A Home Church Ministry
Imagine for a moment what life would be like without the many little things we do that give life extra meaning and value. No birthday parties, no weddings, no holidays, no receptions, no anniversaries, no handshakes, no honorific greetings. Nothing to demonstrate and understand “specialness”. N.T. Wright asked, “Why do we do all this? Different …
Verse 20b: From the Holy One But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. The Church has received the anointing of the Holy Spirit from the Holy One so that all of us may know and live in the truth as those who bear the fruit of …
Continue reading "An Anointing from the Holy One: 1st John 2:20b"
Psalm 51:12 (CSB) Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. One of the fiercest enemies of Christian joy is an unwilling spirit. An unwilling spirit must be dragged along the way of Christ, kicking and screaming, because its will is at odds with the purposes …
Continue reading "The Pursuit of a Willing Spirit: Psalm 51:12"
Halloween is a complicated challenge for Christians to handle in some cultures because of how imbedded it has become in many places and the lines between "right" and "wrong" can quickly become blurred. Some people respond by oversimplifying the issue by using texts like Ephesians 5:11 to flatly condemn the holiday, while others simply refuse …
1st Timothy 2:1-2, 8 (CSB) First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity... 8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, …
Verse 20a: An Anointing But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. John writes a series of encouragements to reassure his spiritual children of God’s redemptive work in Christ from “their sins have been forgiven” (v.12), to “they will remain forever if they do the will of …
James 1:23-24 (CSB) Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. This is a verse for the people of our day. …
Continue reading "Have You Forgotten What You Look Like? James 1:23-24"
REVIEW Previously in Matthew 24 we studied the Lord’s answer to the first two questions asked by his disciples in verse three by revealing the first two questions and then pausing to teach the disciples a lesson so that they may be prepared for the coming of Christ. They asked: When will these things happen? …
Background: Matthew 23:37 – 24:3 Read & Pray: Matthew 23:37-24:51 The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 form one prophetic-apocalyptic revelation from Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming of Christ, and the end of the age. Literary Analysis One of the first principles of Biblical interpretation is …
Verse 19a: The Antichrists Within They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. To wrap our heads around this verse requires us to see the Church …
