Memory Verses for April 18-May 2 - Philippians 2:1-2

(Comments on last week’s and this week’s memory verses)


Philippians 2:1-2 - If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Are there reasons for Christians to be agreeable with each other? Certainly there are! Besides being fellow members of the family of God, we also have some important things in common as Paul explains in Philippians 2:1. When Paul uses the word “if” here, he means “since”.

• There is consolation or encouragement when one is “in Christ”.

• There is the comfort of the love of Christ when we are “in Christ”.

• There is “fellowship” in the Holy Spirit when we are “in Christ”. That fellowship is a partnership between each believer and the Spirit of God. Fellowship with the Spirit will lead to fellowship with each other.

• Finally, when we are in Christ there are “bowels and mercies”, or as the NASB renders it, “affection and compassion”. We have fellowship and compassion for fellow believers.

Since these qualities are true in us as believers, we are to be “likeminded”. We are to be agreeable, especially as we allow the Holy Spirit to unify us. We will also have a mutual love for each other, practicing the love qualities found in 1 Corinthians 13. We will also be unified in our goals being of “one accord, of one mind.”

Memory Verse for April 4-10 - John 11:25

(Comments on this week’s memory verse)


John 11:25 - Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

In my almost 35 years of being a pastor, I have come to at least one conclusion; I don’t like death. By the grace of God I have been with many a dying saint, and by the grace of God I will be with many more dying saints as they transition from one world to the next. However, I don’t like seeing people suffer, and I don’t like the pain that those who have lost a loved one go through.

Although I don’t like death, I do like the hope that I have for resurrection and eternal life. I do like the hope that I can share with those who are passing away and with family members who have lost a loved one. That hope is found in this week’s memory verse.

When Jesus made this statement to Martha the time of his own death was near. He told Martha that He was the “resurrection and the life”. Jesus could make this statement because through Him those who believe on Him will be resurrected with bodies that will never die.

Christians who die have bodies that are dead and decaying. Their spirits, however, are very much alive (2 Corinthians 5:8-9). One day Jesus will resurrect the bodies of those who have trusted Him as Savior. Though their bodies are dead now, they will one day be alive again.