THE NOTION that grief is better than rejoicing is counterintuitive, but the lesson is profound: Wisdom is gained through suffering. On the surface, Ecclesiastes 7 seems terribly downbeat: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (v. 2); “Sorrow is better than laughter” (v. 3); “The heart of the wise is in th…

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

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Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

CHASING WEALTH for its own sake does not bring happiness. The chapters of Ecclesiastes we read today are unified by this verse: Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep (Eccl. 5:12, ESV). Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer,…

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LIFE IS SHORT and then you die. That’s the surface-level interpretation of the opening chapters of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The book is attributed to “the Preacher,” usually identified as King Solomon. However, some scholars believe the book was written or edited by a Jewish scholar after the return from Babylon in 539 BC and attributed to Solomon…

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Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

The author(s) of the Book of the Watchers (chapters 1–36 of 1 Enoch) saw the punishment of the rebellious Watchers resulting from the intercession of the four archangels. In chapter 9, Michael, Sariel (or Uriel), Raphael, and Gabriel brought the complaints of humanity to God and accused Shemihazah, Asael (Azazel), and their colleagues of creating t…

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Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

ACCEPTING CORRECTION and wise counsel can be difficult, but it can save us from a world of trouble! The value of wisdom as opposed to following one’s unrestrained appetites is again a theme in this week’s proverbs. And, as always, we find verses that are especially timely right now: Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a po…

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THE CONTRAST between God and kings, and between wisdom and folly, are a central theme of these proverbs of Solomon. While God’s glory is manifest through the mysteries of His creation, it is the duty of a ruler to know and understand to rightly govern. Likewise, wisdom is exhibited through prudent behavior, hard work, and self-restraint, while fool…

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Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

Inspiration, Christianity, Guidance, Blessing, Religion, Help, Worship, Motivational, Bible Teaching, Self Help, Family, Church, Sermons, Testimonies, Word, Preaching, Salvation, Revelation, Holy Spirit, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Prayer, Love, Compassion.Dr. Larry Manley

YOU’D THINK an appearance by God Himself would be enough to keep even a king on the straight and narrow for the rest of his life. After completing the Temple, God revealed to Solomon the blessings and consequences for obeying His Law or turning aside to worship other gods—which, sadly, we will learn is exactly what Solomon did as an older man. We a…

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THE SINS of the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 are listed in detail in chapters 6 through 8 of the Book of 1 Enoch. Specifically, the rebellious Watchers “defile[d] themselves” by commingling with women and taught humanity things we weren’t supposed to know—the making of weapons, sorcery, beguilement, enticement, and venerating the sun, m…

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TRUSTING IN other people will usually disappoint. This week’s reading in Psalms is timely, giving that we’re less than three weeks away from electing a new president in the United States. Americans, remember this verse: Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Ps. 146:3 (ESV) “A son of man” in this context refe…

SOLOMON’S prayer of dedication for the Temple includes a phrase we read often in the Psalms, “steadfast love,” which is sometimes translated “mercy,” “favor,” “loyalty,” or “lovingkindness.” The Hebrew word chesed doesn’t have an exact English equivalent, but it appears 245 times in the Old Testament which means it’s important. 26 of those uses occ…

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SOLOMON’S PRAYER of dedication is a wonderful petition to God, asking Him to listen to the prayers of His people. Solomon notes that repentance, turning from sin, is important, and that “there is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46), a concept we see again in the New Testament (1 John 1:8). Our question of the week: What is Behemoth? Sharon’s ni…

THE SIN OF THE WATCHERS is framed by the Book of 1 Enoch as a violation of the natural order. Chapter 2 through chapter 5 verse 3 (3:7 in the SEV) detail all of the ways creation follows a pattern established by God. Then the author turns to the rebellious angels, charging them with faithlessness, rebellion, and speaking “proud and hard words” (or …