Tag: blessings
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People Past
Read: Psalm 25; Isaiah 25:6-9; Philippians 3:20-21; John 6:37-40 🔎 Focus “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” John 6:40 (NRSVue) Those who have died, that have been a direct…
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Future Tensely
Psalm 126; Isaiah 40:1-11; Romans 8:22-25 Have you realized that Advent is weird? I love Advent, don’t get me wrong. However, the world has done a successful job of retraining us on what Advent is all about. Partially, I think, this is because of the image of an unthreatening baby Jesus with lambs, other baby…
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Hear the Roar
Psalm 85:8–13; Amos 3:1–12; Colossians 4:2–18 The Psalm speaks of the land of Israel having God’s blessings. It needed it. God’s blessing was both a protection and a source of bounty. The gist is that if Israel’s people were being blessed by the land, including peace from war, bountiful crops, and growing families, then God…
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No or Many Blessings
Psalm 20; Numbers 6:22–27; Mark 4:21–25 You may know the song, “Count your blessings, one by one…” The “Aaronic” blessing outlined in Numbers is one of my favorites. As a pastor, I will default to it at appropriate times (such as the end of a church service). First, of course, it is the one used…
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Inside Fruit
Psalm 115; Exodus 28:29–38; Philippians 1:3–11 The Holy Spirit as gift can often lead us to wonder if the Israelites ever had the Holy Spirit or spiritual gifts of any sort. The answer is some did and some didn’t. The Urim and Thummim were used by the high priest to make decisions regarding the will…
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Blessing of Blessings
Psalm 23; Genesis 30:25–43; Acts 3:17–26 “You’ve been such a blessing in my life!” Hopefully, you have said that to at least one person in your life. Even more so, would be for someone to say that to you. In both cases…and mean it. Laban and Jacob were the perfect foils for one another. Both…
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Roads of Dust
Psalm 135; Isaiah 26:1–15; Mark 12:18–27 As one of the wealthy nations in the world, passages like this in Isaiah should cause us to reflect. Will all our stuff be crushed to dust and be walked upon by the poor? If you’re reading this, you may well say, “I am poor.” Truly a lot of…
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Community Essentials
Psalm 133; John 20:19–31; Acts 4:32–35; 1 John 1:1–2:2 Security is a very important thing. In many respects, a number of the high-profile political arguments are over what exactly is security. Differing opinions of what includes security and the perception of who is responsible for such security can really create the potential for discord. The…