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Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there were peals o...
Keep ReadingThen one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes,and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me,"These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robesand made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:13-14). Every human being on the face of the earth has a unique...
Keep ReadingAfter this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb' (R...
Keep Reading...there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-10). "Th...
Keep ReadingI looked, and there was a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb crying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10). What a beautiful scene: that great multitude, as "diverse" as we could possibly imagine, gathered to worship, cente...
Keep ReadingThey chose Nicholas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism (Acts 6:5). We've been looking at how the first Christians responded to a significant challenge and problem, a disparity in treatment between the Hebraic and Grecian widows. Usually, when we hear a sermon on this passage, we're looking at the beginning of the "office of deacon" and think the major take-away has to do...
Keep ReadingActs 6:1-7 When you're driving your car and hear a new noise, one that's different than normal, you become alarmed and rightly so. If you're wise you gather information about the noise -- when does it occur, at what speeds, in what temperatures, etc. -- you seek to determine its cause, and you take steps to fix it. If you're unwise you can ignore it, hoping it will go awa...
Keep ReadingThis proposal pleased the whole group ... So the word of God spread (Acts 6:5a, 7a). I was in my second year of teaching. My students were third graders and we were off to a good start. One day a new girl joined our class. I didn't know why, but the kids didn't welcome her as I expected they would. Trying to make up for their cold shoulder, I paid extra attention to her. ...
Keep ReadingIn those days when the number of disciples was increasing,the Hellenistic Jewsamong them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widowswere being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). So you think we've got problems, huh? The truth of the matter is that problems have existed in the church from the very beginning. God is building a spiritual ...
Keep Readingthe Grecian Jews complained against Hebraic Jews (Acts 6:1). Everything human has problems. This does not mean that every single thing humans do is bad. Just that it is mixed, a mixture of some of our best impulses and some of our worst, of mistaken certainties and honest questions, of motives base and noble, of God's Spirit and our sinfulness. This "mixture principle" ...
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