If Joseph is from the line of David, but was not the true/blood father of Jesus, how did Jesus fulfill this prophecy? Was Mary also from the house of David?
Yes. Luke 3 gives the genealogy of Jesus goes backwards in time, from Joseph (Jesus' earthly "father") to Adam (including Abraham and David). And in Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus goes forward in time from Abraham to Mary (including David). So David is on both sides!
I guess I could have just said "yes".
pastor jeff
-paid by the word
Why do you think God allowed all the heartache to happen in Job's life. Was it because he put more devotion of family and things before "God Himself"??
See Job 1:6-12 : We see no evidence of that. Satan's accusation said that taking away Job's children and property would cause Job to curse God. But we don't see idolatry in Job's life prompting God to allow Job to be afflicted.
Things have to get cut from the sermon, and it's not always easy to decide what gets chopped. Here's a piece that I had to drop from the final edition of Sunday's sermon:
In verses 3-6 in Acts 28, Paul was bitten by a viper gathering firewood. His was not the usual panic of someone bitten by a snake – he calmly shook it off. If that were me, well, Luke would have recorded a very different reaction.
This is a reminder that following Christ doesn't mean “exempt from trouble”. Sometimes the Gospel is presented that way – follow Jesus and everything will be great! Reality check: sometimes you get snake-bitten, literally or metaphorically.
God didn't prevent the bite, but God instead healed Paul.
It sort of reminded me of Daniel. God didn't keep Daniel from the lion's den, but he kept the lions mouths shut. Speaking of the book of Daniel, this also makes me think of the Hebrews in the fiery furnace. God didn't keep them out of the furnace, He went in with them. You are not exempt from trouble when you follow Jesus, BUT - you are invincible until your mission is over.
