Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 15, 2008
What is Christmas is really about? I would say it is not about simply being filled with joy and singing and family and relationships as the Whos seem to think Christmas is about. In fact Christmas is about a person: Jesus. It is about the one who was born as an outcast. His mother and father
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 22, 2008
A film made in 2002, The Magdalene Sisters, told the sad story of the "maggies" of Ireland. They got that nickname from Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had driven seven demons. Tradition says that Mary Magdalene was the prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair. Hence when a strict order of
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jan 8, 2009
I don’t know what will happen this year. I know that a lot of us are struggling in many ways especially financially. Food prices are going up. A loaf of bread at Wal-mart used to be around 80 cents a couple of years ago. Now it is over a dollar. 10 pounds of potatoes used to be 2 dollars or less.
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jan 12, 2009
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
If this doesn't inspire you worship God with every millimeter of your being, if thinking about this ginormous God does not compel you to shout for joy and sing His praises with all of your being, then I don't know what will. Probably nothing.
Chris Tomlin wrote these words
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jan 30, 2009
Marriage and Creation
Your life started as the joining of two cells, One from your mother and one from your father. That cell from your dad made in an incredible journey as one of thousands. Each cell carries 23 chromosomes. When the cell from your dad and the cell from your mom met, they formed
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009
Yet, in a way Ray was a hero (at least by our culture’s standards). He was selfish. He was self-centered. He was egotistical. He was self-absorbed and was focused too much on power, privileges, and the pleasures that excessive wealth could bring. I say he was a hero because basically Rehoboam was
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009
Learn from others. Learn from their mistakes. Learn from their advice. Ray was too self-centered to do that. He wasn’t seeking advice as much as wanting people to tell him that what he was thinking was right. He didn’t really want his father’s advisors to help him as much as he wanted them to agree
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009
Countries far and wide sought out Solomon. He gained influence and riches. Immediately after this passage, there is the story of two prostitutes who each had a baby. The mother of one child in her sleep rolled over and killed her child. She got up and switched her dead baby with the other women’s
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009
In seminary, every student was asked this question and it was sort of a psychological test that with the other tests could reveal some possible issues of the student and point to the fitness of the student for pastoral ministry. For example, I said, “Jesus.” Because as a potential pastor, I thought
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009
This is a huge concept for us: loyalty. It is huge because loyalty in my opinion is narrowly practiced on our society. It is present but usually limited to loyalty to oneself. And loyalty affects a very special area of our lives: the social arena. Loyalty or lack of loyalty has a major impact upon
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Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 23, 2009
There is an old pizza delivery joke that when someone comes into the shop to ask for directions the standard reply is, “You can’t there from here.” When you are loaded down with guilt, and all your emotional baggage, and all the comforts and securities of life that you have earned, then you can’t
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 23, 2009
Following Jesus is not easy. Being faithful is not easy. Giving and sacrificing. Generosity. Showing kindness and love. Being faithful and consistent. Offering praises and worship even when you don’t feel like it can be a huge sacrifice. You will most likely be rejected at some point. You might
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Contributed by Mark Lewis on Mar 5, 2009
There is an eye that never sleeps, beneath the wing of night;
There is an ear that never shuts, when sinks the beams of light;
There is an arm that never tires, when human strength gives way;
There is a
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Pentecostal
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Mar 17, 2009
Our room steward, Denny, was so nice and seemed to genuinely show concern and respect to our family. It was amazing. So as I thought about this issue of respect, which we are going to talk about today, I also began to wonder if respect can be bought.
How many of you have been on a cruise? This
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Church Of God
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Mar 17, 2009
If you really want to earn the respect of others, you begin by respecting yourself. This means doing what is right in God’s eyes. Not cutting corners. Not engaging in lifestyles and activities that you know would be wrong in God’s eyes. Lying, cheating, stealing, being selfish, outbursts of rage
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Mar 19, 2009
I WANT TO MATTER
I once asked a friend of mine what was his biggest fear? After listening to his response, I told him that my biggest fear in life is being insignificant. If I can’t make a difference in the lives of those around me, and impact their lives for the sake of the Kingdom, then my
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Methodist
Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Mar 19, 2009
When I was in Amsterdam, working as a missionary with YWAM, a Christian music group came to the city to play at a place called "The Last Watering Hole." A number of us went to hear them play and support them in their mission. While we were there, a who was not a Christian light up a joint. Out of
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Methodist