Series: Rest. April 16, 2026 Rest today in Faithfulness. Know that God is faithful. Psalm 41:3, “The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” Notice in our scripture today that the Lord sustains him (the poor) to full health. The man who is blessed is the man who considers the poor. Now…in this case the poor refers to any who are poor in any way. So it’s the economic poor, the person who has poor health, the person who la

Psalm 23:5 ESV. Series: Rest When I started studying for this lesson for some reason I remembered the first funeral I went to with my parents. My great grandfather was now resting in the arms of Jesus. I knew knew my great grandparents, the Greens from a village in Missouri. Really I knew my great grandmother more than I knew my great grandfather. The reason for that is when we went there on Sunday, we occasionally stayed together and listened to the women talk in another par

Psalm 23.5 ESV Series Rest                  I love stories…I’ve always loved stories. My first big book was a large book filled with words and beautiful pictures. I was 5 years old and I was forever hooked on stories! While science books may have caught my eye in junior high school, for the better part of my life, I have remained captivated by a great story! I think it may be possible my love for stories are the reason I was led to study scripture. From beginning to end, God

Series Rest/Restore Job 9:17-19 Breaking Point Job 9:17-19 ESV; MSG As we read the scripture from Job we get the idea Job is not having a good day. We’ve all been there where life is too much to handle and we don’t know how to survive. Studies show every person comes to their breaking point and they don’t know what to do. In this account in Job we see be his response that Job sees God as his adversary. Job has lost his physical health becaus

Series:Rest Judges 19:5 MSG I prepare lesson plans far in advance and I pray about each plan…i pray about each scripture for that plan. Today’s scripture seemed strange when i first read it but when I re-read it and thought about the simplicity of it I was curious. I thought maybe choosing this scripture was a mistake, but I prayed and asked God if I should change the scripture. God said to go ahead with the initial plan. In the initial story we have a cast of three characte

Series: Restore Exodus 23:12  We know God was serious about rest because the fourth commandment stipulated to keep and honor the sabbath. God mentioned the same theme in several scriptures. Exodus 23:12, “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.” In the Hebrew the word for rest used in Exodus 23:12 was תִּשְׁבֹּ֑ת pronounced ‘tis bōṯ .

Series: Restore Exodus 23:12 MSG When I was young I remember two things more than any other day. You might think my most memorable days would have been holidays, but it’s not. I remember Sundays. I remember what we did every Sunday after church. We went visiting. We either saw my grandparents or we went to a larger gathering where we visited with extended family. Going visiting wasn’t a chore. It was a time to see my grandparents and possibly my cousins. I don’t remember b

Series: Refresh 1 Kings 13:6-7 NLT As we begin today we need to set the stage. King Jeroboam is of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He ruled over 10 of the Hebrew tribes. The other two tribes lived in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam became king of the ten northern tribes by leading a revolt against Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam fought to reign over all of Israel but Rehoboam let it be known that e would increase taxes and place heavy

Genesis 18:1-5 and 9-14 MSG Series: Refresh One of the most fascinating aspects of life with God is that we can always expect the unexpected. Abraham learned that in our reading today. In Genesis 18:1-2, “God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.” Notice, the three men appeared. He did n

Genesis 18:1-5 and 9-14 MSG Series: Refresh One of the most fascinating aspects of life with God is that we can always expect the unexpected. Abraham learned that in our reading today. In Genesis 18:1-2, “God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.” Notice, the three men appeared. He did not s

Hear Me Acts 10:34-43 MSG While we might love and admire every Apostle from the first century for their unique strengths and capabilities, we might associate with one or two specific Apostles because of their characteristics. One of the advantages of being older is that I have seen every movie produced about Jesus and His Apostles since I was old enough to notice the television. To date I counted 21 films. There was even a silent film entitled “From the Manger to the Cross

Holy Week April  2 2026 Psalm 118:1 ESV I used to think people who were gaga over their dog (or pet) were very strange and might possibly need counseling. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve pretty much always had a dog, but I wasn’t crazy nuts about my dog. That was before I retired. A few years before I retired I adopted a miniature schnoodle. Now, I’ve had smart dogs, but this dog rivals the poodle I grew up with. I am seriously thankful for my uber smart dog. Psalm 118:1 tells us, “

Series: Refresh Jeremiah 31:1-6 ESV Again God remembered Israel and promised he was THE God of Israel. The prophet Jeremiah reminded Israel of his faithfulness. He promised they would dance and sing again. In Jeremiah 31:1-6. We are told, “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” Thus says the Lord:“The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared

Series: Hear Me 1 Kings 3:9, Judges 2:16; James 1:5 ESV The Hebrew word for discern is לְהָבִ֖ין lə-hā-ḇîn  is the pronunciation and it literally is a God given gift to understand and know. In I Kings 3:9 Solomon said, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” Merriam Webster defines discernment as “the quality of being able to grasp

Series: Hear Me 1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV Speak Prophecy When I was a young adult an older gentleman spoke words to me quite unexpectedly that made me shudder. His words were strong but gentle. At the time I didn’t understand what was happening so I didn’t write it down to put in my Bible for future reference. All I remember is that he said there would be a “shift” in my life at some point. There were other things said but I didn’t remember anything except the shift. I was a lit

Series: Hear Me Jeremiah 29:13 ESV After working with prayer ministry most of my life I came to realize we often think we know what we need but that is not really what we need. For example if our car breaks down we ask for a new car or the money to fix the old car. We focus on temporal things that will help us today. God does listen and help but as we read scripture and really listen we begin to realize God wants to give us much more. Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “You will seek m

Series: Hear Me Psalm 147:15 ESV As I write this the news is on and today’s headlines are focused on the Middle East. That is certainly not an unusual theme in the news. It seems to me that centuries upon centuries have had the same theme. Today’s headline news is focused on Iran and Israel, global oil, and the disruption of availability. The focus is on the Strait of Hormuz and rising oil prices disrupting global energy supplies. As a result, U.S. soldiers are being deployed

Series: Hear Me A Dream Job 33:15-17 NCV God speaks even today through dreams and visions. They can happen at any time throughout the day or night to any believer. We know from Job 33:15-17, “He speaks in a dream or a vision of the night when people are in a deep sleep, lying on their beds. He speaks in their ears and frightens them with warnings to turn them away from doing wrong and to keep them from being proud.” I’ve had people tell me they believe that method of communic

Series: Hear Me Proverbs 18:13 ESV As we are made in the image of God we must consider the possibility that like God, we have a desire to be heard and understood. However, there is a catch. Listening well is paramount. After all…no one would look forward to speaking to another who isn’t really listening. Proverbs 18:13 wise Solomon wrote, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” The Message is even more to the point…”Answering before listening is b

Genesis 1:1b I started Seminary in 2007 at the age of 54. I did not want to go to Seminary. It was never part of my big picture plan....