Week 8: The New Testament and Adoption Day 5: No Longer Slaves – Romans 8:15 I don’t know her name, but I remember her face. She was about fifteen years old. Pretty. Blonde. Thin. Dirty. Her clothes were in obvious need of laundering and repair. Her hair hung in greasy strings about her face. We …
NT 8:3 When God Spanks Us, Part 2
Week 8: The New Testament and Children Cont’d Day 3: When God Spanks Us, Part 2, Hebrews 12:5-11 “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few …
NT 8:1 Of Labor And Love
Week 8: The New Testament and Children Cont’d Day 1: Of Labor and Love – 1 Thessalonians 2:7,11; 1 John 2:1,12,13,18,28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21 The New Testament compares our relationship with those discipling us to the relationships of a nurse or caregiver to the children in their care. In the book of 1 John …
NT 7:2 Growing Up, Part 1
Week 7: The New Testament and Children Cont’d Day 2: Growing Up, Part I – Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 4:13,14; 1 Corinthians 14:20; 13:11; 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2; Matthew 18:3 When I was ten or eleven years old, my family met a family whose child would never grow up. I don’t mean that she …
NT 7:1 Children in the Church
Week 7: The New Testament and Children Cont’d Day 1: Children in the Church – Acts 21:5 As we move out of the gospels and into the second half of the New Testament we see that the Apostles were no more likely to ignore children in their ministries than was Christ. In Acts 21, we …
NT 6:2 Simply Scandalous
Week 6: The New Testament and Children Day 2: Simply Scandalous – Matthew 18:6,9 Understanding what Jesus truly meant when He spoke of receiving children has an enormous effect on the next few verses of Matthew 18. (Look back here.) It is amazing how many times I have heard each of the first three sections …
NT 6:1 A Child In The Midst
Week 6: The New Testament and Children Day 1: A Child in the Midst – Matthew 18:2-5; Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48 Along the way, the disciples began arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I’m always a little amazed that they actually got up the courage to ask …
NT 4:4 The Value of a Child
Week 4, Part 2: The New Testament and Children Day 4: The Value of a Child Children are often overlooked in this big ol’ world, but the New Testament in no way neglects them. In fact, it all started with a child, and then The Child who had come to redeem us from our sins. …
NT 3:5 Compassion And Honor
Week 3, Part 2: Widows Indeed Day 5: Compassion and Honor – Luke 7:11-17; 18:2-8 The widow in the temple was not the only widow upon whom Jesus had compassion. In Luke 7, we have a beautiful story of His compassion and care: “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into …
NT 1:1 A Heart Unchanged
Week 1: Getting Started Day 1 – A Heart Unchanged: (Mark 1:1-8; Luke 1:11-17, Malachi 4:5,6; Luke 7:18-35; Malachi 3:1; John 1:23; Isaiah 40:3) Four hundred years. That’s a long time to live in silence, a long time not hearing from the One you love. That’s how long it had been for Israel. The God …