Joy ⁽⁸⁰⁾

Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 29:21–30:15; Acts 21:1–16 Life is full of ups and downs. Psalm 107 starts with such a positive tone. Then mishaps and adventures and trials occur. Then back to rejoicing in God. It doesn’t seem to really matter your place, station, or…

Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15; Ezekiel 17:22–24; 2 Corinthians 5:11–17; Mark 4:26–34 If you’ve ever walked in a forest, particularly a rain forest (like the one on the Olympic Peninsula), you might see a fallen and dead tree. On that dead tree, or from even its stump,…

Psalm 29; Isaiah 2:1–5; Romans 8:9–11 The statistics don’t seem promising. The percentage of regular church-goers has been falling generation by generation for the last four generations. While the percentage of Americans that say they are Christian is high (relatively), a very high percentage of…

Psalm 22:25–31; Amos 8:1–7; Acts 8:1b–8 For many people, singing in worship of God is a significant part of their life of faith. They love the joy-filled worship of God. The image provided in Amos takes those joy-filled songs and turns them into songs of…

Psalm 114; 1 Corinthians 5:6b–8; Luke 24:13–49 Those guys (and women) didn’t know what they were talking about! Really? The tomb is empty, and you think he’s alive? A vision of an angel? Really? God doesn’t do that anymore. The Resurrection just happened mere hours…