Test: Recent Episodes
Tim
When life unravels, whether through personal loss, broken relationships, illness, or grief over the state of the church, it can be hard to know what to do with the pain. Psalm 79 speaks directly into that confusion. Written in the aftermath of one of the most devastating moments in Israel's history, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Babylon in 586 BC, this psalm gives us a raw and honest picture of what it looks like to bring suffering before God without softening a single detail. Asaph, the psalm's author, does not walk away from God in the wreckage. He runs toward Him, laying out the full weight of grief, humiliation, and confusion before the Lord.
What makes Psalm 79 so powerful is not just the lament but what follows it. Asaph moves from grief into holding on. He acknowledges that Israel's own rebellion contributed to the destruction. He asks for forgiveness. He cries out for justice against those who brought ruin. And through it all, he anchors every request not in personal comfort or national pride but in the glory of God's name.
Psalm 78 is both a history lesson and a personal challenge. It opens with a clear call to remember what God has done and to pass that memory on to the next generation, not just as information, but as a living faith. The psalm honestly recounts two things running side by side throughout Israel's story: the wondrous acts of God and the consistent rebellion of His people. That same honesty is part of what makes Christianity credible, because it does not flinch from either the beauty or the brokenness of the world. Psalm 78 ultimately points forward to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who holds both sides of the story together. He restores what is broken and goes to the cross to deal finally with human rebellion, resolving the story at great cost to Himself. The challenge for every reader is to ask what history they are telling and whether it is pointing the people around them toward hope in God.
There are seasons when God feels distant, prayers seem unanswered, and doubt creeps in. Psalm 77 speaks honestly into those moments, showing that lament is not a sign of weak faith but an invitation God Himself extends. Asaph moves through raw despair, asking whether God has forgotten His people, before shifting his gaze from his own suffering to the character and acts of God. He remembers that God is holy, powerful, and caring, pointing to the Exodus as proof that God makes a way even when all hope seems lost. For those on this side of the New Testament, the cross stands as the ultimate answer to every doubt Asaph voiced. Because God did not spare His own Son, He has not forgotten you in your darkest night.
Psalm 76 is an ancient war psalm that declares God's absolute control over the rise and fall of nations. Christians can and should be patriotic, expressing genuine gratitude to God for the blessings and freedoms their country provides. At the same time, gratitude does not mean ignoring injustice. It means holding both thankfulness and honest historical perspective together. God is not a distant observer of human events. He actively intervenes in history on the side of the humble and holds the powerful accountable. Every loyalty we have, to self, family, community, and country, must ultimately be subordinate to our loyalty to God. The practical response to God's rule over history is to align ourselves with the poor and overlooked, because that is where God stands.
Coveting is one of the quietest and most dangerous sins we face. It begins as an inner desire for what belongs to someone else, but Scripture places it in the same company as murder and adultery because it is where so many other sins are born. We live in a culture built around stirring up unholy desire, making it easy to covet other people's careers, relationships, recognition, and possessions without even noticing. The good news is that the cross of Jesus Christ does not simply forgive our coveting. It removes the very reason for it. When we understand that God did not spare His own Son for us, we can trust that He will provide everything we truly need. Fixing our eyes on that love is what loosens the grip of the next thing.
Lying is one of the most common struggles in human life, but the Ninth Commandment reveals that dishonesty is far more than a personal failure. It is harm done to our neighbors, rooted in malice, pride, or shame. God loves truth because He loves justice, life, and the people He created in His image. The cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate act of truth telling, declaring simultaneously that our sin is real and costly, and that we are deeply and unconditionally loved. That love is the foundation that frees us from the need to hide or exaggerate. When we understand both the weight of our sin and the depth of God's love, we are freed to live honestly.
The eighth commandment 'do not steal' extends far beyond obvious crimes like robbery or burglary. According to biblical teaching and Protestant reformers, theft includes time theft from employers, taking credit for others' work, fraudulent business practices, and even failing to give God the honor He deserves. While 86% of adults believe they satisfy this commandment, most overlook subtle forms of stealing in daily life. The command addresses heart issues about ownership and trust, reminding us that everything belongs to God and we are merely stewards. True obedience involves honest work, generous living, and recognizing God as the source of all blessings rather than grasping for what isn't rightfully ours.
The seventh commandment reveals God's beautiful design for sexuality within marriage while addressing how sin has distorted this gift. God created sex for three purposes: procreation, pleasure, and as a picture of divine love between Christ and the church. However, sin has broken this design through adultery, pornography, emotional affairs, and lustful thoughts. Jesus expanded the definition of adultery beyond physical acts to include lustful intentions of the heart. Our response should be twofold: listen vigilantly to God's word about sexual purity and receive His abundant love and forgiveness. The gospel offers hope for all sexual brokenness, as Christ pursues and redeems those who have fallen short of God's design.5
The sixth commandment goes far beyond simply avoiding murder. The Hebrew word 'ratsak' specifically refers to unlawful killing, emphasizing that human life is sacred because every person bears God's image. Jesus expanded this understanding to include our words and attitudes, showing that murder begins in the heart with anger and contempt. This commandment calls us not just to avoid taking life, but to actively promote and protect it. We're challenged to speak words that build up rather than tear down, seek the wellbeing of our neighbors, and treat every person with dignity and respect. When Christians have truly lived out this principle throughout history, it has transformed entire communities through love and charity.
Life's valleys often feel like places to escape, but Scripture reveals they can become extraordinary places of spiritual vision. In Isaiah 22, God calls Jerusalem the Valley of Vision, showing that our lowest moments can offer the clearest glimpses of God's glory. When we face difficulties, we often respond with frantic self-salvation or mindless escapism, but God calls us to look for Him in these deep places. In our valleys, we encounter God as both warrior and shepherd - fighting for our freedom while remaining intimately present with us. The Holy Spirit transforms these difficult seasons into launching points for spiritual growth, just as Jerusalem's valley became the birthplace of the early church at Pentecost.
The fifth commandment to honor your father and mother extends far beyond childhood obedience. The Hebrew word for honor means to give weight or significance to someone's presence, recognizing their God-given role. This foundational relationship teaches us how to engage with all authority figures throughout life. Honor isn't blind obedience but proper recognition and respect. Those in authority are equally called to honor those under their care through love, guidance, and protection. Jesus perfectly modeled this by honoring the Father even unto death, showing us the way to healthy relationships with authority.
The Fourth Commandment calls us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, which means more than just taking a day off—it requires setting aside time specifically for worship and rest. God designed us to work six days and rest one day, making it a holy holiday rather than a burden. This pattern reflects God's character as both Creator who rested after creation and Redeemer who freed us from slavery. For Christians, the Sabbath points to Christ's finished work on the cross, allowing us to enter into His rest. How we spend our time reveals what we truly value and love.
The third commandment goes far beyond avoiding profanity - it calls us to reverence God's holy name in all our speech and thoughts. God's name represents His very essence, making casual use of it deeply offensive to His holiness. While we often fail to honor His name as we should, the gospel offers hope: God glorifies His own name through Christ. Remarkably, through baptism, Christians are invited to bear the very name of the Trinity, becoming a holy people who reflect God's character in their daily lives
The Second Commandment warns against creating any image of God that we worship or serve, whether physical or mental. While we may not carve wooden idols today, we often flatten God by making Him in our image, keeping Him static, oversimplifying His character, or treating Him like a cosmic vending machine. This flattening affects not only our relationship with God but also how we relate to others. God's jealousy is actually for our benefit - He wants us to know Him fully rather than worship a reduced version. The solution is diving deep into Scripture and looking to Jesus, who reveals God's true complexity and fullness.
The first commandment reveals that everyone worships something, and what we worship gives us our laws for living. While we may not bow to ancient gods like Aphrodite or Mars, we still serve modern versions of these same forces through money, pleasure, power, and approval. False gods operate through transactional relationships that ultimately dehumanize us. The God of the Bible is different because He establishes a personal, covenant relationship rather than demanding sacrifices. Through Christ's finished work on the cross, we can approach this commandment not as a burden but as an invitation into genuine relationship with the only God who won't disappoint.5
Many resist the Ten Commandments because they associate them with restrictive rules, performative religion, or churches that lead with prohibitions rather than grace. Even positive approaches like Jesus' summary to love God and neighbor can become burdensome when we focus on what we must do to earn approval. The key lies in understanding the proper gospel order that God establishes: Done, Do, Don't!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ presents humanity with an unavoidable choice: accept it as the greatest truth ever proclaimed or dismiss it as history's most elaborate deception. Charles Colson, one of the Watergate Seven, provides compelling evidence for its authenticity by comparing the disciples' forty-year testimony under persecution to the inability of twelve powerful men to maintain their Watergate lie for even three weeks. If the disciples were fabricating the resurrection, they would never have endured decades of beatings, torture, imprisonment, and death for what they knew to be false.
From the very beginning, sin has made the same deceptive promise that the serpent whispered to Eve: that we can be like God, determining our own truth and morality. This lie echoes through history, from ancient pharaohs claiming divinity to modern philosophies that elevate human reason above divine revelation. However, sin's actual result is the opposite of what it promises. Instead of making us godlike, it dehumanizes us and others.
Palm Sunday reveals the tension between what we want from Jesus and what we actually need. When crowds waved palm branches and shouted 'Hosanna,' they were using symbols of political victory, hoping Jesus would establish their earthly kingdom. However, Jesus came not to give them the kingdom they wanted, but the kingdom they needed through His death and resurrection. We often approach Jesus similarly, wanting Him to endorse our plans rather than transform them. The beauty of Palm Sunday lies in Jesus accepting our imperfect, mixed worship while still going to the cross to provide what we truly need - redemption and eternal life in God's kingdom.
Many people see Jesus as just a good teacher or want Him to validate their personal views, but this is like seeing trees walking around - partial and blurry. The Gospel of Mark shows us that spiritual sight often comes gradually, and true clarity requires understanding Jesus as the suffering Messiah. Seeing Jesus clearly means recognizing that the path to true life leads through death to self - taking up our cross and following Him. This involves costly forgiveness, dying to our selfish ambitions, and submitting to His way rather than trying to make Him support our agenda.
Jesus confronts His disciples about their spiritual forgetfulness when they worry about lacking bread despite witnessing His miraculous provision. He warns against the leaven of the Pharisees, who demanded signs while missing God's presence, and Herod, who abandoned convictions for political convenience. Through two feeding miracles, Jesus demonstrates His compassion extends to all people and His provision is always abundant. The disciples had one loaf in their boat, representing Jesus Himself as the bread of life. When we have Christ, we have enough, yet we often suffer from spiritual amnesia, forgetting God's faithfulness and living in fear of scarcity.
Two stories from Mark 7 reveal Jesus' remarkable attentiveness to individual needs. When a Syrophoenician woman begged for her daughter's healing, Jesus' seemingly harsh response actually revealed her deep faith and understanding of God's abundant grace. In healing a deaf man, Jesus used private, gentle methods that showed dignity and personal care. Both encounters demonstrate that Jesus meets each person exactly where they are, speaking their language and addressing their specific circumstances. This challenges us to examine our own attentiveness to others and consider how we need to hear from Jesus today.
The world's problems aren't just external issues we can blame on others—they stem from the condition of the human heart. Religious leaders in Jesus' time believed spiritual purity came through ceremonial washing and following traditions, but Jesus revealed that true defilement comes from within. External actions like proper rituals, social media posts, or aligning with the right causes can't address the real source of our problems: defiled hearts that produce evil thoughts, pride, and wickedness. Christianity offers something unique—instead of requiring us to clean ourselves up first, God sends Jesus to transform our hearts from the inside out. True spiritual purity comes not from external washing but from receiving a new heart that God provides through His grace.
Fear dominates our modern world, from everyday anxieties to deeper uncertainties about relationships, careers, and spiritual life. In Mark 6:45-56, the disciples faced three types of fear that mirror our own struggles: relational exhaustion from overwhelming people, vocational pain when work becomes torturous, and spiritual abandonment when God seems absent. Yet Jesus was never truly absent - he was interceding on the mountain, seeing their struggle, and came to them walking on water. When he said 'Take heart, it is I,' he revealed himself as the great I AM, the same God who brings order from chaos and never abandons his people.
God often exposes our limitations in the circumstances of our lives, leaving us feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities and inadequate resources. The disciples faced this same struggle when Jesus asked them to feed 5,000 people with only five loaves and two fish. Their insufficiency wasn't a character flaw but a human reality that positioned them to witness God's miraculous provision. When we acknowledge our limitations and offer our our insufficiency to Jesus, He multiplies them beyond imagination. Our insufficiency combined with God's all-sufficiency is always more than enough, leading us to complete satisfaction and rest in His provision.
John the Baptist's shocking death at Herod's birthday party reveals how life often doesn't make sense, even for the most faithful. Despite being the prophesied messenger who prepared the way for Jesus, John was beheaded due to political manipulation and a rash promise. His story teaches us to speak truth regardless of consequences and choose character over comfort. While we may not understand God's plan in difficult circumstances, we can trust that Jesus continues His mission and will ultimately right all wrongs. John's temporary defeat becomes eternal victory as he awaits the true King's celebration.
Jesus sent out the twelve disciples with a clear model for Christian ministry that remains relevant today. True ministry involves both healing - addressing practical and spiritual needs - and preaching repentance, calling people to turn toward God. Jesus emphasized that ministry must happen in community, sending disciples two by two rather than alone. He also taught them dependence on God by instructing them to travel without provisions. The disciples succeeded because they had spent time soaking in Jesus, watching Him preach and heal. For our ministry to reflect Christ rather than culture, we must constantly immerse ourselves in who Jesus is and what He has done.
The people of Nazareth knew Jesus personally - His family, His profession, His background - yet they rejected Him despite witnessing His miraculous works. This reveals a crucial distinction between knowing facts about Jesus and truly knowing Him through faith. Many today have extensive knowledge about Christianity but lack genuine relationship with Christ. Familiarity can become a barrier to faith when we focus on Jesus' ordinary background rather than His extraordinary identity. True faith requires moving beyond intellectual knowledge to personal surrender and trust. The question remains: Do you know about Jesus, or do you truly know Jesus?
The Gospel of Mark presents two remarkable healing stories that are intentionally woven together to reveal profound truths about faith, desperation, and God's transformative power. In chapter 5, we meet Jairus, a respected synagogue ruler desperately seeking Jesus to heal his dying 12-year-old daughter. On the journey, a woman who has suffered from chronic bleeding for 12 years secretly touches Jesus' garment, hoping for the healing that 12 years of medical treatment could not provide.Both stories demonstrate that faith doesn't require perfection or sophistication, but rather simple trust in God's power when human solutions have failed. These desperate circumstances became the very pathway through which both individuals discovered not just physical healing, but eternal life through faith in Jesus.
Simeon and Anna, two elderly figures in Luke's Gospel, teach us that even the most faithful believers experience deep longing for God's consolation throughout their lives. Simeon waited his entire life to see the Messiah, while Anna spent decades as a widow worshiping at the temple. Their stories reveal that coming to faith doesn't eliminate life's sorrows, but God enters into our pain through Jesus. The faithful elderly among us serve as precious witnesses, showing younger generations that following Jesus is possible through every stage of life's challenges. God understands our struggles because He has experienced them, offering true peace through Christ.
Waiting tests faith in profound ways. Like Zechariah, people carry prayers they've repeated for years—prayers for healing, reconciliation, provision, or purpose that seem to go unanswered. Some prayers become so familiar that hope gradually fades, replaced by resignation or doubt.
Zechariah spent his entire life waiting for a single opportunity to serve in the temple, while simultaneously enduring the personal grief of childlessness. His story mirrors the dual nature of human longing: collective struggles that affect entire communities alongside deeply personal sorrows that few understand. Both types of pain compound each other, making faith feel increasingly difficult to sustain.
When extraordinary answers finally arrive, they often seem unbelievable. Years of disappointment condition people to expect nothing, making genuine hope feel naive or foolish. Zechariah's request for proof wasn't simply faithlessness—it reflected the reasonable skepticism that develops after prolonged waiting. The gap between promise and reality can feel insurmountable.
Yet God's pattern throughout history involves working through impossible circumstances. The most significant breakthroughs often emerge precisely when situations appear hopeless. What looks like divine silence may actually be divine timing, though that distinction offers little comfort during the waiting itself.
The tension between doubt and faith remains constant. Certainty that eliminates all doubt also eliminates the need for trust. Faith requires holding hope despite uncertainty, continuing to believe when circumstances suggest otherwise.
Christmas represents God's most improbable answer—divinity entering humanity, power manifested through vulnerability, eternal hope born in temporary flesh. This pattern suggests that seemingly unanswered prayers aren't ignored but are being answered in ways beyond current comprehension. God remains attentive to human cries, responding in unexpected and often untimely ways that ultimately reveal greater purposes than originally imagined.
Christmas often overwhelms us with busyness and obligations, yet the true message reveals that God meets us not in extraordinary spiritual highs, but in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life. The nativity story demonstrates this beautifully - Mary and Joseph were forced to travel due to a Roman census they couldn't control, arriving in Bethlehem during the worst possible timing for childbirth.
Joseph's story in Matthew's Gospel reveals how to live faithfully in a stress-filled world. Despite facing fear and social shame when Mary became pregnant, Joseph chose quiet faithfulness over reactive defensiveness. He refused to shame Mary publicly and embraced his role as Jesus' earthly father. Joseph's righteousness came from understanding God as both Savior and Present Helper. When we know Jesus saves us from sin and shame, and that Emmanuel means God is with us, we can live with quiet confidence rather than being driven by fear, stress, and the need to control circumstances.
When God seems distant, we often live as if this world is all there is, leading to quarreling, jealousy, and grabbing at temporary pleasures. Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 13, where the Corinthians were acting as though God was absent from their daily lives. However, God is both transcendent and immanent - beyond us yet intimately present with us. Paul calls us to examine ourselves honestly and recognize where we're seeking meaning in worldly things rather than in God's presence. When we live in the reality of God's presence, we find our identity and purpose in Him rather than in temporary achievements or possessions.
Paul's experience in 2 Corinthians 12 challenges our culture's promise that we can have it all now. While Paul experienced genuine glimpses of heaven, he also dealt with a persistent thorn in the flesh that God refused to remove. God's response was profound: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. This teaches us that our struggles aren't obstacles to spiritual growth but often the very means by which we experience God's strength. Rather than demanding paradise now, we can find contentment knowing that God's grace is sufficient for today's challenges.
As we wait for Christ's return during Advent, Christians face the danger of spiritual deception. Just as art forger Mark Landis fooled museum experts for decades, false teachers can present attractive but counterfeit versions of Jesus. Paul warns the Corinthians about two main deceptions: disguised delight, where Jesus is presented as something He's not to make Him more appealing, and spurning suffering, which avoids the cost of true discipleship. The best defense is knowing the real Jesus from Scripture, being wary of easy answers that align perfectly with cultural preferences, and looking for authentic fruit rather than impressive credentials.
Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians 9 reveals that Christian giving should be coordinated, planned, and cheerful rather than impulsive or reluctant. The principle of sowing and reaping applies to generosity—those who give bountifully will reap bountifully. God provides all sufficiency for our needs, making generous giving possible regardless of our circumstances. Giving breaks money's spiritual power over us and redirects our hearts toward God. When we give generously, it creates thanksgiving to God, strengthens community bonds, and reflects the character of Christ who gave everything for our salvation.
Conflict is inevitable, but Christians can handle it differently than the world does. Paul's response to opposition in Corinth shows us how to fight spiritual battles without using worldly tactics. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, manipulating situations, or boasting in our abilities, we should embrace the meekness and gentleness of Christ. This means staying in our God-assigned lane, working diligently within our calling, and being willing to lose by worldly standards to win by God's standards. When we boast in Christ rather than ourselves and seek His approval over human recognition, we find true rest and purpose while strengthening both our faith and the church.
The church is more than a collection of individuals—it's the living body of Christ where every member plays an essential role. Paul's teachings reveal that when we withdraw, become prideful, remain passive, or create conflict, the entire body suffers like a physical ailment. Research confirms that active participation in religious community leads to greater happiness, with 43% of highly involved members reporting being very happy compared to only 22% of non-attenders. God designed us to find joy through both our individual gifts and collective unity, reflecting the diverse yet unified nature of the Trinity itself.
Life often brings unexpected pain that leaves Christians wondering if their faith matters. Many believers mistakenly think they should be immune from suffering, but history's greatest Christian leaders like Charles Spurgeon and John Henry Jowett experienced profound darkness and depression. Much of our deepest pain comes from broken relationships and sin that creates distance from God and others. While Christians aren't exempt from affliction, we have access to a comfort that runs deeper than our pain through genuine repentance and Christian community. The Gospel addresses our fears that relationships are irredeemable and that sin defines us, offering hope for healing and restoration even in our darkest moments.
Paul's letter to the Corinthians about giving reveals three essential principles for Christians and money. First, Jesus's sacrificial love should be the foundation for all financial decisions - His generosity toward us should inspire generosity toward others. Second, money is good but temporary; like the manna in the wilderness, it's meant to be used according to God's design, not hoarded for selfish purposes. Third, people always take priority over financial considerations, though we must still be wise and discerning in our giving. Paul demonstrates this wisdom by establishing accountability systems to ensure donated funds reach their intended destination.
Paul's warning about being unequally yoked goes beyond marriage to encompass all relationships and influences that pull us away from Christ. Using farming imagery, he explains that believers and unbelievers operate from fundamentally different foundations - different moral values, spiritual spheres, and objects of worship. When we're yoked to unbelief, it often ends up steering our lives. The solution isn't complete separation from the world, but grounding ourselves in our identity as God's temple, people, and children. We must regularly evaluate the voices shaping our lives and ensure that Christ remains our foundational influence, allowing us to engage the world from a position of strength while maintaining our distinct identity in Him.
God reveals Himself through multiple ambassadors: creation declares His glory through nature's beauty and complexity, Scripture provides specific revelation about His character and calling, Christ serves as the ultimate ambassador through His incarnation and sacrifice, and believers are called to continue this ambassadorial work. Paul demonstrates that faithful ambassadorship involves reflecting Christ through righteous suffering and endurance, maintaining qualities like patience, kindness, and genuine love even in hardship. The call to widen our hearts means expanding our affections beyond worldly concerns to embrace God's greater purposes. Every believer is called to serve as an instrument in God's story of redemption rather than being the hero of their own narrative.
The ministry of reconciliation transforms us at our very core, as demonstrated by the Apostle Paul's dramatic conversion from persecutor to apostle. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul teaches that Christ's reconciling work changes how we view ourselves and others. Once reconciled to God, we no longer see people according to worldly standards but as potential recipients of God's grace. This transformation creates a new identity in Christ, where old things pass away and everything becomes new. The foundation for healing all relationships begins with being reconciled to God, which enables us to become ministers of reconciliation to others.
In the midst of suffering, we often question God's goodness. Paul's message in 2 Corinthians reveals that our afflictions actually prepare us for eternal glory in two ways: by focusing our inner selves on what truly matters and by directing our attention to unseen eternal realities rather than temporary circumstances. Our suffering produces a groaning that leads to prayer and hope, reminding us that we were made for something more permanent than this earthly life. Through our trials, God graciously focuses us on our ultimate identity in Christ, preparing us for an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs our present difficulties.
We are all being transformed by what we behold and love. In ancient Corinth, as in our world today, people were captivated by beauty, wealth, power, and social status. Paul presents two paths of discipleship: the way of the world versus the way of Christ. The world's way promises immediate gratification through power and beauty, while Christ's way begins with going low—embracing weakness and suffering. However, Christ's path doesn't end in defeat; it leads through death to resurrection and glory. Though we may experience affliction, perplexity, and persecution, these light momentary troubles are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul distinguishes between two approaches to faith - the letter that kills and the Spirit that gives life. This isn't simply about Old versus New Testament, but about heart transformation. While many possess external religious credentials and activities, true faith comes when God's law is written on our hearts rather than tablets of stone. The difference is seen in our love for Jesus, gratitude for the cross, awareness of our need for grace, love for the church, and desire to put sin to death. The New Covenant isn't just about new information but a new heart that genuinely loves and follows God.
Forgiveness is an essential Christian practice. Jesus makes forgiveness non-negotiable, stating clearly that if we don't forgive others, we won't be forgiven ourselves. This teaching appears throughout scripture, from the Lord's Prayer to the parable of the unforgiving servant, establishing forgiveness as fundamental to Christian obedience. While the command is clear, Paul makes it clear to us in 2 Corinthians 2 that practicing forgiveness is not easy, yet it brings forth tremendous comfort and healing.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses a church struggling with trials and conflicts, revealing the profound truth that affliction reveals faith. Writing to reestablish relationship, bring comfort, strengthen commitment to truth, and encourage reconciliation, Paul presents a counter-cultural message: power is made perfect in weakness, and comfort comes through affliction.
God's judgment is actually cause for celebration, not fear, for three key reasons. First, it promises an end to evil and suffering in the world, addressing our deep longing for justice. Second, unlike human judgment which is flawed and hypocritical, God judges with perfect knowledge and fairness. Finally, through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, believers are spared God's judgment—Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath meant for us. This mirrors the Passover, where judgment passed over those marked by the lamb's blood, and offers profound hope that evil will not have the final word.
Psalm 74 is a lament that transforms into a celebration of God's goodness despite catastrophe. The psalm mourns the temple's destruction while affirming God's sovereignty with the declaration 'Yet God, my King, is from old.' This ancient text reveals three profound truths about Christ: God's amazing providence (Jesus as the true temple), God's incredible humility (allowing His temple to be destroyed), and God's unpredictable benevolence (turning enemies into His own temple). In our suffering, we can find comfort knowing God reigns even when circumstances suggest otherwise, and He will ultimately answer the prayers of His people.
Psalm 73 addresses a universal human struggle: the spiritual heartache we experience when we see wrongdoers prospering while the righteous suffer. The psalmist's journey from bitter envy to profound trust offers a roadmap for finding peace in an unjust world. The real danger isn't external threats but internal spiritual misalignment - when our hearts become sick with envy and distrust of God's goodness.The path to spiritual heart health involves three key elements: reality, routine, and relationship. Reality means honestly confronting our feelings while examining their true causes - often our envy reveals a secret desire for worldly success rather than godly character. Routine refers to the healing power of worship, as the psalmist's turning point came when entering God's sanctuary. Corporate worship reorients our perspective, helping us see beyond temporary circumstances to eternal realities. Finally, relationship with God provides the ultimate cure for envy. When we find our satisfaction in God Himself rather than comparing ourselves to others, we can declare with the psalmist that even when our flesh and heart fail, God remains our strength and portion forever. Jesus Christ, who lived righteously yet suffered greatly, stands as our ultimate example that God's favor isn't measured by worldly prosperity.
Life presents unique challenges at every stage, from the womb to old age, as illustrated in Psalm 71 where David reflects on God's constant presence throughout his journey. Each season brings specific trials - childhood with its early experiences of pain, adolescence with identity struggles, young adulthood with major life decisions, marriage and parenting with their relational complexities, and aging with its physical limitations. Yet through every difficulty, God remains faithful, providing strength and comfort. Like Polycarp who declared after 86 years of following Christ that God had never wronged him, we too can experience divine faithfulness in every season of life.
Psalm 70 captures humanity's universal cry for help in times of distress. Beginning with 'Make haste, O God, to deliver me,' this prayer acknowledges our need for divine intervention when facing enemies, difficult relationships, and our own shortcomings. While we often seek salvation in human relationships, control, or various forms of escape, true deliverance comes only from God. This psalm teaches us to bring our unfiltered selves before God while recognizing that He alone can save us. The Christian faith uniquely responds to this cry with God giving Himself completely through Christ's sacrifice, offering genuine hope and redemption.
Psalm 69 presents David's raw cry to God in the midst of overwhelming suffering, describing himself as drowning in floodwaters with no foothold. This psalm speaks powerfully to our experience in a broken world filled with natural disasters, betrayal, ridicule, physical suffering, and the weight of our own sinful hearts. David's initial response is understandable—he calls for justice and even destruction upon his enemies. While our desire for justice reflects God's character, Christ teaches us a more excellent way.Remarkably, many verses in Psalm 69 point directly to Jesus, who was hated without cause, consumed with zeal for God's house, and given sour wine on the cross. Christianity doesn't offer a neat intellectual solution to suffering, but rather a God who enters our suffering. The crosses we bear—those places where brokenness hurts us most—are not dismissed by God but intimately known by Him. Christ says, 'I will go to that place. I will know it intimately.' Though suffering awaits us everywhere in this life, we can approach it differently knowing that Christ bears it with us, and that through His resurrection, God promises to make all things new.
Psalm 68 celebrates God's deliverance of His people to the promised land, likely written by David for the Ark of the Covenant's procession to Jerusalem. The psalm portrays God as the defender of the vulnerable, father to the fatherless, and protector of widows. While addressing the difficult topic of the Canaanite conquest, it emphasizes this was God's divine judgment coupled with grace, as exemplified by Rahab's salvation. Ultimately, Psalm 68 points to Christ's ascension and the future where people from all nations will worship the true King who rules with justice and welcomes all into His family.
Psalm 67 speaks to a truism that exists beyond the Christian faith; that our primary relationship shap us to go out into the world and shape it for good or for ill. Yet, Psalm 67 speaks to the fundamental Fathering relationship, that between us and God. It's for this reason that it begins with echoes of the great Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6 where the Lord blesses his people, keeps his people and makes his face to shine on his people. It is in living into this belovedness as the children of God that the nations will sing for joy and creation itself will find the end of its groaning for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed!
Colossians 1:15-19 reveals four profound truths about Jesus Christ: He is God, Creator, Sustainer, and Head of the Church. As the image of the invisible God, Jesus possesses the fullness of deity and existed before creation. All things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him, meaning creation itself has embedded purpose. Christ actively holds the universe together and, as head of the Church, He is the beginning of a new humanity through His resurrection. Because of who Christ is, faith in Him isn't merely one option among many spiritual paths but the foundation of eternal life.
Psalm 66 is a psalm of praise. It is a psalm both praising God for who he is and what he has done and calling others to praise him. It begins wide, calling all the earth to praise and narrows down to the individual. It's a very fitting psalm for Trinity Sunday, as the call to the earth reflects the Father, the call to the church, the Son, and the call to the individual, the Holy Spirit.
In our eagerness to serve God, we often rush ahead without receiving what we need most—the Holy Spirit. After Jesus' resurrection, the disciples were ready to share the greatest story ever told, yet Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. Despite having engaged with the true story of our world, experienced Jesus bringing hope, had their doubts addressed, been restored after failures, and received the Great Commission, they needed something more essential than their enthusiasm.This waiting was necessary because the Holy Spirit is the active agent of mission. As Lesslie Newbigin noted, mission isn't something the church does but something done by the Spirit who changes both the world and the church. Without the Spirit, our efforts are merely human striving. Additionally, the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—grow through waiting and abiding, not through rushing ahead. When the disciples obeyed and waited, Pentecost occurred, and they were transformed with divine power that enabled Peter to preach a sermon converting 3,000 people in one day. The early church was characterized by being 'filled with the Spirit,' which changed their economic life, care for others, and gave them confidence even in persecution.
When we feel rejected, even by Jesus himself, we can find confidence in Christ's unwavering love. The apostle John's experience in John 21 shows how he maintained his identity as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved' even when seemingly overlooked. This confidence comes from remembering we are among the beloved community, recalling past experiences of God's love, and embracing the mystery of faith. With confidence in Christ's love, we can face rejection without questioning our worth, knowing we're hastening toward complete happiness in the One whose opinion truly matters.
One of the great post-resurrection texts is the very end of Matthew where Jesus tells his disciples what has come to be known as “The Great Commission.” Yet, what we see in his words is the reiteration of the great covenants of Scripture: The one true God who has authority, working through his people and their obedience to him to bring a blessing to his world. To be the people of God has always been to be a missionary people, a people who live in light of what God has done for them for the sake of the world and his glory in it. To go and make disciples has always been the way of our Missionary God and his missionary people.
Being a community of the resurrection, means that we are a (re)storied people because of the restoring work of Christ in the cross and resurrection. We see in John 21 that Jesus invites us into an honest assessment of our past - our shame, sin and family stories - a present participation in his healing work, and then a life and death like his. We are taken, healed and then made to be a cruciform and therefore Christ-like people.
Motherhood represents the epitome of sacrificial love, demonstrating vulnerability, persistence, and selfless giving that spans a lifetime. Through the biblical example of Hannah, we discover three fundamental aspects of motherly love: the deep desire to give love, the commitment to fervent prayer, and the willingness to sacrifice for others' wellbeing. Hannah's journey from desperate longing to sacrificial giving illustrates the transformative power of this kind of love. The Apostle Paul frequently used maternal imagery to describe Christian love and leadership, showing that motherly love transcends gender and biological ties. This nurturing, grace-based love persists even when unappreciated or resisted, reflecting God's own nature of selfless love. In today's world, where self-interest often prevails, this model of sacrificial care becomes even more vital for building authentic Christian community and nurturing spiritual growth in others.
The narratives of Jesus with his disciples after the resurrection inform us about what it means to be a resurrection people. Jesus meets them in their fears and in their unbelief and he speaks peace over them and shows them his scars as a call to believing in the power of his resurrection. His scars and his words are the very things they need and they are the very things we need if we are to be a people that bear witness to his work in our own lives and world that are so full of anxiety and fear.
Cleopas and Mary meet Jesus following their crushing witness of his death. They are hurting and don't recognize Jesus, yet Jesus' approach to ministering to them is that of a questioner. His approach demonstrates the importance of dialogue in our relationship with God. Throughout the gospels, Jesus posed nearly 300 questions, each designed to provoke deeper thought and personal examination. The story emphasizes the crucial role of Scripture study and understanding. When Jesus rebuked the disciples for being slow to believe the prophets' words, He highlighted the importance of knowing and engaging with God's written word. This can be accomplished through systematic Bible reading, verse memorization, group study, and regular meditation. Ultimately, true transformation comes through recognizing Jesus as the suffering Savior. The disciples' eyes were opened when Jesus broke bread, symbolizing His broken body on the cross. This teaches us that genuine understanding of God's Word requires embracing Christ's sacrifice and allowing this truth to transform our perspective on life's challenges.
Good stories are true stories. Not always in the sense that the events they tell happened in time and space, but, at the very least, a good story reflects an honest account of the world where the bad is not glossed over nor the good made little of. All good stories do this and all stories can be graded on this rubric: do they reflect THE Story? THE Story is the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There we see in time and space the fact that things are so bad that the Son must die to redeem sinners, but they are so good because he conquers the evil, but death to shame in his resurrection. There we see that things are so much worse than we ever thought and God's grace is so much better than we ever imagined.
The distinguishing mark of the Christian faith is that God comes down! He comes down as one of us in his incarnation. He comes down in time and space, speaking and acting in the world as one of us. He comes down lowly, not only in the manger but on the cross, the ultimate instrument of a lowly death. But he even goes down further. His body is taken down and is placed in the grave. And the Creed tells us "He descended into hell." And why? For us. For us and our salvation. He is The Descending God!
Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem reveals profound truths about authentic kingship and worship. While the crowds expected a powerful political savior, Jesus deliberately chose symbols of humility, riding a donkey instead of a war horse. His examination of the temple challenged where people placed their trust and hope - in worldly power versus divine authority. This transformative moment demonstrates that true kingdom authority operates through service and humility, not dominance and control.
In all three of the synoptic gospels, Mark, Matthew and Luke, the story of Jesus calming the storm and of his healing the man with the demon are put right right together. These accounts strike a cord with us because they a echo in our own lives. We often find ourselves caught in a storm, often of our own making, and in a real sense the man with a demon is very much like you and I without Jesus.
An Jesus is Lord of all. He is Lord of the physical, the psychical and the spiritual. All of it. He has authority over all of the chaos. But the responses? Well, fear. Fear that led to acceptance and fear that led to rejection.
Mark's great 4th chapter is about the power of the words of God, but also about discipleship about those who hear the word and live accordingly. In rhetorical flourish, Mark gives us this dramatic scene of Jesus asleep in a boat where his disciples are full of fear because of the storm they find themselves in. And yet, with a word, he calms it. And then rebukes his disciples. Why? Because true faith in the God who will bring us to the other side gives courage not timidity.
Growth in the Kingdom of God is a mystery. It seems at once both so entirely connected to us and what we do with what we have heard and at the same time utterly the work of God. Sometimes it seems as though we see it and sometimes it is elusive for years and years. Even so, the Kingdom is like a little mustard seed. Small, seemingly insignificant and Jesus tells us that it will grow beyond our wildest dreams!
The Parable of the Sower illustrates how different people respond to God's word through the metaphor of seeds falling on various types of soil. From the path where birds quickly devour the seed, to rocky ground where growth is shallow, to thorny areas where worldly concerns choke out growth, and finally to good soil where abundant fruit is produced. This foundational teaching reveals both the transformative power of God's word and the crucial importance of how we receive it. Understanding our own spiritual receptivity and actively cultivating good soil in our hearts is essential for genuine spiritual growth.
One of the Gospel of Mark's great themes is discpleship and suffering. What Mark often does is ask us if we are willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus, the one who came not to be served but to serve. Here, in chapter 3, Jesus appoints the 12 disciples, reconstituting Israel around himself. In doing so he is making a polical, social, economic, relational statement, claim - a claim that touches on all of one's life! - that he is Lord of all. So, we don't just come to him for what he can give us, but becuas he is Lord. Mark then gives us various responses: He's crazy, he's demonic, people are hardhearted against him and yet some will do the will of God and be his brothers and sisters and mothers. What will your response be?
What do we do with Sabbath? Well, so often it is used as a badge of honor, a way of sowing who is in and who is out. What it was always intended for was as a celebration and a reflection of God's good work of creation and recreation.
Sometimes, proximity brings greater animosity. Here in Mark 2 and 3 we have 5 stories in a row where Jesus engages in some conflict with the Scribes and Pharisees. They are near him and yet they don't see him for who he is. Rather, what they see is how he and his disciples live life in the wedding party and in the freedom of the Lord of the Sabbath. They can't stand that. And they are the religious folk. The truth is that this is a warning for us in the church who love our knowledge and love our rules and love our control. So often those things keep us from seeing and savoring Jesus.
Levi was sitting in his tax booth making sure people payed their taxes as Jesus traveled around teaching and healing. Levi could not leave that tax booth unless he was called to leave it. “Jesus, call me too!” It is all about the Caller – the one we are called to follow. And it is all about Matthew and you and me. It is not so much about who and what we were or even who we are. It is about who Jesus is calling us to become. “Jesus, call me too!” Call me to become the person you created me to be. The person who will live his life with you and spend eternity in your home.
One of the great stories of healing is the paralyzed man who is brought to Jesus by his friends through the roof. But what Jesus to that man, he says to all of us. "Your sins are forgiven, take up your bed and walk." This isn't just about a paralyzed man, though of course it is about that, this is about the heart of the good news for all of us. Guilt paralyzes, forgiveness makes us walk and makes us run. But forgiveness is so unbelievably hard. Which is why truly who can forgive sins but God alone.
Mark is laying a lot of foundation stones here in chapter 1: Jesus as the long-awaited one, greater than the new Elijah; Jesus as the one blessed by the father and led by the Spirit; the call of Jesus to leave all and follow him; and now the primacy of life lived in devotion to God and what comes out of that. Here, at the end of chapter 1, we have two short stories, both beginning with prayer and leading to the proclamation of what God is doing in Christ.
Jesus is a great moral teacher. He was received as such right from the beginning of his ministry and he has been ever since. And yet, while that is true, it is woefully not enough. Mark tells us a couple times how people were astonished at Jesus teaching but in-between those he heals a man with an unclean spirit. He isn't just a great teacher, he is the one who has power over Satan, sin and death. So what do we do with Jesus? is he a liar, a lunatic, a legend or the Lord of all?
Following Jesus demands a radical commitment that transforms every aspect of life. The first disciples demonstrated this by immediately leaving their fishing businesses and family obligations when Jesus called them. While this level of devotion might seem extreme, it reflects the profound value of following Christ. True discipleship requires putting Jesus above all other relationships and possessions, yet paradoxically, those who surrender everything often receive back more than they gave up.
Mark's gospel is fast. He jumps right into what is central to the good news, the gospel, of Jesus. John the Baptist comes, and he is great, but his whole message is one of preparation for the greater one who would come after, Jesus. And everything John says has to do with this comparison of just how great Jesus is. We also see this through the writer of the gospel, Mark, and the apostle who was behind Mark's writing, Peter. Then we quickly move to Jesus' baptism by John and we see here the other central idea of the gospel, that this great one who has come humbles himself to associate and own the sins of humanity. Here is good news!
There are many overarching themes in the Bible, but one of the great themes is God's commitment to bring us home to himself, to live as we are made to live with creation, with others and with him. Sin moves humanity out East and continues to do so up until the Exile, but in Christ God brings us home to himself.
"Jesus as the Son of David" explores why the New Testament writers were so insistent that Jesus was David's Son. It focuses on the Biblical Theology of God fulfilling his promise to David in Christ. It also pays attention to David's character, as well as the felt experience of David's kingship being empty before Jesus's time.
In a world filled with uncertainties, Abraham's story offers a timeless lesson on faith and trust in God's promises. Faith is not about adhering to rules but trusting in what God has done and He will do. Abraham's journey began with a call from God, marking the start of his relationship with Him. Despite frequent failings, Abraham's faith endured, highlighting God's faithfulness and the fulfillment of His promises through Jesus.
The story of the Tower of Babel may not be a text that we would think of for Advent, but it tells us again the story that is at the heart of Christian faith. Humankind is in prideful rebellion against God and what we have seen thus far in Genesis is when that is the case there is only violence and harm that is coming. So, God in his grace acts in his commitment to his creation and in love for humanity. And what do we find at the center of the story, but what we find at the very center of Christianity: God comes down!!!
The story of Noah reveals profound truths about God's existence, His care for creation, and His unwavering covenant. God's covenant with Noah highlights His intimate and relational promise to sustain the natural order and humanity. Noah’s story also mirrors the creation and fall, foreshadowing our redemption through Jesus Christ.
Noah may seem like an odd story to start advent with, but what is advent but the observation that God remembers his promise to crush the head of the serpent, to deal with sin and that he has done so in Jesus. It is a remembering Christ's first coming and a sitting in the longing for his second. "But God remembered" is at the heart of the Noah story. And that central fact is what distinguishes this story from the other Ancient Near Eastern Flood stories and it is literally at the heart of the story, as both a big-picture thematic chiasm and the detailed numeric chiasm points us to Genesis 8:1. "But God remembered".
The Noah and flood story are great stories for children, but they are also great stories for us because they are true. Yet, the story also makes for one of the reasons Christianity isn't believed. A flood of this proportions just seems, well, too supernatural. It's for this same reason that many Christians are set on proving it happened. Yet both of these positions are wanting certitude while the Bible is inviting faith.
Noah and the flood. 3 whole chapters of the first 9 chapters of the Bible. What we've been seeing is that these first chapters of Genesis are laying foundations for how we understand God, others, the world about us and our place in it all. But three chapters about a Christian truth that people find offensive - God as judge. Yet, at the beginning of this story we have three key ideas that we have to keep in mind: 1. Sin is worse than we think, (2) God is the only truly just judge and (3) Grace is on the table.
Genealogies, "accounts", are the chapter headings of Genesis. Even so, their significance can be lost on us. Genesis 5 tells the Genealogy from Adam to Noah in the line of Seth. While it stands as incredibly different then genealogies we would tell (boy they were old!!), it is packed with meaning and encouragement to find life in the offspring to come and in calling on the name of the Lord. It stands in stark contrast to the genealogy of Cain in chapter 4. Pitted against each other, we are to find our life and our hope in the family of the Lord and our hope in him.
Cain and Abel. One of the more well-known stories from early in the Bible. It continues the Adam and Eve narrative and it concludes the real beginning of Genesis. Taken with Genesis 3, it tells us very clearly that the progeny of Adam and Eve were in the same sinful state as Adam and Eve after their fall into sin. But it leaves us with a question: will we walk in the way of Cain who defied God's corrective word to him, or will we "call on the name of the Lord." Those are the two options. One leads to life, the other to death. And as the Scriptures tells us again and again, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
There are 150 Psalms. They cover the gamut of the human condition, but how are we to understand them? What would God have know so that this very broad book can guide our understanding of Him in our lives? See Psalm 1 and its partner Psalm 2.....
There are many ways that one could summarize a good story and there are many ways one could summarize the Bible. Creation, fall, restoration is a good summary. As we have sat in the beginning of Genesis, even in these first few chapters, we've seen the importance of confessing the true God as the creator God and also we have seen his commitment to his creation despite sin and rebellion. In this sermon, Pastor Peter suggests this as a quick summary of the Bible: The creator God covenanted with his world and people and makes good on his covenant in Jesus.
Right at the end of Genesis 3, after the consequences for sin and rebellion are given to the serpent, Eve and Adam, we have reiterated for us the big ideas of human existence in these origin stories. Eve is named as the mother of the living - a reaffirmation of the "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" of Genesis 1. But while the creation mandate has this echo post-sin entering the world, the consequences of sin continue: God has to cover them and gives of his creation to do so and they are banished from the Garden. So, human dignity and worth are put forth right next to the severity and consequences of sin. Beauty and brokenness. Sin, the flaming sword, and the cherubim and the east of Eden would have evoked for the people of God the Tabernacle and Temple that we the great invitations and hope of God's commitment to life with in the world we were made for.
Genesis 3 tells of our first parent's rebellion from God and it does this in a way where we can see these dynamics of sin continuing in our lives today. The apple doesn't fall far. Sin is still alluring and it still has massively detrimental effects in our lives together, with God and with creation. But thanks be to God that he promised the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent! In Christ we are a new creation, brought back to what God had originally intended.
The main contention of our series in the beginning of Genesis is that these "origin" stories(Genesis means "origin") have ongoing effects and relevance in our lives. We were made to be seen by God and by other people, seen clearly and looked upon lovingly and intimately. Of all things, before sin entered the world, God says that something is not good, and that something was human isolation. Out of that, God made the woman to be an accompaniment and they were naked and unashamed. They saw each other perfectly and were perfectly seen by God. But when they sinned, they hid. They covered themselves up and hid from one another and from God. These facts of being made to be seen and sin creating distance are ongoing in our lives today to our detriment and the detriment of our world. What we need is to recover a sense of how significant and awful sin is and the awe and praise that comes from knowing the grace and care that God has for us as he calls us out of our hiding ("where are you") and covers our shame.
What are we? What are we as humans? Sometimes we feel and we know that we were made to be more majestic than we experience. We are like a spray-painted dog who looks like a panda, but we haven't been made to be a farce or to be hollow but to be whole. The Bible teaches at the beginning that we are made with love and care and attention, that we were made in the very image of God, and that we were made for a life of dependence. This image bearing is who we are as humans (marred though it now is). This dependent life of faith and trust was not just a call to not eat the fruit of the garden, but an ongoing call from God to a life of Faith.
Genesis means "Origins". This Fall we are looking at the first 11 chapters of Genesis and considering how these "Origin" stories come to bear in our lives in an ongoing way. Genesis 1, in indirect poetic confrontation, presents us with a story of creation origins that is far more compelling than any of the myths of the ancient world or the random chance or survivalist beliefs of our modern times. Here we find a text, while not scientific per se, that gives us grounding for scientific exploration in the order and predictability from which God made all things. Here we find a text that is not violent like the ancient creation myths of the "bangs" of creation-belief in our day, but one that is intentional and caring. Here we find a text that speaks of creation not out of need, but out of desire and love. The bottom line is that the Bible presents us with a far more beautiful and compelling creation than anything else you can find.
Coming back from sabbatical, Pastor Peter offers some reflections on our church and how we are to follow Jesus in our time by looking at Jesus' incredible interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. What Are We About? Well, Jesus is about seeking after the outcast and the sinner and the stranger, so we are to be about delighting in diversity and seeking the stranger. Jesus, somewhat oddly enough, in a conversation with this woman about worship, declares "we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." He grounds his compassionate engagement with this woman in the long salvation-history of God with his people and their practices. So, SCC is about being historically rooted and embedded in time and place. Finally, this woman makes a massive shift in her understanding of Jesus. As Ephraim the Syrian wrote in the early 3rd century, "First she caught sight of a thirsty man, then a Jew, then a Rabbi, afterwards a prophet, last of all the Messiah." How was this shift possible? Because she was with Jesus. The conversation about water was a conversation about Jesus, her concept of men was shifted because of the presence of Jesus, the conversation around worship found its end in Jesus. So, SCC is about being with Jesus and allowing his person and work to transform us.
Developing a praying way of life is at the core of the life of a Follower of Jesus. The apostle Paul urged Timothy as he led the early church in Ephesus to first of all, pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people. This included even kings and those people in high positions. This was to be done so that the people of God, the everyday people, may lead peaceful, quiet, and godly lives. This is important because God purposed these prayers to be part of His plan to save all kinds of people through faith in the one and only mediator between God and mankind, the man, Jesus The Christ.
Psalm 46 is a call to be still and know God amidst the turmoil around us; mountains quake, seas roar, and nations rage. We are not good at being still, even in the quiet moments. Our tech-inundated world means unceasing noise. And so many of us are burdened by personal conflicts, internal turmoil, tensions, and anxieties within. Yet, it is in stillness that we ‘know’ God, which is the foundation of trust. We see the God who is with us in the storms, the God who often stills the storms, and who will one day bring stillness to all the world. The call for us, this side of the cross, is to be still and realize the love of Christ.
It is an undeniable characteristic of human personality to think of ourselves as good. Deep down we say to ourselves “I am alright – I’ve got this. The Bible is unflinching in its condemnation of our foolish high view of ourselves. But God does not leave us in despair. There is hope in the unmerited favor found only in Jesus. Listen to learn more….
Matthew 11:25-30 records six verses that are some of the most lovely and precious in all of God’s Word. Jesus praises His Father in heaven for revealing Himself to those of His choosing. He rejoices that their fellowship is complete with each other and revealed to those whom the Son chooses. Therefore, Jesus calls to those who are weary and burdened to come to Him for He alone is able to give them rest for their souls because He will carry their sin and give them rest, both now and forever.
Our precious savior Jesus Christ, out of love for His cherished Bride, as provided leaders in the church as gifts to equip the followers of Jesus for the good work of ministry so that they will grow strong and devoted to God as each person is able to provide what God enables so that the whole Body of Christ is built up in love as each person does their part.
Joshua meets a man with his sword drawn and asks, “Are you for us or for our enemies.” Will you try to help us? Or are you another formidable obstacle we will have to overcome?
The answer he receives is a surprising relief: “No! I am the commander of the army of the Lord. I have come.”
Exhale! Now I can breathe again. All my fears, all my attempts at formulating a plan of attack, can end. I am not alone! I am not in charge of my destiny and my people’s destiny. I stand before the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I can worship… I can sing and shout. I can march with the throng of the people of God and see the salvation of the Lord.
How do we trust God in the midst of life’s challenges? The book of Job tells us our hope is ultimately anchored in God showing up and not in figuring out what God is doing or even in answers to our prayers. We maintain and even grow in trust as we wholeheartedly communicate our pain and suffering through lament and affirm our trust in knowing the love of Christ.
In 1 Kings 22, the prophet Micaiah stands alone against King Ahab and 400 of his false prophets. Though pressured to speak favorably of the king, Micaiah insists on being faithful to the word of the Lord, causing him to be thrown into prison. Micaiah presents a picture of faithful service to God and his word. Micaiah's brave stand against certain consequence foreshadows the very life of Jesus.
In the parable “The Workers in the Vineyard” Jesus lays out an economy that upsets our value system. Workers get paid the same for labor, even though some labor longer and perhaps harder, than others. Yet, the parable does not condemn the landowner. In fact, it ascribes to him total control over both the ownership of the vineyard and the equity of the wages. In Jesus' own words this is how the Kingdom of God works. How can this be?
Jesus interacts with a rich young man seeking to know what he must do to get eternal life. The man's pretense is that he has done many good things but still thinks he has something else he needs to do. Jesus shows the man his own heart, in that he is more focused on himself and his many possessions than on God. The seemingly very capable man turns away causing Jesus' disciples to question whether anyone can get eternal life. Jesus makes it clear that it is impossible for a man or woman to get eternal life, but it is possible with God. Eternal life, peace with God is a gift that is given by God, as He sees fit, to those of His own choosing.
Are we in the habit of praying to the Lord and recognizing his answers to our prayers? It was an amazing time in the history of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Hezekiah was a good king.Isaiahwas prophesying – one of the best kings ever – one of the greatest prophets ever. There was also one of the worst adversaries ever - the Assyrian Empire.
In those days this Hezekiah became proud. In those days this Hezekiah became very sick and was at the point of death. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and he answered his prayer and gave Hezekiah restoration of health. Hezekiah asked for a sign that this would happen and the Lord caused the shadow to return ten steps on the stairs his father Ahaz had built. This was a global event as the princes of Babylon sent envoys to inquire about it. Hezekiah misslead them about the true treasure of Israel. He showed them all of his wealth! He did not point them towards Isaiah the prophet or toward the proper worship of the Living God in the temple.
Is our hope the same as the hope of everyone else in the world? Or are we living in such a way that others can see that our hope is in the Lord.
When a person first receives Christ, the natural question that is upon their heart is, what do I do now? How do I live this faith that has been given to me by God's holy spirit? How do I live my life now that Jesus is my savior lord? And new believers tend to answer that question by looking at people that they perceive are, further along in their spiritual walk and patterning their lives after those people by imitating people who have been believers for a while. Here in First Timothy Four Paul directs Timothy how this should look - and what he and we should do.
Transitions in life are difficult. The birth of a child; the death of a parent/someone you love; a major change in your health; a change in marital status; graduation from school, college, university; going off to college; losing a job; starting a new job… MOVING. I could go on and on. How long has it been since your last major transition?
The Children of Israel were getting ready to make THE BIG Move: The biggest transition since God brought them out of Egypt. They were on the far side of the Jordan River when Moses spoke the words of Deuteronomy. Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, and to explain the law, he gave them…
a travelogue!
“I will bring you into the land of promise.” You will have children and you will teach your children and they will dialogue with you and they will ask questions about this religion you are teaching them and you will tell them a story. We need to get our story straight.
Your story with God through this life which involves his salvation from slavery, his continual provision for our needs and a future forever with the Lord.
Numbers 6:24-27 may be the most common benediction in Christian worship. "The Lord Make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you" is at its center. What do we make of this? What does it mean for a deity to "turn his face toward you?" Is this a good thing? Is God's grace all that we need?
This lovely parable of Jesus has a simple message of living life with all that God provides for each of us for His glory and honor. No comparisons are needed. Some are given more, and some are given less. Each of us can enjoy the Master's Happiness by using the best we can, that which He has given to us for His pleasure. We do all of this in the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can work with what He gives us and wait upon Him as we work to bring the increase and results as He sees fit.
Psalm 23:4-6 highlights the core of Psalm 23 with the statement of David that he knows, The LORD, his Shepherd is always with him . David proclaims that it is The LORD who is with him in the Valley of The Shadow of death. It is the LORD who comforts him with correction and instruction. And it is the LORD who guides and directs him through life and unto eternal life in Jesus Christ by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit.
In Psalm 23, David describes the reality that Yahweh, the One true and living God, revealed in Jesus Christ, is the Shepherd of His blessed people.
He is our Creator and He is our Sustainer. He provides all that is needed for His people, "His sheep", in this world and in the next. He is the One who enables us to be at peace
with ourselves, with Him and with others. Out of this relationship in Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd, we are useful in His perfect care to be His lovely instruments in
showing His love and speaking His truth to our world.3
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the foundation of our Christian faith. If surveys are correct, Christians spend little time in the Scriptures, let alone delighting in them, yet they are our foundation and “rule faith and life”. We learn to delight in the Scriptures by letting go of needing to have all the answers, accept the mystery of the ambiguities and difficulties of Scripture and through meditation and delighting in the things in the word of God we affect of our own hearts and minds and encounter the living Jesus.
In the first chapter of Genesis, the very first book in the Bible God speaks and brings the world into existence. He places all things where he wants them. At the end of his creative work God makes us. He makes humankind, male and female. He makes us after his image. And what we read there, right at the very beginning, is that the first thing that God after making us is to bless us. “And God blessed them.” We are made for God’s blessing – it is what we each long for. It comes to us in Jesus.
After the long Emmaus road resurrection narrative where the Cleopas and his companion have burning hearts for God's Word and their eyes opened by the broken bread of Jesus, Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and he leaves them with a commission that they would take the news of Jesus from Jerusalem with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the "power from on high"! But what news of Jesus are they to take? What is the core of the message that they are to proclaim? Christ's death and his resurrection, his suffering and his glory! And because of that suffering on the cross and because of that glorious resurrection the door is open for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus sums up what they are to say he sums it up with suffering and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and it is to be proclaimed to all people!
It is very easy to get lost in the theological ramifications of Jesus’ death and miss the perspective of those who witnessed his crucifixion in all of its gory spectacle. As they walked home from Jerusalem, after Jesus’ death, Cleopas and Mary were most likely emotionally overwhelmed. Despair was their companion when they meet one whom they did not at first recognize. In describing Himself in the scriptures He would enter their despair, and showing them what a “body broken” means.
Jesus has risen. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James have encountered the empty tomb and an angel. Peter races to the tomb and finds only empty strips of cloth. What is going on here? The obvious answer has yet to manifest himself. Next in his account, Luke tells us the experience of Cleopas and his wife Mary as they walk back to Emmaus reflecting on the tragic events in Jerusalem, where they encounter a mysterious traveler....
Henry David Thoreau said "The price of anything is the amount of life you are willing to exchange for it". That's an amazingly insight for budgeting and for how we spend out resources, whether that be our money or our time or our intellect or anything else that we have. It is also an amazing insight into the gospel of Jesus. New life broke forth into the world that first Easter morning and we are told in Holy Scripture that just as Jesus rose from the dead, so also death itself doesn't have the final say for those who are in Jesus. But at what cost? What was the price of Christian hope? What did it cost to bring life where death was the order of the world? The price for that was the very paschal passion of God's Son, our Lord Jesus himself. That is the cost of our hope and Jesus paid it all!
The last words in Jesus' ears were not "Crucify him!" but rather "save yourself." He had entered Jerusalem to cries of "Hosanna!" which means "Save us!", Jesus stays on the cross not to save himself, but to save us. He doesn't save himself, but rather he saves the guilty, he saves us. This is the good news. And this good news is received as we, like the thief on the cross, know that we have nothing to bring to Jesus and all we can do is receive him. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom", is answered with "Today, you will be with me in paradise!"
lm branches swaying, cloaks being thrown on the ground and shouts of Hosanna in the air. All of these things that took place on that first Palm Sunday during our Lord's "Triumphal Entry" were asking Jessu to be a savior and a king of their liking, establishing their nation, doing away with Rome and having an Israelite back on the throne. They wanted the cosmis yes-man in their court. How similar are we today? Maybe especially in an election year, we want Jesus to back our causes. But in that short first Holy Week that same crowd's voice went from "Hosanna!" to "Crucify him"! Why? Quite simply, because he is the Savior and King that we need, but often the one that we don't really want. He is savior and king in a way that demands our total allegiance to him, rather than his allegiance to us and our wants and desires.
As we make our way our way with our Lord through the streets of Jerusalem to the place of the Skull, Luke gives us two short vignettes, two short encounters with others. There are women mourning what is happening to Jesus. They are likely mourning death, but even more mourning the fact that the Romans have the power they have and kill the way they do. To them, Jesus says, "Mourn for yourselves, because if they do this to me who they have declared innocent, how much more will they do to you?" Cancelling one another is the way of the world, from Cain to the Romans to us here today in the 21st Century. But also Luke tells us of Simon of Cyrene. Simon made the long journey (17 days walk!) to specifically celebrate the Passover, the great feast that remembers that God saved his people from oppressors. But as he is entering the city to celebrate this great story he is tapped on the shoulder by the current great oppressor of Israel, the Romans, and he is made to carry their symbol of oppression, the cross. Somehow - we are not told how, but how could it not have been at the foot of the cross! - Simon becomes a Christian and so do his children. Through the forgiveness of God, the people that are inclined to cancel, to write off, to dismiss and discard, become the people of forgiveness and grace.
One of the rather strange aspects about the death of Jesus is that it seems as though many of the characters do it almost unintentionally, or at least their circumstances just kind of lead them into it. Of course, that's not the case with all of the characters; the chief priests and elders and scribes had clearly planned it out, paying off Judas, arresting Jesus at night, lying to Pilate and all of the rest. But think of Pilate, he initially declared Jesus innocent; think of Herod, he seems to just want to see the spectacle of Jesus but not to have him killed; and think of the crowd, they are there for Passover and they are shouting crucify him. But the truth is that we have all killed him. We all are at work against God. We are all guilty. And the wild, wild story of Barrabas is that the guilty one goes free while the righteous one suffers. And right here, right at the point the crowd yelling for the release of Barrabas and the death of Jesus, is the heart of the Christian message: the blameless for the wicked, the capital "S" Saint for the sinner, the righteous for the unrighteous. Who's guilty? We are. Who bears the guilt. Jesus does.
This week we continue Jesus' trial, but this time it's not with those who are part of the Faith but rather those who are outside of it. Interestingly, they seem a lot more open. Whereas the religious leaders already had their minds set against Jesus, Pilate and Herod both appear to be open to him, Herod is even said to be "very glad". But openness doesn't equate to acceptance. In fact, their openness leads to the same hostile action Jesus' had just received in the High Priest's courtyard, Herod mocks him and Pilate "punishes" him. Interestingly enough, many non-Christians find Jesus incredibly compelling, but finding him compelling is much different than worshipping him as Lord and Savior.
What do religious people make of Jesus? And in a more specific way, what do the Christian religious people make of Jesus? After all, the Jews were God's people. And it was the Chief Priest and Scribes and elders that had him arrested and are now putting him on trial. What do they make of him? And what do religious people today make of him? The truth is, that Jesus is first put on trial by his own people, and most specifically he is put on trial by the religious leaders who should have known better. And what does that say to us today? Well, it says an awful lot. It says a lot abotu fake religiosity and the grabbing for power. It warns us against complacency and the very real possibility that our theology and our positions can get in the way of a real relationship and a true worship of the true God. There is a lot of danger in being religious and in being powerful.
What a fitting passage we have for the first week of Lent. Judas and the band put together by the religious leaders of Jerusalem have just arrested our Lord, his disciples have scattered and now we are given the story of one of the leaders of the disciples and how he denies his Lord. And it isn't just one denial. He does it again and again. And that is what sin is. It's the denial of God and of who he is to us and for us. But what brings the change in Peter? What brings his tears of repentance? What brings them is the words of our Lord. This is just like our own life. Our own sin is a denial of our Lord and his words still bring us to repentance.
Christians have always been made up of all kinds of different folk. The disciples demonstrate that for us very clearly. They come from different backgrounds and have different personalities and seem to have significantly different faith stories. It's no wonder then that just like the church, there were those in the midst of the disciples who had spent years with followers of Jesus, had sat at his feet and dined at his table, had gone out and shared the gospel and seen God work through them, and then betrayed the Lord. Judas is not far from us. And though there are many lessons to learn from Luke's narrative of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, likely the greatest lesson for us is: take heed, lest we do likewise.
Leaving the Upper Room, Jesus takes his customary evening trip to the Mount of Olives and his disciples accompany him. Jesus goes to pray to his Father. In Jesus' prayer we see both his agony as well as his desire and commitment to follow the will of his Father even if it means his own death. This prayer is put in stark contrast to the sleepy disciples, to whom he twice commands to pray that they may not enter into temptation. The truth is that not entering into temptation is the very key to why Jesus alone can drink the cup of God’s wrath for the redemption of the world. The cup of the agony of our Lord is the cup that also brings the blessing of his people.
Still in the upper room, having just transformed the great salvation meal of Passover around his own work of salvation through his broken body and shed blood, Jesus now has to deal with some misconception of the Christian life with his disciples. You could say these are parting words, last words to accompany his last supper. The disciples began to argue over who will be greatest in the Kingdom of God and Jesus says you must become like a servant. He then says the Christian life will be a life of faith. Finally it will be a life of trials and adversaries. None of this should surprise them or us, given that the Christian life is the life of following the way of Jesus, but it sure isn't what we so often expect or hope for.
Having just taught his famous Olivet Discourse, our Lord and his disciples celebrate the Passover meal together. While it is the Passover, the great meal that Israel would eat that would celebrate what God had done in rescuing them from slavery in Egypt, Jesus works this great salvation meal around himself. In so doing, he gave us the great meal that marks the Christian life, Communion, the Lord's Table, the Eucharist. This meal is the act of Christian faith because in it so much that is in the heart of Christian faith is found.
As we return to Luke for the next few months, we hear Jesus' last extended teaching before his death. Here he tells us to stay awake, to keep watch, to be careful to not fall asleep in our faith or to be overcome by the cares and delights of this world. There is debate around this passage, whether or not it spoke just to the destruction of the Temple or whether it speaks primarily of the time to come when Jesus's returns. But the big picture is the same for both ideas - stay awake! Keep watch! Don't let the cares of this world or the delights of this world numb you to being ready for our Lord!
Part of the wonder of Christmas is God saying that the way things are not the way they should be and he's going to do something about it. Isaiah says it like this: Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall become level; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Part of how Luke teaches us this is the way John the Baptist comes into the world, preparing the way for Jesus. His parents are barren, long desiring a child. And God does the miraculous, saying again to us that his power is made perfect in our weakness.
Mary comes at the end of the genealogy and, really, at the end of a long and painful story. And when she comes, for Matthew, she comes with scandal. Joseph is a righteous man, we are told, and he wants to divorce her quietly. After all, how did she get pregnant? It's all wrong. And the story keep going with the wrong! No room in the Inn, Herod killing babies. So much wrong. And Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and exile. All of this wrong. But God is working in all of it. "But when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman"! In all of the long, painful darkness, God knows just when to let the light in!
Flemming Rutlage wrote that, "Advent is designed to show that the meaning of Christmas is diminished to the vanishing point if we are not willing to take a fearless inventory of the darkness." In his genealogy of Jesus, Matthew has forced us to look at the darkness. Tamar and the hard-hearted and hurtful hubris of Judah, Rahab and the sickening sin of the Cannanites, and the sad reality of family and death in the story of Ruth. And yet, in each of these dark stories, light begins to break. They all prepare us for Jesus. And then Bathsheba, or maybe we should just say, like Matthew says, "the wife of Uriah the Hittite". Lust and murder bound up in the light coming. God's mercy of the victimizer and the victim. What grace! What scandalous shining in darkness!
Matthew is intent on us not missing the point: Jesus comes with the deep and wide mercy of God! Tamar was an Adullamite, Rahab a Cannanite, and Ruth a Moabite. He just keeps saying it again and again: "This gospel is for everyone!" Of course, each of these women teach us more than that. Ruth teaches us that God's good news is even in the particulars of our own stories, our own longings, our places of deep desire for God to show up. And Ruth teaches us to look for the kinsman-redeemer, the one like us who would redeem us. It teaches us to about Jesus in so many ways, Jesus, the was born as one of us in the incarnation and redeems us in his crucifixion and resurrection.
Of all things, the New Testament begins with a long list of people, a genealogy of Jesus. In the ancient world, as in our own, when you have a genealogy, you are often telling something about the person. When you consider the women who are highlighted in Matthew 1, you see just how deep and wide the scandalous mercy of God is. This second week of Advent we are looking at the second woman mentioned in Matthew 1, Rahab. The story of Rahab is found in Joshua 2, in the beginning of the story of the Canaanite conquest and the fall of Jericho. Rahab, a prostitute is the woman of faith and faithful works (as Hebrews 11 and James 2 tell us) and God spares her. She is a great lesson of the great mercy of God for all who turn to him.
If you were writing your own genealogy, if you were recording your ancestry for posterity sake, who would you include? You can't includer everyone, after all, especially if you are going to go back 2000 years. Certainly, you would give the highlight, the big characters; you'd want to record those who shed light on who you are. Well, this Advent we are looking together at the women who are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in very beginning of Matthew, the very beginning of the New Testament. And these women show up the depth and breadth of the scandalous mercy of God. We don't have Rebecca or Leah or Rachael, nope, instead we start with Tamar. Tamar and Judah's story is unquestionably one of the more scandalous stories in the Bible, but, after all, we are dealing with a God who comes to bring us his scandalous mercy in Jesus.
John ends his little letter of 1 John by going back to what he has been saying all along. It may seem odd to end with "Little children, keep yourself from idols," but in that phrase we see the love that he has constantly shared and the theme that he has returned to again and again. Don't give up the faith! Don't buy the philosophy of your day. Don't give up on what you heard from the beginning. Don't buy the other offers of love and life from the would-be saviors around you. There is one God and one God alone and he has revealed himself in the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus - in the water, the blood and the Spirit.
Love is not god. God is love. So, we don't get love right if we don't get God right. One of the key themes in John is the right understanding of the key of Christian faith - the gift of God in the incarnation of Christ. If you don't get that right, you don't get love right. But if you don't love one another, then you also haven't understood god. So, we learn love by abiding in the revealed love of the Father, Son and Spirit.
Job is described as "blameless," yet Job suffered - terribly. The book of Job is frequently consulted for answers about suffering. It may ask more questions than it answers. Job was blameless. Why would he repent? Why did he suffer so?
John continues on in Chapter 4 with various tests of true faith. He's given the churches in Asia Minor and the churches of today, here and now, moral tests of how we live our lives and social tests of how we live together in love. He now turns his attention back to a doctrinal test. There were many other teachers coming up who claimed to be from God but they had given in to the thinking of their day. John calls his readers back to the confession of God coming in the flesh in Christ. This, of course, challenged the idea of a distant god, it challenged the idea of household gods and it challenged the idea of a god who doesn't care much for the physical, bodily life. To deny the confess that Jesus came in the flesh is to miss the whole point of Christian faith.
Naaman is wealthy and powerful but he has an incurable disease. While he knows he needs help beyond what he can buy, he has no idea of the extent of what he really needs. In 2 Kings 5 we see God’s salvation in full force bringing the victory of life over death, freedom over captivity, and grace over greed.
Throughout First John the Apostle is calling us to be like God. But what is God like? John takes us back to the beginning to see the generosity of God. The call to imitate God is a challenge. Certainly, we can not create like He can, yet He calls out of scarcity and into generosity. He calls us to care for those he puts before us.
A consistent truth of Scripture is that we become like what we worship. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus (and in the NT book of 1 Peter) we hear this taught in this way: "Be holy as I am holy." God actually desires that we imitate him. After all, we are made in his image, to reflect his goodness. 1 John 3 tells us that we are children of God. And if we are children of God, then we will reflect our Father in Heaven.
John continues his discussion that he started early about being people of the lie. In Ephesians Paul tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the cosmic power over this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Here in 1 John 2, John tells us not to love the world and by that he means don't buy into a world where the lies of the evil one reign supreme. There were those who had given into the anti-messiah idea that the offspring of the woman hadn't crushed the head of the serpent, because God can't come in the flesh. John says that's the great lie. The desires of eyes that brought destruction to Eden is the same lie that brings death now. It's the lie that says we don't need God. We don't need his word and we don't need him walking with us then or now. But the light shines in the darkness, exposing the evil and revealing truth.
John began his first epistle with the declaration that the eternal has been manifest in the flesh in Christ and because of the incarnation we have fellowship with God and with one another. But sin breaks fellowship, so through the rest of 1 John chapter 1 he was addressing some errors of our understanding of sin - it's not a big deal, we don't really sin anyway, and God doesn't care about it too much. All of these are deceptions and he speaks to each one in order that we might test ourselves so that we would have fellowship with God and with one another. Well, John continues to address the issue of the revelation and fellowship of light and love through some tests - a moral test, a social test and a doctrinal test. John is intent all throughout to speak to temptations of his day to give up on some of these basics of the faith
We all know life can be difficult. Suffering is part of our walk. Families are broken by sin. Ones we love, sometimes even our children, die. Job's story provides us with guidance, especially about how we should approach God as our world crumbles.
John began his first epistle by reassuring us of the truth of the incarnation of Jesus, but also told us that because of the truth of the incarnation and resurrection we have fellowship with the Father and the Son and one another. It makes all of the sense in the world then that what John has to address next is that which breaks fellowship and what we do about it. Sin breaks fellowship and our temptations with sin is to downplay them, or to deny them, or to despair over. But thanks be to God is not a liar but deals is honest about sin and what has to be done with it. Jesus is the propitiation, the atonement for our sins. He turns away the wrath of God by the gift of his own life for us who break fellowship with him and others.
Though we are not totally sure the exact circumstances which gave rise to the writing of 1 John, what is very evident is that some, even by the end of the apostolic era, had turned from the true faith. Maybe they had given up on Jesus altogether, at the very least they had given up on the idea of God in the flesh in Christ and all that that truth calls us to. Jesus is the Word of Life. He is not the esoteric word (logos) of the popular philosophy of the day, he is not a God to make in an image that suits our ideas. He is the one who came and because he came as God in the flesh he is the one, and the only one, who brings life. He is the Word of Life and through him we have fellowship with the Father and with one another.
School is upon us. That means Fall is right around the corner. The beginning of school and the beginning of fall present us with dueling thoughts and emotions. We are presented with the hope of a new year and the bounty of produce, but also the limitations of all that is demanded of us. We know that so much of our fear and our sin that comes out of that place of fear is connected to the idea of scarcity. Will we have what it takes to raise our kids well? Will we be able to be present to others? Will God provide? Psalm 65 is widely considered one of the great creation and harvest hymns. It tells us again and again of God's Bounty. And it isn't just his bounty that is held up in heaven is some heavenly safe, but it is here and for us. Psalm 65 tells us of his bounty in redemption, in creation and in preservation.
A lot of times it feels like things just don't go right. Maybe it is we ourselves that seem to be our own worst enemy, sometimes it's other people and sometimes it just seems like the world in general. And we sure wonder if God knows all about it. Maybe we think of him as Rowan Williams points out, as sort of a failing billionaire and we are trying to manage his estate and we wonder if he has any clue what is happening down here. Does he know how people plot? Does he know how they scheme? Does he know how bad things are sometimes and how we feel like we just aren't going to make it through? Does he know how deep and how dark the hearts of people can be? Psalm 64, like the Bible as a whole says time and time again, reassures us that he will. None of it is lost on him and he will act suddenly. When the time had fully come, he sent his son. And the Son, Jesus, tells us that he will come like a thief in the night. He will come. He will act. He will make all things right.
What do you do when the worst happens to you? What does the worst bring out in you? When you lose your job, or when your spouse criticised you for the 25th time today, or when your children decide you just are old and can therefore be dismissed as not knowing anything. What about when the tragic happens: when you have another miscarriage, when COVID sticks around and keeps sticking around? What do you do? What do you do with God? David has some of the worst things happen. His own son kicks him out and some of his closest, most trusted advisors leave him and plot against him. He's out in the wilderness, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually and relationally. As Gordy Zubrod asked us a few weeks back: Does it break you are remake you? Or, similarly, what Psalm 62 asks us: do we give up on God or do we long for him all the more? What do you do? What does the worst bring out in you?
If there is one thing that most everyone longs for it is peace. We want to know that we are alight, that our kids are alright, that the future is alright. We stay up late and are restless in bed with the worries that occupy our minds. We dream of winning the Mega Millions with the thought that if we had enough money all of our worries will go away. We don't forgive because what will that demand of us? What kind of place will that bring us to? In the beginning of Luke, John the Baptist is preparing the people for Jesus, he is "guiding their feet into the way of peace." At the end of the gospel, Jesus shows up to a fearful group of disciples (and comes in with the door locked!) and the first thing he tells them is "Peace to you!' And all along Jesus speaks of his healing others and his forgiving the sins of others as bringing them peace. Psalm 62 invites us to silence and to stillness and to find that the only place of peace is in God alone.
Psalm 96 invites us to sing, to bless the Lord and declare his glory among the nations. David penned this Psalm. He knew much of God’s faithfulness and love. We know more! David could only imagine the coming Messiah. We can offer greater praise because we have seen the marvelous work of Jesus in the Gospels and in our own lives.
Psalm 122 is a Psalm of Ascents. It’s part of a group of Psalms comprising Psalms 120 – 134. Each year, as they traveled up the hill the temple was built on, the people of Israel would sing these Psalms to remind themselves of God’s grace and love for them. So, these Psalms were used to gather the people’s hearts together in preparation for worship. Israel was gathered as God’s inheritance. Jesus has broadened that gathering and this Psalm directs us to him.
Life is full of times of great difficulty, times when we are faced with deep tragedy and sorrow, times when we wonder if we will make it through and if the foundations of our lives will be shaken to their core. We long for a strong stability, a place of comfort and stability. We might run to all kinds of things for this stability, or even to run away from feeling how deep the need is. But the Bible, and Psalm 61 specifically, tell us that God is the Rock, the fortress, the high tower, the tent (home). He is the one that is above us and able to be secure and strong in the midst of all the instability.
Psalm 60 is sort of a strange psalm. The heading that we are given in the Hebrew is the longest in the Psalms. It takes up two verses in the Hebrew. And the heading speaks of victory, but the psalm puts us in a place of despair and or crying out for God to do something. Like David, our lives are often filled with sorrow. The travail of this live is deeply hard, sometimes unbearable. David’s life, even as king, could be like ours, yet David speaks in the confidence of God.
Psalm 59 continues on with the theme that we have been in through most of the 50s, namely David fleeing from Saul and finding refuge in God. The title of Psalm 59 tells us that it was written when Saul sent men to watch David's house to try to kill him! People are out for him. A whole group of people are out for him. And they are people that have the backing of the king. Some of us know this kind of experience, others of us may not know that exact kind of experience. Either way, what this Psalm tells us is that we can both cry out to God for help and that will sing to him because of his steadfast love for us. His steadfast love for us is so often seen in how he comes and he answers the prayers of his people in the midst of the chaos of this life
Enemies are all over the Bible and they are all over the Psalms. The Psalms take life seriously - there's no tidying it up! - and so they take enemies seriously. It seems, as Walter Bruggeman says, that "the Psalms are full of enemy talk." There are 94 terms in the Psalms to describe enemies! Friends can have become enemies, our own selves are at times our enemies, leaders can be enemies, and all kinds of others are enemies. Here in Psalm 58 the leaders, the ones who rule, the ones who are in some respects like God, are the enemies. They have used their power for their own self-serving end, they have abused those under them. And David sings about the desire for their destruction. He doesn't take vengeance, but he lays it before the Lord and asks him to deal with it. One of the great acts of faith, of trust, is the act to not seek vengeance but to believe that God will judge. This psalm ends with intense sobering language, but it is also comforting language. It is language that allows God to be judge, God to rule, God to execute justice rather than that ourselves. The psalms never gloss over the really difficult and painful dynamics of this life, and neither should we, but we also must live a life of faith, faith in God who will judge the living and the dead.
Almost everyone prays. But what is prayer? More importantly how would God direct us to pray. All important questions David considers as he contemplates his difficult situation in Psalm 5.
During the summer it is our practice to return to the Psalms. This being the ninth summer we have followed this course, we start with Psalm 57. The Psalms are wisdom literature, the inspired contemplations and prayers of David, Asaph and others. The Psalmists lift their lives up to God, sometimes with praise, but often with the struggles of life. As they do this the Psalmists show us a God who cares deeply about our condition and a God who shows up!
During nearly every worship service, countless Christians around the world say the Lord's Prayer every time they gather together. When they do so, they end with words that aren't found in the best manuscripts we have of the gospels of Matthew and Luke where we find Jesus teaching his disciples to pray this prayer. So, why do we, as Christians end this prayer of our Lord with the words "For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen!" Why? Well, two reasons. (1) It is wide widely agreed that no Jewish rabbi would have ever taught his disciples to end a prayer with a reference to the evil one. So, many think that Jesus would have assumed this kind of doxology by his followers. But the big reason is (2) that it is only this God's kingdom that has at its root the belief is sufficient for today and will supply the needs of today; that he uses his power to forgive us and calls us to follow in his ways; and (3) he will deliver us from evil and lead us into his glory. This is the Kingdom, power and glory that we see in Jesus parable of the Prodigal Son (really, Prodigal Father) and this is the Kingdom, power and glory that we long for.
We come to the last petition of the Lord's Prayer on Pentecost Sunday, the Sunday that we remember the gift of the Spirit to lead and to guide the church. How appropriate then that we pray in this last petition, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil", for as you trace the indwelling of the Spirit through the life of Christians in the Old Testament epoch and through the life of Jesus and his church it is apparent that it is the Spirit that leads not into temptation. When we consider Jesus, it is apparent that Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness and safely through it even with the minefield of temptations by the Tempter. Jesus goes through this wilderness of temptation and delivers us from evil on the cross. So, though it all, we pray "Lead and deliver us!" and this is done by the gift of the Spirit and the work of Jesus!
In much of Jesus's earthly ministry, He was challenged in His authority and as to His identity. He was popular among the common people, but the Jewish leaders threatened by His popularity took various opportunities to challenge Jesus by trying to trap Him in His words and hopefully turn the people against Him. But Jesus always had the right answer for all to hear, even when He was asked the wrong question. Jesus uses this parable as He has used other parables to make a significant point and expose the sin in our hearts as we are challenged with our preconceived ideas about God, ourselves, and how we are to live in light of God's glory. Two questions are in play here. What shall we do to inherit eternal life? And who is my neighbor?
We are all debtors! We are all up to our noses in debt. Not exactly the thing we want to hear. But we are called to love God with our whole heart and mind and soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. God and all of those made in his image are worthy of such love. In fact, their very being demands such love. And we don't give it. We are debtors. But God, in his infinite grace and kindness is the great Debt-Forgiver. And he says, if we understand that forgiveness we can't help but give it to others.
"Give us this day our daily bread." Many have broken the Lord's prayer into six petitions, the first three directed godward and the last three directed towards the needs and dynamics of humankind. We have just prayed "on earth as it is in heaven" and now when we turn to the needs of this earth, Jesus gives us a petition that encompasses all things. To ask God to give us our daily bread is to ask him to provide all things necessary in this life; good governance, the blessing of rain, machines and skills to grind, creative hands to fashion and all for the sake of the well-being of this world, the sustenance of humankind. To ask for our daily bread is to ask for neither poverty nor riches, but to ask for dependence on God for our needs to be met that humankind might flourish in this life for which God made us. He cares about all of it.
The Lord's prayer is often divided into two major sections, the first three petitions being directed godward and the final three being directed earthward. The turning point is said to be the phrase "on earth as it is in heaven", which is to say, the hing of the prayer, the focus of the prayer is the hallowing of God, the will of God, the Kingdom of God here, with us, on earth. That is then lived out through our resources, of forgiveness, or not giving into temptation and evil. The whole object of the Bible is the restoration of the marriage of heaven and earth, a restoration of Eden. As parts of the New Creation, God is already doing that here and now through his people, his church, his body, but what we really long for is that reality that we just now have glimpses of to overtake all things.
What do we pray when we pray that God's name would be hallowed? We pray that there would be no imposters, no false gods in his place. We pray that he would be rightly recognized for who he is. He is the great I Am, the One who was and is and is to come. We pray that he would make his real identity properly known so that we and all others would recognize and then honor him as he really is, the true and living God. Remarkably, this true God who exists as the I Am, outside of our categories and our complete comprehension, chose to reveal himself in Jesus, the Great I Am and the name above all names!
It was common for a rabbi, for a great teacher, to teach others how to talk to God. When Jesus' teaches his disciples to pray he does so in response to their request for him to teach them "as John taught his disciples". But Jesus begins his prayer "Our Father", an incredibly intimate and therefore entirely radical way to approach God. Ever since, the Lord's prayer has been the foundation of all Christian prayer.
Easter is a time of reversals, the cross becomes the empty tomb, death becomes life. In his gospel, John shows Thomas' doubt turning into faith, the disciples' fear into courage, Mary's sorrow into joy. But it's not a story of such life-changing reversals only for those long ago. The same God does this Easter-shaped, god-inspired work all of the time in the lives of the greatest skeptics, the people that are full of fear and the lives that are full of sorrow. Easter good news continues today. Jesus rose from the dead and because so countless lives have been transformed throughout history and even today.
What answer do you have to our suffering world? How do you make sense of it? A hard and bitter heart? The idea that it's just the way it is so eat, drink and be merry and live a take-it-when-you-can-get-it life? What about religions? What do they say? The Christian good news is that God himself suffers. Wherever all of the suffering comes from, the Bible tells us that it is related to sin and human rebellion against God. Beyond that, whatever you think of the cross, the gospel tells us that it is God's answer to sin and to suffering. God takes on our sin in the cross that our suffering isn't the end of the story.
How in the world, within the course of less than a week, does a crowd go from shouting "Hosanna!" to shouting "Crucify Him?" How, well, the same way we do. Jesus didn't just go along with the party lines. In fact, he rubbed all of the lines wrong. Just like he does today. He pushed the Sadducees and the Pharisees and the common people. Everyone wanted him to be their tribal King, their tribal God (or they already wanted him dead). They also had all of their ideas about what salvation meant and what it looked like. So do we. And when Jesus doesn't fit our party (which he never does) and when he pushed against our thought and our actions (which he often does), well, let's just do away with him!
Hypocrisy has long been the bane of the Church. Yet, its hardly a new condition. In Jesus day is was obvious to most folk as they interacted with the religious leaders of their day: the scribes and pharisees. Being at the temple as he teaches these things Jesus also comments on giving.
It's Holy Week and the tension is rising. Jesus flipped over tables and called out the religious leaders. And they're getting mad. So they send someone to ask about taxes, about money, about who has say over our lives and our hearts. And what about the afterlife, if there is one? Jesus responds to those questions, but his big response has to do with their so-called desire for the king to come in the line of David. Well, he says, David even calls the One to come his Lord! So maybe Jesus is Lord over all and maybe he doesn't come and do what we think he should do and in the way we think he should do it.
Jesus has spent the last three years of his life preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God (Luke 5:43) and now he has just entered Jerusalem, being the very visitation of God to bring his redemption and peace. But by what authority has he preached? By what authority has he healed? By what authority does he enter Jerusalem as a King? Well, that's the question the chief priest, the scribes and the elders want an answer to. And it's sort of the answer we all want. Who do we give authority to? Who has say in our lives and why do they have say? And should Jesus have authority? Why? What right does he have to it? Well, Jesus will give an answer, but he gives it in the form of a question and a parable, as he often does. He tells it slant, but it's clear for those who have ears to hear. He has the authority of Heaven. Heaven came down at his baptism by John at the Jordan three years earlier and he enters Jerusalem now as the one who was sent by the father to claim what is his own.
Jesus enters into Jerusalem with crowds shouting that he is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, but we know that Jesus knows what his reign will cost him. This may be a triumphal entry, but it brings with it the tragedy of the world that brings peace in heaven and earth. He weeps over Jerusalem, Zion, for even there they have exchanged the things of God for the things of this world, they have made the house of the Lord a den of robbers. The wrongs of the world must be put to right and that will mean the tragic death of the world's true king.
Jesus gives us this parable of the coins (or Matthew tells us the talents) right before he enters Jerusalem, because, Luke tells us, the crowd supposed that the Kingdom of God would appear immediately. Well, what do we do with what has been given to us while we wait? What do we do with grace? What do we do with love? What do we do with forgiveness? How do we evaluate the risk of extending these things out into the world? If we invested them into the world do we believe that they will grow? Do we believe we might grow? And what does all of this have to do with what we believe about God? Is he stingy with these things?
Luke 19:1-10 tells us about the interaction between Zacchaeus and Jesus. The story is a well known Sunday School story. Zacchaeus was short, not only of stature, but he was short of honesty, compassion and even societal acceptance. He just didn’t measure up. Yet, Jesus pursued him. Zacchaeus didn’t know it when he climbed the tree but he had an appointment with Jesus.
The blind beggar cried out to Jesus, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” In this broken world we have a longing for recovery! Jesus, full of mercy and compassion, will meet us where we are when we call out to him in faith. There can be significant recovery in this life for those who look to Jesus. As we come together at Second City as a community of faith, we help each other enjoy the light of Christ and the healing that he brings.
What do you need to do to have eternal life? Get your life all in order? Don't drink, smoke, or chew or go with the girls who do? Obey all of the commandments from when you were young? And who gets eternal life? The people who are able to help a lot of people in this life? The people who ask the right questions, who study hard, who sit in the front row? Or maybe the people who are vocal about all of the right issues? This week in Luke 18, the rich young man who has it all together, who's worked hard and been diligent with his money and his time and his morals and asks the right questions still doesn't get it. He wants the Kingdom of God, he wants eternal life, but not so much that he can't give up his wealth. Jesus teaches us, and he embodies for us, that in order to live you must die, but dying is always worth it!
Luke is adamant - you can't do a thing to enter the Kingdom of God! It's grace alone! None of this works stuff. The tax collector gets it better than the Pharisee and the widow understands better than the Rich Ruler. And maybe the ones who get it better than any others are the infants. The Kingdom is for the utterly dependent, it's for those who have to be carried everywhere and spoon fed. It's grace alone!
What are the signs that you are trusting in yourself that you are righteous? Jesus speaks to this by way of a parable in Luke 18. What he says is that how you approach yourself has everything to do with how you approach your neighbor and ultimately how you approach God. Even more than how you approach neighbor and God, the real determining factor in how you engage yourself, others and God, is what you believe about how God approaches you. Is God the one who is merciful and loves sinners, or does God just want to make sure that you have it all together?
Why is prayer so hard? Why is it so hard to continue in prayer? Jesus says through this parable in Luke 18 that it has to do with how we understand God. Does he care? Is he just? Can we trust him? In this short parable, Jesus compares and contrasts an unjust judge with God himself. If an unjust judge will eventually yield to the persistent pleading of a widow, will God hear us? Well, is God just? Does he care? What do you think? Your prayer life will answer that questions for you.
Epiphany is the revealing of God as the God for the World. The wise men from the East remind us that Jesus hasn't jus come for the Jews or that God's grace isn't localized to one place and to one people. Even so, though God's grace may be for the world, few have the eyes, ears and hearts, to see it, hear it and receive it. So, Jesus here in Luke 18 tells us, "The Kingdom of God is coming in ways that cannot be observed." The Kingdom of God was in their midst as Jesus and yet, as he goes on, he explains that he was rejected. The very thing that was longed for in Jesus is rejected when he came among them in ways that they didn't expect.
We were made for Relationship. Relationship with God and with one another. The Bible's big story is the restoration of relationship, of life together, a dramatic movement from intimacy to hiding to God's consistent pursuit. His pursuit of his people out from Slavery, in the cloud and pillar of fire, in the tabernacle and the Temple. God keeps coming down. But the greatest pursuit is his coming in the flesh, his incarnation in Jesus. We finally come to the last O Antiphon. O come, o come, Emmanuel, God with us!
We celebrate each Christmas the birth of the one who is the desire of the nations. The unheard of occurs - God comes wrapped in our flesh, into our broken world. He comes for our world and for all types of people in our world. He comes to save men and women, young and old, poor and rich, kings and beggars, Jew and Gentile, all of us.
A teenager, seemingly pregnant outside of marriage. An old woman, miraculously pregnant. A betrothed man gets a visit by angel, and takes his pregnant bride on a trip to Egypt. A king, so corrupted by his own power, that he orders the killing of all the boys who might be his predicted successor. A troupe of star-gazers from the east, seeking a royal birth. The circumstances of Jesus birth are anything but story-book. Why would God send his son into this mess?
Part of the beauty of O Antiphons is that they rehearse for us the great movement of God's redemptive work through the Old Testament. As we reflect on Jesus as the Wisdom of God, or as the Lord of Might, or as the Root of Jessi and the Key of David, we enter into the long waiting story of Israel. This week we see Jesus as "great David's greater Son"! As God's promise to Abraham was a promise that he would bless everyone, so his promise to David was that his throne would be established forever! Jesus comes for all of creation and to redeem it completely and forever!
Part of the beauty of the great O Antiphons is that, like the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, they lead us chronologically through the story of redemption history to Jesus. As we sit in them, we wait with Israel for the Emmanuel, but with Israel we see pictures of God's great grace and power towards his creation and his people as the story unfolds. This week, we remember God's greatest act of redemption in the Old Testament, his bringing his people out from slavery in Egypt and to himself at Mount Sinai. We also remember the gift of the Law and look forward to the one who fulfills it! "O come, o come, Great Lord of Might"!
This Advent and Christmastide we are looking at the ancient "O Antiphons" and considering what they teach us of what we long for and what we are given in the gift of Jesus. This week with Pastor Peter down with the flu one of our Ruling Elders, Bruce Weatherly, invites us to consider Psalm 73 in-light of Christ’s arrival in our lives. Advent marks the arrival of the “word made flesh” to a waiting, fallen world. To those who believe, Jesus arrives in our hearts with grace and faithfulness. But how should we react? What should one hope for from a relationship with a perfect God?
This Advent and Christmastide we are looking at the ancient "O Antiphons" and considering what they teach us of what we long for and what we are given in the gift of Jesus. The first stanza speak of Jesus as the "Wisdom from on high". Wisdom is something that is sought the world over and what the Bible tells us is that it is found in Jesus. Wisdom, after all, is skill in the art of godly living, living as God made the world. It's for this reason that the Bible tells us in Proverbs 8 that Wisdom was present at creation and John 1 and Colossians 1 catch on to this and say that Jesus is that Wisdom made flesh.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
We come to the end of Nehemiah and sadly what we find is the people are going against the Lord in the very ways that they had said they wouldn't! The book ends with Nehemiah calling people back to the Lord and doing so in dramatic ways - pulling hair! But this chapter is about grace. This Nehemiah community lives not in its own ability, but in the Lord's! We are left at the end of the book having no doubt that their success in the wall and in the rebuilding of their community has nothing to do with them, but only to do with the grace of God.
As we near the end of the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah once again gives a list of who is around. Recording who has come to do the work, who has stuck around through the internal and external conflicts, and who exactly has decided to give themselves to this community is an important part of this book. Here near the end though not only is the variety of the community highlighted, but the fact that what unites this people is that they are a community of thanks. They are a community that gives thanks to God, which is to say that they are a community of worship and praise!
Nehemiah 9 is almost all a long prayer of confession. The people have settled into the land, heard the Word, celebrated, and now they are confessing. But what is confession? Confession, maybe more than anything else, is confessing that we have not responded to God properly, to his work, to his ways, to his history and his grace. The problem then is not sins (that's just a pharisaic / fundamentalist take on sin); the problem isn't sins, it's sin. The problem is our response to God.
During His famous sermon of the mount, Jesus directs the listeners to notice the difference between the two ways of life, one is through and broad gate of one’s own making that leads to death, or by a narrow gate that is made of Jesus which leads to life eternal.
Jesus also warns against false prophets that act like sheep but really are ravenous wolves, but they can be identified by their actions and words, the fruits of their lives. So, take careful notice because only good trees (lives) can produce good fruit, and bad trees (lives) can produce bad fruit. All people can be recognized by their fruit.
What forms a community? What makes it what it is? Nehemiah 7 and 8 show the people settled in the land, but gathered around the Word of God. Preaching, teaching, confession, sharing. And what happens when the people do this? The fear that has been so present in the book turns towards joy, the greed of chapter 6 turns towards generosity. The returned people are a word-shaped community.
In Nehemiah six the wall is completed, and the work is done in record time. Even so, the chapter is full of fear, or the life of fear and the attempt to instill fear. That forces the questions: Who are you afraid? Who do you stand in awe of? But also, related to all of this is who is part of the community of faith? And what does it mean to be a Christian? The wall may be up, but the work isn't done.
Sandwiched between two chapters that highlight the external opposition that Nehemiah and the people who were rebuilding Jerusalem faced, chapter 5 shows us that often the greatest hindrance to the work of the church is not those on the outside, but those within. Usury, the charging of interest, plagued these people and it ate them alive to the extend that they “were forcing their sons and daughters to be slaves”. It’s the Corinthian problem in the Old Testament; division that detract from the message of the beauty of Jesus. But it’s also in this mess that we see the loveliness of the gospel; God loves the unlovely.
Nehemiah 4 is a history of opposition. One might think that with the blessing of a powerful king and a commission from the King of Kings that all would go easy for Nehemiah. But, no, mockery and opposition wait for Nehemiah in Jerusalem, even as the people band together to repair the walls. Nehemiah 4 provides a guide for dealing with opposition.
Nehemiah 3 the work of rebuilding the wall that was placed on Nehemiah's heart in chapter 1 and whose risks were overcome by God in chapter 2. Though Nehemiah may be the great leader, what is clear is that everybody is to lend their time, their treasures, their talents. Everyone is called to be "All In!" since there is no bench-warming in the Kingdom of God.
The book of Nehemiah begins with a broken situation and a heart that breaks for the world to be right. Nehemiah sits in the mess, in the trouble, the shame and the sadness of it all, but he isn’t alone. God meets him there and from there we get the glimpse of what God might do through him.
The book of Nehemiah begins with a broken situation and a heart that breaks for the world to be right. Nehemiah sits in the mess, in the trouble, the shame and the sadness of it all, but he isn’t alone. God meets him there and from there we get the glimpse of what God might do through him.