In his book, The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith tells the story of a business leader who used an illustration to teach his team a valuable lesson. The leader went to the white board and drew a big, black circle. He asked his team what they saw. To the person, they replied, “A…
Category: Blessing
The Power of the Spoken Blessing 3
What are the characteristics of a spoken blessing? First, I believe a spoken blessing should instill faith. The person who blesses is able to see the work of God in another person’s life and point it out. He or she observes Christ-likeness and the marks of the image of God and blesses the faith within….
The Power of the Spoken Blessing 2
Spoken blessings have the power to enhance, enrich, and empower the life of another person. In the Old Testament, blessings had three characteristics: (1) They were conveyed from the greater to the lesser, such as a parent to a child or a king to a nation. (2) The blessing spoke of divine favor that resulted…
The Power of the Spoken Blessing
Jacob knew the power of the spoken blessing. After all, think of all he did to obtain his father’s blessing! (cf. Genesis 25:27-34; Genesis 27:1-40) When Jacob became aware that his time on earth was coming to a close, he called his family together to bless them. In Genesis 48 he blessed Joseph’s sons, and…
The Impact of Blessings: Psalm 128 (Part 3)
By way of quick review, Psalm 128 begins with a word of instruction on how to become a blessed and happy person. It all hinges on having the fear of the Lord at the center of your life and the Word of God at the circumference of your life. When the center and the circumference…
Psalm 128 (Part 2)
When the fear of the Lord is at the center of our lives and the Word of the Lord is at the circumference of our lives, the Psalmist announces four blessings that become readily available to God’s children: 1. God will take care of our needs. Psalm 128:2 says, “You shall surely eat what your…
Psalm 128
Since this weekend was Mother’s Day, I spoke on the family from Psalm 128. As far as I can recall, I’ve never used this text for a sermon, but was amazed at how it spoke to my life as I began poking around in it. The key to the Psalm is verse 1, which reads,…
