Wilderness Wanderings

Our gospel reading for this week is from Mark 10:32-45 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be delivere...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text Acts 17:24-28; Hebrews 13:1-3.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca When have you been so deeply received th...

Today our text comes from Luke 16:19-31.  May God bless you as you hear his word. "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him...

Today our text comes from Genesis 14:17-24.  May God bless you as you hear his word. After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by G...

Today our text comes from Psalm 91.  May God bless you as you hear his word.   1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High     will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,     my God, in whom I trust." 3 Surely he will save you     from the fowler's snare     and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers,     and...

Today our text comes from Mark 10:17-31. May God bless you as you hear his word. As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall...

Our first reading is from Hebrews 4:1-11 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. God's promise of enjoying his rest still stands. So be careful that none of you fails to receive it. The good news was announced to our people of long ago. It has also been preached to us. The message they heard didn't have any value for them. That's because they didn't share the faith of those who obeyed. Now...

Our first reading is from Hebrews 3:7-19 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. The Holy Spirit says, "Listen to his voice today. If you hear it, don't be stubborn. You were stubborn when you opposed me. You did that when you were tested in the desert. There, your people of long ago tested me. Yet for 40 years they saw what I did.   That is why I was angry with them. I said, 'Their hearts...

Our first reading is from Psalm 55 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   God, listen to my prayer. Pay attention to my cry for help. Hear me and answer me. My thoughts upset me. I'm very troubled. I'm troubled by what my enemies say about me. I'm upset because they say they will harm me. They cause me all kinds of suffering. When they are angry, they attack me with their words. I feel...

Our first reading is from Psalm 112 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who have respect for the Lord.     They find great delight when they obey God's commands. Their children will be powerful in the land.     Because they are honest, their children will be blessed. Their family will have wealth and riches.     They will always be blessed for doing...

Our gospel reading for this week is from Mark 10:1-16 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again, crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.   Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"   "What did Moses command you?" he replied...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Psalm 119:97-104; Mark 4:26-29.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca DIVE IN How has God spoken to you th...

Today our text comes from two places: Romans 8 and Galatians 3.  The theme of this week is an invitation to examine our lives and our assumptions to recognize how it is that someone comes to be "with" or "against" God. May God bless you as you hear his word. Romans 8:1-11 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit w...

Today our text comes from two places: Zechariah 8 and 1 John 2.  The theme of this week is an invitation to examine our lives and our assumptions to recognize that it is not always the outsiders, but sometimes we ourselves who might be the ones who are against God. May God bless you as you hear his word. Zechariah 8:18-23 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. This is what the Lord Almighty say...

Today our text comes from Psalm 5.  The theme of this week from Mark 9 is an invitation to examine our lives and our assumptions to recognize that it is not always the outsiders, but sometimes we ourselves who might be the ones who are against God. May God bless you as you hear his word.   Listen to my words, Lord,     consider my lament. Hear my cry for help,     my King and my God,     for to yo...

Today our text, reflecting on Jesus' words from Mark 9 about those who might not be as "against us" as we might presume, comes from Genesis 20:1-18.  May God bless you as you hear his word. Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king o...

Today our text comes from Mark 9:38-50.  May God bless you as you hear his word.   "Teacher," said John, "we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone wh...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Psalm 46.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca How do you avoid or resist silence? How and when do you re...

Today our text comes from James 4:8-17.  May God bless you as you hear his word.   Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone...

Today our text comes from 2 Kings 5:1-14.  May God bless you as you hear his word. Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.  Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israe...

Today our text comes from Psalm 139.  May God bless you as you hear his word.   You have searched me, Lord,     and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;     you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;     you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue     you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before,     and you l...

Today our text comes from Exodus 18:13-27.  May God bless you as you hear his word. The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from...

Today our text is from Mark 9:30-37 May the Lord bless you as you hear his word. 30  They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31  because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 32  But they did not understand wha...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 14:22-36, from the New International Version of the Bible.   Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!   To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube .   Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: im...

Our first reading is from Psalm 54 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.   Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me--people without regard for God. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.   Let evil recoil on those who slande...