The Family Bible Journey Podcast

God looks at life and death differently than we do. In God's eyes, all who have faith in Him are alive. Conversely, many who appear to be alive are spiritually dead. In light of this paradox, we consider how the hope of everlasting life in Christ transforms this life, and the next.

Jehosaphat gives us a great pattern for prayer. Faced with impossible odds, he poured his heart out to the Lord asking for mercy. God saved faithful Jehosaphat and the nation, reminding us of the many times God intervened on behalf of his people.

Jehosaphat was a good and faithful king of Judah, who decided, for whatever reason, to ally with wicked king Ahab from Israel. God will preserve Jehosaphat from his folly, even though it nearly cost him his life. But Ahab will die a traitor's death because he proved unfaithful to the Lord and the nation of Israel.

Jesus states very clearly who He is as the Good Shepherd, and the very door to salvation. As His sheep, we hear His voice and follow His lead. Even in the face of death, we follow faithfully, because the hope of everlasting life in Christ transforms our earthly lives.

Asa was another righteous king in Judah, whose reforms brought back to faith many of those living in the godless northern kingdom of Israel. From him we lern the blessings of truly godly leaders.

When Jeroboam and Abijah go to war, God prospers the cause of the godly. This theme of God taking care of His own runs strong through the Chronicles. But how do we process loss when we are fighting for Christ, and we lose our battle?

When Jesus heals the man born blind, He teaches important lessons about the human condition and His unconditional love. There will always be those who are spiritually blind and refuse to believe in God, even when He shows them His love in unmistakable ways. Despite our spiritual blindness, He blesses us with His Holy Spirit, that even though we are blind according to our nature, we may see Him by...

David's grandson, in folly, creates a divison that seperates the nation. After strengthening his hold on power, he decides to worship other gods. Just two generations after David, the nation is being led astray and suffers greatly for her breach of faith. Here we learn that faith is always only one generation away from extinction.

The Queen of Sheba, the Mother of Africa, comes to see Solomon in all of his splendor. We see her so amazed that she is brought to faith in the One True God. Imperfect though he was, Solomon was good at pointing others to the Lord and impressing upon them the wonders of His love.

The Pharisees and Jesus go round and round because His opponents refused to accept Him. He is the very Wisdom and Word of God in human flesh, yet they stubbornly refuse Him. We pray that we would be delivered from such foolish pride and arrogance, recognizing God and His Son.

When Solomon offers the dedication sacrifice for the Temple, God indicates His divine approval by sending fire from heaven. This is yet another way God made His personal presence known to His people at this monumental moment in their history.

At the dedication of the Temple, God's glory filled the place. We are reminded of the clouds at Sinai, and upon the Mount of Transfiguration. When God descends to His people, all we can do is marvel and praise the One who breaks our darkness with His love and living light.

Humans have a knack for making a mockery of justice. A woman caught in the act of adultery is brought in front of the public for a show trial. But where's the man, if she was caught in the act? Jesus saves her by fufilling both the law of love and the law of Moses. So too, we are saved by Jesus, even when we are wrong.

The Temple was created as a little "heaven on earth." In worship still today, we get a taste of "heaven on earth" when we receive the Lord's love and gifts anew. As we consider the wisdom of the Temple's design, we reflect on how we experience heavenly splendor in worship.

Wisdom, properly applied, is the key to earthly success. While wisdom can give you untold earthly success, no amount of earthly success or possessions can ever give you wisdom. We consider the gift of wisdom as we consider the key to Solomon's success.

In the face of hatred, Jesus brings love! This chapter reveals the hatred that Jesus experienced from the crowd, the Pharisees, and even His own family. Yet Jesus continues, because the work of God is to bring transformational love to people filled with hate.

David blessed the people in his farewell speech, encouraging them to live lives of service. Despite his personal struggles, David proves to be a good example of a life of service. There is great blessing for us when we follow the Lord gladly and willingly.

We hear echoes of Joshua's blessing and Jesus's Great Commission as David reminds young Solomon that the Lord will never leave nor forsake him. We are ourselves comforted with this assurance, knowing the Lord is always present and blessing us even when we doubt His loving care.

Jesus insists that He is the very Bread of Life, come from heaven to earth. He is so insistent on this fact that He offends many listeners. There can be no middle ground on this. Either Jesus is, or is not, the Son of God. Who do you say that He is?

Here we are given occasion to thank God for worship musicians, greeters and our church security teams! These often under-appreciated servants in the Lord's Church are highlighted. We thank God for those who are called to teach through music and greet, as special expressions of God's love.

Two whole chapters are set aside by the Chronicler to list the genealogies, roles and responsibilities of those who would serve in the temple, both leading worship and in supporting roles. This shows us how important worship life was to God and his people in the eyes of King David. We also are given in this episode an opportunity to appreciate and thank those who are mentioned as supporting cast m...

The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. In John's gospel, it gives us opportunity to reflect on why Jesus came from heaven to earth. He didn't come to become a "bread king," but rather as the King of Kings.

Did you realize that King David's net worth was greater than the richest person alive today? Did you know that the gold he donated to the construction of the Temple was worth ~$330 billion? Here we consider the blessing of his generosity, and how our giving to the Lord and His purposes richly blesses others both now and forever.

In two chapters chronicling the military victories God granted to David and his armies, we reflect on the prevalence of conflict in the world. In this fallen world, we often only find peace in the midst of conflict. Conflict is often necessary to secure peace. This is not God's original intention for humanity, but rather the course humanity choose in the Garden, and the course we choose for oursel...

After being confronted by the Pharisees for healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus points to five witnesses to Who He Is. John the Baptist. His own works. God the Father. The Old Testament scriptures. Moses. If the works were not enough to sway the skeptics, Jesus gives them four more reasons to listen to Him.