Salvation ⁽⁹⁷⁾

Leviticus 21:16–24, Matthew 20:29–34, 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 Even today people struggle with blindness. Granted, today those who are blind have legal protections, braille, technology, and acceptance that wasn’t part of other cultures. In the New Testament era, the only “job” the blind could get was…

1 Samuel 1:1–18, Luke 18:1–8, Matthew 6:5–15 "…The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect."—James 5:16 As a gift, prayer is probably second only to salvation and reconciliation. The ability to talk to the Creator of the universe. The God who…

Genesis 15:1–6, Romans 5:1–11, 1 John 1:5–2:2 One of the ongoing struggles that people have is earning their salvation. They think they can, or that they must. This is what is often called “works” in Christian circles. Theologians have discussed what “works” is from a…

1 Corinthians 7:32–38 When we read this passage, we have to understand that Paul really was expecting the world to end. The Messiah had come, why wait? Over the years, there has been an interesting development. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches have elevated male…

Matthew 15:10–20, Luke 6:39–42, Ephesians 6:12–18 In our current political and cultural climate, there are plenty of sharp barbs being thrown out. If we wanted to, we could say flaming arrows, which is metaphorically accurate. It’s pretty nuts, and certainly unloving, unpeaceful, impatient (i.e, doesn’t…