Called to Worship (Psalm 40; Hebrews 10:5-7)

The Lord calls us to worship and to make the Lord our focal place.  When we are called to worship as a people what is the basis of the Lord calling us to worship?  How are we called out of the world to Worship our God and our King?

Job’s Wish Granted (2) (Job 40:6-42:6)

Job has not repented in a true Godly sorrow, but instead continues to hold to his innocence.  So, now the Lord is the one who continues with his speech to Job.  Job is invited to hear that the Lord is good, gracious, merciful, and the Lord is perfectly just.  We are invited to witness this speech, Job is invited to hear this speech, but will Job finally listen and concede the righteousness of the Lord?

My Indictments (Job 30:1-31)

Job is not happy with how the Lord has treated him.  You would think that Job would be rather content considering that the Lord has blessed him, and allowed him to enjoy a great life.  However, now we hear why Job is so upset as he even uses the counselors own words to describe his suffering.  Why would Job be so upset if he is merely using the counselors own words to describe his suffering?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Conforming: Humility (Matthew 6:1-18)

The Lord has called us to honor Him and to live a life exclusively for our God.  Christ makes this life a challenge when Christ is very explicit that the law is something that cuts to the heart rather than just being an outward superficial conforming.  It is impossible for us to conform to the Lord from our heart, and so how do we conform to the Lord?  How do we come before the Lord in light of such impossible exhortations?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Exile (Genesis 3)

Adam is in the garden of Eden, called to honor the Lord, and love the Lord.  There is a tree that God placed in Eden which will confer upon him the knowledge of Good and Evil.  Is it wrong to eat of this tree just because the Lord says so?  Is the Lord holding something back from Adam that would be good for him?  How bad would it be for Adam to eat of the tree?  What would ultimately happen to the human race and this world?  This chapter in Genesis truly is a history changing moment.

Living the Quiet and Peaceful Life (1 Timothy 2:8-15)

When people hear about Christianity and gender distinctions they tend to dismiss the Bible thinking that it is just some archaic book that does not understand our contemporary times.  Is this really fair or the intention of the Word of God?   So, how do we know that men and women are different?  How do we know that this distinction was intentional from the creation?  How do we know that this distinction is respectable and is something that we can celebrate as we celebrate the distinctive gifts of man and woman?

Resurrection and Incarnation (1 Corinthians 15:45; BC 19)

We talked last time about the incarnation of Christ being something that is challenging for us to understand because it is a doctrine that is difficult to grasp.  It does not make sense that the second person of the Trinity would take on flesh like our flesh.  It does not make sense that He would submit to death and then be raised up again.  Why all this drama?  What is the purpose of Christ taking on the flesh and then dying?  How does this have a meaningful impact right now instead of at the end of our 80 years of walking this earth?

The Problem of Hard Heartedness (Mark 6:45-56)

There is the temptation that we face, whether we admit it or not, to think at times that we have arrived at a superior place in our sanctification. Now, we might not put it this crassly, but the reality is thatwe do think higher of ourselves than we ought.  Why is that?  We pride ourselves on our systems, our strategies, and our ways overcoming sin.  We do this in the name of growth.  So, what does Christ teach us about Spiritual growth and conforming to Him?

How Are We Benefited by Christ’s Resurrection? (John 17:3; LD 22)

We are invited to listen to the last prayer of Christ prior to going to the cross.  What sort of things matter to Christ in this prayer?  What does this prayer communicate about the benefits of Christ’s resurrection?  What information could we even glean about the resurrection if Christ has not even died at this point in His ministry?  So, how are we benefitted by Christ’s resurrection right now?