Author: joemarino (Page 14 of 50)

Psalm 29 | The Raging Storm

August 29, 2021 / joemarino

Psalm 29 is like watching the devastation of a raging storm from the safety of your front porch. Charles Spurgeon described Psalm 29 as a “Psalm that is meant to express the glory of God as heard in the pealing thunder, and seen in… [a] tornado…. These verses march to the tune of thunderbolts.”²

Psalm 24 | Questions About God

July 25, 2021 / joemarino

One of the commentaries I read on Psalm 24 this week grabbed ahold of the theme of the big questions we ask about God.² From the moment we are able to articulate complete sentences, we begin asking big questions about life.

Psalm 23 | The Shepherd Song

July 18, 2021 / joemarino

The twenty-third Psalm is perhaps one of the most well-known passages in the entire Bible. It is often recited at the bedside of loved ones who are in their final days of life on this earth, it is typically recited again during the funeral and sometimes it is recited before bedtime with children or memorized during extremely difficult seasons of life.

Psalm 22 | The Song of the Cross

July 11, 2021 / joemarino

This Psalm has been referred to by many writers as the Psalm that is beyond all others, the Psalm of the cross.² As we read it we should envision Jesus crying out for help as he is being crucified (vv. 1 – 21) and then we should envision him making a proclamation of praise to the ends of the earth immediately following his resurrection (vv. 21 – 31).³

Psalm 1 – 20 | That’s Worship

June 27, 2021 / joemarino

I grew up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s on a farm in the country by Lincoln, NE. The only music that I was allowed to listen to was good old-fashioned country music. Real country music from the likes of Jonny Cash, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Waylon Jennings, Chris LeDoux, George Straight, Charlie Daniels, Merle Haggard, Lorretta Lynn, Dolly Parton.

1 Peter 5:1 – 7 | Faithful Leaders

June 13, 2021 / joemarino

The text in front of us today is a brief instruction on how to be a faithful leader. Leadership is tough; it can be lonely, frustrating and downright discouraging in some seasons. But leadership can also be fulfilling, exciting and downright exhilarating. In leadership you often have a front row seat to some of the most horrific things in people’s lives, but you also have a front row seat to some of the most miraculous things in people’s lives.

1 Peter 4:12 – 19 | Suffering

May 29, 2021 / joemarino

Suffering for being a Christian seems to be the theme of our passage today. It is not an easy topic to address in the culture we live in. It is not easy to address because there is a massive disconnect between the suffering we experience in America and the suffering that the biblical audience experienced or even the suffering that Christians have experienced all over the world.

1 Peter 4:7 – 11 | Live, Love, Serve

May 21, 2021 / joemarino

In this passage, the apostle Peter issues a call to Christians everywhere to live in such a way that their prayers are unleashed by self-control and sober minded thoughtfulness; they are to overcome sin by loving one another vigorously as they invite and welcome even the dirtiest of society into relationship without complaining; they are to be faithful stewards of God’s gracious gifts as they speak for God, serve in God’s strength and bring attention to God in Christ as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Here is how Peter says it…

1 Peter 3:18 – 22 | Christ Victorious

May 9, 2021 / joemarino

The passage we have in front of us today has been referred to as the most controversial passage in all of Scripture. Martin Luther commented that this passage is “A wonderful text… a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the [New] Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means… I cannot understand and I cannot explain it. And there has been no one who has explained it”.²

1 Peter 3:1 – 7 | Wives and Husbands

April 25, 2021 / joemarino

The passage we are looking at today is addressed to wives and husbands. Therefore, it seems appropriate to share a little bit of Christy and I’s journey in marriage with you in hopes that it will set the stage well for what the Lord wants to say to us this morning. Christy and I have been married for almost nineteen years now. For nearly two decades we have journeyed through the highways and the byways of life together. We have given a significant portion of our lives to raising seven children and all of those nineteen years have been given to serving the Lord in ministry together. But Christy and I did not meet each other nineteen years ago…