Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 18, 2008
As I mentioned, ancients held the belief that blood was significant. It was powerful. The Hebrews would hold animal sacrifices. The blood would be used to symbolically cover up the sin of the people. Hebrews 9:22 says that forgiveness does not come without the shedding of blood. The Hebrews had to
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 18, 2008
In fact, pagan rituals often drank the blood of animals that were sacrificed because they superstitiously believed that the life force became a part of them. It could extend their own life. Conquering leaders sometimes drank the blood of the defeated kings because they believed that their power and
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 18, 2008
Several years ago I worked during the summer as a chaplain in a large hospital in Dayton. Part of my responsibilities was to be “on call” every other weekend for a 24 hour period. We had to remain at the hospital but be available if and when a need arose for a chaplain. Many times the need was
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
SUPPORT YOUR LEADERSHIP
Doing what is right means that we give our leaders support. This does not mean we have to agree with them all the time. In our governmental structure, it also does not mean that we should not criticize their decisions if they are bad ones. We are allowed that freedom.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
Get involved and be willing to learn. I think sometimes the greatest damage the Christians do to our collective witness is being unwilling to learn and listen to the perspectives of others. They think that they are to get involved but that ends up meaning that they are there not to help but make
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
He prefers that we do NOT go into debt. Think about it… Most of us right now have firsthand experience that when financial woes hit us, every other area of our lives (those other six areas that we’ve talked about) are effected. Verse 6 actually said something that I felt was very convicting and
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
In our group we discussed some of the intricacies here. Studies have shown that people on the average spend 30% more if using a credit or even a debit card when making their normal purchases. For many people, dolling out cash helps us spend less. However, some in the group pointed out that the
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Nov 11, 2008
The penny is an interesting piece of metal. The price of the metal within the penny actually is worth more than its assigned value. And to top it off, the penny is almost worthless at least in terms economic buying power. You can’t get anything for penny nowadays. I can’t think of anything.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 27, 2008
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS & WRONG JUDGMENT
Relationally, I think of assumptions as unproven conclusions. We draw conclusions based on our experiences, our perceptions, and limited information.
Sometimes misinformation. In my opinion, much of this year’s political campaigning has been about
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 27, 2008
SPELLING A WORD
A woman died and went to heaven but when she arrived at the "Pearly Gates," she found Peter. "Before you can come in, you have to spell a word," he said.
"What word?" she asked.
"Any word?"
"L-O-V-E. Love," she said.
"Come on in. But I was wondering if you'd do me a quick
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
I own stock in YUM, which is Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. Repeatedly, the board of directors have refused to make their restaurants smoke-free citing that they comply to current regulations and doing so would put their restaurants at a disadvantage to other restaurants that allow it. Basically,
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
Be more active in knowing what you are buying and who you are buying it from. For example, fair trade is a designation used for coffee and tea to not only make sure that justice is done by paying farmers fair wages but they also make sure that these farmers farm responsibly: they take care of the
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008
Yet, excuses still abound. “It’s too hard. It’s too messy. It’s too inconvenient. It’s takes too much time.” I just have one thing to say—“Wah!”
“It doesn’t really matter. What difference can I make?” Actually each one of us makes a huge difference. Do you believe that every single person matters
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
When we studied this in our small group, we looked at the story of a man who was possessed by a bunch of demons. He was wild. He tortured. Casting Crowns has written a song telling this story. And I found a video that has dramatized the story and song. Let’s take a
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
I read about ten years ago an interesting statistic. Our medical knowledge doubles every 2.5 years. Is it any wonder why medicine has so many specialties? It literally is hard to keep up. Yet, we have
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 14, 2008
We are not meant to live in darkness. We were created to live in the light—in God’s light. I worked with a young lady several years ago whose boyfriend surrendered to the darkness. He blew his brains out with a shotgun just as she entered their bedroom. It was devastating. I knew the guy.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
A few days ago I was praying to God about a certain matter. I knew God was going to answer, but I was not sure how and when. On Tuesday as I was in the office working, I started to check things out, I found out that my prayer was already answered, and I did not even know. There in the office I
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
based on 3 ratings
| 5,227 views
A Marriage Confession
I have a confession to make this morning. I am really not sure how to say this to you. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and really fearful of what you might think of me once you know the truth. I must confess to you this morning that my wife, Ronda, and I have irreconcilable
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
based on 1 rating
| 7,913 views
Sacrificial Love
Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination, and when the blizzard had subsided her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 29, 2008
God cares for us—every part of us. He wants us to be whole—complete. This includes a physical well-being. Instead of a story I want to show you a video about a special act—a physical act—that was done for another person. It shows us what it is like to follow
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God