December 22, 2025 - Thy Strong Word — Isaiah 61:1-11 – Prophecy Fulfilled for You
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
 
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
 
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
 
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
 
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

---

• August 6, 2025 - Thy Strong Word — Galatians 5:13–26: Life by the Spirit
  ​Life by the Spirit
  13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
  
  16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
  
  19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
  
  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

• April 23, 2025 - The Flood (Genesis 7)
  Look around at society today and it’s easy to see the corruption of sin. Each day it feels like the world is going further and further off the rails. Violence is rising, truth is ignored, and faith seems like a relic. But what if I told you this was nothing new? When you see faithlessness and violence rising and believers experiencing mockery and increasing persecution, know that none of this is surprising to God. In Genesis 7 we continue the account of Noah and the flood. God promised a flood in judgment—and now it’s raining. This isn’t just ancient history. It’s a wake-up call that sin and disobedience rightly draw God’s wrath, but even amid judgement God shows grace. 
  
  1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals,[a] the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs[b] of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing[c] that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
  
  6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
  
  11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
  
  17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits[d] deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

• September 19, 2024 - Sharper Iron: The Purpose of Prayer (1 Timothy 2: 1 through 15)
  Pray for All People
  2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
  
  8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

• September 2, 2024 - God's Warning of Judgment and Mercy to Repent Look at the Plumb Line (Amos 7)
  The prophet receives visions of judgment—locusts, fire, and a plumb line—each symbolizing God’s impending punishment on Israel. While Amos intercedes and God relents twice, the plumb line vision marks the point of no return. When Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, tries to silence Amos, he boldly declares God’s judgment on Israel and Amaziah’s household, affirming his divine calling and the inevitability of Israel’s downfall due to their persistent sin.
  
  Warning Visions
  1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
  
  “O Lord God, please forgive!
      How can Jacob stand?
      He is so small!”
  3 The Lord relented concerning this:
      “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
  4 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
  ​
  “O Lord God, please cease!
      How can Jacob stand?
      He is so small!”
  6 The Lord relented concerning this:
      “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
  7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
  
  “Behold, I am setting a plumb line
      in the midst of my people Israel;
      I will never again pass by them;
  9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
      and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
      and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
  
  Amos Accused
  10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
  
  “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
      and Israel must go into exile
      away from his land.’”
  12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
  
  14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was[a] no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
  
  “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
      and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
  17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
  ​
  “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
      and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
      and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
  you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
      and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

• May 30, 2024 - Drunkenness, Gluttony, and Sloth (Proverbs 23: 19 through 35)
  King Solomon offers practical advice on self-discipline and avoiding excess. He begins by urging his son to listen and be wise, keeping his heart on the right path. He warns against excessive drinking and gluttony, noting that these lead to poverty and sloth. These proverbs focus on the importance of respecting parents, seeking truth, and maintaining discipline. Solomon concludes with vivid warnings against the dangers of drunkenness, describing its harmful effects and urging readers to avoid overindulgence in alcohol.
  
  ​19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
      and direct your heart in the way.
  20 Be not among drunkards[a]
      or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
  21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
      and slumber will clothe them with rags.
  22 Listen to your father who gave you life,
      and do not despise your mother when she is old.
  23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;
      buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
  24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
      he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
  25 Let your father and mother be glad;
      let her who bore you rejoice.
  26 My son, give me your heart,
      and let your eyes observe[b] my ways.
  27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
      an adulteress[c] is a narrow well.
  28 She lies in wait like a robber
      and increases the traitors among mankind.
  29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
      Who has strife? Who has complaining?
  Who has wounds without cause?
      Who has redness of eyes?
  30 Those who tarry long over wine;
      those who go to try mixed wine.
  31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
      when it sparkles in the cup
      and goes down smoothly.
  32 In the end it bites like a serpent
      and stings like an adder.
  33 Your eyes will see strange things,
      and your heart utter perverse things.
  34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
      like one who lies on the top of a mast.[d]
  35 “They struck me,” you will say,[e] “but I was not hurt;
      they beat me, but I did not feel it.
  When shall I awake?
      I must have another drink.”

• March 26, 2024 - Moses' Singing Sermon (Deuteronomy 31:30 through 32:52)
  This chapter in Deuteronomy features the Song of Moses, which serves as a poetic testament to God’s faithfulness throughout Israel’s history. The song begins with a call for heaven and earth to hear the words of Moses, as he proclaims the greatness, righteousness, and faithfulness of God. Moses recounts Israel’s history, highlighting God’s guidance, provision, and protection despite their rebellion and faithlessness. He warns of the consequences of turning away from God and worshipping false gods, emphasizing that God will judge and vindicate His people.
  
  The Song of Moses
  30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:
  
  32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
      and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
  2 May my teaching drop as the rain,
      my speech distill as the dew,
  like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
      and like showers upon the herb.
  3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
      ascribe greatness to our God!
  4 “The Rock, his work is perfect,
      for all his ways are justice.
  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
      just and upright is he.
  5 They have dealt corruptly with him;
      they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
      they are a crooked and twisted generation.
  6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
      you foolish and senseless people?
  Is not he your father, who created you,
      who made you and established you?
  7 Remember the days of old;
      consider the years of many generations;
  ask your father, and he will show you,
      your elders, and they will tell you.
  8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
      when he divided mankind,
  he fixed the borders[a] of the peoples
      according to the number of the sons of God.[b]
  9 But the Lord‘s portion is his people,
      Jacob his allotted heritage.
  10 “He found him in a desert land,
      and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
  he encircled him, he cared for him,
      he kept him as the apple of his eye.
  11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
      that flutters over its young,
  spreading out its wings, catching them,
      bearing them on its pinions,
  12 the Lord alone guided him,
      no foreign god was with him.
  13 He made him ride on the high places of the land,
      and he ate the produce of the field,
  and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
      and oil out of the flinty rock.
  14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
      with fat[c] of lambs,
  rams of Bashan and goats,
      with the very finest[d] of the wheat--
      and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.
  15 “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
      you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
  then he forsook God who made him
      and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
  16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
      with abominations they provoked him to anger.
  17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
      to gods they had never known,
  to new gods that had come recently,
      whom your fathers had never dreaded.
  18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore[e] you,
      and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
  19 “The Lord saw it and spurned them,
      because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
  20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
      I will see what their end will be,
  for they are a perverse generation,
      children in whom is no faithfulness.
  21 They have made me jealous with what is no god;
      they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
  So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
      I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
  22 For a fire is kindled by my anger,
      and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
  devours the earth and its increase,
      and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
  23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
      I will spend my arrows on them;
  24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
      and devoured by plague
      and poisonous pestilence;
  I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
      with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
  25 Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
      and indoors terror,
  for young man and woman alike,
      the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
  26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
      I will wipe them from human memory,”
  27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
      lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
  lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,
      it was not the Lord who did all this.”’
  28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
      and there is no understanding in them.
  29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
      they would discern their latter end!
  30 How could one have chased a thousand,
      and two have put ten thousand to flight,
  unless their Rock had sold them,
      and the Lord had given them up?
  31 For their rock is not as our Rock;
      our enemies are by themselves.
  32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
      and from the fields of Gomorrah;
  their grapes are grapes of poison;
      their clusters are bitter;
  33 their wine is the poison of serpents
      and the cruel venom of asps.
  34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
      sealed up in my treasuries?
  35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,[f]
      for the time when their foot shall slip;
  for the day of their calamity is at hand,
      and their doom comes swiftly.’
  36 For the Lord will vindicate[g] his people
      and have compassion on his servants,
  when he sees that their power is gone
      and there is none remaining, bond or free.
  37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
      the rock in which they took refuge,
  38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
      and drank the wine of their drink offering?
  Let them rise up and help you;
      let them be your protection!
  39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
      and there is no god beside me;
  I kill and I make alive;
      I wound and I heal;
      and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
  40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
      and swear, As I live forever,
  41 if I sharpen my flashing sword[h]
      and my hand takes hold on judgment,
  I will take vengeance on my adversaries
      and will repay those who hate me.
  42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
      and my sword shall devour flesh--
  with the blood of the slain and the captives,
      from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
  43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens;[i]
      bow down to him, all gods,[j]
  for he avenges the blood of his children[k]
      and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
  He repays those who hate him[l]
      and cleanses[m] his people’s land.”[n]
  44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[o] the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
  
  Moses’ Death Foretold
  48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

• July 31, 2023 - Conversion of Saul (Acts 9: 1-31)
  Saul, the fierce persecutor of Christians, embarks on a journey that will forever alter the course of his life and the Christian faith. En route to Damascus, a divine encounter with Jesus leaves him blinded. Guided to the city by his companions, a faithful disciple, Ananias, steps forward to restore Saul’s sight and spirit, baptizing him in the name of the Lord. Transformed and rechristened as Paul, he sets forth to preach the word of God, the very faith he once sought to dismantle.
  
  1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
  ​
  10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
  
  

• June 26, 2023 - David and Bathsheba covering adultery and murder, and a whole lot more (2 Samuel 11)
  In the springtime, when kings usually go to war, David stayed behind in Jerusalem while his army fought the Ammonites. One night, from the rooftop of his palace, he saw a beautiful woman bathing in her courtyard and he desired her. He found out that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. He sent for her and slept with her, and she became pregnant. David makes a plan to hide what’s he’s done, but will it succeed? How far will he go to hide his adultery? And how will God respond to his actions?
  
  David and Bathsheba
  1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
  
  2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
  
  6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
  
  14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
  
  22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
  
  26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

• February 9, 2023 - Celebrating Deliverance with a Perpetual Feast—Purim ​(Ester 9:20-10:3)
  We have come to the end of the book of Esther, where we find Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai, victorious in their efforts to save the Jews from the evil plot of Haman. They then establish a day of feasting and rejoicing in celebration of the Jews’ deliverance, a perpetual feast which is still celebrated by Jews today: Purim. With this event being well recorded in Scripture, why don’t we find this festival on the Christian liturgical calendar?
  
  29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. 30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth, 31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. 32 The command of Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.
  
  The Greatness of Mordecai
  10 King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 2 And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

• January 12, 2023 - The Construction of the Old Testament Tabernacle has applications for believers today, the way we look at weekly worship services, and why we adorn our sanctuaries. (Exodus 35: 30-36)
  It’s been a long time coming, but the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here – the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings has begun! And who better to lead this holy endeavor than the esteemed master craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab? These skilled laborers, blessed by God with a desire and ability to build, are now hard at work erecting the Israelites’ portable worship space.
  
  ​1 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”
  
  2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
  
  8 And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits,[a] and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.
  
  10 He[b] coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.
  
  14 He also made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18 And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19 And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins.
  
  20 Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22 Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23 The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24 And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27 For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28 He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29 And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30 There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.
  
  31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34 And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
  
  35 He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36 And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37 He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze.

• October 5, 2022 - The Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
  Believe it or not, this chapter has nothing to do with weddings, although it’s a very popular passage for the occasion. Instead, St. Paul is speaking to a deeply conflicted congregation and reminding the Corinthians Christians of their duty to one another: love. Love is more than a “warm and fuzzy” feeling. It’s a verb, an action. Christian love is rooted in God’s mercy toward us and mimics the self-sacrificing love Christ showed us. Ultimately, the “love chapter” points us to Jesus, whose love for us it so great we cannot help but share it with others. In this passage, Pastors Booe and Eddy discover why St. Paul says of faith, hope, and love that love is the greatest.
  
  ​The Way of Love
  1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
  
  4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
  
  8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  
  13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

• June 27, 2022 - The LORD will provide. (Genesis 22)​
  The LORD provided the promised son, Isaac. Within a short time He tests Abraham’s faith by asking Him to sacrifice this son. We do not fully understand the reason why the LORD tests His people, but it’s clear that He will provide. This story reminds us that the LORD provides a Savior who was the only Son, carried the woody cross to the mountain, and was sacrificed for our salvation. It is Christ who lays over this story to remind us that He provides all things through Him. “O Holy Spirit, help us put on Christ goggles to better understand and give thanks for the depth of the Father’s love to give up His only Son for sinners like us. Lord have mercy. Amen”
  
  The Sacrifice of Isaac
  1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
  
  9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”;[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[c]
  
  15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his[d] enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
  
  20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
  

• September 1, 2021 - Speaking to us by His Son: Draw near to the heavenly place of Christ (Hebrews 12:18-29)
  The author brings us back to Mt. Sinai to see God, without Christ, who even Moses feared. Yet, in Christ, we do draw near to a God not in fear of damnation, but a God who brings us to the heavenly places to receive His heavenly blessings of forgiveness. The shaking on Mt. Sinai shows us of the final “shakedown” at the end, but have joy, His kingdom in Christ can never be shaken. O Come let us worship Him. “Lord God, thank You for the better covenant by Christ’s blood so that we can listen and with confidence trust in Your promises. Amen”
  
  ​A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
  18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly[a] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
  
  25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
  

• February 26, 2021 - United in Christ; speaking truth in love. (Ephesians 4:1-16)
  Our unity as Christians is founded on God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  From our LORD He provides us with pastors to bring the precious gifts of Christ’s forgiveness, life, and salvation by the Word to equip saints for His Work.  From His gift we are to be people of humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, speaking truth in love, and building each other up in love.  “LORD God, thank You for uniting us together as one in You and help us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which You have called us in Christ.  Help us to be humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another, speaking the truth in love, and building each other up in Christ.  In Your name, Amen.”
  
  ​Unity in the Body of Christ
  4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
  ​
  “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
      and he gave gifts to men.”[a]
  9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

• December 18, 2020 - Zion’s Dry Bones Lament & Pray for ☧’s Resurrection (Psalm 102)
  “You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come. For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.” Amidst the “smoke” and smoldering ashes of Jerusalem, the remnant of God’s people cry out as one. The “prayer of one afflicted”—none of the other 149 psalms has such a title. Out of the depths of death, the beautiful lament of Psalm 102 dares to hope for resurrection: “that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.” Because of Christ, amidst tears of repentance we too hope for restoration at the resurrection of all flesh at the appointed time of the Last Day.
  
  Do Not Hide Your Face from Me
  A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
  1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
  let my cry come to you!
  2 Do not hide your face from me
      in the day of my distress!
  Incline your ear to me;
      answer me speedily in the day when I call!
  3 For my days pass away like smoke,
      and my bones burn like a furnace.
  4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
      I forget to eat my bread.
  5 Because of my loud groaning
      my bones cling to my flesh.
  6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
      like an owl[a] of the waste places;
  7 I lie awake;
      I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
  8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
      those who deride me use my name for a curse.
  9 For I eat ashes like bread
      and mingle tears with my drink,
  10 because of your indignation and anger;
      for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
  11 My days are like an evening shadow;
      I wither away like grass.
  12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
      you are remembered throughout all generations.
  13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
      it is the time to favor her;
      the appointed time has come.
  14 For your servants hold her stones dear
      and have pity on her dust.
  15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
      and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
  16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
      he appears in his glory;
  17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
      and does not despise their prayer.
  18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
      so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
  19 that he looked down from his holy height;
      from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
  20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
      to set free those who were doomed to die,
  21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
      and in Jerusalem his praise,
  22 when peoples gather together,
      and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
  23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
      he has shortened my days.
  24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
      in the midst of my days--
  you whose years endure
      throughout all generations!”
  25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
      and the heavens are the work of your hands.
  26 They will perish, but you will remain;
      they will all wear out like a garment.
  You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
  27     but you are the same, and your years have no end.
  28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
      their offspring shall be established before you.

• June 29, 2020 - Uplifted Hands & Staff of ☧ Wins and Waters (Exodus 17)
  “Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out.” Another water plague is reversed in Exodus 17, demonstrating both God’s supreme power and as well as His infinite mercy, leading His Israelite flock like a shepherd. When Israel goes out to fight the Amalekites, Joshua and Moses falter, showing that it is really “the staff of God” which wins the battle. Just like the uplifted staff, the cross of God wins the battle for all who are in Christ the Good Shepherd.
  
  Water from the Rock
  17 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah[a] and Meribah,[b] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
  
  Israel Defeats Amalek
  8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
  14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[c] of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

• September 30, 2019 - Yahweh, Yah Gives Victory and Springs of Joy! (Isaiah 12)​
  “The LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” These familiar words echo here in Isaiah 12 and throughout Scripture. They originally come from the Song of Moses by the Red Sea. This song of praise continues the theme of a second Exodus, this time from Assyria instead of Egypt. God Himself is the one who works salvation and produces in us both humble awe and joyful thanksgiving.
  
  He reverses our downward-flowing tears and gives us joy that wells up and bursts out from the ground. We are called to humbly make known His deeds among the peoples, though not everyone will humbly receive the Word. Yet, as did certain Israelites and Gentiles in the North in the day of Hezekiah, some will humble themselves and join us in our joy. To all who do, our risen Lord Jesus Christ will give “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
  
  ​The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
  12 You[a] will say in that day:
  “I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
      for though you were angry with me,
  your anger turned away,
      that you might comfort me.
  2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
      I will trust, and will not be afraid;
  for the Lord God[b] is my strength and my song,
      and he has become my salvation.”
  3 With joy you[c] will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:
  “Give thanks to the Lord,
      call upon his name,
  make known his deeds among the peoples,
      proclaim that his name is exalted.
  5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
      let this be made known[d] in all the earth.
  6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
      for great in your[e] midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

• January 31, 2019 - Psalms 105, 28, 36
  Psalm 105
  Tell of All His Wondrous Works
  1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
      make known his deeds among the peoples!
  2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
      tell of all his wondrous works!
  3 Glory in his holy name;
      let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
  4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
      seek his presence continually!
  5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
      his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
  6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
      children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
  7 He is the Lord our God;
      his judgments are in all the earth.
  8 He remembers his covenant forever,
      the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
  9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
      his sworn promise to Isaac,
  10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
      to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
  11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
      as your portion for an inheritance.”
  12 When they were few in number,
      of little account, and sojourners in it,
  13 wandering from nation to nation,
      from one kingdom to another people,
  14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
      he rebuked kings on their account,
  15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
      do my prophets no harm!”
  16 When he summoned a famine on the land
      and broke all supply[a] of bread,
  17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
      Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
  18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
      his neck was put in a collar of iron;
  19 until what he had said came to pass,
      the word of the Lord tested him.
  20 The king sent and released him;
      the ruler of the peoples set him free;
  21 he made him lord of his house
      and ruler of all his possessions,
  22 to bind[b] his princes at his pleasure
      and to teach his elders wisdom.
  23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
      Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
  24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
      and made them stronger than their foes.
  25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
      to deal craftily with his servants.
  26 He sent Moses, his servant,
      and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
  27 They performed his signs among them
      and miracles in the land of Ham.
  28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
      they did not rebel[c] against his words.
  29 He turned their waters into blood
      and caused their fish to die.
  30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
      even in the chambers of their kings.
  31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
      and gnats throughout their country.
  32 He gave them hail for rain,
      and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
  33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
      and shattered the trees of their country.
  34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
      young locusts without number,
  35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
      and ate up the fruit of their ground.
  36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
      the firstfruits of all their strength.
  37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
      and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
  38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
      for dread of them had fallen upon it.
  39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
      and fire to give light by night.
  40 They asked, and he brought quail,
      and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
  41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
      it flowed through the desert like a river.
  42 For he remembered his holy promise,
      and Abraham, his servant.
  43 So he brought his people out with joy,
      his chosen ones with singing.
  44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
      and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
  45 that they might keep his statutes
      and observe his laws.
  Praise the Lord!
  
  Psalm 28
  The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
  Of David.
  28 To you, O Lord, I call;
      my rock, be not deaf to me,
  lest, if you be silent to me,
      I become like those who go down to the pit.
  2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
      when I cry to you for help,
  when I lift up my hands
      toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
  3 Do not drag me off with the wicked,
      with the workers of evil,
  who speak peace with their neighbors
      while evil is in their hearts.
  4 Give to them according to their work
      and according to the evil of their deeds;
  give to them according to the work of their hands;
      render them their due reward.
  5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
      or the work of his hands,
  he will tear them down and build them up no more.
  6 Blessed be the Lord!
      For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
  7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
      in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
  my heart exults,
      and with my song I give thanks to him.
  8 The Lord is the strength of his people;[b]
      he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
  9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
      Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
  
  Psalm 36
  How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
  To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
  36 Transgression speaks to the wicked
      deep in his heart;[a]
  there is no fear of God
      before his eyes.
  2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
      that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
  3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
      he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
  4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
      he sets himself in a way that is not good;
      he does not reject evil.
  5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
      your faithfulness to the clouds.
  6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
      your judgments are like the great deep;
      man and beast you save, O Lord.
  7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
      The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
  8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
      and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
  9 For with you is the fountain of life;
      in your light do we see light.
  10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
      and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
  11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
      nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
  12 There the evildoers lie fallen;
      they are thrust down, unable to rise.

• May 16, 2018 - Hananiah the False Prophet (Jeremiah 28)
  Hananiah the False Prophet
  28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord‘s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
  
  5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
  
  10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
  
  12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”
  
  17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
  

• April 28, 2017 - Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? (Luke 6: 1 through 19)
  Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
  6 On a Sabbath,[a] while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
  
  A Man with a Withered Hand
  6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
  
  The Twelve Apostles
  12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the  Zealot,16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
  
  Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
  17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

• February 24, 2017 - Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 8: 1 through 20)
  8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
  
  I Am the Light of the World
  12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father[a] who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.