A Joyful Noise Today’s scripture selection: First Chronicles 25-29 Key verse: First Chronicles 25:1 I love the fact that King David, in arranging for proper worship of the LORD, made sure there were plenty of musicians; and not just your run-of-the-mill type. These guys were set aside specifically for “the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by… Continue reading Week 37 Tuesday
Author: Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Week 37 Monday
More Than Quarreling Today’s scripture selection: Numbers 17-20 Key verse: Numbers 20:3 They were at it again – this rebellious people who just couldn’t seem to get the knack of faith. Thirsty, tired, hot, fed-up, the Scripture says the people “quarreled” with Moses. But they did a lot more than that. It was all about… Continue reading Week 37 Monday
Week 37 Sunday
A Complete Joy Today’s scripture selection: John 16-18 Key Verse: John 16:24 “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be made complete.” Sometimes, sadly, we can trivialize such profound things. We take simple, straightforward, powerful, profound statements of Christ and – before you know it – we have minimized them into something far… Continue reading Week 37 Sunday
Week 36 Saturday
Fair Warning Today’s scripture selection: Second Timothy 3-4 Key verses: Second Timothy 3:1-5 Some people love to talk about the “last times” – or at least they love to speculate about them. So many books; tapes; DVDs; CDs – so many sermons preached – so many long discussions held in seminary classrooms or over coffee… Continue reading Week 36 Saturday
Week 36 Friday
Roar and Refuge Today’s scripture selection: Joel Key verses: Joel 3:16 “The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.” It’s all a matter of perspective. If seen from the… Continue reading Week 36 Friday
Week 36 Thursday
The Great Equalizer Today’s scripture selection: Proverbs 22 Key verse: Proverbs 22:2 “Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.” There’s a lot of talk these days about “re-distribution of wealth” and “economic justice” and “class warfare” and – well, I’m sure you’ve seen the news. Regardless of… Continue reading Week 36 Thursday
Week 36 Wednesday
What’s Your Story? Today’s scripture selection: Psalms 105-107 Key verses: Psalm 107:2-3 Slang expressions come and go. I remember how some years ago one way for a person to challenge another’s behavior or attitude was to ask a simple question: “What’s your story?” I don’t hear that expression used much these days – I suppose… Continue reading Week 36 Wednesday
Week 36 Tuesday
Going By the Numbers Today’s scripture selection: First Chronicles 20-24 Key verse: First Chronicles 21:1 “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” You never know that the Devil is up to. Here in one account of King David’s exploits we have a very interesting example of that. David… Continue reading Week 36 Tuesday
Week 36 Monday
Attitude Today’s scripture selection: Numbers 13-16 Key verses: Numbers 13:1-3; 28-29 They were Israel’s spies. Their job was straightforward enough: to go into the Promised Land and bring back a report on what would be needed in order to conquer it. They were, as the scriptures say, “leaders of the Israelites”. I take that to… Continue reading Week 36 Monday
Week 36 Sunday
To the End – and Beyond Today’s scripture selection: John 13-15 Key Verse: John 13:1b In telling the events surrounding Jesus’ last hours before his crucifixion, John makes this poignant statement: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” That has always struck me as a particularly… Continue reading Week 36 Sunday