In our teen class on Sunday mornings, we are studying the Book of Ezra. In Ezra chapter 3, we read of how the returning exiles built an altar and began offering sacrifices to the Lord. After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals…

Over the last few weeks we looked at clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. These are all good attributes that should mark the life of every Christian. But as important as it is to display these character traits it is just as important that we never compromise our faith in God or…

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. What does it look like to clothe yourself with patience? I’m probably the last person you would look at to see what being clothed in patience looks like. If we read further, we see in verse…

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Philippians 4:5 reminds the church: Let your gentleness be evident to all… Gentleness as spoken of here means Christ-like consideration for others. We are to be gentle (reasonable, fair-minded) to those outside the church as well as to one another. Paul,…

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Here, Paul, inspired by God, is warning against the pride, self-centeredness,…

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Kindness is a synonym of compassion. Kindness is the sign of a loving heart, one of the greatest of all virtues. A kind person is pleasant, good, and gracious – always appreciated. There’s a lot of talk these…

Colossians 3:12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Paul, inspired by God, often used the metaphor of putting on clothes when instructing us to adopt the Christian way of life. The use of this analogy of donning clothes tells us a lot about the choices we must make…

1 Corinthians 11:18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. In 1 Corinthians chapters 11-14 Paul, inspired by God, addresses problems pertaining to the assembly, when the Corinthians come together. These include disputes about attire in worship (11:2-16), abuses…

Galatians 2:20 states: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. This isn’t a one-time event, but a continual process of becoming more Christ-like…

Luke 4:25-27 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were…