Creative Space for Wanderers
Read: Jeremiah can’t help but preach what God has put in his heart and as a result he bears physical pain at the hands of those who don’t want to hear his message. In the midst of the reading today, we see a ray of hope, the coming Righteous Savior, a sermon that must have been …
Continue reading “Jeremiah Beaten; Prophesy of Exile; Promise of a King”
Read: From prayers for relief during a drought to remembering the Sabbath, Jeremiah reminds us to turn to God for all of our needs. He even pauses to ask God for consideration for himself as his ministry is not so popular (to say the least). No doubt there are seasons in our lives when we …
and The prelude to the proclamation of Immanuel, Isaiah’s words in this chapters are direct, yet filled with hope and promise for a new day. It’s remarkable that he includes the Gentiles as part of the great commission in Chapter 49. Chapter 50 winds up like the strong words of a street preacher shouting, “Repent!” …
These three chapters give us a glimpse into the troubles of ancient times along with the assurance that God will ultimately be the awesome God of Wrath that those opposed to Him dread. We don’t preach hail and brimstone sermons much these days, but for those who are being oppressed by ruthless warriors, there is …
Continue reading “Distress and Help; The Coming Eternal Kingdom”
and Over the next few weeks or so we’ll read Isaiah, the first of the major prophets, “the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” Isaiah begins by setting the stage: Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord …
Read: Good Friday. Horrible Friday. Necessary Friday. I’ve always had trouble with the name we labeled for this day as we stop to remember that our savior was brutally tortured on a cross. Last night, Hope Fellowship provided a somber reminder of the process through The Way of the Cross, an expanded version of Stations of …
and In many ways it seems that this life on earth is unfair, biased against us. One day, all is fine; the next, not so good. Most of this is likely due to our own experience and our myopic perspective — we are simply too self-absorbed and too concerned about what others think. The words …
and Hezekiah contract some deadly disease and is about to die when Isaiah comes to pay him a visit. Not one to beat around the bush, Isaiah tells him to “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover” (). Hezekiah accepts the word of the prophet, turns aside …
Continue reading “Hezekiah’s Life Extended; Manasseh’s Evil”
Another Ephramite story, this time we read about Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah truly loved Hannah. Even though she was barren, he gave her extra portions of food and spoke kindly to her, “Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (). One day, in Hannah’s misery, she began to pray …
and Cities of refuge are required and defined to provide a place for those to accidentally kill someone to hide. Given the size of the growing population of Israelites there are enough people that this is a real possibility. Even further as the population continues to grow. “Set aside for yourselves three cities in the …