'Growth' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;” vs. 31 Mark 4:30-33 Preachers have generally liked Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. It’s relatively short and seemingly easy to understand–and it provides an opportunity for dragging out a seed or two and talking about how they grow. But still there are questions. Is Jesus talking about the Church? It’s unlikely since there was no Church when he…
Daily Devotions
And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” vss. 11-12 Mark 1:9-15 Mark is a “bare bones” gospel. As the first to be written it charts Jesus’ ministry from baptism through resurrection, but leaves the teaching and parables to Matthew and Luke. Here Jesus gets no time at all to bask in the glory of his baptismal experience–immediately he is…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 126:4-6 … “Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.” vs. 6 The psalmist had amazing insights about the journey of life, and he didn’t even have access to Dr. Laura or self-help books. There weren’t theologians or psychologists available for consultation–he had only the stories of his people and assorted wisdom sayings gleaned from various Hebrew sages. But those sources and his own observations inspired his…
Daily Devotions: May 7, 2020
May 7, 2020 1 Peter 2:1-5 … “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” vs. 5 There have been some who have railed against the closing of churches in this time of quarantine, claiming that it is an aggressive act by an oppressive government. Others have laughed at the notion that any agency could have the power to close the church,…
Daily Devotions: February 14, 2020
February 14, 2020 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 … “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” vss. 6-7 Ever since the first mission starts were established by the Apostles in the Eastern Mediterranean area, the Church has been plagued by what might be called “the cult of personality.” Paul had to deal with it in Corinth.…
Daily Devotions: September 22, 2018
September 22, 2018 Mark 9:30-32 …“But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” vs. 32 The arrest and crucifixion of Jesus came as a jolt to his disciples. They had anticipated triumph and success, a great victory over the dominating oppressive powers. But after the resurrection, when it became apparent to them that Jesus was indeed the Christ, some of them remembered that he had talked about persecution and suffering while he was…