Saul has just made a decision to turn his life around 180 degrees. He met Jesus, and everything would now change. He used to persecute Christians, and now he was preaching about Jesus. But that all happened far away from the church’s home base in Jerusalem. No surprise, then, what we read in Acts 9, verse 26, “When [Saul]Continue reading “How to have hope over fear – Encourage one another, Part 3”
Tag Archives: hope
A disturbing soccer game and some words teaching us to…Encourage one another, Part 1
When my second son was a junior in high school, his soccer team experienced something that pretty much everyone at the game found disturbing. His team was very good that year, gaining the best record in their section, section one. As the section one winner, they were the top seed in the league playoffs, meaningContinue reading “A disturbing soccer game and some words teaching us to…Encourage one another, Part 1”
The important lesson pets can teach us about trust – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 4
My dog turned 9 years old earlier last month. It is likely he only has at most a few more years to live. That is to be expected. Dogs make it 12-15 years and die. It is sad. It will be sad. But many people get past the sadness, and they get a new dog. Continue reading “The important lesson pets can teach us about trust – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 4”
Are you struggling with fear? – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 2
Are things in our world getting worse? While politicians boldly declare that crime is on the rise, an FBI report says the opposite: “Not only has violent crime fallen 23% from 2002 to 2022, but also in the past year alone murders fell 6% and violent crime declined 2% overall.” (Source: Time) It can be difficultContinue reading “Are you struggling with fear? – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 2”
How God’s similarity to the Winter Soldier is of vital importance – Advent Psalm of Celebration
What mental image comes to your mind when you think of God? I suspect most people have images of God, and those images are almost certainly incorrect or inadequate. We view God as “the big man upstairs.” Or God is a Santa Claus kind of figure, or a white man with gray/white hair and a flowingContinue reading “How God’s similarity to the Winter Soldier is of vital importance – Advent Psalm of Celebration”
Advent and…the Psalms of Ascent, Part 5
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. How do the Songs of Ascent help us understand Advent? As I mentioned in the beginning of this series here, the Songs of Ascent wereContinue reading “Advent and…the Psalms of Ascent, Part 5”
The third leg of the journey into…The Psalms of Ascent, Part 4
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. The Third Antiphon (Chant) 130-134 At this point, this journey is on it’s last leg. The kids have fallen asleep. They’ve gotten cheerios allContinue reading “The third leg of the journey into…The Psalms of Ascent, Part 4”
The first leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 2
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. The First Antiphon (Chant) – Psalms of Ascent 120-124 The first section of the Psalms of Ascent is referred to by some scholars asContinue reading “The first leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 2”
Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5
This week we’ve studied the parallel structure of Psalm 30. We’ve found matching points here, here, and here, and now we are left with verse 6, for which there is no match. It is the center of the structure. Because it doesn’t have a match, that means it is David’s most important point. What does heContinue reading “Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5”
This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4
As we study Psalm 30 this week, we’re discovering it’s parallel structure. We found its first matching pair of lines here, and we found its second pair here. To search for its third coupling, we first look at verses 4-5. These two verses are loaded with praise to God because, David says, God’s favor that lastsContinue reading “This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4”
Engaging Scripture 