Posts from 2021 (Page 5)

  DISCUSSION God gave the children of Israel physical signs (cloud by day and fire by night). This provided direction of where to go and comfort that God was with them. They often ignored that and displeased God, but God always provided them with hope and direction. Today the same God guides us with His word. He provides us with direction (straight path) and a comfort to know He is there for us. Do we often ignore His word for…

  DISCUSSION:                                              A disaster strikes suddenly and usually without warning. Even though we know tornados, floods, lightning storms, accidents and deaths are going to occur, we are still shocked when they do. The tragedies that claimed Job’s possessions and family came suddenly and without warning. Job and his family were living out their lives in a day to day routine when disaster struck, turning their world upside down. Jesus warns that the conditions when He returns will be similar.…

  DISCUSSION:                             As we raise our children we all notice things about them that remind us of either their mother or father. We are proud of these similarities and consider it to be a genetic trait. It is easy to assume that if you didn’t cause your parents grief growing up, your children probably want cause you much either. Eli and Samuel would be the first…

  DISCUSSION: In this current society, as well as the society as it existed when Hannah voiced her song, there is always a debate about the limits of big government.  Hannah’s song answers this question for us. It doesn’t matter who is ruling us in our government positions, the Lord is the true ruler; salvation is from Him, and God’s concern is often for the poor, the people at the “bottom of the heap”. Hannah’s prayer helps us to not…

  DISCUSSION: Hannah was truly a godly mother. Hannah was ridiculed daily by Peninnah for an issue she had that was not her fault. Hannah believed in the power of prayer, and the comfort it brought her. Hannah’s attitude when accused of drunkenness was that of calmness and self-control and she answered with dignity though she had been falsely accused. Hannah did not ask for vengeance on her adversary, nor did she request a son for selfish reasons. Fervently, Hannah…

  DISCUSSION       Have you ever been in a place where you know you shouldn’t be? A place where the walls just reeked of temptation? A place that you know that if you do not get out of there soon there is no question you will do something you will regret? I wonder if that’s the place Joseph was when he was in Potiphar’s house. The Bible lets us know that Joseph was a handsome man, but we are not…

  DISCUSSION       One of my favorite movies of all times is “City Slickers.” This movie was a comedy about three middle aged friends who decided to go out West on the vacation of a lifetime, a cattle drive. Over the course of the movie as you see how each character develops, there is one man who finally breaks down about his life. He had made some bad choices. His marriage was in shambles and he felt as though his…

  DISCUSSION       Have you ever had one of your appliances go bad? Don’t you just hate it? Now your entire day will be spent shopping around to find the right product for the right price. Then you have to take off another day so you can meet the delivery guys when they deliver it to your home. Meanwhile, you have to make sure you remove the old appliance to make room for the new one. It isn’t until then…

  A few years ago, I was passing through the town of Selma, Alabama and discovered a very unique cemetery. The graves were very old and there was some Spanish moss in the trees. It was just all out creepy! There was one tomb that had what I thought was a very humorous epitaph. It had the women’s name, the year she was born and the year she died; but then there was this “She did what she could”. I…

  DISCUSSION       Why is it that the grass always looks greener on the other side? Don’t we always seem to think everyone else has it so much better than we do? Take for instance the nation of Israel,   they had been surviving fine under the leadership of the judges. It wasn’t perfect, but as long as there were godly judges, the people seemed to follow in their footsteps. When there wasn’t good leadership, the people swayed. It was…

  Do you ever hide from God? Sounds kind of crazy doesn’t it?  As teenagers, we may have “hid” a lot of things. We may even “hide” things today.  When God walked through the garden looking for Adam and Eve after their sin, the bible says they hid from God. He called for them, even though he knew where they were, he still called for them and allowed them the opportunity to reveal themselves.  Before their sin, they had no…

  Sin can be fun. There is now doubt, sin is very attractive. However, the joy is short-lived. After the short period of enjoyment, reality sets in, guilt appears, and we realize the price that is or will be paid for the action.  I am sure the fruit on the tree in the Garden was very beautiful to Eve, but, was it that much more beautiful than the other fruit?  Do you think that Eve thought of the consequences of her…