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Showing posts from 2021

Word of the Year 2022: Stillness

 Following in the footsteps of women wiser than I am has led me to take up the habit of choosing a word for the year to guide my walk with God.   This year, my word is stillness . I usually take life at a run - trying to get to the next thing instead of savoring the now.  I need to make sure I complete all my tasks for the day to feel fulfilled.  I've been this way for as long as I can remember.  Always did my homework on Friday afternoon so I could enjoy the whole weekend without any "have tos" that needed to be accomplished at the last minute before Monday came back around.  I live the same way now: Homiletics on Sunday afternoon before I start my BSF lesson questions on Monday so I have the whole week to work through them in preparation for the leaders' meeting on Friday night or Saturday morning. I have a feeling my word for 2022 is about to disrupt my comfort zone!  I want to allow God to untangle my rigid practices that aren't acts of worship.  I want to be

Word Study: Weed

Word Study ·          Five Steps for a Word Study: o    Step 1 – Choose a word to study- start with a limited word, ie. surrender, obey, not something like Messiah or Lord o    Step 2 – Define the word with a modern definition from a dictionary. o    Step 3 – Discover Bible usages of the word (use a concordance to write out Scripture references, use a Bible dictionary to discover deeper meanings to the word, find alternate words used (synonyms) in other translations for the word, take notes of the context of each scripture where the word is used – book, writer, concepts, etc.) Choose 3 of the references for your word and any comments or notes you have associated with those references. o    Step 4 – Summarize what you have learned about the word from your study. o    Step 5 – Apply the word study – to your relationship with God, to your life, your relationships and the church.   Weed:   o    Step 1:   Weed o    Step 2:   noun - a wild plant growing where it is not

Word Study: Yeast

Word Study ·          Five Steps for a Word Study: o    Step 1 – Choose a word to study- start with a limited word, ie. surrender, obey, not something like Messiah or Lord o    Step 2 – Define the word with a modern definition from a dictionary. o    Step 3 – Discover Bible usages of the word (use a concordance to write out Scripture references, use a Bible dictionary to discover deeper meanings to the word, find alternate words used (synonyms) in other translations for the word, take notes of the context of each scripture where the word is used – book, writer, concepts, etc.) Choose 3 of the references for your word and any comments or notes you have associated with those references. o    Step 4 – Summarize what you have learned about the word from your study. o    Step 5 – Apply the word study – to your relationship with God, to your life, your relationships and the church.   Yeast:   o    Step 1:   Yeast o    Step 2:   a microscopic fungus consisting of single

Homiletics: Matthew 13:31-35, 44-58

  Content ( not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture, fit on one line ): 1.He told another parable: koh like mustard seed man planted field(13:31) 2.smallest seeds, largest plants, becomes tree, birds perch(13:32) 3.another parable: koh like yeast, wm mixed 60# flour, worked through dough(13:33) 4.J spoke things crowd parables, not say anything w/o using parables(13:34) 5.fulfilled prophet: I open mouth parables, utter things hidden since creation(13:35)   6.koh like treasure hidden field, man found, hid again, sold all, bought field(13:44) 7.koh like merchant looking fine pearls(13:45) 8.when found one great value, sold everything, bought it(13:46) 9.koh like net let down lake caught all kinds fish(13:47) 10.when full, fishermen pulled up shore, collected good, threw bad away(13:48) 11.this how be end age, angels come separate wicked from righteous(13:49) 12.throw them blazing furnace where weeping gnashing of teeth(13:50) 13.”understood?” J asked, “Yes

Word Study - Kingdom of God

Homiletics was a bit light this week because I focused my energy on the BSF Leaders assignment to do a word study on "kingdom of God". Word Study ·          Five Steps for a Word Study: o    Step 1 – Choose a word to study- start with a limited word, ie. surrender, obey, not something like Messiah or Lord o    Step 2 – Define the word with a modern definition from a dictionary. o    Step 3 – Discover Bible usages of the word (use a concordance to write out Scripture references, use a Bible dictionary to discover deeper meanings to the word, find alternate words used (synonyms) in other translations for the word, take notes of the context of each scripture where the word is used – book, writer, concepts, etc.) Choose 3 of the references for your word and any comments or notes you have associated with those references. o    Step 4 – Summarize what you have learned about the word from your study. o    Step 5 – Apply the word study – to your relationship with God, t

Homiletics: Matthew 13:1-30, 36-43

  Divisions ( run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s relationship to man; a sin to avoid, promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe ): 1.Jesus told, then explained, the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) Principle:   Jesus speaks in parables, revealing kingdom secrets exclusively to His people. 2.Jesus explains to the disciples why He speaks in parables (Matthew 13:10-17) Principle:   When Jesus speaks, the uncalloused heart receives His message. 3.Jesus told, then explained, the parable of the weeds in the field (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) Principle:   Jesus will separate His people from those of the evil one at the end of the age.     Subject Sentence ( 10-word sentence with proper structure showing exactly where you are in Scripture ): Jesus speaks in parables (the sower, weeds) and explains why.   Aim (“ To Cause

Homiletics: Matthew 11-12

  Divisions ( run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s relationship to man; a sin to avoid, promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe ): 1.Jesus tells John’s disciples to report what they see and hear, asks the people what they expected to see regarding John, declares woes to cities that rejected His miracles and calls people to Himself (11:1-30) Principle:   Jesus’ activity should lead to repentance, not indifference. 2.Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and astonishes the people (12:1-23) Principle:   Jesus values people, but not all people value Jesus. 3.Jesus teaches the Pharisees: “a house divided against itself will not stand” and “by your words you will be acquitted/condemned.” (12:24-37) Principle:   Jesus brings unity to His people. 4.Jesus speaks about a wicked generation and who His family is (12:38-50) Principle:   Jesus’ family

Homiletics: Matthew 9:35-10:42

  Divisions ( run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s relationship to man; a sin to avoid, promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe ): 1.Jesus went through all the towns and villages then called the Twelve and gave them authority (9:35-10:4) Principle:   Jesus’ disciples participate in the harvest. 2.Jesus gives instructions to the Twelve apostles to go to the lost sheep of Israel (10:5-15) Principle:   Jesus equips His people to serve Him. 3.Jesus sends out the Twelve like sheep among wolves, telling them to be on their guard, not fearing men, but God (10:16-31) Principle:   Jesus’ people are to fear God, not man. 4.Jesus tells the Twelve about those who acknowledge Him (and those who don’t) and those who welcome the disciples in His name (10:32-42) Principle:   Jesus’ people acknowledge Him.     Subject Sentence ( 10-word s

Matthew 9:1-34 Homiletics

We pick up in Matthew 9, after the deviled ham debacle.  Jesus gets into a boat and crosses over to His own town.  When He arrives, men bring a paralyzed man to Him on a mat to be healed.  Jesus saw THEIR faith and told the paralyzed man to take heart and that his sins were forgiven.  This was met with mixed responses.  The teachers of the law – some translations call them scribes – thought to themselves that Jesus was blaspheming.  Jesus knew their thoughts and addressed them and asked why they were entertaining evil thoughts in their hearts.  I wonder if any of them were brought closer to belief in Jesus as Messiah because He knew their thoughts.  I am also interested in the idea of entertaining a thought in my heart…  Yes, our thoughts can corrupt our heart, and our heart can corrupt our thoughts.  Anyway, Jesus explains that He wants them to know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.  Yes, Jesus has the authority to forgive sins!  In contrast, the crowd sees this a

Matthew 8 Homiletics

What does a leper, a centurion, a sick woman, many demon-possessed and sick people, a teacher of the law, a disciple, many disciples, a storm, two demon-possessed men and a whole town have in common?  They all have encounters with Jesus in Matthew 8.  Let’s dive right in. The Sermon on the Mount is over and Jesus comes down the mountainside.  A large crowd follows.  A man with leprosy, who shouldn’t have been in the midst of a crowd, came and knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus touched the leper.  Unheard of!  Then He declared His willingness and the leper was immediately made clean!  Boldness, risk, faith, healing.  Jesus is awesome!  Then Jesus tells the cleansed leper NOT to tell anyone, but to show himself to the priests and bring the gift Moses commanded as a testimony to them.  If you’re interested, the sacrifice Moses commanded is spelled out in Leviticus 14:1-7.  What a beautiful gift for the leper and the priests.  Eventually,