Dr. Wolfgang Tschacher, researcher at University of Bern, experimented with song and its effects on people. He observed what many had before him. When choirs intentionally harmonize their voices, they also synchronize their breathing. That makes sense. But, unintentionally, their heart rates synchronize and begin to beat as one.
Read MoreGod steps onto the scene in big ways, miraculous ways, when He is doing something new. Israel’s history is filled with God breaking in to redeem his people. Miraculous births are an integral part of that history. Sarah and Abraham had long hoped for a child who would take care of them in their age and shoulder the responsibilities of leading an extended family.
Read MoreIsaiah contains four familiar prophecies of Jesus in what have become known as the Servant Songs (Isaiah 42:1–4, Isaiah 49:1–6, Isaiah 50:4–9, and Isaiah 52:13–53:12). They describe a mysterious “Servant of the Lord” tasked with bringing justice, restoration, and salvation
Read MoreKing David wrote a song to celebrate the Israelites bringing the Arc of the Covenant to Jerusalem for the first time. It was a huge event that included lots of music, Levites and Priests, sacrifices, and feasting. The song of David capped it all off. (I Chronicles 16:7-36) The song is beautiful as it incorporates praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. Two parts of the song stick out
Read MoreMaking good decisions in life requires that we see clearly. We need to see clearly the people in our lives, the teachings we hear, and the resolution of problems within family and community members. I encourage you to read three important passages within which Jesus gives
Read MoreElie Wiesel was a survivor of an Auschwitz concentration camp. He lived through and witnessed horrors too terrible to comprehend. In one of his books he wrote, "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." The hatred of the Jews was terrible, but worse was the indifference that permitted the atrocities to happen. Indifference allows hate to win over love.
Read MoreConsecration Sunday was a celebration of God’s work at Munholland. On October 22, 1936, Metairie Methodist Church was birth. “Metairie” means “farm” in French. Thirty-six followers of Christ got together and looked across the houses and farmland. No doubt they heard Jesus speaking to them. “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest,
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be consecrated to God, to offer your full self to him? There is a single verse in Leviticus that gives us insight.
“Slaughter [the ram], take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against the sides of the altar.” (Lev. 19:20)
Read MoreThe Christian life is not a one and done. Committing our lives to Jesus is a daily endeavor. The Christian life is not a casual affair. Christ wants us to follow him sacrificially, not only when it is convenient and doesn’t cost us. Isaiah 34:8-10 is a call to a daily life with the Lord.
Read MoreChristian communities have try to figure out how followers of Jesus Christ are to relate to the world. There are three different schools of thought. First, Christians should withdraw from the world so as not to be drawn away from our relationship with Christ and putting our faith into practice. This approach was not just for the monastics.
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