Author Archive: Steve
Steve is blessed to be the husband of Alice, the father of Sarah and Douglas, the father-in-law of Paul, the granddad of Samuel and Avery, a Pastor at the Vineyard Community Church in Big Pine Key, Florida, and most gratefully, a child of the King.
Developing a Disciple’s Heart – Part 16
On the other hand, the word used for daily has an interesting Kingdom connection. We talked briefly about the kingdom of God last week. His rule and His reign. The kingdom was inaugurated when Jesus came. It will be consummated when He returns. The kingdom (His rule and reign) is here but not yet fully here (your rule and reign come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven). We live in the present, in the tension of the now and the not yet. So, the root word for daily is the same word we get tomorrow from. In effect, you could translate Matthew 6:11 to say, Give us today, the bread of tomorrow. This is the spiritual or supernatural understanding of this verse. It helps us to increase our faith. The kingdom dynamic, His rule and reign, is presented like this. God, since you are going to set everything right when you come back, we ask that you do it now. We don’t need to worry about tomorrow, and we have faith that all the promises of the kingdom can break through into today.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
Developing a Disciple’s Heart – Part 15
Before we talk about the practical application of this verse I want to look at a couple of things with you. First, let’s start by talking about the Kingdom of God. What is it? The Kingdom of God is not a place, the Kingdom of God is His right or authority to rule and reign. The Kingdom of God exists anywhere Jesus is king. In this part of the Lord’s prayer we are in effect asking for His rule in our lives, not doing things my way but doing things His way.
Second, why do we need to pray for His will to be done? Isn’t His will always done? The answer is no. Not everything that happens is God’s will. Yes, He is in control, but He has also allowed us to make choices which often have consequences. People tend to want to blame God for all the bad things that happen, without thinking about the deeper issues.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
Morning Reflection – May 12 2012
Here at a Jesus Moment we want to encourage you to be thankful and blessed. I have been reading Jeremiah this week. God is speaking through Jeremiah to a very hard hearted group of people so there are a lot of tough passages in the reading. But, interspersed are some great promises. I really enjoyed [...]
Category: Kingdom Thoughts
Morning Reflection – May 11 2012
Here at a Jesus Moment we want to encourage you to be thankful and blessed. I don’t know about you, but I am amazed at how easily I am distracted. I have what seems like a constant stream of new ideas that I am pondering. The problem is, I have a bunch of projects that [...]
Category: Kingdom Thoughts
2 Corinthians Chapter 2-3
Paul is talking about what happened to Moses after entering the tabernacle of God and then returning to speak to the Israelites. When he would come out of the tabernacle he would have a noticeable radiance and splendor that could be seen by the Israelites.
Moses was leading a group of people that were a lot like the Corinthians. The Israelites were constantly complaining about and challenging the leadership of Moses. The visible radiance of God had to go a long way in quieting the constant complaining of the Israelites. But then Moses noticed that the splendor faded, so he tried to hide the fact that the glory faded by putting a veil over his face so the Israelites couldn’t tell.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
Morning Reflection – May 8 2012
Here at a Jesus Moment we want to encourage you to be thankful and blessed. I read this verse this morning: Jeremiah 2:13 13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. [...]
Category: Kingdom Thoughts
Developing a Disciple’s Heart – Part 14
What does hallow mean? It means literally sanctify. It means that we are praying that who He is and His name be set apart in our lives and in the lives of others for the awesome and beautiful reality that He is.
But hallowing God’s name is even more than what we do in prayer and worship. Essentially, we are to hallow God’s name in our daily living, as our Father’s character and purpose are expressed in our lives. By faith in Christ we bear the family name.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
Morning Reflection – May 5 2012
Here at a Jesus Moment we want to encourage you to be thankful and blessed. I am thinking about something C S Lewis said. He said that you are not a body with a soul, you are a soul with a body. Ponder that for a while today. I think it will have an impact [...]
Category: Kingdom Thoughts
Morning Reflection – May 4 2012
Here at a Jesus Moment we want to encourage you to be thankful and blessed. Make sure that you are not to busy to pray today. If you have what looks like a really full day ahead of you, you need to take even more time for prayer, not less. Connect with Him and then [...]
Category: Kingdom Thoughts
2 Corinthians Chapter 1
Troubles, pressures, distresses, hardships, are mentioned nine times by Paul in 2 Corinthians. It is in these troubles, that our perspective changes from the temporary to the eternal. This is not as good as it gets. Something better is waiting for us as believers. It is, however, the best life available until then.
Paul reminds us that God is the source of our comfort. Paul uses three titles to help us remember who God is. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
