July 12, 2015. Daily Reading: I Thessalonians 1-3. Background: The first letter that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians is believed to be one of his earliest letters, probably written before 52 AD, and as such, it is one of the first books in the New Testament. The church in Thessalonica was founded in Acts 17:1-19 on…
Tag: love
Colossians 3-4: A new life.
July 5, 2015. Daily Reading: Colossians 3-4. Background: Colossians 1-2. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 3 1. The new self: Continuing on from the discussion in the previous chapter about dying to our old selves, being buried with Christ in baptism and raising anew just as He did on the third day, Paul expounds on the…
I Corinthians 14-16: Worship, the resurrection and salutations.
April 5, 2015. Daily Reading: I Corinthians 14-16. Background: I Corinthians 12-13. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 14 1. Prophecy verses speaking in tongues: The church in Corinth was a church in which many of the members were blessed with spiritual gifts. It seems that this blessing had lead to dispute and chaos in the assembly, which…
I Corinthians 12-13: A better way.
March 29, 2015. Daily Reading: I Corinthians 12-13. Background: I Corinthians 11. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 12 1. Spiritual gifts: The Corinthian church was a church that was literally full of the Holy Spirit. Many of the members in Corinth had been given the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and were workers of supernatural miracles such…
I Corinthians 9-10: Reality check.
March 15, 2015. Daily Reading: I Corinthians 9-10. Background: I Corinthians 7-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. Paul’s defense to the Corinthians: In this chapter, Paul defends his apostleship and talks about his and Barnabas’ rights in the Lord in comparison to the rest of the body of Christ. Two things may have been at…
I Corinthians 4-6: Judgement and love.
March 1, 2015. Daily Reading: I Corinthians 4-6. Background: I Corinthians 1-3. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 4 1. Stewards and judgment: In the previous chapters, Paul addresses the Corinthian church’s problem with forming factions and elevating certain men, like himself and Apollos, above others and following them in pride as opposed to seeking the unity of…
The same God, Old and New.
December 29, 2014. Sometimes when we look at the allegedly striking differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament we can almost get two different pictures of God. We see His character in the Old Testament and usually focus on His righteous and wrathful side and then we flip over to the New Testament…
Choices.
December 27, 2014. Choices. We all are given choices, and we make decisions on a daily basis. Some choices decide major things in our lives and steer us down a path that would never have happened had we not made one simple choice. Others have little to do with our future selves and satisfy our…
Hymnnotes: The Love of God.
December 6, 2014. Today I would like to comment on a beloved hymn that is actually one of my sister’s favorites. The hymn has a deep message of the everlasting, profound love of God and details it in such beautiful language. When I was younger, I could not help but imagine what the writer was…
Hymnnotes: When My Love to Christ Grows Weak.
November 28, 2014. For a while now I have wanted to do a series on some of my favorite hymns with a running commentary on the verses as they unfold. I believe singing to be one of the best ways to worship our Lord, and music has throughout the centuries both captivated and touched the…
5 Characteristics of a love like Christ’s.
November 17, 2014. There is little debate that one of the central messages in the gospels is the love of Christ. This love is what brought Him down to earth, to teach to a world that was pretty hard of hearing and to eventually lay down His life as a ransom for all who would…
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
November 14, 2014. “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 