The House You're Building

        Orient  John 20:1-31 Chapter 20 describes the Resurrection of Christ and His disciples’ reactions to seeing the empty tomb.  Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John are featured characters.  Jesus then makes several appearances, first to Mary, then a group of disciples, then the group again with Thomas present, who had previously doubted His return.  The end of the chapter contains the anchor to the book, where John restates his author’s purpose to believe in Jesus to experience life.     Introduction I can’t believe my eyes  is a well-known idiom meaning something is shocking or incredulous.  This expression is declared when one finds it hard to believe what your senses are telling you is true.  All the followers of Christ had this reaction upon seeing evidence of His resurrection.  Initially, as grave robbery was common, Mary saw the empty grave and ran to get help.  When...

To say life is challenging would be an understatement.  And the year 2020 has been a year of upheaval.  What do you turn to when you wake up to the fact that you need something to get by?  What we turn to to cope differs from each person but usually lies within the same broad categories:  food, entertainment, hobbies, exercise, substances, sex, work…Though I find myself reaching for the same things when life is too much, I’m trying to starting leaning into a who, not a what.    Though life is completely different than it was this same time last year, there are some good things that have come from it.  For me, it’s redefining community.  Like most people, I have a variety of connections in my life and was living at such a fast pace, that I didn’t really think how I was investing my time and which relationships mattered most.  Though I spent time with those who shared my Christian worldview, I missing out on f...

Last night I got to participate in a zoom meeting with a group of close friends.    Utilizing technology to connect with others is becoming more common as we seek to spend time with those we love by practicing social distancing.    This is my tribe, my life-group, friends who have been together +20 years in fellowship.    These are the people you call when you are moving, when you have something to celebrate or to grieve.    I hope all of you reading this have those kinds of friends and have had a chance to process the new reality we find ourselves living with them.    We needed to laugh, to cry, to share worries and how the shelter in place is affecting our lives.    We needed to pray.    To see facial expressions and hear voices was a comfort.    A few of us brought a word of scripture to share.    One friend followed up on last night’s digital hang out with a prayer via email.  ...

Key Verse: And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God has provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.  Hebrews 11:39-40 In verse 32 the author of Hebrews mentions 6 men by name.  Pick at least two and read about their life.  As you read,  note: What actions did call God call them to do? What faith was required on their part to obey? Gideon - Judges 6:11-8:35 Barak - Judges 4:1-5:31 Samson - Judges 13:1-16:31 Jephthah - Judges 11:1-12:7 *David - 1 Samuel 17  *Samuel - 1 Samuel 3 *many stories of faith are recorded about David and Samuel.  These two passages are suggested for study but feel free to read about them in other parts of the Bible.   The end of verse 32 mentions "the prophets" and the following 6 verses describe the sufferings they went through in their obedience to God through faith.  What things in this lis...