Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 2:1-46 — Intro: Inauguration Day Well as our countries 58th Inauguration Schedule starts tomorrow, we’ll have our countries 45th President being Inaugurated on Friday. The big transfer of power. What kind of leader will he be? Will he be for the people or for himself? Will those who oppose him continue to protest? Well, nothing has changed in 3000 years. That’s

Psalms 126:1-6 — Intro: Dreams to Sheaves Background of Psalm 126: Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, at feast times, included the singing of Psalm 120-134, the songs of Ascent, the songs of going up. Here, the reminder of when they were slaves to now being Free [Psalm 126, is the 7th of 15 songs of Ascents] BONDAGE TO FREEDOM (1,2a) ​​​​​​​It begins

Psalms 8:1-9 — Your uniqueness? The work of your fingers - Just His fingers(speaking of ease in which He executed it) Reminds me of these ease in which children make castles in the sand, or mud pies. (3b) David is picturing a night scene. (4) Mindful of him - he bears toward him a fatherly love, defends & cherishes him, & extends his providence towards him. Visit him - When Jesus came to earth, it was God visiting men. Like in Lk.1:68,78 Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 — Title: MORE BETTER (1-14) What’s your view on suffering, pain, sorrow, adversity, or hardships? Some seek to escape it, others to despise it...we need to find the value of it. Do you learn more about God during difficult times or during happy times? Do

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 — book ends just shy of its goal (the promise land). Big Idea: You may leave this world with cheerfulness, if you’ve known God face to face through His Son, and have had the vision of the heavenly Canaan in your eye. 20/20 @ 120 (1-4,7) ​​​​​​​In obedience to the call of God, Moses ascended Mount Nebo, east of Jordan and facing Jericho There Moses put his iPhone.06 on panoramic & took a photo of the land which God had promised

Mark 3:1-19 — about the fierce winds, leaped up and was nearly blown over the edge to the glacier below! The guide grabbed hold of him and exclaimed:“On your knees, sir! You are safe here only on your knees!” [So, Get Alone & Get Praying] Get Help (14-19) Jesus wasn’t afraid to share His responsibilities! Like Moses father–in-law Jethro’s advice given in Exodus 18. Like Paul’s to Timothy, And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these

Mark 7:24-30 — Intro/Title: It happened in Southwest Asia in the 14th Century. The army of Asian conqueror Emperor Tamerlane (a descendant of Ghengis Khan) has been routed, dispersed by a powerful enemy. Tamerlane himself lay hidden in a deserted manger while enemy troops scoured the countryside. As he lay there, desperate

Mark 8:22-33 — was the atmosphere in Bethsaida that hindered him. Remember His problem in Nazareth. see Mark 6:5,6 All I know is…There are many times I need a 2nd touch. Praise God for His 2nd, 3rd, & 4th touch upon our lives. How many things weren’t clear to me, the 1st I heard of them? In another account it says he broke into song, singing... :) I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all

Mark 9:30-50 — First-ness. Don’t aim for human greatness; aim to be more like Jesus Christ. I’m going to show a 1 minute clip from Pixar animation The Incredibles. Reminded of this excerpt from Bob Goff’s book, Love Does (ch.24). Backstory: Mr. Incredible is the super hero dad in the movie, and he's tired of this job. He sells insurance, but he knows that's not the real him. So he starts doodling on his sketchpad, drawing different superhero suits because he wants

Luke 1:39-56 — carried down from the 1st father of our race. Rom.5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” ELIZABETH’S BLESSING! (39-45) VISITING THE MOTHER OF THE BAPTIST! (39-45) Bouncing Babies! (39-41) (39) Zacharias & Elizabeth lived in one of the priestly cities (Joshua 21). So Mary travels from northern Israel (Nazareth) to a country house a few miles outside of

John 1:1-13 — maybe its my New Years gift to myself. Why is it my favorite? It’s Simply Christ! - It’s back to basics. John is like “a pool in which a child may wade & an elephant can swim!” Why did John write a 4th gospel? (last written) Matthew wrote a masterpiece; To Jews; Portrays Jesus as “The Messiah”. Tells us what Jesus said! Mark gives a snapshot; To Romans; Portrays Jesus as “The Servant”. Tells

John 20:1-18 — Edition, - Corrected and amended by the Author. The crowning joy of the resurrection. The culmination of belief. Why does each gospel writer report on the res? Why does John? (20:31) To elicit faith! Certain features are common to all 4 gospels, including the omission of any description of the actual resurrection. (ever think of that?) Passion of the Christ - remember how Mel Gibson depicted it; Res sequel? It was in a garden ages ago that paradise was lost, & now it

John 8:12-36 — international flight and they were brought to the cockpit while he was on duty. They were getting a flying lesson just before the Aeroflot jet crashed in Siberia, killing all 75 people aboard. The transcript of the desperate final minutes before the March 1994 crash reveal the captain shouting, “Get out! Get out!” More than a dozen times the pilot yelled at his son, who was in the captain’s seat when the plane began to plunge. The deciding act occurred when the boy’s foot “accidentally

John 9:13-41 — “wait till everyone hears what happened!”...but that wasn’t the story! :( The man was questioned by his Nearby Nearsighted Neighbors who Need to Know!(10) & now from the Pharisees. BELIEVING IS SEEING! INTERROGATION! (13-34) The Blind Man Questioned (13-17) (14) Rabbis taught you could spit on a rock, but not on the ground, for that would be working (i.e. it might roll on the dirt & make mud). By this time, years of legalistic accretion had encrusted the original

Acts 11:1-30 — them…“I went to Cornelius’s house & ate with Gentiles, because God told me to!” Have you ever found it difficult explaining something you believe God told you to do? PETER IN JERUSALEM! (1-18) (3) This is their issue. (14) And all your household – is known as “people movements” in missiology. When a whole family or a whole group makes a decision for Christ is a foreign concept to most of us. Do you think it’s valid when you hear of it

Acts 14:1-28 — courageously entered the city again. Paul the “Energizer Apostolic Bunny”. Whether verbal or physical abuse, he kept on beating his drum. “Nothing outlasts the Energizer Apostle!” The very next day he travels to Derbe 40 miles away. (no more Lingering in Lystra) A 40 mile walk after being stoned to death? He must have been in excruciating pain! Illustration: The memo from the testing director of MGM, shortly after Fred Astaire’s 1st screen

Acts 19:21-41 — because of panic; Gas prices; financial woes of the Stock Market; marriage being redefined; threats of attacks against Iran/Israel. How do we handle al these things? Panic or Peace…Your Pick! PANIC OR PEACE…YOUR PICK! (21-41) Shalom type peace = quietness, confidence, security, & rest. It’s the steadiness of Daniel waiting in the lions den; It’s the serenity of Jesus asleep in the storm-tossed boat;It’s the joyful singing of Paul & Silas chained

Romans 7:1-12 — (New Husband, New Fruit, New Service); The Law:Reveals(Sin),Arouses(Sin),Ruins(the Sinner),Reflects(the Sinfulness of Sin) THE LAW IS DEAD TO ME! (1-6) NEW HUSBAND! (1-3) We haven’t only died to sin(6:2) but also to the law(7:4). Thus, the law no longer wields authority over us. Paul laid down the principle that the law exercises lordship over a person only as long as that person “lives”. Death cancels the Law’s claim upon that individual. To

1 Samuel 19:1-24 — Next, the king sends a hit squad to his house to ambush David. Sensing danger, Michal helped her husband escape through the window, & once more David fled. Faith in God does not exclude a commonsense approach to life. (13,14) Then Michal made up the household idol to like a man sleeping & told the soldiers that David was sick, to give him more time to run. (15-17) Michal, Saul’s daughter, risked her life to protect her husband. Yet, she protected herself by

1 Samuel 26:1-25 — named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.” Value...what is your value...what are you worth? We’ll discuss this towards the end when David said that he desired his life to be valued much in the eyes of the Lord. (24) THE SPEAR & THE JUG! ​​​​​​​SETTING THE SCENE! (1-5) Once again, David is going to spare Saul’s life. Just like 2 chapters back. This is a different story than ch.24. Many differences. SECOND