Tag: alcohol

  • And Now We Worship

    And Now We Worship

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:11–15; Luke 7:31–35 As mentioned previously, Amos’ prophetic mission was to the Israelites, the nation of the 10 tribes that separated from Judah and Benjamin. As part of the “rebellion” the leader of the Israelites, Jeroboam, made 2 golden calves for local worship to protect his “kingship” from reverting to Judah and…

  • Facing It

    Facing It

    Psalm 119:81–88; Jeremiah 16:1–13; James 5:7–12 The yearning in Psalm 119:81–88 is almost palpable. The need for relief with a counterbalance of trust produces a huge amount of tension within a few verses. This tension is often part of our own lives as we desire immediate relief from our trials, the fulfillment of our hopes…

  • Depths of Lent

    Depths of Lent

    What life experience can you use to relate to hope in despair?

  • To Live As Sacrifice

    To Live As Sacrifice

    Walking through life as “the almost sacrifice”. What a strange feeling, even at the end, that must have been.

  • Chained or Unchained

    Chained or Unchained

    Deuteronomy 27:12–28:1; John 8:31–40; Galatians 3:7–14 There are many wonderful things in life that begin well and then become dead weight. Buying a house is one of those. We are now in an era when people buy houses and pay against a large debt for 15–30 years. It doesn’t take too long for the joy…

  • The Way of…

    The Way of…

    Romans 8:1–17; Ephesians 2:11–22 No condemnation. Those are powerful words. We just don’t live them out well. We condemn ourselves for our faults. We condemn others for theirs. What does it mean to be set free? This is not a small question. We often immediately say, free from sin. While that is correct, it is…

  • Resurrecting Hope

    Psalm 39; Luke 24:8–35; Acts 26:1–8 (read online ⧉) Brian Sanders (Executive Director of Tampa Underground) shared some very interesting thoughts regarding the Emmaus Road story. Cleopas and the unnamed disciple hadn’t yet seen the Resurrected Jesus. Like any of the “outer circle” disciples, they didn’t see Jesus immediately, and many of the inner circle…

  • Separation Anxiety

    Psalm 19; Acts 7:30-40; Exodus 19:9-15 (read online ⧉) When we talk about holiness or being holy, we have to start with God. We talk about each of us being unique, yet God is even more so. God was not created. God did the creating. All of us are created.The Hebrew word for Holy can…