Bible Study: Welcome the Stranger

We will not have our regular Wednesday afternoon Bible Study this week. However, I invite you to read through the following Scriptures - considering Jesus.

"Welcome the Stranger"

Isaiah 53:3, 5; He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Pray - Think - Reflect

• Exodus 23:1-9

• Genesis 19:1-13

• Psalm 121

• Jeremiah 7:1-7

• Luke 9:51-58

• Matthew 25:31-46

If you live in the Robinson, Illinois area, I invite you to join us on Wednesday, January 7th, at 11:00 am as we read and study God's Word for our lives - applying it in a practical way.

 

2015; A Year of Worship

Let us declare that 2015 will be a year of worship! In 2015 - despite all of the hurts of the past, the burdens that we carry, and the opposition that we face - let us glorify the name of Jesus. Jesus has conquered sin, Satan, and death - He can lead you to a life of peace and joy. Let us magnify the mighty name of Jesus above all else in our lives.

New Year's Eve Thoughts

What are you going to stop doing?

What are you going to start doing?

How are you working to achieve this?

In 2014 my "word" was BOLD.

In 2015 my "word" will be THINK.

What Will We Do?

I often like to sit and watch my children, to listen to the way they interact and talk with one another and the way they interact and talk with their friends. For the most part, when I watch and listen to them, they are laughing, playing, or learning together. However, there are certain times when I like to watch and listen to them in the midst of conflict and disagreements. It is in these moments that I observe the way they react and behave when things are not going their way and when they are facing opposition.

This morning I was reading in Psalm 139 -  a familiar passage that brought a new thought to my mind. Psalm 139 begins;

O Lord, You have searched me and You know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.

This reminded me that God enjoys watching His children - that He enjoys watching me. Not only is God watching me in moments of joy, triumph, and success. He is also watching me in moments of sorrow, heartache, and temptation. Not only that, He is watching to see the way I will react when things are not going my way and when I am facing opposition.

My children will often look for their mom or I - or they will call out for help - when they are not sure what to do and when conditions are beyond their control. Sometimes, knowing that the situation is getting away from them, I will sit and wait for their call for help. I believe that God also waits for us to call out to Him. Will we recognize that we are unable to handle life alone? Will we recognize that their is a God that created us, loves us, and wants the best for us that is waiting to come to our rescue?

Psalm 139 concludes;

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Instructions To Share A Biblical Perspective With A Disobedient Child

Every child disobeys. Disobedience is built within us as a part of our sinful nature. So, at some point, you may want to sit down and discuss the biblical perspective of disobedience with your disobedient child. Here are some instructions. 

First, take a moment to calm yourself, you do not want to discuss the Bible in an attitude of anger or frustration. Sit down with your child and read through the following...

1. Exodus 20:12

2. Exodus 21:17

3. Leviticus 20:9

4. Deuteronomy 21:18-21

It's about now that your child may be cowering - and crying - in the corner. Be sure to reassure them that you are not going to kill them or allow anyone to stone them to death. Be sure to tell your child that is is the Old Testament law, established by God and obeyed by His chosen nation to ensure purity and purge evil.

And we continue...

5. Proverbs 1:7-9

6. Proverbs 13:1

7. Proverbs 20:20

8. Proverbs 23:22

9. Proverbs 30:17

Once again, call your child back out of the corner of the room, and them a tissue, and reassure them that they are not going to be fed to the birds. 

Perhaps now is the time to lay out God's ideal plan for His creation. Discuss God's creation and the garden of Eden, where everything was perfect, God walked with Adam and Eve, and sin - disobedience - was nonexistent. Discuss the "death" (separation) that Adam and Eve faced due to their sin against God. Then explain how a child's disobedience against their parents causes separation between them and God and between them and their parent. Go one step further and illustrate how - if left undisciplined - a child's disobedience will lead to separation between parents, separation between siblings, and separation within the entire family. Explain that disobedience can tear a family apart. 

Then, we conclude...

10. Romans 13:1

11. Ephesians 6:1-3

12. Colossians 3:20

Close with a hug and a prayer. 

Painting Jesus

I shared this illustration to close the service yesterday morning:

An artist once painted a picture of The Last Supper. He took it to the writer Tolstoy for his opinion. Carefully the Russian master of words studied the canvas. Then, pointing to the central Figure, he declared; “You do not love Him.” “Why that is the Lord, Jesus Christ,” exclaimed the artist. “I know,” insisted Tolstoy, “but you do not love Him. If you loved Him more, you would paint Him better.”

How much do you love Jesus?

How are you painting Him - through your love, your words, your actions - in the world around you?