This passage is part of the development of the office of deacon in the New Testament. It underscores the importance of both the ministry of prayer and the Word and the ministry of mercy in the church.
Read Acts 6:1-7
The Passover and the Lord’s Supper
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the celebration of the Passover. The Lord’s Supper is to be understood in part as the fulfillment of the Passover. This sermon explores the relationship between the two ordinances.
Read Matthew 26:17-25
Psalm 23
This Psalm has always been a comfort for God’s people in times of trouble. God is the Shepherd of his people and as such he guides their lives and provided for all their needs. This is true even when the path is difficult.
Read Psalm 23:1-6
Offer to God a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
In this Psalm, God rebukes his people for thinking that he was dependent upon their sacrifices. He also addresses the wicked for their way of life. He calls his people to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and to order their lives “rightly.”
Read Psalm 50:1-23
The Calling of Levi
This story teaches us that Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. It reveals the mercy of Christ to sinners and it gives insight into the meaning of repentance as well as warning of the danger of trusting in our own righteousness.
Read Luke 5:27-32
Learning to be Content
Paul had learned to be content in every situation because his greatest passion was knowing and serving Christ. He had not come to this in his own strength by through the strength that Christ had given him.
Read Philippians 4:10-13
Society
Jeremiah address the people in exile and tells them to seek the welfare of the city to which they had been taken. The principle is that God’s people are to be a blessing to the wider society in which they live.
Read Jeremiah 29:1-14
Thinking and Doing
This passage encourages us to think about worthwhile things wherever we find them, but it also urges us to be discriminating. The embodiment of all of the characteristics listed here is Jesus Christ so our focus must be on him. Paul also reminds us that thinking must lead to practice.
Read Philippians 4:8-9
How to Have Peace
Paul, in these verses, gives four commands which if followed will lead to “the peace of God which surpasses understanding.” It is possible for Christians to obey these commands, to some degree, because of the resources that they have in Christ.
Read Philippians 4:4-7
Guard the Good Deposit
In this passage Paul instructs Timothy, “guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” Paul is concerned that the truth he taught be passed on faithfully. The confessions and creeds of the church are an attempt to be faithful to this command.
Read 2 Timothy 1:13-14