Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 20:1-43 — omnipotence, & His providence as we read through this. GOD OF THE HILLS (1-22) AHAB DEFEATS SYRIANS PART#1 Their national religion faded. God’s Word lost its place. So dry rot & decay ate away the strength of the national heart. (4) Ahab was willing to compromise his family/wealth in the face of this military threat. (11) I like the old Living Bible, The king of Israel retorted, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!” ​​​​​​​A

Ezra 1:1-11 — true. ​​​​​​​What was Jeremiah’s warning to Judah? (kicked out of the land for 70 years) Why did Judah get kicked out of the land? (see 2 Chron.36:21) To make up for almost a half a millennium of neglected Sabbaths. 1/7th of 490 years = 70 years Daniel & Ezekiel were among those who were deported. But, Jeremiah also promised Restoration! - This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for 70 years. But then I will come and do for you all the good

Nehemiah 3:1-32 — organizing family chores; running a business; managing a church, or fellowship group; coaching a soccer team, or are the President of the U.S. trying to pull together National unity…we all need leadership skills. Nehemiah touches on at least 4 dynamics of effective leadership: The relationship of the leader to God (Ch.1) The relationship of the leader to his Earthly Superiors (Ch.2:1-8) The relationship of the leader to his Workers under him/her (Ch.2:9-20) The relationship

Psalms 34:1-22 — things in the wrong perspective, & to start to panic. But I’m glad the bible turns the key & opens the door to the inner shrine of this man’s life & shows us...a changed behavior yes, but a fixed heart on God. (we’ll see in Ps.34) ​​​​​​​Don’t just dismiss David as another casualty. We might be finished with him…but God sure wasn’t. Whatever happened to David in Gath caused him to acknowledge the inadequacies

Leviticus 12:1-8 — the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;” Prov.17:6 “Children's children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.” Mt.19:14 “But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." So, fruitfulness was seen as God’s favor, & barrenness considered a reproach. Gen.30:22-24

Leviticus 16:1-34 — but for us) Satisfaction – Jesus satisfied God’s holy justice. He received His wrath for us. I emailed a Jewish Website(researching their view of atonement today) today because they had an article of a word we looked at in Lev.4 “sin” he said, “ it doesn’t mean something evil, but it means to ‘miss the mark’…simply to ‘make a mistake’! When I came down off the ceiling I emailed the question, “then why the need

Leviticus 25:1-55 — homeland. Q: Do you trust God to take care of you? What faith this must have taken. What discipline this must have taken to not walk through your vineyard & “accidentally” break a branch…in the right spot(pruning vs.4). Or,(asking/yelling) “which of the kids spilt the fertilizer all over one of the fruit trees?” Or, with a hand full of seed, yelling to the wife, “honey, I’m going to scatter these seeds for the birds!” Q:

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 — CIRCLES & CYCLES ​​​​​​​First, Solomon looks around & sees nature functioning as it has since creation. (3) The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it. (4) Gives the basic premise: people come & go but nature remains unchanged. ​​​​​​​Nature keeps going & going like the Ever-Ready-Bunny, but man can’t find a fixed point of reference for his own meaning. Story:

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 — prosper, while he, a faithful servant of God, was treated as a sacrificial Lamb? This has been asked by many...Job, Asaph, Hab, Mal, Jer., by you & me. (1c) Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? Why are evil people so happy? NLT (4a) How long will the land mourn/lie parched? Jeremiah gives his suggested answer in vs.3...Make your sheep into roasted mutton or lamb chops. Then GOD gives His answer (read 5) Definitely not what Jeremiah expected...God’s focus wasn’t

Numbers 13:1-33 — you to God’s greatness & magnifies your own weakness. Unbelief sees giants & spells them with a big “G”; Faith sees God, & spells giants with a little “g”. Abraham staggered not at the promise of God. Rom.4:20 How do you spell giants, with a big “G” or a little “g”? How do you spell God, with a big “G” or a little “g”? Giants represent great difficulties & they stalk us everywhere. They’re

Numbers 16:1-50 — INTRO: Rose Barnes - volunteer with an organization called Bring Me Hope. She has gone 4 times to China, the last 3 summers she’s worked w/ Bring Me Hope & helped put on summer camps for orphans. How do you handle criticism? It seems like someone’s always waiting to criticize! Like the 2 men who were standing looking

Matthew 11:1-19 — answers. Doubts if hidden, will fester. Doubts if shared with others may spread Doubts should always be brought directly to Jesus. Griffith Thomas, God is not wounded by a reverent challenge. ​​​​​​​Ps.42:9 (sons of Korah) I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ​​​​​​​PROOF (4-6) (4) 1st Jesus made the dynamic

Matthew 15:21-39 — Intro: Christ Crumbs Watch this short video of Heather Dorniden of the University of Minnesota as she races the 600m at the Big 10 Indoor Track Championships 2014. We love stories of those who persevered. Let’s meet another women who didn’t give up, wouldn’t give up, & was rewarded for it. The brightest jewels are found in the darkest places. This is the only occasion where

Matthew 5:10-12 — sake! - No, I think it was for stupidity sake. (1) We are to suffer for the sake of goodness, not for the guilt of wrongness. Jesus names 2 Reasons For Persection: For Righteousness Sake & For His Sake. Slide14 For Righteousness Sake (vs.10) We will be persecuted for upholding God’s standard of justice, truth, & goodness It is the result of believer’s daring to live the beatitudes. The

John 21:15-25 — (Swindoll) This Weeks Outline: 3 Lessons on the Beach! Past Failure can be Forgiven in Love (15-17); Present Lifestyle is no guarantee of the Same Future(18,19); Personal Obedience is an Individual Matter(20-23). Wrap up: There is so much More! (24,25) Lonely Ember Story - A pastor decided to visit a member who had stopped attending services. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man

Acts 1:4-8 — Intro: Communion: During worship. Romulo will lead. Pollsters report that 72% of Americans don’t know their next-door neighbors!!! (Bill McKibben, in the Age of Missing Information, Signs of the Times, February, 1994) Some scholars estimate that over the 30 year span of the book of Acts, the Christian church grew from 120 to 100,000 among Jews alone.2[obv greater w/Gentiles] Therefore if taken only as a “church growth study”, Acts would qualify

Romans 13:1-7 — good in society! GOOD CITIZENS FOR GOD’S SAKE! (1,2) ​​​​​​​Yes, believers are citizens of heaven, but we must not minimize our responsibilities on earth! (Warren Wiersbe, pg.470.) Allegiance to God does not take away our responsibility to secular authority. We must be exemplary citizens so that the Lord will be glorified. (1) Be subject – The predominant thought is not obedience but the conduct that

2 Corinthians 11:1-21 — hand, there is a jealousy that is considered godly! I the Lord am a jealous God. Matter of fact when this was said is when God was laying down the bedrock of human relationships...just after mentioning the 1st 2, of the 10 commandments. Ex.20:3,4,5a Jehovah basically says, “I refuse to consider the possibility of a rival, I must be Master, I must be Supreme. I must be the Lord, total Lord of all, or I will not be Lord at all. I am not going to compete with another for a place in your

Hebrews 12:1-3 — Intro: April 17th, 2000 Kelly ran the 104th Boston Marathon w/16,000 others. I found it interesting that for most, running it wasn’t about winning the Boston (only maybe a few dozen are real hopefuls), it was all about “finishing the race & winning their own personal race”. It

Judges 8:1-35 — tribes. It also allowed him to stay focused on the mission, Defeating the enemy As God’s people we face the same thing today. Churches and Christian organizations breakdown when selfish concerns overshadow the cause. (4) Exhausted but still in pursuit - msg bone-tired but still pressing the pursuit. kjv faint yet pursuing. Hey saints we resemble these followers of Gideon...exhausted but still in pursuit Exhausted because we are pounded by bodily cravings,