In a small community in Germany in 1727, a band of Moravian Christians began a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week prayer vigil that lasted for 100 years. During those years, Moravian men, women, and children prayed without interruption. They claimed as their motto the words from Isaiah 62:6, 7 which references God’s placing of watchmen on the wall. […]
Etched in our nation’s history is a motto found in the final chapters of the book of Micah. The motto has become a rally cry for religious leaders and politicians who strive to inspire the hearts of the people. It was the rally cry of abolitionists and Quakers as they sought to end slavery. It […]
If the unforgiving servant had a shrunken heart (last week’s lesson), the unjust leaders who condemned Jesus had shrunken souls (today’s lesson). While many Jews received Jesus gladly and became children of God (John 1:12), these “religious leaders” played the role of antagonists in the gospel record and in this text we see evidence of […]
Throughout history few leaders have accomplished as much as the apostle Paul, yet he endured an astonishing number of traumatic events: imprisonment, beatings, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, and many other forms of suffering. Almost matter-of-factly Paul mentions, “Three times I was shipwrecked” (2 Corinthians 11:25). In Acts chapter 27, Luke tells about one of those shipwrecks […]
Avoidance of truth is the number one obstacle to discipling friendships. Scripture is clear, we need authentic, burden-bearing, truth-telling, iron-sharpening-iron friends. We all say we want them. We say we want accountability, someone we can be real with and who will keep it real with us. But when it comes down to it, the truth […]
