The Coming of Christ

For the Advent season, let's read the Gospel of Matthew. This dramatic story begins where Genesis does--at the beginning--and takes us through the entire life and ministry of Jesus.

This month I'll continue preaching at Fall Creek Wesleyan Church, so I'll keep up with Bible reading via BibleBuzz on Twitter (also posted in the column on the right).

Join in the reading! And throw me a comment now and then. Also, you can follow along with what I'll be preaching either on my regular blog on the Fall Creek Web site.

On the Road Again

Hey Team ... November is incredibly packed with travel. I will seldom have time to blog in the next couple of weeks.

But I'm still reading!

Join me, and take a glance at BibleBuzz (a one-line Bible Blog) either in the sidebar of this blog or on Twitter.com. Here's a tip, you can have Twitter send BibleBuzz to your cell phone each day!

Nov. 13
Nov. 14
Nov. 15
Nov. 16
Nov. 17
Nov. 18
Nov. 19

As Often As You Eat It

Exodus 13

The Passover was to be perpetually celebrated by the Israelites. In fact, it oveserved to this day. In the same way, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper so that we would constantly remember his death, which brought about our salvation. Like Passover, Communion must be celebrated with a community. You can't have communion alone.

How does your church observe the Lord's Supper? How often? In what settinng? By what means? How does this help you remember what God has done?

Ready

Exodus 12

If you were to distill the Passover regulations into a few brief rules, how would you state them? Try this:

1. Help your neighbor.
2. Stay under the blood.
3. Be ready.
4. Wait.

Given the fact that Jesus is our Passover lamb, so it's his blood we are "under," these are remarkably good instructions for us.

Is that pretty much how you are living?

Plunder the Egyptians

Exodus 11

Plundering the Egyptians. Odd concept, that. When you leave slavery, you take the wealth of the land with you. Anyone care to offer a modern interpretation?

A. Socio-Economic: In the interest of justice, the wealth of former slaveholders should be redistributed to former slaves.

B. Spiritual: When you leave you life of bondage to sin, you don't lose anything, because the righteous life actually offers more wealth, pleasure, and contentment.

C. Practical: We should take the best that the "world" has to offer--ideas, material goods, wealth--and use it for better purposes. It matters little how we acquire these things, so long as we use them for good.

D. Historical: God needed a way to fund the startup of this people (Israel) at that time in history (about 3,400 years ag0). That's it. There is no further application.

Are there other interpretations? What's yours?

God Made Me Do It

Exodus 10

God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Most people either love that concept, or hate it. It's pleasant to think that some people are rotten because God causes them that way--rather than their depravity being a result of the fall. Instead of "the devil made me do it," "God made me do it" could be their legitimate excuse for doing evil.

I wonder.

Does this chapter show how God deals with all people, or how he dealth with one man?
Is anyone beyond the reach of God's grace? Pharaoh? Judas? You?

I don't know about you, but I don't normally blame God when I do wrong. And I don't blame the devil either. When I'm looking for whose responsible for my life, I look in the mirror.

Alright Already

Exodus 9

I'm trying to discern what was in Pharaoh's mind as he watched the plagues grow closer and closer to his own household and himself. His advisors, some of them anyway, were saying "Uncle." Pharaoh seems to believe he could manipulate God. Or wait him out.

I'm certain nobody in this room has ever tried that.

What is it that keeps you from being fully obedient to God, right now?