Tag: Reverend

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 02ND 2026, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Volume 9, Number 23, Edition 423
“Bible App”

I’ve been asked how I feel about Bible apps on smart phones and tablets. I love them. I actually only use one app in particular, and it’s the most popular Bible app in the world – YouVersion. Late last year they celebrated one billion downloads / installs since its debut in July 2008. They celebrated with a nice special on TBN.

Call me old-fashioned, and maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I’m actually not a fan of using these apps during active church services. I find them distracting from both the pulpit and the congregation. If you’re using the Bible app on your phone then you’re probably being distracted by everything else that’s on your phone. During active church services I’m a huge fan of traditional printed Bibles with pages. I love to see my brothers and sisters arriving to and departing from the church building carrying their Bibles. Some of them are worn and tethered. A worn and tethered Bible is usually held by someone who is very close to God – constantly seeking His Word.

But I do love the YouVersion Bible app. It’s used worldwide – in every single country on every single continent – including Antarctica. It’s available in over 300 languages with thousands of different Scripture translations. I mostly use a few translations – NLT (which I’ve used since salvation started), NASB (which my current Pastor uses), and NIV (which my former Pastor uses). When I write sermons I study more translations of the Scripture I’m studying, and I occasionally incorporate some of them into my sermons.

But the best part of the YouVersion Bible app ? – you can be with it 24/7 – in everything you do – and everywhere you go – since our phones are never too far away from us. That means we have access to God’s Word at all times. It’s as easy as tapping an icon on a screen, and there it is.

As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News !” (Romans 10:15b NIV)

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#SundayScripture is published online every Sunday at 0300 U.S. East Coast time. It was created in its current form in February 2018. I share my testimony here each week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord – and get closer to Him with each new day. If you wish to learn more about the God I know – then stay tuned, for the best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and I pray that the LORD will bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you, and may He be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you, and may He give you peace. I pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN and AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 26TH 2026, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Volume 9, Number 22, Edition 422
“Friends”

When I was still living and working down south in Homestead Florida – you could say that I was sort of a recluse. It was particularly evident during my final decade there. As I was planning and preparing for my future retirement life – starting with a physical move away from Homestead – I decided that I would not be the same person to the north that I was to the south. I would get out and be physically and socially active – starting in my own neighborhood – and with a local non-profit organization – and definitely with my future home church.

In my former neighborhood of nearly 30 years I knew none of my neighbors, and none of them knew me. Some of them saw me drive to work early in the morning, and then return home from work early in the afternoon. They didn’t know where I went. They didn’t know what I did. I was the mysterious guy who didn’t look like much of the neighborhood or speak their language. Maybe I was an undercover detective – or a Federal agent – or a spy.

In my current neighborhood I’m part of the 30% that lives here year-round. (70% of the residents of my neighborhood are what we call “snowbirds”. They live up north during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn.) I’m also part of the 30% that is physically and socially active with activities, events, and meetings. (I’m actually the Treasurer of our Activities Committee.) I’m known by most of my neighbors on a first-name basis. I easily stand out, as I’m one of the youngest residents of my 55+ neighborhood. I know a little bit about most of my neighbors. I’m able to pray for my neighbors by name.

Exactly 2 years before I bought my home in my current neighborhood I discovered and committed to serving with the Sebring Historical Society in downtown Sebring. It was not on my radar. I didn’t plan it out. It just happened one day, and I’ve written about it numerous times here on #CountUp on my #TravelThursday blog. Looking back it was truly a “God Wink Moment”. God knew exactly what He was doing when I was suddenly diverted from Avon Park to Sebring on that chilly and dreary February morning in 2021. And now I get to chat, laugh, serve, and eat with my museum friends every week.

Back in Homestead when I was sitting at home during non-work hours I didn’t socialize with anyone (other than on Sunday mornings at church – and lunch after church with my second church family). I did a lot of Bible Study on my own, and I wrote Sermons and Communions at my computer. But something was missing. Fellowship was missing. Friendships were missing.

As the Bible says – “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Now that I have friends inside and outside of the church – I can preach the Gospel at all times – here online – and also out there in the world. Oh – and I can use words when necessary. In other words – I can walk my talk – whether anyone is watching or not.

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Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 19TH 2026, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Volume 9, Number 21, Edition 421
“Enhancements”

If you’re a longtime reader of my blog – and specifically #SundayScripture – then you’ve probably noticed some enhancements recently.

I’ve always wanted a nice masthead for this weekly post, and now I have one – courtesy of Google Gemini’s Nano Banana. It did a fantastic job creating it on my first attempt, and I ran with it.

Just below the masthead is the Volume, Number, Edition, and Title of the blog post. #SundayScripture is in its 9TH year, and this is the 21ST week of the 9TH year. It’s the 421ST edition overall since it was created almost 8½ years ago. (The roots of #SundayScripture actually go back to 2007 when I began writing about my Sunday morning experiences at church each week – first on MySpace, and then here on this WordPress platform.)

The Boilerplate appears at the bottom. Quite simply – the Boilerplate of a blog post is a standardized and regular block of text placed at the bottom that explains the background and purpose of what’s above it.

#SundayScripture shall continue to evolve moving forth. It’s my way to evangelize God’s Good News to the world using the gifts that my Creator has blessed me with. As the Psalmist proclaims at the start of the 96TH Psalm:

Sing a new song to the LORD !
Let the whole earth sing to the LORD !
Sing to the LORD. Praise His name.
Each day proclaim the good news that He saves.
Publish His glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.

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Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 12TH 2026, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Volume 9, Number 20, Edition 420
“Cain & Abel – Postscript”

For 7 weeks through last Sunday I presented an update of my old sermon on Cain & Abel that I preached to my church family in Homestead Florida in 2018. Truthfully – I didn’t really update it all that much. I still liked the way that I originally preached it. I enjoyed reading it again. I enjoyed learning from it again. It was a unique sermon for me back then, as it was from the Old Testament – Genesis 4:1-17. (Most of my sermons through the years have been from the New Testament.)

I hope that you enjoyed reading my sermon – presented in 7 mostly equal parts. (All of my blog posts throughout the week are about a 3-to-4-minute read.)

Later this year I hope to bring back another old sermon and update it here.

I miss writing sermons. For many years I was regularly writing that next sermon – or that sermon after next. I also miss preaching sermons. I was recently asked if I would accept an opportunity to preach at another local church (not my home church) if I were given it. The answer is likely “YES” – if it were a Bible-believing and teaching church. (We have churches in our local area and beyond that are not Bible-based, so I personally wouldn’t go anywhere near them.)

I probably will eventually restart my sermon-writing ministry, for even if I never get the chance to preach again from the pulpit – I can still preach online – starting right here on #SundayScripture. I’ve also been asked to start a podcast featuring my messages. I’d consider doing that, but first I need to learn how podcasts work. (I know very little about them.)

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