Enriching Your Devotions: Daily Personal Devotions

One of the most significant things that can impact our life for good is the practice of Daily Personal Devotions. It cannot be overstated how this can benefit a life over the years and how God has used it to mature and strengthen one's faith and walk with Him. It can be a source of struggle and frustration for many... finding time; what to do if you do find time; wandering thoughts; reading the Bible but feeling like you are not getting anything out of it. This is the start a brief series called Enriching Your Devotions. The goal behind this series is to give you the practical helps needed to have a very blessed devotional life that will bear fruit and yield years of enjoyment in fellowship with God.

Psalm 1

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

2 Corinthians: Encouragement to Completion

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul encourages the Corinthians to complete in the fellowship of ministering to the saints in Jerusalem. What does this look like? What are the motivations? Does Paul lay a burden upon the Corinthians as they continue to turn their ship around? What does our Lord Jesus say about this? What a great treasure of application we have in this text concerning this fellowship!

2 Corinthians 8

Chris Bowser
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

Mark: Utter Abandonment

As we focus on the crucifixion as described by Mark, Jesus was utterly abandoned by everyone on the cross, including His Father... so we will never be!

Psalm 22
Isaiah 53,59:2
Mark 15:16-41
Philippians 2:6-8
Matthew 16:53
Deuteronomy 21:23
Galatians 3:13
Revelation 22:14-15,22:17
Amos 8:9-10

Death by crucifixion was one of the cruelest and most degrading forms of punishment ever conceived by human perversity, even in the eyes of the pagan world.⁴⁶ Josephus described it as "the most wretched of all ways of dying", and the shudder caused by the cross as an instrument of execution is still reflected in the English word "excruciating". Yet in the Roman provinces crucifixion was one of the customary means of preserving public order, and the history of turbulent Judea is punctuated by accounts of men being crucified.


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⁴⁶
J.Blinzler cites Cicero... "Even the mere word, cross, must remain far not only from the lips of the citizens of Rome, but also from their thoughts, their eyes, their ears." Elsewhere Cicero calls crucifixion the grossest, cruelest, or most hideous manner of execution.

William Lane The Gospel According to Mark

Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:

• What was it like for Jesus before He came to earth?
• Who were all the groups or individuals who abandoned or rejected Jesus?
• Why was He utterly abandoned?
• What are the implications of this for us?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

1 Peter: Living as a Christian in a Hostile World

We all dread persecution and suffering... it hurts, discourages and frustrates. Yet the Bible tells us to rejoice and to feel blessed?! How can we do this? Peter gives us solid reasons to help us do this very counter-intuitive thing.

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Ezekiel 9
Malachi 3:1-5
1 Peter 4:12-19,3:9,4:7,1:6-7,4:3-4
2 Timothy 3:12
James 1:2-4
John 15:18-19
Colossians 1:24
Luke 12:8-9
Romans 8:17-18
Acts 5:41
Matthew 5:11-12

Sermon discussion questions for parents to use with their children:

• How can someone rejoice during suffering?
• What are the reasons given in this passage to do this?
• How should we, as Christian, view the increasing hostility to believers in this country?
• What should our attitude be?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

For the Joy Set Before Us and Him

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1 John 1:1-4
John 1:1-14,20:28-31,5:17-27
Luke 1:1-4
Hebrews 1:1-4,12:1-3
Philippians 1:6

Bill Haller
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA