Community, Compassion, Service
By Tony Tench The people of Israel were given wise counsel through the giving of the law in Deuteronomy to be sure to “talk about” the words and ways and commandments of God with their children all throughout the day. When they got up in the morning, when they walked through the day and when they went to bed at night, every opportunity was a chance to be taken to talk about the Lord’s word! […]
Session 1: I Will: 9 Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian Introduction “Here is the church…here is the steeple…open the door and see all the people!” That little hand gesture describes WHAT WE DO in the church, viz. what we do, we do TOGETHER and this study, entitled “I Will,” is going to help us remember HOW to go about doing church together! But too, the other way to do the hand gesture is also important: “Here […]
Day 19: Young Adults God is calling! “Come. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1 ESV). The call to “come” in Isaiah happened 45 years after the Babylonians took the Israelites into exile. At the outset, it seems clear that this verse is describing the importance of coming into a relationship with God as primary over the physical needs and nourishment of a person. However, the physical/material and spiritual dimensions of the Jewish […]
Day 18: Adults Washing our hearts “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7 NIV). While shopping recently I, for some unknown reason, paid close attention to all the various varieties of laundry detergents and stain removers. Then, I moved on to the body soaps in different shapes, some round, others rectangular. Next were all kinds of liquid body cleansers in various colors […]
Day 17: Adults Abound in Optimism “Submit it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippians 4:8 MSG). One day a schoolboy brought home his report card. It was heavy with poor grades. “What have you to say about this?” asked his father. “One […]
Day 16: Adults Keeping It Joyful “God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy” (Romans 14:17-18 MSG). A question that we often ask is, “How do we maintain our joy – particularly in a world that is challenging and brimming with problems?” That question can lead to an […]
Day 15: Adults Return to God “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart” (Jeremiah 24:7 NIV). A favorite book of the Bible for many believers is the book of Jeremiah. Within its pages we frequent (counting carefully, 112) admonitions to return to God. The representation of God […]
Day 14: Children An adult-child search “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3 NRSV). My children were always excited to go up front for children’s church. One Sunday Warren answered a question, the congregation laughed, and I saw Warren’s face fall because he had answered seriously from his unhindered innocent relationship with God and the world. So, why do we laugh […]
Day 13: Adults Opportunities to serve “What good is it my brother, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, […]
Day 12: Adults A courage to jump! “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ‘For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it’” (Matthew 16:24-25 NIV). Today we are at the beach celebrating my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. For the last few years she has been […]
