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God’s Love Motivation
In Genesis 1, we are taught how the universe has been made: by his word.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light… In Hebrews 1, we are reminded how all of Creation is sustained: again, by his word.3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power… Then, in Psalm 136, we discover the love motivation of God in all of this making and sustaining. To begin, verses 1-3, are a “call to worship” by David with a directive for the congregation of Israel to enter God’s praise with thanksgiving.…
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Deep Roots & Storm Tested
On the drive to Raleigh today, I remembered part of the inspiration for the “Rooted & Grounded in Love” painting. Earlier that (same) year, we had a women’s event at Gateway; and the speaker gave an illustration of growing these massive trees in a greenhouse. They would grow & be huge, but after a while, they would fall over because their roots weren’t deep. They later found out that the tree developed deep roots by enduring strong winds & storms, but because that didn’t occur in the “perfect conditions greenhouse,” the roots never developed. That illustration & that verse made me wonder what a tree firmly rooted in love yet…
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Day 5: Love
2 Peter 1:5-7 John 17:22-23, 26 1 John 2:5 Through the Bible ’23 “…but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him.” 1 John 2:5 ESV Tweet The love of God is a deep and firm foundation, to fully comprehend it; you must be willing to go deep… Jamie Harrington Ephesians 3:14-21For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,…
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That’s Deep
“I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide, and long, and high and DEEP is the love of Christ.” Paul, The Apostle (Eph. 3:17-18) Tweet Mark 14:32 “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray. He took Peter, James, and John along with Him and began to be DEEPLY distressed and troubled. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He said to them. Stay here and keep watch.” Jesus wanted the disciples to stay with Him and share His burden. Sadly, they…
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Truth is important, yes. Christ, absolutely.
Truth must be important to you. You say things like “this is my truth,” [or] “truth is what you make it to be,” [like] “truth is what you want it to be,” [and] “what is your truth?”
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A Relentless Hero in an Epic Story
This byline has a backstory. What it references is our current message series “It’s Epic” spanning the weeks between Advent 2021 and Palm Sunday 2022. The featured teachers are honed in on educating and reminding us that God’s Story effects everything and everyone – young and old, rich and poor, believers and unbelievers alike. God is the hero who won’t relent. The story includes MANY characters, but, He’s THE hero. Some months ago, Elder Jay Christian pointed out his sense that God’s people needed to be reminded of the “big stories” of God’s Word as he perceived defeat and discouragement looming in the hearts and minds of otherwise faith-filled and hopeful believers.…
