I. Introduction Our scripture is Leviticus 26, and my initial reading understood God saying to the Israelites, “here is a list of blessings if you do right, here is a list of curses if you do wrong.” There are a lot of blessings and curses. In fact, that’s really everything in Leviticus 26, blessings and … Continue reading Blessings & Curses
I. Introduction I've always joked that if I was ever asked to teach a lesson from the book of Leviticus, I would focus on the evils of shellfish. I'm allergic to shellfish - did any of you ever see the movie "Hitch" with Will Smith? And after another one of his disastrous dates where he … Continue reading What We Offer to the Lord
I. Introduction Who in this class has a collection? Dolls, thimbles, something else? I used to collect pennies when I was a young teen. I'd go through my grandfather's big jar of coins looking for specific pennies I didn't have. The oldest penny I had was from 1916, if I recall correctly. Once, based on … Continue reading Amazing Deliverance
I. Introduction It's difficult to see God at work sometimes, isn't it? Unanswered prayers, world hunger, wars. Our own lives, sickness, injuries. Let's start off today with a list of problems. Things that we believe God should solve, should do differently. Some big "why" questions. I'll start off with a couple. What's up with that … Continue reading Compassionate Action
I. Introduction Do you ever get discouraged? What situation have you been in that discouraged you? (Job loss, health issues, family matters). I've told you that I've been saying goodbye to co-workers lately. They stop by my office, shake my hand, say it's been nice working together, and do I know anybody that's hiring. As … Continue reading Trust in the Lord
Image via WikipediaWe've been studying Isaiah and fulfilled prophecy; today we reach the exclamation point of the entire Old Testament. I once recently read that the entire bible points to Jesus. I had a hard time grasping that concept. I knew the New Testament told the story of Jesus, and I knew the Old Testament … Continue reading The Suffering Servant
I could call this the "Day After Trying to Recover From What Might Have Been a Minor Flu Edition," but I won't. Christmas Season and Flu Season accompany each other every year, like Hansel and Gretel, or Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. I had just enough aches and pains to baby myself to prevent a flu... heck, … Continue reading Christian Carnival CCLIV
Image via WikipediaLet's recap the history in 1 Samuel so far and then continue reading in 1 Samuel 13-15. Today we're going to focus on Saul, appointed by God and a man who gives every appearance to fear and obey the Lord, yet the Lord is displeased with him. Saul gives only the appearance of … Continue reading The Many Ways We Disobey
Image via WikipediaIt's National Bailout Day, seeing as how our illustrious US Congress has allocated $700 billion for Wall Street bankers. As Christians, I think we probably could put $700 billion to better use, don't you? But I got to thinking that our lives are not ours, we have been purchased at a cost. How … Continue reading Christian Carnival CCXLIV
I hear a story about a coach teaching his first soccer team made of seventh graders. The coach described the role of the goalie, how to setup offensive a defensive plays, and how to pass the soccer ball. When Saturday came for their first game, the kids all bunched up around the ball in a … Continue reading Hearing God
Go get'em, James Dobson. Obama had some very liberal interpretations of what the bible says, and simultaneously tried to minimize Christian influence in politics *and* say that all religious discussions are welcome. James is firing back against what he called a "fruitcake interpetation of the bible." I love that phrase. News sources come from here … Continue reading Fruitcake Interpretation of the Bible
Sweet treats for everybody; I'd like to pass out some candy favors today; little pieces of sweetness as a symbol of the wonderful friends we've developed in this class. (For my illustration today, I'll pass out little candy favors to everybody, but "accidentally" overlook Margaret.) Sometimes big conflicts can fracture a relationship. Sometimes, little things … Continue reading Reconciliation
This week we follow Joseph into prison. If we're headed to prison with him, let's recap how we got here. We know that Joseph was born into a family that was trying to follow God's will but at the same time was highly dysfunctional. Joseph had eleven other brothers, born to four different women. His … Continue reading When All Hope Seems Lost
Dysfunctional: abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction within a group. We’ve been studying a dysfunctional family now for the last several weeks. They’re a mess! We had Abraham; Abraham had been promised by God that he would have so many children, as many as there were stars in the heavens. How long did Abraham … Continue reading God’s Dysfunctional Children
As we’ve learned the last few weeks, God has a plan for Jacob. Jacob knows this, too, but he’s still trying to do things his own way and for personal reasons. Jacob was the second son born of Isaac and Rebekah, and God had told Rebekah that the elder would serve the younger. Esau was … Continue reading Wrestling with God
We’re reading Genesis 13 and 14 today and following Abram, Sarai, and their nephew Lot around the middle east. Lot’s father had died in Ur in the land of the Chaldees, and Abram had taken Lot in with him on his journey with God. Last week, in Genesis 12, the Egyptian Pharoah asked Abram to … Continue reading Choices We Make
Let me ask you a question about your prayers. I'm sure everybody here prays to God, and there are many forms of prayer. Let's list some kinds of prayers - Thanksgiving. We pray to give thanks to God. Everything comes from God; material possessions, intellect, outward appearance, everything, and we give thanks for every blessing. … Continue reading Waiting on God’s Timing
We’re continuing our study of the minor prophets today with Obadiah. Obadiah. When I found out this week’s lesson was on Obadiah, my first obvious question was, “Who in the heck is Obadiah?†Isn’t he one of the Beverly Hillbillies? “Let me tell you ‘bout a story ‘bout a man named Obadiah.†Or is he … Continue reading Pride and the Lord God
On a Christian forum website I regularly read, one of the Christians had posted some sad news. He had participated regularly with a Christian Missionary organization called Honduras Outreach. This week in a remote mountain village in Honduras, their vehicle was in an accident in rugged terrain. There were 28 adults from four church groups … Continue reading Bloom Where You Are Planted
Do we know which Old Testament Laws apply to Christians? It's a good question. We know the legalistic rules no longer apply - I was just reading 1 Corinthians 7:17-20 today while studying how we are to bloom where we are planted, and Paul is clear that "Keeping God's commands is what counts" but he … Continue reading Old Testament Laws
Read. Study. Mourn. Celebrate. Repent. Promise. The bible is full of interesting, life-changing information. For instance, we know that Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Adam gave Eve a rib; Eve gave Adam an apple, then made a wonderful marinated BBQ ribs out of apple sauce. This is found in the book … Continue reading Rededicating Lives
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an … Continue reading Daily Manna – 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
I have some good news for me this week; I’m done traveling for a while, I hope. There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home. I had some difficulty on this trip; there were last minute changes to the agenda by the client who scheduled me for 8:00am meetings that he couldn’t make, … Continue reading Hand of God
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, in Genesis 14, five kings joined forces. The king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the kings of Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela. For years, the five kings had been pushed around by four other kings, the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Goiim. Because it makes … Continue reading Living in Hope
Yesterday I taught my second bible study to adults. Last time I taught, I rewrote the whole thing as an essay here on Chasing the Wind but that was a lot of work. I think this time I'll stick to posting the outline, notes, and scripture. Especially since halfway through I deviated from my notes … Continue reading Accountability
Rather than pontificating, I'm simply going to question today. How much should one tithe? As I see it, there are two answers to this question. Old Testament: Ten Percent. New Testament: Cheerful Giving. So what do you do if you're cheerfully giving five percent, but ten percent would make you grumpy? On one hand, most … Continue reading Tithing
William O. Levi The Bible or the Axe One man's dramatic escape from persecution in the Sudan When I first read the title, I assumed this book would be about a man having to choose whether to renounce his faith or be killed. It was that, but it was more. William's grandfather explained to him … Continue reading The Bible or the Axe
Chasing the Wind 
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