🙏 Heavenly Father – We are so thankful for Your Word, this fellowship of believers, and Your presence among us as we read and meditate on Your Word. Your Word is the food and water that we feast on to nourish the new life You have planted in us. We ask You, in the name of our Lord, Jesus, that You strengthen and guide us as we grow closer in relationship to You. Amen.
Continue reading “🦅 John Chapters 6 and 7”🦅 John Chapters 4 and 5
🙏 Heavenly Father – We are so thankful for Your Word, this fellowship of believers, and Your presence among us as we read and meditate on Your Word, which brings us life.
We are thankful for Your teachings, Your promises, and Your faithfulness revealed in the Old Testament. And we are thankful for the revelation of Jesus that we share today in John’s Gospel. Draw near to us as we draw near to You, in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen.
Continue reading “🦅 John Chapters 4 and 5”🦅 John Chapters 2 and 3
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit – join us again as we study Your Word. We are thankful for the gifts you offer in the truth of Your Word, the strength found in the fellowship of believers, and Your faithful presence with us as we read and meditate on all that you teach us.
You invite us to ‘Come and See’, so today we come in Your light; we ask you to help us see.
Continue reading “🦅 John Chapters 2 and 3”🦅 The Gospel of John – Chapter 1
Week 1 – John Chapter 1
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit – come to us as we study Your Word. We are thankful for Your Word, this fellowship of believers, and Your presence among us as we read and meditate on Your Word, for this gathering has the power to save us and transform us more and more into your image.
What we do not know, teach us. What we do not have, give us. And what we are not now, make us. We seek You and ask You for this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Continue reading “🦅 The Gospel of John – Chapter 1”Lent 2022 – Save Us, Now!
Palm Sunday – we reflect on the verse from Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Lent 2022 – Behold Your King
In the Gospels, we read that after His baptism and wilderness temptation, Jesus begins His ministry announcing the Kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 4:17-21)
He spends three years teaching what that kingdom is like and He teaches that the invitation is open for all to enter His kingdom: His teaching is first to the Jews, then to the Samaritans, then to the Gentiles. He is ushering in corrective action for what the nation of Israel failed to do in the past.
Continue reading “Lent 2022 – Behold Your King”Lent 2022 – Welcome to Life Everlasting
Jesus cries out on the cross, from Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? We know that horrific moment of despair is when Jesus takes on all of our sin and bears the wrath of God so that those of us who believe in Him, and call Him our Lord and Savior, are rescued from the death that we deserve. His death, however, is not the end of the story!
Continue reading “Lent 2022 – Welcome to Life Everlasting”Lent 2022 – Be Prepared and Watchful – Know Where Your Heart Is
In a series titled, Hooked, a focus on tackling temptation and being the ‘ones that got away’, our pastor reminded us, ‘This is not a destination but a way station.’ With a reminder to be Kingdom-focused he touched on one of the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 6:19-20
Continue reading “Lent 2022 – Be Prepared and Watchful – Know Where Your Heart Is”Lent 2022- Ode to a New Friend
In a recent message, I heard a pastor lament over the heart of those people who devote themselves to a ‘church’ i.e. the building. He recounted the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey where people spread palm branches and their cloaks on the ground shouting, “Hosanna… Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
He asked his listeners to consider, “Do you think the donkey thought it was for him?” and added the comment, “This building is a donkey.”
Continue reading “Lent 2022- Ode to a New Friend”Lent 2022 – We have Freedom (Romans 6:1-9)
I hear arguments regarding the definition of: FREEDOM. The arguments often take the form of personal positions which state… I WANT THE FREEDOM TO… (DO OR SAY WHAT I WANT) or I WANT THE FREEDOM FROM… (WHAT OTHERS DO OR SAY). These arguments cannot be won. They cannot both be right! They are both worldly as they both come from an individual’s perspective and an individual’s desires. Those two perspectives cannot be reconciled – ever.
Continue reading “Lent 2022 – We have Freedom (Romans 6:1-9)”