From Withered Trees to Living Temples

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Cross …and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. — Colossians 1:20 NLT  Dove …as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. — Matthew 3:16 NLT  Cup Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. — James 5:14 NLT  Crown For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout… — 1 Thessalonians 4:16 NLT  Communion Matthew/Luke/1 Corinthians Combined Reading “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me.” “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Have I surrendered my life to Him, and do I believe all that we are “remembering” and “proclaiming” in communion?

The Money Trap

When Money Becomes Your Master Pastor Jon Verwey What you treasure will shape your heart, so let Jesus be your master and money your servant. Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. — Matthew 6:19-20 NLT Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. — Matthew 6:21 NLT Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! — Matthew 6:22-23 NLT The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry… — Proverbs 30:15a NIV  No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. — Matthew 6:24 NLT  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. v. 21 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. — Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT  The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get. — Proverbs 21:20 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. — Proverbs 13:11 ESV  Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.  The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. — Proverbs 11:24–25 NLT  What you treasure will shape your heart, so let Jesus be your master and money your servant.

Two Coins and a Cross

The Widow’s Offering and the Heart of the Gospel Pastor Jon Verwey Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” — Mark 12:41–44 NLT  Jesus called his disciples to him… v. 43a “I tell you the truth…” v. 43b This poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions… v. 43c …she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on v. 44b Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. — 2 Corinthians 8:9 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. — Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? — Romans 8:32 NLT  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” — 2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT The cross of Jesus calls us to trust God completely and live with open hands and generous hearts.

The Hidden Scribe Within

A Warning Against Religious Pretending Pastor Jon Verwey Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?  For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight. — Mark 12:35–37 NLT No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. — Matthew 22:46 NLT  Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.    — Mark 12:38–39 NLT Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. — Mark 12:40a NLT  Because of this, they will be more severely punished. — Mark 12:40b NLT Is there a scribe living in me? There is a little scribe living inside all of us, and it wants to be in charge. Because when we truly know Jesus and follow His lead, we stop playing at religion and start becoming like Him from the inside out.

Living Beyond the Grave

Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.” — Mark 12:18–23 NLT Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. v. 24 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven. v. 25 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”vv. 26-27 I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. v. 26b So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.” vv. 27 The resurrection gives us hope for tomorrow and power for today. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. — Ephesians 1:18 NLT I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead… — Ephesians 1:19–20a NLT …when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. — Ephesians 1:13 NLT  “The point of the resurrection … is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die. God will raise it to new life. What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it.” “What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future.” The resurrection gives us hope for tomorrow and power for today.