West Aurora church of Christ

09/06/2026

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09/05/2026

How To Bless (2)

Okay, we know what it means for God to bless us – He gives us something good, something beneficial, something for which we give thanks. That’s easy to understand, but how do WE bless GOD?

We don’t have anything to give God that He needs (see Acts 17:25). This is part of the meaning of being “poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3 – humble, nothing of value to bring to God). So, blessing God isn’t about somehow giving Him something He needs or something that somehow improves Him or His existence. But we ARE to bless Him…

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits" Psa 103:1-2

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psa 34:1

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Ephesians 1:3

If you are reading in different translations, you will notice that instead of the word “bless” words like “praise” or “extol” are sometimes used in the above verses. This is because the words for “bless” can sometimes have the meaning of recognizing the positive and benevolent qualities of the one being blessed or praised. So, blessing God, rather than us being benevolent or generous to Him in some way is actually us acknowledging that He is benevolent and generous to us.

We bless God by thanking Him, by praising Him, by worshiping Him, and by telling others of His goodness, mercy, and grace. We can see this in Jesus’ prayer when He instituted the Lord’s supper. Matthew says Jesus “blessed” the bread (Matt 26:26) and Luke says He gave “thanks” (Lk 22:17-19). It’s not a mistake or contradiction. These are two ways of expressing the same thing. Praise can be a form of thanksgiving and thanksgiving can be a form of praise. So, BLESS THE LORD!

"I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations." Psalm 57:9

dd

Okay, we know what it means for God to bless us – He gives us something good, something beneficial, something for which we give thanks. That’s easy to understand, but how do WE bless GOD? We don’t have anything to give God that He needs (see Acts 17:25)

09/02/2026

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08/29/2026

How To Bless (1)

What is a blessing?

We often talk about receiving blessings from God, but we rarely talk about blessing others. We are to bless the Lord: “Bless the Lord, O my soul…” (Psa 103:1-2). We are to bless others: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (Num 6:24-25). We are even to bless our enemies (Matt 5:44). What is that and how do we do it? But first, what is a blessing?

Although various Hebrew and Greek words are used in the Old and New Testaments for the idea of “bless” or “blessing,” the meaning generally falls into two categories. First, and most familiar, is the idea of giving or receiving something good, a favor, or some kind of benefit. And second, and somewhat related to the first, is praise, thanksgiving, or speaking well of someone. They are related because the praise and thanksgiving are often acknowledging a favor or benefit received.

As we will see in future studies, the blessings we receive and give can take many different forms. I don’t just mean they can be a lot of different physical forms. We tend to see and appreciate (and give) physical blessings (gifts, money, houses, jobs, etc.), but blessings take many other forms. But blessings we give and receive can be words, acts of service, help, encouragement, our presence, prayer, Bible study, friendship, etc. Sometimes they will be big things, but most often they will be small, mundane, even unnoticed things.

As Christians, we value spiritual blessings above all other blessings. We “…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” (Matt 6:33) which means our treasures are in heaven (Matt 6:19-21) and we intentionally “…seek those things which are above, where Christ is…” (Col 3:1-2). But it is hard living in our physical world to value blessings like forgiveness, Scripture, and worship above worldly things which seem to demand our immediate attention. This is why we must, as the song reminds us, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one…”

Blessings are good things we have received from God and others. There ARE many of them! Blessings are good things we offer to God and others. There ARE many of them too! dd

“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.”
Psalm 67:1

What is a blessing? We often talk about receiving blessings from God, but we rarely talk about blessing others. We are to bless the Lord: “Bless the Lord, O my soul…” (Psa 103:1-2). We are to bless others: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (Num 6:24-

08/27/2026

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08/23/2026

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08/22/2026

Understanding Repentance

Read the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32 for an interesting perspective on what repentance really is.

Read it yourself, but I will summarize it here: A man tells his son to work in his vineyard. The son says, “I will not,” but later he regretted it and went. The second son was told the same. He said he would go, but he didn’t. Jesus asked which of the sons did the will of his father. The answer is obvious. So, note some important lessons:

1. If you start off wrong, you don’t have to finish wrong.

2. His regret (remorse) was a change of heart and mind.

3. His regret motivated his correct action.

4. The correct action wouldn’t have happened without a change of heart (and would have been empty even if he did change his actions).

5. Had he not gone to work it would have demonstrated that he had not really regretted (repented) of his rebellion.

6. Saying you’ll do a good thing isn’t enough – you have to follow through by doing or you are as wrong as those who rebel (or as wrong as those who lie and say they will do it, but don’t)

7. Anyone can repent, no matter how rebellious or sinful they have been.

8. God accepts repentance, we must accept it too.

Jesus warned those who act like they do the will of the Father when they say they will do it: “I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you” (because they are willing to truly repent) (Matt 21:31).

Beware of our self-righteousness that underestimates the power of repentance and God’s forgiveness!

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained…”
Acts 17:30-31

dd

Read the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32 for an interesting perspective on what repentance really is. Read it yourself, but I will summarize it here: A man tells his son to work in his vineyard. The son says, “I will not,” but later he regretted

08/19/2026

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08/16/2026

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08/15/2026

Thinking Otherwise

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you”
Philippians 3:15

So, what do we do when we disagree with God? What do we do when we read something in Scripture and don’t like it? What happens when we hear something in a sermon or lesson that steps on our toes from the Word of God?

When Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians he taught and challenged them in many areas. Then the Spirit moved him to write, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind…”. The ESV reads, “Let those who are mature think this way…” and the NASB reads, “Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude…” It’s about controlling and submitting what we think to God, His Word, and His will. But what if we’re struggling to accept the truth and change our thinking?

Paul says that the mature will have a mind that conforms to what the Spirit reveals. He goes on to say, “…and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Phil 3:15). This doesn’t mean that, if you have questions or doubts, God will somehow automatically remove or answer them. It means that, if you really want to understand and find answers, God will provide what you need. That doesn’t mean that God will give you what you expect, or even what you want. Remember, God doesn’t change Himself or His message to suit us. So, when we have questions and doubts, we need to ask whether the problem is that God is giving us what we need instead of what we want or desire.

It’s not wrong to have questions and even doubts. But when we “think otherwise” we may not be carefully studying or not listening. God may be revealing what we need in an article we never read or a sermon we aren’t present to hear. God may be revealing what we need in a Bible class we skip or from a verse of Scripture a friend shared we ignore. God IS revealing what we need in our Bibles that, at times, remain closed when they desperately need to be opened, read, and mediated on.

Are you “thinking otherwise”? There ARE answers and help. And you know where to find them. Will you? dd

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” Philippians 3:15 So, what do we do when we disagree with God? What do we do when we read something in Scripture and don’