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Growth

Why Following Jesus Means Serving the Poor

A friend of mine had been involved with schools in various ways for many years.  But what he really wanted was to become an administrator.  Finally, he became the headmaster of a private school.  A few months later, we were talking about things.  His new job was as fulfilling as he’d hoped.  But it was also more demanding than he had imagined.  Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for, because you just may get it. Read More »Why Following Jesus Means Serving the Poor

Psalms of Hate

As part of our congregation’s journey through the Bible in 2008, we’ve encountered what might be called a “Psalm of Hate.”  It’s Psalm 3: “Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.”  It’s only the first of many.  They are called Imprecatory Psalms.  There are over twenty of them (depending upon the classification you use).  They include Ps. 69 and 137-two of the harshest.  What do we do with these?Read More »Psalms of Hate

The Gospel Truth About the Holy Spirit

There is an award-winning sculpture at Abilene Christian University called “Jacob’s Ladder.”  The sculpture is inspired by a story in Gen. 28.  It features a bronze ladder reaching up to heaven.  The ladder holds four angels.  As the angels get closer to earth, they appear to increase in age, signifying the corruption of earth.  Each angel is eight feet tall.  The ladder is accompanied by large blocks of stone on which are carved Scriptures.  The stones are arranged at different angles.  Depending upon where you stand, you see different Scriptures.  Thus, if you want to see all the Scriptures, you have to stand in different places. Read More »The Gospel Truth About the Holy Spirit

The Gospel Truth About Giving

In Mark 12:41 Jesus and his apprentices are at the temple in Jerusalem.  They’ve gone from the large Court of the Gentiles to the smaller Court of Women. 

The Court of Gentiles is where Jesus ran off the money changers in Mark 11.  It’s also where the early church met initially in Acts. [i]   The Court of Women is the place beyond which women were not permitted.  It was a place of public worship. [ii] 

And there, in the Court of Women were several receptacles where people could give money to the temple and its ministry.[iii] 

Mark tells us, Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. (Mark 12:41a TNIV)Read More »The Gospel Truth About Giving