Peter Speaks at Pentecost The first sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 2:1-41 (specifically Acts 2:14-36). Setting: Jerusalem on Pentecost Speaker: Peter Audience: Jews from many nations Preceding Events: The Holy Spirit arrives and empowers the...
Are You a Disciple or Believer? Those who follow Jesus used to be called “disciples” but that term has fallen out of favor. Now the common label is “believer.” It is easy to believe; it takes a lot more to be a disciple. To believe is essentially...
When Good Things Result From Bad In my prior post about Joseph, we saw that Joseph’s audacious sharing of his dreams was likely the catalyst for his brothers’ selling him as a slave and then staging his death. Joseph would have been better off to...
What is the Blessing of the Palms? An area church has invited other nearby churches to participate in a joint Palm Sunday service for the “Blessing of the Palms.” That phrase in an unfamiliar one to me, but with over 4 million exact matches of...
Technically, the first day of spring will not be for a couple more weeks (this year on March 20—unless you live south of the Equator, then you have a much longer wait). However, the seasons seldom line up with the calendar. For me, the best sign...
Joseph: Dreamer and Interpreter of Dreams In the story of Jacob’s son Joseph, we read that Joseph had a couple of dreams. The implicit meaning of his dreams was that his older brothers would become subservient to him, as would his father and...
God’s Promises to Father Abraham One of the central characters in the book of Genesis is Father Abraham. God calls Abraham to move to a different place, a location that God would reveal to him as the journey progressed. Because of Abraham’s...
God Loves Us! Sometimes when praying or meditating I’m profoundly struck with the powerful realization of just how much God loves me, that he really, really loves me. In fact, he loves you, too! God’s love is always there. I shake my head in...
I have owned and enjoyed an iPod Nano for many years. Though I don’t use it much for music, it is a regular source for listening to podcasts and lectures. Almost from the start, however, I’ve encountered intermittent difficulty in...
The Connection Between Unity and Language It is interesting how the Old Testament of the Bible is often in contrast with the New Testament. For example, in the story about the tower of Babel, God confuses the people’s languages and since they can...
