By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 44 Scripture Readings: Psalms 125-127 Key Scripture Verses: Psalm 127:1 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Psalm 127 was written by Solomon, son of David, the… Continue reading Week 44 Working For God
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 44 Hezekiah Holds A Revival
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 44 Scripture Readings: 2 Chronicles 29-32 Key Scripture Verses: 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and… Continue reading Week 44 Hezekiah Holds A Revival
Week 44 Counting Our Blessings, Giving the Glory to God
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 44 Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 7-9 Key Scripture Verses: Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability… Continue reading Week 44 Counting Our Blessings, Giving the Glory to God
Week 44 The Gift of Prayer
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 44 Scripture Readings: James 4-5 Key Scripture Verses: James 5: 13-16 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray… Continue reading Week 44 The Gift of Prayer
Week 43 When God Seeks Us To Sanctify Us
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: Acts 9-10 Key Scripture Verse: Acts 10:15 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” These two chapters of Acts are filled with drama—drama created by God to change lives. He… Continue reading Week 43 When God Seeks Us To Sanctify Us
Week 43 Why Does Evil Seem To Prevail?
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: Habakkuk Key Scripture Verse: Habakkuk 1:5 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “‘Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.’” Why does evil seem to prevail?… Continue reading Week 43 Why Does Evil Seem To Prevail?
Week 43 Is All Our Toil For Naught?
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: Ecclesiastes 1-2 Key Scripture Verses: Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat… Continue reading Week 43 Is All Our Toil For Naught?
Week 43 Let Us Be Eager To Go To Church
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: Psalms 122-124 Key Scripture Verses: Psalm 122: 1, 6 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure.” Psalm 122… Continue reading Week 43 Let Us Be Eager To Go To Church
Week 43 All the Glory Belongs to God
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: 2 Chronicles 25-28 Key Scripture Verse: 2 Chronicles 26:16 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.” Our scripture readings report the history of the Israelites and the succession of several kings and their reigns, sometimes reflecting how… Continue reading Week 43 All the Glory Belongs to God
Week 43 To Love God Is To Keep His Commands
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 43 Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 4-6 Key Scripture Verse: Deuteronomy 5:29 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever.” These words that are quoted are… Continue reading Week 43 To Love God Is To Keep His Commands