Chicagoland: It's All About the Mission!

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

You are invited to attend!

Bring a friend!

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1 Chronicles – The Temple of David

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Photo Credit: everydaysaholiday.org

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

1 Chronicles: The Spiritual Life of David (about 40 years)

Remember that in this book we see the victories of King David. Missing are most of the failures we are more familiar with. Clearly the author intended for the reader to comprehend the cause-and-effect relationships between David’s spiritual lifestyle and his successes. We are breaking the book into six sections. Let’s look at section five today …

The Temple of David (1 Chronicles 21-27)

Perhaps one of the most hope-filled sections of 1 Chronicles comes from a tragic event. David decides, through some Satanic encouragement, that he should count his people to see how many troops he had. David’s motivation here may have been to rely on his army as his strength instead of upon God.

Whatever the reason, God found the act reprehensible and caused David to choose between one of three punishments. As David’s choice of three days of pestilence plays out, David builds an altar on the third day and worships God, at God’s command. It was on this very spot that the Temple of David (built by his son Solomon) would be placed.

David prepares for the massive construction project which his son, Solomon, would eventually construct. As we read these last pages of 1 Chronicles, we can see the truth of Romans 8:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

In this section we can see:

  • The evil incident that brings rise to the temple site. (1 Chronicles 21)
  • The immense preparations that bring provisions for the temple itself. (1 Chronicles 22)
  • The methodical divisions that bring staff for the temple in action. (1 Chronicles 23-26)
  • The political appointments that bring structure to the city where the temple would be located. (1 Chronicles 27)

Don’t miss the important lesson from this section of God’s Word: Your failures can be turned into moments of great blessing, if you are willing to confess and forsake your sin before God and His people.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

Check out Dr. Smith’s review of Larry Osborne’s book, Sticky Teams!

Sticky Teams is a must read for pastors and church leaders who want their board, staff and church to function well in the long-term. Larry Osborne is a veteran pastor who has enjoyed a long-term pastoral relationship with North Coast Church in Northern San Diego County.

Sticky Teams aims to shore up the foundation of a healthy team, “because even the clearest vision, greatest innovations, and most stellar programs won’t make much of an eternal difference if our ministry and leadership teams are mired in the deep weeds of disunity and conflicting agendas.”

You can read the whole review here.


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1 Chronicles – The Victories of David

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Photo Credit: askmen.com

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

1 Chronicles: The Spiritual Life of David (about 40 years)

Remember that in this book we see the victories of King David. Missing are most of the failures we are more familiar with. Clearly the author intended for the reader to comprehend the cause-and-effect relationships between David’s spiritual lifestyle and his successes. We are breaking the book into six sections. Let’s look at section four today …

The Victories of David (1 Chronicles 18-20)

Be careful to note the implied causal link between David’s transference of the Ark of the Presence of the Lord to Jerusalem and his effectiveness against his enemies. Read these words with great import …

“After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines. ” (1 Chronicles 18:1, ESV, Emphasis added)

It is clear that the Bible is making the connection between success and God’s presence in one’s life.

Also note the last paragraph in this section, 1 Chronicles 10:4-8. You will note that there are four giants here mentioned. Some have speculated that these four were standing with Goliath on the day of David’s infamous victory over the giant. If so, this would add new meaning to the fact that David picked up 5 smooth stones before he went on the attack so long ago (1 Samuel 17:40). While we cannot be certain of that, the Bible wants us to see that even the giants in our lives can be defeated when we are with God!

In this section we can see:

  • The conquest of many peoples. (1 Chronicles 18-19)
  • The conquest of great giants. (1 Chronicles 20)

A powerful lesson from this section of God’s Word Is: No matter how many or how powerful your enemies are, walking with God allows Him to shield you from harm and bring His favor to your life.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

Check out Dr. Smith’s review of Larry Osborne’s book, Sticky Teams!

Sticky Teams is a must read for pastors and church leaders who want their board, staff and church to function well in the long-term. Larry Osborne is a veteran pastor who has enjoyed a long-term pastoral relationship with North Coast Church in Northern San Diego County.

Sticky Teams aims to shore up the foundation of a healthy team, “because even the clearest vision, greatest innovations, and most stellar programs won’t make much of an eternal difference if our ministry and leadership teams are mired in the deep weeds of disunity and conflicting agendas.”

You can read the whole review here.


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Chicagoland Friends: How God Became My Hope Enabler!

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith


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1 Chronicles – The Ark of God and David

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Photo Credit: bibleprobe.com

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

1 Chronicles: The Spiritual Life of David (about 40 years)

Remember that in this book we see the victories of King David. Missing are most of the failures we are more familiar with. Clearly the author intended for the reader to comprehend the cause-and-effect relationships between David’s spiritual lifestyle and his successes. We are breaking the book into six sections. Let’s look at section three today …

The Ark of God and David (1 Chronicles 13-17)

If there weren’t tragedy involved in this section of the Bible, we could look at it with humor. David decides its time to bring the Ark of God’s Presence into Jerusalem. So, using the methods of the Philistines who returned the captured Ark years before, David starts the process, only to have the Spirit of God attack and kill Uzziah for touching the Ark in an attempt to steady it from falling.

David fears God, stops the procession and places the Ark in the care of a man named Obed-Edom – whom God abundantly blesses as a result. David, longing for that blessing to be his, researches the proper way to transport the Ark and successfully brings it to Jerusalem.

When the Ark arrives, David sings a new song of celebration – which is taught to the people (we have the words of the song which allowed them to learn it). As a result of this move, God chooses to make a covenant promise with David and to His children forever. Don’t miss these words of God to David as you read through this section:

“When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. ” (1 Chronicles 17:11–15, ESV)

In this section we can see:

  • Following the methods of the Philistines yields a disaster for King David. (1 Chronicles 13)
  • Defeating the people of the Philistines yields a victory for King David. (1 Chronicles 14)
  • Following the commands of the Lord yields a celebration for King David. (1 Chronicles 15)
  • Establishing the worship of the Lord yields a blessing from King David. (1 Chronicles 16)
  • Desiring the Temple for the Lord yields a covenant for King David. (1 Chronicles 17)

There is a powerful lesson in this section of God’s Word: Good intentions are not enough to gain God’s blessings; we must also follow God’s methods if we want His favor on our lives!

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

Check out Dr. Smith’s review of Larry Osborne’s book, Sticky Teams!

Sticky Teams is a must read for pastors and church leaders who want their board, staff and church to function well in the long-term. Larry Osborne is a veteran pastor who has enjoyed a long-term pastoral relationship with North Coast Church in Northern San Diego County.

Sticky Teams aims to shore up the foundation of a healthy team, “because even the clearest vision, greatest innovations, and most stellar programs won’t make much of an eternal difference if our ministry and leadership teams are mired in the deep weeds of disunity and conflicting agendas.”

You can read the whole review here.


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1 Chronicles – The Kingdom of David

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Map Credit: bible-history.com

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

1 Chronicles: The Spiritual Life of David (about 40 years)

Remember that in this book we see the victories of King David. Missing are most of the failures we are more familiar with. Clearly the author intended for the reader to comprehend the cause-and-effect relationships between David’s spiritual lifestyle and his successes. We are breaking the book into six sections. Let’s look at section two today …

The Kingdom of David (1 Chronicles10-12)

The seeds of Saul’s disobedience and breach of faith with the Lord have come to fruition now as he dies on the battlefield. Note the spotlight shows that Saul’s visitation of a psychic was the final straw before his death. (Revisit 1 Samuel 28 for the details of the story.)

It is in this horrific national loss that God moves a man after His own heart, David, into the forefront of the leadership of Israel. Note in this section how David works to promote his “mighty men” based on their exploits.

In this section we can see:

  • The death of King Saul. (1 Chronicles 10)
  • The anointing of King David. (1 Chronicles 11)
  • The conquerors under King David. (1 Chronicles 11-12)

The lesson of this section of God’s Word: Wise leaders only promote those who actually have accomplished something.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

Host a “Reaching Your Community in Your Generation Weekend” in your area!

The world around us changes approximately every 18 months! Such change brings great challenges to our mission. Eagles In Leadership has designed a weekend to help you energize your congregation or organization to fulfill the Great Commission in your community. You can bring this weekend to your church or organization! You can learn more about how to do this here.


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Chicagoland: It's All About the Mission!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

You are invited to attend!

Bring a friend!

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1 Chronicles – The Family of David

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Photo Credit: stickyjesus.com

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

1 Chronicles: The Spiritual Life of David (about 40 years)

In this section of the history of the Bible you can get a bit confused if you don’t realize that each pair of books – Samuel, Kings and Chronicles – were “stand alone” histories in their own right. When they were added to the Bible, they covered similar sections of history just as much as they revealed new material. 1 Chronicles takes us back to King David and shows us his spiritual life.

In this book we see the victories of King David. Missing are most of the failures we are more familiar with. Clearly the author intended for the reader to comprehend the cause-and-effect relationships between David’s spiritual lifestyle and his successes. We can break the book into six sections. Let’s look at section one today …

The Family of David (1-9)

In this section we can see:

  • The family traced from Adam to Jacob. (1)
  • The family traced from Jacob to David. (2)
  • The family traced from David to the captivity. (3)
  • The families of Israel traced. (4-8)
  • The families of the remnant from captivity traced. (9)

Remember the lesson of this section of God’s Word is similar to the end of 2 Kings, but with a different application: You are free to choose to follow God with all the passion of your life; and you are going to enjoy the rewards and blessings of a God who loves and lives in and through His people on Earth.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

Host a “Reaching Your Community in Your Generation Weekend” in your area!

The world around us changes approximately every 18 months! Such change brings great challenges to our mission. Eagles In Leadership has designed a weekend to help you energize your congregation or organization to fulfill the Great Commission in your community. You can bring this weekend to your church or organization! You can learn more about how to do this here.


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H. Norman Wright Talks About Grief, Trauma and Loss

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Mike Powers, Dr. H. Norman Wright, Jeanne Tropp (Mike’s Fiancee)

Our own Mike Powers caught up with Dr. H. Norman Wright recently and spoke to him about grief, trauma and loss and how it applies to our present situation as a nation and as God’s people.

H. Norman Wright is a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Therapist and he has taught in the Grad. Department of Biola University. He was former director of the Graduate Department of Marriage, Family and Child Counseling at Biola University, as well as an Associate Professor of Psychology. He was also Associate Professor of Christian Education and Director of the Graduate Department of Christian Education at the Talbot School of Theology. At the present time he is Research Professor of Christian Education at this same institution. He was in private practice for over thirty years.

Dr. Wright is a graduate of Westmont College, Fuller Theological Seminary (M.R.E.), Pepperdine University (M.A.). He has received two honorary doctorates, D.D. and D.LIT, from the Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and Biola University respectively.

He is the author of over seventy books including Experiencing Grief, The New Guide to Crisis and Trauma Counseling, Recovering From the Losses of Life, Quiet Times for Couples, and Before You Say I Do. Dr. Wright has pioneered Premarital Counseling programs throughout the country. He conducts seminars on Parenting, Recovering from the Losses of Life, Trauma and Crisis Counseling, and Marriage Enrichment.

His current focus is in grief and trauma counseling and critical incident debriefings. Part of his work is developing curriculum in loss, crisis and trauma as well as community wide Grief Recovery seminars. He is a Certified Trauma Specialist and a Certified Traumatologist. He is an ICISF trainer for the course, Trauma After Grief.

He belongs to the following professional organizations:

Academy of Bereavement
Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists
Clinical Member of American Association of Christian Counselors
Clinical Member of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist
Victim Chaplain Association of America

He has conducted workshops and training for various Health Departments, The Victim Chaplain and Counselor Association of America, Child Abuse Social Work Departments, Hospitals and Nurses organizations. Sudden death debriefings have been conducted at various facilities as well as Police and Fire Departments. He is the clinical coordinator for the debriefing teams for the Bakersfield Fire Department. He has traveled to New York five times since 9/11 conducting area wide Grief Recovery seminars as well as debriefings. Part of his specialty is working with parents of children or teenagers who have died or have been killed. He has also assisted in training seminars for Critical Incident Debriefings for the American Association of Christian Counselors.

He is a chaplain and counselor for The Victim Chaplain Association and has worked in the aftermath of Katrina in Louisiana.

He and his wife Joyce were married for forty-eight years and he lives in Bakersfield, California. His hobbies include bass fishing, gardening and training his Golden Retrievers, Shadow and Aspen, as therapy response dogs.

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Chicagoland Friends: How God Became My Hope Enabler!

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

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