Psalm: 137:1-9 Meditation: 1 PetDoes anyone hear echoes of the book of James in this passage? Peter admonishes us to love each other and use the gifts God has given us to help each other for God’s glory. The theme here is joy in suffering for the name of Christ and committing our souls to …
Tag: joy
Thursday, September 9
Psalm: 77 Meditation Job: These sentences capture all the praise, joy, happiness of Psalm 88 (take a look). This must be a recurring cycle in everyone’s life. Job speaks casually of death. Most people are afraid to die and avoid all mention of death. Today, we use euphemisms to avoid both the word and reality …
Thursday, July 8
Psalm: 72 Meditation Romans: The opening lines of this passage are so triumphant that they should make all of us who are in Christ to jump up and down with joy. That has not been my experience as I observe most Christians around me. We revisit, to some degree, what we looked at in chapter …
Monday, November 23
Psalm: 48 Meditation 1 Peter: In the 16th Chapter of Acts Paul receives a vision encouraging him to head toward Macedonia (Philippi, Berea, and ultimately to Athens and Corinth). At about the same time Peter reaches out to Bithynia, Pontus, Galatia and Cappadocia, all in the northern and Eastern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). This letter …
Joy
Listen. Listen to the pre-recorded Children’s Message together. You can find it at pacificunionchurch.org/churchsmallReviewPastor Nate talked about “happy” and “joy” in the children’s message. How is “happy” different from “joy”? [Hint to parents: remember from the children’s message that happiness comes and goes because it is a reaction to what happens to us. Joy stays all the time.]Let’s …
Going Deeper: June 21
Read James 1:1-12 together. Watch the sermon video (available at pacificunionchurch.org/churchsmall)Listen. How does James stretch your understanding of joy? How does James give us a new perspective on suffering?Respond. How would your life change if you embraced God’s view of joy and suffering? Is God asking you to do something or to stop doing something?Is He calling …
Generosity
Grace is any gift that God gives to undeserving sinners. God’s forgiveness is grace. Our spiritual gifts, the special abilities that we have been given by God to strengthen the church, are also grace. But have you ever thought of your generosity to others as God’s grace to you? I didn’t until I came across …
Tuesday, May 12
Psalm: 68 Meditation Romans: “…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” (v. 1) Much of the letter has been concerned with God’s mercy. Offering our bodies may mean in the sense of the “new life” given us by the Holy Spirit. The OT required living sacrifices to be offered (killed) but, …
Advent 2019 – Week 3: Joy
Memorize this verse as a family: James 5:7-8: Be patient, then, brothers [and sisters], until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm for the Lord is near. Activity: …
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