By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 50 Scripture Readings: Psalm 143-145 Key Verse: Psalm 143:10 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” This is a psalm of David, a psalm of a time when David was falling… Continue reading Week 50 Lord, Show Us the Way!
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 50 Nehemiah’s Faith and Leadership
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 50 Scripture Readings: Nehemiah 10-13 Key Scripture Verses: Nehemiah 13:14 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.” Nehemiah was an effective leader and a devoted… Continue reading Week 50 Nehemiah’s Faith and Leadership
Week 50 Blessings or Curses – Which Do You Choose?
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 50 Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 26-28 Key Scripture Verses: Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 28:15 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all of his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.… Continue reading Week 50 Blessings or Curses – Which Do You Choose?
Week 50 Walk in His Love
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 50 Scripture Readings: 2 John Key Scripture Verse: 2 John 1:6 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” John the Apostle wrote 2 John,… Continue reading Week 50 Walk in His Love
Week 49 Called to Witness for Christ
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Acts 21-22 Key Scripture Verses: Acts 22:12-14 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “‘A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive… Continue reading Week 49 Called to Witness for Christ
Week 49 The Risen Christ Gives a Report Card to the Churches
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Revelation 1-6 Key Scripture Verses: Revelation 1:17-19, 11 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.… Continue reading Week 49 The Risen Christ Gives a Report Card to the Churches
Week 49 Beginnings of Romantic Love – As God Intended It
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Song of Songs 1-2 Key Scripture Verses: Song of Songs 2:12-13, 14-15 (NIV, Life Application Bible; consulted commentaries: The Layman’s Bible Commentary, Believer’s Bible Commentary) SHE (quoting her beloved and what he said to her) “’Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has… Continue reading Week 49 Beginnings of Romantic Love – As God Intended It
Week 49 A Desperate Cry for Help
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Psalms 140-142 Key Scripture Verses: Psalm 142: 4, 7 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.” “Set me free from my… Continue reading Week 49 A Desperate Cry for Help
Week 49 Remembering God At All Times
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Nehemiah 5-9 Key Scripture Verses: Nehemiah 9:33, 36-37 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “‘In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.’” “‘But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors… Continue reading Week 49 Remembering God At All Times
Week 49 Leave a Little For the Poor, the Fatherless, and the Widowed
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 49 Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 23-24 Key Scripture Verses: Deuteronomy 24:19-22 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow; so that the Lord your… Continue reading Week 49 Leave a Little For the Poor, the Fatherless, and the Widowed