Study Week 88: Psalm 133, "Together, A Blessing"
Week of January 31, 2010
Dave Pommer preached a great sermon on unity this past Sunday. Tim Jones kicked off what appears to be in retrospect a "sermon series," and what I perceive to be the movement of the Holy Spirit. Tim preached about how our purpose in Christ is to love. I followed that
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Study Week 87: 1 John 4:7-12, 19-21, "The Tough Stuff"
Week of January 24, 2010
LIfe can get complicated and messy, especially our personal relationships ... and this includes those within the church. What is our responsibility when sin interrupts these relationships and our heart is filled with animus and ill-will toward the our brothers and sisters in Christ? Jesus teaches his disciples they are to give reconciliation
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Study Week 86: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, "In Sync"
Week of January 17, 2010
To be in sync with God is to be reconciled with our Creator. When I refer to "vertical reconciliation" that's what I'm talking about. Isn't it strange that God initiated reconciliation with us. We sinned, not God. We violated God's laws with our idolatry: idolatry of self over against the
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Study Week 85: Matt. 20:29-34, "Making The Ordinary Extraordinary"
Week of January 10, 2010
You're probably not much different than me in at least one regard. You want your life to count for something -- to be meaningful, to have eternal value. When we stand before God our Creator, we want to hear God's voice in all its glory, ring out, "Well done my good and faithful
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Study Week 83: 1 Peter 2:4-10, "Holy"
Week of December 27, 2009
The word holy seems to have a stigma to it. Who wants to be holy? How self righteous for somebody to want to be holy! Do you ever think of yourself as holy? See what I mean. But yet God is holy. That is one of God's attributes. And God calls us to be holy.
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Study Week 82: Zephaniah 3:14-20, "What's Your Sign?"
Week of December 13, 2009
In Advent, we celebrate in particular four gifts we receive from Christ: hope, peace, joy and love. Last Sunday was third week in Advent, and Joy is the theme. What a gift? But what is joy? In his sermon, Greg asked, what are the signs of joy in your life? A big car
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Study Week 81: Matthew 5:9, "The Peace of Christ"
Week of December 6, 2009
I think it's so ironic: Jesus promises us peace, in fact, he urges us to be peacemakers, yet the world seems so hostile. Has there ever been world-wide peace? If not, why not? Is it so foreign to our nature? And if it's an integral part of God's kingdom, why aren't we willing to lay
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Study Week 80: Acts 1:1-9, "Storytellers"
Week of November 30, 2009
I was inspired by our church's recent "Baja build" mission trip to build two houses and a church .... AND to provide VBS (vacation Bible school) ... AND to participate in street evangelism. In the frenzy of working under deadline to finish construction, I overlook the very reason we go to Mexico on these short term
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Study Week 79: Refined By Fire
Week of November 1, 2009
"Yes, Lord, here I am - refined by fire and ready to go!" - Michael Guillen
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Study Week 78: Matthew 6:13 "Lead us not into temptation..."
We often think that the good life is the easy life. But as Arch Hart points out, "God is in the refining business. He is not in the entertainment or pleasure-cruise business. Not that He objects to pleasure cruises or any other diversion that helps us survive our stressful lives.
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Study Week 77: Matthew 6:12, "Forgive us our debts..."
Week of October 18, 2009
It has been said that, "to err is human; to forgive, divine." It is a nice pithy statement, but I am not sure what to do with it. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches us much more about forgiveness and the importance of doing it. Your faith, your life,
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Study Week 76: Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Week of October 11, 2009
In the sermon series on the Lord's Prayer, we've just transitioned from a focus on God to a focus on petitions: give us our daily bread, forgive us our debts, lead us not into temptation, etc. Give us this day our daily bread! Greg's sermon emphasized the radical lifestyle we beseech when we
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Study Week 75: Matthew 6:9-10, "Living in God's Kingdom"
Week of October 4, 2009
I believe in God's kingdom on earth. I believe it's possible to step into that kingdom and begin living life that has a quality of eternal life in the presence of our God. That life is possible through faith in Christ. It's possible through walking with Jesus Christ on the path we
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Study Week 74: Matthew 6:9-13, "Right Here, Right Now"
Week of September 27, 2009
I liked Greg's idea that the Lord's Prayer is not an incantation we're to recite rotely. Just because we recite it does not mean a fortiori we commune directly with our Lord and thereby access God's provision and blessing over our life. It is a template to lead us into communion with our
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