I like to think that all of us are living in a gradual revelation of Jesus in our lives of one kind or another. We never get there completely but I think what we experience over time is probably better than getting everything at once. Everything at once would overwhelm us. Emily Dickinson said this: “Too bright for our infirm delight The truth’s superb surprise; The truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind.” That’s what we see when we look at the story of the resurrection from the perspective of Mary this morning. It was a gradual revelation from darkness to being dazzled. Let’s look at the passage…

Now, Paul turns to what we would call the rules for living.  Everyone has them whether they are spoken or not. Sometimes they are good – like the Boy Scout oath but they can be harmful rules as well – like the former professional wrestler, Maurice the Magnificent who said, “My father gave me one rule for living. Win if you can. Lose if you must, But always cheat.” While some, like Paul’s fellow Jews, had been burdened with hundreds of rules that made a life of constant fear mixed with pride and arrogance there were others who had been ruined with no rules at all. Life was about survival…

From Thessalonica Paul traveled to Athens and then on to Corinth.  From Corinth, Paul is writing to the church. He mentions Athens but says no more about it. However, we know from reading in Acts that he meets with a group of men there that likely has made him even more grateful and concerned about the new believers in Thessalonica. Some of you probably remember the movie “Sunset Boulevard” with William Holden and Gloria Swanson. It is the tragic story of a fading movie star (Norma Desmond) and a young writer (Joe Willis). Norma desperately believes with a break, a screen test and some powder and rouge, she can make…

I want to focus this morning on verses 17-20 of Chapter 2. But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. As most of you know, I worked with pastors of churches…

Last week we looked at the four phrases Paul used to describe the believers in Thessalonica: Work produced by faith that believes there is a larger purpose to our work. Work produced by faith produces a different kind of work. It is work that is motivated by more than ambition or necessity. Labor prompted by love is work that binds people together. It is work that builds great teams because it values people and not just productivity and accomplishment. Endurance inspired by hope is not just optimism. It is the ability to endure when everything else has been removed, eroded or burned away. It is the rare ability of a leader to…

Paul and Silas spent only three weeks in Thessalonica but he later wrote them at least these two letters. They must have been quite a group of people. The pattern is familiar. Look at Acts 17 for the context. Paul enters a city and heads for the local synagogue to present the Gospel to the Jews. Some Jews believe as do a large number of Greeks – including prominent women. But the Jews who have been hounding Paul along his journey round up some bad characters, form a mob and start a riot accusing Paul of causing trouble all over the world by defying Caesar. It is one of the…

With all that is happening in Ukraine this week it is difficult for me to focus on the assignment this morning. I would much rather go into a rant about Putin and the lunatics in this country who are supporting his invasion of a sovereign country in the vain hopes of recapturing a lost dream of domination and empire. That is what I would like to do but that is not what we are going to do. This morning as our final lesson in Daniel we are going to look at Chapter 9 and the prayer of Daniel. But before we do that we should take time to look back…

For thousands of years we have been curious about the end of the world. Some of the earliest literature in the we have is focused on how the everything will end. For the past 100 years in this country, Bible studies on the end times and Christian fiction have been best sellers. The more dangerous and filled with conflict our lives have become the more these books have increased in sales. The world seems like it is constantly on the eve of destruction. Wars and rumors of wars are good news for book sales about the doom awaiting us. Likely, everyone here read Hal Lindsay’s “The Late Great Planet Earth”…

Four weeks ago we met the young Ezekiel who is called to be a whistleblower and to expose the corruption and degradation of the priests and leaders of those who have been left behind in Jerusalem. Instead of deliverance from Nebuchadnezzar they are going to be overwhelmed by his armies. God has left the Temple and Jerusalem. All that will remain in Jerusalem is what will remain in this world when the Church departs – a world without pity, mercy, justice, hope or pleasure. Only complete delusion. Evil that has been boiling below and ever present in the world will be revealed. What has been hidden will be obvious. In…

With nothing being said, King Nebuchadnezzar has died and his son (or maybe his grandson) has assumed the throne. It’s gone so quickly, hasn’t it? We first met Daniel as a young man only five chapters ago and now here he is at 85. We know almost nothing from history about Belshazzar but what we do know suggests that he was a ruler serving under another ruler named Nabodinus. We don’t know but for the purposes of the story we’ll refer to Belshazzar as the King of Babylon as at the time of this story Nabodinus had just been killed in battle and so Belshazzar may have been giving this…