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Significance Over Wealth
Psalm 49, 1 Chronicles 29:16–22, Acts 3:1–16 Wealth and prosperity have long been a source of strife, envy, pointless striving, overwork, and abandonment of others. In an achievement-driven culture, it became an even greater issue as an “achievement” of wealth is measured against those whose wealth is an astronomical amount (i.e., a person valuated higher
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Placing the Message
Joel 2:18–32, Acts 2:29–40,2 Peter 1:16–21 Joel is an interesting book in that there are no definitive elements to place. There are many events and practices that put it within a few centuries, but that the prophet does not define himself, nor does he seem to be responding to a particular king, it becomes open
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Barriers to Sharing
John 20:19–23, Acts 1:4, Acts 2:1–36 The short vignette in the locked upper room after the Resurrection seems as if was a snippet of a memory that was lacking something. Yet, John felt it was important. As a precursor to Pentecost, Jesus’ statement/blessing about receiving the Holy Spirit was an important thing. Jesus had already
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Land of Blessing
Isaiah 24:4–13, Zechariah 14:8–11, Revelation 22:1–5 The curse. As we read about the curse in Isaiah, we can easily read into it the current fears, concerns, and observations regarding our environment. Truth be told, if we are called to be stewards—rather than dominators—of Creation, we can see our responsibility regarding Creation. The context of this
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Restoring Broken Bones
Deuteronomy 30:1–6, Matthew 18:15–20, Galatians 6:1–10 In his commentary on this section of Galatians, Earle Wilson wrote, “The church is a family, not a civic or social club. As a family we are knit together supernaturally by the Holy Spirit in common fellowship of love. It is in this context that Paul admonished us to
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Finding Faults
Psalm 104, Ezekiel 18:1-32, John 9:1–11 Original sin is the corruption of the God-given original nature of all the offspring of Adam. This corrupted base has an aversion to God, has no spiritual life, and is inclined to evil. Until the Holy Spirit fully cleanses us, original sin continues to exist even in the new
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Hearing Truth
Psalm 25, Jeremiah 7:21–34, John 16:7–15, Ephesians 4:15–16 The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive. Proverbs 27:6 Truth can be a painful thing. If delivered in the context of true friendship, the pain of the truth is shared by both. One of the hardest things to do
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Blessing of Enemies
Psalm 3, Genesis 14:17–24, Exodus 23:20–33, John 16:1–11 Enemies are a thing. Sometimes the enemies are more in our head than outside in the world. Sometimes enemies are those that do us harm when they are supposed to be striving for our good. Other times, and currently the most seen, the enemies are those not
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Goal of One
Psalm 122, Isaiah 14:1–2, John 17:20–26, Acts 1:12–14 Psalm 122 is a prayer for the flourishing of a community. Love for Jerusalem is symbolic of loving God’s bride, as Jerusalem is often tied to being the bride of God. Loving God’s bride is to be a sign of God’s people. Part of Isaiah’s vision is
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Family Parts
Psalm 19, Matthew 12:46–50, Ephesians 2:1–10 Framily often rewrites the rules of family, friends, and culture. We seem to have an understanding of what family ought to be, but in the midst of our mixed-up world, we don’t know how to live it out, and we often don’t know what it should look like. It