We now find the warm and friendly tone of 2 Corinthians 8-9 change. Having dealt with the misunderstandings between the Corinthians and he and Timothy (1:12-7:16), and having requested the Corinthian congregation to participate in the collection for the Jerusalem saints (8:1-9:15), Paul now focuses on the unrepentant minority who have embraced the “super-apostles” (11:13). […]
Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-6: Faith Receives What God Wants to Give
December 9, 2015 by
To plant a seed, you make a small hole in the ground, put the seed in it, and cover it with soil. But then you have to wait until the seed germinates, for until then, there’s nothing that you can see. And so a planted seed gives us a beautiful picture of faith. Waiting for […]
Genesis 3:1-15: The Promised Seed and Serpent-Crusher
December 2, 2015 by
Everyone has a family tree. And when you know who’s in your family tree, you get a better sense of your family, and how that shaped your mother and father. And that, in turn, even lets you know something about yourself. But does it surprise you to know that God also has a family tree? […]
Jeremiah 33:14-16: The Righteous Branch is King, Temple, and City
November 29, 2015 by
Where do you live? But more than that, what place do you call “home”? Today that may be a murky question to answer. For we live in a mobile society. Almost all of you grew up somewhere else and moved here. Most of your children don’t live here. Our mobile society keeps us moving—and often […]
2 Corinthians, Lesson 14: God the Source and God the Receiver
November 29, 2015 by
Christian giving flows from God’s grace changing us by the Gospel. Flowing from Christ’s gifts to us, the Christian gives as he is able. This flows from grace, not guilt. Yes, the Law makes us aware of how God wants us to live, but it’s the Gospel and empowers and moves us to do so. […]
Deuteronomy 8:1-10: Thanksgiving
November 25, 2015 by
It’s tempting for Americans to read Deuteronomy 8 and think that it’s all about us. Moses writes about a good land, “a land with rivers and deep springs flowing forth into the valleys and hills.” He writes of a land of wheat, barley, and many others foods. But wait, there’s more. Moses also says that […]
The Value of Patient Endurance
November 24, 2015 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for the December 2015-January 2016 edition of our congregational newsletter. Recently, we’ve had some discussion about singing Christmas hymns during Advent. Advent is from the first Sunday after Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. Christmas is from December 25 to January 6. So, we’ll still let Advent be Advent, a season […]
Matthew 25:1-13: What Faith Does and How It Lives
November 22, 2015 by
Hear the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In that parable, Jesus tells us that the women are all “virgins.” That was His way of saying that they were still unmarried. So, Jesus tells us about ten virgins, ten young women who have not yet married, waiting for their wedding and the wedding reception to follow. […]
2 Corinthians, Lesson 13: The Delegation Coming to Corinth
November 21, 2015 by
Unlike some of our translations, what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 (last week’s lesson) began and ended with God’s grace. Paul finished vs. 9 opened ended, moving from Jesus’ self-giving love to how the Corinthians will channel the grace overflowing to them in Christ Jesus to others. Now, Paul goes back to the topic […]
Titus, Lesson 6: Paul’s Conclusion in His Letter to Pastor Titus
November 19, 2015 by
Having told Titus what he was to teach (“speak”) to various groups in the congregation at Crete, Paul now moves into what God’s salvation for us means for all Christians. How the Christian is to live in the World Read Titus 3:1-2 “Remind them”: Remind is an imperative verb, a command. This is what […]
