1 Chronicles 13-15, John 7:1-27 Key Verses: 1 Chronicles 13:3, 15:13 Two familiar adages seemingly contradict each, other. One is, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” The other is, “When-all else fails, read the directions.” Perhaps if we combined the two we’d have the best advice—-something like,...

1 Chronicles 10-12, John 6:45-71 Key Verses: 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “No statistic is more meaningless than the score at half time,” a sports philosopher once said. There have been some miraculous comebacks, and being ahead at the half is no guarantee of a win. What is true in sports is...

1 Chronicles 7—9, John 6:22-44 Key Verse: John 6:38 “Don’t ask me, I just work here” are words usually spoken by someone wanting to avoid responsibility, not as an expression of submission to authority. The obvious intent is to pass the buck, if not the blame, to someone higher up....

1 Chronicles 4-6, John 6:1—21 • Key Verses: 1 Chronicles 5:20, 25 It has been said that the problem with the school of hard knocks is that the tests are given first. That’s a hard way to learn—test first, lesson later. Paul, speaking particularly of the Old Testament, said that...

l Chronicles 1-3, John 5:25-47 • Key Verse: John 5:25 We are surrounded by death and reminders of it. In our homes may be pictures of family and friends who have died. Perhaps you were an heir and received an item that belonged to one of them, and that also...

2 Kings 24—25, John 5:1-24 Key Verses: John 5:16-17 What’s the big deal about an appendix anyway? I don’t mean the one at the end of a book, but the one that sometimes is removed by a surgeon. It really isn’t ‘important and goes unnoticed until it becomes a pain....

2 Kings 22-23, John 4:31—54 • Key Verse: 2 Kings 22:13 Has a friend ever said to you, “You know that makes me mad”? That . person is speaking to you because you know him, and you know him well enough to realize what upsets him. You also know to...

2 Kings 19-21, John 4:1-30 • Key Verse: John 4:23 There are few things that the Bible says God actively seeks. So if God seeks something, it must be important to Him and ought to be important to us. Luke 15 portrays God as seeking the lost. Lost people matter...

2 Kings 17-18, John 3:19-36 • Key Verse: 2 Kings 17:28 In a general sense, worship comes naturally to us. We do know how to worship—that is, to respond to someone or something with praise. We respond to a beautiful sunset, a tasty dessert or a winning team. Our struggle...

2 Kings 15-16, John 3:1-18 • Key Verse: John 3:3 The bride and groom step up to the wedding cake holding a knife. They slice a piece from the top tier and lovingly “feed” a bite to each other, perhaps getting frosting on each other’s face. In reality, the cake...