Merba

May 6, 2012

The Bible is full of women and men who are radical, and believe God is good for everybody. Moses and Mariam use song to communicate God's love. The Bible is almost like a musical. Mary sings of her love,…

Exodus 15:1 (MSG), Psalm 37:1 (MSG), Luke 24:35 (MSG), Acts 1:1 (MSG), Philippians 2:5 (MSG), Philippians 2:6 (MSG), Philippians 2:7 (MSG), Philippians 2:8 (MSG), Philippians 2:9 (MSG), Philippians 2:10 (MSG), Philippians 2:11 (MSG), Revelation 15:1 (MSG)

April 1, 2012

Luke gives us an interesting statement about The Kingdom, and The Cross. The reality is that they cannot be separated. Jesus chooses this course of action. Imagination is more important than knowledge-Albert…

Psalm 118:1 (MSG), Psalm 118:2 (MSG), Psalm 118:3 (MSG), Psalm 118:4 (MSG), Luke 9:51 (MSG), Luke 19:1 (MSG), Luke 19:28 (MSG), Luke 19:29 (MSG), Luke 19:30 (MSG), Luke 19:31 (MSG), Luke 19:32 (MSG), Luke 19:33 (MSG), Luke 19:34 (MSG), Luke 19:35 (MSG), Luke 19:36 (MSG), Luke 19:37 (MSG), Luke 19:38 (MSG), Luke 19:39 (MSG), Luke 19:40 (MSG), Luke 19:41 (MSG), Luke 19:42 (MSG), Luke 19:43 (MSG), Luke 19:44 (MSG)

March 25, 2012

The human propensity to choose the cowardly choice. The gospel is always concerned with how we relate to others. Paul wants us to pay attention to the correlation between prayer and action. Paul assumes…

Luke 3:1 (MSG), Luke 4:1 (MSG), Luke 22:49 (MSG), Acts 2:1 (MSG), Acts 2:38 (MSG), Colossians 4:1 (MSG), Colossians 4:2 (MSG), Colossians 4:3 (MSG), Colossians 4:4 (MSG), Colossians 4:5 (MSG), Colossians 4:6 (MSG)

March 18, 2012

Shepards are leaders. God is a shepard. Jesus is a good shepard. Paul calls church leaders to be shepards. Leadership changes due to demand. Everything varies by the constraints of time and place, but…

Psalm 23:1 (MSG), Isaiah 41:11 (MSG), Ezekiel 34:1 (MSG)

March 3, 2011

Paul says a lot in a little amount of time, and directs it to the person in the house with the most power. He calls the leader of the household to view those people differently. What he doesn't say: he…

Galatians 3:26 (MSG), Colossians 1:21 (MSG), Colossians 3:22 (MSG)

December 25, 2011

We are small, but not insignificant. We are all walking, talking miracles. America wants to separate science, and faith. LigHt, and darkness exist together. You can't know what dark is without light,…

Psalm 33:6 (MSG), Psalm 33:7 (MSG), Psalm 33:8 (MSG), Psalm 33:9 (MSG), John 1:1 (MSG)

November 27, 2011

Philippians is a "thank you" note. Paul talks about a partnership, and a desire to be with Christ. Following Christ involves sacrifice. We must learn to be content. Paul encourages us to strive politically,…

Philippians 1:27 (MSG), Hebrews 2:1 (MSG), Hebrews 10:32 (MSG)

Novemeber 6, 2011

Scene 1: Looking and Seeing. Jesus is not interested in a debate, but in seeing God's work. Scene 2: God's guards. Scene 3: Meet the Parents. The future of heaven collides with Earth. The parent's are…

John 9:35 (NCV), John 9:36 (NCV), John 9:37 (NCV), John 9:38 (NCV), John 9:39 (NCV), John 9:40 (NCV), John 9:41 (NCV)

September 25, 2011

The smaller we become the bigger God becomes. The bigger we become, the smaller God becomes. A parable of perspective, we must start small to see the bigger picture. From space the Earth is impossibly…

2 Kings 5:1 (MSG)

September 11, 2011

We wrestle every day with following Jesus in the face of evil, and torment. We should turn to the Bible instead. Sarah and Abraham were desperate to have a child. Sarah sees Hagar, and gets an idea. Abraham…

Genesis 16:1 (MSG), Luke 13:1 (MSG), Luke 13:2 (MSG), Luke 13:3 (MSG), Luke 13:4 (MSG), Luke 13:5 (MSG), 2 Corinthians 5:1 (MSG)

Who Do You Think You Are? - September 4, 2011

Motown music gave the world many great artists, and gave the world many of the "newer" artists we know today. The power of music shapes us in a great way. Michael Jackson is a celebrity to celebrities.…

Acts 7:54 (MSG), Hebrews 11:1 (MSG), Hebrews 11:31 (MSG), Hebrews 11:32 (MSG), Hebrews 11:33 (MSG), Hebrews 11:34 (MSG), Hebrews 11:35 (MSG), Hebrews 11:36 (MSG), Hebrews 11:37 (MSG), Hebrews 11:38 (MSG), Revelation 1:1 (MSG), Revelation 5:1 (MSG), Revelation 14:1 (MSG)

August 28, 2011

We have become enamored with the "big" characters in the Bible, but God works through the "little" characters as well. Jesus must become greater, I must become less. John the Baptist was not a central…

Psalm 33:1 (MSG), Luke 1:6 (MSG), Luke 7:1 (MSG), John 18:1 (MSG), John 19:1 (MSG)

August 7, 2011

You should make the decision to follow Jesus, but not out of fear. Fear is a strong motivator, but it only lasts so long. It's one thing to believe in hell as Jesus did, but what did Jesus actually say…

Matthew 7:13 (MSG), Matthew 7:14 (MSG), Matthew 10:28 (MSG), Matthew 10:32 (MSG), Matthew 10:33 (MSG), Matthew 18:8 (MSG), Matthew 18:9 (MSG), Matthew 25:41 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:6 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:7 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:8 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:9 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:10 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:11 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:12 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:13 (MSG)

August 7, 2011

You should make the decision to follow Jesus, but not out of fear. Fear is a strong motivator, but it only lasts so long. It's one thing to believe in hell as Jesus did, but what did Jesus actually say…

Matthew 7:13 (MSG), Matthew 7:14 (MSG), Matthew 10:28 (MSG), Matthew 10:32 (MSG), Matthew 10:33 (MSG), Matthew 18:8 (MSG), Matthew 18:9 (MSG), Matthew 25:41 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:6 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:7 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:8 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:9 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:10 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:11 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:12 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:13 (MSG)

August 7, 2011

You should make the decision to follow Jesus, but not out of fear. Fear is a strong motivator, but it only lasts so long. It's one thing to believe in hell as Jesus did, but what did Jesus actually say…

Matthew 7:13 (MSG), Matthew 7:14 (MSG), Matthew 10:28 (MSG), Matthew 10:32 (MSG), Matthew 10:33 (MSG), Matthew 18:8 (MSG), Matthew 18:9 (MSG), Matthew 25:41 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:6 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:7 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:8 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:9 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:10 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:11 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:12 (MSG), 2 Peter 3:13 (MSG)

July 17, 2011

A vocabulary of faith. Sometimes we get on a treadmill that is moving so fast that it allows us to out-run our past, but it always catches up with us, sometimes in the form of addiction. We are apart…

July 10, 2011

Can you live in the resurrection? For the non-believer there is no resurrection. As Christians we sometimes take the resurrection for granted. It is one thing to believe in the resurrection, and another…

Romans 12:1 (MSG), Romans 12:2 (MSG), 1 Corinthians 15:12 (MSG)

June 19, 2011

Sometimes the words we use exclude people from our community of faith. We have tried to control and manipulate the kingdom of God, but He always gets away, because He is bigger than our little box. The…

Mark 1:1 (MSG), Mark 1:14 (MSG), Luke 11:20 (MSG), John 18:36 (MSG), 1 Corinthians 1:13 (MSG)

June 5, 2011

Jesus is taking everyone's message and testimony, and speaking them in a new context. Jesus is the lens that we use to view the rest of the world. He is the exact representation of God. All the questions,…

Genesis 1:1 (MSG), Hebrews 1:1 (MSG), Hebrews 4:1 (MSG)

May 8, 2011

One of the reason's Jesus was crucified, because of the sermon on the mount. He challenged everything within society. Jesus uses "disciple" - He cares about cultivating apprentices. Its about being an…

Matthew 6:1 (MSG), Matthew 11:1 (MSG), Matthew 23:1 (MSG), Ephesians 1:1 (MSG)

April 17, 2011

We have a lot of traditions. Stories become apart of the bigger picture. Imagination is greater than knowledge. God captures our imagination, and we are never the same. As we grow older, we begin to distrust…

Psalm 118:1 (NLT), Psalm 118:2 (NLT), Psalm 118:3 (NLT), Psalm 118:4 (NLT), Luke 19:30 (NLT)

April 10, 2011

The proposal: originally, a young man would ask his father to talk to the woman's father. In early Jewish cultures people learned to love in marriage, whereas we marry the one's we love. Sometimes all…

Matthew 5:31 (NLT), Matthew 19:1 (NLT), Matthew 19:2 (NLT), Matthew 19:3 (NLT), Matthew 19:4 (NLT), Matthew 19:5 (NLT), Matthew 19:6 (NLT), Matthew 19:7 (NLT), Matthew 19:8 (NLT), Matthew 19:9 (NLT), Matthew 19:10 (NLT), Matthew 19:11 (NLT), Matthew 19:12 (NLT), 1 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT)

April 3, 2011

"I'm gonna need help." Music softens our hearts. We often ignore the bible Jesus read, and get confused when we read our bibles. We don't have the commitment Jesus did to the scriptures. God created man…

Matthew 5:27 (NLT), Matthew 5:29 (NLT)

Matthew 5:21-26

This reflects the story of Cain(life) and Abel(vapor). Cain works the fruit of the field. Abel tries to make his own path and works the sheep. God finds favor with Abel's sacrifice, and disfavor with…

Matthew 5:22 (NLT)

Stuff Christians Like

Stuff Christians like. Stuff white people like. Jesus is the reason we come together. We say Jesus is Jewish, but we don't acknowledge it. He lived his life by the Torah. Christianity does not make sense…