Monthly Archives: March 2022

The Continuing Presence of Jesus (Wide Angle: Acts 1)

Posted on March 31, 2022 by salooper57

How must they have felt as they walked back to the city? What did they talk about? There was something final about Jesus’s departure. They probably understood that they had entered a new phase of life, but how were they to live it? “Witnesses to the ends of the earth”—how were they to do that? What would it look like?

As they walked back to their accommodations in Jerusalem, they had no clue about how to answer those questions. The future was a blank. They didn’t know what their lives were going to look like. All they had was Jesus’ instruction. Continue reading →

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Resistance Is Not Futile: How to Resist the Devil (1 Peter 5:5-11)

Posted on March 28, 2022 by salooper57

Both Saints James and Peter tell us to resist the devil. How does one do that? 1 Peter 5:5-11 gives us a quick-start guide. This sermon is for those who have joined the Resistance.

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Soul Work: It’s an Inside Job

Posted on March 26, 2022 by salooper57

Once, when all my tinkering failed to restore the boiler to working order, we hired a repairman. I took him to the boiler room, showed him the control module, and waited around to learn what I could. He examined the controls for a short time, then turned to me and said: “Don’t ever touch that again.” Later, when I was coiling his extension cord for him, he took it away from me and did it himself. The look on his face said everything: “You’re an idiot.” Continue reading →

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The Psalms: Biblical Theology Class #11

Posted on March 24, 2022 by salooper57

The Psalms: the role they play in worship, personal devotion, and the attainment of wisdom. This class looks at how the psalms have been used by believers through the years and gives today’s believers ideas for benefitting from the Psalms … Continue reading →

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Pastors’ Motives: A Sermon based on 1 Peter 5:1-4

Posted on March 22, 2022 by salooper57

Excerpt from Pastor’s Motives (1 Peter 5:1-4). Peter operated from a mind that had been saturated with thoughts and ideas that had come from Jesus. You could say that he had (in the words of St. Paul) “the mind of … Continue reading →

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Biblical Thology Class #10: A House for David

Posted on March 20, 2022 by salooper57

The Eden Project, renewed by God’s promises to Abraham moves forward. God promises a king who will rule forever. This class looks at 1 Samuel 8 and 2 Samuel 7, two very important chapters in the great story of the … Continue reading →

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Don’t Let the Little Devils Sneak In: Staying Close to Christ

Posted on March 19, 2022 by salooper57

Reading time: 3-4 minutes We lived in an old farmhouse for twenty-five years. It was built in the I-Style of architecture that was common for country homes in the late 19th century and was around a hundred years old when … Continue reading →

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The Ascension: A Post-Resurrection Disappearance

Posted on March 16, 2022 by salooper57

Reading time: 4-5 minutes. (This Wide Angle look comes from Acts 1. Verses not otherwise identified by book and chapter are taken from there.) When Jesus was crucified, and his followers had despaired.  When he was raised, they were astounded.  … Continue reading →

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5 Things to Do When You Suffer (1 Peter 4:12-19)

Posted on March 14, 2022 by salooper57

This sermon explores the five instructions the Apostle Peter gives to Christians who are suffering.

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Blessings and Cursings: Deuteronomy 28-30 (Biblical Theology Class 9)

Posted on March 13, 2022 by salooper57

The Blessings and Cursing of Deuteronomy 28-30 weighed heavily on the minds of Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles, and Jesus’s contemporaries. St. Paul refers to this passage in Romans (in fact, Romans 9-11 is dependent on this section of … Continue reading →

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