Wilderness Wanderings

Our text is 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10 But Timothy has come to us from you just now. He has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have happy memories of us. He has also said that you desire to see us, just as we desire to see you. Brothers and sisters, in all our trouble and suffering your faith encouraged us. Now we really live because you are standing firm in th...

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it...

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered...

We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember,...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 5:13-16.  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 1.       What statement of fact does Jesus make in...

Our text is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the c...

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themse...

Our text is 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message amid severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spiri...

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3) John Calvin somewhat famously (at least among geeky theological circles) suggested that 1 Thessalonians 1:3 is "a brief definition of true...

Our text is 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. We trust you have been blessed by scripture during this season of Lent and Easter. Today, we return to our traditional Wilderness Wanderings format, with short reflections on scripture, this time working our way through the first letter t...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 5:1-12, 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: imma...

Psalm 115:1,15-18 Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. … May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence; it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Pra...

Scriptures for this Tuesday after Easter 2024. Psalm 114 When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why was it, sea, that you fled? Why, Jordan, did you turn back? Why, mountains, did you leap like rams, you hills, like...

Psalm 113:1-3, 7-8 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.  Exodus 12:...

Psalm 112:1-5 Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Good will come t...

For this first week of Easter we are continuing with the format of listening to scripture that we used through the season of Lent in order to give a good sweep of some of the resonate meaning of Jesus' Resurrection and Redemption.  So, listen in again today for what the Spirit might be saying to you today through this Good Word of Easter hope! Psalm 111:1-2, 9-10 Praise the Lord. I will extol the...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Isaiah 53:10-12 & Luke 24:1-12 & 45-49.

Scriptures for this Thursday of Holy Week 2024. Psalm 39:6-12 Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this...

Psalm 88:15-18 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair. Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend. Isaiah 63:2-6 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the...

These are the scriptures selected for Tuesday of Holy Week 2024 Psalm 55:16-19 As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fea...

Psalm 25:1-3 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Lamentations 2:13-15 What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, Virgin Da...

Psalm 22:1-5 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they tr...

Psalm 125:1-2 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. Exodus 9:13-16 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may w...

Psalm 55:9, 12-14 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. …If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers. Exodus 9:1-7 Then the Lo...

Psalm 25:4-7 Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good. Exodus 8:16-19 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell...