Wilderness Wanderings

Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us." So, every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country. But the Lord said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.'" So, I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against t...

"There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and sole...

"But you wouldn't go up [into the land, Moses said to Israel]. You refused to obey the command of the Lord your God. You spoke against him in your tents. You said, "The Lord hates us. That's why he brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites. He wanted to destroy us. Where can we go? The men who checked out the land have made us afraid. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller tha...

Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."   Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about t...

Here is what I commanded your judges at that time, (said Moses) . I said, "Listen to your people's cases when they argue with one another. Judge them fairly. It doesn't matter whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and an outsider living among you. When you judge them, treat everyone the same. Listen to those who are important and those who are not. Don't be afraid of a...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Samuel 14:24-52 from the New International Version of the Bible.   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:  immanuelmini...

At that time I said to you, "You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? Choose some wise, understandi...

The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Horeb. He said, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Take your tents down. Go into the hill country of the Amorites. Go to all the people who are their neighbors. Go to the people who live in the Arabah Valley. Travel to the mountains and the western hills. Go to the people in the Negev Desert and along the coast. Travel to the land of Canaan and to...

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning...

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his holy temple. Praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his powerful acts. Praise him because he is greater than anything else. Praise him by blowing trumpets. Praise him with harps and lyres. Praise him with tambourines and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him with clashing cymbals. Praise him with clanging cymbals. Let ever...

Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Samuel 11 from the New International Version of the Bible.  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 What is...

Praise the Lord! Let [everything he has made] praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens (Psalm 148:1, 13). Praise the Lord! There is it. One of the basic commands of the Christian life. As basic as the two great commandments: love the Lord your God and your neighbour as yourself. As complex as the cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28 an...

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wi...

Praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Don't put your trust in human leaders. Don't trust in people who can't save you. When they die, they return to the ground. On that day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help. Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord the...

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.   One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.   They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of y...

Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle…None of our city walls will be broken down. No one will be carried off as a prisoner. No cries of pain will be heard in our streets (Psalm 144:1, 14). This psalm is easy enough to understand within its context of the king leading Israel's armies into battle against their enemies. War was part of their lives (cf. 2 Sa...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Samuel 13:1-15 from the New International Version of the Bible.  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:  immanuelminist...

Before we get to today's text in psalm 143, let me say a bit about it.  It is the last of the penitential psalms, which are the psalms the church has recognized as psalms fit to teach us what it means to repent.  Soon, the psalter will take the turn from repentance to joy in the final 5 psalms.  But first, a recognition of who we are before God and our utter dependence on him for salvation from ou...

I call out to the Lord. I pray to him for mercy. I pour out my problem to him. I tell him about my trouble. When I grow weak, you are watching over my life (Psalm 142:1-3a). At some point, most children must wrestle with a sense of abandonment. This loss is felt when parents leave the room. As they return time after time, the child will grow confident that their leaving is not permanent. For some...

I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you.   May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies...

Lord, save me from sinful people. Keep me safe from those who want to hurt me. They make evil plans in their hearts. They are always starting fights. Their tongues are as deadly as the tongue of a serpent.  The words from their lips are like the poison of a snake. I say to the Lord, "You are my God." Lord, hear my cry for mercy. Lord and King, you save me because you are strong. You are like a shi...

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. … Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:1-2,23-24)   Psalm 139 begins and ends in exactly the same way.  The psalm praises God in deeply personal and poetic wa...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Samuel 11 from the New International Version of the Bible.  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 In...

Lord, I will praise you with all my heart. In front of those who think they are gods I will sing praise to you. I will bow down facing your holy temple. I will praise your name because you are always loving and faithful. You have honored your holy word even more than your own fame (Psalm 138:1-2). If the psalms of the Old Testament are our prayer book, then it is wise to both pray them and learn t...