Consider this

             It would have been easy for God’s people to be upset with their circumstances.    The Babylonians had captured Jerusalem and deported most of its people to a strange land more than 500 miles from home.   Fortunately, God had not forgotten about them, so he sends his prophet Ezekiel with a message of consolation and hope.   One of the most encouraging parts of his message comes when he is given a vision of the new temple in Jerusalem.   The temple was of great importance to the Israelites, because it was the earthly dwelling place of God.   A rebuilt temple in a rebuilt Jerusalem was almost too much to hope for.            Ezekiel’s description of what he saw goes from chapter forty all the way to chapter forty-eight and encompasses two hundred and six verses.   He describes, in great detail, the size of the temple and its courts.   He talks about the location of the rooms for the Priests and the Levites.   He tells them how they are to divide the land when they get

            Sometimes one verse can say a lot.   For instance, take a look at Colossians 1:13:   “For he (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”.             I want you to notice the fact that “HE has rescued US!”   Now those four words may not seem like much, but they contain one of the best messages every told.   Note who does the rescuing:   God.   Note what we do in order to be rescued: nothing!             If that sounds strange (and it may because we have been taught to think that somehow we have to earn our salvation) continue reading.   Notice how we got from the “darkness” into “the Kingdom of the Son he loves”.   We are “brought” into the Kingdom.   It is not about what we have done, but, again, about what God does for us.             The passage goes on to say that we are redeemed (bought back) and that we have “forgiveness of sins” because w

              Times change and, for better or worse, so do the attitudes and values that go with it.            For instance, most of you probably grew up with the rule that said, “When on a first date, the man pays for everything”.   Did you know that has changed?   Now the commonly accepted thinking for first dates is, “Each person pays for themselves”.    Seems strange to me, but that is the new rule.             Other things, such as “Brand loyalty” have changed too.    It used to be that if your Grandpa owned a Ford, then your Dad likely owned a Ford and you likely owned a Ford.   The same could be said of families that drove “Chevy” or “Dodge” products.   However, that has changed too.   Now the biggest factor in buying a car is “price”.    Most people will drive just about any make and will gladly switch from one to another to get what they want or like.   Whether you think that is good, bad or indifferent, it is a fact of life today.             In the church,