Dec 26
2021
Our Perfect King
Last time we looked at the second chapter of Luke’s gospel where the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son (Luke 2:31).
Sept 12, 2021
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When God first appeared to Abraham in Genesis 12, He gave him three distinct promises: a land, a seed, and a blessing of all the nations. We spent the past few weeks exploring all that was entailed in these three promises, and we ended last time with a reminder from Hebrews 11:13, that Abraham never saw the promises truly fulfilled in his lifetime, but rather saw them only in bits and pieces. He lived in the promised land, yet as a foreigner. He had several offspring throughout his life, yet only his son Isaac received the covenantal blessing. Yet even this did not happen immediately after receiving the promise, as it took 25 years for Sarah to finally conceive and give birth to Isaac. It would be during this time of waiting that God would once again appear to Abraham in Genesis 15 to make a covenant with him, but before we dive into the covenant-cutting ceremony itself, we need to take a step back and consider the overall context.
Keep ReadingWhen it comes to events that change the course of human history, we often think of various wars, natural disasters, famines, and plagues. Certainly, these are major events in and of themselves, but what if I told you that there was a single event experienced by one ancient Mesopotamian man that overshadowed all of these? In the next few blogs, we will be talking about that very event: the day when God appeared to a man named Abraham and promised him a land, a seed, and a blessing for all the nations.
Keep ReadingAs we continue our study of the biblical covenants, a couple of key themes begin to stand out: man’s inability and unwillingness to obey the word of God, and God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant promises in spite of our sinfulness. Just as Adam and Noah were undeserving of God’s mercy and grace, we will find that theme once again played out in the life of a pagan from ancient Mesopotamia called Abram, whose name would be later changed to Abraham.
Keep ReadingPreviously, we introduced the Noahic Covenant: where we find it in Scripture and its historical context. To sum it all up, God caused a global flood to occur in the days of Noah to judge the world for its wickedness and wipe everyone out except for Noah and his wife, and Noah’s sons and their wives…8 people in total. God saved the animals by bringing two of each kind into the ark. Then, God made a covenant with Noah and all of creation, promising that He would never again destroy the earth with water. God also chose the sign of the covenant to be the rainbow. Why a rainbow? Thomas Schreiner has a good explanation for this in his book Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World, where he wrote, “The sign of the covenant is that God has withdrawn his bow. He has put his weapons of war down and will not wipe out the human race again.”
Keep ReadingAmong all the books that have ever been written, none have been more under attack than the Bible. Yet, it is the best-selling book of all time, as it is by far the most revered book in all the world! It is amazing how even just the extreme polarization of the Bible is in and of itself a testimony of its truthfulness and divine authorship. Entire church splits and denominations have arisen because of how differently people interpret it, and the passages about the Noahic Covenant that we’ll be examining today are no exception.
Keep ReadingFrom the covenant God made at the time of creation to the new covenant established by God through the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Bible is full of covenantal language that describes the nature of God’s relationship with His people. The purpose of this series is to explore each of the covenants God established with mankind at significant turning points in redemptive history, how they were fulfilled in Christ, and what they mean for believers today. A study of the covenants helps us better understand how the Bible is one cohesive message about God’s eternal plan to save a people for Himself, so that He would be our God and we would be His people. It reminds us of God’s unchanging faithfulness in keeping His promises, despite our failures and shortcomings. Next time, we will lay the groundwork by defining what a covenant is, some common examples that constitute as such, and why it matters.
Keep ReadingDec 26
2021
Last time we looked at the second chapter of Luke’s gospel where the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son (Luke 2:31).
Dec 20
2021
Previously, we looked at Job chapter nine in which Job asked the question: “But how can a man be in the right before God?” (Job 9:2b). At the end of the chapter, Job reaches this conclusion to his question: “For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.” (Job 9:32-33)
Dec 13
2021
At the end of the eighth chapter of the book of Job, Bildad attempts to offer the suffering servant of God some hope: “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers” (Job 8:20).