Things I Heard In Church: “I Like God’s Math Better Than My Math”
Read John 6:1-15, Jesus Feeds the 5,000
There’s Too Little, And It’s Too Late, But… Read More
What Every Parent Wants (Including God)
“I’m not sure I like bathtime.” (by Tom Page, Creative Commons)
Read John 2:13-24, Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Sin Inside The Temple
So the people selling animals in the temple, and the people changing out currency were taking advantage of the situation. If you traveled to Jerusalem for Passover, and you showed up with a sacrificial animal, it had to be without blemish. The priests were the ones who decided if it was acceptable or not. Well guess what, it was usually found to be unacceptable. But, conveniently located right here in the temple we happen to be selling pre-approved animals for sacrifice–for an exorbitant price. And, you have to pay for the animal with the temple currency. We can exchange your cash for our currency, in fact we have money changers right here in the temple standing by, but, it will cost you.
Providing a means of exchanging currency and providing animals for the Passover sacrifice was a good thing, but overcharging wasn’t. It was a sin. It was a sin found right there inside God’s temple. And Jesus, out of love for his Father’s house, turned the tables on those taking advantage of the people. He took action.
The religious leadership of his day asked Jesus: What sign can you show us to demonstrate you have the authority to cleanse the temple like this?
Jesus said: Read More
Things I Heard In Church: At one point the bat was inches away from my neck and making me a vampire.
At one point the bat was inches away from my neck and making me a vampire.
Paraphrased from a Dave Teixeira teaching, 10/25/2015, Sunday, Strength in Weakness
Image via cthoyes – Creative Commons (The bat in this image is not the same bat that nearly transformed Dave Teixeira into a vampire.)
How To Find The Best Wine Ever
No Wine At The Wedding
So there’s this wedding. And it’s time for the reception. And Mary, Jesus’ mother, is there. And Jesus is there with his brand new disciples. And the wedding planner miscalculated, so they ran out of wine.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been at a wedding where you were privy to what was happening behind the scenes but if you have, you know that when the supply of drinks, or food, or any other essential item runs out, the women involved start to–well, their emotional intensity rises significantly. Kathy was involved in serving a meal at our son’s wedding and she was so nervous she Read More
Things I Heard In Church: Love Will Make You Weaker
“Love is always attached to vulnerability. Love will always make you weaker and more powerless, than you were before you loved. Some of you understand this. Some of you know this to be true because this is your story. You have a child who went off the rails, or a spouse who one day decided they were tired of being married, or a mom or a dad who treated you badly. And the pain you feel from those moments, the brokenness in your heart, is the direct result of the love you have for those people. You see, if you didn’t love them, it wouldn’t hurt.”
Yet we’re commanded to love. In fact: “Love is the crowning characteristic of the Christian.”
“You want to know what it means to be a mature follower of Jesus? It means to love people so much that they can hurt you. It means making yourself vulnerable to pain and suffering because of your love for them.” –Dave Teixeira
Dave Teixeira, 10/25/2015, Sunday, Strength in Weakness
Things I Heard In Church: “Some Kind Of Wild Cougar Type Creature…”
While listening to the story of Joseph and his brothers:
“They have his technicolor dream coat, and they’ve got it ripped up, and there’s animal blood on it, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know what happened. Some kind of wild cougar type creature must have gotten your son.'”
Then later…
When Joseph is Potiphar’s servant, working as the master of his house, Potiphar’s wife takes notice of Joseph. And Joseph’s good looks lead to “a very intense moment where he’s attacked by another wild cougar type creature, who comes along and says, ‘Will you sleep with me?'” (Matt Bowen)
References and Resources:
Genesis Chapter 39
Matt Bowen, 10/18/15, Sunday, Breaking the Power of the Past
It Is Finished: 7 Stops In The Quest For Rest by Peter-John Courson (A Book Review)
(Peter’s book is available on Amazon. Just click on the link: It Is Finished by Peter-John Courson)
Why Peter-John Courson Wrote This Book
The first sentence of the book reads: “When I was twenty years old I lost my life.” Peter goes on to describe how Read More
Things I Heard In Church: This amazing quote about Joseph’s brothers’ brutal cruelty
Things I Heard In Church:
This amazing quote about the way Joseph responded to the brutal cruelty shown to him by his brothers. Read More
When Christians Are Wrong: John 1:44-49
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:44-49)
How Philip Was Wrong (And Nathanael Was Right)
Have you ever considered Nathanael and Philip’s words in this passage? Philip gets it wrong on Read More
Finding Your Identity (and what that has to do with Jesus): John 1:42-43
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” John 1:42-43
Nate Larkin, Samson And The Pirate Monks
I recently heard a man speak by the name of Nate Larkin. Nate wrote a book called Samson and the Pirate Monks, and in his book and during his talk he spoke of the different personas he developed as he navigated life. For church and when he was in the presence of God there was Saint Nate. Saint Nate was good (at least on the outside), he memorized scripture, and he said all the right things. He polished that persona to perfection. Nate was great at looking bright and shiny to other Christians. But later, in high school, he found girls weren’t attracted to Saint Nate, so he developed another persona he calls Date Nate. Date Nate was smooth and fun and cool. And you know what? It worked. He could find dates when he took on the Date Nate persona. Then he met the girl of his dreams. But the only problem was, she didn’t like Date Nate. So he invented yet another persona he calls Mate Nate. And that worked too. The girl of his dreams married Mate Nate. Awhile later Nate entered the ministry. But he did so while carrying a dark secret: he was a sex addict, addicted to porn since his teens. After a few years working for a church, Nate noticed several high profile Read More
Roseburg Shooting
I know it might sound a little strange, but, when you’re praying for the families of the slain, the family of the shooter, the firefighters, police, medical personnel, dispatchers, and all the others–please don’t forget to pray for my friend Fred Saada and all the other chaplains serving there in Roseburg.
“God give them strength, and fill them with the Spirit of Jesus.”
Here’s a recent Facebook post from Fred about the current situation there:
Long two days in Roseburg and it is just the beginning of picking up the pieces that evil has strewn all over the region and beyond. Several of us Chaplains are serving the torn, the weary, the brokenhearted and those who are mourning this senseless and evil act. But evil will not prevail. Jesus, the Light of the World, has overcome the world and its evil.
John 16:33
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
–Fred Saada
Mark Watney’s Connection From Mars (And what that has to do with our connection to Heaven): John 1:50-51
The Martian And Mark Watney’s Connection
I just finished reading the book The Martian by Andy Weir. And if you’ve already read the book or seen the movie you know that Mark Watney, a mechanical engineer and botanist, is left stranded alone on mars–for a very very long time.
He’s alone but he’s alone in a way no one has been alone before. He’s the only living creature on the entire red sand desert, unbreathable atmosphered, super frigid temperatured planet. Mark Watney spends every day on that planet just trying to figure out how to survive. But there’s one place in the book where he talks about this great connection he has that makes all the difference. His connection is with a team of scientists in Houston. Watney says, Read More
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Posted on October 31, 2015 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, John, Seeker
Christian, Jesus the way to heaven, John 1:51 commentary, John 1:51 teaching, the martian