"All of life is business with God…" John Calvin
During our worship Sunday morning, January 19, 2020, Pastor Berdj's congregational prayer emphasized God's loving, sovereign care: in making himself known, in calling to salvation and caring for his Church as a whole, and in his particular care for his individual children. We also agreed in prayer that our wise and powerful God is sovereign … Continue reading How We Prayed
Originally posted at Women of Purpose, November 9, 2019. This week as we cover Hosea 11:12-12:14 we find a fascinating parallel. According to Hosea, the life of the nation of Israel follows the pattern of the life of their patriarch, Jacob. Because these parallels from Jacob’s life show up in our passage, we spent quite … Continue reading Misplaced Dependence
Written as a devotion for a gathering of Women's Ministry leaders from around South Texas, I pray that this is an encouragement to any who are in ministry to look for the ancient paths, the good way; and walk in it... Last Fall I was having some issues with back pain, so my doctor recommended … Continue reading Qualification, Confidence, and Strength For Ministry
On Sunday, January 5th, the first Lord's Day of the new year, our elder-led congregational prayer was focused on the most basic, but also most vitally important thing that we as individual Christians and as a church need: God's Word. I asked if I may reprint it here, as a reminder that our Only Wise … Continue reading How We Prayed
Originally posted October 28, 2019, at Women of Purpose. In this, the eighth week of our study, we covered a large swath of Hosea, from 9:10 all the way to 11:11. And while there is so much in this passage which we could unpack and examine, so many details and points of history, the main … Continue reading Unfaithful Israel
Originally posted October 20, 2019, at Women of Purpose. The first nine verses of Hosea chapter 9 are hard to read. The prophet Hosea marches into a festal celebration where the people of Israel are enjoying (apparently) the Feast of Tabernacles—or rather, their version of the feast which had merged with the pagan harvest rituals … Continue reading No Worship in a Foreign Land
Originally posted October 11, 2019, at Women of Purpose. This week in our study of Hosea chapter 8, we continue learning the cost of Israel’s iniquities. Their many sins in breaking God’s covenant and rebelling against his law, which included idolatry, alliances with pagan nations, hypocrisy in worship, and self-reliance, trace directly to the root … Continue reading Israel’s Hypocrisy
Originally posted October 5, 2019, at Women of Purpose. This week’s passage not only covered a lot of ground, but it was not easy ground to walk through. I have promised myself and you that I will keep these summaries brief, and so I can’t touch on everything we discussed. But in this lesson we … Continue reading Transgressors of the Covenant
Originally posted September 27, 2019, on Women of Purpose. In last week’s lesson we saw that God was calling Israel to court, as it were, leveling against them a lawsuit for their unfaithfulness. His chief accusation in chapter 4 was against the priests who had neglected their positions as the teachers and preachers of God’s … Continue reading Punishment Coming
