Tag: Discipleship

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 13:12-13

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“I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

There’s a lot going on here, but at a glance, this seems like another one of those places where, yes, though Saul didn’t do what the Lord had apparently told him to do, He’s overreacting to his failure to do so rather wildly. But, while that is perhaps the obvious understanding, it misses the bigger and more important picture. Let’s take a look at that one. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Judges 2:10

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“And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers.  And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The most important verse in all of the Old Testament as far as Judaism is concerned is Deuteronomy 6:4. It is called the Shema, the Hebrew command “listen,” because that’s the first word. It goes like this: Read the rest…

Knowing Jesus

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This week we got back on track with our series, Hard Sayings.  One of the things Jesus made fairly abundantly clear over the course of His ministry is that following Him isn’t something to which we can get by with giving merely a cheap lip-service.  The hard saying we examined together yesterday morning makes this even clearer than most.  Too often we rely on serving Jesus to cover up for not knowing Him well.  That won’t cut it.  Keep reading to see why.

 

Knowing Jesus

Think back with me for a minute to your bedroom growing up.  What kind of stuff did you have in it?  Specifically, whose poster did you have on your wall?  Was it an actor?  A musician?  A sports star?  Who was it?  How much did you know about this person?  Were you a casual fan or a full-blown disciple in the model of the Beliebers?  It is not at all uncommon for young people to have someone they idolize.  A lot of young, aspiring basketball players today want to be the next Steph Curry.  Baseball players look up to Aaron Judge—literally, since he’s a giant.  Singers want to be the next Arianna Grande or Miranda Lambert or Taylor Swift. Read the rest…

Steep Rates

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This past Sunday we began a new teaching series called Hard Sayings.  For the next few weeks we are going to be examining some of the hard things Jesus said to see if we can’t make some sense out of them.  We’ll see if perhaps even though they are hard, they’re also just as important for us to know as some of the easier things like, “For God so loved the world…”  Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we journey together to see that everything Jesus said is important…even if we don’t like the way it sounds at first.

 

Steep Rates

What are some of your favorite sayings of Jesus?  Just shout them out as you think of them if you are willing.  As I was sitting writing this a few stood out to me: “I am the good shepherd;” “I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age;” “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest;” “Do not be anxious about your life;” “For God so loved the world…” “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do;” “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it;” and there are probably more, but these are what came to mind first.  Those are all really nice and encouraging sayings.  It would be great if the things Jesus said were pretty much limited to these kinds of things.  You know what I’m talking about: things such as, “I love you,” “I’ll take care of you,” “I’ll give you eternal life,” and the like. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Judges 12:7

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“Jephthah judged Israel six years.  Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Most of the Judges receive some kind of a summary statement that the people sought the Lord for the extent of their leadership and then turned away from Him afterwards.  Jephthah just gets this note that he died and was buried in Gilead.  This is a reflection of the continued decline in the spiritual state of the people.  They cry out to God for help, but don’t even both to turn to Him when He answers.  They are reaching a dangerously low point.  I think there are a couple of reasons for this. Read the rest…