I am the Vine In John chapter 15, Jesus compares Himself to a vine, like a grape vine. And He compares Christians to the branches of the vine. Some people call it a parable, but it’s really just a metaphor that Jesus uses, to teaches us a valuable lesson. Let me read to you, John 15, verses 1 thru 6; “I am the true vine, and my…
Random Passages of Scripture I randomly opened my bible the other day, and the part it opened to, was 1 Peter chapter 2. Sometimes, just randomly opening your bibles, and reading whatever it is that you find on that particular page, can be quite fun and interesting. Let me read a little bit from that section of scripture that I opened to. It contains some pretty…
Edification – Part 2 Here’s a pretty good definition of the word edification.. “the instruction or improvement of a person, morally or intellectually.” And here’s a more “bible focused” definition.. “a building up, especially in a moral, or spiritual sense; Moral, intellectual, or spiritual improvement, THRIUGH, encouragement and instruction.” Now that’s biblical! “Moral, intellectual, or spiritual improvement, THROUGH, encouragement and instruction.” And I might add.. “Through SCRIPTURAL…
No Divisions Among You I’d like to begin by reading 1 Corinthians 1, verses 10 thru 13.. Go ahead and follow along in your bibles if you would.. “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (in other words, by the authority of Jesus) that you all agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete, in the…
What is the “Work” of the Church ? Sometimes we hear people speak of “the work of the church”. This is the “work of the church”, or that is “the work of the church”. In teaching people about the church, in other words, in teaching people about the Kingdom of Christ, the body of saved souls, we often tell them that the work of the church is three-fold. …
Metaphors of the Bible Do you find it interesting when the bible uses figures of speech, instead of literal wording? The bible does that a lot doesn’t it? And one of the common figures of speech that the bible uses, is metaphors. A metaphor is a figure of speech where one word or phrase, is used as an analogy or comparison, for something else. Here’s a couple…
From Head to Heart When you learn some new information, or when you receive some new “news”, that information “or news” gets stored in your head. Everything you know, is up there somewhere, in your head. And when we think about it, we all know lots of stuff. I think I might have told you this, but one of the guys I work with always says.. “I…
The Prayer of Jab’ez In 1 Chronicles chapter 4, there is a couple of verses that I’d like to talk about today. Open your bibles to that chapter if you would, 1 Chronicles chapter 4, and I’m going to read verses 9 & 10; Here’s what it says.. “Jab’ez was more honorable than his brothers; His mother called his name Jab’ez, saying; “Because I bore him in…
The Trumpet of the Lord I want to read to you a verse from the song, “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”.. “When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more.. …
Jesus, the Glory of God This morning I’d like to read to you from the first chapter of the book of John. So if you want to open your bibles and follow along, that would be great. Now the text that I want to read will begin with verse 14. But just to set the stage, so to speak, I’ll read verse 1 first; “In the…
God is Light The apostle John wrote these words, in 1 John 1, verse 5; “This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you; That God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” God is light, He is the source of light, He is radiance, He is illumination. And that light of God is manifested in both a physical sense,…
Let Us Not Grow Weary in Well-Doing I’d like to begin with this morning by reading Galatians 6, verses 9 & 10. And as I read these two verses, I’m going to comment, and I’m going to let the scriptures themselves comment also. So then, let’s look at those two verses; They begin with an admonition, and then with some encouragement; “Let us not grow…
What does “Eucharist” mean ? How many of you are familiar with the word “Eucharist”? You’ve all heard the word used, right? Among certain religious groups, maybe one in particular, it’s one of the most often used words. But how many of you know what it means? There’s actually more than just one meaning. There’s the one literal and proper “bible meaning”, but then there’s also…
Story #1; A Gift of Love Do you enjoy receiving gifts? Most people do, don’t they? I suppose receiving a gift just tends to make you feel good. Isn’t it kind of nice to know that someone thought about you, and it made them want to do something nice for you? How much does a gift have to cost, for you to really appreciate it? A…
Story Telling; A Tool for Teaching the Word of God It has been said that one can do a lot of teaching, by telling stories. And here are four points that have been made in support, of using stories, to teach a lesson.. #1. Stories are memorable. They’re a lot more memorable than just stating a bunch of “facts”. #2. Stories engage emotion. And when your emotions…
Gossip, Whispering, and Tale-Bearing Let’s begin with a verse of scripture.. Proverbs 10, verse 19 says; “When words are many, transgression is not lacking; But whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” There’s not much doubt that too many words, can lead to problems. Especially too many of the wrong kind of words. And there’s a lot of sayings that have been “coined” in regards to that. …
Jesus The Mediator In 1 Timothy 2, and verse 4, we’re told that God “would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” But that sounds like we’re putting the cart before the horse. Don’t you have to come to the knowledge of the truth, BEFORE you can be saved? Well obviously the answer is YES! You do have to come…
Immortality.. What is it ? How do we GET it ? I’d like to talk to you about immortality; And specifically, God’s immortality, and our own immortality. It seems like almost from the beginning of time, man has searched for immortality. The fountain of youth, right? But physical immortality is impossible isn’t it? It WAS possible, for two people in the garden of God, but ever…
Victory in the Hand of Israel In a bible lesson that I recently heard, the instructor quoted Joshua 10, verse 8, which says; “And the LORD said to Joshua; Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” Those are some pretty comforting words aren’t they? Don’t be afraid.. “I have given them…
Episkopos and Presbuteros In the New Testament scriptures, the words Bishop and Overseer, mean the same thing. They’re synonyms. The original Greek word that they come from, is the word “Episkopos”. That’s where the word “Episcopal” comes from, as in the “Episcopal church”. And the basic meaning of the word “episkopos” is.. “a superintendent, or an overseer”. Someone who has been put in charge of…