As the story opens in today’s passage, the people of Israel were finally at the place they had feared 40 years ago when Moses had sent men to spy out the land of Canaan. Upon their return, Joshua and Caleb had told them: “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an…
Category: Exegesis
Into the Promised Land – A Study of Joshua
Upon the death of Moses, Joshua was called to lead God’s people into the Promised Land, the land that God had promised to give to them through His covenant with Abraham. It was to be their land; no man would be able to stand before them all the days of their life. God would not…
Return from Exile: A Homily on Ruth
The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. By faith, a young gentile woman is delivered from a pagan land, blessed with a faithful husband, and gives birth to a son renowned through the land who becomes part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. There is so much to the…
Return from Exile: A Five Week Study of Ruth
The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. By faith, a young gentile woman is delivered from a pagan land, blessed with a faithful husband, and gives birth to a son renowned through the land who becomes part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. This is a five-week study to…
Rescued from Exile: A Homily on Ezekiel
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are trying to accomplish something but the information you have to sort through to do so is so overwhelming that you are tempted to give up? One example of this is the costs I incurred after my car engine stopped working one afternoon. It turns…
A New Creation: A Homily on 2 Corinthians 5:14-18
How many of you have heard of Curious George? When my son William was younger, he often wanted me to read the story of Curious George to him at bed time. Of course, it always starts out the same way: “This is George. He was a good little monkey. And always very curious.” And each…
Do You Pray? A Homily on the Importance of Prayer
Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because prayer is absolutely essential to a person’s salvation. Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that you can do anything to earn your salvation. I am not saying that it is your prayers that will save you. Salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone…
A Study of Judges: The Upward Spiral of Salvation
As we leave the book of Joshua, in many ways all looks well. Israel had conquered much of the Promised Land. Israel had rest in the land. When Joshua had confronted the people of Israel about what they would do after he was gone, they had declared, “We also will serve the LORD, for he…
Plans
A friend wrote this yesterday and I thought I’d share it: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” – Proverbs 16:9 You’ve heard the joke. “Want to make God laugh? Tell him you have a plan.”It might actually be funny if it were not so true. Today started out like most…
Revelation Study Notes – Rev. 1:1-3
As I work through Revelation for a Bible study, I’m putting together some notes. I’ll be publishing them on a regular basis. In 1:1-3, three themes stand out: The book of Revelation is a revelation and a prophesy; we should read it that way Revelation is telling us about some things that must soon take…