Tag: spirit
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People Past
βRead: Psalm 25; Isaiah 25:6-9; Philippians 3:20-21; John 6:37-40 ββπ Focus ββThis is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.β John 6:40 (NRSVue) Those who have died, that have been a direct…
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Successfully Unsuccessful
Psalm 144; Song of Solomon 8:5β14; John 11:45β57 ISV ββFocusβ A great deal of water cannot extinguish love,rivers cannot put it out.If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,he would surely be viewed with contempt. Song of Solomon 8:7 ISV ββ¦You don’t realize that it is better for you…
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Reconciling Fruit
Psalm 144; Isaiah 27:1β6; 2 Corinthians 5:17β21 (ISV) In times to come, Jacob will take root,Β Β Β and Israel will blossom, sprout shoots,Β Β Β and fill the whole world with fruit. Isaiah 27:6 ISV All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to himself through the Messiah and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians…
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Wise in Whose Eyes
We are often presented with the wisdom of Solomon. Yet, Solomon retained his freedom to make choices contrary to God revealed instructions.
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Enduring Soil
I’ve read the Parable of the Sower many times. I’ve preached on it. Heard plenty of sermons on it. Verse 15 hit me today. What struck me this time, in particular, was “endurance”. When you go back and re-read the parable, endurance makes sense. It may indeed be the point of the entire parable. Developing…
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Be Our Guest
Psalm 111; Exodus 24:1β11; Romans 15:22β33 If you were invited to a US presidential affair, you might be surprised. Unless you roam such circles or are connected to them, usually you won’t have any expectation of being invited to sit at the table with the president, unless, of course, you decide to contribute to their…
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Let ‘Em Fight
Psalm 145:10β18; 2 Kings 3:4β20; Colossians 3:12β17 It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold…
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Burning Call
Psalm 145:10β18; 1 Kings 19:19β21; Colossians 1:9β14 One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against…