John 9:1-11 and 9:35-41

John 9:1-11; 9:35-41
1) As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 2) And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3) Jesus answered, " It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. 4) We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. 5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6) As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, 7) saying to him, " Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8) The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" 9) Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." 10) They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11) He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, `Go to Silo'am and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." 35) Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, " Do you believe in the Son of man?" 36) He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" 37) Jesus said to him, " You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." 38) He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him. 39) Jesus said, " For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." 40) Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to him, "Are we also blind?" 41) Jesus said to them, " If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, `We see,' your guilt remains."

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to tell everyone to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Mark 1:9-18

1) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2) As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; 3) the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight -- " 4) John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5) And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6) Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. 7) And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8) I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 9) In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10) And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; 11) and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." 12) The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13) And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. 14) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15) and saying, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." 16) And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17) And Jesus said to them, " Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." 18) And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Matthew 8:1-13

1) When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 2) and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." 3) And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4) And Jesus said to him, " See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people. 5) As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6) and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." 7) And he said to him, " I will come and heal him." 8) But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9) For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10) When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, " Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11) I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12) while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." 13) And to the centurion Jesus said, " Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Kids in Church

KIDS IN CHURCH

3-year-old Reese:

"Our Father, Who does art in heaven,

Harold is His name.

Amen."

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A little boy was overheard praying:

"Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.

I'm having a real good time like I am."

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After the christening of his baby brother in church,

Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.

His father asked him three times what was wrong.

Finally, the boy replied,

"That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,

and I wanted to stay with you guys."

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One particular four-year-old prayed,

"And forgive us our trash baskets

as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."

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A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they

were on the way to church service,

"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"

One bright little girl replied,

"Because people are sleeping."

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A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.

The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.

Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,

'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,

"Ryan, you be Jesus!"

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A father was at the beach with his children

when the four-year-old son ran up to him,

grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore

where a seagull lay dead in the sand.

"Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.

"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.

The boy thought a moment and then said,

"Did God throw him back down?"

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A wife invited some people to dinner.

At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,

"Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said,

"Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

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Matthew 12:1-13

1) At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2) But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath." 3) He said to them, " Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4) how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5) Or have you not read in the law how on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? 6) I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7) And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8) For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath." 9) And he went on from there, and entered their synagogue. 10) And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?" so that they might accuse him. 11) He said to them, " What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12) Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath." 13) Then he said to the man, " Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, whole like the other.

Mark 16: 15-28

16) And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17) And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, " Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 18) Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19) And Jesus said to them, " Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20) The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21) No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22) And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins." 23) One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24) And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" 25) And he said to them, " Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26) how he entered the house of God, when Abi'athar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" 27) And he said to them, " The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; 28) so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath."

God comforts those who are persecuted

How do things look to you today?

The wicked will not rule the godly, for then the godly might be forced to do wrong.

Psalm 125:3 NLT

Seeking what is really there

"Life under Louis XIV was not easy for the French Huguenots. They loved to sing psalms, but the king made an edict that forbade the singing of the Psalms almost everywhere. So the Huguenots went out to the fields and forests and continued their singing. Psalm 125 was a favorite of theirs, maybe because it said that the wicked would not rule the godly. Or maybe it was because the Huguenots could see something that Louis XIV couldn't see.

Remember the story of Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:8-23)? The servant couldn't understand why Elisha wasn't bothered about the hordes of enemy soldiers surrounding them. It looked like disaster, but Elisha could see horses and chariots of fire surrounding the enemy soldiers.

The same has been true for many other saints, including Paul and Silas, who sang at midnight in the Philippian jail, and Shadrach, Meshech, and Adednego, who calmly entered the fiery furnace.

When John Woolman, a Quaker missionary to American Indians, was faced with danger, he wrote, "I found my soul filled with comfort as I meditated on the love of God."

John Paton, missionary to South Sea Island natives, was surrounded by men seeking to assassinate him, but he wrote, "I never left without hearing, 'Lo, I am with you always.'"

How does it look for you today? Hopeless? Then take another look.

adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms with devotionals by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for October 24"