MONDAY Reading for Today: Matthew 20: 17-34 Acts 27:27-44 Psalm 45 Leviticus 21–23 Leviticus 21–23 Historian Marvin Rosenthal wrote, “There is not a nation anywhere, even among the most primitive of peoples, that does not have its unique days of special celebration.” Why do we celebrate? I believe God wired us to love a holiday. […]
A Sunday school children’s song contains the lyrics, “Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line.” Cute song. Bad hermeneutics. The fact is that we participate in the promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we experience its blessings (Galatians 3:9). But the promise itself was unique […]
Do you know that Fig Newtons got their name from the city of Newton, Massachusetts? Other than eating one of those cookies once in a while, I seldom think about figs, so it’s hard to appreciate what fig trees meant in the ancient Middle East. There weren’t many ways to satisfy a sweet tooth back […]
Headings matter. The New International Version titles this text, “Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away.” The English Standard Version titles this text, “God Protects Hagar and Ishmael.” The first heading emphasizes Abraham’s duty. The latter heading emphasizes God’s care. In this text we see both severity and grace in God’s choices. God cares for the outcast […]
Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. How have you heard this sentence completed: “There are two kinds of people in the world . . .”? 2. What types of cliques are found in a typical high school? Which one were you a part of? Which would never have accepted […]
