“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Genesis Chapter Twenty-four Jacob and Esau In Genesis 24 we are introduced to Isaac’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Like Abraham’s wife, Sarah, Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, was barren for many years. Knowing the promised Savior was to come from his seed, Isaac pleaded with God to bless them…  Read More

I recently heard a national leader of public education being interviewed. The interviewer asked about what is being done to combat all the violence in public schools. The NEA leader said that many schools now include “conflict resolution” classes in their curriculums. The purpose of these classes is to teach children of various ethnic groups…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Genesis Chapters Thirty-two Through Thirty-five A FAMILY REUNION Family reunions are a welcome occurrence in many families. They provide an opportunity for family members to reacquaint themselves with each other. However, family reunions may also be a time of anxiety for some. Perhaps over the years relationships have…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Genesis Chapter Forty-One JOSEPH IS REMEMBERED How many times in your life have you said, “I forgot”? Forgetfulness is a frustrating human frailty. We forget birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, homework assignments, and sometimes even the names of our children. We also often forget to fulfill our promises to others.…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) The Book Of Job LESSONS FROM JOB A tragic car accident leaves its victim paralyzed for life. A young man finds out he has terminal cancer. An expectant mother miscarries her child. A young couple unexpectedly loses an infant. A tornado demolishes an entire city block killing many…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Exodus Chapters Five Through Fifteen THE TEN PLAGUES When was the first time you remember hearing the Bible story of the Ten Plagues? Perhaps you were a youngster sitting around the dinner table for a family devotion or listening in amazement with fellow classmates in Sunday school. Do…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Numbers Chapters Twenty-two Through Twenty-four A False Prophet And His Donkey In this interesting Old Testament account from the book of Numbers we are introduced to Balaam and his donkey. Balaam is a false prophet. His donkey is just a donkey. Unlikely spokesman of God? Perhaps, but both…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Joshua Chapters Six And Seven God’s Victory Over Jericho Perhaps most of you are familiar with the spiritual “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.” It has a rather catchy tune and it doesn’t contain any spiritual untruths. It does, however, seem to put the emphasis on the wrong…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope ” (Rom. 15:4) The Book Of Ruth Obedient, Faithful, Loving Servants Of God In the Old Testament book of Ruth we find a wonderful account of the power of God’s Word to direct the lives of His people. Set in the backdrop of the period of the judges, where human…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Samuel Chapter Sixteen David Anointed King Things were not looking good for the Israelites. Saul, their first king, whose reign had begun with such promise, had disobeyed and turned against God. Saul, the earthly king they had pleaded with God to let them have, would not have…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Samuel Chapters Twenty-One To Thirty-One DAVID AND SAUL — HOW DIFFERENT WERE THEY? Both were chosen by God to lead Israel. Both started out as humble servants of their God. Both were wicked sinners, guilty of hatred, anger, pride, and jealousy. Both of them deserved to go…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Second Samuel, Chapters Fourteen through Nineteen A Son Of David “Thus says the Lord: “‘behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. . . . ‘” (2 Sam. 12:11). Sin has consequences. In today’s lessons we will see how the prophecy spoken in the…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Kings, Chapters Twelve through Fourteen The Divided Kingdom While I was preparing to write this article on the dividing of the kingdom of God’s people in the Old Testament, my thoughts turned to the division that our country faced in the wake of the last Presidential election.…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Kings, Chapter Nineteen “Please God, let me die.” Have you ever uttered or thought the words in our title? As we travel through this vale of tears there are, no doubt, times when we wish the Lord would call us home to Him. Sometimes these words, however,…  Read More

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” — Psalm 100:4-5 I invite you to consider with me two common expressions with the word “thanks” in them,…  Read More

The twelfth day of Christmas is January 5th, the last day of the traditional Christmas season. It serves to usher in the next church season — that of Epiphany. Historically, Epiphany was much more widely celebrated in Christian churches than was Christmas. Epiphany is not a word used in the Bible, but it does convey a …  Read More

During the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century an insidious philosophy – namely, rationalism — spread throughout Europe and America. Rationalism’s proponents asserted that human reason, unaided by divine revelation, is the sole guide to all attainable religious truth. Human reason became the new god. The idea put forth was that if the human brain could…  Read More

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 If we were to play a word association game using the word education, what thoughts would first come to our minds? Those who live in Wisconsin as I do, would no doubt…  Read More

How many of us recognize the words of the title?. I have often wondered what it must have been like for those who heard Jesus preach directly to them. Their hearts must have burned within them as the Holy Spirit used the Savior’s own words to create and sustain faith. As the risen Savior joined…  Read More

“How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35) The above text presents us with two special questions to ponder this Easter season. Let’s examine the second first: “And with what body do they come?” If you are like me, every year brings with it evidence of bodily…  Read More