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Posts tagged Christian
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is one of the most beloved Christmas hymns of all time. The lyrics were written by Charles Wesley in 1739 while the music was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840. Let’s look at a few stanzas of this beautiful carol:
Hark! The herald angels sing, ”Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
“God and sinners reconciled” through Christ. This is the true meaning of Christmas and the true meaning of Christianity. Jesus Christ was sent “through the tender mercy of our God to give light to those who sit More >
Catching Life
In Matthew 8:22, Jesus responds to the disciple, ”Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”
Many people think Jesus is lacking compassion for a dying man when He tells the disciple to let the dead bury their dead. However, Jesus is asking a question in the form of a statement, “Why do we continue to follow after death rather than follow after life?” The only thing death brings is more death. However, Jesus Christ ends that continuous cycle of death. Death has met its match. The problem that many of us face is that we are addicted to death! We More >
Making Jesus Wait
In Matthew 8:21, Another of the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
We always want to do the right thing after we accomplish our personal goals and plans. This disciple had a reasonable request to bury his dad but the problem is why does something need to happen first before we follow Jesus. It usually takes some kind of life changing event, sometimes tragic, for us to realize how much we need Jesus. We come up with all types of prerequisites before following Jesus. Some people want to finish school first, some want to get More >
Well Done
In Matthew 25:21, Jesus continues to say, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”
As a child, we wanted approval from our parents. I don’t think that ever changes. We will always look up to the ones who raised us. There are people who will say they hate their parents or want nothing to do with them, but they are the same ones who work their hardest and then get the most frustrated when they get no recognition from More >
Judas – the Tragedy (Matthew 26
Matthew 26 contains what detail we have about Judas. Today, as we continue our walk through Matthew, let’s consider all the passages about Judas together. Read …
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3: 13 – 15)
It is much more likely that Judas kissed Jesus as a disciple kissed a master and meant it, and that More >
The Core – Hosea 4:1 – 6:3 (Week 8
We are in Hosea’s second message … Hosea 4:1 – 6:3.
In Lesson 1 of our Hosea study, we observed that the people were perishing because there was no knowledge of God in the land. Today, let’s consider the responsibility carried by the priests for that condition. I am not sure if the religious leaders go the way of the people … or if the people go the way of the religious leaders. In the NIV, verse 9 says, “Like people, like priests” which makes me think that the religious leaders just made themselves say and do whatever the people More >
Costs of Discipleship
In Matthew 8:20, Jesus said to the disciple, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
It is interesting how Jesus responds to the people who say they want to follow Him. He told them exactly what it would cost them. He told them following Him would require them giving up their own very lives. Today, that message isn’t really taught. We call Jesus the Great Physician but when we go to the doctor, after we are healed we go on about our daily lives. We don’t follow our physicians around or More >
Spiritual Adultery – Hosea 1:10 – 3:5 (Week 7
Read Hosea 1:10 – 3:5.
Hosea 1:10 begins chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible so begin there as you read today’s passage.
Adultery is an horrific sin. Any of you who have walked there know the pain. Any of you who have watched people you love walk there know something of the pain. Relationships are torn apart … families are ripped wide open … it is all about loss. That is just on the physical level. Hosea lives out the physical form so that Israel will have a live demonstration of the spiritual form. As a nation … as God’s chosen More >
Being Prepared At All Times
In Matthew 25:19, Jesus says, “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.”
We don’t know when a lot of things will happen. One of the things I hate the most is mail-in rebates. I never know when I will actually receive the money they promised. Some of them say six to eight weeks but instead feel like six to eight years. It seems however more the money is, the longer it takes to get the rebate. When we are given a position of leadership or any type of responsibility, we are to More >
Extravagant Love (Matthew 26
As we enter Matthew 26, we become witnesses to the last act in the story of Jesus’ physical life in our space-time continuum. The prophecies have been fulfilled … the scene has been established … the pattern has been set … the teaching has been done … the sacrifice has been prepared … it is time.
This chapter is long – 75 verses. The individual events happening in rapid-fire momentum are many – at least 9. I plan to organize thoughts around character studies. Therefore, we may jump around a bit in the text rather than read straight through. As More >
