Podcasts about 23a

A santa pureza não é uma negação do amor, mas a defesa da nossa capacidade de amar de verdade. A alma humana não foi feita para viver como um tubo, por onde tudo passa e nada permanece, nem como uma bolha, que atravessa o mundo sem ser tocada por nada. O coração precisa ser como um frasco: capaz de se abrir, guardar, conservar e depois entregar. Assim como a pequena Amélie recolhe num pote os momentos felizes da praia para oferecê-los à amiga querida, também nós somos chamados a guardar dentro de nós aquilo que é verdadeiro, belo e digno de amor. O amor exige profundidade, intimidade e dom de si. São João Paulo II recorda que o homem só se encontra plenamente quando se entrega sinceramente. Mas essa entrega não acontece quando a pessoa vive escrava dos próprios instintos, pulando de estímulo em estímulo, experimentando de tudo e não se comprometendo com nada. A castidade, ou santa pureza, organiza o desejo, educa o coração e integra a força da sexualidade no bem maior da pessoa, para que o corpo, os afetos e a alma sirvam ao amor, e não ao egoísmo.A luta pela pureza passa por três armas concretas: inteligência, vigilância e franqueza. Inteligência para não cair nas falsas promessas do mundo, como o amor falso da pornografia, os relacionamentos vazios, a relevância artificial das redes sociais e até a “pseudo-mussarela” que parece alimento, mas engana. Vigilância porque tudo o que consumimos deixa marcas: imagens, músicas, filmes, textos e experiências vão treinando os nossos “algoritmos interiores”. Por isso, é preciso guardar o coração como um jardim fechado, uma fonte selada, um lugar precioso onde não se deixa qualquer coisa entrar.A franqueza é o caminho humilde de quem reconhece a própria fragilidade e pede ajuda a Deus. A pureza não se conquista fingindo força, mas abrindo a alma na confissão, na direção espiritual e na oração sincera. Falar com simplicidade sobre tentações, pensamentos intrusivos e quedas ajuda a tirar o peso da vergonha e recoloca tudo no seu devido lugar: não somos definidos pelas nossas tentações, mas pelo amor que escolhemos buscar. Que o Imaculado Coração de Maria, tão ligado à luta pela pureza e ao chamado de Fátima, nos ensine a guardar o coração para amar melhor, com liberdade, verdade e alegria.______________

The Catskill Park's most visited corridor — Kaaterskill Falls and the Kaaterskill Clove area along Route 23A — may be heading for a major management overhaul. In this extra edition, host Brett Barry sits down with Jeff Senterman, Executive Director of the Catskill Center, to dig into a newly released Visitor Use Management report that recommends capping daily visitors at 1,000, implementing timed entry and advance reservations, and evaluating a public shuttle service to replace the recently shuttered private one.Senterman welcomes the framework while pushing back on its most restrictive proposals, arguing that limiting public access to the forest preserve should be a last resort — not a first response. He also reflects on what the report misses: the history of the place, the unresolved dangers of pedestrian and car traffic along 23A, and the years of groundwork that preceded this process.The public comment period closes June 1st. To read the report, search "Kaaterskill Falls Visitor Use Management" at dec.ny.gov. NYSDEC is accepting public feedback on the report through June 1, 2026 at ForestPreserve@dec.ny.gov.

TODAY'S TREASUREAbove all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. Proverbs 15:28Send us a comment!Support the show

Send us Fan MailCritical PeopleOption 1: Don't respond.He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 1 Peter 2:23A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11Option 2: Respond carefully.Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously. But he answered them… Judges 8:1-2When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon's answer, their anger subsided. Judges 8:3When emotions are high , wisdom is low. Option 3: Listen and make a change.If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Proverbs 15:31-32Always guard your heart Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. Proverbs 12:18So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:10Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let's stop condemning each other. Romans 14:12-13Discussion Questions:What is the most ridiculous criticism you've received?How long has it been since you were last criticized?Think of the most critical people you know. What do you think causes all their criticism?Pastor Sean said, don't respond, respond carefully, listen and make a change, and guard your heart. What is your typical response?Which do you struggle with more? Being overly critical or overly sensitive to criticism? How can you do better this week? Thank you for listening to the Relate Community Church podcast! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. If today's message spoke to you, share it with a friend or leave us a review to help spread the word. To learn more about Relate Community Church, visit us at www.relatecommunity.com. You are always welcome here, and remember—you are loved

What does Jewish history—its incredible heaviness (Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron) and its incredible inspiration (Yom Ha'atzmaut)—ask of me? Does the passage of time affect the answer to that question? We are 81 years from the Holocaust. We are in the midst of yet another war with Iran and its proxies. What is our current responsibility to the Shoah and to the State of Israel? If we choose to disengage from all this heaviness, if we choose to not make Jewish history our problem, if we choose just to live our lives in Greater Boston, send out kids to school, do our jobs, come home, call it a day, that choice is tempting. That choice is understandable. What is the cost of that choice? To grapple with these hard questions during this season of the three Yoms, we will examine two Talmudic stories from Ta'anit 23A. The first is the story of Choni who sees a man planting carob trees and asks how long it will take for the carob to be ready to eat? 70 years. Will you still be here in 70 years? No. But I inherited a world that had carob trees that had been planted by my ancestors, and I want to leave a world that has carob trees for my descendants. The second, on the heels of the first, has Choni waking up from a deep sleep of 70 years. When he wakes up, he goes to his old haunts, his home, his shul, his study hall, and no one recognizes him. He cries out: “I am Choni.” But he is invisible. Unseen. Unrecognized. Everybody he knew is dead. Nobody alive knows him. He dies of a broken heart, prompting the climactic rabbinic teaching: oh chavrutah oh mitutah. Give me community or give me death. So many questions:What is the meaning of each story?How do these two stories connect? The editors of the Talmud intentionally connect them.What do the two stories mean to the three Yoms and to our personal connection to Jewish history and to Jewish destiny?Can we plant for a future that we will not see?Can we live in a future in which we are not seen?

Neste episódio do 24Cast, Romualdo recebe Fábio 23A, parceiro Bitrix24 que atua diretamente da Europa, para um bate-papo sobre as mudanças críticas que estão moldando o ecossistema do CRM no Brasil e no mundo. Exploramos o cenário atual de instabilidade do WhatsApp não oficial e por que a migração para a API Oficial deixou de ser um custo para se tornar um investimento estratégico em segurança e governança. Se você ainda sofre com bloqueios ou lentidão no atendimento, este vídeo é um alerta necessário.Discutimos também as reais capacidades de Marketing no Bitrix24: onde ele brilha (formulários e ROI) e onde ele ainda exige criatividade e integrações (nutrição de leads e inbound). O que você vai aprender neste episódio:A "Era da Hiperespecialização": Como encontrar o parceiro Bitrix24 ideal para o seu nicho (indústria, saúde, e-commerce, etc.).WhatsApp API: Por que a Meta está endurecendo as políticas nas contas não oficiais e as vantagens do selo de verificado.Cultura de Dados na Europa: A curiosa relevância do SMS em Portugal comparada ao domínio do WhatsApp no Brasil.Hacks de Marketing: Como usar SMTP externo (Amazon SES, SendGrid) para melhorar a entrega de e-mails e o uso de SPAs para sequências de automação.Futuro do Bitrix24: O impacto dos Agentes de IA como divisores de águas para 2026.

Introduction: Psalm 32:5 – I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Conceal or Confess? If You Want to Confess: (1 John 1:5 - 2:6) You Have to Be Done LYING About Your Sin. (1 John 1:5-10) 3 Lies You Have to Stop Claiming: I BELIEVE in God. (When You Don't LIVE Like It.) (1 John 1:6-7) I'm a GOOD Person. (1 John 1:8-9) I Don't SIN. (1 John 1:10) You Have to Come to JESUS. (1 John 2:1-2) Your LIFESTYLE Proves Your Sincerity. (1 John 2:3-6) Hebrews 4:14 - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:00-00:09Open up those Bibles to the passage that Levi just read, 1 John 1.00:12-00:14While you're turning there, let's just quiet our hearts for a moment.00:14-00:19And I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to faithfully communicate God's Word.00:21-00:29And I'll pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us from His Word tonight.00:29-00:31All right, let's pray.00:33-00:44Father in heaven, I pray that this time would allow us to feel the weight of what it is we're remembering here tonight.00:46-00:48We're so distracted with so many things.00:50-01:02I just pray, Father, by the power of Your Spirit, everything is off our minds and hearts except your word.01:06-01:14And that we would be honest enough with ourselves to see things as you see them.01:18-01:24Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice that was made.01:26-01:29You spared not your own son.01:34-01:38We pray in the glorious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.01:40-01:41Amen.01:41-01:46We're in this series, this short series called Respect the Office.01:49-01:54That if Jesus presented a resume, it would have a lot on it.01:56-02:00But there are three roles in particular.02:02-02:07We're just sort of slowing down and looking at, and last Sunday Pastor Rich talked about Jesus as prophet.02:08-02:10He is the word of God.02:10-02:14Who God is, is represented in Jesus.02:16-02:22Tonight, we're going to see that Jesus Christ is our priest.02:25-02:27What is a priest, anyways?02:28-02:36Well, in the simplest terms, the prophet represented God to man.02:37-02:42And the priest represents man to God.02:43-02:50And in the Old Testament, the priests offered sacrifices from sinners to God at the temple.02:51-03:12So tonight, as our minds naturally think of Jesus Christ on the cross, what you need to see in your mind in that moment when Jesus was on the cross, was He was not only the the sacrifice that was being offered for sin.03:12-03:17At the same time, He was the priest who was offering the sacrifice.03:19-03:28Jesus Christ, as our priest, came to deal with our sin.03:32-03:51There is one thing you must do Before you can receive forgiveness, before you can have a relationship with God at all, there's one thing you have to do.03:52-03:53You have to confess.03:55-04:09And if you're a Christian, if you are truly born again, and you're sitting here tonight, and you're wondering why your walk is so weak, why you aren't the strong Christian that you thought you would be by now.04:13-04:15Maybe you stopped confessing.04:16-04:19Look at verse 9 again.04:21-04:30If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.04:34-04:36We're going to talk about confess tonight.04:37-04:39What does it mean to confess?04:41-04:44Well, in the Greek, it's a compound word.04:44-04:54It literally means, "say the same." In other words, to confess means that you're agreeing with God.04:56-04:58Agreeing with God that you are a sinner.04:58-05:02Agreeing with God that your sin is wrong.05:05-05:06I agree with God.05:07-05:08It's saying I'm guilty.05:09-05:11I'm not a good person.05:11-05:16I look at my actions and I do things that are just shameful.05:18-05:21I hear the words that come out of my mouth sometimes.05:22-05:24What is wrong with me?05:27-05:27Shameful.05:29-05:38So I look into my heart and I realize, there's something broken in me.05:40-05:41There's something evil in me.05:44-05:47How is it that I can be so full of selfishness?05:47-05:51How is it that I can be so full of hatred sometimes?05:52-05:53How is it that I can be so full of lust?05:55-05:56Why is that?06:00-06:01Confessing is agreeing with God.06:05-06:10And the three hardest words that you will ever say, it's not, "I love you." Those ones are hard.06:10-06:12But there are three harder words to say.06:13-06:24And those words are these, "I have sinned." To get to the point where you are saying this from your heart, "I've sinned.06:25-06:26I have sinned.06:27-06:30You know, I was thinking about that a lot this week and preparing for this message.06:31-06:32Why is that so hard?06:35-06:46I mean, it's clear in the Bible, it's clear from observation that we have a problem, but why is it so hard for me to get to that place where I say, "I have sinned"?06:46-06:49Why is it so hard for you to admit that, to confess that?06:52-06:53I think it's a lot of things.06:55-06:57I think the big reason is pride, right?06:58-07:02To admit that you're a sinner is also an admission of weakness.07:02-07:06I'm not the morally strong person that I want to think that I am.07:07-07:15Maybe it's hard to confess that I am a sinner because deep down the reality is we actually kind of like our sin.07:16-07:19We would miss it if it wasn't in our lives.07:19-08:13is that. If you're sitting here tonight and you're like, "Well, I don't feel like I love my sin. I want out of it, but I feel trapped in it. I'm in bondage to it." That's hard to confess. That something is so ruling over you. "I don't want to do this, but I keep doing it. What is my problem?" You know, I think really for a lot of us, it's hard to say I have sinned because it's just so hard to not see yourself as the hero in your own story. Sometimes you're the bad guy. So am I. Acknowledging sin is uncomfortable. It's offensive. And it just it goes against our natural inclinations.08:17-08:18Here's the reality from God's Word.08:20-08:21Unsaved people.08:22-08:29People who don't sincerely know the Lord, are always going to try to downplay sin.08:31-08:32It's not that big of a deal.08:33-08:36And one of the ways they do that is by trying to redefine sin.08:36-08:40We won't call it sin, we'll call it something else and kind of soften the blow.08:41-08:46But the big one is, unsaved people conceal their sin.08:47-08:48Let's keep it hidden.08:48-08:50Let's make sure nobody finds out about it.08:50-08:52They conceal their sin.08:55-09:05Saved people, on the other hand, according to that passage Levi just read, saved people confess their sin.09:08-09:10So tonight I just want to ask you one question.09:12-09:12What are you doing?09:16-09:18Conceal or confess?09:19-09:20Which one are you?09:25-09:32Bible's so clear about this and what's at stake in this.09:33-09:40Psalm 32.5 says, "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.09:41-09:49I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." Do you see that?09:51-09:52Conceal or confess.09:55-10:20Same thing, Proverbs 28.13 says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." So what are you doing with your sin? Are you concealing it? Or are you confessing it?10:23-10:33So on your outline, if you're taking notes, it says at the top, "Conceal or confess?" And there might be some people in here that are honest enough to say, you know what, I'd rather just conceal it.10:34-10:37And I would say respectfully, I don't know why you're here tonight.10:41-10:42You should have stayed home.10:45-10:48But I do know that there are some people here tonight that are like, you know what?10:51-10:53It's gone on beyond too long.10:54-10:54I need to confess.10:56-10:57I need to confess.10:57-11:03Well, I'm so glad you're here, if that's you, because I want to help you with that, from the Word of God.11:03-11:07So on your outline, if you want to confess, number one, this is where you have to start.11:09-11:11You have to be done lying about your sin.11:11-11:12You have to be done with that.11:13-11:16You have to be done lying about your sin.11:18-11:19Again, look at verse five.11:20-11:29He says, "This is the message we have heard from Him "and proclaimed to you, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.11:30-11:31God is light.11:32-11:38We could spend a whole sermon series talking about that, but the bottom line is this, that represents life.11:39-11:40That represents holiness.11:41-11:43There is no death in God.11:43-11:45There's no unholiness in God.11:45-11:46There's no sin.11:46-11:48There's no darkness of any kind in God.11:49-11:54A man, on the other hand, I probably don't have to sell you on that, do I?11:57-12:04And you see, when we talk about confessing, yes, you absolutely must confess with your mouth.12:07-12:10But, it has to ultimately start in your heart.12:12-12:18Because you can say something with your mouth that isn't actually true in your heart.12:20-12:27And when you say something that's not true, that's called telling a lie.12:28-12:30And that's where John starts here.12:31-12:32Like, you want to confess?12:33-12:33You've got to be done lying.12:36-12:46You see, three times in this passage, he says, "if we claim" or "if we say" "if we say" "if we say" He's pointing out the lies We tell ourselves.12:47-12:48He goes, you've got to stop that.12:49-12:50Let's look at them quickly.12:51-12:53Three lies you've got to stop claiming.12:54-12:55You've got to stop these.12:55-12:57Number, or letter A, sorry, letter A.12:58-13:00Here's a lie that a lot of people are saying.13:01-13:02I believe in God.13:05-13:07When you don't live like it.13:09-13:15People are saying, yeah, I believe in God, but they don't live like they know Him at all.13:16-13:18It's a lie, right?13:18-13:19Not my opinion, look at verse six.13:20-13:31He says, "If we say we have fellowship with Him, with God, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.13:32-13:35If we claim we have fellowship with Him," do you know what that is?13:36-13:40That's the guy or the girl that says, "Oh, I believe in God.13:41-13:42"Oh yeah, yeah, I believe in God.13:42-13:43I know God.13:44-13:49I mean, yeah, I'm a Christian." But he says they walk in darkness.13:49-13:54They're living in some secret, sinful lifestyle.13:57-13:59And John points out here, look, you're living a lie.14:00-14:02You're just, you're living a lie.14:03-14:05I don't know who you think you're fooling, but it's not God.14:07-14:08And this is a hard truth.14:11-14:14that I think tonight we need to confront ourselves with.14:15-14:18Not everyone who claims to know God actually does know God.14:20-14:23Not everyone who claims they know God is actually heading to heaven.14:26-14:33Not everyone who's sitting in a church, not just tonight, any church, week after week, not everyone sitting in a church is saved.14:37-15:04I got to tell you, I talk to a lot of people who will be talking about a family member of theirs, their brother, or their adult children, or their parents, and we'll be talking about these family members, and I'm like, "Well, do they know the Lord?" And they'll say, "Well, yeah, they're Christians." And then they say, "But they haven't gone to church "in years, they're not interested in praying.15:05-15:08They really don't want to have any spiritual conversations.15:09-15:12You know, I invited them to Good Friday service and they absolutely didn't want to come.15:14-15:15But yeah, he's a Christian.15:18-15:24I mean, yeah, he's living in adultery right now.15:25-15:26Oh, he's foul-mouthed.15:27-15:29And he is such a heavy drinker.15:32-15:32But he's a Christian.15:35-15:36Based on what?15:37-15:39What are you basing that on?15:39-15:41And you know what the response usually is?15:41-15:47Well, one time we were in a church and they said they believed in God.15:48-15:51They like raised their hand in a service one time.15:54-15:55But what does the Bible say?15:56-15:58Do you see that in verse six?15:58-16:03If we say we have fellowship, but we're walking in darkness, what does your Bible say?16:04-16:05It says you're lying.16:06-16:06It's just not true.16:10-16:12But on the other hand, look at verse seven.16:12-16:25He says, "But if we walk in the light, "as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, "and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." Walking in the light.16:26-16:27No hidden sin.16:29-16:35No secret sin that you hope to heaven nobody finds out about.16:43-16:46You sin, you confess.16:48-16:49You are walking in the light.16:50-16:51You're like, yeah, I did sin.16:51-16:53That was wrong what I did.16:53-16:54It was wrong in God's eyes.16:54-16:55I've sinned against my family.16:55-16:56I'm confessing that.16:56-16:58I'm getting with God on this.16:58-17:04I'm getting accountability on this to help me drag this to the light.17:07-17:09So what's your plan tonight?17:09-17:10Are you going to conceal?17:12-17:13Or are you going to confess?17:20-17:23You're walking in the light or you're walking in darkness?17:26-17:28There's no middle ground, by the way.17:29-17:33The Bible doesn't talk about walking in half light or half dark.17:33-17:36What typifies your life right now?17:37-17:39Which one describes you?17:40-17:42Are you walking in the light?17:45-17:47Or is there a whole lot of stuff that you're trying to keep concealed?17:51-17:53Well, John says, "Stop lying.17:54-17:54"Stop lying.17:54-17:59"Your claim of believing in God means nothing if your life is characterized by sin.18:00-18:03All right, so that's a lie you have to stop claiming.18:03-18:06Here's another lie you have to stop.18:07-18:08Letter B, I'm a good person.18:11-18:12I'm a good person.18:12-18:14Well, let's see what the Bible says about that, verse eight.18:14-18:22If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.18:23-18:25We claim we're without sin.18:26-18:27I'm not that bad.18:28-18:32I mean, I'm actually a good person.18:33-18:39Like deep down, you know, deep down, I have a good heart.18:40-18:42I'm a good person deep down.18:44-18:45God knows that.18:48-18:49Here's what God knows.18:51-18:54God knows that you were born with a sin nature that you inherited from Adam.18:55-18:58that's been passed down from generation to generation, and you got it.19:02-19:02Don't believe me?19:04-19:07Sometimes I have people challenge me on this, like I don't think that we're born with a sin nature.19:08-19:09I don't think that that's true.19:09-19:11I don't think that we are born with a sin nature.19:11-19:13I'm like, have you ever been around a kid?19:14-19:15Ever?19:17-19:18(congregation laughing)19:19-19:21That's exactly what I'm talking about.19:25-19:28That's exactly what I'm talking about, that little sinner tried to hijack the sermon.19:31-19:33You just proved my point, little lamb.19:40-19:43And look, if you don't have kids, there's plenty of people around here that do have them.19:43-19:45I'm sure they'll let you hang out.19:47-19:49I'm sure they might ask you to watch them for a few days.19:55-19:56Who has ever taught a kid?19:58-19:59I mean, think of a little toddler.20:00-20:01Think of little Joey back there.20:02-20:06Does dad ever sit down with him and say, "Listen, listen, Joey, I'm gonna teach you "something important here.20:07-20:12"If you learn how to lie convincingly, "you're gonna go far in life, all right?20:13-20:17"I guess, son, what I'm saying is "always cover your tracks, okay?20:18-20:25"Because if you got away with it, then you've mastered the art of deception.20:26-20:29Has any dad sat down with their kid and taught them that?20:29-20:30I sure hope not.20:30-20:31You're a monster.20:31-20:33You're a monster if you're teaching your kid how to sin.20:34-20:36But you don't have to.20:37-20:45How is it that these kids automatically know how to sneak, how to lie, how to steal, how to be selfish?20:45-20:46How do they know that?20:47-20:50Like, were they reading some manual in the womb?20:50-20:51Like, what is going on here?20:54-20:55We're born with a sin nature.20:57-20:59So if you're like, "Well, you know what?21:00-21:01I'm really not that bad.21:01-21:05I'm not really a bad person." The Bible says you're deceiving to yourself.21:05-21:09You're telling a lie, and then you're turning around and believing the own lie that you just told yourself.21:12-21:13You say you have a good heart?21:15-21:30Actually if that's your stance, if that's your stance here tonight, to think that you're You're really a good person, I've got to tell you, you're in a hopeless situation when it comes to the gospel, because you're not going to confess.21:32-21:36What can God do for someone who doesn't think that they need Him?21:39-21:40It's a hopeless situation.21:44-21:45Look at verse nine again.21:45-21:56If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, excuse me, forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.21:59-22:02I did a lot of reading this past week in preparing for this.22:02-22:12And you get to this verse, and these scholars and commentators are like, is this verse for believers, or is this verse for unbelievers?22:16-22:28The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Confession is like repentance. Think about repentance.22:29-22:44Is repentance something you do when you first come to Christ? Yeah. But if you're a true born again believer in Christ, when do you stop repenting? Never. In Matthew 3.8, Luke 3.8, both say the exact same thing.22:45-22:49Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.22:49-22:53Repentance is to be the lifestyle of the follower of Jesus.22:54-22:56And confession is exactly the same.22:56-22:59In coming to Christ, you have to confess.22:59-23:07And if you're a Christian, your life is typified by constant acknowledgment of your sin before a holy God.23:11-23:18regular occurrence in our walk with Christ, Christians are characterized as confessors.23:20-23:23A true Christian is always going to God.23:23-23:25"God, I hate my sin.23:25-23:27God, this is what I did.23:27-23:29I messed up.23:29-23:29I sinned.23:30-23:33God, specifically, here is what I did.23:34-23:35God, I need to change.23:35-23:37God, I'm confessing that.23:38-23:42Thank You for the forgiveness that You've purchased through Your Son, Jesus Christ, God.23:42-23:49I need the power of Your Spirit to help me repent." That is how a Christian confesses their sin.23:51-23:54And John says that God's response is to forgive and purify.23:56-23:57Why does He do that?23:59-24:00Because you're worthy?24:03-24:03Not hardly.24:04-24:09John says he does that because he, he is faithful and just.24:11-24:17See, God's forgiveness is based on his promise, not your performance.24:17-24:21God's forgiveness comes to you on his terms, not your terms.24:22-24:28And God's forgiveness, the assurance that we have that we are forgiven is because of God's integrity.24:30-24:39that I can say, "I know that I have the promise of heaven," not because of me, I know I have the promise of heaven because I believe in a God who always keeps His word.24:41-24:42And this is what He's promised.24:45-24:50So if you're sitting here tonight, you're like, "Yeah, I'm a good person." You're really not.24:52-24:59As long as you think you are, you're not going to understand what the cross of Jesus Christ was all about.25:01-25:03Three lies you need to stop claiming.25:04-25:07Letter C, same vein here, right?25:07-25:08Letter C, I don't sin.25:11-25:12I don't sin.25:13-25:15Believe it or not, I've met people that have made that claim.25:15-25:16Look at verse 10.25:16-25:30He says, "If we say we have not sinned, "we make him a liar and his word is not in us." If we claim we have not sinned, that's the person, And again, I've met these people, they're like, "Sin?25:33-25:43I don't sin." Well, you did just call God a liar then because He says differently.25:46-25:50It's one of the interesting things about sin, wouldn't you say?25:50-26:00interesting, that we tend to minimize our sin and we maximize other people's sin.26:02-26:08Ours is so small and insignificant, but somebody else's, oh boy, they really blew it.26:14-26:16God wants to deal with you about your sin.26:18-26:24And you can't confess Jesus as a Savior if you say you don't have what He saves from.26:27-26:36And if you refuse to acknowledge your sin, you refuse to admit, you refuse to confess your sin, then the cross means nothing.26:38-26:45And we come to a service like this, we think of Jesus Christ on the cross, and we're really left wondering why did he die in the first place?26:48-26:49Concealer confess.26:53-26:53What are you doing?26:58-26:59Concealer confess.26:59-27:01Are you going to leave tonight lying to yourself?27:04-27:07Or are you going to finally agree with God?27:12-27:23So if you want to confess, if that's you, and I want to help you, first of all, you gotta stop lying to yourself, you gotta stop lying to God, you gotta stop lying to everybody, you gotta stop the lies.27:23-27:27Number two, you have to come to Jesus.27:30-27:33Confession is about the person of Jesus Christ.27:33-27:47Look at verse one, he says, in chapter two, "My little children, I'm writing these things to you "so that you may not sin." But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.27:49-28:01John says, "Look, I'm writing this so you don't sin." God's Word doesn't allow us to have a dismissive attitude about sin, which a lot of Christians have.28:02-28:05It's like, "Well, yeah, I sin, but it doesn't really matter.28:05-28:10I'm forgiven in Christ." we just sort of dismiss it.28:12-28:13John goes, "No, no, no, no.28:14-28:35I'm writing these things to you so that you are turning from sin." He goes, "But if anybody does sin, and you will," spoiler alert, "you will," John says, "when you sin, you have an advocate, if you're in Christ." And this is one of the most beautiful pictures in all the Bible.28:36-28:39You know, it's a courtroom scene actually.28:39-28:45Revelation chapter 12 says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren.28:45-28:46Do you know what Satan does?28:47-28:52He goes before God, and if you're a follower of Christ, Satan accuses you before God.28:53-28:55Satan's like, he's no good.28:57-28:58Did you hear what he said?28:58-29:00That's one of your guys?29:00-29:01Did you hear what he said?29:02-29:03That's what Satan does.29:03-29:06Satan, he's a slanderer, he's an accuser.29:06-29:10But you see, when Jesus Christ is your advocate, he is your defense attorney.29:11-29:22That when Satan says, "Do you see what a miserable person this is?" Jesus steps up and says, "He did sin, "but I took his sin on myself when I died on the cross." He's forgiven.29:22-29:25He is not guilty because I paid that penalty.29:27-29:28And Satan goes to the next person.29:28-29:30You see what a miserable person she is?29:30-29:31Do you hear how she talked?29:31-29:32Do you see what she did?29:33-29:43Jesus says, "I died for her." All of the sin that was committed by her, Jesus said, "When I was on the cross, I paid the penalty." She is not guilty.29:45-29:50That's what it means that Jesus as our advocate, and that is way better than Edgar Snyder.29:53-29:55Owen might not think so.29:57-29:58If you know, you know.29:59-30:00Look at verse two.30:03-30:10He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.30:11-30:12Propitiation.30:12-30:15Oh, that's like one of the best words in the Bible.30:15-30:20John's just hitting like all of the most awesome concepts in a row right here.30:21-30:27Propitiation, your Bible might translate it, atoning, sacrifice, but this is a concept that you really need to understand.30:28-30:29Propitiation just simply means this.30:30-30:34God is satisfied with what Jesus did on the cross.30:35-30:36That's what it means.30:36-30:43When Jesus was on the cross, God was pouring out his wrath on Jesus for my sin and for your sin.30:44-30:47God put all of the wrath that I deserve on Jesus.30:47-30:50And that is awesome news because you know what that means?30:50-30:52God has no more wrath left for me.30:54-30:57And if you're in Christ, he has no wrath left for you.30:57-31:07And Christian, you've gotta get this in your head I've talked to so many Christians that are like, "I just really feel like God's mad at me, "and I feel like God's so disappointed in me." He's not!31:08-31:16It's not like God poured out His wrath on Jesus, and then God turns around and sees you sinning, and is like, "Oh, I'm still mad!31:17-31:20"I gotta punish her now, too!" That's not how it works.31:22-31:23Propitiation, God is satisfied.31:24-31:29He has no wrath for you if you've truly received Jesus Christ.31:32-31:47And not just for you, not just for you, look at verse two, he goes on to say, "Not for ours only, "not for our sins only, "but also for the sins of the whole world." Again, this is where a lot of scholars get caught up.31:50-31:55I just, you're like, "Oh, you think you're smarter than those scholars." No, I don't.31:55-31:57I think they're too smart sometimes.31:58-32:01I think they make this way too complicated.32:03-32:04You know what I mean by that?32:04-32:16You know, I was reading, and I heard some pastoral panel thing, they were talking about this very verse, and they were like, what is being talked about here for the sins of the whole world?32:16-32:19Is he talking about the elect?32:19-32:20Like it's just for the elect?32:22-32:25Is this speaking to limited atonement?32:28-32:33You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be.32:33-32:34Do you know what this means?32:35-32:36Do you know what this verse means?32:36-32:38I'll tell you what this verse means.32:39-32:39Right here.32:41-32:49What this verse is saying is I can confidently say to anyone, when you believe in Jesus, you will be forgiven of your sins.32:50-32:52You will be adopted as a child of God.32:52-32:54I can say that to anybody, because it's for the whole world.32:54-33:04I can say that here, I can say that in Thailand, I can say that in Blonox, it doesn't matter where I am, this truth holds, Jesus forgives sin.33:06-33:08Let God figure out all that other stuff.33:10-33:14My job is to tell the world, and your job too.33:16-33:17Concealer confess.33:19-33:19Conceal or confess.33:21-33:31At this point, if you're still wanting to conceal, you're committed to walking out of here like, "Yeah, I just can't, I can't come clean about my sin.33:31-33:38"Not to God, not to anybody." Well, it's not gonna go well for you.33:39-33:45Remember what the Proverbs writers say, that if you conceal your sin, you're not gonna prosper.33:46-33:48It's not gonna go well for you.33:51-33:57But if you want to confess, that's business that you have to do with Jesus.33:59-34:16Not only confessing who you are as a sinner, but confession includes saying who He is, agreeing with God who Jesus is, agreeing with God that Jesus is your advocate, agreeing with God that Jesus is your propitiation, agreeing with God about that.34:17-34:24If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.34:28-34:34So this night more than any other probably reminds us why Jesus is the only one who can take your sin away.34:35-34:36Nobody else can do that.34:38-34:46Nobody else can make you be pronounced not guilty in the courtroom of God.34:49-34:50Conceal or confess?34:52-34:59Well, if you want to confess, number three, your lifestyle proves your sincerity.35:02-35:04Your lifestyle proves your sincerity.35:05-35:07Look at verses 3 through 6 again.35:08-35:13He says, "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.35:15-35:20Whoever says, "I know Him," but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.35:21-35:27But whoever keeps His word in him, truly the love of God is perfected.35:28-35:34By this we may know that we are in Him.35:35-35:41Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.35:44-35:48I'm sure if the hospitality team grabbed every person on the way out, do you wanna confess?35:48-35:50I'm sure they would get 100%.35:50-35:51Yeah, I confess.35:51-35:52I can, yeah, I confess.35:58-36:02We'll find out if it's sincere by how you live, right?36:03-36:05That's why he says it in verse three.36:05-36:06He says it at the end of verse five.36:07-36:08We know that we have come to know him.36:09-36:10We know that we are saved.36:10-36:12Like what's the evidence?36:12-36:15How do I really know if I'm saved or not?36:15-36:16How would I know that?36:16-36:17He tells you right here.36:17-36:19Here's how you know that you're saved.36:19-36:20You keep his commands.36:22-36:28The proof that you know God is just simply you do what he says.36:32-36:34It's not just what you claim.36:37-36:38Are you saved?36:38-36:38You know the Lord.36:39-36:40And people say, well, you know what?36:40-36:46I was baptized 17 years ago at First Baptist Church of so-and-so.36:47-36:47Goody.36:49-36:51That's not evidence that you're saved, though.36:53-37:05Or somebody says, "Well, I go to church almost every week." I mean, not when Declan has lacrosse, but every other week I'm in church.37:05-37:06Great.37:08-37:10I strongly encourage church attendance.37:10-37:13I think that's a good thing, but that's not evidence of salvation.37:14-37:17Evidence of salvation is I do what God tells me to do.37:19-37:22It's just that simple, according to John.37:24-37:30I believe, I believe not verified by what you say, I believe is verified by how you live.37:30-37:32Are you gonna conceal or are you gonna confess tonight?37:33-37:34Which is it?37:36-37:51Because obviously, if you really agree with God that sin is evil, you're going to be constantly confessing and forsaking sin.37:55-37:57So do you live a life of confession?38:01-38:04Do you agree with God about your sin?38:06-38:19And do you agree with God concerning what He said the crucifixion of His Son accomplished for the person who will turn to Him?38:22-38:23Our worship team would make their way back up.38:26-38:54And our communion servers, we're gonna close our time around the Lord's table And you do not have to be a member of Harvard's Bible Chapel to take communion, but you do have to be a born-again believer in Christ. This is for believers.38:58-39:02And fellow Christians, it is gathering around the Lord's table.39:02-39:06Well, this is a time to confess everything.39:08-39:11Everything that John said in this passage, we get to confess that right now.39:13-39:21When we take these elements, what we're saying, what we're confessing, I confess that my sin is evil and wrong in the eyes of God.39:22-39:23I confess that.39:24-39:27I confess that Jesus Christ died for my sin.39:29-39:35I confess that God is satisfied with the work that Jesus accomplished on my behalf.39:37-39:40I confess Jesus Christ is my advocate.39:41-39:46I confess that I need His Spirit to make me who God wants me to be.39:49-40:00I confess that I will prove that I believe when I obey God in every area of my life.40:03-40:16Hebrews 4.14 says, "Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.40:18-40:22Let us hold fast our confession.40:24-40:36We're going to ask, when you're ready, if you would come down to the center aisles and receive the elements from one of our pastors, and you can return to your seat by the outside aisle.40:37-40:49I'm going to ask that you hold on to it, and let's confess together tonight, church, that We are agreeing with God in all these things.40:52-40:54So please come, take the elements.40:56-40:57This is our confession.40:59-41:05This is our agreeing with God that Jesus is who God said He is.41:06-41:09And that Jesus accomplished what God said He accomplished.41:11-41:16The Bible tells us on the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and he broke it and he gave thanks.41:17-41:20And he said, "This is my body, which is broken for you.41:21-41:45Eat this in remembrance of me." After the meal, Bible tells us that Jesus took the cup and he said, "This cup is my blood, the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin.41:46-41:48Drink this in remembrance of me.41:50-41:51What are you doing tonight?41:54-41:56Conceal or confess?41:59-42:01Jesus has quite a resume.42:04-42:06As the prophet, he is the word of God.42:08-42:11As the priest, he takes away our sin.42:12-42:15I want to invite you to come back in two days on Sunday.42:15-42:26Pastor Taylor is going to talk about the other role that Jesus has, the King of Kings.42:27-42:28You don't want to miss that.42:30-42:31You are loved. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 John 1:5-2:6What was your big take-away from this passage / message?BreakoutPray for one another.

Introduction: Are You Committed to Winning People with the Gospel? (1 Corinthians 9:15-23) SACRIFICE: Do You Give Up Your Rights in Order to WIN People? STEWARD: Do You See Yourself as ENTRUSTED with the Gospel? 2 Corinthians 5:19 - that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. SHARER: Do You Know the Joy of Sharing the Blessings of the Gospel? Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:00-00:04Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9.00:07-00:10While you're turning there, let's just take a moment.00:10-00:18I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to proclaim the Word of God as I should.00:19-00:26And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us today.00:27-00:28Let's pray.00:31-00:38Father, we understand that what is about to happen is supernatural.00:42-00:46This isn't giving some TED Talk.00:48-00:55This is the proclamation of your eternal word that somehow your Holy Spirit works with your word.00:59-01:01to conform us into the image of your Son.01:03-01:08Father, I pray that you would do a mighty work in all of us this morning.01:11-01:16Thank you, Father, in advance for the work that you're going to do.01:17-01:20We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.01:22-01:241 Corinthians 9, are you there?01:24-01:29Before we start this, Doug, did Taylor get paid this week?01:31-01:31He did not.01:32-01:34We don't usually do this publicly, but would you pay Taylor?01:40-01:41(congregation laughing)01:45-01:49You gotta keep the pastor humble, thank you, Doug.01:50-01:51You gotta keep the pastor humble.01:54-01:56Don't expect anything else for like a month.01:58-01:59You're gonna have to stretch it.02:01-02:03You got him the king-size Kit Kat, right?02:03-02:06Okay, then I don't wanna hear nothing about no second service.02:07-02:09You got plenty.02:10-02:10Don't be a hog.02:14-02:33When Erin and I were first married, we lived in town and we had a neighbor up the street that would often walk his dog right by our house and he would often stop in our front yard and let his dog do what dogs do on walks.02:35-02:37And there was no cleanup, by the way.02:39-03:09But this went on for some time and one day he was walking the dog up the street on the sidewalk in front of our house and Erin was outside and she said, "Hey, I'm buying you a shovel for Christmas." He got a little smile on his face and he goes, "So, you think I'd look pretty good with a shovel?" I think he thought that Erin was flirting with him.03:10-03:15And if so, that is a really weird pickup line to use.03:17-03:19Hey baby, you look good with a shovel.03:22-03:23It's pretty easy to miss the point, isn't it?03:24-03:25At least it was for him.03:25-03:28It was easy to miss the point.03:29-03:40And as we get to this next section in 1 Corinthians, I think that's what's going on here is I think Paul wanted to make sure that none of the Corinthians missed his point.03:42-03:42All right?03:42-03:44This is the Q&A section.03:44-04:03In this section in particular, they had asked him about eating meat that was used in pagan worship and they're like, "Well, it's just meat, but it bothers some of the weaker Christians that are, you know, just kind of fresh coming out of paganism." So what do we do about that, Paul?04:04-04:21Paul says, "You are free." But love says, "I will lay down my rights so that I don't offend a weaker brother." And then Paul, led by example, that's what we saw last week.04:21-04:24Paul goes, "Look, I'm showing you an example from my own life.04:25-04:36I have every right to be paid to preach." And he went through all the reasons it is legitimate for the pastor to get paid.04:36-04:38He gave us five very compelling reasons.04:39-04:43"Yes, the pastor should be paid." He said, "That's a right that I have.04:44-05:48That's a freedom that I have, but I'm laying it down for the sake of the gospel." And I think when you get to this point in chapter 9, Paul knew that some of the Corinthians were going to miss the point, and Paul's talking about paying the pastor, paying the pastor, while you pay the past year's while and they're like, "Ah, um. Yeah, Paul, we asked about meat. That was what we asked about. It's a bigger issue. It's not about the meat." "Oh, not about the meat. Oh, oh, this is about getting paid to preach. No, no, no, it's not about the money. That's like saying the fall of man. That's like saying Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden is a story about fruit trees. You missed the point.05:50-05:59The bigger issue is this, examining how does what I do affect somebody else?05:59-06:00That is the issue.06:03-06:12It's about not letting anything be an obstacle to not only loving a weaker brother, but winning people to Christ.06:19-07:26people to Christ. How high of a priority is that for you? I mean, can we just take an honest assessment today? How often do you think about winning somebody to Christ. How committed are you to personal evangelism? I thought so much about this this past week. And I want you to hear what I'm saying here because this isn't pack your bags we're going on a guilt trip. This is deeply convicting to me. And I'm right here with you, church. Please hear me, corporately and individually, corporately and individually, church, we are distracted and we are insulated.07:29-07:36We are, first of all, distracted. We're distracted. We are so distracted. Winning people to Christ, What are you talking about?07:37-07:38Oh yeah, I guess that is a thing.07:38-07:43I've been so distracted, distracted with good things.07:44-07:48Work and sports and home projects.07:48-07:53There is so much that demands our attention.07:56-08:00I think especially in a church like ours, we're insulated.08:02-08:10How much of our lives revolve around going to church, going to small group, going to event at the church.08:11-08:20And then when we're not at Harvest Bible Chapel, we are sending our kids to Christian school, or we volunteer at a Christian school.08:20-08:25And all of that is great stuff, obviously.08:26-08:31But I have to ask, how often are we even interacting with lost people?08:33-08:35I think we're insulated.08:38-08:40Look, there's so much.08:42-08:48There's so much that this church does so well when it comes to discipleship.08:49-08:51We have an excellent small group ministry.08:55-09:02We just had two excellent conferences, one for the men last month, one for the women yesterday.09:03-09:04Excellent.09:08-09:12Our giving to missions, I've never seen a church like this one.09:13-09:22Whether it's the Vision Appalachia or Thailand or somebody taking a short-term trip, our Forgiving to missions is excellent.09:28-09:34But when we get to this passage, we have to ask ourselves, "When was the last time that you led somebody to Christ?09:37-09:39When was the last time that happened?09:41-09:45When was the last time that you even shared the gospel with someone?09:45-09:51When was the last time that you even invited somebody to come to church to hear the gospel here?09:56-09:58Are you committed to personal evangelism?10:02-10:06Not just talking about the church at large, obviously that is a concern for me.10:06-10:07I'm talking about you as an individual.10:08-10:09Are you committed to that?10:12-10:14Look down at verse 23 here in chapter 9.10:16-10:27Paul says, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel." Paul says, "Everything in my life revolves around the gospel.10:27-10:41Everything in my life revolves around winning people to Christ." And this verse has a very special place in my heart because our missionary in Thailand, This is His verse.10:42-10:46This is the verse that fuels everything that He does.10:46-10:55Several years ago, He was at our house and He was talking to Erin and I about how this verse fuels everything in His ministry.10:55-10:58"I do all things for the sake of the gospel." He kept going back to that.10:58-11:04"I do all things for the sake of the gospel." Twenty-three churches, four children's homes, a Bible institute.11:06-11:12I do all things for the sake of the gospel." That's how that mission started, by the way.11:12-11:13Do you know how that started?11:14-11:20It was Barnabas, this Burmese man going through the northern mountain jungles of Thailand looking for villages.11:22-11:30Looking, looking for lost people in the middle of the jungle and finding a village and walking in and just sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.11:31-11:32That's how that started.11:36-11:38All things for the sake of the gospel.11:39-11:43He is like spiritually hilarious to talk to.11:43-11:50He was telling me recently about a telemarketer that was calling to try to sell him on some kind of goofy energy pills or something.11:50-11:52And do you know what he told her?11:54-11:54The gospel!11:55-11:56He told her the gospel.11:56-11:58He also told me, this was just a couple weeks ago.11:59-12:04He had a couple guys show up to pump their septic tank.12:04-12:05And do you know what he told them?12:06-12:08The gospel, yeah.12:10-12:13One of my favorite stories, he had to get some sound equipment.12:13-12:18They do this big outdoor Christmas program as an outreach.12:20-12:25It's kind of like open air preaching and the Lisu tribe, they're dancers and there's this whole thing, right?12:26-12:27But he had to get like this PA system.12:28-12:35So he goes into the store, the electronics store, where they sell these things, and he wants to buy one.12:35-12:37He goes, "I wanna try it out." Remember this, Justin?12:37-12:49He goes, "I wanna try this out." And they're like, "Okay, you can try it out." He's like, "I wanna make sure it works." So they fire up this PA system, and he gets on the microphone, and do you know what he says?12:51-13:06"He proclaimed the gospel to the whole store!" I'm gonna give you the short version of the story, I don't have time to get into all of it, but he told me about a village across the border that was guarded by four armies that needed fish.13:08-13:12And he took them fish, and I said, "How did you keep the fish from spoiling?" He's like, "What are you talking about?13:13-13:29"What do you mean spoil?" I'm like, "Well, he said it took him 10 days "to walk through the jungle with these fish." I'm like, "Fish is gonna get bad after a while." He goes, "No, no, no, no, no, no, live fish." I'm like, "How did you take live fish?" And then it hit me.13:30-13:31I said, "Hang on, hang on.13:33-13:53"Did you carry bags of water full of fish "through the jungle for 10 days "to take fish to a village?" And as a matter of fact, he just says, "Yeah, they needed fish." You carried an aquarium through the jungle for 10 days.13:54-14:00He's like, "They needed fish." Why would somebody do something like that?14:01-14:04What would possess a man to do something like that?14:04-14:06I'll tell you what possesses a man.14:07-14:09He does all things for the sake of the gospel.14:09-14:19He says, "The reason I'm taking these fish to them is it's going to open the door for me to share the gospel with them." Who does something like that?14:20-14:23A person who wants to win people to Christ, that's who.14:28-14:28So what about you?14:30-14:31Do you love lost people?14:38-14:53You're like, "Man, I guess I don't love lost people like that." Now, this section here in 1 Corinthians shows us what the heart of an evangelist looks like.14:55-14:56I think there's something here for all of us.14:56-15:09I just want to go through the text, and then I want to go back and pick up some of the key principles that motivated Paul here, but let's pick up in verse 15.15:13-15:21Paul says, "But I have made no use of any of these rights." He didn't use his right to get paid to preach.15:21-15:22That's what he's talking about.15:22-15:24Like, why didn't you do that?15:25-15:26Well we talked about that.15:27-15:32Paul didn't want anybody to think that he was using some new religion to try to get rich.15:36-15:38He didn't want people to assume that he had bad motives.15:39-15:40Time out here for a second.15:40-15:52They're like, "Well, if Paul had this conviction, why didn't the other apostles have this conviction?" I mean, it makes sense, but why didn't the others have this conviction?15:52-15:53And the answer is very simple.15:53-15:56Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.15:58-15:59He was reaching pagan people.16:00-16:06That Peter and the rest that were going to the Jews, the Jews already had this system in place about paying the spiritual leaders.16:07-16:08That wasn't a weird concept to them.16:09-16:11Paul going to the Gentiles, it was a different ball game.16:14-16:15All right, look, keep going to verse 15.16:16-16:27He says, "Nor am I writing these things "to secure any such provision." Paul's like, "I'm not writing this to you "to secure provision." Like, what's he mean by that?16:27-16:34Paul's saying, "To be clear, "I'm not trying to use reverse psychology here "to make you pay me." All right?16:34-16:44Paul's like, "I'm not trying to be like, "Well, you know, I'm just out here preaching for free." And then you're like, "Oh, poor Paul, preaching for free.16:45-16:46"We should pay him.16:46-16:47"He shouldn't have to do that.16:47-16:51"We should pay him." Paul's like, "I'm not trying to reverse psychology you, okay?16:52-17:00"This isn't, I'm not throwing this out there "so that you're convicted to pay me." He goes, "That's not it at all." All right, go on.17:01-17:09He says, "For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting." Wow.17:10-17:24Paul says, "I would rather die than somebody accuse me of using the gospel to rip people off." But what's this boasting thing?17:25-17:26You see that?17:26-17:35He says, "Deprive me of my ground for boasting." So that word for boasting literally is rejoicing.17:35-17:38Usually when we hear boasting we have a bad connotation with that.17:38-17:40The word literally is rejoicing.17:41-17:41Okay?17:42-17:45And boasting is really not a bad thing, it just depends on what you're boasting in.17:46-17:48Because we're called to boast in the Lord, right?17:50-17:52But the question is, what is Paul's ground for boasting?17:52-17:53What is it?17:54-17:55What's he boasting about?17:55-17:58What about this is occasion for boasting?17:58-18:01Well, first he tells us what it's not.18:01-18:08Look at verse 16, he says, "For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting.18:09-18:11For necessity is laid upon me.18:11-18:14Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.18:16-18:28If I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship." He says, first of all, the boasting is not about preaching the gospel.18:28-18:29Let's get that off the table.18:29-18:34That's not...because that's not in the actual preaching the gospel itself.18:34-18:47I'm not like boasting in the opportunity to preach, because you realize, church, the gospel leaves no room for boasting, right?18:49-19:00You can't earn your salvation not by what you do, not by who you are, not by who you You know, you cannot do a thing to earn your salvation.19:00-19:08You can't do a thing to make God happy with you because you are a guilty, rebellious sinner before the eyes of your holy creator.19:08-19:09That's reality.19:10-19:12There is not a thing that we can do.19:12-19:14We are guilty of sin.19:15-19:18But God, because of His great love, He's given us grace.19:18-19:30God says, "Because I love you, I am providing salvation, not through what you do, but through what my son did on your behalf." It is a gift, and when you receive a gift, there is no room for boasting.19:34-19:36So okay, so what is the reward?19:36-19:37What is it?19:38-19:40Well, he tells us, look at verse 18.19:41-19:43He says, "What then is my reward?19:44-19:59That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel." See, Paul says, "You know what thrills me?19:59-20:02Do you know what I'm really like fired up about?20:03-20:04It's this.20:05-20:19There's this one thing, this one thing that I can choose to do, and that is to preach the gospel for free." In other words, Paul is saying, "God's not making me do this.20:22-20:27God's not making me lay down my right to be paid." Paul goes, "I chose that.20:27-20:29That is my contribution.20:29-20:31That is Paul's contribution to the kingdom.20:32-20:38I choose to do it for free." He's so excited in this passage.20:39-20:45He's so excited to forfeit his rights so he can preach.20:45-20:52Paul's like, it is such a joy for me that I have the ability to love people in a unique way.20:52-20:56That I can give to them and not get a thing in return from them.20:56-20:58That is such a joy for me!21:01-21:05Right now, somebody's like, look good with a shovel.21:05-21:08I don't get it. I don't get it.21:10-21:19Who gets joy from denying themselves something that they are rightfully entitled to?21:23-21:24Who does that?21:26-21:29The person who wants to win people to Christ, that's who.21:33-21:48Verse 19, he goes on, "For though I am free from all, "I have made myself a servant to all "that I might win more of them." He's like, I'm free, I'm a child of God.21:49-21:55My salvation is not based on my performance, but I made myself a servant for the sake of winning people.21:57-22:00Paul is always about winning people.22:01-22:05And Paul would do anything to win someone to Christ.22:05-22:10He found so much joy that he could give up his rights to win people to Christ.22:12-22:21So what does that look like, to lay down your rights in order to share the gospel?22:21-22:25What does that look like, to lay down your rights for the sake of evangelism?22:26-22:27Well, he tells us what it looks like.22:27-22:28Look at verse 20.22:30-22:36He says, "To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews.22:37-22:53To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law." So Paul says, let me tell you what that's like.22:53-22:57When I'm with the Jews, I'm not going to violate the law in front of them.22:59-23:04Paul saying, "I'm not going to walk into the synagogue eating a ham sandwich in front of them.23:04-23:06That would really offend them.23:06-23:08Like, "Look, I'm free in Christ.23:08-23:17I can eat a ham sandwich." Like, he goes, "I would never do something like that." I mean this is all through the book of Acts.23:20-23:24All throughout, you see in Acts chapter 15 with the Jerusalem council, that's what that whole thing was about.23:25-23:27You see it in Acts chapter 16, that was an interesting story.23:28-23:30Paul had Timothy circumcised.23:31-23:31Like why?23:31-23:32So Timothy can get saved?23:32-23:34No, no, no, that has nothing to do with that.23:36-23:42Paul had Timothy circumcised so that they didn't offend the Jews that they were trying to win.23:47-23:49Boy, that had to have been an awkward exchange, don't you think?23:53-23:53Did you imagine?23:53-24:28Paul's like, "I will do whatever it takes to win people!" And Timothy's like, "Yeah!" And Paul's like, "Make any sacrifice for the gospel!" And Timothy's like, "Yeah!" And Paul's like, "Circumcise Timothy!" And Timothy's like, "What?" Paul's like, "Are you committed or not?" That's the point, though.24:30-24:31Anything.24:31-24:32What's it going to take?24:32-24:33What's it going to take?24:36-25:05He goes on, verse 21, he says, "To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law," being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ, clarifying. We'll talk about that more in a minute. He says that I might win those outside the law. You see, you also see that in Acts, right? When Paul was with the Gentiles, he acted like the Gentiles.25:05-25:11Not in a sinful way, but he assimilated with them. You see it in, what is it, Acts 17.25:12-25:14Paul quoted one of their poets.25:14-25:15It was a bridge.25:15-25:17He goes, "You know what one of your poets says?25:17-25:24Ah, he was on to something." And he uses that as a bridge, but he assimilated with them.25:24-25:25That's what he's talking about.25:25-25:33Verse 22, he says, "To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak.25:33-25:39I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some." The weak.25:40-25:41We've been talking about the weak.25:41-25:42These are the baby Christians.25:43-25:45These are the people that are coming out of paganism.25:45-25:50It's just so hard to let go of things that we were so used to.25:50-25:54And that's what really the whole meat issue was about, right?25:54-26:06And Paul goes, "Oh, if eating meat is a problem for them, I will be a vegan." And then we land on verse 23.26:06-26:06Here it is.26:08-26:20I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share with them in its blessings." That's the thesis.26:21-26:24That's the thesis of the passage.26:25-26:30That's the thesis of Paul's whole life.26:31-26:33Everything I do is for the gospel.26:35-26:36Is that the thesis of your life?26:41-26:45You see the passion for winning lost people in the past?26:45-26:45Did you see it?26:49-26:50Don't miss it.26:51-26:53You think I'd look good with a shovel, don't miss it.26:58-26:59It's passion for the lost.27:01-27:03So on your outline, I just want you to draw some things down here.27:06-27:17You see, three big ingredients, three things that motivated Paul that I have to ask myself and you have to ask yourself.27:20-27:22Are you committed to winning people with the gospel?27:22-27:22Are you?27:23-27:24Are you?27:25-27:30Are you committed to winning people with the gospel?27:39-27:42The first ingredient, it's the most obvious one, right?27:42-27:43It's sacrifice.27:44-27:47Sacrifice, do you give up your rights in order to win people?27:49-27:51Do you give up your rights in order to win people?27:53-27:58Again, Paul found laying down a freedom for the sake of the gospel to be an absolute joy.27:58-28:00He goes, "I will go along with whoever I'm with.28:02-28:19Gray areas, I'll give up anything that might cause an offense." You're like, "Wait, wait, so you're saying that you win people by accommodating them?" No, that's not what we're saying at all.28:20-28:23You accommodate yourself so that you have the right to speak to people.28:24-28:25That's what he's saying.28:26-28:34If you offend somebody because you insist on your freedom, you lost the audience.28:35-28:36They're not going to hear you.28:37-28:41That's what he's talking about, removing anything that would offend.28:44-28:45What does that look like today?28:48-28:50Here's a few examples today of what that could look like.28:50-29:04Let's say you have some Catholic friends that you've been witnessing to, and you know that they're faithful Catholics, but you're not sure if they truly know Christ.29:04-29:10And it's Lent season, and you invite them over to your house for dinner on a Friday.29:12-29:13You're not serving hamburgers.29:16-29:16You see?29:18-29:20You're gonna offend them right out the gate, and they're not gonna hear you.29:24-29:30Let's say you have some Muslim neighbors, and it's summertime, and you're like, "I wanna reach them with the gospel.29:30-29:34"I wanna have an opportunity to share Jesus with them." You invite them over to your house for a barbecue.29:34-29:36You're not having pork at your barbecue.29:38-29:41You offend them, you've lost your audience.29:46-29:48Let's talk about the big one.29:49-29:56Is there any issue in our day that really quickly brings offense?29:57-29:58Can you think of anything?29:59-30:00Say anything at all.30:00-30:03Anything at all that you could mention that people would immediately get offended.30:05-30:07Politics, right?30:10-30:18Let's say that you have a neighbor that is a true blue Democrat and you are of the MAGA persuasion.30:18-30:20This isn't a political statement, okay?30:21-30:22This is an illustration.30:23-30:29But if you're inviting your hardcore Democrat friend to your house, you're putting away the MAGA stuff, okay?30:30-30:32You're not wearing your little red ball cap to the dinner table.30:40-30:44Why would you want to offend them over something you don't need to offend them over?30:44-30:45It works the other way too, by the way.30:47-30:54If you're a Democrat and you have a Republican friend over, take down your Bernie Sanders banner.30:57-30:59By the way, it's 2026.31:01-31:02You've needed to take that down anyways.31:07-31:13And I think one of the biggest places where we're so quick to offend people is in social media.31:15-31:20Look, if you're one of these social media people, yes, post your Bible verses, sure.31:20-31:23Post your excerpts from the devotional.31:24-31:26But can I tell you this just lovingly?31:27-31:31Stop posting all the political garbage, because you know what you're doing?31:32-31:34You're losing half your audience.31:35-31:38And someday you're going to want to tell them about the gospel.31:38-31:47Someday you're going to have an opportunity, and they're not going to want to hear it because they know that you're on the other side of the political aisle, and we know that automatically makes you a demon.31:50-31:56Either way, all things to all people.31:58-32:00Not compromising the gospel.32:00-32:01We have to be clear about that.32:01-32:03Not compromising the gospel.32:03-32:05Church, this is a call for discernment.32:05-32:08You have to discern what is optional and what is not.32:09-32:12Some things are not optional, right?32:12-32:26Some things are not optional, like the truth, like Jesus, like the gospel, like God's command to repent, God's command to believe, not optional.32:28-32:29Truth is not optional.32:29-32:30You know what else is not optional?32:35-32:48walk." Meaning, in no way is Paul saying, he made this very clear, that you should sin to fit in. Right? You think, "Oh, I'm gonna win them. I'm gonna be just like them.32:49-33:03We're gonna get into the crude anatomy jokes so he'll know I'm one of the boys." No. No. Gossip. Well, they're all gossiping. I jump in the gossip with them. No.33:07-33:33Getting drunk. No. We're not compromising our walk. That's not optional. But there are some things that are optional. Like we've said, food, music played. Maybe you know they have a big issue with tattoos, and you go to tattoo, you wear long sleeves and cover it up, so you don't offend them.33:38-35:08Nothing at the expense of the gospel, nothing at the expense of being an ambassador of Christ, but if it's a gray area that might offend, I'll always seek to take the high road, because committed to winning people means committed to giving up your rights. So that's the first S and these are all alliterated. I get paid more when that happens. The second S is steward. What are the ingredients? What are the ingredients of somebody that's committed to people with the gospel? The second one is steward. Do you see yourself as entrusted with the gospel? Do you see yourself as entrusted with the gospel. Look at verse 17 again. The very last phrase, he says, "I am still entrusted with a stewardship." God is trusting you to give this out. He's trusting you. You got a Bible on your lap? He's trusting you with that, to give it out. You're entrusted. Like, "Well, yeah, that's good for Paul. I mean, he obviously was. What about the rest of us? He ropes us all in." Look at 2 Corinthians 5.19. Look, that is, "In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, thanks to Jesus.35:09-35:21Look at this last phrase, "and entrusting to us, us, the message of reconciliation." Do you realize how awesome that is?35:22-35:32That the God of the universe, your Creator and your Savior said, "Here, here, here is the message that's going to forgive sin.35:32-35:35Here is the message that's going to transform people.35:36-35:39Here is the message that's going to save people from hell.35:40-35:40Here it is.35:40-35:41Here it is.35:41-35:42And I'm giving it to you.35:47-35:48Do you know the gospel?35:50-35:51You know it?35:53-35:56If you do, that means that God's entrusting you to make sure that people hear it.35:57-35:58He's trusting you with it.36:02-36:13You know, last week, Bob Brown and Jesse Boggs went down to deliver some boxes that were packed.36:13-36:22Our small groups donated boxes for the needy that were given out through the ministry Vision Appalachia.36:24-36:28And to nobody's surprise, they packed way more boxes than our target goal, right?36:29-36:31How many boxes were sent, Bob?36:32-36:33250.36:34-36:38How many were asked, like, we were shooting for like 25 or something from this church, right?36:39-36:41And didn't we get like, we got 30.36:41-36:42All right.36:43-36:44Nobody's shocked, Bob.36:44-36:45Nobody's shocked.36:46-36:48Again, you guys are so generous.36:50-36:53But Bob and Jesse took the boxes down.36:54-36:58Let me ask you, they had the U-Haul trailer right out here.36:59-37:08Bob, want you another van we had out here?" With all these boxes with the donations for Vision Appalachia, let me ask you this.37:09-37:11Did Bob and Jesse have a choice in what happened with those boxes?37:13-37:14Did they have a choice what would happen with them?37:16-37:16No.37:17-37:17No.37:20-37:21Not convinced of that?37:21-37:21Okay.37:22-37:27What if Bob would have drove that U-Haul back to his house and him and Jesse threw the mother of all block parties with those supplies.37:31-37:32Would you have been like, "Good for you, Bob.37:33-37:36Live it up." Is that what you would have said?37:38-37:39You would have been like, "What are you doing?37:40-37:43That was given to you to give to them.37:44-37:51What are you doing?" We trusted that stuff to them, and they are faithful stewards.37:51-37:53They got it where it needed to go.37:53-37:54principle here, church.37:55-37:57God is trusting you with His message.37:58-37:59You don't have a choice.38:01-38:03Like, I don't really feel like a steward.38:03-38:04You are a steward.38:09-38:12God did not give you the option to keep it to yourself.38:13-38:14He didn't give you that option.38:17-38:25And somehow we get saved and down the road we forget and we get all self-focused and all we care about is our walk with Christ.38:31-38:39I'm going to tell you, it's so convicting to me, you know, you plant a church because you want to win lost people for Christ.38:39-38:43You want to win lost people, and then you get down the road, you know what we end up doing?38:43-38:47We end up swapping complaining sheep with other churches.38:47-38:48That's what we end up doing.38:50-38:59The guy complaining about his last church is now here, and the person leaving this church complaining about this one is going there, and we call that doing gospel ministry.39:04-39:11You know, we're talking about putting up this new building, an opportunity to win more people to Christ, but are we winning people to Christ here and now?39:14-39:26If we're not passionate for the gospel and reaching lost people here and now, what makes us think that we're going to get this new building and all of a sudden we're going to be magically converted into evangelists.39:32-39:35Committed to winning people means you've got to see yourself as entrusted with the gospel.39:37-39:38You're a steward.39:41-39:45The third S, number three, is shareer.39:46-40:00a word. You know how I know it's a word? Is my computer didn't give me a red squiggly line underneath it when I typed it. And in my world, that's a word. Share.40:02-40:27Do you know the joy of sharing the blessings of the gospel? Look, there is there is nothing more exciting than leading someone to Christ. Have you ever done that? If you have, you know, right? If you have, you know. There is nothing more exciting than that, seeing them baptized and knowing that God used you to reach somebody for eternity. There is nothing in the world greater than that.40:30-40:45Look at verse 23 again. This is the verse, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel," look, "that I may share with them in its pleasures," in its blessings, excuse me, "share with them and its blessings.40:51-40:53Think of everything you've experienced as a follower of Jesus.40:55-40:57Everything you experienced, think of it.40:58-40:59If you're a Christian, you get it.41:00-41:01You know the forgiveness of sin.41:01-41:03God will never hold your sins against you.41:04-41:17You know the joy that comes, the peace that you have no matter how horrible things get, The comfort God gives you in the tragedies of life, the fellowship of the church, oh and the hope of heaven that our best days are ahead of us.41:18-41:25Everything you experience as a Christian, to go to somebody that doesn't have that and say you can have all of that too.41:31-41:36Sharing the blessings, that should be a natural inclination, you know?41:37-41:37You know?41:38-41:40It's like, imagine this scenario.41:40-41:47Imagine Erin and I are at a restaurant and we order different dishes, something neither of us have ever had before, but we got different things.41:47-41:52And I take a bite and I'm like, this is the best thing I've ever tasted.41:54-41:55I gotta be sure.41:55-41:56And I take another bite.41:57-41:58I'm like, yeah, verified.41:58-42:02This is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life.42:06-42:08What's the next part of that story?42:09-42:18Oh, oh, Erin goes, "Can I try it?" I'm like, "No, eat your own." That's not how the story goes, is it?42:18-42:19That's not how it goes.42:19-42:21The story goes like this.42:22-42:23This is the best thing I ever had in my life.42:24-42:25Erin, you have got to try this.42:26-42:27You have got to try this.42:27-42:29And she's like, "I don't want to try it." You're trying it.42:31-42:33That's actually happened, hasn't it?42:34-42:34Both ways.42:35-42:37I'm like, she's like, this is so, I don't wanna try that.42:37-42:41Erin's like, you know, next thing you know, she's like, the fork can go in your mouth or in your forehead, pick one.42:52-42:53You gotta try this.42:54-43:02See, when you have something, when you experience something so glorious, so beautiful, there's something in you that wants to share that.43:04-43:05God put that in us.43:06-43:08That's how it is with the gospel, by the way, to that lost person.43:09-43:11Like, bro, you have got to get in on this.43:12-43:33You have got to get in on all of the blessings that comes in the gospel, knowing Jesus, the fellowship of the church, serving Him locally and in international missions, worshiping Him together, oh, and heaven, we'll get to share that one for all of eternity.43:36-43:42One of your greatest joys in life should be winning people to Jesus and sharing in the blessings of knowing Him.43:44-43:49Because committed to winning people means sharing in the blessings of the gospel.43:50-43:55Our worship team would make their way back up front.43:58-44:02Next week, our Easter series begins.44:04-44:05I don't really like the word Easter.44:06-44:07It doesn't mean anything to me.44:07-44:11I call it Resurrection Day, but you know what I mean.44:15-44:47Our Easter series begins next week, and it's a season where talking about Jesus and inviting someone to church is going to be much more natural. God is entrusting you to share the blessings of the gospel. Will you do whatever it takes to win someone? Let's pray.44:50-45:58Father in heaven, I confess before you in front of my brothers and sisters here that this passage tears me up because we look at the life of Paul and we look at the life of like Barnabas today, we look at people like that and we see Father Such passion to win lost people and we look inwardly and don't see that in ourselves sometimes, a lot of times. Father we come to you because you're the God who changes us, you're the God who transforms us, and I pray Father, I just pray simply this, that you would stir in the hearts of all of your people here to have the same mindset of Paul, an attitude of sacrifice, an attitude of being a steward, and the joy that comes in sharing the blessings of Christ.45:58-46:15Stir that spirit in us, Father, so that evangelism isn't some mechanical, obligatory thing that we think we have to do, but it's just so natural for us to to share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.46:16-46:18It's in his name that we pray, amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 9:15-23What was your big take-away from this passage / message?How would you respond to someone who says, “I don't really share the Gospel with anyone. I don't know what to say.”?Reread 1 Cor 9:17. What does Paul mean that he was “entrusted with a stewardship.”? Is that true of all Christians? See 2 Corinthians 5:19.What are the “blessings to be shared” when you win someone to Christ (1 Cor 9:23)?BreakoutWhen was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone or invited them to church? What happened? Who has God put on your heart to win with the Gospel? What are you doing about it?Pray for one another.

Introduction: Genesis 2:24 - Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Enjoying Your Gift from God. (1 Corinthians 7:1-7) Married? Enjoy God's Gift for MARRIAGE. (1 Cor 7:3-5) 3 Laws of Marital Intimacy: The Law of DEBT. (1 Cor 7:3) The Law of OWNERSHIP. (1 Cor 7:4) The Law of HIATUS. (1 Cor 7:5) Single? Enjoy God's Gift of SINGLENESS. (1 Cor 7:6-7) Matthew 19:10-12 – The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! AUDIO TRANSCRIPT 00:36-00:41Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians 7.00:43-00:51And as we said last week, it's going to continue for the next few weeks because we go where the text goes.00:54-01:00And today we're going to be talking about the relationship between a man and his wife.01:03-01:44discretion advised. We are going to be direct, but you know some pastors want to be like edgy by kind of pushing the envelope there and that's I don't think that's cool, but I do think we need to teach the Bible straightforwardly. So we are going to be direct but not explicit, okay? So whether you're sitting here or streaming this from home, parents you decide. If you saw last week's message that would be a good gauge as to whether or not your kids should hear this one.01:44-02:01But again I'll remind you that somebody's talking to your kids about this. I think you should really consider you know whether it's time for them to hear this from God, what He says about these matters.02:02-02:17Alright, so with that said, let's just bow our heads. I'm going to ask that you would please take a moment and pray for me to be faithful to clearly communicate what God said and I will pray for you to receive what it is that this passage teaches today. Let's pray.02:23-02:28Father in heaven, we are once again turning to Your Word for wisdom.02:33-02:38And we're dealing with what is going to be for many here a sensitive subject.02:38-03:05And I pray, Father, against distractions, and I also pray that our hearts and minds are open to what You actually say in Your Word. Not our opinion or not what we think your word might say about these matters, but to examine what it is that you have said, and that we would be faithful to apply.03:08-03:53Come meet us now, Lord, through the proclamation of your word, we pray in Jesus' name, and all of God's people said, "Amen." Amen. Many years ago, I was leading Bible study the prison, and one man raised his hand. He said, "I have a question. I have a question about what happens when we die." Well, I was ready for this. You should have heard. You should have heard the sermon. It's probably the best sermon I ever gave. It was just both barrels, and I explained to him, "Okay, first of all, let me explain how death came into the world. We went through Genesis chapter 3. Death We need Jesus Christ.03:54-03:56Jesus died on the cross to take our sin away.03:56-03:59He rose from the dead to give us eternal life.03:59-04:00We all need the gospel.04:00-04:05And if you've received Christ, when you die, the Bible says you are in the presence of the Lord.04:05-04:10Okay, and someday he is going to come and he's going to take his people to be with him.04:10-04:12John chapter 14, we talked about the rapture.04:13-04:17But if you have not received Christ, I talked about the tribulation that's coming after the rapture.04:18-04:21There's seven years of just hell on earth.04:21-04:26and then Christ returns, and I talked about all the millennial kingdom, right?04:26-04:41And then after the kingdom, there's the great white throne judgment, and at that point, you know, if you die and you're not in Christ, you do go to a place of suffering, Luke 16, but then you're thrown into the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment, and you should have heard it.04:41-04:44It was comprehensive.04:47-04:49So I got done, it was about 20 minutes.04:50-04:57I got done and I said, "So, does that answer your question?" He stared at me blankly.04:59-05:01And he goes, "No."05:02-05:03(congregation laughing)05:04-05:25I said, "Why not?" He goes, "I just wanted to know "if we become angels when we die." And I said, "No." He goes, "Okay, thanks." And I learned that day to answer the question that's being asked.05:27-05:30Well, the Corinthians, they had a lot of questions.05:31-05:35They had a lot of questions about marriage, about idols, about women in church, about the Lord's Supper.05:36-05:38Look at chapter 7 verse 1.05:39-05:45Paul says, "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote," stop there, we're entering a new section, okay?05:45-05:49He talked about the church unified, chapters 1-4.05:50-05:55He talked about the church purified, chapters 5-6.05:56-05:58And now you can see there's a shift.05:59-06:06He says, "You sent me questions and I'm going to give you answers now to the questions that you sent me." Do you see that?06:07-06:09And first up, marriage.06:12-06:13You're going to be shocked.06:13-06:14I'm glad you're sitting down.06:15-06:17But the Corinthians had a lot of problems when it came to marriage.06:20-06:28But you know, the problems that we bring into marriage are our own doing, because the Bible was clear on marriage.06:30-06:34Genesis 2.24, this is the most important verse in the Bible about marriage.06:34-06:38I know this because when asked, this is the verse that Jesus quoted.06:39-06:42When writing about marriage, this was the verse that Paul kept quoting.06:42-06:55The most important verse in the Bible about marriage says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." It's clear.06:55-07:00You leave, you join to your wife, and then the two become one.07:02-07:10Jesus was asked about marriage, divorce, all these matters, Matthew 19, we're going to talk about this later, but Jesus made, it was very clear.07:11-07:15Jesus said marriage is between a man and a woman.07:15-07:19Jesus said in a marriage, it's two people that are brought together by God.07:19-07:24Jesus said it's two becoming one, and He said it's meant to be unbroken.07:24-07:25That's God's design.07:28-07:32Bible's clear about marriage.07:32-07:38But in Paul's day, the Corinthian culture, there were basically four different ways to get married.07:38-07:51I'm just gonna, I don't usually like to preach my homework, But this might be helpful to give us some context as we go through this section, because there are a lot of ways that people got married in that day, all right?07:52-07:54So one way was for slaves.07:54-07:56Slaves weren't considered people, they were considered property.07:57-08:02So for slaves, the owner had the right to just pronounce them married.08:02-08:08If there were two slaves that wanted to get married, it's like, okay, you two are married, so you go stay over there or whatever.08:09-08:09And that was it.08:11-08:14There was also, in that day, common law marriage.08:14-08:20People that were living together unmarried for a year were considered married at that point.08:21-08:23A third way is a father selling his daughter.08:26-08:30And then the fourth way was the sort of the official Roman way.08:32-08:37Interestingly, it's through the Roman customs where we get our customs for marriage.08:37-08:38Did you know that?08:39-08:44from veil to flowers to vows to ring to cake, all came from the Roman culture.08:47-08:49So here's the point of all that.08:50-08:57In this section, Paul is teaching the sacredness of marriage no matter how you got there.08:57-09:07Okay, because there's going to be a lot of people that could raise objections, "But I was married this way, but I..." Paul's like, "However you got there, we're dealing with from here forward.09:08-09:10Let's talk about the sacredness of marriage.09:12-09:14They were a culture that had a high divorce rate.09:16-09:28They were a culture that had homosexuality, a culture of affairs, a culture of, believe it or not, feminists, and a culture of - we talked about this recently - prostitution.09:30-09:32So it's a culture a lot like ours.09:32-10:03There's nothing really new here as far as the kind of sin that they had to deal with with the same stuff. So the question is, "Well, what about sex and marriage?" Well, again, you're going to be shocked, and I'm glad you're sitting down, but the Corinthians had something else that they were divisive over, and that is this. Should you get married, or should you be single?10:06-10:08Which is the godly path?10:09-10:10That's the issue on the table here.10:11-10:13Which is the godly path, married or single?10:14-10:20Because some people said that righteousness is everybody must get married.10:21-10:22That was the Jewish mindset, by the way.10:23-10:24Everybody must get married.10:24-10:27You're not really fully righteous unless you're married.10:27-10:30In fact, you couldn't be a member of the Sanhedrin unless you were married.10:31-10:38So the Jews especially said, "Look, what's right is everybody has to get married." But then there's the other camp.10:40-10:42And the other camp said, "No, no, no, no.10:42-10:43No one should get married.10:43-10:45I mean, have you been paying attention?10:46-10:48Sexual sin is completely out of control.10:49-10:50Marriage is hard.10:50-10:57So being single and never touching a woman, that's the godly way.10:57-11:00In fact, you want to be godly.11:00-11:03If you're married and you want this godly path, you're just going to have to get out of your marriage.11:04-11:05Both of you be single.11:06-11:07That is more spiritual.11:08-11:09That is more devoted to God.11:09-11:13If you're single, you are more devoted to God.11:13-11:17And you know, there's people today that still hold that mindset, like in the Catholic church.11:17-11:18All right?11:18-11:19Priests don't get married.11:19-11:20Nuns don't get married.11:20-11:20Why?11:20-11:24Because you're devoted to God, and you can't really be devoted to God if you're married.11:27-11:30Well, what does the Bible say about that?11:31-11:35Well, let's see how Paul answers this under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.11:35-11:36Look at verse 1 again.11:36-11:48"Now, concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." Okay, stop there.11:48-11:50He goes, okay, first of all, it's good.11:51-11:53He didn't say it's the only good.11:54-11:54Okay?11:55-11:59Paul's not saying singleness is better than marriage.11:59-12:01He's not saying it's worse than marriage.12:01-12:09All he's saying in verse 1 is, "It's not wrong to be single." It is a fine option if you're single.12:11-12:12But there's another option.12:13-12:13Look at verse 2.12:14-12:36He says, "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband." So Paul says, "The other option, which is marriage, is good too." I mean we saw this, right?12:36-12:42Chapters 5 and 6, there was so much sexual immorality in the church.12:42-12:44They tolerated sexual sin.12:44-12:46They excused sexual sin.12:46-12:48There was no sacredness for marriage.12:48-12:49Huge problem.12:49-12:56So you see, in Corinth and here, it is hard to be pure because of temptation.12:57-12:58That's what Paul is teaching here.12:59-13:04Because there are so many ways to sin sexually.13:08-13:14So Paul here says, because of the temptation to sexual immorality, get a spouse.13:16-13:28Notice he says, "Get your own spouse." design. It's one man for one woman and that one woman for that one man. That is how God designed it. Get your own.13:30-14:11So Paul is saying physical desires are natural and should be enjoyed the way God designed them to be enjoyed. All right? So we're gonna play a quick game here. We're gonna play a game called "Which is Good?" I'm gonna give you a list of two options and you're gonna shout out which is good. You ready for this? You ready? Come on, don't lay an egg here. I need you. I need you. I'll start over. I mean I'll start way over at the beginning. We'll bring the worship team up. We'll start the whole thing over. All right, so you You ready to shout it out?14:11-14:13Which is good, country music or rock music?14:13-14:14Rock.14:16-14:18The answer is both.14:20-14:21All right, which is good?14:22-14:22You ready?14:22-14:23Try again.14:23-14:24I'm gonna give you another chance.14:25-14:26Which is good, pancakes or waffles?14:27-14:28Both.14:28-14:31Both are good, okay?14:32-14:35All right, I think some of you are getting the hang of it.14:35-14:36Let's try one more.14:37-14:39Which is good, baseball or football?14:41-14:42(congregation exclaims)14:49-14:50I'm sorry, the answer is both.14:52-14:53All right, one more, you ready?14:55-14:57Which is good, being single or being married?14:58-14:58Both.14:59-14:59Both.15:02-15:02Both.15:04-15:05The answer's both.15:08-15:12Paul says here - look, if you don't get that, you're going to miss the whole sermon, so you've got to get this.15:12-15:17Paul says here in this passage, look, what you have, church, you have two good options.15:19-15:22Okay? You have two good gifts from God.15:22-15:24You can't have them both at the same time, by the way.15:24-15:26I think I don't have to explain that.15:27-15:29But you have two good options, two good gifts of God.15:30-15:31Single is good.15:32-15:34And married is good.15:35-15:37That's Paul's point here in these first two verses.15:37-16:13expounds on each. So on your outline, draw some things down here. Enjoying your gift from God. Number one, married. Are you married? Are you married? Well, enjoy God's gift for marriage. Okay, now Paul here starts with marriage because it's the norm. Most people are married. Again, one's not better or worse. Most people are married, so that's where he And again in Corinth, many thought you had greater devotion to God if you avoided physical relations.16:14-16:14But there's a problem.16:15-16:22There are some people that thought you have greater devotion to God by avoiding physical relations even if you're married.16:25-16:37And all the men said, "What?" And it's good to not touch a woman even if you're married, and especially if she's not a believer, or vice versa.16:37-16:47If your husband's not a believer, they believe that, look, if you're married to a non-believer, you definitely should not be engaging in any kind of relationship that way.16:48-16:50That was what the people thought.16:51-16:53So here in these verses, Paul's saying, look, are you married?16:53-16:58Then you should enjoy regular times of intimacy.17:01-17:04You should enjoy regular times of intimacy.17:05-17:20And you're like, "Oh, isn't that obvious?" And the answer is it must not be because God spent some time here in His Word explaining some things.17:21-17:22So I don't think it is so obvious.17:24-17:35So what we have here are three laws, three principles for married couples regarding God's design for healthy marital relations, okay?17:37-17:42So we're just gonna break these down by calling them the three laws of marital intimacy.17:43-17:45The three laws of marital intimacy.17:48-17:51First of all, letter A, let's talk about the law of debt.17:52-18:00If you're married, if you're married, You should be enjoying your spouse physically.18:01-18:03And here's the three guidelines, three laws for that.18:03-18:05The first one, the law of debt.18:05-18:06Look at verse three.18:07-18:22He says, "The husband should give to his wife "her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband." Stop there, that's the law of debt.18:22-18:23You're like, why do you say debt?18:23-18:26Because do you know in the Greek, it's literally the debt.18:26-18:30literally in the Greek, it says the husband should give the wife the debt.18:31-18:34And the wife should give her husband the debt.18:34-18:36That's what it says.18:37-18:47Also in the Greek, it's a continuous verb, meaning, Paul's saying husbands and wives, you should continuously be paying a debt to one another physically.18:50-18:57Now listen, the physical part of your marriage is not the most important part of your marriage.19:00-19:06But, it is a very important part of your marriage.19:08-19:09Okay, I'm gonna say that again.19:09-19:13I don't know if I've ever been so careful about the way I worded things in a sermon.19:15-19:20Because I don't want anybody to misunderstand, and I know there's a lot of things that can be easily misunderstood here, so I'm gonna say that again.19:21-19:27The physical part of your marriage is not the most important thing, but it is a very important thing.19:28-19:42And Paul here says, "You owe it to your spouse to allow your spouse to enjoy this." Listen, this is a very sensitive subject.19:42-19:43I know that.19:43-19:46Because there are people that have endured abuse.19:47-19:50There are people who are emotionally scarred.19:50-19:52There are people that have health issues.19:52-20:01And these things make regular, normal relations more difficult.20:06-20:08It might require extra work.20:08-20:12It might require coming to see one of our pastors for counseling.20:12-20:14We can help you with that.20:14-20:17If this is an issue in your marriage, we can help you.20:22-20:24But the principle here is very clear.20:26-20:29If you're married, you are expected to go after this.20:32-20:39God's design is that husbands and wives enjoy meeting each other's needs.20:44-20:59There's a book in the Bible all about that, by the way, right? Song of Solomon. That's what And I know there's some scholars that are like, "The Song of Solomon, you know what the Song of Solomon is about, Pastor Taylor?20:59-21:00You know what it's about.21:00-21:08The Song of Solomon is about the love relationship between Jesus and the church." Spoken like someone who never read the Song of Solomon.21:09-21:10It's not about that.21:12-22:19It is about a couple enjoying the physical aspect of their relationship, their love for another and all its expressions of that love, that's what it's about. God wants you to enjoy each other. I've heard stories of couples that only come together for a physical relationship when it's time to procreate, almost like it's some business exchange. And look, if that happens. If that happens, awesome, awesome. We'll always make room in the nursery. But to reduce the purpose of that just for procreation is still missing the point. The purpose of sex in marriage is intimacy. That's the purpose. It's not just a physical act. It's an act that strengthens love and is an act that sustains love.22:21-22:30But I know, listen, somebody can read this verse, "The husband should give to his wife the debt." Likewise, the wife give to her husband the debt.22:30-22:34Somebody can look at this verse and say, "That sounds so violating.22:36-22:38You mean to tell me…." Is that what you're saying?22:39-22:47I can't… What a patriarchal, male chauvinist church this is, that you're telling me that I can be forced to pay the debt.22:48-22:48Right?22:48-22:49Is that what you're saying?22:50-22:51Not even close.22:53-22:58And I would say that if that's your takeaway, then all due respect, you are completely reading the verse wrong.23:02-23:02Listen closely.23:03-23:10He's not saying that we go into our marriage relationship saying, "You owe me!" No, no, no, no.23:12-23:13Not lording it over.23:14-23:20It's not "You owe me!" It's the mindset of "I owe you." It's submission.23:23-23:26Notice he says to give the debt.23:26-23:27He doesn't say take the debt.23:27-23:28Do you notice that?23:29-23:32He doesn't say, "Husbands, go take what she owes you.23:32-23:35Wives, go take what he owes you." He doesn't say that.23:36-23:43He says in mutual submission, you have to give what you owe your spouse.23:45-23:46That's what he says.23:47-23:52A healthy marriage always focuses on the other person's needs.23:55-23:59And that applies also specifically here to intimacy.24:01-24:02That's what we're saying.24:05-24:09Give your wife, give to her what you owe her.24:10-24:12Wives, give to husbands what you owe him.24:12-24:13It's mutual submission.24:16-24:16All right?24:16-24:17So that's the law of debt.24:18-24:20Secondly, we have letter B, the law of ownership.24:22-24:23Law of ownership, look at verse 4.24:24-24:32And he goes on, "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.24:32-24:40Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." Stop there.24:40-24:43Again, please do not read it wrongly.24:43-24:48Don't go through this and totally miss what he's saying because it would be easy to do.24:48-24:52This is not a pass for abuse.24:54-25:05This is, listen, this verse is not allowing for any kind of situation where someone is being forced into something in any way.25:06-25:08It is not saying that whatsoever.25:08-25:19You're like, "Well, what is it saying then?" In marriage, listen, when you make the decision to marry someone, you have released the authority of your body to your spouse.25:20-25:22And again, in the Greek, that's continual.25:23-25:26What you have in marriage is an exclusive claim.25:27-25:34It's saying no one else owns my body the way that my spouse does, and that includes me.25:36-25:37That's what he's saying.25:38-25:43He's speaking again of a mutual love and selflessness.25:44-25:45That's what he's talking about.25:47-25:55He's talking about a mentality of a husband going before his wife and saying, "Hey, hey, this is all yours.25:57-26:04This is all yours." And then the wife in turn turns to her husband and says, "Yeah, and you know what, baby?26:05-26:06This is all yours.26:11-26:14So have fun." That's what he's saying.26:18-26:20There's the law of death, there's the law of ownership.26:21-26:23Letter C, there's the law of hiatus.26:24-26:25The law of hiatus.26:26-26:27Look at verse 5.26:30-26:55He says, "Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time that that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." The law of hiatus.26:57-26:59Again, he goes, "Stop depriving.26:59-27:07Stop depriving." Again, the Corinthian culture, "Oh, it's holy to deprive my spouse." No, he goes, "It's not holy.27:08-27:08It's just not.27:09-27:14Do not deprive each other, husbands and wives, do not deprive each other.27:15-27:16He says there is an exception.27:18-27:19There are rules for hiatus.27:22-27:23There are rules for hiatus, right?27:24-27:28First part of the rule, number one, is agree, right?27:29-27:30Agree.27:32-27:33That means consent.27:33-27:38That means it's not just one person making the decision.27:41-27:43It's not the wife saying, "You know what, honey?27:43-27:50I've really been thinking about this, and I decided we're taking a hiatus." And the husband's like, "Wait, what?27:51-27:52That's not how it works.27:52-28:00There has to be an agreement on that, all right?" And also number two, it says for a limited time.28:02-28:29a limited time. It's temporary. Again, that time should be agreed upon. You're like, "All right, well, why are we taking a break?" Well, he says very specifically, "If you two decide to take a break for a time from having normal relations, it should be for prayer." And he's not talking about prayer in general. I think he's talking about praying for something specific.28:31-28:43Maybe there's something in your life that is so burdening, so distracting, that you probably can't even enjoy intimacy in that season.28:43-28:45Do you know what I'm talking about?28:46-28:58Maybe you have a child that is really sick and in the hospital and like, "I can't." Obviously neither of us are in the mood for this right now.28:58-28:58We need to pray.29:01-29:33there's the looming threat of a job loss and the stress that comes with, you know, what am I going to do to provide for my family? And you know what, sweetheart, I think we should take a break from this for a season and focus on praying for God's provision in this way. But you agree upon it and you set the boundary of time, but when you're like, man, I just can't get into it as I should, then you take a hiatus, you agree to pray.29:33-29:53But Paul says, "Then, then you have to come together again," he says, "so that you don't get tempted." But the first part of that verse says, "Do not deprive each other.29:55-29:57Stop depriving each other.30:03-30:08Husbands and wives, you cannot use sex to manipulate.30:11-30:19Or more accurately, you can't withhold sex to coerce or punish the other person.30:21-30:35Listen, when you do that, when you use that as coercion or punishment, what you're doing ultimately is only hurting your marriage.30:36-30:37That's what you're doing.30:39-30:42Notice he says, "Come together again." Why?30:42-30:43Why should we come together again?30:44-31:12may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. In other words, closing the kitchen makes you a partner of Satan. All right? Because the urge is still there, and now all of a sudden the person who is supposed to satisfy me absolutely refuses to do that.31:13-31:15And then what happens?31:21-31:23Bitterness is resentment.31:25-31:27Then the evil thoughts start to creep in, right?31:29-31:32I'm so sick of not having my needs met.31:32-31:35I'm so sick of the bedroom being so cold.31:37-31:39And eventually that leads to adultery.31:42-31:55to physical, you find somebody that's scratching the itch that you have, whether it is that emotional itch for affection, whether it's a physical itch.31:58-32:20And then it's justified because, and I've heard it hundreds of times over my ministry, justified because I'm in a loveless marriage." You know, marriages struggle and ultimately individuals walks with Christ struggle because they're so frustrated physically.32:21-32:29It's like I have this appetite and it's just not being met and nothing good comes from that married people.32:30-32:30Alright?32:33-32:35So this is from the Lord.32:37-32:39Enjoy each other as much as possible.32:40-32:40Okay?32:42-32:43It's fun.32:43-32:50It's God's idea and in this passage he reminds us it is the best help in avoiding temptation.32:55-32:56It's the best help in avoiding temptation.32:57-32:58Think about it this way.32:58-33:00Just imagine this scenario.33:01-33:02Imagine this scenario.33:02-33:09Husband wakes up and he comes downstairs and he sees that his wife is baking chocolate chip cookies.33:11-33:13Seven in the morning she's baking chocolate chip cookies.33:15-33:16What a great wife, right?33:17-33:18Oh, it gets better.33:18-33:47He's baking chocolate chip cookies and he sees on the counter, she's obviously been at it for a while because there's a plate and there's a stack of them. And his wife says, "Honey, have all the cookies that you want." And like the dutiful husband that he is, he sits down and he has one, three, six, ten of them! And you know how you feel after eat a dozen chocolate chip cookies, right?33:49-33:50Just me?33:52-33:52(audience laughing)33:54-33:57You know how you feel after you eat a dozen chocolate chip cookies, right?33:59-33:59Thank you.34:00-34:01Thank you.34:02-34:09Your wife says, "Sweetheart, before you go to work, "I want you to have as many of these cookies as you want, "and I wanna tell you something else, honey.34:10-34:17"When you come home, there's gonna be more." So, you indulge.34:20-34:22Let me ask you something, when you get to work, are you hungry for cookies?34:25-34:25No.34:26-34:27Thank you.34:28-34:29Thank you.34:30-34:33One of you is on board now, the rest of you will catch up.34:34-34:35No.34:35-34:39You get to work, you're not hungry for cookies.34:40-34:46So what happens when the co-worker comes over to you and says, "Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink.34:47-34:48Would you like a cookie?34:50-34:56What do you say?" You're like, "I am full.34:58-35:03You wouldn't believe how many cookies I ate before work today." Well, you probably wouldn't say that.35:08-35:09We need to cut that one.35:10-35:11(audience laughing)35:15-35:19You would say, too much Taylor?35:19-35:20Too, oh, okay.35:20-35:27You would say, if she says blink, blink, blink, would you like a cookie?35:27-35:29You would say, no, thank you.35:31-35:31I'm full.35:34-35:35I have all the cookies that I wanted.35:38-35:45And you know, if you go a long time without cookies, self-control is much harder when someone else offers you one.35:49-35:52So if you're married, enjoy the wedding present that God gave you.35:52-35:52Alright?35:54-35:56Number two, single?35:58-35:59Enjoy God's gift of singleness.36:02-36:04I'm going to touch on this quickly.36:04-36:04Why?36:05-36:08He goes way into more detail later.36:08-36:11But right now, understand the point of what he's saying now.36:11-36:14The point of what he's saying now is two good options, right?36:14-36:14Two good options.36:15-36:16Marriage, good option.36:16-36:20And he's like, let's talk about the other good option, being single.36:20-36:21Look at verse six.36:22-36:35He says, "Now as a concession, not a command, I say this." In other words, he's like, look, I'm not commanding everyone to get married.36:35-36:38I'm just putting this out there because of human needs.36:39-36:39Right?36:39-37:19Verse seven, he says, "I wish that all were as I myself am, but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another." So Paul says, "I have this gift and I wish everyone had this gift." Paul's like, "You may not have this gift." Bible's clear, God gives different gifts to different people and some people are uniquely gifted by God for singleness.37:20-37:21Some people are.37:21-37:24Like that is from God himself.37:28-37:33Quickly, Jesus, Matthew chapter 19, again, we referenced this earlier.37:33-37:38He was speaking of marriage and divorce and adultery.37:38-37:41Look, Jesus, this is where Paul gets this.37:42-37:45Paul's just repeating what Jesus was saying here about singleness.37:46-38:07Like I said, Jesus just got done talking about marriage and divorce, and the disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But Jesus said to them, "Not everyone can receive this saying, but only to those to whom it is given.38:09-38:19For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.38:20-38:24Let the one who is able to receive this, receive it.38:26-38:28Same thing, same point.38:29-38:32Some people have a gift of singleness given by God.38:34-38:41If you're sitting here, you're like, "Man, I couldn't do it." Well, then you don't have the gift.38:43-38:45That's just all there is to it, right?38:47-38:48If you're sitting here and you're like, "You know what?38:48-38:59am single but I really don't want to be, then you don't have the gift. Because it's a gift from God to be single and content.39:02-39:17It's from God to be single and content, not single and consumed by lust. You don't have the gift if that's the case. Not if single and constantly tempted, you don't have the gift.39:17-39:23Not if single and constantly preoccupied by the fact that I am single, you don't have the gift.39:26-39:26Right?39:27-39:32But for some, it is a gift.39:33-39:45And there are definite advantages to this gift that we're going to talk about very shortly down the road, he picks up on that really in verse 32.39:46-39:56So Paul is saying to the Corinthians, "God's Word preserved by His Holy Spirit saying to us same thing." Look, don't judge the single people, right?39:57-39:58Don't judge the single people.39:58-40:04Maybe they have a gift from God to be single and content, to serve Him in a unique way.40:04-40:04Don't judge them.40:05-40:08And on the other hand, don't judge the married people either.40:09-40:24God has given the gift of marriage, and each side here, the single, the married, each has a gift, so enjoy yours how God intended." Our worship team would make their way up.40:25-40:35You know, in talking about this subject, it's hard to not think about how I heard of this subject when I was but a wee lad.40:38-40:46And you know, growing up, I thought, I'm just gonna be honest with you here, I thought sex was a bad, dirty thing.40:50-41:05Growing up, I thought sex was just this really, it was this really secretive, dirty thing that adults kind of whisper about, and you're like, "Why did you think that?" Because that was the only way it was ever presented.41:07-41:27And you know, so much church, so much church is, "Don't do this, don't do that, don't do this." So much church is, "Let me tell you everything that we're against." And too seldom does the church say what we're for.41:29-41:35But listen, sex is not a bad, dirty thing.41:38-41:41You realize God created it.41:43-41:45You realize the whole thing was His idea.41:46-41:52God is 100% for husbands and wives enjoying the heck out of it.41:55-41:56That's what he intended.41:58-42:01Sex to be one of life's greatest pleasures for a married couple.42:03-42:10So it's a gift for the married and the unmarried get the gift of not needing that wedding gift.42:10-42:13So, which is good?42:15-42:17Married or single?42:20-42:21Both are good.42:23-42:23Enjoy.42:24-42:25Let's pray.42:26-42:31Father in heaven, every good and perfect gift comes from above.42:32-42:55And I pray, Father, that you would give us eyes to see the way that you have blessed and gifted us and that we would use the gifts in a way that honors and glorifies you, whether it's single, to serve you in a unique way, whether it's married, to enjoy this picture of Christ and the church to enjoy the intimacy that comes from knowing somebody so deeply.42:57-43:01Whatever it is, God, let us recognize and enjoy.43:02-43:04And thank You and praise You for all of Your gifts.43:05-43:07We praise You in Jesus' name.43:07-43:08Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 7:1-7What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Explain the “3 Laws of Marital Intimacy” in your own words (1 Cor 7:3-5).What does it mean that “the wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband does, (and vice-versa)”? Is this making allowance for some kind of coercion to intimacy? Why or why not?How would you respond to a single friend who asks, “How do I know if I have the gift of singleness?”BreakoutPray for one another.

Sunday Morning, January 18, 2026Intercession 101: Saints in Supplication for other Saints ... Ephesians 1:15-23A message delivered by Richard Fleming

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== DEVOCIÓN MATUTINA PARA JÓVENES 2025“HOY ES TENDENCIA”Narrado por: Daniel RamosDesde: Connecticut, USAUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist Church===================|| www.drministries.org ||===================28 de Diciembre¿Hice lo mejor?«Todo lo que hagan, háganlo de buena gana, como si estuvieran sirviendo al Señor». Colosenses 3:23A las 2 de la mañana del 8 de septiembre de 1860, el buque de vapor Lady Elgin colisionó con la goleta Augusta en aguas del lago Michigan. El Lady Elgin transportaba más de trescientos pasajeros y tripulación en un viaje turístico. Lamentablemente, el capitán, sin percatarse del daño que había sufrido el barco, decidió continuar el viaje en la oscuridad. Media hora después, las pesadas calderas y la máquina de vapor ocasionaron la ruptura del casco y el barco se desintegró rápidamente.Muchas víctimas se aferraron a los restos flotantes durante largas horas en el agua fría. Algunos lograron alcanzar la orilla, pero fueron arrastrados nuevamente por la fuerte resaca. Aquella noche, diecisiete personas fueron salvadas por un joven llamado Edward W. Spencer. Como nadador experimentado, llevaba una cuerda atada al cuerpo y una y otra vez nadaba entre las olas para rescatar a los pasajeros exhaustos. Sus compañeros, al otro lado de la cuerda, lo ayudaban a arrastrar tanto a él como a las víctimas hasta la orilla. Seis horas más tarde, cuando alcanzó el límite de sus fuerzas, con el cuerpo cubierto de rasguños y magulladuras, Spencer se desmayó. Despertó en su habitación en la Universidad de Evanston, donde su hermano, William, aguardaba ansiosamente su recuperación. Las primeras palabras de Edward fueron: «Will, ¿he cumplido con mi deber? ¿He dado lo mejor de mí?».En 1924, Ensign Edwin Young, después de haber escuchado la historia de Spencer, compuso una canción que realiza una aplicación espiritual del incidente. «Me pregunto -dice la canción-¿he hecho lo mejor por Jesús? [...] Sé que mi Señor espera lo mejor de mí [...] Me pregunto, ¿he hecho lo mejor por Jesús, cuando él ha hecho tanto por mí?».Al llegar al final del año y mirar en retrospectiva, considero que cada uno de nosotros debe hacerse y contestar las mismas dos preguntas. La primera alude a nuestra responsabilidad de ser la sal de la tierra y la luz del mundo, a ser testigos de Cristo y colaborar en la tarea de salvar a otros a la vez que hacemos de este mundo un lugar mejor. La segunda pregunta solo la pueden contestar tú y Dios, pues solo tú y él conocen tu máximo potencial. Durante este año, «¿has cumplido con tu deber? ¿Has dado lo mejor de ti?». 

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

A colossal iceberg known as A-23A broke off from the Filchner Iceshelf in Antarctica in 1986.  At that time, it was 1,418 square miles in area, slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, or roughly twice the size of greater London.  It weighed about a trillion tons.  It was the largest iceberg ever observed. […]

This was an excellent crossword by Stella Zawistowski, her 24th for the NYTimes and her 7th Tuesday. There were some awesome clues in the grid, such as 28D, "A pox on thee!", FIE (a truly excellent insult

durée : 00:57:42 - Hemengo Magazina, ici Euskal Herri - Euskal Herriko Laborantza Ganbarak 20 urte ditu : urratsez urrats, laborantza eredu herrikoi, iraunkor eta solidarioa garatu du, laborari, elkarte, herri, elkargoarekin lan eginez. Hemendik goiti, transizioak segurtatu nahi ditu, klima aldaketari egokitzeko, eta etxaldeen transmisioa lagunduz Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

durée : 00:57:42 - Hemengo Magazina, ici Euskal Herri - Euskal Herriko Laborantza Ganbarak 20 urte ditu : urratsez urrats, laborantza eredu herrikoi, iraunkor eta solidarioa garatu du, laborari, elkarte, herri, elkargoarekin lan eginez. Hemendik goiti, transizioak segurtatu nahi ditu, klima aldaketari egokitzeko, eta etxaldeen transmisioa lagunduz Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Ephesians 4:17-24I. You Have Been Taught Better (v. 20-21)“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ” Ephesians 4:20A. Learning Christ vs. Learning About Christ •Paul says we “learned Christ” - not just facts, but a person •Christianity is encountering Jesus, not adopting a moral systemTruth isn't a system to master; truth is a person to know. And knowing Jesus changes everything. •The gospel itself contains the power for transformationB. The Truth That Is in Jesus •“As the truth is in Jesus” - a crucial phrase •Truth isn't abstract principle; it's embodied in a person •The reality of who Jesus is and what He's done changes everythingTransition to point 2“to be made new in the attitude of your minds; “ Ephesians 4:23A. Put Off the Old Self REMOVAL(v. 22)You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; •The “old self” corrupted by deceitful desires •Not gradual improvement but decisive break •ITS REMOVING YOUR GRAVE CLOTHESKey Question: What does this mean practically? •Not self-improvement through willpower alone •Recognizing the old identity is dead (Romans 6) •We're not trying to become Christians; we already areB. Be Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind  RENEWAL(v. 23)to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  •The often-overlooked middle step •Renewal is passive voice - something done to us •The mind must be transformed by gospel truthThe Pattern or renewing the mind •Our behaviors flow from beliefs •Wrong behaviors come from functional beliefs that oppose the gospel •Lasting change requires exposing and replacing false beliefs with gospel truthYou become like whatever you think about most.If you want to change your habits, change what you feed your mind.You can't control what pops into your head, but you can control what stays there.Your thoughts become your actions. Your actions become your character.Example Application: •If struggling with anxiety: What am I believing about God's control or care? •If struggling with anger: What am I treating as ultimate that only God should be? •Gospel renewal means letting God's truth reshape our deepest assumptionsC. Put On the New Self Replacement(v. 24)and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. •Created to be like God - our true destiny •“Righteousness and holiness” - not earned but received •Like putting on new, clean garments of identityGospel Connection: Before we can “put off” or “put on” anything, we must first understand what Christ has done for us. Moralism says “try harder.” The gospel says “you've been changed.”“God's plan for you isn't improvement—it's transformation.You can't change your life until you change your thinking.Change is not a moment in time…. It's a direction you purposely live your life inII. The Three-Fold Pattern of Gospel Change (v. 22-24)“Real change requires three things: Removal, Renewal, and Replacement.”

This was a Saturday crossword where every clue looked like it was hand-crafted with passion and precision: if the Loeuvre is ever looking for a crossword to hang up next to the Mona Lisa, they could do worse than pick this one.Even after our extensive dive into the grid in the podcast, we couldn't squeeze in all the gems.  For instance, 23A, They arose from Ra's tears, according to Egyptian mythology, BEES (BEEautiful)!); 9A, African capital whose name translates to "ants", ACCRA (huh!); and the fun-to-say 58A, Hibernation stations, DENS. We hope that Adrian Johnson and Christina Iverson's next collaboration comes out ... tomorrow!Show note imagery: A MESON (not to scale)We love feedback! Send us a text...Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

Supreme , Week 6 Pastor Nathan Zickert · Colossians 2:16-23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

Daniel: Patterns As We Speak to God (Week 3) Daniel 9:15-23A recent survey of 2,000 Americans sought to learn about their criteria for asking for help when starting something new. The results showed that 73% don't ask for help until they feel it is absolutely necessary, and 13% admitted that they never ask for help. Of that same group, 53% said they feel held back from reaching certain goals in their lives because they try to go it alone. For whatever reason, it seems most Americans would rather not ask for help.It begs the question: is this how we approach asking God for help? Would we just rather not? Or do we swing the other way and come at Him with a list of demands? When it comes to praying, many are confused on what to even say. Thankfully, God Himself has given many examples for us in Scriptures. Tomorrow morning, we will conclude our series on prayer and discover what it looks like to come to God in the right way.

Supreme, Week 3 Pastor Nathan Zickert · Colossians 1:15-23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

Juan 20,Al atardecer de aquel primer día de la semana, estando reunidos los discípulos a puerta cerrada por temor a los judíos, entró Jesús y poniéndose en medio de ellos, dijo:—¡La paz sea con ustedes!20Dicho esto, les mostró las manos y el costado. Al ver al Señor, los discípulos se alegraron.21 —¡La paz sea con ustedes! —repitió Jesús—. Como el Padre me envió a mí, así yo los envío a ustedes.22Acto seguido, sopló sobre ellos y les dijo:—Reciban el Espíritu Santo. 23A quienes perdonen sus pecados, les serán perdonados; a quienes no se los perdonen, no les serán perdonados.

Justin Michael opens the show by discussing the preseason quarterback rankings from Nevada Sports Net and why they have Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi way too low. He then talks about some of the factors that could impact BFN's season before getting into the latest recruiting news for Colorado State. He talks about the latest commit and why Arley Morrell is intriguing as a prospect. Finally, Justin talks about the best summer spots around Colorado. Intro -  0:00Reacting to NSN QB Rankings - 2:30Wrapping up the convo about MW QBs - 19:50Class of 2026 - 38:55Some guys to keep an eye on - 49:23A little fun - 53:22 An ALLCITY Network Production PARTY WITH US: https://thednvr.com/events ALL THINGS DNVR: https://linktr.ee/dnvrsports BALL-KNOWER BONUS/Merch: https://promotion.allcitynetwork.com/promotions/store.allcitynetwork/7d48d294-4260-4bac-aca1-9a18eef8ca78 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/DNVR_Sports First Bank: So, if you're ready for better banking and the chance to earn a little extra, head to efirstbank.com/bonus. Certain restrictions and requirements apply. Member FDIC. Hall of Fame App: Get a 7-Day Free Trial + 50% Off your first month with code DNVR. Just download the HOF app on iOS and Android or visit www.hofbets.com, enter code DNVR, and you're all set. #ad Toyota: Visit Your Front Range Toyota Stores at a location near you - Toyota is the official vehicle of DNVR. Toyota - Let's Go Places! Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/dnvr UCHealth: Learn more about Living Like There's A Tomorrow at https://www.uchealth.org/tomorrow/?utm_source=DNVR&utm_medium=Audio&utm_campaign=Brand_LLTIAT_Null_JFMFY25_AW_Null Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Instacart by going to https://coorslight.com/DNVR. Celebrate Responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: DNVR for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. Gametime: Download the app, create an account, and use code DNVR for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

From the archives: 3-1-23A court in Pennsylvania has unsealed the search warrant that was attained by authorities in connection with the raid on Bryan Kohberger's parents home.In this episode, we take a look at that search warrant and what it contained.(commercial at 7:06)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger's Pennsylvania warrant unsealed | Fox NewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

“‘If you can'?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” - Mark 9:23A visual learner? Watch the Sunday Stream now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evangelism , Week 4 Pastor Nathan Zickert · Matthew 13:22-23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

The largest iceberg in the world, which has been slowly drifting for nearly 5 years, has finally come to a halt.  The iceberg – called the unexciting name A-23A – came into existence in 1986 when it broke off from another iceberg A-23 that had calved or torn off from Antarctica earlier that year.  For […]

Saturdays are supposed to be the toughest crosswords of the week, and Rafael Musa definitely got the memo: the amount of misdirection in today's puzzle would have David Copperfield nodding approvingly. We've covered most of Mr. Musa's masterpieces in today's episode, but a few others worthy of note are the fabulous 8D, Gag order?, TMI (hah!); 35A, Time to give up, LENT (magnifico!); and the cryptic 23A, Human Geography and Calculus BC, for short, APS (we didn't realize that Calculus was that old, but anyhoo...).In addition to the crossword, we also are pleased to announce our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), so check out today's episode to find out who took home the flag.Show note imagery: A coin from 1023-28 depicting OLAF the Stout, aka Saint OlafWe love feedback! Send us a text...Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

Evangelism , Week 1 Pastor Nathan Zickert · Matthew 13:18-23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)

Feb 2, 2025  GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCHNeil McClendon, Lead PastorElements of An Effective TestimonyActs 26:1-321. A past, v. 1-11The glory of your present life should always eclipse the shame of your past. If not, you will always fear your past.2. A conversion experience, v. 12-18Three things that are universal for every conversion experience…a) God appears to you, v. 16b) God delivers you, v. 17c) God sends you, v. 17-18 Four things happen when people's eyes are opened…1) they turn from darkness to light2) turn from the power of Satan to the power of God3) they receive forgiveness of sin4) they get a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus (the Church) 3. A consistent life, v. 19-23A converted life is consistent to three things…a) God's vision for their life, v. 19-21b) God's help, v. 22 c)  Biblical doctrine, v. 22b-23 1)  atonement- Jesus died in your place/for your sins 2)  resurrection- the receipt that confirms God's acceptance 3)  salvation- you can change because of the first two4. A shared focus, v. 24-29Mental worship… 1 What are some of the “goads” in your life and to what are they pointing you? 2 Is your life more of a reflection of God's vision or your desires?  3 Have you ever experienced the help that comes from God?  4 What kind of world would it be if everyone was like you are spiritually?  5 Are you a prisoner to anything these days?

Integra Resources published their fourth quarter and full year production results from its recently acquired Florida Canyon Mine in Nevada. ATEX Resources announced partial assay results from hole 23A this morning, which is the first hole from its phase V drill campaign at the Valeriano Copper-Gold project in Chile. West Point Gold announced additional drill results from its work on the Tyro Main Zone on the Gold Chain Project in Arizona. This episode of Mining Stock Daily is brought to you by...  Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (ASCU:TSX) is focused on developing its brownfield copper project on private land in Arizona. The Cactus Mine Project is located less than an hour's drive from the Phoenix International airport. Grid power and the Union Pacific Rail line situated at the base of the Cactus Project main road. With permitted water access, a streamlined permitting framework and infrastructure already in place, ASCU's Cactus Mine Project is a lower risk copper development project in the infrastructure-rich heartland of Arizona.For more information, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.arizonasonoran.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Vizsla Silver is focused on becoming one of the world's largest single-asset silver producers through the exploration and development of the 100% owned Panuco-Copala silver-gold district in Sinaloa, Mexico. The company consolidated this historic district in 2019 and has now completed over 325,000 meters of drilling. The company has the world's largest, undeveloped high-grade silver resource. Learn more at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://vizslasilvercorp.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Calibre Mining is a Canadian-listed, Americas focused, growing mid-tier gold producer with a strong pipeline of development and exploration opportunities across Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada, Nevada and Washington in the USA, and Nicaragua. With a strong balance sheet, a proven management team, strong operating cash flow, accretive development projects and district-scale exploration opportunities Calibre will unlock significant value. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.calibremining.com/⁠

25, Week 2Pastor Nathan Zickert · Proverbs 4:23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)

This was a fun, frothy Monday crossword by Ailee Yoshida, her second for the NYTimes. The theme was (as always) ingenious, and, being a Monday, the grid was populated with words that we mainly know. It did have two debut answers (19A, Tidbit in a nutritious pudding: CHIASEED; 23A, Department handling media inquiries: PRESSOFFICE) and one not seen since 1984, 43D, Lip-plumping injection, FILLER. For the record, in 1984 FILLER had no connection, whatsoever, with Lips.Show note imagery: A WRIT, writ large

Christmas Past, Present, and Future, Week 2Pastor Nathan Zickert · Matthew 1:20-23A video recording of this sermon is available here.For more information about Grace Community Church of Riverside, visit us online at https://www.gccriverside.com.

Comparing the Hebrew of Isaiah 9.6 to most popular English translations results in some serious questions. Why have our translations changed the tense of the verbs from past to future? Why is this child called “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father”? In this presentation I work through Isaiah 9.6 line by line to help you understand the Hebrew. Next I look at interpretive options for the child as well as his complicated name. Not only will this presentation strengthen your understanding of Isaiah 9.6, but it will also equip you to explain it to others. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See my other articles here Check out my class: One God Over All Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean’s bio here Below is the paper presented on October 18, 2024 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the 4th annual UCA Conference. Access this paper on Academia.edu to get the pdf. Full text is below, including bibliography and end notes. Abstract Working through the grammar and syntax, I present the case that Isaiah 9:6 is the birth announcement of a historical child. After carefully analyzing the name given to the child and the major interpretive options, I make a case that the name is theophoric. Like the named children of Isaiah 7 and 8, the sign-child of Isaiah 9 prophecies what God, not the child, will do. Although I argue for Hezekiah as the original fulfillment, I also see Isaiah 9:6 as a messianic prophecy of the true and better Hezekiah through whom God will bring eternal deliverance and peace. Introduction Paul D. Wegner called Isaiah 9:6[1] “one of the most difficult problems in the study of the Old Testament.”[2] To get an initial handle on the complexities of this text, let's begin briefly by comparing the Hebrew to a typical translation. Isaiah 9:6 (BHS[3]) כִּי־יֶ֣לֶד יֻלַּד־לָ֗נוּ בֵּ֚ן נִתַּן־לָ֔נוּ וַתְּהִ֥י הַמִּשְׂרָ֖ה עַל־שִׁכְמ֑וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ פֶּ֠לֶא יוֹעֵץ֙ אֵ֣ל גִּבּ֔וֹר אֲבִיעַ֖ד שַׂר־שָׁלֽוֹם׃ Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Curiosities abound in the differences between these two. The first two clauses in English, “For to us a child is born” and “to us a son is given,” employ the present tense while the Hebrew uses the perfect tense, i.e. “to us a child has been born.”[4] This has a significant bearing on whether we take the prophecy as a statement about a child already born in Isaiah's time or someone yet to come (or both). The ESV renders the phrase,וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo), as “and his name shall be called,” but the words literally mean “and he called his name” where the “he” is unspecified. This leaves room for the possibility of identifying the subject of the verb in the subsequent phrase, i.e. “And the wonderful counselor, the mighty God called his name…” as many Jewish translations take it.  Questions further abound regardingאֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor), which finds translations as disparate as the traditional “Mighty God”[5] to “divine warrior”[6] to “in battle God-like”[7] to “Mighty chief”[8] to “Godlike hero,”[9] to Luther's truncated “Held.”[10]  Another phrase that elicits a multiplicity of translations is אֲבִיעַד (aviad). Although most versions read “Eternal Father,”[11] others render the word, “Father-Forever,”[12] “Father for all time,”[13] “Father of perpetuity,”[14] “Father of the Eternal Age,”[15] and “Father of Future.”[16] Translators from a range of backgrounds struggle with these two phrases. Some refuse to translate them at all, preferring clunky transliterations.[17] Still, as I will show below, there's a better way forward. If we understand that the child had a theophoric name—a name that is not about him, but about God—our problems dissipate like morning fog before the rising sun. Taking the four pairs of words this way yields a two-part sentence name. As we'll see this last approach is not only the best contextual option, but it also allows us to take the Hebrew vocabulary, grammar, and syntax at face value, rather than succumbing to strained translations and interpretational gymnastics. In the end, we're left with a text literally rendered and hermeneutically robust. Called or Will Call His Name? Nearly all the major Christian versions translate וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra), “he has called,” as “he will be called.” This takes an active past tense verb as a passive future tense.[18] What is going on here? Since parents typically give names at birth or shortly thereafter, it wouldn't make sense to suggest the child was already born (as the beginning of Isa 9:6 clearly states), but then say he was not yet named. Additionally, וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra) is a vav-conversive plus imperfect construction that continues the same timing sequence of the preceding perfect tense verbs.[19] If the word were passive (niphal binyan) we would read וַיִּקָּרֵא (vayikarey) instead of וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra). Although some have suggested an emendation of the Masoretic vowels to make this change, Hugh Williamson notes, “there is no overriding need to prefer it.”[20] Translators may justify rendering the perfect tense as imperfect due to the idiom called a prophetic past tense (perfectum propheticum). Wilhelm Gesenius notes the possibility that a prophet “so transports himself in imagination into the future that he describes the future event as if it had been already seen or heard by him.”[21] Bruce Waltke recognizes the phenomenon, calling it an accidental perfective in which “a speaker vividly and dramatically represents a future situation both as complete and independent.”[22] Still, it's up to the interpreter to determine if Isaiah employs this idiom or not. The verbs of verse 6 seem quite clear: “a child has been born for us … and the government was on his shoulder … and he has called his name…” When Isaiah uttered this prophecy, the child had already been born and named and the government rested on his shoulders. This is the straightforward reading of the grammar and therefore should be our starting point.[23] Hezekiah as the Referent One of the generally accepted principles of hermeneutics is to first ask the question, “What did this text mean in its original context?” before asking, “What does this text mean to us today?” When we examine the immediate context of Isa 9:6, we move beyond the birth announcement of a child with an exalted name to a larger prophecy of breaking the yoke of an oppressor (v4) and the ushering in of a lasting peace for the throne of David (v7). Isaiah lived in a tumultuous time. He saw the northern kingdom—the nation of Israel—uprooted from her land and carried off by the powerful and cruel Assyrian Empire. He prophesied about a child whose birth had signaled the coming freedom God would bring from the yoke of Assyria. As Jewish interpreters have long pointed out, Hezekiah nicely fits this expectation.[24] In the shadow of this looming storm, Hezekiah became king and instituted major religious reforms,[25] removing idolatry and turning the people to Yahweh. The author of kings gave him high marks: “He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel. After him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah nor among those who were before him” (2 Kgs 18:5).[26] Then, during Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib sent a large army against Judea and laid siege to Jerusalem. Hezekiah appropriately responded to the threatening Assyrian army by tearing his clothes, covering himself with sackcloth, and entering the temple to pray (2 Kings 19:1). He sent word to Isaiah, requesting prayer for the dire situation. Ultimately God brought miraculous deliverance, killing 185,000 Assyrians, which precipitated a retreat. There had not been such an acute military deliverance since the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea. Indeed, Hezekiah's birth did signal God's coming deliverance. In opposition to Hezekiah as the referent for Isa 9:6, Christian interpreters have pointed out that Hezekiah did not fulfill this prophecy en toto. Specifically, Hezekiah did not usher in “an endless peace” with justice and righteousness “from this time onward and forevermore” (Isa. 9:7). But, as John Roberts points out, the problem only persists if we ignore prophetic hyperbole. Here's what he says: If Hezekiah was the new king idealized in this oracle, how could Isaiah claim he would reign forever? How could Isaiah so ignore Israel's long historical experience as to expect no new source of oppression would ever arise? The language, as is typical of royal ideology, is hyperbolic, and perhaps neither Isaiah nor his original audience would have pushed it to its limits, beyond its conventional frames of reference, but the language itself invites such exploitation. If one accepts God's providential direction of history, it is hard to complain about the exegetical development this exploitation produced.[27] Evangelical scholar Ben Witherington III likewise sees a reference to both Hezekiah and a future deliverer. He writes, “[T]he use of the deliberately hyperbolic language that the prophet knew would not be fulfilled in Hezekiah left open the door quite deliberately to look for an eschatological fulfillment later.”[28] Thus, even if Isaiah's prophecy had an original referent, it left the door open for a true and better Hezekiah, who would not just defeat Assyria, but all evil, and not just for a generation, but forever. For this reason, it makes sense to take a “both-and” approach to Isa 9:6. Who Called His Name? Before going on to consider the actual name given to the child, we must consider the subject of the word וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra), “and he called.” Jewish interpreters have and continue to take אֵל גִבּוֹר (el gibbor), “Mighty God,” as the subject of this verb. Here are a few examples of this rendering: Targum Jonathan (2nd century) And his name has been called from before the One Who Causes Wonderful Counsel, God the Warrior, the Eternally Existing One—the Messiah who will increase peace upon us in his days.[29] Shlomo Yitzchaki (11th century) The Holy One, blessed be He, Who gives wondrous counsel, is a mighty God and an everlasting Father, called Hezekiah's name, “the prince of peace,” since peace and truth will be in his days.[30] Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi (16th century) “For a child is born to us.” A son will be born and this is Hezekiah. Though Ahaz is an evildoer, his son Hezekiah will be a righteous king. He will be strong in his service of the Holy One. He will study Torah and the Holy One will call him, “eternal father, peaceful ruler.” In his days there will be peace and truth.[31] The Stone Edition of the Tanach (20th century) The Wondrous Adviser, Mighty God, Eternal Father, called his name Sar-shalom [Prince of Peace][32] Although sometimes Christian commentators blithely accuse Jewish scholars of avoiding the implications of calling the child “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father,” the grammar does allow multiple options here. The main question is whether Isaiah specified the subject of the verb וַיִקְרָ (vayikra) or not. If he has, then the subject must be אֵל גִבּוֹר (el gibbor). If he has not, then the subject must be indefinite (i.e. “he” or “one”). What's more, the Masoretic punctuation of the Hebrew suggests the translation, “and the Wonderful Adviser, the Mighty God called his name, ‘Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace'”[33] However, Keil and Delitzsch point out problems with this view on both grammatical and contextual grounds. They write: [I]t is impossible to conceive for what precise reason such a periphrastic description of God should be employed in connection with the naming of this child, as is not only altogether different from Isaiah's usual custom, but altogether unparalleled in itself, especially without the definite article. The names of God should at least have been defined thus, הַיּוֹעֵץ פֵּלֶא הַגִּבּוֹר, so as to distinguish them from the two names of the child.”[34] Thus, though the Masoretic markings favor the Jewish translation, the grammar doesn't favor taking “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God” as the subject. It's certainly not impossible, but it is a strained reading without parallels in Isaiah and without justification in the immediate context. Let's consider another possibility. His Name Has Been Called Instead of taking אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) as the subject, we can posit an indefinite subject for וַיִקְרָ (vayikra): “one has called.” Examples of this outside of Isaiah 9:6 include Gen 11:9; 25:26; Exod 15:23; and 2 Sam 2:16. The phenomenon appears in Gesenius (§144d) and Joüon and Muraoka (§155e), both of which include our text as examples. However, the translation “one has called his name” is awkward in English due to our lack of a generic pronoun like on in French or man in German. Accordingly, most translations employ the passive construction: “his name has been called,” omitting the subject.[35] This is apparently also how those who produced the Septuagint (LXX) took the Hebrew text, employing a passive rather than an active verb.[36] In conclusion, the translation “his name has been called” works best in English. Mighty Hero Now we broach the question of how to render אֵל גִּבּוֹר el gibbor. As I've already noted, a few translations prefer “mighty hero.” But this reading is problematic since it takes the two words in reverse order. Although in English we typically put an adjective before the noun it modifies, in Hebrew the noun comes first and then any adjectives that act upon it. Taking the phrase as אֵל גִּבּוֹר (gibbor el) makes “mighty” the noun and “God” the adjective. Now since the inner meaning of אֵל (el) is “strong” or “mighty,” and גִּבּוֹר gibbor means “warrior” or “hero,” we can see how translators end up with “mighty warrior” or “divine hero.” Robert Alter offers the following explanation: The most challenging epithet in this sequence is ‘el gibor [sic], which appears to say “warrior-god.” The prophet would be violating all biblical usage if he called the Davidic king “God,” and that term is best construed here as some sort of intensifier. In fact, the two words could conceivably be a scribal reversal of gibor ‘el, in which case the second word would clearly function as a suffix of intensification as it occasionally does elsewhere in the Bible.[37] Please note that Alter's motive for reversing the two words is that the text, as it stands, would violate all biblical usage by calling the Davidic king “God.” But Alter is incorrect. We have another biblical usage calling the Davidic king “God” in Psalm 45:6. We must allow the text to determine interpretation. Changing translation for the sake of theology is allowing the tail to wag the dog. Another reason to doubt “divine warrior” as a translation is that “Wherever ʾēl gibbôr occurs elsewhere in the Bible there is no doubt that the term refers to God (10:21; cf. also Deut. 10:17; Jer. 32:18),” notes John Oswalt.[38] Keil and Delitzsch likewise see Isa 10:21 as the rock upon which these translations suffer shipwreck.[39] “A remnant will return,” says Isa 10:21, “the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” The previous verse makes it clear that “mighty God” refers to none other than “Yahweh, the holy one of Israel.” Without counter examples elsewhere in the Bible, we lack the basis to defy the traditional ordering of “God” as the noun and “mighty” or “warrior” as the adjective.[40] Mighty God-Man Did Isaiah foresee a human child who would also be the mighty God? Did he suddenly get “a glimpse of the fact that in the fullness of the Godhead there is a plurality of Persons,” as Edward Young thought?[41] Although apologists seeking to prove the deity of Christ routinely push for this reading, other evangelical scholars have expressed doubts about such a bold interpretation.[42] Even Keil and Delitzsch, after zealously batting away Jewish alternatives, admit Isaiah's language would not have suggested an incarnate deity in its original context.[43] Still, it would not be anachronistic to regard a king as a deity in the context of the ancient Near East. We find such exalted language in parallels from Egypt and Assyria in their accession oracles (proclamations given at the time a new king ascends the throne). Taking their cue from the Egyptian practices of bestowing divine throne names upon the Pharaoh's accession to the throne, G. von Rad and A. Alt envisioned a similar practice in Jerusalem. Although quite influential, Wegner has pointed out several major problems with this way of looking at our text: (1) the announcement is to the people in Isa 9:6, not the king; (2) Isa 9:6 does not use adoption language nor call the child God's son; (3) יֶלֶד (yeled), “child,” is never used in accession oracles; (4) the Egyptian parallels have five titles not four as in Isa 9:6; (5) Egyptians employ a different structure for accession oracles than Isa 9:6; and (6) we have no evidence elsewhere that Judean kings imitated the Egyptian custom of bestowing divine titles.[44] Another possibility, argued by R. A. Carlson, is to see the names as anti-Assyrian polemic.[45] Keeping in mind that Assyria was constantly threatening Judah in the lifetime of Isaiah and that the child born was to signal deliverance, it would be no surprise that Isaiah would cast the child as a deliberate counter-Assyrian hero. Still, as Oswalt points out, “[T]he Hebrews did not believe this [that their kings were gods]. They denied that the king was anything more than the representative of God.”[46] Owing to a lack of parallels within Israel and Isaiah's own penchant for strict monotheism,[47] interpreting Isa 9:6 as presenting a God-man is ad hoc at best and outright eisegesis at worst. Furthermore, as I've already noted, the grammar of the passage indicates a historical child who was already born. Thus, if Isaiah meant to teach the deity of the child, we'd have two God-men: Hezekiah and Jesus. Far from a courtly scene of coronation, Wegner makes the case that our text is really a birth announcement in form. Birth announcements have (1) a declaration of the birth, (2) an announcement of the child's name, (3) an explanation of what the name means, and (4) a further prophecy about the child's future.[48] These elements are all present in Isa 9:6, making it a much better candidate for a birth announcement than an accession or coronation oracle. As a result, we should not expect divine titles given to the king like when the Pharaohs or Assyrian kings ascended the throne; instead, we ought to look for names that somehow relate to the child's career. We will delve more into this when we broach the topic of theophoric names. Mighty God's Agent Another possibility is to retain the traditional translation of “mighty God” and see the child as God's agent who bears the title. In fact, the Bible calls Moses[49] and the judges[50] of Israel אֱלֹהִים (elohim), “god(s),” due to their role in representing God. Likewise, as I've already mentioned, the court poet called the Davidic King “god” in Ps 45:6. Additionally, the word אֵל (el), “god,” refers to representatives of Yahweh whether divine (Ps 82:1, 6) or human (John 10.34ff).[51] Thus, Isa 9:6 could be another case in which a deputized human acting as God's agent is referred to as God. The NET nicely explains: [H]aving read the NT, we might in retrospect interpret this title as indicating the coming king's deity, but it is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way. Ps 45:6 addresses the Davidic king as “God” because he ruled and fought as God's representative on earth. …When the king's enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.[52] Raymond Brown admits that this “may have been looked on simply as a royal title.”[53] Likewise Williamson sees this possibility as “perfectly acceptable,” though he prefers the theophoric approach.[54] Even the incarnation-affirming Keil and Delitzsch recognize that calling the child אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) is “nothing further…than this, that the Messiah would be the image of God as no other man ever had been (cf., El, Ps. 82:1), and that He would have God dwelling within Him (cf., Jer. 33:16).”[55] Edward L. Curtis similarly points out that had Isaiah meant to teach that the child would be an incarnation of Yahweh, he would have “further unfolded and made central this thought” throughout his book.[56] He likewise sees Isa 9:6 not as teaching “the incarnation of a deity” but as a case “not foreign to Hebrew usage to apply divine names to men of exalted position,” citing Exod 21:6 and Ps 82:6 as parallels.[57] Notwithstanding the lexical and scholarly support for this view, not to mention my own previous position[58] on Isa 9:6, I'm no longer convinced that this is the best explanation. It's certainly possible to call people “Gods” because they are his agents, but it is also rare. We'll come to my current view shortly, but for now, let's approach the second controversial title. Eternal Father The word אֲבִיעַד (aviad), “Eternal Father,” is another recognizable appellative for Yahweh. As I mentioned in the introduction, translators have occasionally watered down the phrase, unwilling to accept that a human could receive such a title. But humans who pioneer an activity or invent something new are fathers.[59] Walking in someone's footsteps is metaphorically recognizing him as one's father.[60] Caring for others like a father is yet another way to think about it.[61] Perhaps the child is a father in one of these figurative senses. If we follow Jerome and translate אֲבִיעַד (aviad) as Pater futuri saeculi, “Father of the future age,” we can reconfigure the title, “Eternal Father,” from eternal without beginning to eternal with a beginning but without an end. However, notes Williamson, “There is no parallel to calling the king ‘Father,' rather the king is more usually designated as God's son.”[62] Although we find Yahweh referred to as “Father” twice in Isaiah (Isa 63:16; 64:7), and several more times throughout the Old Testament,[63] the Messiah is not so called. Even in the New Testament we don't see the title applied to Jesus. Although not impossible to be taken as Jesus's fatherly role to play in the age to come, the most natural way to take אֲבִיעַד (aviad) is as a reference to Yahweh. In conclusion, both “mighty God” and “eternal Father” most naturally refer to Yahweh and not the child. If this is so, why is the child named with such divine designations? A Theophoric Name Finally, we are ready to consider the solution to our translation and interpretation woes. Israelites were fond of naming their kids with theophoric names (names that “carry God”). William Holladay explains: Israelite personal names were in general of two sorts. Some of them were descriptive names… But most Israelite personal names were theophoric; that is, they involve a name or title or designation of God, with a verb or adjective or noun which expresses a theological affirmation. Thus “Hezekiah” is a name which means “Yah (= Yahweh) is my strength,” and “Isaiah” is a name which means “Yah (= Yahweh) has brought salvation.” It is obvious that Isaiah is not called “Yahweh”; he bears a name which says something about Yahweh.[64] As Holladay demonstrates, when translating a theophoric name, it is customary to supplement the literal phrase with the verb, “to be.” Hezekiah = “Yah (is) my strength”; Isaiah = “Yah (is) salvation.” Similarly, Elijah means “My God (is) Yah” and Eliab, “My God (is the) Father.” Theophoric names are not about the child; they are about the God of the parents. When we imagine Elijah's mother calling him for dinner, she's literally saying “My God (is) Yah(weh), it's time for dinner.” The child's name served to remind her who her God was. Similarly, these other names spoke of God's strength, salvation, and fatherhood. To interpret the named child of Isa 9:6 correctly, we must look at the previously named children in Isa 7 and 8. In chapter 7 the boy is called “Immanuel,” meaning “God (is) with us” (Isa 7:14). This was a historical child who signaled prophecy. Isaiah said, “For before the boy knows to reject evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned” (Isa 7:16). In Isa 8:1 we encounter “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,” or “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.”[65] This child has a two-sentence name with an attached prophecy: “For before the boy calls, ‘my father' or ‘my mother,' the strength of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria” (Isa 8:4). Both children's sign names did not describe them nor what they would do, but what God would do for his people. Immanuel is a statement of faith. The name means God has not abandoned his people; they can confidently say, “God is with us” (Isa 8:10). Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz does not mean that the child would become a warrior to sack Damascus and seize her spoils, but that God would bring about the despoiling of Judah's enemy. When we encounter a third sign-named child in as many chapters, we are on solid contextual grounds to see this new, longer name in the same light. Isaiah prophecies that this child has the government upon his shoulder, sits on the throne of David, and will establish a lasting period of justice and righteousness (Isa 9:5, 7). This child bears the name “Pele-Yoets-El-Gibbor-Aviad-Sar-Shalom.” The name describes his parents' God, the mighty God, the eternal Father. Although this perspective has not yet won the day, it is well attested in a surprising breadth of resources. Already in 1867, Samuel David Luzzatto put forward this position.[66] The Jewish Publication Society concurred in their 2014 study Bible: Semitic names often consist of sentences that describe God … These names do not describe that person who holds them but the god whom the parents worship. Similarly, the name given to the child in this v. does not describe that child or attribute divinity to him, but describes God's actions.[67] The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) footnote on Isa. 9:6 says, “As in many Israelite personal names, the deity, not the person named, is being described.”[68] Additional scholars advocating the view also include Holladay (1978), Wegner (1992), Goldingay (1999, 2015), and Williamson (2018). Even so, Keil and Delitzsch eschew “such a sesquipedalian name,” calling it “unskillful,” and arguing that it would be impractical “to be uttered in one breath.”[69] But this is to take the idea too literally. No one is going to actually call the child by this name. John Goldingay helpfully explains: So he has that complicated name, “An-extraordinary-counselor-is-the-warrior-God, the-everlasting-Father-is-an-officer-for-well-being.” Like earlier names in Isaiah (God-is-with-us, Remains-Will-Return, Plunder-hurries-loot-rushes), the name is a sentence. None of these names are the person's everyday name—as when the New Testament says that Jesus will be called Immanuel, “God [is] with us,” without meaning this expression is Jesus' name. Rather, the person somehow stands for whatever the “name” says. God gives him a sign of the truth of the expression attached to him. The names don't mean that the person is God with us, or is the remains, or is the plunder, and likewise this new name doesn't mean the child is what the name says. Rather he is a sign and guarantee of it. It's as if he goes around bearing a billboard with that message and with the reminder that God commissioned the billboard.[70] Still, there's the question of identifying Yahweh as שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar shalom). Since most of our translations render the phrase “Prince of Peace,” and the common meaning of a prince is someone inferior to the king, we turn away from labeling God with this title. Although HALOT mentions “representative of the king, official” for the first definition their second is “person of note, commander.”[71] The BDB glosses “chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince” as their first entry.[72] Wegner adds: “The book of Isaiah also appears to use the word sar in the general sense of “ruler.””[73] Still, we must ask, is it reasonable to think of Yahweh as a שַׂר (sar)? We find the phrase שַׂר־הַצָּבָא (sar-hatsava), “prince of hosts,” in Daniel 8:11 and שַׂר־שָׂרִים (sar-sarim), “prince of princes,” in verse 25, where both refer to God.[74]  The UBS Translators' Handbook recommends “God, the chief of the heavenly army” for verse 11 and “the greatest of all kings” for verse 25.[75] The handbook discourages using “prince,” since “the English word ‘prince' does not mean the ruler himself but rather the son of the ruler, while the Hebrew term always designates a ruler, not at all implying son of a ruler.”[76] I suggest applying this same logic to Isa 9:6. Rather than translating שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar shalom) as “Prince of Peace,” we can render it, “Ruler of Peace” or “Ruler who brings peace.” Translating the Name Sentences Now that I've laid out the case for the theophoric approach, let's consider translation possibilities. Wegner writes, “the whole name should be divided into two parallel units each containing one theophoric element.”[77] This makes sense considering the structure of Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which translates two parallel name sentences: “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.” Here are a few options for translating the name. Jewish Publication Society (1917) Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of peace[78] William Holladay (1978) Planner of wonders; God the war hero (is) Father forever; prince of well-being[79] New Jewish Publication Society (1985) The Mighty God is planning grace; The Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler[80] John Goldingay (1999) One who plans a wonder is the warrior God; the father for ever is a commander who brings peace[81] John Goldingay (2015) An-extraordinary-counselor-is-the-warrior-God, the-everlasting-Fathers-is-an-official-for-well-being[82] Hugh Williamson (2018) A Wonderful Planner is the Mighty God, An Eternal Father is the Prince of Peace[83] My Translation (2024) The warrior God is a miraculous strategist; the eternal Father is the ruler who brings peace[84] I prefer to translate אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) as “warrior God” rather than “mighty God” because the context is martial, and  גִּבּוֹר(gibbor) often refers to those fighting in war.[85] “Mighty God” is ambiguous, and easily decontextualized from the setting of Isa 9:6. After all, Isa 9:4-5 tells a great victory “as on the day of Midian”—a victory so complete that they burn “all the boots of the tramping warriors” in the fire. The word פֶּלֶא (pele), though often translated “wonderful,” is actually the word for “miracle,” and יוֹעֵץ (yoets) is a participle meaning “adviser” or “planner.” Since the context is war, this “miracle of an adviser” or “miraculous planner” refers to military plans—what we call strategy, hence, “miraculous strategist.” Amazingly, the tactic God employed in the time of Hezekiah was to send out an angel during the night who “struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians” (Isa 37:36). This was evidently the warrior God's miraculous plan to remove the threat of Assyria from Jerusalem's doorstep. Prophecies about the coming day of God when he sends Jesus Christ—the true and better Hezekiah—likewise foretell of an even greater victory over the nations.[86] In fact, just two chapters later we find a messianic prophecy of one who will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (Isa 11:4). The next phrase, “The eternal Father,” needs little comment since God's eternality and fatherhood are both noncontroversial and multiply attested. Literally translated, שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar-shalom) is “Ruler of peace,” but I take the word pair as a genitive of product.[87] Williamson unpacks this meaning as “the one who is able to initiate and maintain Peace.”[88] That his actions in the time of Hezekiah brought peace is a matter of history. After a huge portion of the Assyrian army died, King Sennacherib went back to Nineveh, where his sons murdered him (Isa 37:37-38). For decades, Judah continued to live in her homeland. Thus, this child's birth signaled the beginning of the end for Assyria. In fact, the empire itself eventually imploded, a fate that, at Hezekiah's birth, must have seemed utterly unthinkable. Of course, the ultimate peace God will bring through his Messiah will far outshine what Hezekiah achieved.[89] Conclusion We began by considering the phraseוַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo). We noted that the tense is perfect, which justifies a past-tense interpretation of the child who had already been born by the time of the birth announcement. I presented the case for Hezekiah as the initial referent of Isa 9:6 based on the fact that Hezekiah’s life overlapped with Isaiah’s, that he sat on the throne of David (v7), and that his reign saw the miraculous deliverance from Assyria's army. Furthermore, I noted that identifying the child of Isa 9:6 as Hezekiah does not preclude a true and better one to come. Although Isa 9:6 does not show up in the New Testament, I agree with the majority of Christians who recognize this text as a messianic prophecy, especially when combined with verse 7. Next we puzzled over the subject for phraseוַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo.) Two options are that the phrase פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ אֵל גִּבּוֹר (pele yoets el gibbor) functions as the subject or else the subject is indefinite. Although the Jewish interpreters overwhelmingly favor the former, the lack of definite articles and parallel constructions in Isaiah make me think the latter is more likely. Still, the Jewish approach to translation is a legitimate possibility. I explained how a passive voice makes sense in English since it hides the subject, and settled on “his name has been called,” as the best translation. Then we looked at the phrase אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) and considered the option of switching the order of the words and taking the first as the modifier of the second as in “mighty hero” or “divine warrior.” We explored the possibility that Isaiah was ascribing deity to the newborn child. We looked at the idea of Isaiah calling the boy “Mighty God” because he represented God. In the end we concluded that these all are less likely than taking God as the referent, especially in light of the identical phrase in Isa 10:21 where it unambiguously refers to Yahweh. Moving on to אֲבִיעַד (aviad), we considered the possibility that “father” could refer to someone who started something significant and “eternal” could merely designate a coming age. Once again, though these are both possible readings, they are strained and ad hoc, lacking any indication in the text to signal a non-straightforward reading. So, as with “Mighty God,” I also take “Eternal Father” as simple references to God and not the child. Finally, we explored the notion of theophoric names. Leaning on two mainstream Bible translations and five scholars, from Luzzatto to Williamson, we saw that this lesser-known approach is quite attractive. Not only does it take the grammar at face value, it also explains how a human being could be named “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father.” The name describes God and not the child who bears it. Lastly, drawing on the work of the Jewish Publication Society, Goldingay, and Williamson, I proposed the translation: “The warrior God is a miraculous strategist; the eternal Father is the ruler who brings peace.” This rendering preserves the martial context of Isa 9:6 and glosses each word according to its most common definition. I added in the verb “is” twice as is customary when translating theophoric names. The result is a translation that recognizes God as the focus and not the child. This fits best in the immediate context, assuming Hezekiah is the original referent. After all, his greatest moment was not charging out ahead of a column of soldiers, but his entering the house of Yahweh and praying for salvation. God took care of everything else. Likewise, the ultimate Son of David will have God's spirit influencing him: a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of God (Isa 11:2). The eternal Father will so direct his anointed that he will “not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear” (Isa 11:3). In his days God will bring about a shalom so deep that even the animals will become peaceful (Isa 11:6-8). An advantage of this reading of Isa 9:6 is that it is compatible with the full range of christological positions Christians hold. Secondly, this approach nicely fits with the original meaning in Isaiah’s day, and it works for the prophecy’s ultimate referent in Christ Jesus. Additionally, it is the interpretation with the least amount of special pleading. Finally, it puts everything into the correct order, allowing exegesis to drive theology rather than the other way around. Bibliography Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament. Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2012. The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1917. The Jewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Net Bible, Full Notes Edition. Edited by W. Hall Harris III James Davis, and Michael H. Burer. 2nd ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Edited by Carol A. Newsom Marc Z. Brettler, Pheme Perkins. Third ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. The Stone Edition of the Tanach. Edited by Nosson Scherman and Meir Zlotowitz. Brooklyn, NY: Artscroll, 1996. Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures: The New Jps Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. 4th, Reprint. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985. Translation of Targum Onkelos and Jonathan. Translated by Eidon Clem. Altamonte Springs, FL: OakTree Software, 2015. Alter, Rober. The Hebrew Bible: Prophets, Nevi’im. Vol. 2. 3 vols. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019. Ashkenazi, Jacob ben Isaac. Tze’enah Ure’enah: A Critical Translation into English. Translated by Morris M. Faierstein. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017. https://www.sefaria.org/Tze’enah_Ure’enah%2C_Haftarot%2C_Yitro.31?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. Baumgartner, Ludwig Koehler and Walter. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Edited by M. E. J. Richardson. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Brown, Raymond E. Jesus: God and Man, edited by 3. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Carlson, R. A. “The Anti-Assyrian Character of the Oracle in Is. Ix, 1-6.” Vetus Testamentum, no. 24 (1974): 130-5. Curtis, Edward L. “The Prophecy Concerning the Child of the Four Names: Isaiah Ix., 6, 7.” The Old and New Testament Student 11, no. 6 (1890): 336-41. Delitzsch, C. F. Keil and F. Commentary on the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Finnegan, Sean. “Jesus Is God: Exploring the Notion of Representational Deity.” Paper presented at the One God Seminar, Seattle, WA, 2008, https://restitutio.org/2016/01/11/explanations-to-verses-commonly-used-to-teach-that-jesus-is-god/. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Gesenius, Wilhelm. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Edited by E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910. Goldingay, John. “The Compound Name in Isaiah 9:5(6).” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61, no. 2 (1999): 239-44. Goldingay, John. Isaiah for Everyone. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Holladay, William L. Isaiah: Scroll of Prophetic Heritage. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978. III, Ben Witherington. Isaiah Old and New. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ggjhbz.7. Luzzatto, Samuel David. Shi’ur Komah. Padua, IT: Antonio Bianchi, 1867. O’Connor, Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Esenbrauns, 1990. Ogden, Graham S., and Jan Sterk. A Handbook on Isaiah. Ubs Translator's Handbooks. New York: United Bible Societies, 2011. Oswalt, John. The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39. Nicot. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986. Péter-Contesse, René and John Ellington. A Handbook on Daniel. Ubs Translator’s Handbooks. New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1993. Roberts, J. J. M. First Isaiah. Vol. 23A. Hermeneia, edited by Peter Machinist. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Wegner, Paul D. “A Re-Examination of Isaiah Ix 1-6.” Vetus Testamentum 42, no. 1 (1992): 103-12. Williamson, H. G. M. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27. Vol. 2. International Critical Commentary, edited by G. I. Davies and C. M. Tuckett. New York: Bloomsbury, 2018. Yitzchaki, Shlomo. Complete Tanach with Rashi. Translated by A. J. Rosenberg. Chicago, IL: Davka Corp, 1998. https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Isaiah.9.5.2?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. Young, Edward J. The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-18. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965. End Notes [1] Throughout I'll refer to Isaiah 9:6 based on the versification used in English translations. Hebrew Bibles shift the count by one, so the same verse is Isaiah 9:5. [2] Paul D. Wegner, “A Re-Examination of Isaiah Ix 1-6,” Vetus Testamentum 42, no. 1 (1992): 103. [3] BHS is the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, the standard Hebrew text based on the Leningrad Codex, a medieval Masoretic text. [4] In Hebrew the perfect tense roughly maps onto English past tense and the imperfect tense to future tense. [5] See NRSVUE, ESV, NASB20, NIV, NET, LSB, NLT, NKJ, ASV, KJV. [6] See translations by Robert Alter, James Moffat, and Duncan Heaster.  Also see Westminster Commentary, Cambridge Bible Commentary, New Century Bible Commentary, and The Daily Study Bible. [7] See New English Bible. [8] See Ibn Ezra. [9] See An American Testament. [10] “Held” means “hero” in German. In the Luther Bible (1545), he translated the phrase as “und er heißt Wunderbar, Rat, Kraft, Held, Ewig -Vater, Friedefürst,” separating power (Kraft = El) and hero (Held = Gibbor) whereas in the 1912 revision we read, “er heißt Wunderbar, Rat, Held, Ewig-Vater Friedefürst,” which reduced el gibbor to “Held” (hero). [11] See fn 4 above. [12] See New American Bible Revised Edition and An American Testament. [13] See New English Bible and James Moffatt's translation. [14] See Ibn Ezra. [15] See Duncan Heaster's New European Version. [16] See Word Biblical Commentary. [17] See Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, the Koren Jerusalem Bible, and the Complete Jewish Bible. [18] In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QIsaa 8.24 reads “וקרא,” the vav-conversed form of “קרא,” translated “he will call,” an active future tense. This reading is implausible considering the unambiguous past tense of the two initial clauses that began verse 6: “a child has been born…a son has been given.” [19] “Here the Hebrew begins to use imperfect verb forms with the conjunction often rendered “and.” These verbs continue the tense of the perfect verb forms used in the previous lines. They refer to a state or situation that now exists, so they may be rendered with the present tense in English. Some translations continue to use a perfect tense here (so NJB, NJPSV, FRCL), which is better.” Graham S. Ogden, and Jan Sterk, A Handbook on Isaiah, Ubs Translator's Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2011). [20] H. G. M. Williamson, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27, vol. 2, International Critical Commentary, ed. G. I. Davies and C. M. Tuckett (New York: Bloomsbury, 2018), 371. [21] Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910), §106n. [22] Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Esenbrauns, 1990), §30.5.1e. [23] John Goldingay takes a “both-and” position, recognizing that Isaiah was speaking by faith of what God would do in the future, but also seeing the birth of the son to the king as having already happened by the time of the prophecy. John Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 42. [24] Jewish authors include Rashi, A. E. Kimchi, Abravanel, Malbim, and Luzzatto. [25] See 2 Kings 18:3-7. [26] Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own. [27] J. J. M. Roberts, First Isaiah, vol. 23A, Hermeneia, ed. Peter Machinist (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001), 153. [28] Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017), 95-6, 99-100. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ggjhbz.7. [29] Translation of Targum Onkelos and Jonathan, trans. Eidon Clem (Altamonte Springs, FL: OakTree Software, 2015). [30] Shlomo Yitzchaki, Complete Tanach with Rashi, trans. A. J. Rosenberg (Chicago, IL: Davka Corp, 1998). https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Isaiah.9.5.2?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. [31] Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Tze’enah Ure’enah: A Critical Translation into English, trans. Morris M. Faierstein (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017). https://www.sefaria.org/Tze’enah_Ure’enah%2C_Haftarot%2C_Yitro.31?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. [32] Square brackets in original. The Stone Edition of the Tanach, ed. Nosson Scherman and Meir Zlotowitz (Brooklyn, NY: Artscroll, 1996). [33] Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, ed. W. Hall Harris III James Davis, and Michael H. Burer, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019), 1266. [34] C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 249-50. [35] As mentioned above, the Hebrew is not actually passive. [36] The LXX reads “καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ” (kai kaleitai to onoma autou), which means “and his name is called.” [37] Rober Alter, The Hebrew Bible: Prophets, Nevi’im, vol. 2, 3 vols. (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019), 651. [38] John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, Nicot (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986), 247. [39] Delitzsch, 252. [40] The אֵלֵי גִבּוֹרִים (eley gibborim) of Ezek 32.21 although morphologically suggestive of a plural form of el gibbor, is not a suitable parallel to Isa 9:6 since אֵלֵי (eley) is the plural of אַיִל (ayil), meaning “chief” not אֵל (el). Thus, the translation “mighty chiefs” or “warrior rulers” takes eley as the noun and gibborim as the adjective and does not actually reverse them. [41] Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-18, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), 338. [42] Translator's note A on Isa 9:6 in the NET states, “[I]t is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way.” Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, 1267. [43] “The Messiah is the corporeal presence of this mighty God; for He is with Him, He is in Him, and in Him He is with Israel. The expression did not preclude the fact that the Messiah would be God and man in one person; but it did not penetrate to this depth, so far as the Old Testament consciousness was concerned.” Delitzsch, 253. [44] See Wegner 104-5. [45] See R. A. Carlson, “The Anti-Assyrian Character of the Oracle in Is. Ix, 1-6,” Vetus Testamentum, no. 24 (1974). [46] Oswalt, 246. [47] Isa 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 18, 21-22; 46:9. Deut 17:14-20 lays out the expectations for an Israelite king, many of which limit his power and restrict his exaltation, making deification untenable. [48] Wegner 108. [49] See Exod 4:16; 7:1. The word “God” can apply to “any person characterized by greatness or power: mighty one, great one, judge,” s.v. “אֱלֹהִים” in Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament.. The BDAG concurs, adding that a God is “that which is nontranscendent but considered worthy of special reverence or respect… of humans θεοί (as אֱלֹהִים) J[ohn] 10:34f (Ps 81:6; humans are called θ. in the OT also Ex 7:1; 22:27,” s.v. “θεός” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. [50] See Exod 21.6; 22:8-9. The BDB includes the definition, “rulers, judges, either as divine representatives at sacred places or as reflecting divine majesty and power,” s.v. “אֱלֹהִים” in The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon [51] Thayer points this out in his lexicon: “Hebraistically, equivalent to God’s representative or vicegerent, of magistrates and judges, John 10:34f after Ps. 81:6 (Ps. 82:6)” s.v. “θέος” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [52] Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, 1267. [53] Raymond E. Brown, Jesus: God and Man, ed. 3 (New York: Macmillan, 1967), 25. [54] Williamson, 397. [55] Delitzsch, 253. See also fn 40 above. [56] Edward L. Curtis, “The Prophecy Concerning the Child of the Four Names: Isaiah Ix., 6, 7,” The Old and New Testament Student 11, no. 6 (1890): 339. [57] Ibid. [58] Sean Finnegan, “Jesus Is God: Exploring the Notion of Representational Deity” (paper presented at the One God Seminar, Seattle, WA2008), https://restitutio.org/2016/01/11/explanations-to-verses-commonly-used-to-teach-that-jesus-is-god/. [59] Jabal was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock (Gen 4:20) and Jubal was the father of those who play the lyre and the pipe (Gen 4:21). [60] Jesus told his critics, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires” (John 8:44). [61] Job called himself “a father to the needy” (Job 29:16) and Isaiah prophesied that Eliakim would be “a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Isa 22:21). [62] Williamson, 397. [63] For references to Yahweh as father to the people see Deut 32:6; Ps 103:13; Prov 3:12; Jer 3:4; 31.9; Mal 1.6; 2:10. For Yahweh as father to the messiah see 2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chron 7:13; 28:6; Ps 89:27. [64] William L. Holladay, Isaiah: Scroll of Prophetic Heritage (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 108. [65] See NRSVUE fn on Isa 8:1. [66] והנה המכוון במאמר פלא יועץ וגו’ הוא כי האל הגבור שהוא אבי עד ואדון השלום, הוא יועץ וגוזר לעשות פלא לישראל בזמן ממלכת הילד הנולד היום, ואח”כ מפרש למרבה המשרה וגו’. ולפי הפירוש הזה לא לחנם האריך כאן בתארי האל, כי כוונת הנביא לרמוז כי בבוא הפלא שהאל יועץ וגוזר עתה, יוודע שהוא אל גבור ובעל היכולת ושהוא אב לעד, ולא יפר בריתו עם בניו בני ישראל, ולא ישכח את ברית אבותם. ושהוא אדון השלום ואוהב השלום, ולא יאהב העריצים אשר כל חפצם לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהאביד ולהרוס, אבל הוא משפילם עד עפר, ונותן שלום בארץ, כמו שראינו בכל הדורות. Chat GPT translation: “And behold, the intention in the phrase ‘Wonderful Counselor’ and so on is that the mighty God, who is the Eternal Father and the Prince of Peace, is the Counselor and decrees to perform a wonder for Israel at the time of the reign of the child born today. Afterwards, it is explained as ‘to increase the dominion’ and so on. According to this interpretation, it is not in vain that the prophet elaborates on the attributes of God here, for the prophet’s intention is to hint that when the wonder that God now advises and decrees comes about, it will be known that He is the Mighty God and possesses the ability and that He is the Eternal Father. He will not break His covenant with His sons, the children of Israel, nor forget the covenant of their ancestors. He is the Prince of Peace and loves peace, and He will not favor the oppressors whose every desire is to tear apart, destroy, and obliterate, but He will humble them to the dust and grant peace to the land, as we have seen throughout the generations.” Samuel David Luzzatto, Shi’ur Komah (Padua, IT: Antonio Bianchi, 1867). Accessible at Sefaria and the National Library of Israel. [67]The Jewish Study Bible, ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, Second ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 784. [68] The New Oxford Annotated Bible, ed. Carol A. Newsom Marc Z. Brettler, Pheme Perkins, Third ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 991. [69] Delitzsch, 249. [70] Goldingay, 42-3. [71] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, ed. M. E. J. Richardson (Leiden: Brill, 2000). [72] See s.v. “שַׂר” in The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon [73] Wegner 112. [74] Keil and Delitzsch say the sar of Dan 8:11 refers to “the God of heaven and the King of Israel, the Prince of princes, as He is called in v. 25,” Delitzsch, 297. [75] René and John Ellington Péter-Contesse, A Handbook on Daniel, Ubs Translator’s Handbooks (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1993). [76] Ibid. [77] Wegner 110-1. [78] The main text transliterates “Pele-joez-el-gibbor-/Abi-ad-sar-shalom,” while the footnote translates as indicated above. The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1917), 575. [79] Holladay, 109. [80] Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures: The New Jps Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (4th: repr., Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985), 634. [81] John Goldingay, “The Compound Name in Isaiah 9:5(6),” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61, no. 2 (1999): 243. [82] Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone, 40. [83] Williamson, 355. [84] An alternative is “The warrior God is planning a miracle; the eternal Father is the ruler of peace.” [85] For גִּבּוֹר in a military context, see 1 Sam 17:51; 2 Sam 20.7; 2 Kgs 24:16; Isa 21.17; Jer 48:41; Eze 39:20; and Joel 2:7; 3:9. [86] See 2 Thess 2:8 and Rev 19:11-21 (cp. Dan 7:13-14). [87] See Gesenius § 128q, which describes a genitive of “statements of the purpose for which something is intended.” [88] Williamson, 401. [89] Isaiah tells of a time when God will “judge between nations,” resulting in the conversion of the weapons of war into the tools of agriculture and a lasting era when “nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa 2:4).

This was a fine, challenging, themeless Friday crossword by Jackson Matz (his second Friday puzzle, and third overall). It is refreshing, after struggling with a theme some days, to get a break, even though that break is tempered by the fact that, as a Friday, the clues tend to become more devious. How else could you describe 23A, Pilot productions?, PENS (ha!) or 45A, Like you and me, MORTAL (hmmm); and the obvious-in-hindsight 2D, Extremely solid, HARDASAROCK?All-in-all a worthy addition to the NYTimes Friday parthenon, and therefore deserving of a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.A reminder that solving the NYTimes crossword is an excellent way to keep those "little grey cells" in peak condition. If you don't already subscribe, consider wandering over to nytimes.com/subscription/games, and be sure and tell them that Jean & Mike sent ya.Show note imagery: a SHARPEI, guarding its territoryWe love feedback! Send us a text...Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

From the archives: 1-12-23A woman took to tiktok to recount a date that she went on with Bryan Kohberger around seven years ago and the scenario was as odd and as awkward as you can imagine according to the woman.In this episode, we hear about that date from the woman who went on it with Bryan Kohberger.(commercial at 9:20)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Woman's creepy Tinder date with Idaho suspect Bryan Kohberger (nypost.com)

Sharing Your Faith | Romans 3:10; 3:23; 6:23A; 5:8; 10:13 | Pastor Will Cover

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1=======================================================================UN PLANETA MARAVILLOSODevoción Matutina Para Menores 2024Narrado por: Linda RumrrillDesde: Gran Canaria, España===================|| www.drministries.org ||===================08 DE MAYOMEJORES AMIGOS«"Abraham creyó a Dios, y por eso Dios lo aceptó como justo". Y Abraham fue llamado amigo de Dios». Santiago 2: 23A veces, distintos tipos de animales trabajan en equipo, como la anémona de mar y el pez payaso, también llamado pez anémona.Las anémonas de mar parecen hermosas flores que crecen en las profundidades del océano. Si las ves buceando, en un acuario o en una pescadería, pensarás que son inofensivas. Estas «flores» del mar no tienen esqueleto ni huesos y sus «pétalos» se agitan en el agua, pero están firmemente sujetas a la roca, al coral o al fondo marino. Pueden deslizarse muy despacio, pero no lo bastante rápido como para atrapar comida.Si tienes la suerte de visitar un acuario con un tanque donde puedas tocar distintas criaturas marinas, no dejes de tocar la anémona. Sus tentáculos son un poco pegajosos, pero no te harán daño. Para la mayoría de los peces que nadan entre su «flor», lo pegajoso es en realidad un aguijón que puede matarlos o paralizarlos. Entonces la anémona, que se mueve lentamente, puede comérselos con facilidad.Sin embargo, el aguijón no mantiene alejados a los peces payaso de rayas brillantes. De hecho, si observas un pez payaso y una anémona, casi parece que el pez disfruta al ser tocado por sus tentáculos. Los científicos creen que el pez payaso tiene una cubierta protectora que impide que las picaduras de la anémona le hagan daño. El pez payaso también ayuda a la anémona, comiéndose cualquier resto de comida que pueda descomponerse y dañar a la anémona. Y como los demás peces saben que la anémona pica, se mantienen alejados, y así el pez payaso está a salvo.El trabajo en equipo y la amistad nos ayudan también a nosotros. Si nos hacemos amigos de Jesús, nos rodeamos de buenos amigos y colaboramos con nuestros padres, formamos un equipo que mantiene a Satanás alejado de nosotros. 

From the archives: 3-1-23A court in Pennsylvania has unsealed the search warrant that was attained by authorities in connection with the raid on Bryan Kohberger's parents home.In this episode, we take a look at that search warrant and what it contained.(commercial at 7:06)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger's Pennsylvania warrant unsealed | Fox News

Today's crossword was a delight -- not soul-crushingly difficult, as Friday crosswords sometimes are, but just a joy to behold and to solve. We give numerous examples in today's podcast, but we'd also like to celebrate 2D, "Well, well, well!", LOOKIEHERE(

Don't forget to download the Episode Guide for THIS episode HERE.A Chinese friend complained to me about how difficult learning English can be. For example, he lamented that the English word for "trunk" could reference the back of a car, a box, a part of an elephant, or men's swim shorts. Same word. Different meanings. I thought of this when listening to Brooke Ligertwood's song, "Fear Of God." In Scripture, the word for "fear" may mean something completely different depending on the context.Let's explore what it means to fear God, the results of fearing God, and how the fear of God can be expressed in our own lives.In this episode, I discuss the following:Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture – this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include: Read in contextConsult an overviewComplete a word studyMake a listEpisode Guide DownloadThe story behind the song by Kevin Davis - New Release Today ArticleInspired by the lyrics to meditate on 1 PeterScripture overview of 1 Peter - BibleProject.com VideoHow the real enemy is the devil - 1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:12Word study for "sober-minded" - BibleHub.comVerses that talk about fear as bad - 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18Where Moses uses fear in two ways in one verse - Exodus 20:20The fear of God can keep us - Proverbs 16:6To fear God is to be in awe and reverence of Him (as opposed to afraid of Him) Psalm 33:8 (see Episode 398)Malachi 2:5The fear of God is also closely related to trusting Him Psalm 40:3Psalm 115:11See Episode 397The fear of God means hating and avoiding evil Proverbs 8:13Proverbs 16:6Attributes of the Fear of God Can be taught - Psalm 34:11Can be chosen - Proverbs 1:29Is reflected in obedience - Ecclesiastes 12:13Equated with hating evil - Proverbs 8:13Leads to trusting God - Psalm 40:3Leads to friendship with God - Psalm 25:14Offers deliverance and other benefits - Psalm 33:18, Psalm 34:7, Psalm 145:19, Proverbs 10:27, Proverbs 22:4Leads to life and rest - Proverbs 19:23A summary verse of what it looks like to fear God - Deuteronomy 10:12-13Additional ResourcesLyrics for "Fear of God" by Brooke Ligertwood - NewReleaseToday.comThe story behind the song "Fear Of God" by Brooke Ligertwood - New Release Today ArticleMy favorite written resource for overviews - "How to Read the Bible Book by Book" by Fee and Stuart - Amazon Paid LinkMy favorite resource for video overviews - BibleProject.comMy favorite Bible Study Software - Logos Bible Software Affiliate LinkThis Week's ChallengeRead Peter's first letter to the believers scattered throughout the region of Asia Minor. Consider the context of suffering and persecution as you identify who the enemy is (for them and you). Meditate on what it is to fear the Lord, the results of fearing God, and how you should change your behavior to "prove" that you fear God. May the fear of God keep you

11.28.23A new chapter begins...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest professional association of physicians in the United States, comprising more than 270,000 clinicians across all medical specialties. It is involved in all aspects of American medicine, from establishing standards of care, to reforming medical education, to lobbying for health care policies. Our guest in this episode is Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., chair of the department of dermatology at the University of California San Francisco and the current president of the AMA. In this conversation, we explore Dr. Resneck's personal journey in medicine, how the AMA is addressing physician burnout, how the AMA is coming to terms with its own history with race relations, how digital health is transforming medicine, how health care reimbursement rates are determined, and how doctors can play a more active role in advocating for their own work.In this episode, you will hear about:Dr. Resneck's early years as a self-described ‘policy nerd' and growing up in a physician family - 2:10How Dr. Resneck first became involved with the AMA - 6:01A brief review of the history and mission of the AMA - 8:23A discussion of the epidemic of burnout and how the AMA is addressing it - 12:45A survey of the AMA's current policy priorities - 23:42A conversation around the incentive discrepancies around primary care medicine and how the AMA's Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) is addressing this - 29:26How artificial intelligence and other new technologies are shaping the future of medicine, and why physicians must take an active role in their development - 36:25Reflections on the history of the AMA's race relations and what the modern medical establishment must do to remedy health discrepancies, including The AMA's Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity - 47:15Dr. Resneck's optimistic view of the future of the profession - 55:08In this episode we discussed several reports and articles, including:The Flexner Report, a 1910 survey of the medical profession that was used to standardize medical education.How Being a Doctor Became the Most Miserable Profession by Daniela Drake.The Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a recently-passed legislation aimed at helping physicians.Follow Dr. Resneck on Twitter @JackResneckMD.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor's Art Podcast 2023