Tue, 14 May 2024 13:24:43 -0700WeeblyWed, 12 Apr 2023 02:29:38 GMThttp://thechurchoftheresurrection.com/the-word/elisha-cures-naamans-leprosy1  Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.

2  Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.

3  She said to her mistress, “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

4  Naaman went and told his master, “This is what the girl from the land of Israel said.”

5  The king of Aram said, “Go. I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.

6  He brought the king of Israel the letter, which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

7  When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone for me to cure him of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”

8  When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: “Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel.”

9 Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.

10 Elisha sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”

11 But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand there to call on the name of the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the place, and thus cure the leprous spot.

12  Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”  With this, he turned about in anger and left.

13 But his servants came up and reasoned with him: “My father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

14 So, Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”

16 Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it.” And despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.

17  Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for your servant will no longer make burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD.

18  But may the LORD forgive your servant this: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down there, as he leans upon my arm, I too must bow down in the temple of Rimmon. When I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant this.”

19  Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”

Naaman had gone some distance

20 when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought to himself: “My master was too easy on this Aramean Naaman, not accepting what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something out of him.”

21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. Seeing that someone was running after him, Naaman alighted from his chariot to wait for him. He asked, “Is everything all right?”

22  Gehazi replied, “Yes, but my master sent me to say, ‘Two young men have just come to me, guild prophets from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two festal garments.’”

23 Naaman said, “I insist! Take two talents,” and he pressed him. He tied up two silver talents in bags and gave them, with two festal garments, to two of his servants, who carried them before Gehazi.

24 When he reached the hill, Gehazi received these things, appropriated them for his house, and sent the men on their way.

25 He went in and stood by Elisha his master, who asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant has not gone anywhere.”

26  But Elisha said to him: “Was I not present in spirit when someone got down from his chariot to wait for you? Is this a time to take money or to take garments, olive orchards or vineyards, sheep or cattle, male or female servants?

27  The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And Gehazi went out, a leper with skin like snow.]]>Sun, 20 Nov 2022 04:17:28 GMThttp://thechurchoftheresurrection.com/the-word/the-light-of-the-bodyThe Light of the Body.

22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye 
is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;

23  but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be."]]>Wed, 20 Jul 2022 06:21:45 GMThttp://thechurchoftheresurrection.com/the-word/the-healing-of-a-centurions-servantThe Healing of a  Centurion’s Servant:


5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him,


6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”


7  He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”


8 The centurion said in reply,  “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.


9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”


10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.


11 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,


12 but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”


13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

]]>Sat, 09 Apr 2022 03:28:55 GMThttp://thechurchoftheresurrection.com/the-word/the-cure-of-a-demoniacThe Cure of a Demoniac.
21 
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
22
The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
23
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
24
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!”
26
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
27
All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
28
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.]]>Tue, 08 Feb 2022 10:07:41 GMThttp://thechurchoftheresurrection.com/the-word/the-raising-of-lazarusThe Raising of Lazarus.*
1
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
3
So the sisters sent word to him, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.”
4
When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death,* but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6
So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.
7
Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8
The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?”
9
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day,d he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.e
10
But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”*
11
He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.”
12
So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
13
But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.f
14
So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died.
15
And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”
16
So Thomas, called Didymus,* said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”g

17
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles* away.
19
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.h
20
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
21
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.i
22
[But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
23
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”
24
Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”j
25
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,k
26
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27
* l She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

28
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
29
As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him.
30
For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him.
31
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed* and deeply troubled,
34
and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
35
And Jesus wept.m
36
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
37
But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

38
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
39
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.”
40
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
41
So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father,* I thank you for hearing me.
42
I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”n
43
And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,* “Lazarus, come out!”
44
The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”]]>