In the Book of Proverbs (NIV) the exact phrase “the fear of the Lord” appears 10 times. This is great advice from our heavenly father. The “fear of the Lord” is a good motto for life. It is a preamble for wise living. Reverence for the Lord has an ingredient of fear, although it is…

Matthew 19:7-8 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual…

Paul’s address to the people of Athens in Acts chapter 17 is a good example of how to communicate the gospel. Paul did not begin by reciting Israel’s history, as he usually did, for this would have been meaningless to his Greek audience (know your audience). He began by building a case for the one…

Mark 7:11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) Corban is the transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning “offering”. By using this word in a religious vow an irresponsible Judean son could formally dedicate to God (i.e., to…

This Sunday morning’s sermon will focus on the story of Achan recorded in Joshua chapters 6-8. By choosing to satisfy his own personal desires, which conflicted with God’s will, he stole that which was “devoted to destruction” and so brought destruction on others.  Achan’s sin did not only affect Him but also affected the whole nation….

Matthew 12:1-2 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” The Pharisees had established 39 categories of actions forbidden…

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity…Hebrews 2:14. The Book of Hebrews goes further than any other New Testament book in explaining Jesus’ human nature. Hebrews 2:17 tells us that Jesus was “fully human in every way”. In sharing our humanity, Jesus experienced all of the struggles each of us face,…

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. A lot of us have viewed this passage in the context of the…

Matthew 27:52-53 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Christ’s death was accompanied by at least four miraculous events (Matthew 27:45-53): darkness, the tearing…

Hebrews 3:13 – But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Please italicize the previous… doing this on my phone & it won’t let me do it) As Christians we should strive to encourage one another daily. One way to…