Blog: February 2020

In last Sunday’s service of child dedication, we noted from Scripture four key facts about what it means to be human—four basic truths that apply to everyone at all times and in all places: 1) All people have been made by God.  Lord, “you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13).  The creation of a human child in utero cannot be described merely in terms of biological processes:  There is a Maker, the Divine Artist, who creatively forms each human being. 2) All people have been fashioned in ...

After many years living as prisoners in Babylon, God’s people had returned to Judah. They had worked hard and overcome opposition to rebuild the temple and the walls around Jerusalem. Surely God would restore them … finally! But nothing happened. As they waited, they faced drought and economic uncertainty. God’s people probably didn’t feel like God had blessed them at all. “It is useless to serve God,” they said. “What have we gained by keeping his requirements?” (Mal. 3:14). Did God still care? It wasn’t long until God’s people fell back ...

At our all-church Valentine’s lunch last Sunday, we had a Bible quiz on the word “love”:  I read a text, and you gave the bibli­cal book it’s from—or even chapter and verse.  1 Corinthians 13 came up more than once, and of course we remembered John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. To make sense of the Bible’s teaching on love, it’s essential to step back start with God’s love. And I mean both God’s love for God (i.e., the infinite joy that infuses the triune Father-Son-Spirit god­head for all eternity) and God’s love for people.  Regarding the fo ...

Ezra was a priest in Babylon at the end of the exile. More than 50 years after the first group of exiles returned to Jerusalem and completed and dedicated the temple, Ezra led a second group back to Jerusalem. Just as God had been with Nehemiah, He was with Ezra—granting him favor with the Persian king. The king gave Ezra permission to go to Jerusalem. He provided Ezra with a letter and access to resources to ensure safe travel. (See Ezra 7:11-26.) Ezra traveled to Jerusalem with a purpose. God’s people had spent 70 years in exile, and ...

On a day when our culture draws attention to romantic love, we do well to remember the beautiful biblical picture of friendships between members of the body of Christ—whether the believers involved in such relationships are married or unmarried, whether dating or single. Sam Allberry, in his new book, 7 Myths about Singleness, draws attention to the truth that both singleness and marriage involve great challenges—that is, both are hard.  So if singles go around with dreamy notions of that hoped-for marriage, they’re not reckoning with ...

A healthy relationship with Jesus Christ means having a right attitude toward time:  we don’t wallow in the past or obsess over the future; we don’t pine away with nostalgia for “the good old days,” nor do we fixate on a rosy tomorrow.  Instead, we trust the Lord here and now. To be sure, past and future are important.  Historical events are at the very heart of Christianity, such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-26).  And faith involves placing our hope in future grace:  Christ will prevail in building his church, ...

All-Church Valentine’s Day Lunch: Please join us following the 11:00 a.m. worship this Sunday, February 16 (sign up here if you can help out, or to provide a food item to share).

Nehemiah was a Jew living in Persia. He served as the king’s cupbearer. When the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians, King Cyrus allowed God’s people to return to Judah. Two or three million Jews had originally been deported, but only a remnant— 50,000 people—returned. They set up their homes and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. But when God’s people faced opposition in rebuilding the rest of Jerusalem, they stopped. Some 70 years passed, and the walls and gates around the city were still ruined. City walls and gates were very ...

Last week Daniel 3 took us to Babylon where King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the world, had set up a huge, golden image which everyone was required to worship.  If anyone refused to bow down and pay homage to this symbol of the King’s greatness, it was the death penalty—into the furnace! As the story goes, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel’s three colleagues who’d also be taken captive and conscripted into service of the Babylonian Empire) said NO.  They refused to worship any­thing or anyone other than the one true God, ...

The Babylonian captivity ended when Cyrus, the king of Persia, took over Babylon and let God’s people go home. Some of God’s people—now called 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 (uh haz yoo EHR uhs), also known by his Greek name, Xerxes (ZUHRK seez). Esther was a young Jewish girl who became queen of Persia. The former queen had defied the king and was ...

In his book, Counterfeit Gods:  The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters, Tim Keller makes the point that idolatry is rampant in this world of ours.  No, we don’t bow down and burn incense to exotic wooden figurines on the mantelpiece in our homes.  But don’t let that throw you off:  “… internal idol worship, within the heart, is universal” (p. xiv). We take good things, like a successful career, love, possessions, even family, and turn them into ultimate things (xiv).  This brings us to another of Keller’s ...