Jesus Time!

The time of the kings was a baffling hot mess. Judah had some good kings, and Israel had none. Throughout the rein of these kings, God shows himself faithful to His promise and merciful to Israel, Judah, and anyone who would believe in Him.

Throughout the kings of Judah and Israel, evil kings caused the people to sin. Are we helpless to live far from God when those in authority over us lead unrighteously?

When life doesn’t go as planned, our hearts can break. When good things happen to bad people or bad things happen to good people, our hearts cry out, “Why?!” The book of Proverbs tells us how things should go. The book of Ecclesiastes sits with us in the times things don’t go as they should.

Solomon finally finishes building the promised temple! There is so much rejoicing and so much we can learn about Jesus! Tune in to hear how two temple truths point to our Savior.

The Bible tells us in 1 John that God is love. And yet, nestled in one of the books of wisdom, we see that there are six things that God hates and seven that are detestable. Tune in to hear not only what God hates, but why. Further, learn how what He hates deepens our understanding of what and why He loves.

Prayer is not about a practice to perfect, but a relationship to deepen. God gave us the psalms, so we would know how to praise and pray. He is the God who is high and lifted up, worthy to be praised, and deserving of all honor. He is also the God who invites us to be completely honest with Him.

Even as a man after God’s own heart, David sinned. Each time, his sin caused tragic, long lasting consequences. God shows Himself mighty by working His gracious, eternal plan though those terrible choices.

These next few chapters in our Bible reading plan are some of the most tragic. So many terrible decisions are made, that you might find yourself shouting, “Oh, no he didn’t!” at every turn. But in God’s mercy, He allows for repentance and restoration— and we can take this master class in repentance by reading Psalm 51.

Tune in to hear a conversation with Jon, Talia, and myself about the early part of David’s kingship— a zealous act, a big mistake, and huge lesson learned. We also discuss the ongoing pattern throughout the scriptures of the Israelites falling into sing, crying out to God, being rescued by God, and then falling right back into that sin. In the end, we are all “dirty little Israelites” relying on G...

David is finally king of Israel! However, even after the people and elders confirmed him, he did not realize he was king until this one thing happened. Tune in to hear what that one thing was, how we can apply it, and how the Psalms remind us of God‘s heart for restoration.

Saul is dead, and David is King of Judah. The battle for the King of Israel ensues. Tune in to hear David’s grief in the middle of war and how he worships through it.

Saul and David were both kings of Israel, but their actions reflected their very differing objects of worship. Saul: His actions worshiped his self-image in the eyes of the people. David: His actions word continuously submitted to his God Yahweh.

After the tragic, depraved rock bottom at the end of the book of Judges, we start the book of 1st Samuel. There we find more corrupt leaders. But in between these two books, we find a story of hope and redemption. We move on to see Israel’s demand for a king and the heartbreaking disqualification of that very same king.

The book of Joshua felt like a happily ever after kind of book. Judges was the complete opposite. Israel kept sinning and was consequently oppressed by foreign nations. They would then cry out to God who would mercifully send a judge to deliver them. This happened over and over as Israel grew farther and farther from God. The judges grew so corrupt that they no longer knew His ways, and eventually...

After God’s promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 400 years of slavery in Egypt, deliverance and 40 years in the desert, Israel finally enters the promise land! There is a transition in leadership, many battles, and distribution of the land to each tribe. God is so faithful.

Right before entering the promise land, Moses tells this new generation everything that God has commanded. The laws, festivals, and practices are to help God’s people flourish in the land He’s giving them. Through Moses, God lays out blessings of obedience and curses of disobedience. Knowing they will end up turning away from God, He’s still implores them to choose life.

After all of the Egypt-freed Israelites died in the desert, and the new generation is about to take the promised land! Before they go in, though, Moses begins with a few of several speeches to prepare them. God repeats himself over and over in chapters 1 through 11, because the Israelites, like us, are a forgetful people.

Grumbling, complaining, rebellion, oh my! The book of Numbers takes place throughout the desert. It is the time between Egypt and the promised land. God is forging his people and getting Egypt out of their hearts.

This book of the Law is not just a set of rules. God speaks DIRECTLY to Moses and through Moses to His people from chapter 1-27. These statutes, procedures, offerings, and festivals are not God’s way to make it hard for His people to get to Him. They are His way to make it possible.

Finishing up the book of Exodus, we see God‘s detailed instructions to His people, so that He can dwell with them. He filled Bezalel and a Oholiab with His Spirit so that they could accomplish every detail and teach others to do the same. The book ends with God’s glory filling the temple and being with His people throughout their whole desert journey!

After 400 years of hard labor, God delivers the Israelites from the Egyptians. Through their discouragement, doubt, and grumbling, God continues to provide for them and create a space where He can be with His people and they can worship Him. Don’t miss 30 chapters of Exodus summarized in 20 minutes!

The story of Joseph is so familiar, but I don’t want us to miss the sweetness and presence of God throughout. We’ll also look at a couple of other characters— Judah and Moses— and see how faithful God is despite their weakness, sin, and doubt.

In Genesis 11-35 we see three generations of God’s promises, people being stupid, and God being faithful despite that stupidity.

Join our family discussion as we talk through the book of Job! Josiah, Ella, Isabel, and I explore Job’s suffering, his friends’ insensitive responses, and God sovereignty. We also discuss how Job can inform us how to be better witnesses, being Christ to others, and more effective in sharing the gospel!

Genesis three through 11 include some of the most heartbreaking portions of scripture. Humankind sins, and then sins again, and then sins again. But instead of focusing on the depravity of man, we’re going to look at a specific character quality of God that is revealed in all of these chapters. Tune in to hear about the heart of our God as it shows up through these particular pages of scripture.