Have you ever been in a worship service and all of a sudden you’re thinking about a Honda Accord? Perhaps you’ve experienced this brain tease, when a verse is read from the book of Acts about the Christians being gathered together in “one accord.” One accord? What does that mean? The expression “one accord” is used 11 times in the book of…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule (Page 2)
Following years of separation after his brother stole his birthright, Esau made his way to meet Jacob in Genesis 32. Jacob “was greatly afraid and distressed,” thinking that Esau may be coming to “attack” him (32:7-8). He made strategic preparations for the saving of his family, and he sent a “present” ahead of him to Esau, hoping to “appease him” (32:20). Note what Jacob said…
Jesus entered the city of Capernaum in Luke 7, and he was greeted by some “elders of the Jews,” who had been sent by a centurion to plead with Jesus to “come and heal his servant” (7:1-3). As they “begged” Jesus on behalf of this centurion, the elders exclaimed how “deserving” this man was (7:4). So Jesus made His way to the centurion’s house,…
In Luke 7, Jesus was invited by a Pharisee named Simon to eat in his home. While Jesus sat at the table, “a woman in the city” entered the scene. If it were not for this woman, we may not even have the record of this dinner, for the woman and Simon’s response to her are the whole focus. First of all,…
You know the song and will sing this in your head, “We represent the Lollypop Guild, the Lollypop Guild, the Lollypop Guild. And in the name of the Lollypop Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land.” Who did these Munchkins represent? You know it! You know because they told you, but you also know because they looked, sounded and acted the part of the…
A favorite verse when it comes to the subject of “giving” is Luke 6:38, where Jesus makes a promise to those who “give.” “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.” But look at the context. What kind of giving is under discussion? Verses 29-30 had also talked about “giving,” but…
Have you ever sat through a boring sermon? Ha! “Nearly everyone I’ve heard borders on boring,” someone might say. What makes a sermon “boring”? Is it the preacher? Some speakers are rather boring in themselves, right? Some speakers are easier to listen to than others, aren’t they? Is it the subject? Some topics are more enthralling than others, right? Of course, some…
We get pretty enamored with ourselves sometimes and our ideas and our wishes, to the point that we often lose sight of others and even lose sight of our true focus on our Father in heaven. As you read through the life of Jesus, it’s interesting how often He diverted the focus from Himself to the Father in heaven. “Whoever receives Me, receives not…