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 a return. She doesn’t call it a comeback. She will not use that word, in fact. William Holden says to her when they meet, “I didn’t know you were planning a comeback”, to which she responds, “I hate that word. It’s a return, a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for deserting the screen.” Of…

It’s easy to read Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi and not connect it to the people to whom he wrote. The words are so lovely. The scope of the theology is extraordinary and the depth of his emotion and attachment to them has inspired millions of people for thousands of years. Other than 1 Corinthians 13 there is likely no passage that surpasses Philippians 2 in describing the character and qualities of Christian love. These must have been unusual people to have stirred such feelings in Paul and caused him to be writing them from a Roman prison a long twelve years after he first met them. They…

Acts 4:32 – 5:11 4:32: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which…

There are very few days when I come home and tell Carol  the whole world changed for me. However, there are some when you realize how routine and normal the day began and how a report from a doctor, a decision at work, an accident, news from a child, or any number of things has made this day forever different. That is how I imagine Peter and John sitting in prison and reflecting on the evening of the end of this day in Acts 4:3. Twenty-four hours earlier their day ended with Acts 2:46: “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their…

1.  Steven Covey coined a phrase, “Begin with the end in mind” and I think that applies to the Sabbath this morning. What was in God’s mind when he spoke to the children of Israel about a day of rest? Was there something more than a day of rest in His mind? I think there was. I think that end is to be found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” I think it was through…

In so many ways, Leviticus is the book of priesthood. We are not all prophets or kings but, according to Peter, we are a kingdom of priests. Israel was declared by God to be a kingdom of priests, a peculiar people, His own possession, a light to the Gentiles, a holy people all throughout the Old Testament. He is not talking about our doctrine of the priesthood of all believers but the role of the Church as a body. We are here to serve and fulfill the purposes of God – not our own purposes. As Paul says in Corinthians, “You are not your own but you are bought with…

1.  Try to imagine losing the Constitution. Every copy of it disappears along with the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Amendments. There would be some phrases people would remember for a time like “We hold these Truths to be self evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and…

This is our final lesson in Exodus and it’s about the building of the tabernacle. I like that it is the account of the people giving to build it. Kings built grand temples but it is people that build the tabernacle. The tabernacle is beautiful but not so much so that it cannot be moved as the people are guided by God through the remainder of their time in the wilderness. It is built with stunning craftsmanship but it is not permanent and does not require the people to travel there to worship. It moves with them. It is where God dwells but it is not fixed in place. May…

1. This morning we are looking at someone who is often overlooked because he falls in the shadow of his brother. We meet Aaron early in the book of Exodus when the Lord speaks to him and tells him to go into the desert to meet Moses. They have not seen each other in 40 years and for both of them this is an extraordinary reunion. From that moment on until he dies 40 years later this is a partnership of brothers – but one that is complicated like many relationships of brothers. Can you think of others? Some are funny – like the Smothers Brothers. Some are tragic, like…