Podcasts about as moses

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #274 Title: The Bronze Serpent   Web Description: Do you feel like you are being bitten to death by your circumstances and problems? Get your focus back on Christ. Renew and deepen your relationship with Him because He Himself is the answer. He Himself is the victory and the overcoming of any situation that we are in. And by believing in Him, we will not perish in our circumstances but instead have eternal life.   Show Notes: When the children of Israel complained against the Lord and Moses in the wilderness, the Lord sent them poisonous serpents. So the people repented and asked the Lord to remove the serpents. That however is not what God did. Instead, He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a standard. And if anyone looked at the serpent, that person would live. That story has great meaning for us today.   The children of Israel had become entirely focused on the material world rather than on the presence of God who was with them day and night. They were entirely focused on what they were unhappy about and what they did not have, ignoring all that God was providing them. As Christians we too tend to lose our focus on the Lord. We start to focus on what we are lacking and what we wish we had in the material world. We sometimes forget that we have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guiAde us, that Christ is in us, and that we can be filled with all the fullness of God.   Just like in the wilderness, we may be asking God to remove our problems that are like poisonous snakes biting us. But we should not be surprised if those problems do not go away. We should expect that God will give us something else to focus on. He may even be using our problems to get our focus back on Him. He is looking to bring us to Himself, to a life in Him, to a life in His Word, to a faith and a walking in Him that we may not be doing at the moment. Christ was lifted up just like that bronze serpent in the wilderness so that in Him we can have eternal life. He is our answer. And we need to live in Him more than we need to try to solve our problems.   Key Verses:   •       Numbers 21:4–11. "If a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived." •       2 Peter 1:3. "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." •       Psalm 103:2. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits." •       Luke 21:28. "When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads." •       John 3:12–21. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."   Quotes:   •       "It seems almost impossible to think that we would get tired of having the Lord's presence with us day and night. But I think in all honesty, we do lose our focus on the Lord, and we tend to bring our focus back into the lower level or lower realm of the natural world." •       "Instead of taking away our problems, many times what He does is He gives us an answer that brings our focus and our relationship back to Him. Because ultimately, He's the answer." •       "You're going to get tired of this journey that we're on in these end times if you are focused only on what's going on around you. But if we can keep our focus looking up, looking upon the Lord and what He's provided, then these other things are not going to destroy us."   Takeaways:   1.    The children of Israel magnified their unhappiness about the wilderness to the point that they despised God's provision. And we need to realize how we can get so focused on what we dislike about our circumstances that we forget the Lord's benefits. 2.    God's answer to the serpents in the wilderness was not to remove the serpents but to get the people's focus back on Him. And God may not be answering your prayer by removing your circumstances but by getting your focus back on Him. 3.    When you see all the things beginning to happen in the end-time, raise your eyes above the material world and focus on Him and His Kingdom. Make Him your focus and make Him what you are journeying to.

Welcome to Wellspring Church!This week, Pastor David Norris continued our Love and Listen series in Deuteronomy 16:18–20, exploring God's call for His people to be marked by justice rooted in love. As Moses prepared Israel to enter the Promised Land, he reminded them that prosperity without righteousness quickly decays—“milk and honey plus bribery and theft and murder and injustice is gonna wear out real soon.”Pastor David helped us see that justice in Scripture isn't simply a legal system—it's a way of life that reflects the very heart of God. While modern culture tends to define justice through our own experiences or ideologies, biblical justice begins with God's character—His steadfast love for the vulnerable and His willingness to step into human suffering.

As Moses reflects on the Lord, he identifies the Lord as the transcendent Creator.  He then "reminds" the Creator that Man is just dust, and cannot bear up under the Lord's scrutiny.

A Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 4:1-6 by William Klock The world is not as it should be.  We know it in our bones.  Broken relationships, frail health, wars abroad, pandemics, and the simply daily struggle to get by—we all know the pain and the sorrow and the tears.  The Israelites knew this as well as anyone ever has.  They were slaves in Egypt.  They suffered under the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh.  They knew pain and suffering and tears the likes of which you I can only imagine.  And, the biblical story tells us, they cried out to the living God and he heard their cries.  And because he is also the loving God, he delivered them from Egypt.  He dramatically defeated the God's of Pharaoh and then he defeated Pharoah himself and drowned the world's greatest army in the Red Sea.  And the Lord promised to set things to rights for his people.  He promised to lead them to a land of milk and honey and he promised to live in their midst.  It was—in a limited and imperfect way—a restoration of humanity's original state: of Adam and Eve in the garden, living in the presence of God.  It gave the people hope that, despite the pains and troubles of life, God has a plan to set right what our sin and rebellion has broken. But what was there to keep Israel from becoming just like the Egyptians?  If we're honest, we all know that problem too.  The world is in the mess it's in not only because others sin against us, but because we sin against them.  That's where Israel's sojourn in wilderness enters the great story.  In today's reading from his letter to the Christians at Ephesus, St. Paul quotes a bit of Psalm 68.  “When he went up on high, he led bondage itself into bondage, and he gave gifts to the people.”  It's a reference to the Lord meeting his people at Mt. Sinai in the wilderness.  He called Moses up the mountain, and then sent him back down to the people with the torah, with his law.  On that day the Lord made a covenant with his people: I will be your God and you will be my people and his law set them apart from the peoples and nations of the earth.  The Lord gave them the law to ensure that they wouldn't end up another Egypt—a land of oppression and idolatry—and in doing that he made Israel a community, a family, a covenant people so that, in them, the world would have a foretaste of the day when God restores sinful humanity to himself, sets his broken creation to rights, and wipes away our tears. This is the background, this is the story that gives shape to what St. Paul writes in today's Epistle.  What the Lord had once done for Israel when he rescued the people from slavery and made them his own, he has done again—but on even grander scale, through the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Messiah.  This time he didn't just rescue a people from Pharoah's bondage.  In Jesus, he's rescued us all from our greatest enemies, from sin and death themselves.  In the church he's made a new people, a new humanity, a new temple in which he dwells—a people meant to lift the veil on God's new creation, a people who live God's future here in the present—to show the nations his glory and his grace. Brothers and Sisters, the church is the continuation of Jesus' healing and reconciling ministry.  We're a people filled with God's Spirit and entrusted with his gospel, with his good news.  We don't just pray those words of Jesus, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We're called by God and enabled by Jesus and the Spirit to live that prayer out—to bring God's reconciling message (the gospel) and his presence (the Holy Spirit) to a broken world in desperate need of forgiveness and grace and healing. But what happens when the church stumbles, when the church falters in this calling and mission?  Most of Paul's letters to those first churches were written because they were doing just that.  They were a people rescued from sin and death to be heaven-on-earth people, but they were failing.  Paul wrote to the Ephesians because their unity was in danger.  Earlier in the letter he addressed the division that was happening between Jewish and Gentile Christians.  Jesus had given his people a new law—the law of the Spirit, but the old law of Moses, the law given at Sinai had so defined what it meant to be God's people for so long, that it threatened to create this chasm between the Jewish and Gentile believers.  And so Paul stresses, as he does so often, that it is faith in Jesus, faith in his forgiving and reconciling death and faith in his life-giving resurrection, faith in the gospel, that unites them. But that wasn't all.  Because even when the gospel bridges the divide between Jew and Gentile, even when it makes us one, there's still an endless list of things that threaten to drive wedges between us.  The same things that have made such a mess of the world, the same things that destroy our relationships—they're still with us.  Any time you bring a group of people together, there's going to be friction.  We don't all see things the same way.  Toes get stepped on—sometimes inadvertently, but sometimes on purpose.  We're prone to jealousy and selfishness and competition.  We're often set in our ways and don't like change.  We often hold too tightly to things and don't want to give them up.  We too often think of our wants and needs without thinking of the wants and needs of others.  It's the way of the world and it shouldn't be the way of the church, but the fact is that sanctification, the process of God making us holy, it's just that: a process.  The work of God's word and God's Spirit takes time—sometimes it seems, a dreadfully long time—and so none of us is perfect.  Jesus has made us new, he's given us the life of heaven, but if Israel could end up just like Egypt, so we can end up just like the broken world from which we've been delivered. The blinding light of the gospel, of Jesus crucified and risen for us, of God's great loving and gracious generosity outshines everything else, but we let our guard down and pride creeps in and, Brothers and Sisters, pride is the great cloud that blots out the sun of God's generosity.  And this is what was happening in Ephesus.  So Paul writes to them, if you're following along, in Chapter 4 of Ephesians: “So then, this is my appeal to you…”  And then Paul pauses to say, “I, a prisoner of the Lord.”  He reminds them that he's writing to them from prison.  He's been imprisoned for the sake of the good news about Jesus.  And he reminds them at this point to stress just how important all this is.  They've been called to be a gospel people, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the world, but they're not taking it seriously.  So Paul's saying, “This is serious business—so serious that I'm in prison because of it—because Caesar and the powers of the present evil age can't stand to be challenged by the good news that it's Jesus who is the world's true Lord and because they can't stand to be challenged by the good news that a new order, that his kingdom is breaking in.”  Brothers and Sisters, think on that, because we often don't take this seriously enough either.  Our Saturday breakfast group has been reading through Rod Dreher's Live Not By Lies this year.  It tells the stories of Christians who knew what serious business the gospel is and who faced the wrath of the Soviet authorities for standing firm for the gospel—men and women who were imprisoned and many who were martyred for their faith.  Because they knew what serious business the gospel is—that the world depends on it if it's ever to be set to rights.  You and I live in a place of such ease that we too easily take the gospel for granted.  We need to be reminded what serious business it is—that Jesus gave his life for this. So Paul goes on and writes, “You've got to live up to the calling you received.”  It's imperative.  If they fail to live up to their calling, they fail to be the church.  He says, “Bear with one another in love; be humble, meek, and patient in every way with one another.  Make every effort to guard the unity the Spirit gives, with your lives bound together in peace.” Bear with one another.  Again, there are going to be points of friction.  We're human and we're not perfect…not yet, anyway.  That's especially true with a community like the church.  Most communities draw together people who are similar, but the church is for everyone.  Jesus is our centre and he calls and draws in people from every tribe and tongue, rich and poor, slave and free, Liberal and Conservative, Ford and Chevy, Canucks and…well, I don't know because I don't follow hockey…but Jesus unites us all together into one people, because we've all known the redeeming love of God in Jesus.  Because the sun of God's gospel grace outshines all the differences that would otherwise make us rivals and drive us apart. We've rebelled against our Creator.  We've sinned.  We've broken his good creation.  We've worshiped other gods and we've worshiped ourselves.  And yet God has never ceased to be patient with us.  And he still loves us so much, he still so desires to reconcile us to himself, that he—the Creator of the cosmos—humbled himself to take on our flesh in Jesus, to be born one of us, and then to die an excruciating and humiliating death he didn't deserve, in order to set us and his creation to rights.  And if we have grasped even a bit of the patient and humble and gracious lovingkindness of God made manifest in Jesus and the cross, Brothers and Sisters, we ought to be overcome by that same love, humility, and patience.  We ought to see each other—not to mention everyone still lost in the world's darkness—we ought to see them through that same loving, humble, and patient lens and desire for them to know the reconciling love of God as we have.  If God can love us, who have made such a mess of his creation and who worship idols, if he can love us so much that he will die to heal the breach between us, how can we ever let the frictions between us destroy the unity he's given?  In light of the sun of his love, every one of our differences—Jew or Gentile, man or woman, slave or free, Ford or Chevy—ought to pale in comparison.  His love doesn't just save us from our bondage to sin and death, it makes—or it ought to make—us his new creation: a people who are light in the darkness, life in the midst of death, a people of love and grace, of mercy and peace, of humility and patience in the midst of hate and strife and selfishness and division.  A people who—even if imperfectly—lifts the veil and gives the world a glimpse of God's future for the world. In verse 7 Paul goes on.  He writes, “There is one body and one Spirit.  You were, after all, called to one hope which goes with your call.  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.” Let's walk through that.  There is one body.  Jesus didn't create a bunch of different churches.  He didn't create an Anglican church and a Baptist church and a Roman church and a Pentecostal church.  He created the church.  We've fractured and divide because of our failings and these fractures have become so common and so entrenched that we take them for granted, we think they're the norm—we even sometimes think they're good and right.  In some cases, we've grown so far apart and developed our own ecclesiastical cultures and languages that it can be hard to even recognise the gospel when others preach it.  I was listening to a sermon by an Orthodox priest in Croatia this week.  And on the one hand the gospel was so obvious and clear, but at on the other hand, I had to stop several times and re-listen to what he's said, because his way of talking about it is so dramatically different than ours.  And, at this point, there isn't really anything the average Christian can do to restore the unity.  But we can as individuals and we can as the local church do everything in our power to maintain fellowship with those who proclaim the same gospel that we do: Jesus the Messiah, crucified, risen, ascended, and Lord.  That's what Paul's getting at here.  There's one body.  There's one Holy Spirit whom God has poured out on all of us.  There is one Lord Jesus.  There is one faith.  There is one baptism.  There is ultimately one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.  And that is our one, unifying hope.  The hope of every believer is the hope proclaimed by the prophets: that one day the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea; that the reconciling love of Jesus at the cross, that the power of his life-giving resurrection will bring us back to the Father and open the world's eyes to his glory. And note: we don't create this unity.  Jesus and the Spirit have created it already.  Paul's point is that it is our duty—so far as we are able—to maintain it.  And at the most fundamental level, we do that as we bear with each other.  As we forgive the sins of others just as we have been forgiven.  As we love each other, just as we have been loved.  As he live humbly with each other and seek reconciliation with each other, just as God has humbled himself to die in order to reconcile us to himself. Being overwhelmed by the brightness of the sun of God's love—you'd think—would be enough to drive away the pettiness and the selfishness and the pride, but still we need God's help.  And so Paul goes on in verse 7—I want to go a few verses past the end of our Epistle so we can let Paul finish his thought.  He writes: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah's gift.” God has poured out his grace—his unmerited favour—on us, and not just poured it out, but poured it out in abundance so that it overflows, so that we can't help but give, share, and pour out that grace on everyone around us.  It's that grace that builds us up and that binds us together.  Specifically, in the next paragraph, Paul's going to go on to talk about how, through the Spirit, God has given the people of his church a diversity of gifts, not just to build each other up, but to accomplish the gospel mission we've been given, but I think here we can understand God's grace more generally.  This is where Paul quotes Psalm 68:18: “When he went up on high, he led bondage itself into bondage, and he gave gifts to his people.”  Again, the Psalm is about Moses going up on Mt. Sinai and coming down shining with the glory of God and with the torah—with a new way of life that would set this people apart and make them a witness to his light and life in the midst of a dark and pagan world.  And Paul quotes this to say that Jesus has now done this, but on a larger and grander scale.  Look at verse 9: “When it says here that ‘he went up,' what this means is that he also came down into the lower places—that is, the earth.  The one who came down is the one who also ‘went up' far above the heavens, so that he might fill all things.” As Moses went up Mt. Sinai to meet the Lord, Jesus has ascended to heaven to take his throne, but he hasn't left us to fend for ourselves.  As God sent Moses down the mountain with the law, so Jesus has sent God's Spirit to indwell and to transform and to empower his people—to fill all things.  Brothers and Sisters, that's temple language.  Moses came down the mountain with a plan for the tabernacle—for a temple where God's presence would be enthroned in the midst of his people.  But in the Holy Spirit, God has come down and made his people themselves—he's made us—his temple.  Jesus has washed us clean from sin by his blood shed at the cross, he's made us holy, and God's own Spirit has come to live in us. And that takes us back—or it ought to—to the very beginning of the story: to Adam and Eve, to humanity, placed by God in his garden temple to be its stewards, to live in his presence, to be fruitful and to multiply, and in so doing to spread his temple and his presence to the ends of the earth.  Brothers and Sisters, in Jesus and the Spirit, God has begun the work of restoring us to that original vocation.  He has made us his temple, he has made us stewards of his good news, he has empowered us with his grace—he has not left us alone to be and to do this in our own strength.  He has entrusted us with his good news, he has shown us what his new creation is like, he has empowered us with his Spirit, and he has filled us with his grace.  And now he sends us out not just to proclaim the good news of Jesus and his new creation, but to actually be that new creation for the sake of the world.  To live and especially to live together in such a way that the world around us will see the bright light of Jesus in us; to make them constructively curious, wanting to know that light for themselves; so that one day the whole earth will give glory to our Father in heaven. Let's pray again our Collect: Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

As Moses speaks on the organization of Israel, he turns to the necessity of providing for the Levites (and priests) as well as the preamble for turning to authentic prophets for consulting the Word of the LORD.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezra 7-8; Luke 20 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In today's episode, host Hunter guides us through a meaningful journey in Scripture, as we open the pages of Ezra chapters 7 and 8, and finish with Luke 20. As Hunter reads and reflects, we follow Ezra leading the Israelites out of Babylon—a profound echo of the Exodus led by Moses—as God's gracious hand brings his people home after years of exile. We'll also hear Jesus challenging religious leaders in Jerusalem, teaching about divine authority, true obedience, and the promise of resurrection. Throughout the episode, Hunter explores the powerful theme of exodus—moving from captivity to freedom, from the kingdoms of this world into God's kingdom through Christ. We're invited to see how God's mercy and deliverance reach across generations, guiding us homeward today just as surely as they did for Ezra and the Israelites. Settle in as we listen, pray, and are reminded that God's gracious hand is still upon his people, leading us toward his love, mercy, and true life. Let's set our hearts homeward together on this October 7th edition of the Daily Radio Bible. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Ezra is leading an Exodus. As Moses led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, Ezra is leading an exodus out of Babylon. He's going home. For 70 long years, the Israelites were held captive in Babylon. Now the tide's turned. God has once again shown himself strong, and the kings of the day are now bowing in deference to the God of Israel. They're actually paying for their subjects to leave. The theme of Exodus is perhaps the most profound and significant theme that we read throughout all of Scripture. God is performing a grand exodus – He's taking people from the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of our God in Christ. When God's gracious hand of deliverance is on his people, nothing can stop him. It may take some time—maybe 70 long years—but when the tide of God's mercy has shifted, when the flood comes in, there's nothing that will stop it. The gracious hand of our God was always upon Ezra, but now it is evident for all to see. Ezra was trusting. He was faithful. He was obedient, long before King Artaxerxes had his change of mind and heart. Jesus, too, is leading an Exodus. But he is far greater than Moses. He's far greater than Ezra. And God's gracious hand is certainly on his Son, Jesus—the Father exclaimed on multiple occasions: “This is my Son, whom I love.” People of every tribe and nation and language from every place on planet Earth are being led out and onto an exodus into life. In him, the destination is ultimately the same for all of us. We're all headed back to that new Jerusalem in God's new kingdom with our new King, our Liberator, our Jesus. Greater than Moses, greater than Ezra—He's leading us back home. There may be days of great confusion and heartache, and lots of questions along the way, but rest assured: we are headed home. God is leading this exodus. And as we read in this story, they volunteered to go—it was open and available for everyone to return. So sign yourself up today, to walk with him as we walk with him. God's gracious hand is upon the Son, and we are in him. So that gracious hand is upon you too. And this becomes more and more evident in our lives the more we set our hearts toward home. So let's set our hearts homeward. Be swept up in the tide of mercy and love that is yours today. And know his gracious hand is upon you. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul today. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

This Sunday we'll continue our study of Deuteronomy. As Moses brings his first great sermon to a close, he sums up all he has been saying to the people of Israel, a passage which scholar Chris Wright calls “one of the richest texts in the Hebrew Bible.”

Pastor Rob Hall continues our God Who Hears series by preaches through Moses' prayer found in Exodus 32-34. As Moses meets with God on the mountain top, he intercedes for the Israelites and boldly reminds God of his promises and asks for his presence. A beautiful reminder that prayer is how we cling to God's promises and presence, because without Him we are nothing.Rob HallOctober 5, 2025Series: Year of Prayer - The God Who Hearswww.newnorth.church

As Moses leads the Israelites through the Exodus and into salvation, the people need to decide how they are going to respond to the Lord. Will the salvation of the Lord serve as a point of liberation and yet leave the people with hard hearts? Or is there greater freedom the Lord desires in us and through us?

Mark Booker | Exodus 4:1-18 | This sermon continues to explore Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. As Moses interacts and wrestles further, God reveals more about his provision for Moses and calls him to trust him and to go on the mission. We, too, are invited to trust the God who has revealed his provision to us in Jesus.

As Moses approached the end of his life, his focus wasn’t on regret, bitterness, or personal loss—it was on God’s people. In Numbers 27:15-17, Moses prayed that the Lord would appoint a leader to guide Israel so they wouldn’t be “like sheep without a shepherd.” Despite his mistakes and missed opportunities, Moses left a legacy of faith, humility, and care for God’s people. This devotional reminds us that true spiritual leadership looks beyond ourselves and points others toward the ultimate Good Shepherd—Jesus—who leads us into rest, protection, and eternal promise. ✨ Highlights Moses’ selfless prayer — Even at the end of his life, Moses was focused on God’s people, not his own loss A legacy of faith — Despite failure, Moses’ life still pointed others toward God’s promises Jesus, our ultimate Shepherd — The fulfillment of Moses’ prayer is found in Jesus, who leads us to spiritual safety and rest (John 10:11) Kingdom perspective — God calls us to live with an eternal mindset, thinking beyond our present circumstances and investing in future generations Carrying God’s light — As Christ-followers, we are called to shine His light wherever we go and leave the world “better than we found it”

Joshua: Slave, Understudy, Warrior, Spy, Successor, Conqueror, and Ruler by Louis McCall Louismccallinternational.com https://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Understudy-Warrior-Successor-Conqueror/dp/B0DGDDY2ZV Joshua is the story of an underdog. His amazing arc of development saw his remarkable rise from the slave pits of Egypt to the pinnacle of triumphantly leading three million former slaves and their descendants into the promised land of Canaan. He had an intimate relationship with God. It showed what God could do. During a 40-year apprenticeship under Moses, Joshua rose from being a slave under the whip of his Egyptian masters to being a prince of his tribe in Israel. He became Israel's first military Field Marshal. Joshua ascended Mount Sinai with Moses, saw God, and heard the voice of God with his natural ears. As Moses neared the end of his natural life, God directed Moses to choose and publicly ordain Joshua as his successor, rather than one of his own two sons or anyone else. Then Joshua went on to see God perform physical miracles for him on a par with what God did for Moses, defying the laws of nature and physics. Miracles of this magnitude did not occur again until 1,400 years later when Jesus Christ walked the earth in the flesh as God and man. Joshua ruled, not as a king, but as the intermediary for God's theocratic governance of the descendants of Israel. Joshua's final work was driving the pagan nations God abhorred out of the promised land of Canaan, including subduing the progeny of a race of giants, and then distributing the land among the tribes of Israel. Being advised by God of his approaching transition from life to death, Joshua assembled the nation, recounted all that God had brought them through and then charged them to serve God or come under a curse that he himself pronounced, before they could eventually be restored.

As Moses starts off specific details about the law in Israel's new land, he began with worship and continues with the absolute line drawn at monotheism. No other gods period! Here is what to do when the temptations come and here are solid principles for today's people of God - the church.

(Ex.34:29-35;   Ps.99:5-7,9;   Mt.13:44-46)   "The skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord."   His face shining like the pearl of great price, with whom he speaks, Moses comes down from the mountain carrying the Ten Commandments.  Here is a great treasure in His hands, which he has given up all to find.  But, of course, the greater treasure is the Word of God from which it takes its meaning and of which Moses converses with the Lord; and the greatest treasure is certainly God Himself, who makes us shine as stars in the night that is this world.  "Holy is the Lord, our God." And so, of course, the greatest treasure we can find here on earth, hidden in this ground from which our bodies are formed, is our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the very image of God, God Himself, the WORD made flesh in our presence.  And thus as the Israelites had the Ten Commandments as the heart of their covenant, so we have a surpassing covenant founded in the Body and Blood of our Lord, in which His presence truly abides.  Still we have His words of Truth, still they illumine our faces.  But now they are spoken by the incarnate mouth of God; now the veil has been removed from the face of the One who inspires all souls, and our hearts burn with the pure light of His wisdom – and now we have that flesh and blood which make the words so real at our fingertips and upon our lips… and so, one we become with His holiness. Radiant is the splendor of God.  He alone is worthy of our praise.  It is He alone we should strive to possess in this life.  He is buried here in our hearts; He is waiting deep within our souls for us to uncover our faces, to uncover our minds from the veil which conceals His light.  Indeed, He is waiting for us to shine as the pearl of great price, to give light to the world as He does, that all might come to converse with Him with unveiled faces.  But we must give up all else to find such grace: this pearl must remain unmixed with baser matter.  As Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, so we must come to Him so utterly, leaving all of this world behind, to find the riches which await us in the heavenly kingdom.  Jesus is the way to that kingdom.  In his Word, His Body and His Blood, we find the pearl of great price.  And so shall our faces shine radiantly white as we converse with the Lord in His presence for all eternity.  Praise Him, brothers and sisters, for His grace at work in your life.   ******* O LORD, holy are you, and holy are those who seek your face. YHWH, holy are you, and we are called to be holy as you are holy, to have our faces shine as radiantly as Moses' – to come into your presence.  O let us converse with you, dear LORD!  For now we have Jesus who speaks with us, who tells us clearly of the glory of your kingdom and how we are called to give up all to enter there.  How the pearl of great price is made evident in His flesh!  To Him let us come and we shall be one with you, and we shall be holy. Before us on the altar shines the pearl of great price, the Body of Christ given to us that we might see and know your holiness, O LORD, that we might become as His Body in the world.  Let us worship Him in the Sacrament, here on your holy mountain. In the field that is your Church we find hidden in this Bread all we need for the salvation of our souls, for discovering holiness in your presence, LORD.

This week, we wrap up our exploration of Exodus as we delve into the heart of God's character. As Moses ascends Mount Sinai to rewrite the covenant, God reveals Himself in five profound attributes: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and faithful. These qualities paint a picture of a God who is deeply compassionate, yet just; patient, yet righteous. The story reminds us of the tension between God's mercy and justice, a theme that echoes throughout Scripture. As we reflect on these attributes, we're challenged to consider how they manifest in our own lives. Are we showing the same compassion, grace, and patience to others that God shows us? This passage invites us to trust in God's unwavering love and faithfulness, even when we falter. It's a call to embrace our role in God's grand narrative of redemption, knowing that His character remains constant through all of life's ups and downs.

We explore Moses' final messages to Israel. As Moses prepares to pass leadership to Joshua, he urges the Israelites to choose life, blessing, and obedience to God. Despite foreseeing their future rebellion, Moses emphasizes that daily choices of obedience can delay God's judgment. We witness God's commissioning of Joshua, affirming His presence and promising victory in the Promised Land. The episode also covers Moses' prophetic song and blessings for the tribes of Israel, highlighting God's compassion despite future disobedience. Finally, we reflect on Moses' unique relationship with God and his honorable death. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.org Want to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out ou...

John 5:12-13 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk'?” But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. I ask myself how on earth did that man not know who healed him? If I apply the information I have in these verses, I can imagine a scenario where the man never got Jesus' name. There were no words of introduction. The portico around the pool was packed with people because of the feast (5:1). Jesus saw the man and asked if he wanted to be healed. The man gave his excuse for not being able to get to the pool, and then Jesus said, “Get up. Pick up your pallet and walk.” The man got up and started walking, and as soon as the man walked away from Jesus, He slipped away through the crowd. I see the man turn back in amazement to thank Jesus, but He's already gone. Why did Jesus slip away so quickly that the man couldn't even thank Him or get His name? Was that loving? I think the explanation lies in why John told this story. In John 20:31, we learn that these things were written so that those who read it might believe in Jesus and be saved. If we go back to John 3:14-21, we get the introduction to the encounters of the Samaritan woman, the men of Sychar, the royal official and the healing of his son, and now the lame man's healing. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. These are examples of God's love for the Gentile world as well as Israel. Each encounter revealed God's judgment, which is shown by their responses. Jesus is the Light. His deeds and words revealed where God was at work to save and to judge. The unbelieving Jews played an important part in Jesus being lifted up, so we would have a savior. The healing on the Sabbath, the willful blindness of the Jews, and the hardness of the healed lame man are necessary to the gospel story and exemplify what John said about Jesus. They show us that God had given all things into Jesus' hand so we might believe in Him. One thing for sure was that Jesus didn't need or want notoriety or glory from man. He wasn't doing these things for a show. So let's be encouraged today as we love with Jesus to make as little of ourselves as possible, and as much as we can of Jesus. That's what Jesus did. He made much of His Father by entrusting what He did to His Father, and made little of Himself. He humbled Himself as a servant of His Father. May we be filled with the humility of Jesus and make much of Him and little of ourselves. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.

As Moses nears death, he speaks to the generation born in then wilderness—calling them to remember what God has done, and to walk in obedience as they prepare to enter the land. Joshua is appointed to lead, and God commands him to be strong and courageous. The people finally cross the Jordan, a miraculous moment echoing the Red Sea, and begin their conquest with an unlikely victory: Jericho falls without a sword raised, proving that it is God who gives the land—not human might. (Deuteronomy 4–11; Joshua 1–6)

Bible Study WITH ME through Exodus chapter 35 and ask all the questions!

“Type” has to do with forms, shapes, patterns, images. People demonstrate “typical” behavior when they act in a similar pattern time and again. In typesetting, a block with a typographic character on it makes an image of that character on the page. Our first four Bible studies in this year's series have focused on straightforward messianic prophecies, which abound in the Old Testament. However, Jesus and His church are prefigured in other ways in the Old Testament. This is known as typology — seeing an Old Testament person or event (a “type”) as a pattern for a New Testament one (the “antitype”). This sort of interpretation is employed by the New Testament, which shows us how it can be done responsibly (and not fancifully!). For example, Jesus says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). Here Jesus teaches about Himself and His work by pointing back to Numbers 21:4–9, with the bronze serpent that saved snakebitten Israelites (the type) corresponding to Jesus as One who was lifted up on the cross that we might look to Him in faith and be saved (the antitype). In this study, we will look at more typological connections between the Old Testament and New Testament. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the May 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Isn't That Typical?” on Typological Connections throughout Scripture. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

“Type” has to do with forms, shapes, patterns, images. People demonstrate “typical” behavior when they act in a similar pattern time and again. In typesetting, a block with a typographic character on it makes an image of that character on the page. Our first four Bible studies in this year's series have focused on straightforward messianic prophecies, which abound in the Old Testament. However, Jesus and His church are prefigured in other ways in the Old Testament. This is known as typology — seeing an Old Testament person or event (a “type”) as a pattern for a New Testament one (the “antitype”). This sort of interpretation is employed by the New Testament, which shows us how it can be done responsibly (and not fancifully!). For example, Jesus says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). Here Jesus teaches about Himself and His work by pointing back to Numbers 21:4–9, with the bronze serpent that saved snakebitten Israelites (the type) corresponding to Jesus as One who was lifted up on the cross that we might look to Him in faith and be saved (the antitype). In this study, we will look at more typological connections between the Old Testament and New Testament. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the May 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Isn't That Typical?” on Typological Connections throughout Scripture. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

Exodus 33:18-23 — In this sermon on Exodus 33:18–23 titled “Revival Sermon: Glory Concealed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener of what the ultimate motivation should be for revival as Christians. It should never be for the sake of a large number of converts, or fame and glory, but for the glory of God. Moses asked the Lord to reveal His glory to him and in response, God revealed Himself in His own way. As Moses is hid within the cleft of the rock, God both reveals and conceals, blesses and protects. He is always doing these four things when He reveals Himself to His people. In Christianity, God reveals His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a Christian is someone who grasps the fact that God has revealed His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and all those who are called by God have beheld His glory. When Christ came to earth, He was concealed in the flesh, and yet He did not leave any of His glory behind. He was not any less God. Believers can be encouraged and filled with great hope in remembering that like Moses, they are in the cleft of the rock, which is in Christ Jesus.

Exodus 33:18-23 — In this sermon on Exodus 33:18–23 titled “Revival Sermon: Glory Concealed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener of what the ultimate motivation should be for revival as Christians. It should never be for the sake of a large number of converts, or fame and glory, but for the glory of God. Moses asked the Lord to reveal His glory to him and in response, God revealed Himself in His own way. As Moses is hid within the cleft of the rock, God both reveals and conceals, blesses and protects. He is always doing these four things when He reveals Himself to His people. In Christianity, God reveals His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a Christian is someone who grasps the fact that God has revealed His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and all those who are called by God have beheld His glory. When Christ came to earth, He was concealed in the flesh, and yet He did not leave any of His glory behind. He was not any less God. Believers can be encouraged and filled with great hope in remembering that like Moses, they are in the cleft of the rock, which is in Christ Jesus.

Exodus 33:18-23 — In this sermon on Exodus 33:18–23 titled “Revival Sermon: Glory Concealed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener of what the ultimate motivation should be for revival as Christians. It should never be for the sake of a large number of converts, or fame and glory, but for the glory of God. Moses asked the Lord to reveal His glory to him and in response, God revealed Himself in His own way. As Moses is hid within the cleft of the rock, God both reveals and conceals, blesses and protects. He is always doing these four things when He reveals Himself to His people. In Christianity, God reveals His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a Christian is someone who grasps the fact that God has revealed His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and all those who are called by God have beheld His glory. When Christ came to earth, He was concealed in the flesh, and yet He did not leave any of His glory behind. He was not any less God. Believers can be encouraged and filled with great hope in remembering that like Moses, they are in the cleft of the rock, which is in Christ Jesus.

Exodus 33:18-23 — In this sermon on Exodus 33:18–23 titled “Revival Sermon: Glory Concealed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener of what the ultimate motivation should be for revival as Christians. It should never be for the sake of a large number of converts, or fame and glory, but for the glory of God. Moses asked the Lord to reveal His glory to him and in response, God revealed Himself in His own way. As Moses is hid within the cleft of the rock, God both reveals and conceals, blesses and protects. He is always doing these four things when He reveals Himself to His people. In Christianity, God reveals His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a Christian is someone who grasps the fact that God has revealed His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and all those who are called by God have beheld His glory. When Christ came to earth, He was concealed in the flesh, and yet He did not leave any of His glory behind. He was not any less God. Believers can be encouraged and filled with great hope in remembering that like Moses, they are in the cleft of the rock, which is in Christ Jesus. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

John 3:14-16 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Do you remember the story from Numbers 21, when the people complained to God and to Moses about food and water? God sent fiery serpents to bite them, and many died. In verse 9, we read, “And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.” Let's be encouraged by God's love for His people, Israel, and then His love for the world. Nicodemus would not have been shocked by God's love for Israel. What would have been shocking would have been to learn that God loves Gentiles in the same way He loves the Jews. These verses in this conversation put the spotlight on what Jesus had been saying. The only way into the kingdom of God for both Jew and Gentile is by new birth, by the Holy Spirit, who gives them faith in Jesus' substitutionary death. Everyone has been repeatedly bitten by the serpent of sin. Without God's provision of an object of faith, like the serpent Moses lifted in the wilderness, everyone perishes. It was the love of God for Israel that moved Him to provide a way of healing and deliverance. In these verses, what would have shocked Nicodemus was that God loves Gentiles also with the same kind of love. He is providing a way for anyone in the world to be healed and delivered from sin's fatal bite. Yes, it is the general love of God that provides the object of faith, but it is the covenant love of God that provides the faith to believe in Jesus, the Son of God. For faith to be given as an assurance of eternal life, it has to have an object. Jesus' substitutionary death is the object God has provided. Then, God can clearly show those who are in His kingdom through faith. Those to whom God gives eternal life will believe in Him and trust in Him, as the Holy Spirit gives new birth. What were the implications of this conversation to Nicodemus if he understood it? It meant that Jews and Gentiles were on equal ground before God. Self-righteousness and religious practices were meaningless. The old covenant was about to pass away and become obsolete, replaced by a new covenant through the blood of Jesus. Eternal life was to be offered to the world, and the way to eternal life was to be through the execution of the man standing in front of Him. All of this is because of the love of God. As we love with Jesus today, may our hearts be amazed at the scope of God's love and the love that has provided eternal life to us through the gift of faith. To God be the glory. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.

In this message from Pastor Michael, we explore what happens when leadership meets its limits. As Moses carries the burden of an entire people, God sends wisdom through an unlikely source: his father-in-law, Jethro. This story reminds us that we were never meant to do life alone. The strength of the body of Christ lies not in a few visible roles but in the quiet, faithful work of many. From shared burdens to spiritual mentorship, Exodus 18 reveals a deeper picture of community, humility, and the kind of support that sustains long-term faithfulness. What if growth comes not by doing more but by letting others in? Sermon: You Weren't Meant to Do This Alone Series: The Exodus Speaker: Michael Chinchilla Full Service: https://youtu.be/gFY3I4v3_S8 Apple Podcast: http://thisisvillage.church/podcast/apple Spotify Podcast: http://thisisvillage.church/podcast/spotify Your Next Steps: http://thisisvillagechurch.com/nextsteps Village Kids Online: http://villagekids.online Give: https://thisisvillagechurch.com/give Website: https://thisisvillagechurch.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VillageChurch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisvillagechurch/ X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/thisisvillage TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisisvillagechurch

Bible Study WITH ME through Exodus chapter 19 and ask all the questions!

"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."John 3:14-15

"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."John 3:14-15

Today, Moses preaches against the very sins that end up bringing a curse upon Israel. As Moses continues his prelude to a recounting of the Law to Israel's next generation, he warns them against both idolatry and self-righteousness, which in both cases is a means of robbing God of the glory that is due Him and Him alone. He urges them to remember that the land they are entering has been given to them, not because of their righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the nations they are entering. When they become satisfied with the good of the land, they are not forget to worship God, love Him, and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 8 - 1:01 . Deuteronomy 9 - 4:42 . Deuteronomy 10 - 12:34 . Psalm 62 - 17:01 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

In episode 140 of Tales of Glory, we are back in the Torah, the book of Exodus, chapter 34. Moses works to restore God's covenant with the Israelites. As Moses meets with God, his face becomes radiant. God promises to deliver the Israelites from the tribes in the land.Timeline:00:00:00 Intro00:05:00 Exodus 32 and 33 Recap00:08:06 Exodus 34 intro00:13:08 Preparatory Measures verses 1-300:15:50 God's Self-disclosure verses 4-900:19:35 Apostasy verses 10-1700:29:43 Festivals and Related Religious Obligations verses 18-2600:35:00 Moses Reaches the Pinnacle of Eminence verses 27-3500:37:07 The Radiance of Moses' Face verses 29-3500:46:13 Concluding Remarks

The Psalms are the song book of the Bible, and as you are probably aware, songs and poems are written out of the deep well of the human heart. The difference between the Psalms and every other song or poem is that the Psalms are inspired by God Almighty and are the Word of God. Of all the Psalms, it is the Psalm before us that is most familiar. In my opinion, what the Lords prayer is to the New Testament, Psalm 23 is to the Old Testament. It is that familiar, and it is familiar for good reason. Think for a moment what it is that Psalm 23 says of all those whose God is the Lord: He does not leave His sheep to themselves, but leads them to the place of life, nourishment, and rest with the assurance that He will not lose any that belong to Him. As the Shepherd, He promises to be with His sheep in the face of death and will stand before them in the face of the enemy. As the Shepherd of His sheep, those who belong to Him will only know His faithfulness and love which is a promise that not even death can take what belongs to the Lord, who is the Shepherd. No wonder why this Psalm is often included in so many funerals or read at the bedside of the sick and dying. However, there is a danger with the amount of exposure we have had with the 23rd Psalm, and that danger is as the saying goes: Familiarity breeds contempt. By being so familiar with the Psalm, we can lose respect for what it says or miss the point of the Psalm altogether. My hope is that in the weeks to come, you will gain a better understanding of what this Psalm means for you and that over the weeks to come, you will experience the Lord of the 23rd Psalm. Who is The Lord of Psalm 23? For you and me to appreciate the 23rd Psalm, we have got to understand who the shepherd of the Psalm is. For starters, He is not just any old shepherd, He is the shepherd to all who truly know Him to be the Lord. One of the ways we can lose respect for this Psalm is to assume that it applies to any and all people. In the very first verse we are told that for the Lord to be the shepherd of any person, that person must belong to Him. The key word used in this verse is known as a possessive determiner, and that word is my. The way that you can know that He is your Lord is found in the second half of the first verse: ...I will not be in need. You can know that you are not in need because you have the Lord as your shepherd, and the way that you know that He is your Lord is because you understand that there is no other lord in this world that gives you what only He can give you. I have officiated many funeral and memorial services over the years, and my fear is that for some, the 23rd Psalm was printed on their memorial card more for the beauty of the Psalm than for how the deceased loved, followed, and identified with the God the Psalm describes. Before you can ever claim the kind of comfort and assurance the Psalm is meant to provide, you must answer who the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is first. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 is Yahweh The Lord that David refers in Psalm 23 is Yahweh. The first time the Hebrew people were introduced to God as Yahweh is in Exodus 3 when Moses encountered God through the burning bush. Just so you know, there are many different names for God used to describe His character and nature; the name used that is Gods covenantal name is Yahweh. After 40 years of working for his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness, God called out to Moses from a burning bush. Moses was in the wilderness because he had killed an Egyptian guard, buried his body in the sand, learned that it was known that he did it, and had fled Egypt and went into hiding. As Moses got closer to the burning bush, God told him to remove his sandals in His presence because the ground he was standing was now holy. God then told Moses that He heard the cries of His people and planned to use the now 80-year-old man to deliver the Hebrew people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. God was not going to send Moses into Egypt before Pharaoh alone, for God assured him: I will be with you (v. 12). Moses then asked what name he was to give to the Hebrews when he went back into Egypt; here is what he said: Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them (v. 13)? Gods answer gets at the heart of what Yahweh means: I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you (v. 14). At the heart of Gods answer are four facts about God for why the Israelites should believe God would deliver them: Yahweh is the Creator who is above all other gods man may make. Because Yahweh is the Creator, He sustains all things, governs all things, is sovereign over all things, and owns all things. As Yahweh, God is eternal, for He had no beginning and will have no end; He is the Alpha and the Omega, and as the Alpha and Omega, He is the first and the last. The essence of what Yahweh means is found in verse 14, And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you. God told Moses: You tell the Hebrew slaves that I AM WHO I AM sent me to you. To wrap our minds around what God told Moses, I need to ask you in terms of your occupation or what you are currently doing day to day each week, Who are you? I am not asking if you are a Christian or not, I am asking what is it that requires your time? If I were to ask you to write down who you are, you may write: I am an electrician. Or I am a teacher. You might write down, I am a programmer. You might write down, I am a stay-at-home mother. I am a dad, a mom, a grandmother, or grandfather. Here is the thing with all of that, the answer you give today to that question will one day change. One day you will not be able to work, one day you will retire, one day your children will move out of your home to begin a family of their own, and one day you will die. However, with God, He is I AM WHO I AM. One pastor said that what God said to Moses through the burning bush is the equivalent of saying: I BE WHO I BE. The point is that we change, but the Lord does not change, nor will He ever change. Why? Because Yahweh is infinitely and perfectly self-sufficient and self-existent; if you belong to Him, He is your shepherd and there is no other god or lord that you need! David Gibson, in his book, The Lord of Psalm 23, put it this way: ...the one whom you need to shepherd you neither needs you nor needs to be shepherded himself as he gives himself to shepherd you. He shepherds you from his eternally undiminishing fullness, and he is never the poorer for it.[1] The Lord of the 23rd Psalm is unchanging, and it does not matter what you think of Him or what you make of Him, He is eternally who He has always been, what He still is today, and what He will always be: He is the Great I AM WHO I AM; He is Yahweh! However, what He may or may not be to you is your Shepherd. There is only one way to come to know Yahweh as your shepherd. Jesus is the Shepherd of Psalm 23 What dominates this Psalm is the promise of a life much fuller and richer than anything that any other god or lord can offer. The life that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm provides is the abundant life! The kind of life that the Shepherd of Psalm 23 provides is one that includes food to satisfy the hungry, water to quench the thirsty, security for the vulnerable, and rest for the burdened sheep who come to the Shepherd out of a desperate awareness that all that the Shepherd is and has, is all that the sheep need. There are a number of statements Jesus said about Himself that include the phrase: I Am... Just about every time He used that phrase, it unhinged the religious leaders of His day because they understood where that phrase was coming from, for it came from Exodus 3 when God said to Moses that He, Yahweh, was I AM Who I AM. One of those statements is found in the gospel of John and the way that He said it, there can be no confusion what it was that He was claiming: I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me... (John 10:14). Jesus said the only way to know the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm is by knowing who He is, believing in all that He claimed to be, and acting on what you know and believe concerning Him. Consider some of the things Jesus said about Himself: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:3738) Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light. (Matt. 11:2830) The reason Jesus was able to say these kinds of things was because He was, and is, and will forever be the good shepherd of the 23rd Psalm! This is why He said, Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:710). Again David Gibson offers the following insight of what it means to have the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm: Psalm 23 is about abundant life. It is more about the happiness of living than the sadness of dying, and all of the happiness is bound up with being able to say that this Lord who is a shepherd is also my shepherd.[2] So I ask you dear friend, who is the Shepherd to you? Is He your Shepherd because He is your Lord? Is He your Lord because you have found Him to be the Bread of Life who alone satisfies your hunger for more? Is He your Shepherd because in Jesus you have found Him to be the Living Water who alone is able to quench your thirsty soul? Can you honestly say, The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need (Ps. 23:1). It will not do to only have Psalm 23 posted on your memorial card after you die unless you have found Jesus to be your life today. So, have you responded to His call? You do know that Jesus was talking about you when He said, I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd (John 10:16). Have you heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and do you listen to His voice? Or can it be said of you by the Lord of Psalm 23, Now why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say (Luke 6:46)? There is a 460-year-old Catechism that has been passed down from generation to generation for the purpose of reminding and encouraging Christians of all ages that just as the God Moses encountered is unchanging, so is the great Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The catechism I speak of is the Heidelberg Catechism, and it begins with this question: What is your only comfort in life and death? Its answer is as follows: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death,am not my own,but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation.Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him. If you do know the Lord of the 23rd Psalm, and I suspect that you do, then Psalm 23 is for you in both life and death! 1The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. 2He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me All the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. [1] David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 16. [2] Ibid., p. 22.

The Psalms are the song book of the Bible, and as you are probably aware, songs and poems are written out of the deep well of the human heart. The difference between the Psalms and every other song or poem is that the Psalms are inspired by God Almighty and are the Word of God. Of all the Psalms, it is the Psalm before us that is most familiar. In my opinion, what the Lords prayer is to the New Testament, Psalm 23 is to the Old Testament. It is that familiar, and it is familiar for good reason. Think for a moment what it is that Psalm 23 says of all those whose God is the Lord: He does not leave His sheep to themselves, but leads them to the place of life, nourishment, and rest with the assurance that He will not lose any that belong to Him. As the Shepherd, He promises to be with His sheep in the face of death and will stand before them in the face of the enemy. As the Shepherd of His sheep, those who belong to Him will only know His faithfulness and love which is a promise that not even death can take what belongs to the Lord, who is the Shepherd. No wonder why this Psalm is often included in so many funerals or read at the bedside of the sick and dying. However, there is a danger with the amount of exposure we have had with the 23rd Psalm, and that danger is as the saying goes: Familiarity breeds contempt. By being so familiar with the Psalm, we can lose respect for what it says or miss the point of the Psalm altogether. My hope is that in the weeks to come, you will gain a better understanding of what this Psalm means for you and that over the weeks to come, you will experience the Lord of the 23rd Psalm. Who is The Lord of Psalm 23? For you and me to appreciate the 23rd Psalm, we have got to understand who the shepherd of the Psalm is. For starters, He is not just any old shepherd, He is the shepherd to all who truly know Him to be the Lord. One of the ways we can lose respect for this Psalm is to assume that it applies to any and all people. In the very first verse we are told that for the Lord to be the shepherd of any person, that person must belong to Him. The key word used in this verse is known as a possessive determiner, and that word is my. The way that you can know that He is your Lord is found in the second half of the first verse: ...I will not be in need. You can know that you are not in need because you have the Lord as your shepherd, and the way that you know that He is your Lord is because you understand that there is no other lord in this world that gives you what only He can give you. I have officiated many funeral and memorial services over the years, and my fear is that for some, the 23rd Psalm was printed on their memorial card more for the beauty of the Psalm than for how the deceased loved, followed, and identified with the God the Psalm describes. Before you can ever claim the kind of comfort and assurance the Psalm is meant to provide, you must answer who the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is first. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 is Yahweh The Lord that David refers in Psalm 23 is Yahweh. The first time the Hebrew people were introduced to God as Yahweh is in Exodus 3 when Moses encountered God through the burning bush. Just so you know, there are many different names for God used to describe His character and nature; the name used that is Gods covenantal name is Yahweh. After 40 years of working for his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness, God called out to Moses from a burning bush. Moses was in the wilderness because he had killed an Egyptian guard, buried his body in the sand, learned that it was known that he did it, and had fled Egypt and went into hiding. As Moses got closer to the burning bush, God told him to remove his sandals in His presence because the ground he was standing was now holy. God then told Moses that He heard the cries of His people and planned to use the now 80-year-old man to deliver the Hebrew people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. God was not going to send Moses into Egypt before Pharaoh alone, for God assured him: I will be with you (v. 12). Moses then asked what name he was to give to the Hebrews when he went back into Egypt; here is what he said: Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them (v. 13)? Gods answer gets at the heart of what Yahweh means: I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you (v. 14). At the heart of Gods answer are four facts about God for why the Israelites should believe God would deliver them: Yahweh is the Creator who is above all other gods man may make. Because Yahweh is the Creator, He sustains all things, governs all things, is sovereign over all things, and owns all things. As Yahweh, God is eternal, for He had no beginning and will have no end; He is the Alpha and the Omega, and as the Alpha and Omega, He is the first and the last. The essence of what Yahweh means is found in verse 14, And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you. God told Moses: You tell the Hebrew slaves that I AM WHO I AM sent me to you. To wrap our minds around what God told Moses, I need to ask you in terms of your occupation or what you are currently doing day to day each week, Who are you? I am not asking if you are a Christian or not, I am asking what is it that requires your time? If I were to ask you to write down who you are, you may write: I am an electrician. Or I am a teacher. You might write down, I am a programmer. You might write down, I am a stay-at-home mother. I am a dad, a mom, a grandmother, or grandfather. Here is the thing with all of that, the answer you give today to that question will one day change. One day you will not be able to work, one day you will retire, one day your children will move out of your home to begin a family of their own, and one day you will die. However, with God, He is I AM WHO I AM. One pastor said that what God said to Moses through the burning bush is the equivalent of saying: I BE WHO I BE. The point is that we change, but the Lord does not change, nor will He ever change. Why? Because Yahweh is infinitely and perfectly self-sufficient and self-existent; if you belong to Him, He is your shepherd and there is no other god or lord that you need! David Gibson, in his book, The Lord of Psalm 23, put it this way: ...the one whom you need to shepherd you neither needs you nor needs to be shepherded himself as he gives himself to shepherd you. He shepherds you from his eternally undiminishing fullness, and he is never the poorer for it.[1] The Lord of the 23rd Psalm is unchanging, and it does not matter what you think of Him or what you make of Him, He is eternally who He has always been, what He still is today, and what He will always be: He is the Great I AM WHO I AM; He is Yahweh! However, what He may or may not be to you is your Shepherd. There is only one way to come to know Yahweh as your shepherd. Jesus is the Shepherd of Psalm 23 What dominates this Psalm is the promise of a life much fuller and richer than anything that any other god or lord can offer. The life that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm provides is the abundant life! The kind of life that the Shepherd of Psalm 23 provides is one that includes food to satisfy the hungry, water to quench the thirsty, security for the vulnerable, and rest for the burdened sheep who come to the Shepherd out of a desperate awareness that all that the Shepherd is and has, is all that the sheep need. There are a number of statements Jesus said about Himself that include the phrase: I Am... Just about every time He used that phrase, it unhinged the religious leaders of His day because they understood where that phrase was coming from, for it came from Exodus 3 when God said to Moses that He, Yahweh, was I AM Who I AM. One of those statements is found in the gospel of John and the way that He said it, there can be no confusion what it was that He was claiming: I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me... (John 10:14). Jesus said the only way to know the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm is by knowing who He is, believing in all that He claimed to be, and acting on what you know and believe concerning Him. Consider some of the things Jesus said about Himself: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:3738) Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light. (Matt. 11:2830) The reason Jesus was able to say these kinds of things was because He was, and is, and will forever be the good shepherd of the 23rd Psalm! This is why He said, Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:710). Again David Gibson offers the following insight of what it means to have the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm: Psalm 23 is about abundant life. It is more about the happiness of living than the sadness of dying, and all of the happiness is bound up with being able to say that this Lord who is a shepherd is also my shepherd.[2] So I ask you dear friend, who is the Shepherd to you? Is He your Shepherd because He is your Lord? Is He your Lord because you have found Him to be the Bread of Life who alone satisfies your hunger for more? Is He your Shepherd because in Jesus you have found Him to be the Living Water who alone is able to quench your thirsty soul? Can you honestly say, The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need (Ps. 23:1). It will not do to only have Psalm 23 posted on your memorial card after you die unless you have found Jesus to be your life today. So, have you responded to His call? You do know that Jesus was talking about you when He said, I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd (John 10:16). Have you heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and do you listen to His voice? Or can it be said of you by the Lord of Psalm 23, Now why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say (Luke 6:46)? There is a 460-year-old Catechism that has been passed down from generation to generation for the purpose of reminding and encouraging Christians of all ages that just as the God Moses encountered is unchanging, so is the great Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The catechism I speak of is the Heidelberg Catechism, and it begins with this question: What is your only comfort in life and death? Its answer is as follows: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death,am not my own,but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation.Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him. If you do know the Lord of the 23rd Psalm, and I suspect that you do, then Psalm 23 is for you in both life and death! 1The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. 2He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me All the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. [1] David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 16. [2] Ibid., p. 22.

As Moses continues his prelude to a recounting of the Law to Israel's next generation, he warns them against both idolatry and self-righteousness, which in both cases is a means of robbing God of the glory that is due Him and Him alone. He urges them to remember that the land they are entering has been given to them, not because of their righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the nations they are entering. When they become satisfied with the good of the land, they are not forget to worship God, love Him, and keep his commands. If they turn from the Lord, they will receive a curse from the Lord, rather than a blessing.Deuteronomy 8 - 1:09 . Deuteronomy 9 - 4:40 . Deuteronomy 10 - 12:11 . Deuteronomy 11 - 17:22 . Psalm 42 - 22:56 . Psalm 43 - 25:04 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

As Moses prepares the people to enter the land, he reminds them of all the things that have been taught and commanded. These two verses sum up all that the Lord their God requires of them. they say they will do it, but will they... Will you?

God Desires to Save You! - John 3:16-18... Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. - 1 Timothy 2:4For God – the greatest loverSo loved – the greatest degreeThe world – the greatest companyThat He gave – the greatest actHis only begotten Son – the greatest giftThat whoever – the greatest opportunityBelieves – the greatest simplicityIn Him – the greatest attractionShall not perish – the greatest promiseBut – the greatest differenceHave – the greatest certaintyEverlasting life – the greatest possessionJesus loves me this I knowFor the Bible tells me soLittle ones to Him belongThey are weak but He is strongYes, Jesus loves meYes, Jesus loves meYes, Jesus loves meThe Bible tells me so!Now to best understand John 3:16, we need to see how it ***fits*** in the great chapter that is John 3. John 3 shows not only that God is love (1 Jn. 4:16), but also that God is holy (Psa. 99:9) and that God is good (1 Pet. 2:3).“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” - Jesus in John 3:3For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:23-24Because God is holy, He must ***judge*** our sin. Had Jesus never come to deal with our sin, 100% of us would be going to Hell because of our sin.As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.Because God is holy, God must judge sin. Because God is good, Jesus was ***able*** to take our sin upon Himself.Because God is love, He offers salvation to all who ***turn*** to Him and believe.Now when someone gives you an awesome gift, what do you want to do for them in return?“He must increase, but I must decrease.” - JTB in John 3:30Dakota's mom said, “I have always been prepared to answer your questions – I was simply waiting for you to ask!”“Son, I am proud of what you have become. I am going to love you well.”To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. - John 1:12

March 2, 2025 -- Pr. Kyle Blake -- "Transfiguration!" -- Luke 9:28-3628 About eight days after he had said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, both Moses and Elijah were talking with him. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory and were discussing Jesus' approaching death and what he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the men with him were sleeping soundly. When they woke up, they saw Jesus' glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it's good that we're here. Let's put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter didn't know what he was saying. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them. They were frightened as they went into the cloud. 35 A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!” 36 After the voice had spoken, they saw that Jesus was alone. The disciples said nothing, and for some time they told no one about what they had seen. -GWhttp://www.bethanylutheran.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.facebook.com/Bethany.Long.Beach⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/c/BethanyLutheranLongBeach

Moses lists  the various places where God led Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land to give Israel confidence and courage to face their future. As Moses' anchors them in God's protection and provision of them in the past, he also calls them to enter the land with the purpose of removing the nations and idolatry that is there.  He concludes, by telling them of God's promised gift to come.  Pastor Mollenkopf explains the great hope the church can have in this Old Testament narrative.

In this Bible Story, Pharaoh is at war against God and refuses to let Israel go. Pharaoh sees himself as God’s equal, and does not budge despite numerous plagues. This story is inspired by Exodus 7:8-9:35. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Exodus 9:14 from the King James Version.Episode 36: As Moses and Aaron bring God’s request before Pharaoh and Pharaoh refuses, signs are given from God to prove His request. But Pharoah, far from scared, replicates these signs and tells Moses and Aaron no! Thus begins God’s display of power upon Egypt, sending plague after plague.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the people of Israel came to the edge of the Promised Land, God instructed Moses to re-state the Law and the terms of the Mosaic Covenant before the people entered into the land. As Moses is nearing the end of his instruction, he tells the people that God will bless them if they are careful to obey all that God had commanded but also warns them what will happen if they choose to ignore God's commandments and turn away from Him. In today's study, we'll examine whether God responds to our obedience and disobedience the same way in light of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.

As Moses stands before Israel, they all look to him to solve their problems. This expectation to place all weight upon a leader is what Jethro calls "not good", beckoning back to the Garden of Eden. Today, we are still making the same mistake, weighing down certain members of the Body of Christ with enormous responsibility without realizing it. But it robs us, because it is also our blessing to give and serve, and God wants to use us in ministry like never before - to lift the burdens. In this teaching, PD discusses the Biblical idea of ministry, and how exercising it brings freedom to ourselves and others. Support Rise on Fire Ministries by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/rise-on-fireRead transcript

I Am Treasured (Identity Series)Exodus 19:3-6 "As Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you'll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you're special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”One of my friends sent this verse in a Facebook messenger chat.  Her mother just had heart surgery, and she is in the hospital with her, waiting for her to recover.  Her mom's levels were all elevated, and she needed to go onto a breathing machine.  I am sure my friend was worried for her mom, and I am sure the mom was worried too.  I met this woman in my mentoring group.  We went on a retreat together.  Everyone in our mentoring group picks a word and mantra for the year.  This is just a way to help keep us focused on where we want the year to go and help us remember what is important to us throughout the year when things get busy.  Life can happen so quickly sometimes that we don't live it intentionally; we just get swept up in it and almost go on autopilot.  There can be so many people or things calling our time, and it can get hard to prioritize if you don't have a focus and/or you don't prioritize.  This is why we pick a word and mantra and try to say it every day.  I was going to say that we do say it every day, but I am sure we forget sometimes, or at least I know I do, especially on the weekends.  However, even if I don't say it everyday, I know I have one, I have it memorized and so when I have to make a decision about something I can think about that word and mantra in my head and then the decision is easy because usually only one aligns with my focus for the year.  My friend chose the words “Be Still” this year.  It's funny how when we pick a word, God helps us grow into that word over the year.  It's the same with you, even if you didn't pick a word.  If you have a desire in your heart or have prayed for help to grow in a certain area, God will help you.  When we pick a word, it not only reminds us of how we want to grow over the year but is also the filter with which we look at the year.  Let me explain what I mean.  If my friend's word is Be Still, then her focus is on being still and how she can learn to grow in that.  So, when she is reading her Bible in the hospital next to her mom, and she gets the Bible verse above, she then looks at this experience in the hospital as a reminder to be still.  God is amazing!  If we are looking, if our eyes and ears are open, he will give us little signs, and sometimes big signs, that He is right there with us in all of our situations or circumstances.  This bible verse in the hospital was a little reminder from God to my friend just to Be Still and know that He was taking of it all for her.  If you are aware that God does this, if you are on the lookout for this, you will see that He is doing the same for you.  God is not just doing this for some of His children.  He is sending us all signs that He is there with them.  The problem is that if we don't know that He is doing this, we don't notice them when we see them.  Let's start being on the lookout for these messages from God, letting us know He is in it, all of it, with us!I love how today's verse begins with God reminding us what He has done for us in the past.  It says, “As Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to me.” This is a great reminder that God is a miracle worker.  He saved the Israelites from Egypt in a miraculous way.  Also, it wasn't just one miracle. It was miracle after miracle.  He did all those signs to convince Pharaoh to let them go. He parted the Red Sea so they could pass, then He rolled it back to destroy their enemy.  He miraculously provided manna for food every single morning.  He rained down quail on them when they complained about not having meat to eat.  It was miracle after miracle.  When we are struggling, we need to be reminded of all God can do.  There are many times when we are in a situation and can't see a way out.  We have $500 worth of bills and $200 in our bank account.  That math does not add up, and we know we will be unable to pay our bills.  And yet the math also did not add up when Jesus only had five loaves of bread and two fish, and there were over 5,000 people to feed, and yet He fed them all with plenty to spare.  When our loved one is in the hospital or on hospice and the doctors tell us there is nothing to do, we need God to remind us of what He has done in the past, so that we can have hope that we don't have to worry because even if there is nothing the doctors can do, there is ALWAYS something our God can do.  I love that God knows we need this reminder, even before we do.  He is so good!!The second half of this verse is, “If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you'll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you're special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” This is also great because it reminds us that we are special and we are treasured.  God could choose any person on the entire Earth, and yet He is choosing you.  If we listen obediently to what He says and keep His commandments, then we will be set aside.  We will be His holy nation.  How great is that?  I love that this translation says we will be His special treasure.  What would you give to be God's special treasure?  I feel as though I would give anything to be considered God's special treasure.  God is giving us the instructions, and although they seem easy, they can be harder than they sound.  The first thing it says is to listen obediently.  It can be hard to listen if we aren't hearing Him.  This means we need to spend some time listening to what God is telling us.  Let's all stop for a moment and see when we could do this?  When could we make time, even if it's just 5 minutes, in our day to sit quietly and listen to God? Could you spend 5 minutes sometime in your day sitting quietly with God if it meant you got to be His special treasure? God is asking us to keep His covenant, which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbor.  Can we do that?  What is one thing we can do to love others more?  God doesn't just mean your neighbor next door.  He means, how can you love everyone, even those you don't like?  That is something to spend some time pondering.  Is this dislike, this hatred I have in my heart for others, worth not being counted as God's special treasure?  If you have a hard time loving others, take that to God.  Spend some time talking with God and asking Him to help you through it.  God wants us all to be His special treasure.  We don't have to be perfect or follow Him perfectly; we just have to really want to be His special treasure with our whole heart, and then listen to Him, and He will guide us there.  He wants it for us more than we want it for ourselves.  We just have to give Him permission to work within us and then let Him gently guide us there!Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, I ask you to show each one of us where in our day we can spend some time with you.  I ask you to show everyone that we all have the time, even if we are very busy.  Show us that you can talk to us anywhere, in the shower, in the car, while they are drinking coffee, while they are doing housework, anytime we are willing to listen, you are willing to talk.  Lord, we thank You for always reminding us of all You have done in the past at the perfect time.  Lord, we are sorry we always forget and are so grateful when we need to remember that You are there.  Lord, thank you for loving us. Thank you for treasuring us.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name. Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  If you have not signed up for mentoring yet, you can click on the link below or head over to my website, Walkboldlywithjesus.com. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!  Have a blessed week!Today's Word from the Lord was received in August 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email, “My children, all I tell you to do know that you can. My spirit empowers you. It puts my words into your mouth so that you can reach the hearts of others. It's not you. It is my spirit empowering you to say what I wish you to say.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Exodus 5:1-7:5 February 9, 2025 As Moses obeys and returns to Egypt and speaks to the people about God's plan of rescue, it just seems like things get worse. Often times, when it seems like things should get better, they don't. Instead, they get even harder. How do we handle this? What does this mean about God? How do we not get so discouraged in seasons like these?

Exodus 5:1-7:5 February 9, 2025 As Moses obeys and returns to Egypt and speaks to the people about God's plan of rescue, it just seems like things get worse. Often times, when it seems like things should get better, they don't. Instead, they get even harder. How do we handle this? What does this mean about God? How do we not get so discouraged in seasons like these?

Moses stood on the brink of a new beginning, facing a blazing bush that did not burn—a symbol of change and divine calling. In this compelling episode, we journey through Exodus Chapter 3, diving deep into the story of Moses and the burning bush. Here, we unravel the complex emotions that accompany change and explore how Moses, an unlikely hero from humble beginnings, became a towering figure of faith and leadership. The narrative unfolds with Moses tending sheep on a mountainside, far from his princely upbringing in Egypt. Called by God to undertake the immense task of liberating his people, Moses struggles with self-doubt and fear. The question resonates: How do we follow God's call when it seems bigger than ourselves? As Moses grapples with his doubts, we examine the significance of trusting in God's presence and the strength that comes when we embrace His guidance. Join us as we learn from Moses' profound journey—a story of divine purpose and the transformative power of faith. This episode prompts us to reflect on our own paths, encouraging us to embrace new beginnings with courage, equipped with the knowledge that God's presence is our true source of strength.

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: "Am I really born again?"Scripture: John 3:1-15John 2:23-25;Daniel 7:13-14; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Matthew 5:20, 48;Numbers 21:4-9; Isaiah 52:13Bottom line: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born from the above.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONBorn again. What does that even mean?Sometimes you hear people say they are a "Born-again Christian" as if there is another kind; as if you could be a true Christian any other way. I get why people do that. Am I really born again? That's not a question I would've asked as a young man going to college: I thought I already was. After all, I'd done everything the church had asked me to do growing up: confirmation class, youth choir, Sunday school, youth group, acolyte, even the hand bell choir. I did everything my parents put me in, regarding the church. But I don't ever remember hearing the gospel and responding by grace through faith to the gospel. Maybe that was because I thought I was a Christian by doing all those good things. Well, I wasn't. Not yet.Let me just talk to the students right now for a minute. Many of you have grown up going to church and have done everything asked of you by the church and your parents. You've been active in youth group. You've gone to Sunday school or kids group, and attended church services. Maybe you've even been on a mission trip or gone to summer camp. Maybe you've even prayed a prayer and been baptized. Those are good signs, of course. But the evidence that you are truly a follower of Christ is seen in the fruit of your life and made effective in your life because you were born from above. Not because you grew up going to church and doing all the church stuff. The church stuff is designed to lay a foundation on which to build your own faith in Christ on. The church stuff is to strengthen those who have been born again to not only be right with God in position, but to become right with God in practice. To walk in step with God daily. And to want to do that.Like I said, I grew up in the church doing all the church stuff. And I thought I was a Christian. But I figured out I wasn't a good Christian when I met my future wife. We met in ninth grade and instantly became friends. We started dating our senior year in high school. I saw how she carried herself for those four years in high school--with consistent love and integrity. I met her family and got to see how she was raised; how she was loved by her family; how she was taught by her family in word and deed. I got a glimpse of her church life by going with her to her church a couple of times as well. I probably heard the gospel there for the first time at a lock-in. She was a huge part of me coming to the Christ. Because I don't think I trusted Christ going through confirmation class, I suspect that Anita and I dated before I was a believer. I always council against that whenever you know that to be true. But I was playing the part of a Christian. I knew what to say and do in general and enough to come across as a young immature Christian. And by God's grace, she bought it. Ha ha. Little did I know that I had a lot more to learn about what it means to truly know God, and have a relationship with him because of a supernatural birth from above. I experienced what it means to be born again when I stood at the end of the concert and received Jesus is my Lord and Savior because I just knew I was supposed to.Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again. He said no one can see the kingdom of God, unless they are born again or born from above. My hope is today that you will understand and comprehend what that means today so that should you choose to surrender to Jesus Christ, that you will be born from above today if you haven't already.CONTEXTJohn is transitioning from Jesus's first week of public ministry to conversations between Jesus and individuals. This is framed around the idea that there is more than one kind of belief in Jesus.SERMON Willmington's OUTLINE Bible (JOHN 3):Jesus meets with Nicodemus and tells him in order to be saved, all people must be born again. John the Baptist tells his disciples that Jesus is the Messiah.1. JESUS EXPLAINS THE PLAN OF SALVATION (3:1-21): A man named Nicodemus visits Jesus by night.A. The credentials of Nicodemus (3:1): He is both a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a Pharisee.B. The confession of Nicodemus (3:2): He acknowledges that Jesus is from God because of his miracles.C. The command to Nicodemus (3:3): Jesus says he needs the new birth.D. The confusion of Nicodemus (3:4): He confuses spiritual birth with physical birth.E. The chastening of Nicodemus (3:9-13): Jesus chides him for not knowing these things even though he is a respected Jewish teacher.F. The clarification for Nicodemus (3:5-8, 14-15): Jesus employs three illustrations to explain the new birth to Nicodemus. (Cf. Ezekiel 36:25-28)1. A physical illustration (3:5-7): Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.2. A natural illustration (3:8): Just as you don't know where the wind comes from or where it is going, so it is impossible to explain being born of the Spirit. Illustration: Imagine how crazy would be for wind to blow through a cemetery and bones to become living people again is no less dramatic than God transforming us from above.3. A scriptural illustration (3:14-15): As Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.NEXT WEEK:G. The conclusion for Nicodemus (3:16-21): Jesus now summarizes both the subjects of salvation and condemnation!1. The persons (3:16)a. The Father gave his Son (3:16a).b. The Son will give his life (3:16b).CONCLUSIONBottom line: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born from above.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬InvitationHow do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESFrom Lesslie Newbigin, p. 36:John 2:23-25"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man.The fact that Jesus performed many miracles of healing is assumed in all versions of the tradition. The synoptics devote much space to those which were performed in Galilee; John— without giving details-implies that Jerusalem was also the scene of such activity and states that as a result "many believed in his name." In the light of what is said in 1:12, where the same phrase is used, this might seem to be an extremely promising development in the mission of Jesus—an early and impressive example of successful evangelism. But it is not so. This belief is based upon "things that are seen"; it is not that faith which is a work of the Spirit who is not seen, and who comes—like the wind-as he will, and comes not from the solid ground below but from above. Jesus-who knows the heart and does not look on the outward appearance (I Sam. 16:7) —does not "believe in" them, even though they "believe in" him."OUTLINESOutline from Willmington's Outline Bible N/AQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.aiChatGPT 3.5

It took me ten years before I came to that place of letting go of my dreams and relinquishing them for God's plan for my life. Ten years of doing my own thing, running my show, determined to get what I wanted. In those ten years had you asked me if I wanted to live according to God's plan for my life, I probably would have said yes, but it would have just been a cover-up because in truth, I wanted God to bless my plans. I wanted my dream to come true—hopefully with God along for the ride—but one way or another, it was my way or the highway. Is that where you are? Take it from me: Don't waste ten years or ten minutes trying to make your dreams come true. Trust a trustworthy God who has better plans than yours and who loves you unconditionally. During the eighteen months of grieving the loss of my dream, there were days when I just about didn't make it. I came so close so many times to taking back the controls of my life into my own hands. But thankfully, I was spending time in God's Word, I was getting to know God, and I knew I just couldn't turn back. What finally became so clear to me was that my basic problem was my fear of trusting God. And then I realized not only how stupid that was, but how sinful it was for me to trust myself and not the God who made me. Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” There is no reason for you to fear God's plans for your life. Satan has told you lies about how miserable your life will be if God it is in control, and he's a good liar. The God of heaven and earth is a trustworthy God. You can trust him. Moses is a case study of a man who came to understand God had a plan for his life, and it was a good one. You know how his life was saved as a baby by a very creative mother and sister. As Moses grew to manhood, he was educated as an Egyptian with all the privileges that came from being raised as Pharaoh's daughter. No doubt his future looked bright and promising because he was the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. But he never forgot he was a Jew, one of God's chosen people, so he wanted to help his people. Pharaoh kept the Jewish people in bitter servitude, and they were sorely mistreated. One day when Moses saw an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brothers, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. He thought he was doing the right thing to defend his countryman, but the next day, when he saw two Hebrews fighting each other and tried to stop them, they turned on him and said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:14). Well, this just blew Moses away. He thought his murderous act was a secret, but now he realized it wasn't, and when Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses. So, Moses fled from Pharaoh and lived in Midian, where he became a lowly, humble shepherd. For 40 years, Moses lived in exile in Midian. His life and dreams were changed overnight. And it was because of something he did; something he should not have done. Regardless of the reason, murdering another man was wrong. So, through his own actions his dream died. Now Moses figured his Plan A was ruined; he had to settle for Plan B. Is this your story, too? Have you brought grief on yourself because of a foolish decision or choice? Has your disobedience—your sin—caused you to live with regret, think that you've lost your dream, and settle for the best you can do? You're now relegated to Plan B—or C or D? Moses figured he had blown it so badly, that God would never use him again. But he was wrong. After 40 years, as Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law at Horeb, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. God clearly spoke to him and gave him a new assignment—to go and set his people free from Pharaoh. Moses is now a humbled man,

A few years after I received salvation and dedicated my life to God, I felt Him directing me to lay down my journalism career. As I put down my pen and my writing went into hiding, I couldn’t help feeling that one day God would call me to write for His glory. And indeed, He has. During my years of wandering in my personal wilderness, I was encouraged by the story of Moses and his staff in Exodus 2. Moses, who was raised in Pharaoh’s palace and had a promising future, fled Egypt and was living in obscurity as a shepherd when God called him. Moses must’ve thought he had nothing to offer God, but he learned God can use anyone and anything for His glory. “What is that in your hand?” God asked. “A staff,” Moses replied. God said, “Throw it on the ground” (Exodus 4:2-3). Moses’ ordinary staff became a snake. When he grabbed the snake, God turned it back into the staff (vv. 3-4). This sign was given so the Israelites would “believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you” (v. 5). As Moses threw down his staff and took it back up again, I laid down my career as a journalist in obedience to God and later He guided me to pick up my pen to write publicly again and I’m writing for Him. We don’t need much to be used by God. We can simply serve Him with the talents He’s given us. Not sure where to start? What’s in your hand?

The Fall of a Nation TS Wright Scott Wright is back with us today as we continue to study details about the nation of Israel that, for some, may have never heard before.  Scott is the author of the “God Centered Concept Journal” and has a unique insight into prophecy and the end times. He is also a podcaster, conducting teachings on these subject and the podcast has the same name, the “God Centered Concept Podcast.” Amen! Help me welcome back to the program, Scott Wright!  Scott, it's great to talk to you again! Last time, you shared information on the importance of God establishing that Israel was to have only “one place of worship,” which was the Temple. As Moses taught, the Temple was built according the “vision and instructions” he received directly from God… The Temple was also where God was to always have His presence in and among the people of Israel. I guess we can start with this question. If God had His presence in and among His people – why did the Israelites fall so far out of God's Grace until they actually lost their nation? You shared before that Israel, basically split up into differing factions. Did this accelerate their “fall from Grace?” I can see this happening in the United States right now.  We used to “One Nation Under God” – but we are far, far from that now.  That must have been what it was like for Israel as well, right? What about the Synagogues? They were supposed to be local gathering places where the people could have easy access to and hear the Word taught, etc.  Much like our local churches are today. Was that a contributing factor to split into factions? It would be like the Catholics and Protestants and Methodists and Baptists, etc.? Right? Scott, this is so interesting. If someone wanted to reach out to you and ask a question or do an interview such as this, how can they get in touch with you? I'll put the links to all this in the show notes below. Folks, as Scott has shared with us, taking different “factions” and splitting into different groups, is not always a good thing. It is ok to mix and mingle with those you find you have similar tastes and preferences, sure. But to split and never mix and mingle – well, that's how wars start for one. But more importantly, it can destroy the Faith of a nation. We have seen it happen with Israel, as Scott has shared. We have seen it happen here, in this nation as well. We used to be “One Nation Under God.” Now, that statement is far from being true anymore. As sad as that sounds, it can be fixed. It cannot be fixed in the natural. You cannot rely on Congress to “fix it.” It has to start with our hearts. I'm talking about our Spiritual Hearts.  We have to start with our relationship with God. And that has to start with our relationship with Jesus.  For “Nobody has access to the Father but by ME,” Jesus said. Amen! Get into the Word. Study the Word. Apply the Word to your life. Not only will YOUR LIFE get better… but it will start to spread. Amen! CONTACT INFORMATION: Email:   gccgodcenteredconcept2038@gmail.com Book:  “God Centered Concept Journal: Making God's Word My Ways.”  - on Amazon Podcast: