When memory fades and recognition falters, when eyes we love grow dim and minds confused, speak to our souls of love that never alters; speak to our hearts, by pain and fear abused. O God of life and healing peace, empower us with patient courage, by your grace infused. As frailness grows, and youthful strengths […]
Sermon for Bobbie Hansen’s Funeral: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Remember the Resurrection
November 21, 2014 by
Acts, Lesson 22: The Ugly Intersection of Religion and Money
November 19, 2014 by
Paul is still in Ephesus, preaching, teaching, and being an evangelist. Earlier, after three months of proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah in the synagogue, many of the Jews there became flustered with Paul. Today, we learn that many Gentiles became angry with Paul, but in a way where monetary income was as important (or more […]
Matthew 25:14-30: A Talent is What?
November 19, 2014 by
In today’s church, especially when dealing with the topic of stewardship, this phrase rolls off our tongue like water: “Time, talents, and treasure.” When we say that, we think that a talent is an ability we have, or an ability we’ve cultivated. But that’s not a talent in the Bible. A talent was the amount […]
The Theology of Suffering
November 15, 2014 by
Today’s lesson comes from a request to explore how to understand suffering in our lives. How are we to view suffering and, then, based on such a view, handle the suffering that comes our way? The Theology of Glory versus the Theology of the Cross Before we look into suffering, we need to look […]
Acts, Lesson 21: Paul Still in Ephesus–Healing through Paul’s Facecloths and Work Aprons
November 13, 2014 by
Paul Still in Ephesus–Healing through Paul’s Facecloths and Work Aprons By Pr Rich Futrell Paul Serving as Evangelist and Pastor Read Acts 19:8 In Ephesus, where does Paul first go? How long does he stay preaching and teaching there? What does this say about the resistance that Paul first experienced there? Read […]
Amos 5:18-24, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: The Day of the Lord
November 11, 2014 by
When we imagine the prophets of old, we often see a fire-and-brimstone preacher breathing out God’s judgment and wrath. And that’s what Amos did in our Old-Testament reading for today. He warned the people of Israel about the “Day of the Lord,” realized in all its fullness when God would judge the entire world. Other […]
The Personhood of the Human
November 8, 2014 by
Today’s lesson comes from a question asking, “What’s the difference between a person’s soul and his spirit?” To look at that, we’ll look at how Scripture, primarily the New Testament, describes who a human is in his personhood. The Soul distinguished from Heart and Mind Matthew 22:37: [Jesus answering what is the greatest Commandment]: “Love […]
Acts, Lesson 20: In Ephesus: Confirmation and Speaking in Tongues
November 5, 2014 by
Paul in Ephesus In the last Lesson, we saw Luke hurriedly describe many events in passing (Acts 18:22-23), wanting to bring us to Ephesus. Luke now does that, telling us what took place there with the Apostle Paul. Ephesus was located in what today is the western coast of Turkey. It was the fourth largest […]
Revelation 7:9-17: Now and Not Yet, but also with the Saints and Archangels
November 2, 2014 by
If you look at the Church with the eyes of your body, the Church can often be a despicable mess. Think of how one hymn describes her: “Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed” (LSB 644, stanza 3). And that hymn doesn’t even mention the […]
Why go to Church?
November 1, 2014 by
This lesson topic stems from the idea that if God is a loving God, then why do we “have” to come to church? Like last week’s lesson on “God’s rest” for us from the book of Hebrews (4:1), we also look in the book of Hebrews to understand why God tells us not to neglect […]
