Wilderness Wanderings

Our first reading is from Judges 6:1-12 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midiani...

Our first reading is from Isaiah 10:12-20 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for the wilful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says:   "'By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I remove...

Our first reading is from Psalm 73:21-28 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.   When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,       I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.         You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothi...

The Gospel reading for this week is from Mark 8:27-38 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" they replied, "Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Mark 2:23-3:6.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca DIVE DEEPER 1. What difficulties or compulsions make...

Our first reading is from Joshua 2:15-24 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. So, [Rahab] let [the spies] down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way." Now the men had said to her, "This oath you ma...

Our first reading is from Joshua 2:1-14 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two spies from Shittim. He sent them in secret. He said to them, "Go and look over the land. Most of all, check out Jericho." So, they went to Jericho. They stayed at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab. The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come...

Our first reading is from Judges 15:9-20 May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. The Philistines went up and camped in Judah. They spread out near Lehi. The people of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight against us?" "We've come to take Samson as our prisoner," they answered. "We want to do to him what he did to us." Then 3,000 men from Judah went to get Samson. They went down to the c...

Our text comes from Hebrews 11:29-12:2 May the Lord bless you as you listen and reflect on his word. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with thos...

May the Lord bless you as you listen and reflect on his word. I pray that it will not be another burden on your day, but by the grace of the Spirit, help you to rest in Jesus.  Mark 7:24-37. Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 11:28-30.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca How do you perceive religion? How does Jesus call...

Our text comes from Romans 2:1-16. May the Lord bless you as you listen and reflect on his word. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So, when you, a mere human b...

Our text comes from Deuteronomy 4:9-20, 23-24. May the Lord bless you as you listen and reflect on his word. [Moses said to Israel], "Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your...

Psalm 106 1  Praise the Lord . Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good;      his love endures forever. 2  Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord      or fully declare his praise? 3  Blessed are those who act justly,      who always do what is right. 4  Remember me, Lord , when you show favor to your people,      come to my aid when you save them, 5  that I may enjoy the prosperity of your c...

Today marks the beginning of a new season in our Wilderness Wanderings.   The focus of our church this Fall will be on Spiritual Disciplines.   And so in our devotions this Fall, we'd like to take a simpler pace.   A little known fact is that the Christian Reformed Church participated in forming something called the "Revised Common Lectionary," which provides a set of scripture readings for each d...

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. … For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.  … Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me. Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open...

"He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). The gospel story sounds too good to be true. It is the story of sheep rescued from a dark and fearful wilderness by the strong arms of a fierce shepherd. It's the story of children released from prison, of demons unmasked. It is the story of fearful disciples in a storm-tossed boat; the storm still...

When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you. (Psalm 50:21) Psalm 50 is the first of the psalms of Asaph, which tend to circle much more around the covenant and its requirements.  So it is here in psalm 50, which begins by setting up a scene of judgement.   God arrives as judge and calls the heavens and the...

God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts...That you may tell of them to the next generation (Psalm 48:3, 12, 13). In the Bible, cities can be centres of pride and corruption. Babylon symbolizes this kind of civilization (Revelation 17:18). However, a city can also be a centre of strength where the...

"Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with [Moses] and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the childre...

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51) . Birth and death both reveal that human life is fragile. To embrace both life and death, we need hope. Christians find their hope in the words of our text, " we will all be changed ". The birth of a child is often a beautiful thing. Few things are as awesome as cradling your newborn in your arms....

God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he...

God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (Psalm 46:1,7). Songs shape our faith. We remember very few sermons, but there are songs we can sing from memory, shaping our thoughts and feelings about God. In 1529, Martin Luther wrote a poem based on Psalm 46. The story is that he composed it to be sung to a popular pub...

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but a...

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4-5). There is a story of a young Naval graduate, who after completing his first overseas cruise, was given an opportunity to display his talents at getting his ship underway and out of port. The young officer's efficiency established a new reco...