Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. Easter and April Fool’s Day fall on the same date this year! Did anyone try to play an April Fool’s joke on you this week? Tell about it, or a memorable prank from the past. 2. People may react to shocking news by […]
Praise should not be divorced from obedience. To praise God and then not obey God is hypocrisy. That was the problem on Palm Sunday. On Sunday the crowd said, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9), but by Friday the same crowd said, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:22, […]
My wife and I traveled to Israel 18 years ago, and during our return visit last year we noticed that much about the Holy Land remains constant (and confusing)—a mix of the sacred and the strange. In Jerusalem pilgrims rub elbows with pickpockets. Merchants hawk T-shirts outside the entrance to the Wailing Wall. A peaceful […]
Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. Recall a time when life was difficult and a friend said, “I’m here for you.” How did the presence of that friend make a difference? 2. Try to define these two terms: tough love and enabling. Both could describe the actions of a […]
Giving thanks makes for a busy life. The busiest travel days in the United States occur around the Thanksgiving holiday. Airports are crammed and highways look like parking lots. Even so, Bob Russell says that Thanksgiving is the one holiday that has not suffered extreme commercialization (Bob Russell Ministries Blog, Thanksgiving—My Favorite Holiday, November 19, […]
