Blog: January 2017

During the time of Queen Esther—more than 450 years before Jesus was born—the Jewish people were scattered around the Persian Empire. The Book of Esther tells the unlikely story of a young Jewish woman who, as the queen of the Persian Empire, saved her people. After Esther was chosen as the queen of Persia, she received news that an evil man named Haman had a plan to kill all of the Jews. The Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God by name, but God clearly worked through Esther and her cousin Mordecai to save ...

At Prayer Gathering this past Wednesday, we read Isaiah 40 together, asking God to speak through his Word to draw us into prayer.  And what a powerful message the Lord delivered to his people! Isaiah 40 moves through major themes, such as the promise of future deliverance, the frailty of humanity, and the glorious majesty of God in all his stunning attributes.  In the end, the chapter strikes a fine balance of the greatness and goodness of God (vv 28-31):  the Lord is the eternal Creator with limitless power and wisdom; AND this great God ...

Dear Parents, This week we began a two ­part session on Esther and how God used her to save His people. The Babylonian captivity had ended while Cyrus was king of Persia. Some of God’s people—now referred to as Jews (people from Judah)—traveled back to Judah to rebuild the temple, the city, and their lives. Others, however, stayed in Persia where life among the pagans was relatively comfortable. The king of Persia was now Ahasuerus, also known by his Greek name, Xerxes. Esther was a young Jewish girl whom Ahasuerus had chosen to be his ...

Right off the bat in 1 Corinthians, Paul assures the church of God’s faithfulness:  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor 1:9).  And he says it again later:  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (10:13). God is faithful—you often hear Christian leaders say this, especially in times of ...

Some time after the temple’s foundation was laid, the work stopped. With the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, God’s people resumed the work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Approximately 15 years had passed without progress.  At this time, Darius was king of Persia. The Persian Empire was vast, so Darius appointed governors over the provinces. A man named Tattenai watched over the province that included the land of Judah. Tattenai noticed the work of God’s people, and he was concerned. He sent a letter to ...

This week I took our family’s 22-volume set of 1993 World Book Encyclopedias and threw them away.  It was a surreal experience.  I bought the set used from our local public library in 1997 when they upgraded to the latest edition.  We’ve utilized them countless times over the years, although I have to admit:  not so much in recent years. When I was growing up, my parents had World Book Encyclopedias on the shelf in our home—and whenever I wondered about almost anything and asked my parents, “How far is it to the moon?” or “What is soap made ...

One of the grand priorities of the New Testament is to show and tell us that the church is profoundly different from every other social, recreational, educational, and public service organization.  The church is not a club, or a team, or a volunteer mobilization project. So just what is the church?  What does it mean to be a thriving local church fellowship?  How should we stand out here in our Chester County community?  And further, what temptations lurk around and among us, threatening to undermine our body-life? To address these ...