'denominations' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood…” vss. 4-5a 1 Peter 2:2-6 Travelers to Israel and Palestine often find themselves being bussed from one ancient ruin to another. While some historic sites have been partially reconstructed, most remain destroyed, maybe just a pile of rocks at the bottom of an archeological dig. Leaders…
Daily Devotions
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” vs. 29 Galatians 3:27-29 Guided by the Spirit, Paul had developed a magnificent vision of unity in the Church that aligned perfectly with the desires of Jesus for his followers. He knew that the congregations of Galatia were a mixture of Jews and Greeks, slave and free, and men and…
Daily Devotions
I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” vss. 20-21 John 17:20-23 John reports that Jesus spent his last evening with his disciples praying for unity, not only in their little group,…
Daily Devotions: March 14, 2020
March 14, 2020 John 4:14-26 … “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.’” vs. 21 During the time of Jesus’ ministry, it was inconceivable for both Jews and Samaritans that worship would take place anywhere but in Jerusalem or on Mt. Gerazim. That’s the way things had been done for centuries! But with the Roman response to the Jewish insurrection and the destruction…
Daily Devotions: January 17, 2020
January 17, 2020 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 1:6-9 … “God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” vs. 9 When we think about the Church, it has become second nature to think of it in terms of denominations–we tend to identify as Baptists, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, etc., or maybe generically as Evangelicals. Paul wouldn’t have known what we were talking about! In those days there was no common…
Daily Devotions: May 30, 2019
May 30, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 1:1-11 …“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” vs. 8 After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples still had the parochial notion that his mission had been simply a prelude to the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. That was as much as they could comprehend.…
Daily Devotions: May 19, 2019
May 19, 2019 For full passage click: John 13:34-35 …“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” vs. 35 During those exciting first centuries of the Church’s existence, apostles and evangelists went all over the Mediterranean world and beyond, proclaiming the powerful message of God’s universal grace and unconditional love. Thousands were convicted by the Spirit and were baptized into the Body of Christ. And then the leaders of these fledgling…
Daily Devotions: December 28, 2018
December 28, 2018 To read full passage click: Colossians 3:12-17 …“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” vs. 12 Imagine what an impact Christianity could have had on the world if God’s chosen ones had actually sought to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Suppose these had been our identifying marks rather than doctrines about the nature of Christ, or a proper understanding of the Trinity? Of…
Daily Devotions: September 29, 2018
September 29, 2018 Mark 9:38-41 …“But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.’” vs. 39 The disciples had a territorial streak in them. They wanted to be the sole proprietors of the Jesus movement and they didn’t want anyone else horning in on their business. And Jesus could care less! He didn’t even care particularly if people joined his…
Daily Devotions: March 11, 2018
March 11, 2018 John 3:19-21 … “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” vs. 19 The contrast between light and darkness was an important one in the gospel of John. In his prologue he describes the Word as the light of the world, a light which darkness was not able to overcome. In this section, he tells his readers that even though…
Daily Devotions: March 10, 2018
March 10, 2018 John 3:14-18 …“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” vss. 14-15 We can wonder a lot about the writers of the gospels, who they were and why they were motivated to write. Obviously they never guessed that the simple stories they put together would face the unrelenting scrutiny of Greek scholars around the world. But…
Daily Devotions: March 9, 2018
March 9, 2018 Ephesians 2:6-10 … “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” vs. 10 God hasn’t given us all of these amazing gifts of grace as an exercise in generosity; but—because God is madly in love with us, and there’s a method to God’s madness. In Christ Jesus, specifically in his resurrection, there’s been a new creation in which we were…
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