The season of Epiphany begins with an underhanded Herod and the visit of the “wise men,” Magi, to the infant Jesus. In a way, Herod is like the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, who stood in God’s way, attempting to keep His children enslaved. So, the Exodus is more than a historical event, also serving as […]
The Theology of Suffering (Bad Things Happening to Good People)
December 1, 2018 by
This is the Sunday School Lesson for Dec 2, 2018, changed because of events in the life of our congregation. The only difference from this and the lesson used is this one lacks the graphics. The Theology of Glory versus the Theology of the Cross Before we look into suffering, we need to look […]
Making Sense of God when Our World Doesn’t
October 29, 2018 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter for November 2018. In our grief, we sigh, “Why, Lord?” Such words formed in my mouth when Dean Webb died, with Sandy, his wife, a short time later. Today, as I write this article, I still am grappling with losing them both. Though I am a pastor, God sends […]
A Lesson on Grieving
September 16, 2018 by
With two deaths within a week, a lesson like this made sense. For when someone you know and love dies, you suffer an enormous sense of loss. It is like an amputation. Initially, there’s a sharp pain. Eventually, there’s healing—but there’s always a loss. Grief is the expression of this loss, which someone can express […]
John: Lesson 9: The Food of God’s Kingdom (John 6:25 – 71)
July 11, 2018 by
Jesus is back in Galilee with another Passover soon approaching. He crossed over the Sea of Galilee and a crowd follows Him there. Hungry, Jesus took five loaves and seven fish and multiplied them to feed a crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children. Both Jesus and His disciples leave and the crowd follows […]
John: Lesson 8: Jesus Feeds a Crowd to … (John 6:1 – 24)
July 11, 2018 by
In John 2, Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover (John 2:24, 4:43-44). Now we find almost a year has elapsed and Jesus is back in Galilee with another Passover soon approaching. This shows us John leaves out a lot, including the more important points we need (John 20:31). Jesus Feeds a Crowd Read John […]
Unnoticed Connections in Scripture, Lesson 5: Numbers Continued
May 24, 2018 by
In this lesson, we continue exploring the significance of numbers in the Bible. For we find specific numbers coming up over and again throughout Scripture. For example, God commanded His people to celebrate seven festivals in the Old Covenant—four during spring and three in the autumn. These three fall festivals all took place in the […]
John: Lesson 7: Jesus Goes to “Court” (John 5:30-47)
May 24, 2018 by
After Jesus heals a paralyzed man on the Sabbath, others begin to oppose Him publicly. Jesus refutes the charges of violating the Sabbath based on His identity as the faithful Son who only does what He receives from the Father. “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the […]
John: Lesson 6: Opposition to Jesus becomes Public (John 5:1-29)
May 14, 2018 by
Up until now, Jesus has mostly been working with individuals, but in this section of the Gospel, His ministry begins to engage with larger groups, both followers and dissenters. In John 5, Jesus begins by healing a paralyzed man on the Sabbath (5:1-9). This event becomes a spark to ignite the public opposition against Him […]
Unnoticed Connections in Scripture: Lesson 4: Numbers
May 10, 2018 by
Counting in Hebrew The Hebrew language didn’t use numbers. Instead, letters took on the task of denoting numerical values. Like Roman numerals, each letter denotes a value (“I” = one; “V” = five; “X” = 10, and so on). To write a number, one combined different letters. A development, which took place within the languages […]
