Samuel, the prophetic judge, was a breath of fresh air for the people longing for a stable, godly leader. When Samuel appoints his wicked sons to replace him, the people can stand it no longer: this "judge" thing isn't working! Give us a king! Disorder, chaos, and our own wayward hearts create the strangest tension in us: Like Israel, we long for a king. Like Israel, we reject the king. See the need for a king afresh through the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon - the only three kings to reign over all Israel. Like Israel, all kings but one leave us wanting more.
Read MoreNow that the people have "conquered" the land, it's time to get settled and organized... a task at which, as we see in the book of Judges, they fail miserably. Instead, they are stuck in a cycle of sin and idolatry, needing rescue, having a short time of rest, and then right back into sin. Who will break this deadly cycle?
Read MoreAfter several centuries, the promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 was finally coming true. The Israelites were moving into the promised land, west of the Jordan River, the land of Canaan. Just one problem: Canaan is full of Canaanites. Here contains one of the bloodiest periods in Israel's history. What is God doing here? Why is he fighting against these innocent people? Why is he showing favoritism to Israel? Hear the story anew.
Read MoreIn the Evangelical world, one of the worst accusations we make against one another is of "legalism." With that, we tend to overlook the Law that God spoke to his people in the Sinai wilderness... and therefore miss out on understanding a critical piece of God's heart and purposes for his people. Without it, our understanding of Jesus would be woefully incomplete. Let's reconsider what the Law really is!
Read MoreWith the crashing down of a mountain of water, the people Israel suddenly became their own nation, freed from slavery in Egypt. Stretching for miles before them lay... the wilderness of Sinai. What would God do to make them his own special people in the desert? How would they respond? And in your own life... what is the purpose of "wilderness," "the desert" and other dry times?
Read MoreStarting with a normal guy named Abram, living on the other side of the river in Haran, God begins what he calls a mission to "bless all the nations of the earth." How will he do it? Through the nation that is born to Abram. Obviously, this must be because Abram was such a righteous and faithful guy, right? RIGHT? Or did God want to show us something far different... something about himself??? Maybe God was about to define faithfulness in a way people could never imagine on our own.
Read MorePaul claims in Ephesians 3 that every family on earth derives its name from the Creator -- if that's true, then the story of Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth... reaching to Noah and his sons, is all of our story. Here we learn something of ourselves, and even more of the big story, God's Story, that's being told in the lives of the first people.
Read MoreThis is the first sermon in our summer 2014 series called HIS-tory, a fly-over survey of the whole Bible in 14 weeks. Why attempt such a huge task? Because in the whole of the Bible, we see the whole of God, especially as he is revealed in Jesus.
Read MoreThe Great Commission has catalyzed more action... and more guilt... than perhaps any other passage in Matthew. This sermon, the last in our Matthew Series, suggests that if we hear it as the church rather than as individuals, everything about how we do it changes.
Read MoreAll of Christian belief depends on the Resurrection of Jesus - it is the fulfillment of our faith. Can we really believe in it? And what does it actually fulfill?
Read MoreMatthew 27 and Psalm 89 end on the same note: It looks like God has not kept his promises. In Psalm 89, Ethan the Ezrahite recounts the promises about the line of David and how there is now no Davidic King on the throne. As Matthew 27 comes to an end, the distant descendant of David, the one who claimed to be the Anointed King, was dead and being sealed in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb, with Mary and Mary watching. When hope is dashed, what do we do?
Read MoreThe greatest sermon ever preached was not in words, but in signs. As Jesus Christ is taking the sin of the world upon himself, creation responds. Matthew 27:45-56 invites us to behold these signs. The sky goes black, the Son cries out, the curtain is torn, the earth shakes, and some dead come alive. Let us behold together.
Read MoreLooking at Matthew 27:27-44, it becomes readily apparent that Matthew wanted his readers to focus more on the mockery aimed at Jesus than the physical torture he was experiencing. And everyone mocks him: Roman soldiers, passersby, Jewish leaders, even the criminals hanging on crosses next to him! What is behind our mockery? And what need does our mockery reveal?
Read MoreGuest speaker and ministry partner Sean explores the worldwide human search for happiness and finds that at the heart of it is a longing to be involved in a story. Either we cling to stories that entertain us for a fleeting moment, or we join in on the greatest story in history.
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