How to BUDGET Luke 14:28-33 I learned long ago about planning with the following phrase: Prior proper planning prevents pitiful poor performance. That rule is illustrated with this story about money. This is the story of a man who did not budget properly. In this mini-parable, Jesus teaches us about budgeting. In the immediate context, this is about how a man spends his money. In the larger context, this idea of budgeting affects how I live as a follower of... Read more
I Love My Community Luke 4:16-19 In his book Concentric Circles of Concern, Dr. Oscar Thompson wrote that “the gospel moves on contiguous lines – on lines of relationship.”1 The key to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ he said is relationships. What were the relationships that Jesus developed, in order to spread His message? Jesus’ personal people group: the marginalized in His community “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach... Read more
I Love My Church John 13:34-35 Dennis, from Katy, Texas, needed some same-day dry cleaning before he left on a trip. He remembered a store with a huge sign, “One-Hour Dry Cleaners,” on the other side of town, so he drove there to drop off a suit. After filling out the tag, he told the clerk, “I need this in an hour.” She said, “I can’t get this back to you until Thursday.” “I thought you did dry cleaning in... Read more
How My Church Can Help Me Hebrews 10:19-25 Jesus has opened up a new and living way for me that helps me for eternity. Yet, Jesus didn’t save me in isolation. Jesus built a support system to help me to follow Him. There are two times that the “since is used. The word “since describes that Jesus did a certain work in the past that allows me to live as a Christian today. First, the writer of Hebrews says that... Read more
How to Encourage Positive Church Community Hebrews 3:7-19 In his autobiography Alias Jungle Doctor, Dr. Paul White concludes his chapter “Doctor at Work” on his medical career: “I found that friendship, fellowship and encouragement lifted a person’s morale. Encouragement, be it physical or spiritual, is the most powerful and useful tonic in any pharmacopoeia.”1 I think that one of the themes in the book of Hebrews is the power of positive church community. Some people believe that Hebrews 10 speaks... Read more
Reaching Out to the Digital Generation for Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Let me share with you an important shift that I believe has happened in the culture. We have moved from modern society to a postmodern society. I think this is similar to the differences between the Jews and Gentiles that Paul speaks in this passage. The modern society has a knowledge of God and Jesus. They are familiar with the church. The church was part of the culture and... Read more
Resume My Journey God Has For Me Deuteronomy 1:6-8 God has spoken to me. I have stayed at this mountain long enough. I need to resume my journey and go forward to my neighbors. See, God has set a mission before me. Enter and take possession of that mission. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8) – Personal Bible Verse for 2019 A vision without a task is but a dream; a task without a vision is drudgery; a vision and a task is the... Read more
The Wisdom of Spiritual Reflection Proverbs 9:1-18 We come to the end of the year. You may notice people reflecting on the past year. We reflect on the past events, and on people who have left us in death. Many take this time to reflect on the year and see what has happened in their lives. This is a great time to gain wisdom through spiritual reflection. As a Christian, we should take stock of our lives at times like... Read more
How Christmas Points to Jesus Hebrews 1:1-3 Look at the Christmas tree. I want to use this image to remind us how God uses Christmas to point me to Jesus during the Christmas season. Keep the image of the Christmas tree in your mind. The challenge during Christmas is to remind ourselves of Jesus. Because Christmas is loaded. It is loaded with symbols, traditions, and ideas. Many of which don’t point to Jesus. Christmas should communicate Christ. I want to... Read more
Share a Christmas Blessing of Hope Luke 1:39-45 As we read and think about great Christmas passages of the Bible, one of the things we need to do is to resist the influence of our culture to trivialize Christmas and its powerful meaning for our lives. The true message of Christmas is about hope. Hope is one of the greatest needs of the human heart and one of the greatest messages of the Christmas story. Sometimes in English, the word... Read more
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