The widow of one of Elisha’s followers comes to him for help. Her husband left her with an outstanding debt, Since she has no means to pay off the debt, the creditor demands her two sons become his slaves. Elisha asks what resources she has. “Nothing,” she replies, “except for a small jar of olive […]
Zechariah’s Vision One night the prophet Zechariah has a vision. It’s about a wall of fire. In this supernatural dream, he talks to an angel who is about to measure the city of Jerusalem to see just how big it has become. But before he leaves to do this, another angel arrives. He tells the […]
The Church in Smyrna: Fearless Suffering Today’s passage: Revelation 2:8–11 Focus verse: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” (Revelation 2:10) Unlike the church in Ephesus, the Bible gives us no other information about the church in Smyrna outside of two references in Revelation. And, unlike the church in Ephesus and […]
Consider Giving Ten Percent of Your Time Some churches talk a lot about tithing, of the need for us to give them ten percent of our income. In addition, I’ve heard a sermon or two about applying this ten percent guideline to volunteering at church, to tithe your time. It’s an interesting concept that we […]
The Bible lists no genealogy for Abel, so we can guess that he died before he had any children. Scripture focuses on the descendants of Seth but gives a short recitation of Cain’s genealogy first (in Genesis 4). We must be careful in reading these names in Cain’s line, since two names also appear in […]
The story of Tamar is a tragic one. The beautiful daughter of King David caught the eye of her half-brother, Amnon, who lusted for her. At the advice of his cousin, Amnon feigned illness and manipulated Tamar into his bedroom. Once alone, he grabbed and solicited her. Three times Tamar refused. When her pleading wasn’t […]
Doing What Is Right in The Eyes of the Lord King Ahaz is king of Judah. He is an evil king. He comes into power when he’s twenty years old and reigns for sixteen years. He dies at age thirty-six. His son, Hezekiah, succeeds him. King Hezekiah, however, it’s not like his father. He’s a […]
The Church in Ephesus: Their First Love Today’s passage: Revelation 2:1–7 Focus verse: “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4) Of the seven churches, we know most about the church in Ephesus because of the letter Paul wrote to them (the book of Ephesians). In this epistle Paul teaches them about three […]
Who Makes Things Happen at Your Church? When something needs to be done at your church, who does it? Many people would say it’s the pastor. They view their clergy as paid employees who are supposed to do the work of the church and serve them. But should they? Paid Staff The idea of having […]
Embrace the Old Testament Characters Some Christians dismiss the Old Testament. They argue that since Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), what it says doesn’t matter to them or their faith practices today. Other Christians embrace the Old Testament, putting it on an equal footing with the New Testament. They […]