Wawasee Bible Podcast

Sunday, July 23, 2023 Jesus: My God in the Psalms | Part 5: It's All About Jesus, My Shepherd (Psalm 23:4-6) Psalm 23 is among the most known and loved of all Bible passages. Pastor Dave preaches through the second half of Psalm 23 this week, verses 4 though 6. Valleys & Shadows? Keep walking, for you are never alone. Jesus saves you now, Jesus saves you forever.

Psalm 62 is a song written by David. David had numerous times where he found himself in danger, even surrounded by enemies who sought to destroy him. We're not sure which event he's writing about here, but we do see his unwavering trust in God alone to protect and save him. David waits in silence (quietly, still) for God to speak and act, repeatedly emphasizing that God alone is able to save. He a...

Psalm 24 is a song of praise and celebration that acknowledges God's kingship and authority over all creation. "The earth is the Lord's"…"the earth and all who dwell therein." Everything belongs to God, he created it all—including us! We should be his also. "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?" David asks. The answer is those who are righteous, and that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ....

Psalm 146 reminds us of the unwavering faithfulness and goodness of God and all it motivates us to do. First it motivates us to praise him. We need to remind each other to praise God, and even to remind our own souls to praise him. There's days we may not feel like it, and we encourage one another with our praises. Second we're motivated to wholeheartedly trust Jesus, rather than in human beings,...

Psalm 23 is among the most known and loved of all Bible passages. This message will cover the first 3 verses. Psalm 23 begins with "The Lord is My Shepherd...." and reveals the deep personal connection between us and the Lord. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is the performer of his promises and the life-giver and will never fail us. We want to return his love and faithfulness by listening...

After returning from his first journey with Barnabas, Paul learned of legalism creeping into the newly formed churches in Galatia. He was angry at whoever brought it upon those churches, but also frustrated with how quickly the people there had turned away from the Gospel of grace. We learn all of this from the letter Paul wrote to those churches, the New Testament book of Galatians (which he like...

Acts 15 marks a pivotal moment where it is affirmed that Gentiles do not need to become Jewish or adhere to the rituals of the Law in order to be a Christian. Acts 15 teaches us that there is a danger of adding to the gospel 
to preserve our cultural identity. The Gospel is for all! In fact, the Gospel should be contextualized to the cultures it is brought to. Never adding to or taking away from t...

Acts 14 records the heart of Paul and Barnabas's first journey to spread the Gospel. After being run out of Antioch, they head to Iconium where once again there is fruitfulness as they share the Gospel along with opposition to it. When a plan to mistreat and stone them surfaces, they move on to Lystra. In Lystra a crippled man is healed at Paul's word. After witnessing the miracle, the crowds beli...

Acts 13:13-51 records the one of the longest sermons of Paul in Acts. We can assume it forms the basis for every sermon Paul preaches in Acts as he enters different synagogues in each city he visits to share the Gospel. Paul takes the opportunity given him to share God's story, and how the Old Testament all points us to Jesus! The question of everyone's lifetime is what they'll do with Jesus. Past...

In Acts 13:1-12, the Holy Spirit directed the church in Antioch to commission Barnabas and Saul (Paul) and send them out. Barnabas, Paul, and Mark set said for Cyprus where they spread the Gospel across the island. In Paphos they encountered a magician named Bar-Jesus who opposed them. But Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, rebuked the magician, causing him temporary blindness. The proconsul, Serg...

Everything recorded is Scripture is there for our benefit, and each narrative is there to serve as an example to us, whether good or bad. Acts 12:20-25 tells of the downfall of King Herod Agrippa I. Herod serves as an example to all of us of the negative aspects of pride. Pride is especially self-worship, specifically ascribing a mis-calculated worth to ourselves (whether too high, or too low). Pa...

In Acts 12:1-19 Peter finds himself in an impossible situation. King Herod had imprisoned Peter after murdering his friend James, and now Peter was heavily guarded why awaiting his own execution. However, the church prays for Peter's release, and God sends an angel to free him. Peter was sleeping so soundly, trusting God, that the angel had to physically wake him up be fore leading him out past a...

Money, money, money! When Jesus transforms us, saves us, makes us born again, it also means our wallets and resources are born again, too. God is a generous God and when his Spirit comes into our hearts God moves us to be more generous as he is generous. Yet God won't force us or pry open our grip on our stuff, he allows us to choose to be generous. God desires for us to be cheerful givers not dut...

The first place that God's people were called "Christians" was in the ancient city of Antioch. Antioch was a great city, the 3rd largest in the Roman Empire at the time, and the early church has such an impact that they earned a nickname—"Those Christ-ones..." The center of Gospel mission shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch as the gospel spread beyond the Jews to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit was at...

On the morning of Jesus's resurrection, Peter and John raced one another to Jesus's tomb. John won the race, but Peter was the first to go inside. John followed him, and when he saw all of the burial garments laying there, John believed, even before he understood it all. Jesus's resurrection is central to Christianity. Peter was coming off his absolute lowest moment when he denied even knowing Jes...

On the morning of Jesus's resurrection, Peter and John raced one another to Jesus's tomb. John won the race, but Peter was the first to go inside. John followed him, and when he saw all of the burial garments laying there, John believed, even before he understood it all. Jesus's resurrection is central to Christianity. Peter was coming off his absolute lowest moment when he denied even knowing Jes...

The Apostle Peter was a remarkable figure in the Bible, and may have been the most relatable Christian leader in Scripture. He was among the three men (along with James and John) who spent more time with Jesus than anyone else during his ministry. On his worst days Peter was giving orders to Jesus and denying ever knowing him. Yet on his best days he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Son of...

Peter stays and continues doing ministry in Joppa for a while after the healing of Aeneas in Lydda and the raising of Tabbitha. While waiting on his lunch one day, God gives Peter a vision of something like a sheet lowering from heaven, full of "unclean" animals that were not permitted to be eaten according to Jewish dietary law. When a voice from heaven tells Peter to kill and eat, he refuses. Bu...

Two hard situations, two miracles, one savior. God calls us by name, and God is always near whether it appears so or not. Jesus heals and saves by grace and grace alone, we never earn it. In this message from Acts 9:32-43 Peter is used by God in two miracles. God's love for broken and hurting people is evident as Peter seeks out a paralyzed man named Aeneas to show him the love of Jesus. In the se...

After Jesus revealed himself to Saul, we begin to see the outworking of his grace in Saul's life. Saul is radically changed from a persecutor of Christians to a powerful evangelist for the Gospel. God's grace revealed Jesus to Saul and gave him the opportunity to start anew (just as he does for us!). Saul leaves Damascus for a time shortly after his conversion and travels to Arabia (many seem to t...

Acts 9 gives a shocking turn of events in the story of the early church. Saul, who had witnessed and approved of Stephen's murder (Acts 7:58-8:3), was chasing down Christian refugees who'd fled Jerusalem due to persecution. On his way to find, confront, arrest, and extradite believers in the city of Damascus, Saul himself is dramatically confronted by Jesus. After a few days of blindness, Saul rep...

Philip's ministry was going good in Acts 8. God was working miracles, the Gospel was advancing, and many were coming to faith in Jesus and getting baptized. But God had plans to move Philip on. He sent an angel to nudge him to leave, and Philip obeyed. Following the Spirit's lead, Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch on his way home after coming to Jerusalem to worship. Philip finds him reading from t...

After Stephen was murdered for his faith, persecution of the early Christians increased in frequency and intensity, causing all but the Apostles to flee Jerusalem. Acts 8 records the ministry of Philip (one of the seven appointed to serve in Acts 6 alongside Stephen). Philips flight from Jerusalem led him to the city of Samaria, where he continued preaching the Gospel (Acts 8:4-25). God did many s...

Stephen is the first person recorded to have given their life for the sake of the Gospel. After being arrested and tried due to his faith, he gives a brilliant testimony that traces God's work in the Old Testament to Jesus. Luke (the author of Acts) tells us that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace, and power. Much of what Luke records about Stephen's words and actions re...

As the early church grew in numbers, it also grew in complexity. Acts 6 opens with a complaint that needs addressed about how some of the Hellenist widows were being neglected. The leaders of the church call for a meeting and hand off responsibility for some things to others who could do it better. The church was growing because it was fulfilling the call Jesus placed on all Christians everywhere...