The Coming R.S. Thomas And God held in his hand A small globe. Look he said. The son looked. Far off, As through water, he saw A scorched land of fierce Colour. The light burned There; crusted buildings Cast their shadows: a bright Serpent, a river Uncoiled itself, radiant With slime. On a bare Hill […]
You Can’t See in the Dark but You Can Hear (continued)
JOHN: HEARING IS BELIEVING Gospel of John, Chapter 3 In his one-on-one conversation with Jesus, in the dark of night and spirit, Nicodemus the Law-keeper has heard the astonishing news that seeing the Kingdom of God will not be achieved by more obedience to regulations. Starting over with a new heart will not be accomplished […]
You Can’t See in the Dark but You Can Hear
JOHN: HEARING IS BELIEVING Gospel of John, Chapter 3 Dwelling among us, the Word met and interacted with real people. Often, Jesus spoke with individuals one-on-one and communicated the message each needed to hear. John tells about one of those conversations in chapter 3, verses 1-21. A man named Nicodemus sought Jesus out to talk […]
Baptized in shallow water
When I was one of the boys I needed to make a choice Scared of Hell, I didn’t want to burn I made the choice, said yes to the Savior Got my ticket out and felt much safer So did others and the pastor assembled us to learn He said we should be baptized the […]
Listen, it can’t be the same as it ever was (continued)
JOHN: HEARING IS BELIEVING Gospel of John, Chapter 2 Just before the great Passover celebration, Jesus went to Jerusalem. He entered the Temple court. Various animals were being sold for sacrificing in the Temple. Moneychangers were taking foreign currencies in exchange for local money which could be used to purchase the sacrificial animals. In the […]
Listen, it can’t be the same as it ever was
JOHN: HEARING IS BELIEVING Gospel of John, Chapter 2 The Word began to be heard. John the Baptist began the conversation. His icebreaker was, “Look, the one who takes away the sin of the world” (chapter 1, verse 29). He identified Jesus as “the Son of God” (verse 34) and “the Lamb of God” (verses […]
Here’s a word for you (continued)
Gospel of John, Chapter 1 Continuing with the first chapter of the Gospel of John, declaring that our Creator has spoken to us with the Word – the eternal Son became a flesh and blood human and named Jesus. This is all true. John saw it. “We have seen his glory,” he writes (verse 14). […]
Here’s a word for you
JOHN: HEARING IS BELIEVING This begins a series of studies in the Gospel of John. I’m not going to cover every verse or even every chapter. Mostly it will be about various encounters Jesus had with people, personal experiences and John’s messages from the Spirit to us. I pray we will hear these messages for […]
RUTH: FINDING REST
The Old Testament book “Ruth” is a story set “when the judges ruled” (1:1), the period covered in the book “Judges.” It was written later during the monarchy since King David is mentioned at the close. “Ruth” is a beautiful story. There are three main characters: Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. Naomi was the wife of […]
FOLLOWING JESUS – WHAT YOU’RE IN FOR
Matthew 8:18 – 10:42 After Jesus preached the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7), the people who heard what he had to say were overwhelmed by his teaching. They were so powerfully impacted because “he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29 NIV). Shortly thereafter, Jesus […]