2 Corinthians 9 by David Groendyk Talk is cheap. The believers in Corinth had gotten quite the reputation for being ready to give financially to help other believers in need. They had even stirred up other believers in other parts of the world to do the same. But reputation is not enough. A reputation for doing something is not the same thing as actually doing that thing. Paul is building on the previous chapter where…

II Corinthians 8 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson I wish there existed a paradigm that listed the topic in the Bible that are the most prominent so we could evaluate our preaching/teaching topics.  For instance, justice is a massive topic but white Northern American Evangelicals rarely dig deep into it.  Another is money and all things associated with it.  We should simply give due weight to all topics. Money, giving, and the process of money…

2 Corinthians 7 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence In the previous chapter, Paul warned the church in Corinth just how dangerous it was for them to open their hearts to unbelievers and to share an intimacy of love that could lead them away from the one, true God.  On the other hand, he urged them to open wide their hearts to the apostles and their co-workers who had nothing but a deep and abiding love for…

2 Corinthians 6 David Groendyk The very last verse of chapter 5 is one of the most important verses in the Bible: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” When Jesus died on the cross, he took our sin and gave us righteousness. This is the great doctrine of justification. Now, in chapter 6, Paul describes what happens…

II Corinthians 5 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson I think a careful reader will see the section 1-10 and then 11 – 21.  The section 11-21 is one of my favorite sections in the New Testament.  I think these verses are thrilling. I go back to them often and want to preach or teach on these verses annually.  But this morning, I want to reflect of just two verses: 10-11. At the end of the first…

2 Corinthians 4 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence On my first Sunday here at Tyrone, Pastor Walter Lorenz preached from a portion of this chapter and reminded us numerous times that we are merely clay pots.  In fact, he said those words, “clay pots,” so many times, that I can still hear them reverberating in my head even now as I write this.  Indeed, we are merely clay pots; from dust we came and to dust…

2 Corinthians 3 David Groendyk One of the reasons Paul is writing this second letter to the Corinthians is that a group of people calling themselves “super-apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5 and 12:11) had come to Corinth and begun teaching something contrary to Paul. Paul has to remind the Christians in Corinth that his ministry is the legitimate one while the super-apostles’ ministry is not. What was wrong with the teaching of the super-apostles? They were…

II Corinthians 2 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson One of the issues in this chapter is whether or not there was a painful visit after the writing of I Corinthians. I tend to think so but I am going to bypass that issue for some observations about the text.  Instead of explaining the entire passage, the following observations might be helpful. Paul loves the believers at Corinth v. 3 “that my joy would be the joy…

2 Corinthians 1 Devotional Pastor Lawrence Bowlin God’s providence is always a mysterious sanctification for his people.  We may think we know some of the reasons why He orders this or that event to take place, but we cannot even begin to comprehend all that God intends to accomplish when he moves.  Part of the reason for our shortsightedness is our own self-centeredness.  We often think the world revolves around us when we are in…

Daniel 11 Devotions Pastor Mark Hudson  This very long chapter can be divided into the following sections: 2-4 Persia and Greece; 5-20 conflict between kings of the North and kings of the south; 21-35; he climatic king of the North; 36-45 the king who will do as he pleases. The first section refers most probably to Cyrus, and it is difficult to determine the next four. Possible the next kings are Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius I…

Daniel 10 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence God does not regularly intervene directly in the affairs of men but often works through means to carry out his predetermined purposes.  Our chapter this morning demonstrates this truth plainly by showing how God works through both men as well as angels in accomplishing His divine will.  In the beginning of the chapter we read that the prophet Daniel was fasting and praying for three weeks that he might…

Daniel 9 David Groendyk We fast forward a few years again in Daniel 9, which occurs during the first year of King Darius’ reign, the king who overthrew Belshazzar at the end of chapter 5. Perhaps it was the downfall of Babylon that triggered in Daniel’s memory the words from the book of Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah had predicted in Jeremiah 25:8–14 that Babylon would conquer Judah, then, after seventy years, Babylon itself would fall.…

Daniel 8 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson Tremper Longman III makes some interesting observations about chapter 8 being similar to chapter 7 of Daniel. It comes from the same time period, the third year, two years after chapter 7.  They both involve animals and those animals represent kingdoms or political entities. There is a focus on horns .  Finally, both chapters concern hostility between the animal kingdom and divine realms. But notice the differences.  Chapter 7’s…

Daniel 7 Devotional Pastor Lawrence Bowlin In chapter seven, the book of Daniel transitions from the more well-known historic narratives to the more enigmatic prophecies reminiscent of the book of Revelation.  In fact, the book of Revelation is almost impossible to understand without having some familiarity with the book of Daniel since much of the imagery in the last book of the Bible is taken from these latter chapters in the book of Daniel. The…

Daniel 6 David Groendyk The nation of Babylon has fallen, and the kingdom of Media and Persia has now taken over. Darius the Mede is now in charge. And this ruler, as opposed to Nebuchadnezzar or Belshazzar, seems to be more naturally sympathetic and tolerant towards Daniel and his God, and yet Daniel finds himself in a life-threatening situation, just like his three friends did in chapter 3. As Daniel is rising in power and…

Daniel 5 Devotions Pastor Mark Hudson After Nebuchadnezzar dominates chapters 1-4, we see a new name as King: Belshazzar.  He is actually a co-regent since his father Nabonidus who apparently left Babylon because he worshipped the god Sin which angered the priests of Marduk.  So Nabonidus left his son, as number 2 in charge of Babylon.  Two decades have passed since Nebuchadnezzar was King.  Now his grandson is showing poor judgment, immorality, and idolatry in…

Daniel 4 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence In Scripture, it never bodes well for a king to spend much time on the roof of his palace, perhaps because he has such an elevated view of himself already that the extra height tends to cloud his judgment.  In our study of the book of Judges we’ll soon find that Eglon, the fat king of Moab, is killed in his roof chamber when entertaining a foreigner who desires…

Daniel 3 Devotional David Groendyk Much of the first half of Daniel portrays a conflict between Babylon’s kings and Israel’s God. We saw in chapter 1 how Daniel and his friends stayed faithful to God despite pressures from the state government to assimilate. We saw in chapter 2 how God interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream when no Babylonian official could, thus leading to Nebuchadnezzar’s confession in verse 47. Now in chapter 3 there is a conflict between…

Daniel 2 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson One of the themes of Daniel is God’s sovereign control over the universe.  In Daniel, we find powerful kings who assume they are sovereign and no one or nothing can thwart their plans.  After all, the way they see it, that is their life and their way is always THE way.  This type of thinking is bound to place believers in a pickle.  This type of thinking is Nebuchadnezzar’s…

Daniel 1 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Jerusalem has been sacked by foreign invaders who have taken some of the brightest and the best young men from Israel to give honor in service to the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar the Great.  For those interested in the history leading us to this event, see 2 Kings 23:34-24:5 and Jeremiah 25:1-14.  King Jehoiakim of Judah was a wicked king who had killed the prophet Uriah (Jer. 26:20-23)…

Revelation 22 By David Groendyk The consummation of the book of Revelation, and the consummation for all of history is here in Revelation 21–22. There is much in these two chapters that we could possibly examine and draw applications from, but perhaps the one major theme is that God dwells with man (21:3). The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the midst of his people (22:3), and God’s people will see…