We have an intuitive dislike for a boastful person, since it seems they think a little too highly of themselves. And since that's the case, intuitively we tend to shy away from directly bragging about ourselves. Instead, we find other less direct ways to boast. One of those ways is by identifying ourselves with someone else and then building that person up. This is, as Pau...

"I have found favor in your eyes." What comes to mind for you when you see that phrase? It's not a very common one today, but you can probably still get the gist of it. Finding favor in someone's eyes means acceptance, relationship, perhaps even love. It is an important phrase in the Old Testament that often speaks of unexpected grace. It shows up in many different place...

Last week we began a new sermon series in the book of Ruth. It was a dark beginning to this book that follows a widowed Israelite, and her Moabite daughter-in-law as they leave the fields of Moab for Bethlehem in search of food and hope. We left Naomi walking back towards Bethlehem last week, having lost her husband, both her sons, and with no earthly prospect for any kind...

When you think about the word sovereignty, what do you think about? I would expect that, for some of you, our recent Daniel series may cause you to think about God's hand directing the affairs of governments, the rise and fall of nations and kings, countries and presidents. God's sovereign hand is what guides all the governments of the world. But it's also God's sovereign ...

One of the many remarkable aspects of the second half of Daniel, and of biblical apocalyptic literature in general, is that it gives us a small picture of God's perspective of the world. It's almost like peeking through a peephole into another world. However, as strange as these images and events may seem, they are interpretations of what will happen here on earth. Sunday...

Have you ever wondered how you would respond if you were forced to make the choice between your life and your obedience to God? That's the choice that three Jewish exiles, named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, have to make in Daniel 3. It's a well-known story about these three men choosing to face the fire of a furnace that was designed to smelt gold, rather than bow to a ...

Have you ever tried to keeptrack of how many times you think about yourself in a day? If you haven't, trykeeping count today. It won't be a pretty result. Our text for Palm Sunday will be Philippians 2:1-11. In it, Paul instructs us to do nothing (NOTHING!) from selfish ambition or conceit, but instead, count others' interests as more significant than our own. It's a chal...

John Calvin once called the Psalms an anatomy of the soul. All aspects of our human experience are, in some way, mirrored in what we see in the psalms. Last week we heard how God's Word offers the only path to the great blessing of knowing God himself. This week, we'll be in Psalm 119:81-96, where we'll see God's Word play a different role in the psalmist's life as he gra...

Have you ever started out a new year with the goal of reading, or memorizing, or studying God's Word in a more intentional way (Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statues!Ps 119:5), and then found it difficult to maintain your pace throughout the year? Life inevitably grows more full, or a long genealogy comes round in your plan again. That difficulty to stay...

If you've ever wondered what happened to Jesus' disciples after the book of Acts, it's a pretty wild picture. This is according to church historians (so, not inspired Scripture), but from what we know: Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear in India, Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross. Jude was beaten to death. James was beheaded by Herod, Bartholomew was either f...