Posts with the category “lent-2024”

Matthew 27:62–66The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and th...  Read More

Matthew 27:27–56Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and to...  Read More

Matthew 26:47–56While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to...  Read More

Matthew 22:15–22Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus...  Read More

Matthew 21:23–27And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from whe...  Read More

As followers of Christ, we know that we are saved by faith. But our faith is also proved through our faithfulness. Because of God’s steadfast love for us, we walkin faithfulness to him. Let’s close out our lent series on faith by praying the Psalmist’s prayer. PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Prove me and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfuln...  Read More

Abraham exercised his belief in Yahweh by his obedience. In Greek, faith and belief are the same concept. To say that one believes is to say that they have faith. It follows, in the example of Abraham, that having faith in God is followed by faithfulness or obedience. In an effort to protect the doctrine of justification as being by faith alone, many protestant Christians have downplayed the signi...  Read More

A mustard seed is a super tiny seed that grows into a giant tree. A superficial reading of this verse makes it sound like anyone who believes in Jesus, even a tiny bit, can do immeasurably powerful things according to their minuscule faith. Is that true? That depends on what faith actually is. If faith in Christ is simple belief, then yes. But faith is not mere belief. “Even the demons believe and...  Read More

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Our faith is tested by fire. That is, our authenticity is gauged by our endurance. We are to rejoice that our faith is tested, because it gives us confidence in our eternal state. We are confident, as we endure trials, that we will indeed endure to the end, entering int glory when Jesus Christ returns. We should, therefore, rejoice in trials, because trials produce confidence that we will endure j...  Read More

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The Apostle Paul was constantly faced with trials, often life-or-death situations. He was truly persecuted for his faith. But, he had a great hope that allowed him to stand courageously against opposition so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would go forth. His courage was evident in the way he lived his life, believing that the greatness of Christ must be seen through his actions. His courage was s...  Read More

In this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about our eternal hope. We know that when we leave our bodies–this broken vessel–we will be with Christ until the Eternal Kingdom is ushered in. If this is our hope, then we have nothing to fear. So ‘we are confident’–in other translations, ‘we are of good courage.’ We have no fear of man or fear of death because we have hope for the life to come. Paul ...  Read More

The Apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthian church to be courageous and strong. That includes being alert and standing firm in the faith. The Greek word translated as ‘be alert’ is grēgoreō. Its natural meaning is to be awake or watchful. The word is often used to describe the work of prison guards. They needed to be awake, not sleeping on the job, to ensure prisoners didn’t escape. Christian courage...  Read More

The Apostle Paul was one of the early Christian martyrs, along with the rest of the disciples. He feared that his days were running short, but God wasn’t done with him yet. The Lord Jesus appeared to him and commanded him to have courage. The reason Jesus gives is that he would go to Rome to testify about Jesus to the Romans. Paul was strengthened–he received courage–because of Jesus’s promise. He...  Read More

King David observed the spread of evil on the earth and the way faithful followers of the LORD often undergo persecution from them. But he knew Yahweh would deliver the faithful. Therefore, he gives this advice: when life is hard, and you find it challenging to remain faithful, (1) wait, (2) be strong, and (3) let your heart be courageous. Waiting is an act of patience where you endure a time of t...  Read More

You’ll remember from Sunday’s message that courage should be exercised. In this text, Joab, the commander of the Israelite armies, challenges the warriors to prove themselves strong, to be courageous, before their enemies. They are to be courageous to protect their people and God’s cities. In this, God’s purposes will be accomplished. Likewise, when we are courageous and stand up for God’s purpose...  Read More

Prudence often means self-control or the ability to self-manage. You have been left in charge of governing, at least yourself. But maybe you manage a family or a group of people at work. Maybe you manage people in the church in some way or another. We don’t know when Christ will return for his church. But the faithful and prudent manager will be ready on that day. The Master, Jesus, will find you ...  Read More

When we think of serpents, we think of deceit or craftiness, but it can also mean to flee from danger–something snakes are better at than sheep among wolves. In this passage, Jesus sends the 12 to preach the Kingdom of God. He knows that the disciples will be persecuted for their message, so they must be discerning and flee from danger. Shrewdness or prudence, in this case, is a preservation mecha...  Read More

In this passage, Paul is concerned that we might stifle the work of the Holy Spirit by despising prophesies. It’s not a new problem today to have people prophesy in the name of the Spirit inauthentically. It makes it feel like we can’t trust prophesy because it may not really be coming from God. Paul’s advice for this age-old problem is to test all things. Does the prophesy line up with scripture?...  Read More

Wisdom and prudence are often used interchangeably. Prudence (or shrewdness) is really a subcategory of wisdom, focussed on managerial discernment. Prudence shows up first in your ability to manage yourself–as a child, you learn to care for your body and your belongings. That typically grows into managing a household and, for many, a family. You may find prudence active in the workplace or in your...  Read More

The Greek word translated “sober-minded” means clear headed. It compares the state of your mind when you are inebriated to your mind when you are sober, reflecting on the clarity of your thinking. The prudent person is alert or watchful, being careful to bring all things to God in prayer. The prudent person, likewise, is careful to parse their thinking, not getting bogged down in meaningless argum...  Read More

Part of prudence is being able to spot danger. This could mean physical dangers. Prudence could mean not walking alone at night down dark alleyways. But danger can take many forms. For example, learning to avoid the dangers of sin is prudent. Learning to avoid opportunities to feed vices is prudent. Learning to shield yourself from situations that may cause outbursts of anger is prudent. The prude...  Read More

Peter gives agency to the desires of the flesh. They war against our souls. Temperance is an important tool in combatting the desires of the flesh. With temperance, we surround the city walls of the enemy, starving the desires of the sinful flesh so that they die. Without temperance, we feed the enemy, giving strength and energy to sinful desires. PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we recognize that our battle w...  Read More

For Solomon, the product of overindulgence is poverty. It may be drunkenness and gluttony that lead down this path, but any desire of the flesh may lead to the same destruction. Like strong drink clouds the mind and leaves the drunkard sluggish, unable to do the next day's work, any overindulgence will inevitably lead to distraction and lack of motivation to do what is truly valuable in life. Food...  Read More

In metallurgy, temperance refers to the hardness or elasticity of the metal. Does it break or give when it is under pressure? We often use the word temper to describe outbursts of anger–breaking points. A person who breaks, losing their temper, invites destruction upon themselves. The person who breaks, giving power to the passions of the flesh, also lacks temperance. Lust, gluttony, drunkenness, ...  Read More

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon repeatedly encourages us to enjoy the lives that God has given us. We are free to enjoy all that God has given us in life without guilt. But Paul warns us to do so in righteousness. He warns us not to let our freedom give an opportunity to sensual desires: gluttony, greed, pride, and all other vices. Rather, when we temper our passions, we are free to serve one another. As...  Read More

The illustration is odd for a modern audience. When might you need to capture a city in battle? You likely think you will never be faced with such choices. But that’s not true. You daily choose between power and patience. A small child bursts into tears because their sandwich was cut on the diagonal–or for any number of other seemingly insignificant reasons. As a parent, you can yell, spank the ch...  Read More

Temperance is a matter of life and death. Temperance is the quality of moderation or self-restraint. Moderation is avoiding extremes. As Jim Gaffigan says, ‘If you eat a whole pizza, people say, “Wow, you were hungry!” but if you eat a whole cake, people think, “You’ve got a problem.”’ Much of Gaffigan’s humor is based on gluttony. It’s funny–hilarious, really–because we all understand what it mea...  Read More

The farmer plants seeds in his field. Those seeds reap a harvest much greater than what was planted. So, the following season, the farmer plants a larger field and reaps a far greater harvest. In this way, God generously provides for the farmer. So, too, in generosity. When you sow generosity into the world, you will grow in your desire to be generous towards others–you will grow in godly virtue. ...  Read More

In the Parable of the Vine Workers, Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner who needed to hire workers. He hired some early in the day, promising them a day's wage. As the day went on, he hired more workers, paying them a full day’s wage as well. Even near the end of the day, he hired more workers, maybe only for a few hours. He also paid them a full day’s wage. When it was time to pay the work...  Read More

God has set up the world so that goodness follows those who live good lives. Certainly, we have seen the way bad things follow people who make poor choices. In this way, good follows the generous, and bad follows the wicked. This is the general pattern of the world we live in. Will this always be true in every situation? No. But, generally and eventually, God will bless those who do good in the na...  Read More

The Psalmist contrasts the generous person with the person who borrows without repaying. These are, in a sense, opposites. The righteous person is generous, giving graciously when there is need. The wicked person isn’t just stingy with his own wealth and resources but actually borrows from others without returning what was given. This is an issue of the heart. The wicked person builds his own weal...  Read More

There is an integral relationship between community and generosity. People who give gifts are going to have many friends. Superficially, this may mean that people will be nice to you if they can get something from you–I don’t think that’s the point of this proverb. Rather, in community, generosity reflects an others-centric heart. The one who cares deeply for their brothers and sisters in Christ w...  Read More

In the New Testament context, we often speak of giving as liberal, according to conscience and means. We then assume that the Old Testament gifts to God’s work were strict and rigid–the 10% tithe, plus other commanded gifts. But, notice Moses’s words, “everyone whose heart is willing.” We should remember that God does not need our gifts, although he chooses to work through his people. As we are wi...  Read More

The Apostle Paul often relied on the churches for provision. He considered himself blessed to have received abundantly everything he needed from the church at Philippi. This offering was not merely for his own sake, but he reminds them that it is a fragrant offering and an acceptable sacrifice that pleases God. This imagery points back to the Old Testament sacrificial system when flesh was burned on the brazen altar, often with incense or fragrant herbs. But it is not the fragrance that pleases God. The people's obedience and willingness to sacrifice for the good of each other that pleases God.   Read More

Daniel was troubled by events in Babylon while Israel and Judea were in exile. He longed to see his people return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He mourned for his people in sackcloth and ashes. For this reason, Daniel committed himself to prayer. As followers of Jesus, we have confidence that God hears our prayers even when we do not fast. But Daniel sought God with fasting and mourning to draw nearer in spirit by drawing himself away from the flesh. We may deny our flesh for a time to seek God in times of great need.   Read More

Sacrifices shouldn’t be seen negatively–according to what we give up, that the body needs or desires. Instead, when we sacrifice, we do so to share with others. Our sacrifices do good for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the community around us. So, if you sacrifice food for Lent, give to others. If you sacrifice luxuries (things you would usually buy), give to the Church. When you sacrifice positively, blessing others and building God’s Kingdom, God is pleased with such sacrifices.  Read More

The season of Lent mirrors Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness. Jesus was led into the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days while being tempted by Satan. His sacrifice of the physical bolstered his spiritual stamina. Likewise, our sacrifices of the things the body desires prepare us to persevere through temptation and other spiritual hardships.  Read More