Salvogesis

When we refer to God as our Heavenly Father what do we mean? What are some of the traits and values common among fathers that are a reflection of the attributes of God? God loves us. He is proud of us. He is cheering for us…. We have a number of verses that we will look at on this Father’s Day that show us a little bit about God as our Heavenly Father.   Jeremiah 29:11: “'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” We fathers are proud of our kids. We enjoy their performances: school, church and community plays, musicals, recitals. We celebrate their victories as if they were our own. I have cheered many dance medals, at least one soccer medal, and academic and behavourial awards. I think this is what is meant in part by Jeremiah 29:11: “'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a...

As last Sunday was Pentecost, We are going to look at Acts 2 today. Acts is a neat book. Did you know that it is the only history (book) in the NT? Did you know that the books Acts and Luke were written by the same author and these books actually comprise more than 30% of the NT.   Acts always reminds me of a play. Maybe it’s the name (Act 2, scene 1). But particularly in the first part, Acts reminds me of a Shakespearian play. Anyone remember studying Shakespeare in school?   Here’s quiz for you. Who can name the play these quotes are from: 1.     ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears;’ 2.     “To be or not to be, that is the question” 3.     “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo”?   Shakespeare wrote very dramatic plays and some of the tragedies are pretty tragic like Hamlet. Remember, his ‘to be or not to be’ speech where, of course, he is either pretending to be insane or actually goes insane while ...

We read about the end of Samson’s life and we have just read about the beginning of his life and a covenant that his mom and dad were encouraged to enter into with God on behalf of their son – and their whole nation, actually.   Do we know what a covenant is? A covenant is an agreement. I covenant is promise. A covenant is a contract. It is a holy contract. Mostly today if we use this word covenant it will be in relationship to our marriage covenants – in that covenant, among other things, people promise not to date other people but to forsake all others. Sometimes people enter into sobriety covenants to help them break free of addiction – they promise not to drink again and other things. And when someone becomes a full member of The Salvation Army we enter into a soldier’s covenant where we also promise to do and not to do certain things as a way of saying we are part of this movement.   COVENANTS are very important to the Lord. In his article 'Till I Die' (Nov - Dec ...

  Our next mother today is from the Gospels. She is probably the most well known and most often represented mother in artwork in the history of the world. The next mother we have today is Mary.       MARY Mary Did You Know That your son would save us all Everlasting life   Mary was chosen by God to give birth to the Son of God and raise Him and care for Him. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her to see Him grow and do the things He does. I can’t imagine what it would be like for her to realize and respect her son as the Lord. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for her to see him upon the cross. He loved her so much: He entrusted her care to his friend even while He was upon the cross. I can’t imagine then what it would be like for her to know of His resurrection and eternal life. I can’t imagine how humbling it would be to see what God has and is doing through her little boy.   Moms, dads, and families are often proud of their childr...

  Our 4 th   of 5 specific mothers on this Mother’s Day comes from 2 nd   John in the New Testament.   KYRIA ELECTA Mother of children Physical, spiritual Early church pastor   2 nd  John says it is addressed to a specific mother and her children. Her name ‘Kyria’ translated to English from Greek literally means ‘Lady’ and her other name ‘Electa’ literally means ‘chosen’. Thus, the NIV reads this letter as written to the chosen lady. Kyria Electa was chosen as one of the first Christian pastors. She encouraged her children - those who have come to faith through her and presumably her natural born children as well. John sent her this letter of encouragement and it is neat because he concluded this short letter by sending greetings from the children of another woman pastor/teacher in the church.   God has used and is using many mothers and others in many roles in His church. Mothers especially are great teachers of their children. In times gone past befo...

  MRS ZEBEDEE James and John’s mother Thought her sons like none other Made others wonder   Mrs. Zebedee was quite a lady. There was no holding her back. She marched her two adult sons right up to Jesus, bowed down in front of the Lord and asked that they both be held as more important than the others. When the other disciples heard about this, they were quite upset that James and John would let their mother do this but Jesus calmed everybody down, using this moment to teach about serving others rather than looking out for yourselves.   Moms continue to look out for their kids even after they have grown up and left home. Moms try their best. Like with all of us, sometimes it works out and sometimes maybe it doesn’t; sometimes, maybe like with Mrs. Zebedee, it causes a few extra little problems that would not have happened if mom didn’t try to help out. But moms love us and they try to help however they can. Thank you, mom, for loving us. Thank you everyone here for the lo...

  The next mom we have is also from the Old Testament; She is from the book of 1 Samuel.   HANNAH Sam, my first-born child Of the two books named for him Only one he’s in   Fun fact: Samuel isn’t even in the book of 2 nd  Samuel.   Hannah first shows up in the Bible as a wife who desperately wants to be a mother. She wants just to be a mother so much that she promises God that when He gives her a child, she will give him right back to God. God gives her a child and when the child is old enough, she brings her son – the boy who will later become the prophet Samuel - to be raised serving in the tabernacle of God by the High Priest. God blessed her son and raised him up to be the last ruler of Israel before the time of the kings. God blessed Hannah, this mom, by giving her many more children to love and to rear. This mom was blessed by God not only by having her child but also in seeing how God blessed her whole nation through her son.   Mom, like Hannah, you ...