Ephesians 2:1-10 Love and Forgiveness During a children’s sermon one Sunday morning, the pastor Glenn Schaeffer held up a summer shirt that he wore around the house. Schaeffer told the children that someone said the shirt was ugly and should be thrown away. “I’m having trouble forgiving the person who said those mean things,” He said. “Do you think I should forgive that person?” His daughter, Alicia, six, raised her hand. “You should.” “But why? This person hurt my feelings,”... Read more
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 Is Life Pointless? Is life pointless? That is the question that the author of Ecclesiastes asks. It is the question we will explore over the next few months as we dive into this great book. I’m not sure many of you have read Ecclesiastes. But I think you will be surprised how much it connects to us today. David Jeremiah states the following about this book: You’re likely to be startled, though, by this book’s starkly modern insights... Read more
5 Positive Results for Obeying God’s Word February 9, 2016 Year A Psalm 119:1-8 Just like the psalmist, I am reminded that reading and obeying God’s word is a good thing. The Bible is unique because reading and obeying it can change a person. The reason is because the Bible is supernatural. The Bible opens up the Holy Spirit to help change me. There are positive results when I allow God to use His Word to instruct and change who... Read more
Trump May Want America To Be First, But Jesus Wants Me To Be Second President Donald Trump laid out his vision for the United States during his inaugural address. He used the phrase “America First” to let people know that he wanted America to be his first priority. However, many other people didn’t take this idea so well. People criticized Trump’s speech. One such effort came from the Netherlands. A talk-show host in Holland made a video that satirized his... Read more
5 Effective Work Habits February 8, 2017 Year A Proverbs 6:6-11 These series of proverbs show us efficient work tips observed from hard workers. 5 Effective Work Habits 1. Learn from others (Proverbs 6:6) The writer of this proverb tells the lazy person to go to the ant and observe its ways. He says that watching the ant will make the lazy man wise. Why? Because we can learn from other people. What does the ant teach us about work?... Read more
Psalm 40:1-17 Trusting God Through My Troubles Trusting God is a hard thing for many people. We live in a society that says that we need to see results and we need to see them now. We go to a fast-food restaurant and we expect the food to come out quickly and efficiently. We go to the store and we expect the place to have the products we need. Because if we don’t, we can always go online. But somewhere... Read more
From Genocide to Generosity by John Steward Introduction From Genocide to Generosity by John Steward states its purpose through the subtitle: Hatred’s Heal on Rwanda’s Hills. The path to healing from hatred is from genocide to generosity. This was the lesson that John Steward learned through personal experience. Review In Part 1: Coping with Chaos (11-34), Steward described what he came to understand about Rwanda by listening to and learning from the Rwandan people. Steward learned that the people go... Read more
The Boy Scouts of America Have Eliminated Morally Straight When I was a Boy Scout, we learned the Scout Oath. It stated: “On my honor, I will do my best. To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” Well, morally straight used to be part of the Scout Oath. After yesterday’s decision, one can decide to... Read more
Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the fifth volume in the English edition of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works. The volume contains two works. Life Together The first book, Life Together, grew out of his two years’ experience as director of the Confessing Church’s seminary in Finkenwalde and the establishment of a Brothers’ House within the seminary. The book is a continuation of Bonhoeffer’s fascination with... Read more
John 10:10-21 How to Live The Good Life God Intended Do you remember the game show Let’s Make a Deal? Let’s Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall, the latter serving as its host for many years. The format of Let’s Make a Deal involves selected members of... Read more
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