The House You're Building

Introduction :   If you’ve ever been to a performance, you know there is a certain amount of anticipation before the curtain rises.  Attendees find their seats and settle in their coats and handbags.  They may make conversation with those around them or check the programs.  Ushers roam the isles and children make last minute visits to the restroom.  When the curtain rises, hushed attention now shifts from the waiting to the experience you have come to see.  The same can be said of the first chapter of Exodus.  The first paragraph serves as a transition, a summary of where the people have Israel left off from Genesis.  The curtain rises and we see what God has planned next for His people.     Scripture :  Read Exodus Chapter 1.    v. 1-7 …they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong When we pick up the narrative at the end of Genesis, the sons of Israel were already in Egypt. ...

        Orient  John 9:1-41 John 9 turns us once again to the reoccurring task of the author, to convince the reader to believe in Jesus.  In the broader section, we see who Jesus is by another public miracle, the blind man healed of his sight.  Conflict with the Jews is again present (notice the repeated argument about the legality of healing on the Sabbath) and teaching his disciples is also included in this section.  As in previous miracles, there are responses to the miracle itself by different groups—the Jews, the man, and his parents.  In the opening, Jesus refers to Himself as “light,” a common metaphor that John introduced in the prelude and Jesus referenced previously at the Feast of Booths. The metaphor of blindness/sight is meant to point us to the spiritual realities of seeing our condition before God and need for the Savior Christ.     Introduction  When my daughter was younger, she played ...

  Tough choices.  There is nothing like being in a situation where you have to really weigh things.  I’m not talking about a pro-con list.  That is usually what people do when the decision they have before them is not emotionally based.  I’m talking about being in a situation where the heart is involved.  Where you feel like you might lose-lose.  There doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of a tunnel of apprehensive feelings.    I’m living in one right now.  I have a big decision to make.  It’s not big from the world’s perspective, like a move or a job change, but it’s big for my heart.  My counselor recommended this week that I approach it from a spirit of curiosity, not make decisions but just notice my feelings and why I was having them.     This advice has been super helpful.  For me noticing the why became determining the origin and it led me down the...

“God’s anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”   Psalm 30:5   “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!   How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no decent!”   Psalm 32:1-2   Like David in these verses we too can be confident that, no matter how bad we screw up, God’s love for us is boundless and His capacity to forgive unlimited!   We only have to recognize our sin, confess, and ask for forgiveness.   God is faithful and righteous to forgive.   1 John 1:9     ·          Compare and contrast Psalms 28 and 29.   What is the main idea of each psalm?   ·          Read Psalm 30.   List all of the things David is thankful for.   Are you thank...