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
God and Hamilton by Kevin Cloud When I think of Alexander Hamilton, I think of a man whose face is on the ten dollar bill. I think of the man who lost a duel to Aaron Burr. The book God and Hamilton by Kevin Cloud helped me to see more about the man and his impact, as well as his spiritual influence. God and Hamilton by Kevin Cloud explores the spiritual themes from the life of Alexander Hamilton and the... Read more
Encouraging One Another Through the Holiday Season Colossians 4:7-18 During the Christmas holidays, people will send various greeting cards to many people. The purpose of the greeting card is to encourage other people during the holidays. Here, we see that Paul is writing in this section one large greeting card addressed to different people. How would you use your greeting card to encourage others during this holiday season? You know that you don’t have to stop with just greeting cards.... Read more
How to LAST and Survive the Holidays Colossians 4:2-6 The day before Thanksgiving an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her.” Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on... Read more
How to Build the Best Relationships for Christ Colossians 3:17-4:1 Christ is my master, therefore I serve Him and others. Whatever I do, I do for the name of Jesus. Every relationship matters because I belong to Jesus. “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17, CSB) No matter what time of relationship I have to other people, I still... Read more
How to Change (and Be Civil) as a Christian Colossians 3:8-16 Change is difficult for people. As humans, we like routine. We like to do the same things in repetition. The rhythm of life is easier for us when we know what the next note will be. When we are told to change something, we immediately reflexively resist. We don’t want to change the notes in the music. We don’t want to make the effort because change makes us have... Read more
Be Completely Changed Colossians 3:1-7 How do you know that you are a Christian? How do you know if someone else is a Christian? You know if someone is a Christian by the way they are changed. There is a change in believing because your belonging has changed. When you belong, you are willing to believe. Belonging is a form of devotion. In Paul’s letters, he will normally divide the letter into two parts: Who we are and what we... Read more
Jesus + Me = Purpose in Life Colossians 2:6-23 You’ve probably heard or seen that math equation going around. 6 / 2 (1+2) = 6/2 (3) = 3(3) = 9 People would be giving an answer of 1 or 9. 9 is the correct answer because of something called the order of operation. PEMDAS. The order is important. Let me give you a very simple equation: Jesus + Me = Purpose in Life. Jesus gave us this equation. He said... Read more
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