Spiritual Boldness (Visiting Church #26) We know nothing about this minority church besides their name, location, and service time. When the service begins, words are displayed overhead while we sing along with recorded music. Many people raise...
Stephen is Martyred The third sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 6:8-7:60 (specifically Acts 7:1-53). Setting: Jerusalem, before the Sanhedrin (the ruling Jewish council) Speaker: Stephen Audience: Jewish leaders (members of the Sanhedrin)...
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty Celebrate the Holiness of God The prophet Isaiah has a dream, a vision. He sees into heaven. God sits on his throne over the temple. Six-winged angels, seraphim, hover above him. They sing out, “Holy, holy...
Satan Is Not on a Par with God In the Ultimate Battle Between Good and Evil, the Winner Is Clear For the first part of my life I assumed God and Satan were equal yet opposite forces. I picked up this inaccurate image from culture, starting with...
Who Needs a Church Building? (Visiting Church #25) The church for this Sunday meets in a school, just like church #16. They don’t have their own church building. Their service time is later than most, starting at eleven, likely to allow...
Discover the Comeback of John Mark A person who keeps resurfacing in the Bible is a man with two names. Sometimes he is Mark, and sometimes he is John. For clarity, Luke often refers to him as “John, also called Mark”; John Mark for...
How Can We Help the Poor? Deuteronomy Instructs Us to Help Foreigners, Orphans, and Widows In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds God’s people that when they’re harvesting a field to not pick it clean, to leave some of the produce for others...
Do You Say Bold Prayers or Safe Prayers? God Often Wants to Delight Us, If Only We’ll Ask Too many people say safe prayers, such as, “God, please guide . . .” These are safe because no matter what happens, our confidence in God...
A Time of Pure Worship (Visiting Church #24) The church we visited on Sunday is a mostly older congregation. The worship team, however, is comprised of teens. What a pleasant surprise. Three play guitars, with one on percussion. Offstage is a...
Paul the Reconciler While Philemon is the recipient of the letter that bears his name, Paul is the author. We know a great deal about Paul, as he is mentioned over 250 times in the Bible, mostly in the book of Acts, but also in the letters that...
