Verse for the week of May 13^th:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

  (John 15:9)

Abide is not a word that many people use a lot.  When I hear this word, I think of the hymn ‘Abide with

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Verse for the week of May 6^th:

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

  (I John 4:8)

These words sound harsh, don’t they?  ‘Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love’.  And if you read the entire section,

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Verse for the week of April 29^th:

Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

  (John 10:11)

This image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is one of the more familiar images within the Bible.  Jesus as the

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Verse for the week of April 8^th:

So they (the women) went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

  (Mark 16:8)

This is such a strange way to end the gospel

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Verse for the week of April 1^st:

And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  (Philippians 2:11)

This verse is a part of a larger saying that is probably familiar to most people.  Many experts/scholars believe that this

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Verse for the week of February 19^th:

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

  (Mark 9:9)

This verse comes at the end of the

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Verse for the week of January 29^th:

At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

  (Mark 1:28)

In our culture today you hear of things going viral.  What this means is that something just takes off and all of a sudden is

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Verse for the week of January 22^nd:

And saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.’

  (Mark 1:15)

When you read the Gospel of Mark, these words in this verse are the first words of

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Verse for the week of January 15^th:

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. 

He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’

  (John 1:43)

I am always amazed when I hear this verse and think about the first disciples of Jesus.  Try to imagine

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Verse for the week of January 1^st:

The LORD bless you and keep you;

  (Numbers 6:24)

This verse is part of is typically called the Aaronic Benediction.  It is God speaking to Moses telling Aaron to bless the Israelites and then gives the words to Aaron as

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Verse for the week of December 18^th:

Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’  Then the angel departed from her.

  (Luke 1:38)

I am always amazed when I read this verse.  Mary’s acceptance of

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Verse for the week of December 11^th:

He (John) came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

  (John 1:7)

This week during the Season of Advent, we hear again about John the Baptist.  However, when we read the Gospel

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He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not

worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.’

(Mark 1:7)

During the Season of Advent, one of the major characters within the texts is John the

Baptist. He is

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Verse for the week of November 27^th:

And what I say to you I say to all:  Keep awake.

  (Mark 13:37)

In the week leading up to Thanksgiving, one of the TV commercials that I found most annoying were the Target ads with a woman who was

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Verse for the week of November 20^th:

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

  (Matthew 25:40)

This verse comes from Jesus

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Verse for the week of November 13^th:

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

  (Matthew 25:23)

This verse is

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Verse for the week of October 30^th:

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,

‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;’

  (John 8:31)

Jesus’ word to the Jews who had believed in him is applicable for people of this

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Verse for the week of October 23^rd:

Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

  (Matthew 22:37)

This verse is a very familiar verse of the Bible.  It has Jesus

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Verse for the week of October 9^th:

Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.

  (Matthew 22:9)

This verse comes from the parable of the wedding feast—where the king throws a huge party for his son’s wedding.  The understanding is

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Verse for the week of October 2^nd:

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.’?’

  (Matthew 21:42)

In this verse, Jesus is

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Verse for the week of September 25^th:

Which of the two did the will of his father?  They said, ‘The first.’  Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.’

  (Matthew 21:31)

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Verse for the week of September 18^th:

Saying, ‘these last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

  (Matthew 20:12)

This verse is part of one of my favorite parables that

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Verse for the week of September 11^th:

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?’

  (Matthew 18:21)

As we approached the anniversary of 9/11, the news and media

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Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by
himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
(Matthew 14:13)

If you read through the gospel narratives, you find on a number of occasions that Jesus

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