Friday, March 05, 2010
John 11: 5-9, 16; 14: 1-6; 20: 24-29 DoubtingThomas is what most people call him. The nickname “doubting” stuck to the Apostle because three times, at keypoints in Jesus’ ministry, he asked Jesus to explain himself. Does asking God to clarify Himself meanthat we lack faith? Maybe. It can be our way of stiff-arming Godto keep Him at a distance, and our commitments to Him at a minimum. Or, asking questions can be ourfaithful response of wanting more...
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Luke 19:1-10 Z achaeus was a seeker who wanted to become a believer. Theimportance and urgency of his quest came together when he heard that Jesus waswalking through his home town of Jericho. The "time" was now and heneeded to get himself to Jesus. But how? As a short man hewould not be able to see Jesus if he stood among the crowd. So he saw asycamore (fig & mulberry) tree as his way to Jesus. With a short trunk andbroad limbs this tree was easy for Zachaeus to climb....
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Disciple is a Greek work which meanslearner. A disciple is a learnerby being in a trusting relationship with Christ and following Histeachings. Men and women (Luke8:1-3; Acts 9:36) were New Testament disciples of Jesus. The word for disciple, mathetes, is used 260 times in theGospels and Acts. The secondcentury Christian leaders set the tone in understanding that disciple is synonymous with Christian . Jesus connects His mission to His disciples (Matthew10:24-25, 40-42;...
Friday, February 19, 2010
Matthew: 9: 9-13; 28: 16-20 Who was Matthew? Therewas a Matthew behind the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew, a person much like us, wrote the Gospel which bearshis name. Like us, he knew thestress of fear and the power of hope. He felt the anguish of guilt and the joy of forgiveness. He cried and laughed. And his life came together on the dayJesus called him to the ultimate adventure, “follow me.” Thosewords were the invitation of a lifetime and...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
JOHN 1: 1-5; MATTHEW 26: 36-46 CENTRALTRUTH: God is knowable and His ways are doable. Living in the light of these two truths guides us intoliving the most exciting life possible. We learn God’s will by trusting God and acting on what we learn throughHim. Then we are positioned toknow the part of God’s will that had been previously unclear to us. (Today’s sermon is Part II of last Sunday’smessage, “Understanding God’s Will.”) Growing up,I was told that the most exciting...
Friday, February 05, 2010
Romans 8:26-39 God’s Promise: The following 25 words from Romans 8:28 can change your life: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose.” Central Truth: What is God’s will? God’s will is God’s best hope for us and our world. As the maker of heaven & earth, God is always working to bring about His very best from any given situation. As the One who lovingly made you in His image,...
Friday, January 29, 2010
1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 15-21 Mygrandmother was a praying person. Lives were shaped by how she prayed in herDublin boarding house & in the First Baptist Church. One of those prayersgot a hold of my life. WhenDad was growing up, my grandmother prayed that he would become a minister. Whenshe realized that he was going to be a lawyer, she began to pray that one ofhis children would become a minister. While I was growing up, Dad told me thefirst half of her prayer but he...
Friday, January 22, 2010
GENESIS 45: 1-15 CENTRAL TRUTH: In God’s eyes& with God’s people, each of us can form a distinctive family offaith. But every family has timeswhen we have to begin again. Grace, God’s grace, makes fresh starts possible. Family! When you hear the word FAMILY, what do you think and feel? I am convinced that family strengths can continue to strengthen us throughout our lives. What enables the family positive to remain positive in our lives? The key is to accept...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Genesis 37-50 Tonightis an experiment. I want to talk about this Sunday's sermon before I "preachit." My sermon series is: “God's Family Promises” and this Sunday’s titleis “How to Begin Again as aFamily.” Family!When you hear the word FAMILY, what do you think and feel? Does your first family, where your lifebegan, come to mind? What were/ are your mother's & father's influence? Didthat family include a sister, brother, grandparents...? What was...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Luke 2:41-52 TVand the Family Timeis a family gift. Time is a God-provided resource for us to usepurposefully. Time is a way ofmeasuring the meaning of our lives. Time is for love, worship, work, andre-creation. Of the 24 hours in each day, the average amount of televisionwatched by an individual recently increased 3 minutes per day to 4 hours &35 minutes (Nielsen Media Research). That is more than one day per week that people sit in front of a...
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 is among the most controversial biblical passages. Hopefully the following helps to clarify Paul’s teaching ina way that is biblically accurate and empowering for the 21 st century family. In Ephesians 5, Paul is firstwriting to the church. He's writing to men and women who are Christians, comingfrom the Greek culture. They lived in or near Ephesus, where worshipping in thegreat Temple of Diana had been their practice, and where...
Sunday, January 10, 2010
EPHESIANS 6:1-4; LUKE 10:38-42;MATTHEW 21: 28-31a Families inAmerica spend billions of dollars to communicate. We travel to touch & talk in person. We speed dial to talk with our mobiledevices. We text to get & givequick info. We tweet to beconcise. What are we saying withall of these efforts? Well a lotbut bottom line, we are saying to each other that being understood andunderstanding is important to us. To beeffective we need to talk through mattersthat...
Sunday, January 03, 2010
MARK 10:1-9, 13-16 FAMILYis God's gift of opportunity. The opportunity is for us to form loving,meaningful, and enjoyable relationships. What we do with family is our choiceto make and how we make that choice goes a long way to shape our own happinessor unhappiness. Consequently let's work to get it right. Familylife is CoMpLiCaTeD. There is no easy way to be & do family life. But thereare best ways and bad ways from which to choose. God's Family Promises is mysermon...
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Matthew 2: 1-12 A long journey requires courage. And so it wasfor these magi. These people of a priestly class from the Easternculture required courage to follow a star in the sky and travel west to seewhat the star meant for them. Godhas a star for you to follow. Doyou see it? Are you following Hislead for your life? Overcoming Fear to Follow Your Star Living requires courage. Courage for you to enter 2010and be the person whom God is...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Matthew 1:18-25 Oneday my father-in-law was drinking coffee at a McDonald's in Fayetteville,Arkansas, when he asked anothercustomer for his name and where he was from. The answer came that Dalhart,Texas was the place and the person gave his name. The following conversationunfolded. "I bet I can tell you whereyou lived." "Youcan?" "Yep.Your place was about 6 or 7 miles north of Dalhart, on the Highway towardsClayton." "You are right...