Posts with the category “pastor-devotional”

1 Chronicles 29:11,“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, (and that's a very special word in the Bible, that in particular brings in the focus of God's sovereignty) Yours is the kingdom, O Lord and you are exalted as head above all.”This is a book of the Bible that...  Read More

John 17:9-19,“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with t...  Read More

John 13:1,“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”John 14:1,“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.John 13 and 14 – 17 is the longest discourse of our Lord Jesus. Here is what J.C. Ryle has said about this portion of Sc...  Read More

John 10:7,So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” John 10:11,“I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”John's gospel, as I'm sure most of you know, is very different from the other three gospels. They are called the synoptic gospels because they approach the life of Jesus in basically the same way in terms of his life and ...  Read More

2 Chronicles 14:1-12,Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for 10 years. And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of th...  Read More

John 14:1-3,“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”I think you could say when it comes to godliness and growth in grace, one of the ...  Read More

Luke 4:16-21,And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proc...  Read More

John 4:13-26, Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to ...  Read More

Exodus 2:23-25,“During those many days, the king of Egypt died and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel and God knew.”I want to focus this time not necessarily on an example of ...  Read More

Genesis 32:26,“Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”Jacob here is afraid that his brother Esau is going to kill him. He is returning back into the land and he is sending all these gifts ahead of him to try to win the favor of his brother Esau and so he is afraid. He has already sent some gifts ahead. And this one particular...  Read More

Matthew 6:5-14, And when you pray you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees you in secret will reward you. And when you p...  Read More

Genesis 32:9-12.And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of your steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please de...  Read More

Philippians 4:6,7,“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."Colossians 4:2,“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”As I was meditating on this Colossians passa...  Read More

1 John 3:1-3,“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purif...  Read More

Well, I'm going to have three different scriptures tonight and as we hear our brethren read them, I want you to listen for one word in particular. There's one word that pops up in every one of these passages that are going to be read. Exodus 33:18, 19,Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name, ‘The Lord.’...  Read More

I think it's very beneficial for us to look at and learn from the prayers that we find in the Bible. I think that in these prayers we find there are patterns to imitate and examples to follow. We find examples of things to pray for and even sometimes in the prayers in the Bible we find types of Christ, particularly in the Old Testament. Recently, I've been looking through some of the first prayers...  Read More

1 Corinthians 14:33,"For God is not a God of disorder, (or confusion) but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints."1 Corinthians 14:40,"But all things should be done decently and in order."If you know anything about the church in Corinth, you know it was a church in pretty bad shape. They were denying the resurrection. I don't think they were denying the resurrection of Jesus, but denying t...  Read More

Philippians 4:4-6,"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."Psalm 92:1-4,"It is g...  Read More

Good evening, brothers and sisters. I was thinking about how helpful it is to look at the prayers that God has given us in scripture, as far as how they inform our own prayers and how they can encourage us and how they can give us principles to remember in our own prayers. So there's one specific prayer that I wanted to look at from the life of Abraham.Genesis 18:20-2,32.Then the Lord said, “Becau...  Read More

Matthew 6:9-13, “Pray then like this, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” I think everybody would agree that this is the most famous prayer ever prayed. It is a pra...  Read More

Isaiah 6:1-8, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” An...  Read More

This is the first day of the New Year, January 1st, a great way to start the New Year with a prayer meeting. We can always look back and we can always look ahead. It's a good time to remember God's goodness and God's greatness. I want to turn to a passage of scripture, Isaiah chapter 6. This is more a focus upon God's greatness. Here's where Isaiah gets a visionary close-up of God on his throne. ...  Read More

Exodus 33:17-19, And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all of my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim before you my name “The Lord.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show...  Read More

This past Sunday, when you think back to what we heard, (I sometimes go back and try to see if I can get any common denominator) our brother taught the adult Sunday school class and took us to Acts chapter 4 and focused upon the generosity of the early church. You could say they were marked with great giving, not indiscriminate giving, but according to the needs. So there's that emphasis on great...  Read More

1 Peter 3:14-17,“But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile...  Read More

Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 69:30,“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” Here is why we ultimately give thanks to God: to magnify, to glorify, our great God and Savior.Philippians 4:4-7,“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by pr...  Read More

Numbers 14:11-19,And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this peopl...  Read More

John 17 - This is the high priestly prayer of Jesus, and I will be referencing several of the verses that are in this chapter. We know that Jesus is praying for his people, for those who have received eternal life, for those who know the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ who was sent by the Father. He's praying for those whom the Father gave to the Son. These are God's people, this is t...  Read More

November 6, 2024Pastor Gordon Cook Acts 9:4-11, “And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless hearing the voice, but seeing no one. Sa...  Read More

October 30, 2024Pastor Gordon Cook Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a snake? If you then, wh...  Read More

October 23, 2024Pastor Mark Bauer Ephesians 1:15, 16, "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."  I think most of us know that Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians in verses 3-14 with a long sentence, a sentence that praises God who has blessed the church; God ...  Read More

October 16, 2024Pastor Gordon Cook I'm going to start with a quote from someone who was the editor of the Banner of Truth magazine, Maurice Roberts. I used to get that magazine quite regularly and what I appreciated so much about Mr. Roberts was he focused upon Christ and upon God. Here's what he said in one of his articles, “To have God in your mind and thought is the believer's constant source o...  Read More

October 9, 2024Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 2: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, ...  Read More

October 2, 2024Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 46, To the choir master of the sons of Korah, according to Alamoth. A song."God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. There is a river whose ...  Read More

  Read More

September 18, 2024Pastor Bernard Ibrahim2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5, “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and believe in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand fir...  Read More

September 11, 2024Pastor Mark BauerJames 1:2, “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds.”James says words that may be somewhat surprising to many who are in the midst of trials. We're encouraged here to count it as joy when we're in the midst of trials. But how then and why would we see it as a joy to be in the midst of trials? Well, he goes on to help us understand that...  Read More

September 4, 2024Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 107:8-9“Let them thank the Lord for a steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men. For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”This psalm deals with a lot of problems or crises, heavy trials and God comes to the rescue every time. And then there's a common refrain of giving thanks to God for his steadf...  Read More

August 28, 2024Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 46:10-11, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”It's always good to focus upon God, and remind us of why we can be assured of answers to our prayers. This is a psalm that begins in a wonderful way, and ends in a wonderful way of fo...  Read More

August 21, 2024Pastor Gordon CookPsalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens, He does all that he pleases.”This reminds us of why we can be so assured that God answers prayer and that God is sovereign. Think of that, all that he pleases. And it does please God to answer our prayers. He loves to answer prayer, that's something God loves to do. He loves to show his care for his children.I was in Toronto...  Read More