decided to take her question and …
The High Priest and I AM. “The high priest asked Jesus, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, I AM (or also translated ‘the I AM is here’). And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the …