By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 4:23-37   Acts 4:31      And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (NKJV)                                                   The ministry of the apostles now threatens the same religious leaders that Jesus and his ministry threatened, as they see miracles performed by them. In an effort to stop things before

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 45-46   Psalm 45:17 I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever. (NKJV)   In these two psalms, the psalmist gives glory to the Messiah and His bride, the one who is a refuge of His people and conqueror of nations. However, as we observe world events, it can be difficult to find glory in the Lord as a conqueror of nations. This is where we, as believers in Jesus Christ, m

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 4:1-22   Acts 4:19-20 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.  20  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  (NKJV)   A great and undeniable miracle has occurred with a forty-year old man born lame from birth, able to stand up, run, and walk through the temple praising God with five thousand coming to believe in Jesus as Me

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 43-44   Psalm 43:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The  [ b ] help of my countenance and my God. (NKJV)   Charles Spurgeon was once asked which was the most important thing in a Christian’s life, the study of the Bible or prayer. He answered the question with another question, which is more important, inhaling or exhaling? Study of the Bible is God speaking w

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 3:1-26   Acts 3:11-12 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.  12  So when Peter saw  it,  he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? (NKJV)   In this passage, we see Peter and John going to the temple a

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 41-42   Psalm 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?And why are you disquieted within me?Hope in God;For I shall yet praise Him,The help of my countenance and my God. (NKJV)   To believe that becoming a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior means a carefree life free from trouble is a deception and a lie. Even Jesus did not escape trouble in this world but overcame that trouble through His resurrection from the grave, something all

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 2:14-47   Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.  (NKJV)   After the miracle of receiving the Holy Spirit and the crowd gathered for the feast of Pentecost, hearing the 120 praise God in their own language ( Acts 1:5-12 ), Peter stood up to address the crowd. This represents a new boldness for Peter with

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 39-40   Psalm 40:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;Let such as love Your salvation say continually,“The Lord be magnified!” (NKJV)   We live in a world full of violence, hatred, and evil. In such an environment, it is easy for fear to creep in, causing us to lose faith and trust in God. David experienced the full spectrum of evil during his life on earth, but in the psalms of this text, he asks for wisdom and forgiv

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 2:1-13   Acts 2:12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” (NKJV)   Like the announcement by an angel and heavenly choir to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus, the coming of the Holy Spirit is with great and miraculous fanfare. It comes with wind, fire, and the miracle of people speaking a language they do not know. The question that has caused division in the Church throughout its history

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Luke 2:8-20   Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be  [ a ] witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV)   The Bible has many examples of Jesus using ordinary people, and even people viewed as outcasts, to accomplish his purpose. A young shepherd boy becomes King of Israel and part of the lineage of the Messiah. A Samaritan woman, people v

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Acts 1:1-26   Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV)   The Book of Acts is a historical account of what occurred over the first thirty years of Church history. While the early Church had its difficulties, it did gain a reputation for turning its world upside down ( Acts 17:6 ). This historical

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Luke 2:1-20   Luke 2:9-11 And  [ c ] behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  10  Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  11  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (NKJV)   One of my favorite Christmas songs is Silent Night. T

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: John 21:1-25   Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (NKJV)   To achieve the level of a doctor, I wrote a dissertation about the importance of mentoring the next generation. The focus was on individuals who felt a calling to ministry and currently serve in ministry, to discover how they were mentored through the process. Many of those interviewed mentioned the ups and

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 38:1-22 Psalm 38:21-22 Do not forsake me, O Lord;O my God, be not far from me! 22  Make haste to help me,O Lord, my salvation! (NKJV)   Sin is missing the mark with God, and what separates us from a relationship with Him. Adam and Eve had an intimate relationship with God until they sinned, and God evicted from the paradise of the Garden of Eden ( Genesis 3 ). The good news for us all is sins separation from God does not need to be perman

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: John 20:19-30   John 20:29 Jesus said to him,  [ b ] “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed  are  those who have not seen and  yet  have believed.” (NKJV)   Jesus has risen from the grave, but at this point, we only know of Mary Magdalene physically seeing Him ( John 20:11-18 ). Scripture also tells us that when Peter and John saw the empty tomb, they believed, but also tells us that they did not know that Jesus must rise

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 37   Psalm 37:9 For evildoers shall be  [ b ] cut off;But those who wait on the Lord,They shall inherit the earth. (NKJV)   A media-driven world promotes celebrities with charisma, good looks, and wealth. While these things are not inherently evil, if they become one’s objective, they can take on the status of an idol in our life, something forbidden in the Ten Commandments ( Exodus 20:4-6 ). While the commandment implies bowing down to w

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: John 20:1-18 Matthew 28:5-6 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  6  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (NKJV)   The path to eternal life in heaven with the Lord is through belief in the one sent by God, His only Son ( John 3:16 ). How we come to believe may differ. For some, it is finally believing after many years in

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 36   Psalm 36:5-6 Your mercy, O Lord,  is  in the heavens;Your faithfulness  reaches  to the clouds. 6  Your righteousness  is  like the  [ b ] great mountains;Your judgments  are  a great deep;O Lord, You preserve man and beast. (NKJV)   In Acts 17:6 , those preaching the Gospel are accused of turning the world upside down. The truth is, those preaching the Gospel are returning the world to Godliness, the state the world was created to e

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: John 19:17-42   John 19:35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.  (NKJV)   The crucifixion of Jesus has been the highlight of movies and portrayed in Passion plays in churches during Easter. This account in John represents John’s eyewitness account of the event, referencing Old Testament prophecies that describe the event. These Old Testament prophecies

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher   Text: Psalm 35:1-28   Psalm 35:28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And  of Your praise all the day long. (NKJV)   Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a day set aside for us to remember the things we are thankful for. This can be difficult because we live in a chaotic world where the news is full of evil, tragedy, and sorrow. However, there is something we can all be thankful for. When our ancestors Adam and Eve sinned, and