PHall | November 17, 2009
Sometimes we do not anticipate the impact of a little comment. In my sermon on Sunday I made the point that in my PowerPoint presentation I had written – “Parents, especially father, are to be spiritual leaders.” Trying to “de-wordify” my slide I removed “to be.” Then it dawned on me, and I pointed it […]
Category: Ephesians |
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Tags: Parenting
PHall | November 13, 2009
From the very best to the very worst; that is, from godly parents to ungodly children. “How does this happen?” This discouraging conundrum is seen several times in the Bible where a very good and godly parent raises a very evil and devilish child. Or as happens more often, how could godly parents have […]
Category: Luke, I Timothy, II Kings, II Chronicles, Zephaniah |
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Tags: Article, Parenting
PHall | November 11, 2009
If you have ever been to Disneyland, Disney World, or just about any amusement park, you might find some amusement in these observations. An author once wrote, “Life is tough…it’s no Disneyland.” The author is correct in assessing “life is tough.” And yet from my “back-door perspective,” may I suggest life is very much like […]
Category: Matthew, II Corinthians, Philippians, James |
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PHall | November 11, 2009
Overwhelmed! Shocked! Dazed! Inundated! Staggered! Can you think of any other adjectives to describe what you felt when you got assigned a responsibility that you didn’t want, and that you didn’t think you could do? Did you feel like quitting? Did you even try? Now suppose the one who assigns this overwhelming task to you […]
Category: Romans, Exodus, Jeremiah |
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Tags: Article
PHall | November 4, 2009
A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician who was also a member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner. He was delayed so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited. […]
Category: Acts, I Corinthians |
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Tags: Article, Attendance
PHall | November 4, 2009
Poor pitiful Paul pleads profusely. Proficiently proffering purposeful preaching, plus personal pain; Paul profits through preaching, proclaiming, but not peddling. Paul, properly placing perspective pleases his paradigm. OK, that’s plenty enough with my patent patois pleasure. But please explain how Paul could persist among such devastating problems? The answer is that Paul had PEP. I […]
Category: II Corinthians |
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Tags: Article, Suffering
PHall | November 4, 2009
Paul, a former rabbi educated in Jewish religious and cultural ways was protected and prepared. After his spiritual conversion (or completion, as Messianic Jews speak of it), he instructed others concerning the correlation of both covenants. Somewhere along the way, he learned tent-making (Acts 20:3). Paul had prepared himself. More specifically, Paul had probably been […]
Category: Matthew, Acts, II Corinthians, I Timothy |
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Tags: Article, Parenting
PHall | November 3, 2009
Certain choices made in life never are really made, at least not consciously. The direction selected was never really selected. It just…was. Free-will existed to choose other avenues, but the road taken appeared the only way. Reality consisted not of choices but of certainties. Some of these decisions have been major; some might […]
Category: Matthew, I Corinthians, Galatians |
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Tags: Article
PHall | November 3, 2009
Christianity is unique among world religions for some very essential reasons, such as the concept of grace. In pagan religions, the gods had to be pacified and placated as enemies of the people. The true God does not count Himself as our enemy, but we are His when we act out in our rebellious ways. […]
Category: Matthew, Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, James |
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Tags: Article, Grace
PHall | November 3, 2009
Paul needed encouraging. In order to see Paul’s need, let’s set the scene: Paul is before the Sanhedrin. He astutely turns his antagonists away from him and against each other. He simply and shrewdly makes a statement knowing the effect will turn their focus on their differences between each other and away from banding […]
Category: Acts, I Kings |
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