Posts from September 2022

Give thought for a moment to the word, ‘consider.’ Consider carries with it the idea of contemplation, focus, or thinking upon a certain subject. The word is found many times throughout the Bible, notice just three examples of when we find this word and the need we see to pause and do some thinking. Consider the wondrous works of God – Job 37:14-24. Pause to contemplate how great He is! These words were spoken by the youngest of Job’s ‘friends,’…

How does brotherly love really work? How does it work in situations of extraordinary tension and difficulty? The book of Philemon is a model of Christian friendship, of forgiveness, of both tact and diplomacy on one hand and of contact and straightforwardness on the other. Philemon is all about “the fine art of Christian relationships.” Keywords include “accept” and “receive,” “appeal” and “encourage, “grace” and “joy” along with the word “love.” Here are just a few of the incredible relationship…

There are a number of times in the gospel accounts that individuals are found begging Jesus. They came to Him with strong imploring. They came with a strong desire for Him to do certain things for them. Consider some great lessons we can learn by looking to occasions when people came begging Jesus. Begging Jesus to leave Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the miracle of Jesus healing the man who was possessed by a multitude of demons. In combing…

Everyone has priorities and values; the real question is – in whom or what do we place them? It’s so easy to believe like a theist and to live like a deist. It’s easy to believe in the real and personal God of Scripture yet to live our life, at least at times, as though He ’s distant, aloof, uninvolved and uncaring. In thinking like this worry can run rampant. Worry is a subtle temptation for so many of us,…

In several years of preaching, there is an area that I have come to enjoy very much – premarital counseling. If you had told me when starting this would be something that would bring so much joy and satisfaction, I most likely would have laughed out loud. However, I find it to be very rewarding and, as it turns out, a very good thing for my own marriage. Julie and I almost always sit down for a number of one-hour…