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4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. In all the vicissitudes of the Christian life, whether in attacks from terrorists, personality clashes among believers, persecution from the world, or threat of imminent death—all of which Paul himself was experiencing at this very time—the Christian……

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10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The path of least resistance is always the easiest- or so it seems. These days, it seems to me we are fixated onthe easy way out. Fast food. work from home. fast fix. new and improved is not always……

Finding Me This section has been called the “Gospel of the Outcast”. In the next 4 chapters Jesus will talk about tax collectors and sinners, Rich man and Lazarus, persistent widow, Pharisee and Tax Collector, Zaccheus. All outcasts.... These next 2 parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal……

We cannot be certain what verse 1 refers to. Tensions of the day made revolution possible at any time. Pontius Pilate did not get along with the Jews- he was insensitive to their religious convictions. He brought official Roman ensigns into Jerusalem and the Jews were angry with Caesar’s image in the……

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1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. “Then” is elsewhere translated,”at that time”. You may ask, “at what time?” . It is at the onset of the consummated Kingdom..... we have been looking at Matthew’s parables, and repeatedly we have……

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. Kingdom servants serve a great king who has forgiven far more than they could ever forgvie each other.... so failure to forgive excludes one from the kingdom because this King’s kingdom has……

Matthew 13.24-43 Remember that the parable of the sower revealed that the kingdom is now making its way into hearts that are hard, with pressures, failure and yet produce crops. 24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,……

Is Jesus A Lousy Farmer? To run a germination test: Count out at least 20 randomly picked seeds (50 is better, 100 is best).Spread the seeds on several layers of premoistened paper toweling and roll them up in the paper so the seeds stay separated from one another.Place the roll into a plastic bag and……

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from……

Easton- listening to the Bridge on XM. Elton John came on. Easton asked, “What’s with the colored glasses?” We look at life through rose colored glasses... I recently saw a man from my hometown where my father was a police officer. He told me, my brother was brought home more than once by your dad because……

Olive Garden on Thursday Charles Templeton.- Fifty years later, Lee Strobel had an opportunity to interview Templeton, who had just a couple of more years to live. He was in his 80s and suffering from Alzheimer’s, but still a clear conversation parter. In A Case for Faith , Strobel recounts the ending……

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Fear- to be afraid, scared, frightened. Hills Dept. Store- probably 4 years old. I am out of the cart, holding mymothers hand.... and I let go to look at……

Psalm 23:3 (MSG) 3 you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Psalm 23:3 (ESV) 3 He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He puts me on a track that is right- that is His reputation.- Psalm 23.3b The Joel Version. Psalm 23:3 (ESV) He leads me in paths of righteousness……

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1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Restoring my soul. Restore- to bring back to its original existence, use, or position. Restored. 1939……

Leading Sheep 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. One of the clearest and yet overlooked concept of the scriptures is that sheep need a shepherd… they can’t do it without them. and Biblically speaking, God’s people are the sheep and He (and Jesus) are our shepherds.……

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. What does it mean that the Lord is my shepherd? If you were to take a shepherd from this time home with you today, he would have no concept of our culture or sociewty. He would not understand driving to a destination, the speed with which you drive.... grocery……

Daniel 1 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his……

You may have seen the Tom Hanks movie, “Cast Away”. The story line is that Hanks characterIs a time obsessed engineer for FedEx. He is in a long-term relationship with Kelly who he lives with in Memphis Tennessee. At a Christmas Eve party with relatives Chuck is called by FedEx to solve a problem in……

New Church. New People. Lady comes into my office. Told me off. “There’s the door. Use it” Lynyrd Skynyrd- Three Steps Toward The Door. I was cutting a rug Down at place called The Jug With a girl named Linda Lou When in walked a man With a gun in his hand And he was looking for you know who He said,……

3 “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Travel is something we all do. But two strangers would never be travelling together. People would not travel with people they did not know. Two matters would have to be settled first. They would have to “meet”… that is , to know each other. Secondly,……

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say……

Cardiac Rehab- 36 weeks. Diet Exercise Medication Exercise. Aerobic activity. Increasing incrementally over time. 1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?……

Hitchhiker’s Guide To Suffering 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Hope- He is not minimizing suffering or misery… He is finding the positive in it… Look at what he says prior to this.... Look at Lamentations 3.1-20 1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;……

Sheaf For a first centruy Jew, passover was the 60th day after passover. an agricultural festival. . the first sheaf from the wheat crop was offered to God- in gratitude and in prayer that the rest of the crop would be as good and safely gathered in. But they were more than agricultural festivals. They……

بقلم Westbrook Park United Methodist Church

بقلم Westbrook Park United Methodist Church

David. Yes, King David. 1 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” Again. Why again? Because earlier, in 21:1, God had been angry at Israel. And the “again” makes it a repeat of that.... you could say that Israel……

بقلم Westbrook Park United Methodist Church

بقلم Westbrook Park United Methodist Church

بقلم Westbrook Park United Methodist Church