A recurring Bible verse I’ve employed the last couple Sundays is Jeremiah 29: 11 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Promises are given to specific individuals in the biblical record of…
The Lord Is with You
Two boys were walking home from church and talking about their Sunday school lesson. They were studying the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Little Peter said to his friend John, “Do you believe that stuff about the Devil? Do you really think there is a Devil?” John looked at him and said, “Naah, it’s…
We Can Be Sure
Luke 1: 5-25 A five-year-old daughter looked at a calendar and asked, “How many be-good days ’til Christmas?” She made promises undoubtedly to be good in those days leading to Christmas. In these four Sundays leading to Christmas I’ll share messages about some of the characters in the birth story of Jesus. God made promises…
With Himself In Mind
Matthew 25: 14-30 The vacation must be on my mind. “Mommy,” said little Bobby, “why does the minister get a whole month’s vacation in the summer?” “Well, son,” answered his mother, “if he’s a good minister, he needs it. If he isn’t, the church needs it.” A family went to the beach for their vacation….
Any Time
“He showed himself prepared to do the will of God and reveal his Kingdom in word and deed. That’s would he sought to teach his disciples to do. That’s what we are taught to do through Word and Spirit, lamp and oil.”
That Joy
“Jesus transcended their here and now. No disease, affliction, demonic oppression could withstand his divine power. No religious corruption could distort his lessons of grace and mercy, power and love for all. JESUS HAS COME.”
Grown Accustomed
Haggai 1: 3-6, 12 Maybe you’ve grown accustomed to how things are right now. You’ve come to grips on how life is, and you dare not hope for anything better. Maybe any effort to change things might throw your circumstances into chaos. Maybe you are content, grown accustomed to your life. I wrote in my…
Who Do You Belong to?
Matthew 22: 15-22 Caesar had his coins, and God has God’s coins, I suppose. A man asked God how long a million years was to God. God replied, “It’s just like a single second of your time.” So the man asked, “And what about a million dollars?” The Lord replied, “To me, it’s just like…
Who Would Want to Miss the Party?
Matthew 22: 1-10 A California scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his or her weight in an average year, while a horse eats only eight times its weight. This all seems to prove that if you want to lose weight, you should eat like a horse. This being somewhat believable,…
The Harvest Time Has Come
Matthew 21: 33-46 There were hard times in Palestine when Jesus told this story. Hard times like when a woman in a grocery store bent over to reach some apples. Her back gave out, she froze in position, and shrieked in pain. Another shopper leaned over and with empathy in her voice said, “If you…
Psalm 102 in The Message 