Psalm 67 Summary: Psalm 67 is a prayer for the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham way back in Genesis 12:1-3, “I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God’s plan with Israel from the very beginning was to use her to bring all the […]
Revelation 5:1-14 Summary: We’re returning for one more week to the theme of our Lenten Series on Christian character development inspired by N.T. Wright’s book, After You Believe. One way to think about the development of our character is that it is preparation for our eternal vocation as royal priests. Revelation 5 is a vision […]
1 Corinthians 12:12-21,27 Summary: Paul’s metaphor of the church as the body of Christ is familiar and straightforward; nevertheless, it is also deeply profound. Just like a body, the church needs lots of different people who do lots of different things–all of which are important. Which also means that regardless of what we can or […]
Galatians 5:16-26 Summary: Paul here contrast for us the works of the flesh (v19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (v22-23), and the opposition between them could hardly be sharper. Which is why, as Paul says in v.17, the Spirit and the flesh are in a hostile state of opposition to one another. What that […]
Colossians 3:1-17 Summary: The Apostle Paul here describes the deliberate work that we as Christians are to put into the development of Christian character. It doesn’t happen without effort on our part. Developing Christian character involves an intentional “putting to death” of certain attitudes and behaviours as well as intentionally “clothing” ourselves in others. Christian […]
Romans 12:1-2 Summary: Though it may be popular to see one’s self as being an independent non-conformist who’s not beholden to the influence of outside forces, Paul says that’s never really the case. All of us are either being conformed to the patterns of this world or we are being transformed into the likeness of […]
2 Corinthians 9:8 Summary: Our focus this Sunday will be the Cadets theme for the year: “Be a Blessing”. Our temptation is to go through life always trying to grab and gather for our own gain–whether that be money, success, prestige, or pleasure. The Cadet Theme encourages us to go through life with an outward […]
Mark 10: 28-31 Summary: Jesus was never shy about the fact that following him means being willing to risk everything for his sake. That message comes through loud and clear in his interaction with the Rich Young Ruler in the preceding verses. But the question he seeks to answer in these verses is whether or […]
Matthew 7:24-29 Summary: As Jesus comes to the close of the Sermon on the Mount, he employs a group of images in the latter half of chapter 7 (gates, roads, wolves, trees, fruit, foundations), all intended to drive home that he and his teaching demand a decision–the most important decision of our lives. The two […]
Matthew 7:13-23 Summary: As Jesus comes to the close of the Sermon on the Mount, he employs a group of images in the latter half of chapter 7 (gates, roads, wolves, trees, fruit, houses), all intended to drive home that he and his teaching demand a decision–the most important decision of our lives. A narrow […]