There are two passages assigned for today! SCRIPTURE: Esther 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness…
like an onion
This coming Sunday at Crossroads (July 18) Pastor Lisa Vanderleek will share a message from Luke 4:3-37. The message is entitled “The Onion Sermon”. As Jesus began his ministry, different people had different reactions to his message. Some rejected him right away. Others were amazed by his teaching, and still others recognized him as the Son of…
a royal decree
SCRIPTURE: Esther 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Mordecai sent the dispatches by swift messengers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king’s service. The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were…
SERVE 2010
This coming Saturday 10 youth and 3 adult leaders will be going to St. Catharines (otherwise known as Niagara Serve) for a weeklong youth service event. I am excited, and thankful to be a part of this team. This is my 15th SERVE experience, and I have seen God work in amazing ways in all…
the boomerang effect
SCRIPTURE: Esther 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided. [Esther 7:10] For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. [Matthew 7:2] The bible repeatedly warns that there is a…
those God honours
SCRIPTURE: Esther 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: So Haman took the robes and put them on Mordecai, placed him on the king’s own horse, and led him through the city square, shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honour!” Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated….
pride
SCRIPTURE: Esther 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Then Haman added, “And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!” Then he added, “But this is all worth nothing as long as I see Mordecai…
for such a time as this
SCRIPTURE: Esther 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” [Esther 4:14] Though Mordecai does not mention God (in fact…
the risk of beliving
SCRIPTURE: Esther 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is…
that’s all there is?
“Some people think that a spiritual quest of any kind is a colossal waste of time. For them, the only things that are real are those that can be proven or measured. They might think, Life boils down to earning and buying and selling… eating and drinking and having fun… respiration, digestion, elimination, ovulation, ejaculation,…