Digging Deeper~ 5th Sunday after Pentecost

Gen. 24:34-38,42-49,58-67: The search, founding and marriage of Rebekah to Isaac.

Ps. 45:10-17: The marriage of the King.

or Ps. 72: Prayer for the King that he will be blessed, so that he can bless and care for the land & it's people.

Rom. 7:15-25a: Paul speaks of the war between our spirit & flesh.

Mat. 11:16-19,25-30:Jesus calls to all to listen and follow his words. Then He prays for his followers.

There are 2 messages here. They are...

1. The message is marriage. In the Old Testament we read of how a faithful servant goes out to seek, find & bring back a wife for Isaac who marries her (Gen. 24:34-38, 42-42-49,58-67). In Psalms  45:10-17,we read about the marriage of a king to his bride. You see we as Christians are the bride of Christ. Part of what Jesus was doing when he came to earth, lived here, taught people how to live, died & rose from the dead. He was doing it all for his spiritual bride which is his followers. We prove that we are his bride when we listen and follow his teachings. 

2. The second message that could be given is about the king and how he rules and cares for his people. In Psalms 72, we read a prayer for a king. This prayer asks God to bless the king , so that he can care for and bless the people and the land that he rules over. Jesus can be the  King of our lives. If we make him our King he will take care of us and he will bless us and the land. . We need this king to help us to fight the battles that happen between our spirit & our flesh (Rom. 7:15-25a). 

Challenge of the week:

Will you make Jesus your groom or your king this week? He is seeking a bride which is the church. And he is is seeking people to be in his kingdom. Will that be you? How will you help that happen this week? Will you go and tell someone about Jesus this week, so that they may become part of Jesus' family or kingdom? 

Accomplishment of the week: 

What did you do to accomplish this challenge?

Digging Deeper~ 4th Sunday after Pentecost

Gen. 22:1-14: God tests Abraham to see if he loved God more than his son. How? He asked him to sacrifice his promised son to him. when Abraham showed that he was willing to do so, God provided a ram to sacrifice instead. or Jer. 28:5-9: Prophecy of God  bringing back the vessels back to the house of God now that I have broken the hold that Babylon had on his people.  Ps. 13: A prayer of a someone who is feeling down.  Or  Ps. 89:1-4,15-18 :I will sing of thy faithfulness of mercies to those who live righteously.  Rom. 6:12-23: God made men free from sin. If you have been freed from sin, do not practice it any longer. Mat. 10:40-42: Jesus told his followers that He would reward all who received his righteous followers. The theme is righteousness. Abraham was found to be righteous, because he showed that he loved God more than the son in whom God promised him (Gen. 22:1-14). There is a song in Psalms that speaks of God's faithfulness of mercies to those who live righteous lives (Ps. 89:1-4, 15-18). But this promise was hard to achieve because we as humans are born slaves to sin. I believe that is one reason Palms 13 was written. Because he realized this. But we do not have to stay in that sad state. Why? Because through Jesus God made it possible to be able to be freed from our slavery (Rom. 6:12-23). When that happens it is like when God broke the Jewish's time of slavery under Babylon and brought the vessels back to the temple to allow them to worship Him again (Jeremiah 28:5-9). Jesus told his followers that there was a reward to those who received and helped a righteous person (Mat. 10:40-42). Challenge of the week: Are you a slave to sin? If so go to God and ask to be set free through Jesus Christ.  As a Christian you should lean on The Holy Spirit to help you live out the life of righteousness. Also know as right doing. How does that look? Read the Bible to see what that looks like. Many of Paul's books tells you how a righteous person should act.  Accomplishment of the week: What did you accomplish this week? How?

Digging Deeper~ 3rd Sunday after Pentecost

Gen. 21:18-21:  Hagar is a slave, she did as her masters told her to do & got thrown out into the wilderness. Her son cries for lack of water. God hears the cries of Hagar's son and provides water. God makes this son of a slave the father of a nation.

Ps. 86:1-10,16-17:A prayer that Hagar could have prayed. 

Rom. 6:1b-11: We are to be dead to sin, so that we can be free from slavery to it. 

Mat. 10:24-39: A disciple should strive to be like the teacher. The slave should strive to be like the slave. How we should strive to endure hardships for Christ's sake. 

Hagar was an obedient slave. She had a child just like her masters asked her. When she acted mean to her Mistress she was thrown out into the wilderness with her son. When they became thirsty in the wilderness and Hagar thought that her son would die for lack of water, she cried out to God (Gen. 18-1). We see what could have been her prayer in Psalms 86:1-10, 16-17). We too have been slaves, salves of sin. But because of what Jesus did for us, we can be free from the slavery of sin (Rom. 6:1b-11). Now we serve Jesus freely. Not because we have to, but because we want to because he freed us from sin. Let us strive to be like Jesus our Master of choice (Mat. 10:24-39).

Change of the week:

Let us strive to be more like Jesus who is our teacher & master.How do you think you can do that?

Accomplishment of the week:

What did you do this week to become more like Jesus?

Digging Deeper~ 2ed Sunday after Pentecost

Gen. 1:2-2:4a :God created the earth and all the natural things in it in 6 days, including man whom God made in His image. . 

Ps. 8:A song of praise for all that God created.

2 Cor. 13:11-13:Paul encourages the Christians in Corinth to encourage, and live in peace with each other , then the grace of Jesus, love of God, & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with you.

Mat. 28:16-20: Jesus commissioned his followers to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to everyone. 

In the beginning God created the earth and all the natural things in it. then he created man to take care of his creation(Gen. 1:1:2-2:4a). David sang a song of Praise to God for all that he had created in Psalms 8. 

Before Jesus left the earth to go back to heaven, he commissioned his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mat. 28:16-20). Paul encouraged Christians to love and care for one another in many of the letters he wrote including those in Corinth. I believe that this is a commission to also take care of the souls of the people that God makes. 

So, we have been given a two fold commission as Christians. One is to take care of the world God created. The other is to take care of the people he has put into it. This includes their souls.

Challenge of the week:

How will you fulfill your commission this week?

Accomplishment of the week:

What did you do this week to accomplish your goal in fulfilling your commission this week?

Digging Deeper~ Day of Pentecost

Acts 1:6-14:Jesus accent into heaven after blessing his followers. His disciples go back to the upper room and choice someone to take Judas' place as the 12th disciple. 

Ps. 68:1-10, 32-35: A song of praise that God takes care of those who love him. But what God will do to his enemies. This is believed to be sung as they moved the Ark. 

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11:Do not feel down when you go through hard times because you are a Christian. Instead be happy that you are suffering the same thing as Christ did. For when you have stood the test, you will be rewarded by God.

John 17:1-11: Jesus' prayer to God the Father to glorify him. He also prayed for his disciples. 

Psalms 68:1-10, 32-35, is a song that is believed was sung as the Jewish people traveled to the temple to worship Him.

Before Jesus was crucified , he took the time to pray for his followers. Those who was with him now and those who would believe in him later. that includes us! (John 17:1-11). After Jesus accented into heaven his disciples choose some one to replace Judas. It has to be some one who had been following Jesus from the start (Acts 1:6-14). 

Peter wrote to Christians who were going through hard time because of their belief in Jesus. He told them to not be sad because of it, but to rejoice that you are standing the test. for you will be rewarded in the end for doing so (1 Peter 4:12-14:5:6-11).

Challenge  of the Week: 

This week choose to sing praises to God for all that he has done for you and that you are saved. Even in trials sing praises to him for you will receive a reward one day. will that always be easy? No. But worth it!

Accomplishment of the Week:

So how did singing praises to God help you this week?

Digging deeper~ 1st week after Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21: The day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit came to the believers in Christ.  Or Num. 11:24-30: some of The Holy Spirit was taken from Moses & given to the elders , so that they might help Moses lead the people.  1 Cor. 12:3b-13: a lesson on the gifts of the Spirit.  or  Acts 1:21:Someone must be put in the place of Judas. It should be someone who was with Jesus from the beginning.    John 20:19-23: Jesus came to his disciples after he rose from the dead and showed them his wounds that he received for them on the cross. Then he breathed on them and told them to received the Holy spirit.  or John 7:37-39: Jesus tells of the day when The Holy Spirit would come and dwell with his followers. The Holy Spirit has always been from before the beginning of time. In the Old Testament, we see that God choose to give it to certain people who was called into a role of leadership. One such time is when Moses choose elders from the tribes to help him judge and lead the people (Num. 11:24-30).  In the New Testament, we see Jesus talking of when the Holy Spirit would come to all who followed him some day (John 7:37-39). Then we see Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples when he appears to them soon after he has risen from the dead (John 20: 19-23). After Jesus went back to heaven. His followers decided that they needed to appoint someone to replace Judas. This someone had to have been someone who had been with them following Jesus from the start (Acts 1:1:21). On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and landed on Jesus' followers and they began to speak & all who were there understood what they were saying even though they did not speak the language that the disciples spoke.  Paul tells the followers of Christ in Corth of the gifts of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit could give to Jesus' followers. He also told them to use these gifts to build up and help the church (1 Cor. 12:3b-13). Challenge of the Week:  Do you know what gifts of the Spirit you have been given? If so how could you use it to build up the church and spread the good news of Jesus and what he did for sinners? Accomplishment of the week: So what did you find out? How did you decide to use your gift to help build up the kingdom of God? Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward 1.2 GB (8%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 29 minutes ago Details