Category: Every Day Bible

Reading through the Daily Bible in 2008. Reflections and class handouts.

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Every Day Bible

What’s your focus?

“In the average crisis, the crisis itself gets the attention God should have had. Helmut Thielicke said that during the bomb raids on Stuttgart he used to hear two kinds of prayers rising from the bomb shelters. Most prayed, “Lord, save us from the bombs!” and only a few prayed, “Lord, save us from the bombs.” Most believers cannot really get their minds on God when the crisis looms large. And preaching on a crisis will probably leave people talking more about the crisis than it leaves them talking about God.”

Miller, Sermon Maker p 130

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Every Day Bible

The Presence of God in Preaching

When preachers lose track of God, their sermons get pushier. Not only that, when God is most absent in their lives, they are all the more present. The quieter God gets, the louder they get.

Barbara Brown Taylor raises the same issue:

Sometimes I think we do all the talking because we are afraid God won’t. Or, conversely, that God will. Either way, staying preoccupied with our own words seems a safer bet than opening ourselves up either to God’s silence or God’s speech, both of which have the power to undo us.

So we lose God when he’s quiet, because we’re too loud. We run from him when he gets loud, because we cannot stand the storm of his coming. Either way, we often come to the pulpit without him, having no clear remembrance of our last real conversation.

From Calvin Miller’s “Sermon Maker” page 18.

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Every Day Bible

Confederate Dollars

A Christian who tries to accumulate toys, money, and possessions during life is like a Union soldier who tried to stockpile Confederate currency at the end of the Civil War.

Not only was he a traitor, he was a fool, for his prize was worthless!

Adapted from The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.

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Every Day Bible

A funny thing about change

“Nobody wants to change until the  pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

Adapted from Comeback Churches.

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Every Day Bible

The Singer’s Beatitudes

From The Singer by Calvin Miller:

Blessed are the musical, for theirs shall be a never-ending song.

Blessed are those who know the difference between their loving and their lusting, for they shall be pure in heart and understand the reason.

Blessed are those who die for reasons that are real, for they themselves are real.

Blessed are all those who yet can sing when all the theater is empty and the orchestra is gone.

Blessed is the man who stands before the cruelest king and only fears his God.

Blessed is the mighty king who sits beside the weakest man and thinks of all their similarities.

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Every Day Bible

Review: The Lost Letters of Pergamum

Bruce Longenecker’s Lost Letters of Pergamum, The: A Story from the New Testament World is a historical fiction designed to allow the modern reader a glimpse of life in the early church. It is formatted as a collection of letters primarily between Luke (the physician and gospel-writer) and Antipas, a benefactor of Rome who eventually is persuaded by Luke’s narrative.

Most folks never read books on first century culture and customs–because frankly, they tend to be boring catalogs of information that don’t seem relevant. Longenecker teaches the history, politics, and culture of the first century by using them as the story surrounding the relationship of two men from different worlds.

This book would be well-suited for a Christian book group styled class. There are plenty of scripture references that help you apply the cultural concepts to your understanding of scripture, and as it tells the story of the conversion of Antipas, it has a great deal to say about the evangelistic process. The letters also reveal some great information about the different groups of Jesus’ day (Essenes, Pharisees, Samaritans, etc…) and some of the early heresies within the church.

All in all, this book was a great read. It kept my attention for one sitting…which is a rare, but good sign!

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Every Day Bible

Wishlist

I’m just playing with this, but here’s what’s on my “2009 I’d like to read” list…

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Every Day Bible

Some books you might be interested in….

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Every Day Bible Files

The Last Weeks

It was a long journey, but we stuck with it! I wasn’t sure if this was going to happen, to be honest. We began 2008 with about a dozen people, and I thought that probably only 8-10 of us would be meeting together on this last Wednesday night of the year. You blew me away! Our last class session had nearly 35 people in it! If my records are right, about 18 of you completed your reading, and it was the first time for  about ten of you! Congratulations!

We’re moving on from this class to begin a new one on January 14th. In it we’ll overview the Gospel of John for 20 weeks. I hope that you’ll join us.

Here are our last few weeks of materials. It is my hope and prayer that they will be beneficial to you as you continue your study of God’s word.

  1. Week 49: The Early Work of the Church
  1. Early Work of the Church PowerPoint Presentation
  2. Catch-up Handout Covering Weeks 47-49 (Crucifixion through Acts)
  • Week 50: Answering Hard Questions
    1. Many of you asked some doozies in the past few weeks as we’ve studied the epistles. These are Matthew’s thoughts on answering them fairly in the light of scripture.
    2. Hard Questions PDF
    3. PowerPoint overview of Romans
  • Week 51: Charlie Dauphin taught in Matthew’s absence: no files.
  • Week 52: Timothy, Titus, and Jude
    1. PowerPoint overview of the Pastoral Epistles
  • Week 53: Revelation and Peter
    1. Schools of Interpretation in Revelation
    2. Overview of the Last Things
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    Every Day Bible

    All I Want for Christmas…

    So, I’ve decided to compile an Amazon Wishlist this year. The main purpose: for books. So, if by chance, you want to know what books I’ve been looking to make arrive at my home….click away!

    My Amazon.com Wish List