Posts with the category “experiencing-god”

Highlight If I want to experience God I must obey him, and when I obey him I can be used for His purposes. John summarizes his letter in this final chapter with some clear, simple directives. Following God doesn’t always look like accomplishing some great task in his name. Do you want to love God? Keep his commands. It won’t be easy, but it also won’t be burdensome…because an obedient life is an abundant, meaningful life that changes us and the world around us.  Read More

Highlight When we follow Jesus in obedience to love the world the way he did we should expect opposition the way did. We live in a time not all that much unlike the time of the early church. John is addressing the fact that there are people in the midst of these followers, some of whom were actually a part of the church at one time, that are denying the divinity of Christ. That sounds familiar. Our world is often telling us that it’s actually not loving to believe that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God.  Read More

Highlight Discerning God’s will and direction for our lives is not always as clear as we hope it will be. Most of us have a desire to obey Jesus, but may wonder how. John simplifies our expectations here. We may not always feel confident in knowing where God is leading us, but the roads of obedience will all lead to sacrifice and love for one another the way Jesus loved us.  Read More

Highlight In Henry Blackaby’s book Experiencing God he points out that obedience to God is a moment of truth where what we do aligns with what we believe about who God is. Here we see John affirming that obedience to Jesus and his teachings are the litmus test by which we can know whether someone is a true disciple. Jesus’ own words are likely echoing in John’s mind as he appeals to these followers: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24).  Read More

Highlight This week we are wrapping up our series on Experiencing God by digging deeper into the truth that: You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you. For the rest of this week we’re going to walk through the book of 1 John. For an overview, take some time to watch this video from the Bible Project: Books of 1-3 John Summary.  Read More

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Welcome to Week 7 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us.  Read More

Highlight It’s hard to know what to do with Jonah in this final chapter. What a disappointing end. And yet, his response echoes so many other stories in Scripture, and maybe even our own at times. It sounds a lot like the elder brother in the story of the prodigal (or lost) son that Jesus shares in Luke 15 who says to his father, “‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’” (v 29-30, MSG). Yikes.  Read More

Highlight What a contrast we see here between Jonah’s response to the call of God and Nineveh's response to His justice. Jonah, the Israelite, who knew God’s law and has grown up hearing the stories of His mighty works and faithfulness, fails to submit to the Lord. Nineveh, a pagan nation, who doesn’t even know what god Jonah is serving, immediately responds with humility and repentance. Jonah doesn’t give them much to work with, but the King and people of Nineveh in faith immediately acknowledge their wickedness and turn from their ways. Even the animals are made to express the grief of their sin!  Read More

Highlight Here we see a remarkable turn of events…and it's not just the fish. What’s even more amazing than the circumstances Jonah finds himself in is his repentance. Here is a man who was willing to die in order to avoid the discomfort of following God. He has no idea how this story ends, for all he knows he could spend the remainder of his days in the stomach of a massive sea creature. And yet in a moment of clarity, that often comes when we reach the rock bottom of our faith, Jonah acknowledges the sovereignty and goodness of God.  Read More

Highlight For the rest of this week we’re going to walk through the story of Jonah. For an overview of the book of Jonah take some time to watch this video from the Bible Project:  Read More

Highlight This week we are digging deeper into the truth about Experiencing God and that: You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. This is where the rubber of faith really starts to meet the road of life. If we’ve heard from God through his Word, prayer, the church or our circumstances and He’s given us direction, the only question left is whether we will be obedient. Often that obedience comes at a cost.  Read More

WELCOME Welcome to Week 6 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us.  Read More

Highlight We are wrapping up our final day reflecting on the truth that “God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action”. We’ve been reminded of the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, reflected on the incredible victories of flawed, but faithful followers like Moses and Gideon, and looked to Jesus as our ultimate example of faith that endures. Here Jesus reminds us that a crisis of faith often also comes in the form of letting go.   Read More

Highlight Jesus has just learned that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been murdered. He is drawing away from the crowds because he’s grieving, but he cannot escape them. They’re desperate for hope and healing. Instead of reacting in anger or sending them away, he has compassion on them and meets their needs. The disciples are faced with a very human problem, it’s dinner time and people are getting hungry, and they respond in a very human way. It wasn’t an unreasonable solution to send the crowds home so they could eat, it had been a long day and surely they were all tired, especially Jesus.   Read More

Highlight Last week we read Judges 6 and were introduced to Gideon. Like the story of Moses yesterday, Gideon too is skeptical of his ability to do what the Lord is asking. In fact, he audaciously tests the Lord to ensure first that it is Yaweh who is asking him to take on these insurmountable odds. Then, he boldly asks for reassurance that God will keep his promise to give these armies into his hands by laying out the fleece. We should be encouraged by God’s patience with Gideon. He shows compassion for Gideon’s human self-doubt.  Read More

Highlight This interaction between Moses and God should reassure us of our own usefulness to the Lord. Most of us can probably put ourselves in Moses’ place and empathize with his fear and insecurity. He’s painfully aware of his own weaknesses and so blinded by his own ability that he misses the point God is clearly trying to make. Blackaby helps us pinpoint the issue when he explains, “If you can clearly see how something can be accomplished, more than likely, faith is not required”. In other words, if God presents you with an opportunity to exercise faith, don’t expect it to make sense or seem manageable based on your own capacity.  Read More

Highlight This week we’re reflecting on the truth that God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. Hebrews 11 is often referenced as the quintessential passage regarding faith. Here, the writer of Hebrews, takes the time to list out great heroes of the Jewish faith and there are a couple of important, common characteristics we should note that tell us something about the kind of faith that brings honor to God.  Read More

Welcome to Week 5 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us.  Read More

Highlight It seems like the church in Corinth had a similar problem we all face - comparison. It is a trap we all fall into at some point about something. In this case, it seems the church in Corinth was elevating certain spiritual gifts over others - again, something we can often find ourselves doing.  Read More

Highlight Part of the comfort of Jesus is that he is fully man and fully God. Why should that be comforting to us? Because it means He has experienced the things we experience. Yet unlike us, He knows the full picture. His experience as a man and His knowledge of being God can provide great comfort to us. We can see that here in John 11.  Read More

Highlight Jesus declared himself to be the Good Shepherd (v 11). In our urban coastal setting here in the low country, the importance of this declaration does not reach us like it would have to the original audience. Jesus had been speaking to a divided audience, the Pharisees, or teachers of the law and prophets, and to the everyday rural Jew, who often were shepherds or knew many shepherds. Both of these groups would have immediately known what Jesus was speaking about, but even to them they would have received it differently.  Read More

Highlight The power of wisdom is that one typically knows what is happening or they have insight others do not have. Paul reminds us that our faith does not depend on the wisdom of “this age or the rulers of this age” (v 6). Those of the world find the message of salvation - Christ death and resurrection - weak and foolish. Because they are looking for earthly wisdom - power and show.   Read More

Gideon finds himself from the weakest clan and least in his family (v.15), and yet God still uses him because it is the Lord who will be with him (v16). Before going to fight a battle, God calls Gideon to tear down the altar of a false god that Gideon’s own father built. Scholars believe this first task of Gideon is important because of two things. First and foremost, it shows how serious God is about “no other gods before Him.” In order for Gideon to have success in fighting against the enemy, God needs to be first.  Read More

Welcome to Week 4 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan! This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us  Read More

Highlight Jesus knows that the end of his earthly ministry is here, which means that the words recorded in John 17 are in a way Jesus’ last words. Last words reveal priorities and concerns, both of which Jesus now puts before His Father in prayer.  Read More

Highlight John 8 contains one of the great identification statements of Jesus: “I am the Light of the World.” (v12) John Calvin wrote in his set of commentaries that “It is a most beautiful title of Christ when he is called the light of the world. We are all blind by nature, but a remedy is offered to rescue and free us from the darkness and make us partakers of the true light. And this blessing is not offered just to one here or there, for Christ says that he is the light of the whole world.”  Read More

Highlight John, the author of the Book of John, gives us a hint at the significance of the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand in v4 when he tells us that “the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.” The importance of this timing is that Passover was the religious festival when Jews remembered their great prophet Moses and the works that God did to free His people through Moses. One of the acts of provision performed through Moses was the giving of manna from heaven, bread that was miraculously given every day while the Jewish people were homeless in the wilderness. But the people wouldn’t have only looked back at Moses, but also forward to the fulfillment of the promise that one day God would send another prophet like Moses, who would come as an anointed king (Messiah) to lead God’s people into the ultimate Promised Land.  Read More

Highlight When we read the accounts of Jesus’ life, it can sometimes catch us off guard what events trigger people wanting to kill him. John 5 includes one of those events, where apparently Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath invoked extreme levels of anger. To understand why the response was extreme, it is important to understand what argument Jesus is making for his authority to be able to heal on the Sabbath in vv16-17.  Read More

Highlight The end of this chapter tells the story of Jesus’ encounter with a royal official. Scholars point out that it’s possible that this man was a Gentile (someone who wasn’t Jewish) in service at King Herod’s court. If that’s the case, then Jesus has progressed in the last two chapters from a Jew (Nicodemus), to a Samaritan, to now a Gentile. This follows the same progression the Gospel is meant to follow in the words of Jesus from Acts 1:8. The interaction is very simple, straightforward, and insistent: Sir, come, or my child will die; Go, your son will live; He believed and left.  Read More

Welcome to Week 3 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us.  Read More

Highlight If you have been around the church for a while, it is likely you have heard about the letter to Laodicea. It is often used in relation to calling a present day christian lukewarm, because they might say they are a christian, but their actions do not show any evidence. This reference comes straight from Revelation, “you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (v. 16). The people in the Laodicea church had no zeal or passion for anything. It seems they had what they needed, wealth (v. 17). Between having wealth and claiming to follow Jesus, the people thought they were good to go. But that is not the reality. There was more required of them. A true conversion to Christ. A passion for Him. A life altering experience that moves them into action.  Read More

Highlight Some scholars have differing opinions on whether chapter 5 is a recap of chapters 1-4. Or if it begins Paul’s next conversation that goes until chapter 8. There are cases for both sides and it could go either way of whether Paul was speaking more about justification or sanctification. Yet, it is important to remember that Roman’s was not originally written in chapters and verses. It was all one long letter.  Read More

Highlight There are two phrases that regularly pop up in John’s Gospel account of Jesus’ life. The first and most often used is “very, truly I tell you,” other translations say “I tell you the truth” or “truly, truly.” This phrase is an indicator that Jesus is about to say something that often offends or surprises his audience. Here in chapter 6, Jesus says it four times. And each time it is not received well by the people. Yet, Jesus continues to use this phrase, because He is the truth and part of His mission was to share the truth with all people.  Read More

Type your new text here....Highlight Luke is strategically highlighting a theme in this chapter that would have gone against all social norms in the ancient world. It is the fact that Jesus came for all people. At a first read, it might not be obvious. Yet, as scholars have unpacked the gospel of Luke, they have noticed the theme runs through both of Luke’s letters (Luke and Acts)  Read More

Highlight Moses' use of definitive language was not prophetic, as much as, he was explaining the outcome of what would happen if the nation did not keep their commitment. The chapters before were the blessings and curses God would bring about if the nation of Israel obeyed His commands, or if they turned from Him. Therefore, this passage is a continuous explanation of what could come to pass.   Read More

Welcome Welcome to Week 2 of the Experiencing God Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. During this series, it is our hope that you will begin to experience the ways in which God is moving in your life and in the lives of those around you. Because the truth is, God is always at work in every detail. It is in our day to day lives that we forget to take the time to stop, reflect, and recognize the blessings, promises, and peace that God is providing for us.  Read More

Highlight The passages read this week all come from the last day of Jesus’ life. They began with Jesus and his disciples at the table for the Passover meal and Jesus speaking on all that they can expect to happen in the next few hours and days. But a lot of it did not make sense to the disciples at that time. It would not be until after the resurrection that most of his teaching makes sense.  Read More

Highlight John is using the Greek word “kosmos” in this passage. It translates to “world” but means “the human system that opposes God’s purpose.” The authors of the Synoptic Gospels only use this word kosmos fifteen times between all three gospels. Yet, John uses it almost eighty times in his gospel. Why? Because he wants to make the contrasting point between Jesus and the world - those who oppose Jesus.  Read More

Highlight It was customary in Jesus’ day for the disciple to choose the rabbi, or teacher, whom he wanted to study under. It was their choice to decide who they were going to serve and learn from. Yet, Jesus chose each of His disciples by name. He called them away from the jobs they were pursuing in order to teach, train, and love them well. Jesus then commanded them to do the same with one another and those they encounter along the way.  Read More