Acts 5 – The early church faced persecution from both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. After hearing the testimony of Peter, they were ready to kill these men just like they had Jesus. But wisdom prevailed. But …
fellowship
33 posts
Acts 2 – At the end of Acts 2, we read the three essentials that contributed to a fruitful body. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread …
Leviticus 24 – When I read the “eye for an eye” passage, I immediately think of the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR …
Leviticus 19 – We read some strange laws in this chapter that are not easily understood by our culture. Skeptics love to point out the bizarre laws found in Leviticus and accuse Christians of not following them. …
Leviticus 7 – If any of it is eaten on the third day, God will not accept your offering. The offering will not be counted to your credit but will be considered unclean, and whoever eats it …
Leviticus 3 – In Leviticus 1, we explored the burnt offering. In Leviticus 2, it was the grain offering. Now, in Leviticus 3, we come to the peace offering. If you remember, the burnt offering required only …
Leviticus 1 – The book of Leviticus picks up right where Exodus left off. The opening verse begins with “Then the Lord called to Moses…” ‘Then’ signals us to look back at the end of Exodus which …
Revelation 22 – Tree of Life The final chapter of the Bible bookends the story that God started in the Garden of Eden. There, we saw a glimpse of the plan He had for mankind which was …
Revelation 14 – First question I asked myself… who is Babylon? John, again, is writing symbolically here. Literal Babylon was a mere fraction of what it had been in years past. But, the wording certainly plays into …
Revelation 13 – The First Beast At the end of Revelation 12, we read of Satan’s rage. He sets out to destroy the people of God. Now, in Revelation 13, we are introduced to the two henchmen …
2 Chronicles 28 – Wow. What a chapter. Where do we begin? There are times in Scripture where we read that the Lord handed over the people to their own consequences. This is one of those times. …
Philippians 2 – Paul’s opening in Philippians 2 follows a delicate and precise structure. He opens with “Therefore” and unfortunately the breakup of these chapters forces us to lose part of the context if we don’t go …
Philippians 1 – He who began a good work… Paul qualifies the promise of God completing a good work with a specific view. He says “in view of your participation in the Gospel from the first day …
Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments illustrate the vertical and horizontal obedience that God desired for humanity. Jesus came to fulfill and (in many ways) raise the standard of the law. Mount Sinai was a particular summit …
1 John 5 – At the time of this writing, John was battling the incredible deception that had come against the church. There were false teachers parading around true believers and teaching that when Jesus died, He …
1 John 2 – and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:2 NASB Pro·pi·ti·a·tion. I’ll admit it. It’s a fun …
1 John 1 – In this first chapter, John does not identify himself as the author, nor does the writing contain the typical structure of a letter. Many have speculated that this was a written sermon. Nevertheless, …
Matthew 16 – The Pharisees and Sadducees (who demanded signs in this chapter) were two of the five major political parties during the time of Jesus. There were also the Herodians, the Zealots, and the Essenes. The …
2 Timothy 3 – We have already seen it mentioned times over the last several chapters, but Paul once again is warning Timothy of the godlessness which will take place in the future. The identifying characteristic for …
Romans 14 – Years ago, I hosted a Bible study with some college guys who were looking to grow in their faith. One particular afternoon, we were studying the New Testament when the discussion turned to some …
2 Kings 21 – This chapter is filled to the brim with the evil of Manasseh. He would be remembered as the king who led his people back into the darkness of which they hadn’t seen since …
2 Kings 10 – When this chapter begins you get a sense that Jehu is going to be a ferocious warrior for the Lord. He eliminates Ahab’s family, doing everything the Lord has asked. He follows that …
Hebrews 5 – First, let’s just point out that this chapter is deep! Here in Hebrews 5, we see two distinctive attributes of Christ’s character. It was by humility He was given (by God) the title of …
Micah 6 – Micah uses a sarcastic exaggeration to illustrate the hardness of the people’s hearts. What shall I bring to the LORD, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the …
Hosea 3 – What impacts me the most about this short chapter in Hosea 3 is the fact that God makes the first move. Scripture tells us in Romans 5… “But God demonstrates his own love for …
Psalm 101 – “I will pay attention to the way of integrity. When will You come to me? I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.” Psalms 101:2 HCSB Christians are often singled out …
Psalm 57 – My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Psalms 57:7 KJV The ESV and NASB translate the heart’s disposition as steadfast in this verse. Other translations …
Psalm 43 – What hurts more than the abandonment and rejection of our peers? It’s the feeling we have been rejected by God. Is this true? Does God reject us? For You are the God of my …
Psalm 17 – We face critical situations all the time. These trials batter our hearts and our minds. They trample our senses and destroy our hope. The psalmist describes such trials by repeatedly referencing the physical attributes …
Deuteronomy 1 – What should have taken 11 days took 40 years. If you have read the book of Numbers, you already have a good understanding of these events. Deuteronomy opens by …
Numbers 19 – It’s a tricky task to explain the uncleanliness laws in our modern context. On one hand, being ritually unclean mirrored our fallen sin condition. Being human, we inevitably find ourselves stained with sin and …
Ezekiel 46 – First, this is a tough chapter to reconcile with our modernized Christian worldview. Second, there are many details that paint a clouded picture of what a fulfillment would look like. We can rest assured …
Ezekiel 37 – The phrase, “I will be their God and they will be my people” is a familiar phrase. We read it here in Ezekiel as an analogy for how God will unify both Israel and …