Judges 4 — In the usual telling of this story, Deborah is the hero and Barak is a bit of a coward, but is this right? Do we underestimate Barak’s faith and his courage? That’s what we think about in this sermon and it leads us to some vital truths for our Christian lives. God…
Mark 14:26-42 — Sometimes we doubt the authenticity of Jesus’ sorrow and His struggle to do His Father’s will. We fail to fully grasp that He was a real human person. In this sermon we consider His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and what it teaches us about the Christian life. In our darkest…
Daniel 7:13-14, Mark 10:35-45 — “The spirit of Christmas” is an expression that’s often used at this time of year, but what does it actually mean? What is this spirit? Does it even matter? That’s what we investigate in this sermon beginning in the Old Testament and then moving to an encounter Jesus had with…
Micah 5:2 — This is one of the most important verses in the Bible. It told God’s ancient people where Messiah would be born and what kind of person He would be. In this study we learn about Micah’s ministry and the context for this wonderful prophecy. We also have the blessing of seeing it…
Judges 2:1-5 — The event recorded in this text should probably be more familiar to us than it is. It was unprecedented at the time and is unique in all of Scripture. The “angel of the LORD” came from Gilgal and spoke to the whole congregation of Israel. Who was this angel? Why had he…
Luke 8:4-15 — The Parable of the Sower is one of the best known that Jesus gave and the most pressing. How we respond to the Word of God determines how much we grow in the Christian life and experience the good things He has for us. In the Parable, Jesus identified the three great enemies…
Luke 8:1-3 — The Gospel writers don’t tell us much about the women who followed Jesus but enough to know that they were among His most faithful disciples. In this text, Luke mentions three by name – Mary, Joanna and Susanna. They accompanied Jesus and the Twelve on a ministry tour through the cities and villages…
Judges 1:27-36 — The LORD had been very clear with His people. When they took possession of their Promised Land they were “to utterly destroy” the Canaanite nations. Israel’s conquest of Canaan would be the means by which God judged these pagan people for their utter depravity and rebellion. Israel enjoyed spectacular success under Joshua’s leadership…
Luke 7:36-50 — On the 31st October 1517 an Augustinian monk nailed 95 theses to the door of a church in Saxony. What were those theses all about? Why are we still talking about them five centuries later? As we mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we consider what prompted Martin Luther to pen this…
Jeremiah 42 — In this chapter we meet a remnant in Judah who survived not only the atrocities committed by the Chaldeans but also the murderous activities of a warlord named Ishmael. Their leaders were ready to take them into Egypt in the hopes of finding safety, security and economic opportunity but before they departed, they…