Author: Norm

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Chronicles 17-19 “His throne will be established forever.” (1 Chronicles 17:13) When God sees all humans, He sees His much-loved, wayward children. God sees their sin, their shame, their misery and the their folly… and He loves them. God’s plan is to restore His children, but He has to work WITH them. Because God…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:33-37 “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) Among chickens, there is a pecking order… among humans too. We want to establish ourselves in a good place, to rise up in the ranks. There is something normal and healthy in this… God…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:30-32 “They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him.” (Mark 9:32) It would have been intimidating to talk with Jesus. He was so wise, so good, so perceptive… and yet sometimes so confusing. What Jesus says about God’s messiah goes against what the Jews believed. Peter had…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:25-29 “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29) When I think of spirits, I think of the negative voices in my head. Some are weak, some are strong, some are impossible to resist. Everyday these deceiving voices try to disrupt, distract or discourage us. Usually I am able to…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:14-24 “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Is this ACTUALLY true, can believing make the impossible possible? It depends in part on who or what we believe in. If I believe in something weak, I cannot expect strong results. If I believe in something evil, I cannot expect good…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 53 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 53:1) David is overwhelmed by how many people deny and defy God. Personally I do agree that it is foolish to deny and/or defy God. But I do not think that every atheist or agnostic is a morally depraved person….

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Chronicles 11-16 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” (1 Chronicles 16:22) The story of Israel shows how God favours the underdog. He makes this slave nation His appointed prophets for the world. To show the world that there is only one God, and He stands for the little people….

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Chronicles 1-10 “Taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” (1 Chronicles 9:1) The books of Chronicles were written by a priest(s), possibly Ezra. It was written after Israel returned from their captivity in Babylon. It is not just a record of the facts, it is a sermon, a story with a life lesson….

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:9-13 “Discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.” (Mark 9:10) Being with Jesus must have been an inspiring yet confusing time. Jesus was constantly challenging their ways of thinking about things. They’d been taught the Torah in Sabbath school, but not how Jesus explained it. I am encouraged by the fact that…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 9:1-8 “The kingdom of God has come with power.” (Mark 9:1) The disciples were eager to see the kingdom of God come with power. This is why Peter was so adamant that Jesus the Messiah would not die. But Jesus challenges the way they think about the kingdom of God. It is…