Verses to LIVE By...(even if you only have a minute)

7 – “I Am” statements from Jesus found in John’s gospel
Bread of Life; Light of the World; Door / Gate; Good Shepherd; Resurrection & Life; Way, Truth, & Life; True Vine.

40 Teachings from the Greatest Sermon - Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, & 7)

8 Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-10

Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6 & Luke 11)

9 Characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25)

7 Things to add to your Faith (2 Peter 1:5-11)

One of 31 Chapters of Parables (Which one speaks to you today?)

One or more of Psalms of Prayer & Praise to God (out of 150)

Mentoring Advice from 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus: Things to Do (80) & Things Not to Do (22)

Practical Advice from James...(James eats your lunch!)

Prayers of the Apostle Paul (found at the beginning or end of his letters)

40 Figures of Speech Jesus used in John’s gospel
1. John 16:25-31 Disciples struggled to understand
(Jesus explained everything to his disciples - Mark 4:33-34)
2. The Lamb of God (v36) John 1: 35-42
3. You Must Be Born Again (v7) John 3:1-12
4. The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up (v14) John 3:13-18
5. Light and Darkness John 3:19-21
6. The Bride and Bridegroom John 3:25-30
7. Living Water (v10) John 4:10-14
8. My Food – The Harvest John 4:31-38
9. My Father Is Always Working John 5:16-20
10. Life In Himself (v26) John 5:21-30
11. John Was A Lamp (v35) John 5:31-38
12. The Bread of Life (v35, 51) John 6:25-66
13. Where I Am From – Going (v29, 33) John 7:25-36
14. Come To Me and Drink –
Living Water (v37, 38) John 7:37-44
15. Light of the World – Life John 8:12
16. Stand With The Father – Testimony John 8:13-20
17. Going Away – From Above – Lifted UP John 8:21-30
18. The Light of the World (v5) John 9:1-7
19. The Blind Will See –
Seeing Will Be Blind (v39) John 9:35-41
20. Sheep and Watchman - Stranger John 10:1-6
21. The Gate for the Sheep John 10:7-10
22. The Good Shepherd (v11, 14, 27) John 10:11-18
23. Day and Night – Sleep and Death John 11:9-16
24. The Resurrection and the Life (v25) John 11:17-27
25. Seed Dies, Produces Many Seeds (v24) John 12:20-26
26. When Lifted Up, Draw All Men John 12:27-34
27. Light and Darkness (also v44-46) John 12:35-36
28. Jesus’ Word as Judge (v48) John 12:47-50
29. Unless I Wash you, No Part With Me (v8) John 13:1-11
30. Wash One Another’s Feet John 13:12-17
31. Many Rooms In My Father’s House John 14:1-3
32. Way, Truth, Life – In the Father John 14:4-11
33. The True Vine, Branches, and Fruit John 15:1-8
34. You Do Not Belong To The World John 15:18-21
35. Prove the World Wrong – Guide You John 16:5-15
36. Won’t See Me, Will See Me - Childbirth John 16:16-22
37. Not Of the World (v14, 16) John 17:6-19
38. King – Not Of This World John 18:33-38
39. Feed My Sheep John 21:15-17
40. Peter’s Death John 21:18-19

42 Parables Jesus taught in Matthew, Mark, & Luke’s gospels (see list below)
Children of the Bridegroom (Mt. 9:14-15; Mk. 2:18-20; Lk. 5:33-5)
New Patch & Old Garment (Mt. 9:16; Mk. 2:21; Lk. 5:36)
New Win & Old Wineskins (Mt. 9:17; Mk. 2:22; Lk. 5:37-39)
Treasures, Old & New (Mt. 13:51-52)
Wise & Foolish Builders (Mt. 7:24-27; Lk. 6:46-49)
Children At Play (Mt. 11:16-19; Lk. 7:31-35)
Two Debtors (Lk. 7:36-50)
The Soils (Mt. 13:3-9; 18-23; Mk. 4:2-8, 13-30; Lk. 8:4-8, 11-15)
The Hidden Treasure & The Pearl (Mt. 13:45-46)
The Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37)
The Midnight Friend (Lk. 11:5-13)
The Empty House (Mt. 12:43-45; Lk. 11:24-26)
The Rich Fool (Lk. 12:13-21)
The Barren Fig Tree (Lk. 13:6-9)
The Mustard Seed (Mt. 13:31-32; Mk. 4:30-32; Lk. 13:18-19)
Leaven (Mt. 13:33; Lk. 13:20-21)
The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-51)
The Weeds (Mt. 13:24-30, 36-43)
The Chief Seats (Lk. 14:7-11)
The Un-Completed Tower (Lk. 14:28-30)
The King At War (Lk. 14:31-33)
Salt of the Earth (Mt. 5:13; Lk. 14:34-35)
Light of the World (Mt. 5:14-16)
The Lost Sheep (Mt. 18:12-14; Lk. 15:1-7)
The Lost Coins (Lk. 15:8-10)
The Lost Son (Lk. 15:11-32)
The Un-profitable Manager (Lk. 16:1-13)
The Rich Man & Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31)
The Un-worthy Servant (Lk. 17:7-10)
The Persistent Widow (Lk. 18:1-8)
A Pharisee & A Tax Collector (Lk. 18:9-14)
The Un-forgiving Servant (Mt. 18:21-35)
Workers at Various Hours (Mt. 20:1-16)
Two Sons (Mt. 21:28-32)
The Cruel Tenants (Mt. 21:33-46; Mk. 12:1-12; Lk. 20:9-18)
The Wedding Banquet (Mt. 22:1-14; Lk. 14:15-24)
The Fig Tree (Mt. 24:32-35; Mk. 13:28-29; Lk. 21:29-31)
A Thief in the Night (Mt. 24:42-44; Lk. 12:39-40)
Wise & Foolish Servants (Mt. 24:45-51; Mk. 13:35-37; Lk. 12:35-48)
The Ten Virgins (Mt. 25:1-13)
The Talents/Minas (Mt. 25:14-30; Lk. 19:11-24)
The Sheep &The Goats (Mt. 25:31-46)

Watch Your Mouth!

Gossip of any kind is destructive.

“You can tell more about a person by what he says about others, than by what others say about him.” - Leo Aikman
“The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.” - Will Rogers

James 1:26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (ch 3) “blessing & cursing” should not come from the same mouth.

Gossip - 10 Pathways to Eliminate it From Your Life and Transform Your Soul, by Lori Palatnik, (wife of Torah scholar, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik) and Bob Burg. “If you have ever had a conflict with another person, good chance it is based on the misuse of the gift of speech. Gossip is always a personal confession” (hatred or foolishness). “Each time one speaks badly of others, it is like killing 3 people.” Subject, Speaker & Listener - Babylonian Talmud (Arachin 15b)

The Talmud says the person damaged the most is the listener! (How?) Gossip and slander are “passive”, so the Listener is only one that can stop the process. Subject has no control & Speaker has lost control. (James 3) So the Listener must take control!

Praying Over the Room and "N.O.S.A."

Something new and wonderful happened to me the last couple Sundays. Two or Three teen guys came early and helped me pray over every seat in the worship center prior to services. (I was very impressed!)
Then yesterday, three teen guys came up after the start of services and sat with me… on the front row! Our youth group has a saying: “N.O.S.A.” (which means: “No one sits alone”). Seems that some of them felt concern that their preacher was by himself and took it upon themselves to be with me. This was very encouraging to me, (especially considering that my own family members don’t like sitting up front with me!) I was pleasantly surprised how much more confident I felt in presenting my lesson, sensing their support for me. So thank you Taylor, Zack, and Conner. God blessed me through you! It is good to be reminded that we are not alone!

GREAT WISDOM

Solomon was blessed by God with great Wisdom, 2 Chronicles 1:1-12. (Wisdom and discernment are the most consistent things that I pray for in my life.)

Many people read a chapter a day from the collection of "Wisdom" known as Proverbs, selecting the chapter that matches the calendar day of the month. After practicing this discipline for some time, I have continued to be amazed at how there is a thought of "Wisdom" that emerges each chapter that seems to be a nugget of gold for the situations I face that very day! (Maybe the Lord answered my prayers for "Wisdom" even before I asked Him...)

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."Colossians 2:9-10

(For some "Humor", here are 5 of "Murphy's Proverbs"... )
1) Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

2) A day without sunshine is like, well, night.

3) If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be foolish enough to try to pass them.

4) Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

5) He who laughs last, thinks slowest.