Trust and Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Part 4 In Luke 6, Jesus makes the shocking assertion that the poor are in favorable circumstances, because theirs is the Kingdom of God. The people in the crowd that day listening to his Sermon on the Plain would have been blown away by this. Jesus’ ideas soundedContinue reading “Your physical circumstances do not reveal what God thinks of you”
Tag Archives: blessing
Setting the scene for Jesus’ surprising take on blessings
Trust & Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Part 1 You may have heard of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. That famous passage is found in Matthew 5–7. But have you ever heard of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain? His Sermon on the Plain has many similar, or even the same, teachings as those found inContinue reading “Setting the scene for Jesus’ surprising take on blessings”
Are we misunderstanding blessing?
Trust & Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Preview Around the tables at your Thanksgiving gatherings this coming week, will you take time to share with your family and friends what you are thankful for? One of the worship songs we recently sang at Faith Church is perfect for Thanksgiving, “Count Your Blessings.” There is somethingContinue reading “Are we misunderstanding blessing?”
Does God hate your church’s worship (and how to find out) – Current Events Q1 2020 – Affordable Housing, Part 3
Has your church ever evaluated your worship services? How do you know what is good worship and what is not? What metrics do you use? Quality? Excellence? Professionalism? Attendance? Growth? Better yet, what metrics would God want you to use? As we continue our study this week on affordable housing, surprisingly perhaps, one Old TestamentContinue reading “Does God hate your church’s worship (and how to find out) – Current Events Q1 2020 – Affordable Housing, Part 3”
Birthright & Blessing (or ripping off your siblings) – Characters: Jacob, Part 2
I have a family member who love to joke about ripping off his siblings by selling them stuff at prices higher than he purchased the items for. He’s actually a loving brother. But sibling rivalry is so common. How have you experienced it in your family? As we continue reading the story of Jacob andContinue reading “Birthright & Blessing (or ripping off your siblings) – Characters: Jacob, Part 2”
God’s blunt song and Moses’ blessing song [How God feels about our fear – Deuteronomy 31-34, part 4]
If God were to write a song to you, what do you think the lyrics would say? The first idea that enters my mind is that God would write a song about how much he loves us. But maybe I’m wrong about that. In Deuteronomy 32, we read a song that God wrote, and itContinue reading “God’s blunt song and Moses’ blessing song [How God feels about our fear – Deuteronomy 31-34, part 4]”
How to handle difficult people: When they insult you, eulogize ’em!
I learned a shocking thing about eulogies, and in this post I’m going to reveal what I learned. This week we are studying 1 Peter 3:8-12, and so far we have learned the Top 5 adjectives that Peter says should describe a church family. Now he gets to some verbs, some actions that members ofContinue reading “How to handle difficult people: When they insult you, eulogize ’em!”
Why we need a wilderness mindset, even when we live in the promised land
How can we remain faithful to God when life is good? How do we remain faithful in the Promised Land? When we are in the wilderness, we feel like we are going to die, and we need God to rescue us, we know that there is nothing we can do, and God has to intervene. Continue reading “Why we need a wilderness mindset, even when we live in the promised land”
Engaging Scripture 