"All of life is business with God…" John Calvin
On Sunday morning, November 5, as I sat worshiping with my family in church, a gunman entered the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, only 37 miles away, and violently murdered half of their congregation. As the news began to break that afternoon, it sounded unbelievable. As more news filtered out, it only got … Continue reading Hope In God…
(Originally published March 13, 2017) This week we begin our study of the book of Ephesians with a hard gallop through the entire first chapter. Hopefully the truths in this precious chapter will be written large enough to read as we pass by. There are deep wells of doctrine and encouragement to be found here, … Continue reading To The Praise of His Glory
(Originally published March 3, 2017) We have come, at last, to the final chapter of the book of Joshua. What a journey it has been! We have walked alongside Joshua as he has followed the Lord in leading the people of Israel into their promised inheritance. There have been many battles along the way, most … Continue reading Covenant Renewal
(Originally published February 22, 2017) Joshua chapter 23 is Joshua’s “farewell address” to Israel. By some estimates there has been a twenty to twenty-three-year interval between the end of the previous chapter and this speech by Joshua. The conquest is long over and the people of Israel have settled into their new homes and lands. … Continue reading Joshua Exhorts the Israelites
(Originally published February 10, 2017) This week’s lesson explores Joshua chapter 21 and the allotment of the Levitical cities. Choosing cities for the Levites was the final allotment, and it involved cities and land that had already been apportioned to the various tribes. Before we consider the allotment, we must first go back to see … Continue reading Every Promise Fulfilled
(Originally published February 2, 2017) In last week’s study, we followed along as Joshua and the Israelites began dividing the promised land between the tribes of Israel. This week we will see them finish the process. As we re-join them in chapter 18, it seems that the seven remaining tribes have lost their momentum and … Continue reading Division of the Rest of the Land
(Originally published January 30, 2017) We are now zooming through the chapters of Joshua, taking three whole chapters in lesson 12, since much in them is concerned with real estate boundaries, and we will be focusing more on the people involved. We begin by reviewing the subject of the book of Joshua and how chapters … Continue reading Receiving the Inheritance
(Originally published January 26, 2017) Alrighty now. The holidays are behind us and we have returned for our first week of Bible study, and so it’s time for the weekly summary of our study lesson. Let’s see if I can remember how to do this! Our study of the book of Joshua has moved from … Continue reading The Promised Inheritance
Our final lesson before breaking for the holidays covered the conquest of the Northern kingdom by the Israelites recorded in Joshua chapters 11 and 12. Before we launch into the study questions and responses, I’d like to begin with some of the commentary by Keil and Delitzsch on this period. The author of Joshua tells … Continue reading The Conquest Continues- the Northern Kingdoms
