heart ⁽²⁵¹⁾

Psalm 135; Daniel 3:1–30; 1 John 2:3–11 The fiery furnace story with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Hebrew names: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) is one of those ever-present Sunday School stories. It is a great story of faith, trust, and most importantly…love. Love. Yes. Faith and…

Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24; Song of Solomon 3:1–11 If there ever was a book of the Bible that was inappropriate for younger audiences it would be the Song of Solomon (or the Song of Songs). In some traditions, the Song of Solomon is not permitted to…

Psalm 118:1–2, 19–29; Mark 11:1–11; John 12:12–16 HOSANNA! The cry of the people before the gates of Jerusalem was filled with this word. Hosanna is a Hebrew contraction meaning, “save, we pray,” which you just read in Psalm 118:25. Hosanna is used as part of…

Psalm 119:9–16; Isaiah 44:1–8; Acts 2:14–24 Lent has various aspects. The first is our mortality (“from dust you came; to dust you return”). The second is sin. Mortality and sin are connected. Without the original sin, there would be no death. Sin brought death to…

Numbers 21:4–9; Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Ephesians 2:1–10; John 3:14–21 One of the biggest dangers of constant blessings is that we often disdain them. We become so accustomed to them that we become blind to them. Even worse, we then grow to despise them. The Israelites…