Genesis Three: The Fall.

October 9, 2016. Last week we began a series of four lessons that I am teaching for a class out of the book of Genesis. Though each lesson will not be necessarily related to one another, the first two big concepts that I believe we can pull from the book of Genesis often go hand…

Nahum 1-3: The oracle against Nineveh.

November 13, 2015. Daily Reading: Nahum 1-3. Background: Nineveh, the capitol city of Assyria, was a particularly cruel enemy to the children of Israel. Nahum is given an oracle from God against Nineveh here that foretells of their destruction and devastation, which would be at the hands of the Medes and Babylonians in 612 B.C….

II Kings 21-25: Evil, reform and ruin.

August 25, 2015. Daily Reading: II Kings 21-25. Background: II Kings 16-20. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 21 1. Manasseh: After King Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh reigned in his place, beginning at age 12 and reigning for 55 years, which would be the longest reign in the history of the kingdom of Judah. For all…

Ezekiel 25-30: Oracles against the nations.

July 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 25-30. Background: Ezekiel 19-24. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 Oracles against the nations: In this chapter, the Lord tells Ezekiel to speak oracles concerning several of the nations that were around Israel, each of the coming destruction that the Lord was about to send on thjum. The first nation…

Freedom… to become slaves.

July 4, 2015. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Independence day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It is a great time to be with family, without the stress that usually comes with the holiday season, eat together and celebrate the…

Ezekiel 13-18: The fallen people of God.

July 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 13-18. Background: Ezekiel 7-12. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 13 Speaking for God when He did not speak: Ezekiel is sent by the Lord with an oracle against the prophets of Isreal in this chapter, because the prophets were speaking lies, telling of false visions. They would said “Declares the…

II Samuel 14-19: Absalom’s rise and fall.

May 19, 2015. Daily Reading: II Samuel 14-19. Background: II Samuel 10-13. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 14 Absalom’s return to Jerusalem: At the end of the last chapter, we find that Absalom fled to Geshur after he had killed Amnon his brother on account of his sister who was raped by Amnon. At first, David…

Judges 11-16: Jephthah and Samson.

February 24, 2015. Daily Reading: Judges 11-16. Background: Judges 6-10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 1. You are not the sin of your parents: The story of Jephthah is a rather peculiar one that some might find even hard to read though. When you consider that it is in the context of the bible, it…

The story of the Christ.

December 25, 2014. In the beginning, there was God. Holy and righteous, pure and everlasting. In the beginning He was, He is now and He is yet to come. God is not like us, He is not finite. He has no beginning or end. The attributes of God are like His essence- everlasting. It was…

There is none, no not one.

December 22, 2014. “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”     They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,     there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,     to see if there are any who understand,     who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;     there is none…