Christ the Redeemer

As Moses gets ready to die, he gives this parting song of reminding Israel where they came from, tells them where they are going, and what God will do for his Name's sake.

Four problems with what is known as the "prosperity gospel" are discussed. Essentially, the prosperity gospel stops short of the ultimate promises of eternal life with God, where the humble will inherit the earth.

Why would God be so adamant to have just one place of devotion for Israel? Deuteronomy 12-26 elucidates the Ten Commandments and helps us consider how we are to have no others gods before God. Deuteronomy 12 begins by explaining that there is one God and how God prescribed one place to preserve his people.

“He is Glorious” — Revelation 21 — May 26, 2019 What does it mean for something or someone to be glorious? We heard the word from the beginning of our book in Revelation 1.6: “To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” The word occurs 19 times in the book. So what does it mean? The word for glory in the Old Testament originally meant that something or someone had weight to them. For someone t...

“He is Righteous” — Revelation 19.1-10 — May 19, 2019 A king engaged to a beautiful princess. 
Well, a commoner. 
Actually, not very pretty. // But stole his heart. King went on a journey. // To a battle.
Warning: Others will try to sit on my throne. Try to entice my people.
BUT I WILL COME BACK…Only after I secure your freedom The King left. He was gone weeks. Months. Years. We have been looking...

Last week we heard from Revelation 5 and the setting was the same as today in chapter 7—the throne room of God. Just like the Prophet Isaiah was allowed to peer into the throne room of God and gain confidence at his magnificence, so also John, so also we are able to look into this heavenly gathering and gain confidence. Last week we saw that the slain Lamb was worthy to open the scroll. This week...

“He is the Firstborn of the Dead” — Revelation 1 — April 28, 2019 Last week we celebrated the beginning of Easter. Yes, I said the “beginning” of Easter because it is a season not just a day. Though we’re not entirely sure of where the word came from, I am prone to believe it comes from the Old German word—which comes from the Latin word—signifying “East” or “the morning light”. This is a 40-day c...

“Resurrection” — Various Texts — April 21, 2019 The point of the death of Jesus is the Resurrection. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands were crucified in the Roman Empire. But it is the Resurrection of Jesus that makes our faith utterly unique. Fulfilled It could be easy to think that the Resurrection were something that just happened and that it was really something unexpected and really new...

“An Unshakeable City” — Psalm 22 — April 14, 2019 Today is Palm Sunday. As we have heard in the third Suffering Servant Song (five of them: Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 50:4-7; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; 63:1-3), we hear the Suffering Servant sing: 6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord GOD...

Our difficulties with accepting a situation started with our first parents—Adam and Eve in the Garden. After they had sinned and realized what they did, they hid from God. They didn’t want to face the reality that they had rebelled against their loving Creator. They sewed fig leaves together to not have to look at their shame. They blamed others for what got them into the predicament in the first...

“Brokenhearted & Crushed” — Psalm 34 — March 31, 2019 During this season of Lent we have been spending time in the Psalms. The Psalms are not merely a collection of poems of the Hebrew people, they are a collection of songs that resonate with us because they are unabashedly honest in the struggle of life. They are ecstatic reflections on God’s goodness in the face of man’s sinfulness. They giv...