Ode 13
1. Behold, the Lord is our mirror. Open your eyes and see them in Him.
2. And learn the manner of your face, then declare praises to His Spirit.
3. And wipe the paint from your face, and love His holiness and put it on.
4. Then you will be unblemished at all times with Him.
Hallelujah.
In this week’s sermon notes, I pointed out how the complaint about Jesus going to the home of Zaccheus was a distraction from the plot of the story. The same is true today. When religious people start scrutinizing other believers for what they feel are flaws in their doctrine and publish their criticism, they steal attention away from what Jesus is doing through the ministry of those they criticize. In fact, I cannot help but think that some people criticize others that God uses in a big way, not only for jealousy, but in order to draw attention to themselves. read more…
Luke 19:1-10
[And, behold,] He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; [and] he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. [And] Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. [And] he ran on ahead, climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. read more…
Do you feel like you are on an inevitable path to destruction ? In this study we learn through the example of Biblical narratives that we do have a choice and that we can get “unstuck” from habitually destructive practices. Chuck teaches the importance of practicing silent prayer and thus learning to respond vs. react in critical life moments and decisions.
Ezekiel 33:10-11
Now as for you Son of man, say to the house of Israel, “Thus you have spoken, saying, ‘Surely our transgresions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?’ Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn form his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'”
INTRO: I always get frustrated when reading the few chapters of 1 Kings read more…
Colossians 4:7-18
INTRO: We come to end of letter where we run into all these names
These short lists resemble the lists we’ve been putting together here at Reflexion
the purpose is to connect with each other
This is the human face of the church read more…
Colossians 4:2-6
INTRO: I received one of the best emails ever
A guy involved in ministry – got divorced and then went off the deep end
One morning, miserable, he remembered a sermon of mine that had meant something to him
So he looked for me on Google
The first hit, he said, was a negative one that included a printed transcript of a talk I had given read more…
Colossians 3:18-41
INTRO: When Jesus began his public ministry, he quickly became popular
People crowded streets, came to the seashore, or climbed mountains to be near him
Then he returned to Nazareth, where he faced toughest crowd
Mt. 13:57, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” read more…
Daily Meditations From the Scriptures