Podcasts about Kidron

“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23 David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed, and the Lord's […]

And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel.2 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.3 For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.4 And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written.6 So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.7 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.12 Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord.13 And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation.14 And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.15 Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.16 And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.21 And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord.22 And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the Lord: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.23 And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness.24 For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.25 And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.8 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the Lord.22 So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.23 And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.

Jesus Is in Control Jonathan Parnell Download John 18:1-11,When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”Back in John Chapter 10, Jesus said something really important we should keep in mind. He said, Chapter 10, verse 18:No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.In other words, Jesus has told us in advance that he's in complete control of his suffering that will come, and in Chapter 18 that suffering is no longer future tense. The suffering that Jesus has talked about begins to unfold rapidly, in real time. Notice here how verse 1 sets the scene for us: Jesus has finished the Farewell Discourse, and his prayer for the disciples in Chapter 17, and now he leaves the Upper Room, and they go outside to a garden.So this is a new setting — and all the Gospel writers report this to us, but John includes some details here that the others don't. And the reason is because John has a direct theological agenda: He wants readers to know that what Jesus said back in Chapter 10, verse 18 is true — the arrest of Jesus is not a haphazard collapse into chaos, but it is the controlled descent into chaos for our sake. John's point is that Jesus is in control — that's his main idea here, and he makes it clear in at least three ways. That's what I wanna show you this morning: three ways Jesus is in control during chaos …1. Jesus knew all that would happen to him. John tells us this directly in verse 4. He says Jesus knew “all that would happen to him” — and the keyword there is the word “all.” This implies that Jesus didn't just know the outcome — he didn't just know where he'd end up — but he knew all the details that would take him there, including the details of Judas's betrayal. That's the focus in this passage.It's fascinating that John gives us more details about Judas than any other Gospel. First, it's just in the mention of Judas … Five different times in this Gospel when John names Judas, he says, “Judas, who would betray him.” He said that way back in Chapter 6, and again in Chapters 12 and 13, and he says it twice in this passage, in verses 2 and 5 — which means John says this about Judas even as the betrayal is taking place (see John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2; 18:2, 5). Why does John do this? Well, I think most basically it's because John wants us to never forget who Judas is, but it's also because he wants us to see Judas through a certain lens: John wants us to see that everything Judas does is fulfillment, not surprise. The case in point is that John gives us these premeditation details of Judas — that's what I'm calling them, “premeditation details.” Look at this in verse 2. After Jesus and his disciples went to the garden in verse 1, verse 2 says:“Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.”Don't miss how dark and sinister this is … Judas knew where to find Jesus. Judas had left the Upper Room in Chapter 13, and maybe by this point he had come back to the Upper Room and found it empty, or maybe he didn't. Either way, at some point, Judas thought, “I know where he is.”And he knew where Jesus was because of their friendship.He knew Jesus was in the garden because he had been there with him many times before. The garden was a favorite spot for Jesus to pray and teach his disciples, and Judas had prayed with Jesus there. He had been taught by Jesus there. Jesus had brought him there, and now Judas used that against Jesus.I hate Judas. I hate him. I hate him like I hate the devil. Can you believe what he did?More details in verse 3 are important.Judas had procured two groups of men to come with him. One was a band of soldiers (which would have been Roman soldiers), and the other was a group of officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. Now the the English Standard Version translates the first group “band of soldiers” but another word for it is “detachment of soldiers” (that's how the New International Version translates it). And what's interesting is that the Greek word behind “detachment” or “band” was an actual category of soldiers in the Roman army. Historical documents from the First Century tell us about it. A detachment was 200 soldiers. That's what the word means.Now, there's a chance that the full 200 soldiers didn't come along here, but my guess is that more soldiers came with Judas than we typically picture in our minds.Because in addition to this relatively large group of Roman soldiers, there were also Jewish officials. (This group would have been like the temple police who worked for the high priests and Pharisees.)And together, these soldiers and police, had lanterns and torches and weapons. So we gotta picture this correctly: this is not a small group of ragtag cavemen with clubs, but this is a sizable fraction of the Roman army together with Jewish police, and they're well-supplied, and they're led by Judas to this place only Judas knows about. This was calculated evil.John tells us in verse 5:“Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.”Do you see how despicable this is? There's deeper meaning here:The Roman soldiers represented the Gentile world; the Jewish officials or police represented Jesus's own people; and Judas represented Satan himself — because John told us in 13:27 that Satan had entered into Judas. So, understand what's going on here: In this group that came to arrest Jesus, it represents all of creation conspiring against him. All of humanity, Jew and Gentile, and the demonic realm — they have plotted together and set themselves against the Lord and his anointed.And Judas, standing with him, would have thought he was so smart. He would have had the smuggest look on his face.And the only thing that does not make this an absolute knockout win for Judas — like the only reason Judas has not just pulled one over on his Rabbi — is that Jesus knew about it the whole time.Every single time Jesus had been in this garden with his disciples … every single time over the last three years he prayed there with them and taught there with them … every time they “took sweet counsel together” as friends — every single time Jesus had ever seen the face of Judas in this garden, he knew that Judas would do this. Every moment in the garden before this moment, he knew this moment would come. Because he knew all that would happen to him. See, Jesus is in control.Here's another way we see Jesus in control during the chaos …2. Jesus was straightforward about his identity. I want you to notice both what Jesus says and the way he says it. First, what he says. When they tell Jesus they're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus says in verse 5, “I am he” — John tells us again that Jesus said this in verse 6, and Jesus repeats himself in verse 8. So three times in this passage, we read the words: “I am.” And in the Gospel of John, we know this is intentional. When Jesus says this, he is declaring himself to be God. He's revealing his true identity — He was before Abraham! He is one with the Father! He has been sent into the world by the Father!Jesus is, again, claiming the divine name: Jesus is the “I am.” Amen!But now notice the way he says it. Years ago, I got a book on public speaking titled, “The Way You Say It.” (I got it to help me with an accent I used to have. That's what the book is for.) But the underlying premise of the book is that the way you say something matters. The words matter the most, but the tone and context make a difference. Speech is dynamic like that.Well, we can't actually hear how Jesus says what he says here, but we can pay attention to the context. John gives us some key details here, so let's follow closely with what he says: In verse 4, there's this long group of soldiers, with their torches and weapons, and show up in this garden where Jesus and his disciples are. John says Jesus “came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?'”They say “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus says “I am he.”Notice how straightforward this is. Rows of uniformed soldiers and police came looking for Jesus, and when they got to Jesus, he asked them what they're doing. Can you picture that? All these soldiers and police and Judas are standing together, and Jesus is the one who does the talking. And literally, they must answer to him. It gets better.When Jesus declares his identity, when he says “I am he,” verse 6 says “they drew back and fell to the ground.” Which I think means exactly what it says. All of these soldiers fell down before Jesus. Verse 7, “So he asked them again…” which implies that he asked them right away — Jesus keeps talking to them while they are still on the ground. Let's back up for a minute. I need you to use your imagination here. Picture this scene: It's night. Jesus and his disciples are in the garden. Suddenly, a swarm of Romans soldiers and Jewish police, and Judas show up with torches and weapons, and Jesus steps forward to say “Who you looking for?” They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.”Jesus says, “I am he.” And swoosh!They all fall to ground like dominos, and while they're laying on the ground, Jesus says, “Who you looking for again?”This is almost comedy. It's incredible!If we could just freeze this scene — if we could snap a photo of this scene and show people, everybody who sees the photo is gonna know who's in charge.And it ain't Judas. It ain't the Roman soldiers. It ain't the Jewish officials.Jesus Christ is in control. John is showing us this in how Jesus was so straightforward about his identity. He's doing the talking. He's asking the questions. Because he's in control.One more. A third way we see Jesus's control during the chaos …3. Jesus was resolved to be the better Adam. Remember the setting here. All this is taking place in a garden. And this absolutely is meant to be an allusion to the Garden of Eden. I mentioned before, John has a theological agenda. (The other Gospel writers use the name Gethsemane, but John uses just the word “garden.”) He actually tells the whole story of Jesus's passion in view of a garden: John mentions a garden being close to where Jesus was crucified — in Chapter 19, verse 41. He mentions a garden again in Chapter 20 after Jesus is resurrected — spoiler alert here: but when Mary sees the resurrected Jesus, she thinks he's the garden keeper (see 20:15).And guess what? He is.And it starts in this passage. What's happening here is a redo of the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Adam. Now's there's a few differences in this redo, and one is that Peter's here. And Peter, so far, is just watching all this happen. He hasn't said anything. But then we get to verse 10. And this is one we all need to see. So y'all help me out. Find Chapter 18, verses 10:Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”Two questions:What is Peter doing?What is Jesus doing?First, PeterWhen Peter draws his sword, he was ready to go out fighting. Peter has already said, Chapter 13, verse 37, that he would lay down his life for Jesus, and he thinks this is it. Look: he's no match for these soldiers. He knows that. They have weapons too, and a lot more of them.So either Peter is ready to die, or maybe he expects Jesus to keep speaking — because he just saw all these soldiers fall to the ground. He remembered what that voice did to the storm that night on the sea. All Jesus has to do is say the word, Peter knows. So maybe Peter swings his sword, and then looks at Jesus like, “Well? Go ahead…”But Peter was mistaken. D. A. Carson says Peter was “as clumsy as his courage was great, and his tactic as pointless as his misunderstanding was total.”He was confused, but we know all he was trying to do was help out. Peter was willing to die for Jesus to advance the cause; he didn't understand that first Jesus must died for him to accomplish the cause. This is what Jesus is doing. Jesus tells Peter, verse 11:“Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”Jesus corrects Peter not on the goal, but on the method. Jesus will indeed triumph over all his enemies, but the way matters. And the way of Jesus's triumph is to drink the cup.It's not a violent overthrow of earthly powers, it's a blood sacrifice for helpless sinners. It's not military conquest, it's substitutionary atonement. Victory soon, but suffering first.Something different in the Gospel of John compared to the other Gospels is that John leaves out the temptation narrative of Jesus when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. And I think it's because, with Genesis 3 on his mind, John reframes Jesus's big temptation to be here in the garden.Because Satan was crafty again in this garden. Defiance and betrayal appear again in this garden. Obedience or disobedience are the options again in this garden. Life and death are on the line again in this garden. What is Jesus doing? He is resolved to be the better Adam … and rather than fall, he descends, not in a vain attempt to augment his life, but in a willingness to lose it, not to subject a world of life to death, but to bring a world of death to life. Where the first Adam fell, the better Adam is faithful. Jesus has never been in more control. The cup he is about to drink is the cup the Father has given him. And those simple words at the end of verse 11 make it the most clear: this is not a haphazard collapse into chaos — our heavenly Father is writing the story. Is evil at work in this story? Absolutely. The Roman authorities had a hand in this. The Jewish leaders had a hand in this. Judas, led by Satan, had a hand in this. But who gave Jesus the cup? Who gave him the cup?The Father gave him the cup. The Father is accomplishing his plan, the plan of the Trinity. Jesus is in control. And For UsAnd look, that was true for Jesus's passion, and it's true for our situation right now — for whatever situation you might be going through. Everything in our lives — listen: every single thing in our lives — occurs beneath the will of God, and he has promised, whatever we got, he will work it together for our salvation. It doesn't make bad things less bad, but it gives us that bigger picture, which can be so easy to forget. Jesus loves you, and Jesus is in control. And this morning, very simply, I want to call you to rest in him. Rest in the truth of his love and power. And for some of you, that means conversion. Put your faith in Jesus today. I know some of you might be right on the fence — I get it. I've been there. Believe in Christ today, and be born again. We're having baptisms on May 31 — believe and come be baptized. For others of us, Christians in the room, you believe in Jesus but your vision of him has been a little clouded. We just need to see him again with the eyes of our hearts, and I pray that you would.Even as we come to this Table.The TableAt this Table we remember the passion event of Jesus — that he died for us and was raised, which is the most vivid display of his love and power. Glory in the gospel this morning!

And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.11 And they offered unto the Lord the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;13 That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.14 And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

Takeaways from this study Your finish matters more than your start. Ezekiel 18 shows God judges how a person ends, not just how they begin. Keep turning toward righteousness; do not coast on a “good past,” and do not despair over a “bad past” if you are turning now. Actions reveal what you really believe. From Leviticus 4, Ezekiel 18, Matthew 7, and 1John 3, the pattern is clear: what you consistently do shows whose you are. Examine your habits, not just your words and emotions. Repentance means changing direction, not just feeling bad. Biblical תְּשׁוּבָה teshuvah (repentance) is a turn: away from ἀνομία anomia (lawlessness) and toward צְדָקָה tsedaqah (righteousness, i.e., God's ways). Real repentance includes concrete changes in behavior, relationships, and priorities. Leadership sin affects others; personal sin is not “private” to God. Leviticus 4 and high priest Eli's example show that when leaders sin, the whole community can suffer. If you lead in any sphere (home, congregation, workplace), your integrity or compromise influences more than just you. Deal with sin if you want a clear prayer life. The blood on the Tabernacle’s golden altar and John 9:31 together picture this: persistent, unrepented sin clutters the prayer line. Confess, turn, and seek restored relationship when prayer feels blocked. Grace is not permission; it is power to live differently. Romans 6 and 1Corinthians 6 show that Yeshua's atonement frees you from your past, not from your responsibility. Grace is God's enablement to stop living in bondage to sin. Obedience is the normal lifestyle of those who know God. 1John 3 and Matthew 7 frame obedience not as “extra credit,” but as the expected pattern of those who truly belong to Him. Holiness is not perfectionism; it is a steady, humble walk of learning to do God's will. Leviticus 4 focuses on unintentional sins: “things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commit any of them” (Leviticus 4:2 NASB95). The Hebrew phrase for sin offering here is חַטָּאת khaṭṭat. The passage addresses cases where a person or group breaks a command without deliberate intent. By a traditional rabbinic view, sin offerings in Leviticus cover deeds a person did that should not have been done. They do not cover failures to do what one ought to do. In other words, the focus lies on transgressions of prohibitions rather than omissions of positive commands. מִילָה milah (circumcision) is a commanded act. So is שַׁבָּת Shabbat (Sabbath) observance. Yet the Torah does not prescribe a specific sin offering for someone who fails to circumcise or fails to honor the Sabbath. Those failures remain serious (death for flagrant Shabbat desecration, for example). However, they fall outside the narrow category of sins addressed by the khaṭṭat in Leviticus 4. Contrast this with many Christian assumptions where “sin” often includes both wrong actions and failures to act under the same category. The Torah, however, distinguishes various types of wrongdoing and provides different remedies. 4 groups, 2 altars Leviticus 4 also distinguishes four categories of sinners: The anointed priest (often understood as the high priest). The whole congregation of Israel. A leader (often interpreted as the king). Any individual of the people of the land (Lev 4:3, 13, 22, 27). Each group has a specific prescribed offering. The anointed priest and the whole congregation bring a bull. The leader brings a male goat. The ordinary individual brings a female goat or lamb. The study then focuses on two altars: The bronze altar outside, for burnt offerings and other animal sacrifices The golden altar inside, primarily for incense offerings The Hebrew for altar is מִזְבֵּחַ mizbeaḥ. Incense is קְטֹרֶת qetoret. The study notes that the bronze altar relates to sacrifice and atonement. The golden altar, near the veil, relates to prayer and intercession. Throughout Scripture, incense often symbolizes prayers (e.g., Psa 141:2; Rev 5:8). In Leviticus 4, something unusual happens with the bull offerings for the anointed priest and the whole congregation. The priest takes some of the blood inside and sprinkles it before the veil and puts some on the horns of the golden altar of incense (Lev 4:6–7, 17–18). The remainder of the blood is poured out at the base of the bronze altar. For the leader and the ordinary individual, the blood stays at the bronze altar only (Lev 4:25, 30). No blood goes to the golden altar for those cases. Prayer, sin, and leadership responsibility Because the golden altar links to prayer, we see a pattern. When the priest or the whole congregation sins unintentionally, the blood touches the place associated with prayer. This symbolizes that their sin affects the community's prayer life. In other words, when spiritual leaders or the representative body fail, the relationship between the people and God suffers in a collective way. In 1Samuel 2–3, high priest Eli's sons corrupt the priesthood. They abuse sacrifices and commit immorality. Eli fails to restrain them adequately. As a result, “word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1 NASB95). God later declares that He will judge Eli's house (1Sam 3:11–14 NASB95). So priestly sin can block or cloud divine communication. By contrast, when a king or an individual Israelite sins unintentionally, their sacrifice remains at the bronze altar. Their sin still matters. Yet it does not automatically obstruct the entire nation's access to God in the same symbolic way. This distinction supports a larger principle. Leadership carries a broader spiritual impact. Private sin can remain personal, while corporate or leadership sin can become communal. Individual accountability Ezekiel 18 strongly develops individual responsibility. It quotes then corrects the proverb, “The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children's teeth are set on edge” (Ezek 18:2 NASB95). God rejects that proverb. He states that “the soul who sins will die” (Ezek 18:4 NASB95). The Hebrew word for soul or person is נֶפֶשׁ nephesh. The chapter describes three generations: A righteous man who practices justice and righteousness (Ezek 18:5–9). His violent and idolatrous son (Ezek 18:10–13). A grandson who sees his father's sins and chooses a different path (Ezek 18:14–17). The righteous grandfather lives. The wicked son dies for his own sin. The righteous grandson lives despite his father's guilt. God concludes that “the son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity” (Ezek 18:20 NASB95). The Hebrew word for iniquity or guilt is עָוֹן ʿavon. This chapter deals largely with intentional sins. The examples include idolatry, adultery, oppression, and exploitation. The text also stresses acts of compassion and justice: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and refusing to lend at interest. Ezekiel 18 also clarifies how God weighs a life. A righteous person who turns away and practices iniquity at the end will die for that iniquity. God will not remember his former righteousness (Ezek 18:24). Likewise, a wicked person who turns from sins and practices justice and righteousness will live. God will not remember his former sins (Ezek 18:21–22). This principle emphasizes how a person finishes the race. Actions as the measure of a life From Ezekiel 18, we see who God evaluates people by their actions over time, especially at the end of their lives. The Hebrew word for righteousness is צְדָקָה tsedaqah. Justice or judgment is מִשְׁפָּט mishpat. These words describe concrete deeds, not only inner attitudes. We see this in the teachings of Yeshua and His apostles. Scripture does not present a shift from action-based evaluation in the TaNaKh to a purely mental or verbal faith in the New Testament. Instead, faith and action remain joined. Lawlessness and false assurance In Matthew 7:15–23, Yeshua warns about false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16 NASB95). The Greek word for fruit or outcome is καρπός karpos. The emphasis remains on observable results. Then Yeshua describes people who call Him “Lord” and who even prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles in His name. Yet He declares, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matt 7:23 NASB95 The Greek term here for lawlessness is ἀνομία anomia. Anomia is the opposite of the Hebrew תּוֹרָה Torah (instruction, law). If sin is defined as violation of Torah, then lawlessness signals a life pattern that ignores or rejects God's instructions. Yeshua's warning shows that impressive spiritual experiences or ministries cannot substitute for obedience. Here we see a parallel with Ezekiel 18. A life can contain many religious acts, yet if it ends in ongoing lawlessness, God may reject those earlier works. The focus returns to final direction and consistent practice. Prayer and sinners In John 9, Yeshua restores the sight of a man born blind. Later he testifies before the religious leaders, “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31 NASB95). The phrase “does His will” echoes the emphasis on obedience. Yeshua didn’t correct this statement. Instead, the narrative supports it. God responds to the faith and obedience of the healed man. Meanwhile, the religious leaders remain spiritually blind. The story reinforces the earlier theme: persistent sin can obstruct prayer, while repentance and obedience open the way. Sin, lawlessness and identity The apostle Yokhanan (John) writes, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1John 3:4 NASB95). The Greek term for sin (missing the mark) is ἁμαρτία hamartia. Again, lawlessness here is anomia. Yokhanan defines sin as active violation of God's standards. He continues, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him” (1John 3:6 NASB95). Later he writes, “The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil” (1John 3:7–8 NASB95). The key Greek verbs are in the present continuous case. The issue is ongoing practice, not isolated failures. Yokhanan also connects love and action. He writes, “let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1John 3:18 NASB95). The Greek term for deed (or work) is ἔργον ergon. This resonates with the concrete examples in Ezekiel 18 and with Yeshua's teaching on fruit. Yokhanan does not set love against Torah. Instead, he describes love as the fulfillment and embodiment of God's commands. Inner transformation appears outwardly in consistent behavior. Grace, freedom and responsibility We see that principle also in apostle Paul's letters. In Romans 6, he asks whether believers should continue in sin so that grace may increase. Paul answers, μὴ γένοιτο mē genoito (“May it never be!” Rom 6:2 NASB95). He argues that those who have been united with Messiah in His death have died to sin. Therefore, they must no longer let sin reign in their mortal bodies (Rom 6:11–13). In his first letter to the Greek cosmopolitan city of Corinth, Paul lists unrighteous behaviors — sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, theft, greed, drunkenness, reviling, swindling — and states that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (1Cor 6:9–10 NASB95). This is continuity with Ezekiel's categories and with Yeshua's warning in Matthew 7. At the same time, Paul affirms that believers “were washed… sanctified … justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1Cor 6:11 NASB95). The Greek for justified (declared righteous) is δικαιόω dikaioō. This judicial declaration does not remove the call to obedience. Rather, it empowers a new life. Historical example: Hezekiah's reform Israel’s King Hezekiah becomes a central example of corporate repentance. He inherits a nation in which the Temple has been defiled and neglected (2Chr 29:7). The doors of the house of the LORD are shut. The lamps are out. No incense burns. No burnt offerings rise. Hezekiah gathers the priests and Levites. He calls them, “My sons,” and urges them to consecrate themselves and the house of the LORD (2Chr 29:5). The Hebrew verb for consecrate is קִדֵּשׁ qiddesh (set apart, sanctify). He confesses that the fathers have been unfaithful, have done evil, and have forsaken the LORD (2Chr 29:6). He interprets recent judgments and national distress as the result of that unfaithfulness. The Levites respond. They gather their brothers. They purify themselves. They cleanse the house of the LORD. They remove defilement to the Kidron valley (2Chr 29:15–17). After the cleansing, the king and the congregation bring a large set of offerings: bulls, rams, lambs, and male goats for a sin offering “for the kingdom, the sanctuary and Judah” (2Chr 29:21 NASB95). The priests slaughter the animals and apply the blood to the altar. The goats for the sin offering are presented before the king and the assembly. They lay their hands on the animals, and the priests slaughter them and make atonement “for all Israel” (2Chr 29:23–24 NASB95). The Hebrew for atonement is כִּפֵּר kippēr (cover, atone), from the root verb כָּפַר kaphar. Hezekiah then arranges musicians and singers according to the pattern of David. As the burnt offering begins, the song of the LORD begins with trumpets and instruments. The congregation bows and worships (2Chr 29:27–30). The reform includes both sacrifice and heartfelt praise. It also implies a commitment to new obedience. This is a practical case study of the principles observed in Leviticus 4 and Ezekiel 18. Leadership acknowledges sin. The priests and Levites respond. The people participate. Offerings are made. Worship is renewed. Behavior is expected to change going forward. Sacrifices point to the work of Yeshua Leviticus 4 shows how God provided specific sacrifices for unintentional sins, especially for leaders and the congregation. Ezekiel 18 explains how God judges individuals by their persistent patterns, especially at the end of life. Matthew 7, John 9, 1John 3, Romans 6, and 1Corinthians 6 all affirm that ongoing lawlessness remains incompatible with true belonging to God, even under the New Covenant. The work of Yeshua removes the guilt of past sins and opens the way for restored relationship (cf. John 1:29; Heb 9–10). Yet this grace does not cancel God's concern about behavior. Instead, grace creates a new possibility: to walk in obedience from the heart, empowered by the Spirit. In this framework, תְּשׁוּבָה teshuvah (return, repentance) involves more than regret. It includes a turning from lawlessness to God's ways. It leads to new patterns of life. Leaders carry special responsibility, since their sins can affect others. Yet every person stands before God as an individual. Each must finish the race in faith and obedience. God cares deeply about actions. He provides atonement. He invites return. He warns against lawlessness. And He promises life to those who turn to Him and walk in His ways to the end. The post Do my actions really matter to God? What the Bible says about sin, sacrifice and change (Leviticus 4; Ezekiel 18; Matthew 7; John 9) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

Donnez-moi votre feedback par SMS (mobile uniquement)!La politique organisationnelle est souvent jugée sur ses comportements visibles : alliances, réseaux, contrôle de l'information. Mais une étude de Kidron et Vinarski-Peretz (2018) pose une question rarement posée : qu'est-ce qui se passe sous la surface ? Derrière chaque comportement politique, deux types de motivations coexistent — celles qui servent l'organisation et celles qui servent l'individu. Le problème : elles sont structurellement invisibles depuis l'extérieur. Pire encore, elles sont souvent opaques à celui qui agit lui-même. Dans cet épisode, on explore ce problème d'inférence — cette impossibilité de lire la motivation d'un comportement politique à partir du comportement seul — et ce qu'il change pour un dirigeant : comment diagnostiquer sans se fier aux intentions, et comment examiner ses propres motivations sans se raconter d'histoires. Accès gratuit à toutes nos ressources: www.coapta.ch/campusAccès aux archives du podcast: www.coapta.ch/podcast© COAPTA SàrlTous les épisodes disponibles sur www.coapta.ch/podcast ou sur votre plateforme préférée (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts); cherchez "Leadershift" ou "Vincent Musolino"Faites partie de notre communauté sur le Discord officiel COAPTA!

You have been singing David's words all evening. The psalms of this service are the prayers of a man hunted by enemies — "Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart" (Psalm 140:1–2). David wrote those words. He knew what it was to have his own counselor betray him, his own son conspire against him, his own people turn their backs. But when Jesus crossed the Kidron, David's prayers found their final answer. The Son of David walked into every snare, every trap, every evil that David had begged God to deliver him from — not to escape them, but to spring them on Himself, so that they would be spent and emptied forever.

The Collect Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament Isaiah 52:13-53:12 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him --so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals-- so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.   Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.   Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.   Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The Response Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meus 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? * and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; * by night as well, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are the Holy One, * enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; * they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 They cried out to you and were delivered; * they trusted in you and were not put to shame. 6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, * scorned by all and despised by the people. 7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; * they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying, 8 "He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; * let him rescue him, if he delights in him." 9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, * and kept me safe upon my mother's breast. 10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; * you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, * and there is none to help. 12 Many young bulls encircle me; * strong bulls of Bashan surround me. 13 They open wide their jaws at me, * like a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; * my heart within my breast is melting wax. 15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; * and you have laid me in the dust of the grave. 16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; * they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. 17 They stare and gloat over me; * they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing. 18 Be not far away, O Lord; * you are my strength; hasten to help me. 19 Save me from the sword, * my life from the power of the dog. 20 Save me from the lion's mouth, * my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls. 21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; * in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. 22 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. 23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; * but when they cry to him he hears them. 24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him. 25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: * "May your heart live for ever!" 26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, * and all the families of the nations shall bow before him. 27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; * he rules over the nations. 28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; * all who go down to the dust fall before him. 29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; * they shall be known as the Lord's for ever. 30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn * the saving deeds that he has done. The Epistle Hebrews 10:16-25 The Holy Spirit testifies saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. The Gospel John 18:1-19:42 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

A sermon for Good Friday, 2026. John 18:1-19:42 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 18:1-23 - When Darkness Falls Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus 18 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" 5 They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he."[a] Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus[b] said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one." 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant[c] and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas 12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews[d] arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.....

Jn 18:1-19:42Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valleyto where there was a garden,into which he and his disciples entered.Judas his betrayer also knew the place,because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.So Judas got a band of soldiers and guardsfrom the chief priests and the Phariseesand went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”He said to them, “I AM.”Judas his betrayer was also with them.When he said to them, “I AM, “they turned away and fell to the ground.So he again asked them,“Whom are you looking for?”They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”Jesus answered,“I told you that I AM.So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”This was to fulfill what he had said,“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.The slave's name was Malchus.Jesus said to Peter,“Put your sword into its scabbard.Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,bound him, and brought him to Annas first.He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,who was high priest that year.It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jewsthat it was better that one man should die rather than the people.Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.But Peter stood at the gate outside.So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,“You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?”He said, “I am not.”Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal firethat they had made, because it was cold,and were warming themselves.Peter was also standing there keeping warm.The high priest questioned Jesusabout his disciples and about his doctrine.Jesus answered him,“I have spoken publicly to the world.I have always taught in a synagogueor in the temple area where all the Jews gather,and in secret I have said nothing.  Why ask me?Ask those who heard me what I said to them.They know what I said.”When he had said this,one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”Jesus answered him,“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.And they said to him,“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”He denied it and said,“I am not.”One of the slaves of the high priest,a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,“Didn't I see you in the garden with him?”Again Peter denied it.And immediately the cock crowed.

Sermon TextJohn 18:1–32 (ESV)When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not. Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said. When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me? Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, Did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? They answered him, If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you. Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.Cross-referencesJohn 6:20But he said to them, It is I; do not be afraid.John 8:24I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.John 8:28So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.John 8:58Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.Exodus 3:6And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.Exodus 3:14God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.John 11:50–51Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.

Called to Change One Life at a Time!

Daily Anglican prayer - Monday morning – 24th November 2025. Readings NRSV: Psalm 56; 57; 2 Kings 23.4-15; Mark 1.29-39. Led by Felicity Scott, an Anglican prayer minister in Queensland, Australia. The full prayer transcript is available by going to this episode on the Podcast website. https://dailyprayeranglicanprayerbookforaustralia.podbean.com Welcome to Monday Morning prayer. We proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ: GOD in his infinite mercy, forgives all sins, and through our baptism in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we are given a rebirth into new life, free from the burden of all sin. ALLELUIA With faithfulness we respond to the good news: We acknowledge Christ our Saviour and accept with gratitude, that we are forgiven for all wrong doings, past and present. To honour the gift of forgiveness, we release our burden of guilt and rise up to live in the glory of God forever more. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Blessed be God forever. Let us Pray.   1 God's love has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  Romans 5.5   Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:  as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.    2 The Opening Canticle, A Song of God's Marvellous Acts I will sing a new hymn to my God:  O Lord you are great and marvellous,  you are marvellous in your strength, invincible.  Let the whole creation serve you:  for you spoke and all things came to be;  You sent out your Spirit and it formed them:  no one can resist your voice.  Mountains and seas are stirred to their depths:  rocks melt like wax at your presence;  But to those who revere you:  you still show mercy.  Judith 16.13–15   3 The Opening Prayer The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;  let us pray with one heart and mind.    Silence may be kept. As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,  so may the light of your presence, O God,  set our hearts on fire with love for you;  now and for ever.  Amen.   4 The Psalms as appointed. A pause is observed after each. Psalm 5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow Creator Spirit, Advocate promised by our Lord Jesus: increase our faith and help us to walk in the light of your presence, to the glory of God the Father; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.   6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed.   1st Reading Kings 23. 4-15; 4 The king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second order, and the guardians of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5He deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem, those also who made offerings to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of the heavens. 6He brought out the image of Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the Wadi Kidron, burned it at the Wadi Kidron, beat it to dust, and threw the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7He broke down the houses of the illicit priests who were in the house of the Lord, where the women did weaving for Asherah. 8He brought all the priests out of the towns of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on the left at the gate of the city. 9The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem but ate unleavened bread among their kindred. 10He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no one would make a son or a daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. 11He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of the eunuch Nathan-melech, which was in the precincts; then he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz that the kings of Judah had made and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord he pulled down from there and broke in pieces and threw the rubble into the Wadi Kidron. 13The king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14He broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the sacred poles, and covered the sites with human bones. 15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin—he pulled down that altar along with the high place. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust; he also burned the sacred pole.   Hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 2nd Reading Mark 1.29-39 Jesus Heals Many at Simon's House 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. A Preaching Tour in Galilee 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” 39And he went throughout all Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.   Hear the message of Christ. Thanks be to God.   7 The Canticle, A Song of Isaiah ‘Behold, God is my salvation:  I will trust and will not be afraid;  ‘For the Lord God is my strength and my song:  and has become my salvation.'  With joy you will draw water:  from the wells of salvation.  On that day you will say:  ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;  ‘Make known his deeds among the nations:  proclaim that his name is exalted.  ‘Sing God's praises, who has triumphed gloriously:  let this be known in all the world.  ‘Shout and sing for joy, you that dwell in Zion:  for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.'  Isaiah 12.2–6   8 The belief and principle is said I believe in God, creator of heaven and earth, whose love and merciful forgiveness endures everlasting. I believe in Christ the saviour, whose example of love and compassion, taught us a restored way to live, in collaborative unity with all people. I believe in the Holy Spirit, whose divine guidance brings us together to be one with the Holy Trinity.   9 The Prayers Lord have mercy.  Christ have mercy.  God have mercy.    10 The Lord's Prayer   Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come,  your will be done,  on earth as in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our sins  as we forgive those who sin against us.  Save us from the time of trial  and deliver us from evil.  For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours  now and for ever. Amen.    Prayer of the Week following the last Sunday after pentecost Christ the King / The Reign of Christ Stir up,we pray you, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.       11 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need.   Let us Pray Let us pray for the world and for the church. God, how great your majesty abounds before us. We thank you for all your generosity. May the peace and blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be abundant across all nations and countries forever more. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer   Holy God divine and merciful, your blessing on the people is loved by all, for which our gratitude knows no end. Grant, we pray, your saving blessing on all those experiencing times of trouble or strife, that they may receive the guidance of wisdom to lead them to a path of safety. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer   Almighty God, hear our prayer to bring about a change throughout the people, we ask for your grace to relay the wisdom to each man and each woman how to co-exist in peace and the will to do so, to continue to respect one another and teach their offspring to do so also. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer   Blessed God, we ask your blessing for those listed on the Anglican cycle of prayer: Monday 24 November The Diocese of Riverina – The Anglican Church of Australia The Diocese of The Murray: The Parish of Aspley-Albany Creek: Anglicare SQ Meilene Court Retirement Village (Bundaberg) Anglican Schools Australia Management Committee and Member Schools All Prison and hospital ministry chaplaincy teams All people joining in this prayer offering. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer   12 The Morning Collect Eternal God and Father,  by whose power we are created  and by whose love we are redeemed:  guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,  that we may give ourselves to your service,  and live this day in love to one another and to you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   13 The Lord be with you. And also with you.  Let us praise the Lord.  Thanks be to God.    God did not give us a spirit of cowardice  but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.  May we rekindle the gift of God within us.  Amen. see 2 Timothy 1.6–7   Music by John Keys – Anglican Chant Canticle organ accompaniments. Song name, Sing my soul, His wondrous love by Ned Rorem – Choir of St John's college, Cambridge & Andrew Nethsingha. A reminder disclaimer to the listener. The readings in the podcast may include ancient and old-fashioned sayings and instructions that we do not in any way condone as in use or to be used in today's modern world. The readings have not been modernised to reflect todays thinking, instead the readings remain from the old version of the NRSV bible. The podcast owners explicitly declare that each listener is responsible for their own actions in response to the bible readings and the podcast owners bare no responsibility in this sense.

*Finding humor in the Bible with Gil Kidron, a writer, editor, and host of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren A Podcast of Biblical Proportionshttps://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com/ Amusing Jews Merch Storehttps://www.amusingjews.com/merch#!/ Subscribe to the Amusing Jews podcasthttps://www.spreaker.com/show/amusing-jews Adat Chaverim – Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Los Angeleshttps://www.humanisticjudaismla.org/ Jewish Museum of the American Westhttps://www.jmaw.org/ Atheists United Studioshttps://www.atheistsunited.org/au-studios

Friday Bible Study (8/1/25) // 2 Kings 23:1-20 // Website: https://mbchicago.org FOLLOW US Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others TO SUPPORT US Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... 2 Kings 23:1-20 (ESV)Josiah's Reforms23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.[a] 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.[b] And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces[c] and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.#mbchicago #2kings #BibleStudy #DanielBatarseh #mbchicago #mbcchicago #Bible #livechurch #churchlive #chicagochurch #chicagochurches #versebyverse #church #chicago #sermon #bibleexplained #bibleproject #bibleverse #bookbybook #oldtestament #explained

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 29th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.We go the Gospel of Luke 13:34. Jesus says:”How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!”So sad. If you ever have the privilege of going to Israel and you sit on the side of the Mount of Olives, you look straight across the Kidron valley, and you see the Temple Mount on the other side. Now Jesus sat there and He wept over Jerusalem. He said like a mother hen protects her brood of chicks, He wants to do the same for you and me today. Please let Him! There is a little chapel that is built there in the shape of a teardrop. Isn't that beautiful? I've sat in that little chapel and there are pictures of little chickens and chicks inside the chapel to remind us of this statement that the Lord made.Many years ago, a pastor told me a story about something he saw on the slopes of the mighty Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal. They had been burning firebreaks, and those fires on the side of the mountain are vicious, and they run at a tremendous speed, and often people are overcome by the smoke and the fumes and even get burnt to death. They were walking over the ashes of a firebreak that they had made because it was winter time and there they found a little partridge, a Franklin, and this partridge was lying on the ground. It had been burnt. The fire had gone over it but it's wings were stretched out and one of the men took that little partridge and turned it over and underneath that mother hen were four or five little partridge chicks. She had protected them with her very life.Today, Jesus wants to do the same for you. He is weeping because He sees what you are doing to yourself and what you are doing to others. Repent today, say “Sorry Lord,” and turn from your wicked ways and start to follow Him with all of your heart.Jesus bless you and goodbye.

Touring Jerusalem  Part 6:  The Kidron Valley And Absalom's Tomb  -  English only.  One of the most iconic and massive  tombs in all of Israel lies on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Join us for a special blessing as we study Absalom's Tomb! Recorded July 22, 2025.

On Thursday evening that we're looking at here in Luke chapter 22,Jesus has the Passover meal with His disciples, and there He institutes theLord's Supper. Somewhere between the Passover meal and the institution of the Lord'sSupper, Judas leaves to go gather the soldiers that will arrest Jesus. It is aroundthis same time, Jesus told Peter, "You're going to betray Me threetimes." Now, it is at that point, John 18:1 says, “When Jesus hadspoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, wherethere was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.” In Matthew 26:36, Matthewgives us the name of the garden. “Then Jesus came withthem to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit herewhile I go and pray over there." That'swhat we're looking at in verse 39 of Luke 22: “Coming out, Jesus went to theMount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him”.No doubt, Judas knew that He was going to this place each evening, and that'swhy he went there with the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus after he had betrayedHim. Youmight ask why is this garden such a significant place for the story of Christ betrayal,arrest and crucifixion? Why did Jesus go to this garden, and why does thisgarden become a place that we need to know about? I think there are so manywonderful things we can learn from this. We must remember that the history ofmankind began in a garden; that's where God created Adam and placed him in agarden in Genesis 2:7-25. Read through that passage and circle the word"in the garden" or "the garden". It'sin the garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 that sin enters the world. There yousee Adam and Eve disobeying and rebelling against known will of God and eatingof the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and sin enters theworld. But we also know here we have the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Son ofGod, who is the second Adam, according to 1 Corinthians 15:45-47. The firstAdam was disobedient and ate of the fruit that was forbidden, and sin comesinto the human race. It was the second man, Jesus Christ, who submitted to thewill of God. He became obedient even unto the death of the cross, and there inthe garden of Gethsemane, He accepts the cup, the cup of our sins, the cup ofsufferings, and He is willing to go to the cross and die for us and give useternal life. The first Adam brought death in a garden, but the second Adam,Jesus Christ, is the one who brings us life as He submitted to the will of theFather. Howinteresting is that, that it all begins and ends in the garden? Maybe John hadin mind, when he said that Jesus crossed the brook Kidron, he was thinkingabout David in 2 Samuel chapter 15, when Absalom rebelled against him, andDavid loses his throne and leaves Jerusalem with a small remnant of followersand goes across the brook Kidron, fleeing from his son Absalom. Here we seeJesus Christ, the King of the Jews, literally the King of heaven, the King ofeternity; He is rejected, and He leaves Jerusalem and goes across the samebrook Kidron, which means “murky, dark. and enters the garden of Gethsemane. Theword Gethsemane means “olive press”, where the olives would be pressed, and outof it would come the oil that would be used for healing and cooking and for somany different things. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus Christ drank the cupof our sins; He was pressed; His life was pressed out of Him there in prayer asHe prayed, and willingly laid down His life for usWhatan interesting passage. I trust you'll meditate on these words, and you'll evenmore than ever love your Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for you. Godbless!

“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23 David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed, and the Lord's […]

Charity, Kevin, Randy, and Kristen share trip reports from the most recent WDW trips. Randy blows everyone's minds. And a new cast member, Kidron, joins the gang.

John 18–19Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus[1] When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. [2] Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. [3] So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. [4] Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” [5] They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. [6] When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. [7] So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” [8] Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” [9] This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” [10] Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) [11] So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas[12] So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. [13] First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. [14] It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.Peter Denies Jesus[15] Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, [16] but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. [17] The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” [18] Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.[19] The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. [20] Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. [21] Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” [22] When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” [23] Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” [24] Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.Jesus Before Pilate[28] Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. [29] So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” [30] They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” [31] Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” [32] This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valleyto where there was a garden,into which he and his disciples entered.Judas his betrayer also knew the place,because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.So Judas got a band of soldiers and guardsfrom the chief priests and the Phariseesand went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”He said to them, “I AM.”Judas his betrayer was also with them.When he said to them, “I AM, “they turned away and fell to the ground.So he again asked them,“Whom are you looking for?”They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”Jesus answered,“I told you that I AM.So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”This was to fulfill what he had said,“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.The slave's name was Malchus.Jesus said to Peter,“Put your sword into its scabbard.Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,bound him, and brought him to Annas first.He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,who was high priest that year.It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jewsthat it was better that one man should die rather than the people.Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.But Peter stood at the gate outside.So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,“You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?”He said, “I am not.”Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal firethat they had made, because it was cold,and were warming themselves.Peter was also standing there keeping warm.The high priest questioned Jesusabout his disciples and about his doctrine.Jesus answered him,“I have spoken publicly to the world.I have always taught in a synagogueor in the temple area where all the Jews gather,and in secret I have said nothing.  Why ask me?Ask those who heard me what I said to them.They know what I said.”When he had said this,one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”Jesus answered him,“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.And they said to him,“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”He denied it and said,“I am not.”One of the slaves of the high priest,a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,“Didn't I see you in the garden with him?”Again Peter denied it.And immediately the cock crowed.Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.It was morning.And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.So Pilate came out to them and said,“What charge do you bring against this man?”They answered and said to him,“If he were not a criminal,we would not have handed him over to you.”At this, Pilate said to them,“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”The Jews answered him,“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilledthat he said indicating the kind of death he would die.

Good Friday Old Testament Isaiah 52:13-53:12 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him --so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals-- so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.   Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.   Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.   Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The Response Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meus 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? * and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; * by night as well, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are the Holy One, * enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; * they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 They cried out to you and were delivered; * they trusted in you and were not put to shame. 6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, * scorned by all and despised by the people. 7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; * they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying, 8 "He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; * let him rescue him, if he delights in him." 9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, * and kept me safe upon my mother's breast. 10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; * you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, * and there is none to help. 12 Many young bulls encircle me; * strong bulls of Bashan surround me. 13 They open wide their jaws at me, * like a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; * my heart within my breast is melting wax. 15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; * and you have laid me in the dust of the grave. 16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; * they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. 17 They stare and gloat over me; * they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing. 18 Be not far away, O Lord; * you are my strength; hasten to help me. 19 Save me from the sword, * my life from the power of the dog. 20 Save me from the lion's mouth, * my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls. 21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; * in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. 22 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. 23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; * but when they cry to him he hears them. 24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him. 25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: * "May your heart live for ever!" 26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, * and all the families of the nations shall bow before him. 27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; * he rules over the nations. 28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; * all who go down to the dust fall before him. 29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; * they shall be known as the Lord's for ever. 30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn * the saving deeds that he has done. The Epistle Hebrews 10:16-25 The Holy Spirit testifies saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. The Gospel John 18:1-19:42 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Jeremiah 31:31–40 (ESV): 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of hosts is his name: 36 “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” 37 Thus says the LORD: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.” 38 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

Notes - https://www.generationword.com/notes/End_Times_Review/bozrah-to-jerusalem.pdf

John 18:1-27   18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went away with His disciples across the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas, who was betraying Him, also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 So Judas, having obtained the Romancohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, came out into the open and *said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.”And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.6 Now then, when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 He then asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you are seeking Me, let these men go on their way.” 9 This took place so that the word which He spoke would be fulfilled: “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, since he had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, am I not to drink it?” 12 So the Roman cohort, the commander, and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and brought Him to Annas first; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was in their best interest for one man to die in behalf of the people. 15 Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the slave woman who was the doorkeeper *said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?” He *said, “I am not.” 18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple area, where all the Jews congregate; and I said nothing in secret. 21 Why are you asking Me? Ask those who have heard what I spoke to them. Look: these people know what I said.” 22 But when He said this, one of the officers, who was standing nearby, struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” 24 So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not one of His disciples as well, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, who was related to the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.     BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener's Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net    

Escaping Apostate Church Judgments (3) (audio) David Eells – 11/24/24 I'm going begin today by reading Hannah's prayer in 1Sa 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in Jehovah; My horn is exalted in Jehovah; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, And by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men are broken; And they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have ceased to hunger: Yea, the barren hath borne seven; And she that hath many children languisheth. So what did she mean, she had born seven? We know that Hannah had been barren. Well, we're talking about a Man-child here, but the Man-child is not an individual, is he? And why seven? When we read Mic 5:5 …When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. So we see that Micah prophesied that when the Lord returned to his people that He would raise up seven princes, “seven shepherds, and eight principal men,” or eight princes among men, to defend God's people from the Beast. It's seven because there are seven churches and God is raising up the leadership to go to the seven churches. The eighth is mentioned separately because He is the prince of Peace Jesus who is in the midst of the seven. 6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up. 7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, he also lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: (This is her Man-child, that she brought forth to inherit the throne of glory.) For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, And he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail. 10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in heaven: Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed. I believe this is talking about the Eli, Pharisee and Saul ministries, and a lot of ministers in our day who are going to resist and fight against the truth, as they have throughout history. In Jesus' day, the leadership over God's people fought with Jesus; they accused Jesus; they crucified Jesus. They did the same with His disciples, also. They strove with the Lord and He destroyed them. 1Sa 2:10 … And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed. Oh, praise God! Who is this king and His anointed? Well, in this case it was Samuel, but it was also Joseph, Moses, David and Jesus, all those good types. He will exalt the horn, the strength of His anointed. 11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not the Lord. How could they have been the priests of Israel and not know the Lord? Well, honestly, it doesn't take very long to read the Word of God to find out that a lot of ministers nowadays don't know the Lord. They don't know the Lord but do they have some kind of association with religion? Yes. When you come into the Kingdom and you get a born-again spirit, you have a consciousness of God, but, quite frankly, if you don't obey that born-again spirit, it soon dies and you become what the Bible calls twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jud.12). Who was Jude speaking about when he said that? The apostate ministers and many they train. And so you can be in the pulpit and be dead as a doornail. Saul died at the hands of the Philistines and I believe that it's talking about being dead in the spirit while he lived. We know that many of you have come out of churches after you realized they were dead. They were really not walking in the spirit; they were really not sharing the living Word of God. They were dead and you came out because of that. Praise God! 1Sa 2:13 And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; 14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all Israel that came thither. Shiloh, of course, was the house of God in those days, so this is basically the ministers gathering up their tithe, but these people were abusing it. And it's a very good type of exactly what's happening today. They were abusing their position as priests of the Lord, as ministers of God's house, by plundering God's people. Now he's going to point out two main things here about the sons of Eli that are exactly the problems with the leadership of the church in our day and how they are plundering God's people. 1Sa 2:15 Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of thee, but raw. Of course, that wasn't according to their custom. 16 And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. So here you have some ministers taking what they feel belonged to them, by force. The only thing was, this was a sacrifice. This was a sacrifice made by the person who was freely giving it, but they were taking it by force. That's an abuse of a sacrifice. Do you know that in the New Testament God has a sacrifice? It's a freewill offering. There is nothing in the New Testament about taking something by Law. Who is it who takes by Law? Well, you're looking at it right here. It's the apostate Eli ministry which is robbing and plundering God's people and taking from them by Law, taking from them because of their position. We don't have any such custom in the New Testament of demanding a tithe. Jesus said, So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luk 14:33). He didn't say 10%; He said everything you have. And Jesus said in Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, Jesus said tithing was of the Law, not of grace. There's no commandment in the New Testament whatsoever for you to do this. Not one. And the rest of the verse says, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Notice that Jesus spoke to the Jews of their Law as being in the past, Meaning the Old Covenant. He never commanded it in the New Covenant because it was “a shadow of the good things to come.” But here is what's commanded: 2Co 9:6 But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. So it's just according to how much you give and that's really not according to the Law. The Law was 10% -- bring into the storehouse 10%. But now He's saying very plainly, “No, the more you give, the more you'll receive.” 2Co 9:7 [Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart…. Well, that's certainly not the Law at all. That's not demanding it; that's a freewill offering. Do as you feel in your heart. This is a man's personal sacrifice to God and to the ministry, and, of course, the ministry today is abusing that because they are dragging people back under the Law, which is forbidden. The Law separates from Christ; it separates from grace and, if you seek to be justified by the Law, you have to keep the whole Law. Gal 5:3 … He is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. So it's not good for ministers to say you have to keep the tithe because you can't be saved that way. If you're seeking to be justified by the Law, then you have to keep the whole Law in order to be justified, but we're justified by grace and God says this is what God wants from His New Testament, born-again people. These are not people who are lost people, who are just following rules and regulations. These are people who have the grace of God in their heart. God expects more as He says in Luk 12:48 And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required…. Now, in the New Testament, when you're born again and you receive the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your newborn temple; therefore He expects more because you have God in you and you are the temple. You don't go to the temple, you are the temple of God. God's in us. Col 1:27 … Christ in you, the hope of glory. God is the One Who is living the Christian life in us, you see. That's the whole point. So you would expect more from someone like that. You don't have to force somebody like that to do something and, if you had to, they obviously don't have God in their heart. So what does the Lord say? 2Co 9:7 Let each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity … It's not even necessary as a law would be. Well, it's not going to be edifying to a person to not give because giving is the heart of God and giving is how, of course, God multiplies it back to us. 2Co 9:6 But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. In other words, God wants to bless us and He's telling us that if it's in our heart to give, then good, do it. But He's not putting you under Law. It's not of necessity. Anybody who does put you under the Law is departing from the New Testament and they're doing exactly like Eli's sons, who were using the Law to force the giving. So he says, 2Co 9:7 … For God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work…. That's a powerful promise that covers everything, doesn't it? And it's just because a person gives out of the heart, not because they're under the Law. You know, sure, if you give under the Law, God will give back. When I first learned that the Lord wanted me to give, I did, and for a short time I went under the Law. But when I realized that it wasn't Scriptural, I started to give according to the Spirit because now I had the Holy Spirit to speak in my heart and tell me what to do. In the New Testament, that's why the Holy Spirit is given. You don't need a law because now we have …the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2). You don't have need to have anybody to tell you, “You must do this.” Instead, you want to do it because God is working in you to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). That's what New Testament salvation is all about. God is putting it in your heart. That's the kind of person God wants. He doesn't want a person who has to be forced or they won't do it. What kind of a son is that? That's a servant, but it's not a son and God is creating sons. So if we look back in 1 Samuel 2, we see a problem with the overwhelming majority of apostate ministries nowadays. They want to force the people to give something that should be a sacrifice on the part of the giver. They should just want to give it out of their own heart. In other words, give them the freedom to make the sacrifice the way they see that they want to do it. But, in the apostate ministries, the giving is being forced and that's exactly what we're seeing here in 1 Samuel. But the priest's servant said, 1Sa 2:16 Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17 And the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for the men despised the offering of the Lord. See, the offering of the Lord is holy because it comes out of holy hearts, people who want to give. They see a need and they are meeting that need. And it may be the need of their brother. Jesus said, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, [even] these least, ye did it unto me (Mat.25:40). It may be a need of the brethren. It may not be bringing it into the storehouse, which is a church building or an organization, because the storehouse was not in the church. In the Old Testament, it was in the Temple and we are the Temple. God is going to judge His people by the way they treat His Temple, by what you do to the “least of these my brethren.” Did you feed them? Did you clothe them? Did you visit them in prison? See, that's how He judged the nations when He returned because that's His Temple. So it's very important that the sacrifice be a willing sacrifice in our covenant and not be demanded by Law. The people in ministry who force the giving are despising the offering of the Lord. Going on in 1Sa 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house? 28 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all of the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 Wherefore kick ye at mine sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? An Eli ministry gets fat from the offerings of God's people because they have departed from the Word of God; they are plundering God's people. It's not permitted and they will be judged for it, exactly like Eli's sons were being judged for it. You know, we are warned over and over in the Scriptures: Isa 56:9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, [yea,] all ye beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind … Did you know, by the way, that Eli was blind? He became blind. 10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark (In other words, they do not know when the enemy's coming. They don't know how to warn God's people. They don't know that they are the enemy.); dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. How many of God's people are supporting this debauchery in God's church? See, it's totally contrary to the Word of God. What you are supporting when you're doing that, is an Eli ministry. It's going down the drain fast at this particular moment. They're all dyeing. I'm not talking physically, I'm talking spiritually. If they're not dead already, they're going to die. They'd have to repent and come out of plundering God's people. There's nothing in the New Testament about being under the Law for giving. We are, of course, stewards of what belongs to God in the New Testament. Luk 14:33 So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. We are stewards; we're not owners. So, therefore, a person who tithes is a thief because he thinks the 90% belongs to him and the 10% belongs to God. Well, you just stole 90% because Jesus said the rest of that belongs to Him, too. So, if we're not a thief, then we listen to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit tells you what to do with your house, what to do with your car, and what to do with your money. He tells you not only what to give and how much, but where to give it and to whom to give it. He is the One. He is the Lord since you have the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, they did not have the Holy Spirit commonly, so they needed a rule and regulation to tell them what to do. It's not so now. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made you free from the law of sin and death, so you're free from that law and now you're under the law of the Spirit. And the Spirit is the One Who knows your brethren, He knows the needs; He knows exactly what He wants to do and how much He wants to do, so we have to follow the Holy Spirit with everything. The Sabbath is no longer one day; it's every day. We cease from our works and enter into His rest every day. Now, what about the tithe? It's the same thing. See, when Jesus came, He multiplied the Law. Did you notice that in Matthew 5? Everything about the Law He multiplied, He made it bigger, because now God works in us from the inside out to do His Will. He works a desire in us to do what before we were fighting against with our carnal nature. It's a wonderful thing. But the Eli ministries are greedy dogs; they can never have enough. It is astounding how they can see so many people in need, even in their own assemblies, and yet don't lift a finger to help them. Meanwhile, they're flying their personal jet planes and doing all these things. Going on again in 1Sa 2:29 … Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me…. Wow! Did you know God could do that? Have you ever heard that doctrine of unconditional eternal security? Look at that big “but now” in the middle of that verse. Because God's promises are conditional and we have to have faith in Him. Our part is faith; His part is to supply the power. God can drop us like a rock any time. He can empower you to walk in His steps or He can give you up to this world and I'll tell you what: there is no promise for those who don't bear fruit. God is looking for the fruit of Jesus Christ. 1Sa 2:30 … But now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Obviously, He's talking about these preachers who were plundering His people and abusing them, and taking an offering from them. You don't “take” an “offering.” That's an oxymoron. 1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas…. Do you know what “Hophni” and “Phinehas” mean? “Hophni” means “stiff-necked, self-willed,” and “Phinehas,” I understand, means “a trustworthy face, but the mouth of a serpent.” Isn't that interesting? You know, a lot of people see what they see standing in their pulpit, but that's all they see. They see what they're supposed to see and they see what they are permitted to see, but they don't know what's really going on there. You may remember how I shared with you about one of the first churches I was invited to preach in Pensacola, while I was there I did a lot of teaching. The pastor of that particular church was an Eli pastor and, no doubt about it, he was doing everything that these guys were doing and more. There was a man who came in and he got saved; he came in totally drunk and he got sobered up. Shortly after that, God gave him a vision of the pastor as a serpent standing up behind the pulpit, speaking through a microphone. He did not understand it and he brought it to me and I told him, “Well, it means just what it says, you know.” And that pastor's last name meant “dragon.” He was the dragon, the old serpent. Well, “Phinehas” means “a trustworthy face, but the mouth of a serpent.” 1Sa 2:34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. I'm going to back up a little bit here. 1Sa 2:22 Now, Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. Do we ever hear of that happening nowadays? Yes, quite often, don't we? Evidently, sex and money seem to get hold of an awful lot of people who put themselves in a position of ultimate power over God's people. It seems like men who are not full of God cannot stand too much power, too much authority, too much money, too much esteem of the people, before they begin to take advantage of it. What it's saying is that a person shouldn't seek a position in God's Kingdom unless God puts them there. You know how God puts them there? He prepares them first. They are overcomers. Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. Nowadays, “You can just go to Bible school and you pay for that certificate and now you're a preacher.” You can do this, but you're in trouble because there is not the nature of Jesus Christ there. After all, you have not overcome by going through trials yourself. And so what happens when you get out there and you get all this temptation? Because the Nicolaitan error is a great temptation. Putting a man in a position that is not Biblical is a great temptation that most people cannot stand. And the proof is showing up. I mean, they are lying with the women who do the service of the door of the Tent of Meeting. They're doing it now. The money, the women, the power, the abuse of their power, it's still the problem. We know God never designed a Nicolaitan ministry, anyway. He called for a five-fold ministry. That's what He called for. He distributed the authority among the five-fold ministry. That's His way of doing things. God's going to raise up the five-fold ministry. Remember, Jesus the Man-child raised up the apostles who raised up the five-fold ministry. The apostles ordained the five-fold ministers. They are the ones who started that. Once again, history is going to repeat in these days because the Man-child is going to raise up apostles who are going to raise up the five-fold ministry. He is going to restore the real five-fold ministry this time. I'm talking about people who have overcome, who are given a position by God, who were ordained to that position by God. In the Bible, it was apostles who ordained the five-fold ministry, but nowadays Bible schools can do it, so we have gone astray. We've fallen into what the Bible calls the “Nicolaitan error” (Revelation 2:6). We've gone far, far astray, and the ministers who put themselves in that position, and the people who put the ministers in that position, are not doing them a favor because they really can't hold up to that. God has to do this. God is the One Who ordains ministers, not men, not organizations and not religions. And so we've ended up with quite a lot of the Eli ministry out there. In Jesus' day, how many of the Pharisees, who were Eli ministers, how many of them recognized Him and obeyed Him when God sent His Son? Well, God is doing it again and they're going to do the same thing. The Lord told me that this is where we are right now, in the midst of a Pharisee, Saul and Eli ministry. But coming right down the road is this Man-child reformer ministry led by the Holy Spirit. Looking at the news concerning the church and the pastors and teachers and prophets and so on, we can see the great falling away going on around us. We know that it's happening again and we can tell where we are. God has pronounced judgment upon the Eli ministry and what's going to happen to it. 1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm (this is speaking of Eli and his household), and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind…. Oh, praise the Lord! This is what we have coming, folks: faithful priests “that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind.” That's not a small statement there. God will give grace. He will send new leadership. Of course, we know that this priest represents a corporate body in our day, spread throughout the earth, that God is sending to restore His people. 1Sa 2:35 … And I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever. Oh, praise the Lord! What do you think that means? Well, most people think it means he'll walk before the Lord. I think that's true, no doubt that this new, faithful ministry will walk before the Lord, but I believe that there's something deeper than that here. Let's turn to the New Testament. 2Co 1:21 Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God. Stop and think about that. God establishes us in Christ and anoints us. You know, the word “Christ” means “the anointed.” And Christ was the anointed, but Jesus left an individual body to come back in a corporate body in order to be able to do all over the world what He did in that first body, so the body of Christ is to be anointed. 2Co 1:22 Who also sealed us, and gave [us] the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. The “anointing” is “to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” I dare say most of the church is not filled with the Spirit but, then, most of the church is not anointed. The Lord told me years ago that if we get what the apostles got, we'll do what they did. Read the book of Acts and find out what they had. When Jesus was ministering to the disciples, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (Joh 20:22) and there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind Act 2:2 and… they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues 4, etc. Now, if you get that, you'll do what they did. Most of the church today is very dead because they feel that they have been anointed but they haven't. It's just words, you know. So, if you don't want what they have, you won't do what they did. So “he … establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us.” Why does God anoint us? It's so that we can walk in the steps of Christ, so that Christ can live through us to the world. We need to be anointed. We have to have this anointing, you see. What it said about Samuel was that, “He shall walk before mine anointed forever.” In other words, in this case we're talking about him being the leadership of God's anointed body that God is sending in the earth. He's walking before them as the leader of His anointed body to do His works. The Man-child, in whom Jesus lives, will be a leader of the anointed body of Christ in our day, just as Jesus was in His day. 1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thy house…. What does “left in” mean? Well, we haven't gotten that far yet, but his house was wiped out and the people who followed his house were wiped out, at the hand of the Philistines. We know the Philistine represents the old man who lives in the land. There's a war going on between our spiritual man, who is an Israelite and the old man, who is a Philistine, and the war is for the land, which Hebrews 6 tells us is this physical life; this life is that land. Now when he says here, “everyone that is left in thy house,” it means, in other words, there are some people who are going to repent of the Saul ministry and not only of the ministry, but of following the Saul ministry. They're no longer going to be a part of that house and they're going to survive because their old man is not going to conquer them. 1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread. We are the priests of God. As we sacrifice unto the Lord, as we make this burnt offering of flesh to the Lord, each one of us presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, we are the priests of God. You're not sacrificing your life unto the Saul ministry. That's the whole problem; the Saul ministry refused to sacrifice the old man and, therefore, died at the hands of the old man. Now we're seeing the same thing about Eli. And so if we want to be priests, we have to be following the Samuels. There are people who are going to come out from under the Eli and Saul ministries and follow the David and Samuel ministry, and they will be priests of the Lord. Notice how this sounds very much like Joseph. Remember how, after selling Joseph into bondage, his own brothers came into the kingdom and it was he who kept them alive during the seven years of famine? He fed them. They came to him. All Israel, as a matter of fact, came to Joseph because the sons of Jacob, or Israel, all came to him in Egypt and Joseph served them; he met their needs. And we saw, also, that as soon as Saul died on Gilboa, along with the part of Israel that followed him, all the rest of Israel followed David. 1Ch 11:1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Wow, they're actually saying they're the body of David! And so we see that this is about to repeat, folks. These people are dying; not physically, but spiritually they are dying. They're dying at the hands of the old man because they've refused to make war against the old man. 1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious (or “rare”) in those days; there was no frequent vision. It's the same today. There is “no frequent vision” from the Lord. Yes, many people have visions and the frequency of the vision of the Lord is something that the prophetic office is supposed to be sending forth, but it's all been polluted. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see). Notice that when Samuel arrives, the Word begins to speak about Eli's eyesight being poor and it seems to get worse and worse the longer that Samuel is on the scene. There's a reason for that and we'll look at it. But what does it mean for his eyes to begin “to wax dim, so that he could not see”? Well, I think this is talking about a lack of perception, a lack of discernment. As Jesus said, Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (Mat.13:13). They lost their eyesight in the days of the coming of Jesus and now it's speaking about the Eli ministry losing their spiritual eyesight. 1Sa 3:3 And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down [to sleep,] in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. So here's Samuel in the presence of the Lord and here's Eli losing his spiritual eyesight, meaning his prophetic gift. Now if we go back to one of the verses we read earlier, it says, and the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar (1Sa 2:33). We see that there are some people who are “under” the Saul ministry who are not going to be “of” the Saul ministry because they're going to repent. There's a multitude of God's people who are going to come out of these apostate churches and follow the David ministry, follow the Samuel ministry, and we praise God for that. This is going to be a reformation that's coming. Those who stay will die. There's no doubt about it. If they continue to follow that which is not the leading of the Holy Spirit, not ordained of God, not the Word of God, they will die. 1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. Remember, David was raised up under the Saul ministry, but he was David; he continued to grow. And here Samuel is raised up under the Eli ministry. This seems to be a parallel all the way through the Scriptures. So he's saying that there are people who are of that house, who will not be cut off from God's altar, but they will be “to consume thine eyes.” Why is this? How could it be that somebody who is righteous and who is going to outgrow that ministry, and who is going to repent, how could it be that these people will consume the eyes of the Eli ministry? Well, believe it or not, Jesus made a statement like that. Of course, we know Jesus was the Samuel, was the man-child of His day. Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and they that see may become blind. So here's the Samuel ministry coming upon the scene and suddenly somebody's becoming blind. Joh 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind? 41 And Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth. In our day, those people who say they see are becoming blind, but the people who don't claim to have the understanding, the perception, or the discernment, they're the ones like the kind of people whom Jesus gathered around Him. It was those fishermen, those tax collectors, those harlots, those sinners, it was they who became His staunch disciples and they didn't say that they could see. They didn't claim to be theologians, they didn't claim to know everything about God, but the people who did were becoming blind. In John 9 there's a really neat story about a blind man who's blind from birth and whom Jesus healed of his blindness. Jesus made mud, He smeared it on his eyes, sent him into the pool of Siloam and the blind man came back seeing. When the Pharisees heard of this, they basically called the healed man on the carpet and wanted to know who it was who had done this. So he said it was the one called Jesus. Then they wanted to know how it was that he was healed, so he related the whole story. Of course, they were just trying to pick holes in the story because these were the jealous Eli ministry that really didn't want anybody coming in and taking away their position, their kingdom. Jesus spoke of their ministry in Matthew 21 through the parable of God sending His Son and then those people who wanted the vineyard for themselves killing the Son. Well, it's pretty neat how this man rebuked those Pharisees. After they asked him a couple of times in a row, “How did he do this?” he said, “I told you already. You weren't listening. Why didn't you hear?” And they said, “We know this man's a sinner, that he couldn't possibly be from God.” To which the healed man replied, Joh 9:30 Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and [yet] he opened mine eyes. 31 We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth. 32 Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. And how is it that these people didn't know that this man was from God? The healed man told them, “We know that God doesn't hear sinners, but he opened my eyes.” So this man, who didn't say he was a theologian, didn't say he knew everything about God, had a lot more wisdom than these people who were going against the Word of God in trying to justify themselves. This man who was under their ministry, under this Saul-Pharisee-Eli ministry, was now being delivered and it was making them angry. Actually, they excommunicated him; they threw him out of the church, basically because he told the truth, but they didn't want to hear the truth. There are some of you today who are coming out from among them. Like the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon, you have tried to bring this Jesus Whom you've found back to your “mother” and some of them really don't want to hear about it (Song of Solomon 3:4). You know what I'm talking about, right? Well, every time that you come out from under those ministries and you bring back the truth to them and they reject that truth, they become a little bit more blind, a little bit more blind. Jesus the Man-child came so that these people would become blind. When Samuel came on the scene, the anointed of God, the Man-child of that day, born of Hannah, then we begin reading over and over that the Eli ministry's becoming blind. You see, in this day, folks, notice that God says, 1Sa 2:33 and the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart. You know how grieving it is to those ministries when you go back and try to share truth with them, simple truth from the Word of God, and they don't want to hear it? And when they deny the Word that you bring to them they become more blind every time. It's interesting, you know, when the man who was healed mildly rebuked the Pharisees, they answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out (Joh.9:34). Who's not born in sin, right? But they're obviously pointing out that if he was blind from birth, his blindness was because of sin. Blindness from birth was quite common in those days. But they wouldn't let anybody teach them, they didn't want to hear from somebody who was not educated, not puffed up because of their religious system, or not somebody who went through their theological training. They don't want to hear anything from those people. You can bring them simple, simple truth; every time they deny it, they get more and more blind. They lose perception and discernment, just as this verse says: 1Sa 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see), 3 and the lamp of God was not yet gone out. Now the “lamp of God” here, in a sense, means his prophetic ministry to the people of God, or it could also be talking about the lamp of the eye, as Jesus spoke about it (Matthew 6:22). But, either way, we know, for instance, in Zechariah, that God is going to raise up a foolish shepherd in the land Zec 11:15, 16. God has done it in every generation and in every cycle. Zec 11:15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound…. Of course, we need to be fed the unleavened bread because that's the Seed of God that brings forth Christ in us, which is the only kind of fruit that God is interested in. 16 … Nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat [sheep]…. Once again, we see the plundering of the sheep, living off the sheep, getting fat off the sheep. 16 … And will tear their hoofs in pieces. The Lord pointed out to me one time so eloquently that hooves are what separate sheep from the world. This represents sanctification, which means separation from the world, and separation unto God. God wants us separate from the world, but connected to Him. When Moses went up on the mountain to meet God, He told him, “Hey, take your shoes off, Moses. You're standing on holy ground” (Exodus 3:2). In other words, God didn't want Moses separated from that holy ground. “Holy” and “sanctified” is the same word, right? God did not want Moses separate from holy ground, but out there in the world, God wanted Moses to keep his shoes on because we want to be separate from the world, we want to be sanctified. Well, when you take the foolish shepherd who is breaking the hooves off of the sheep, that means they're doing anything but sanctifying them from this world. Instead, they're making them worldly. Now, I'd like to share a few revelations with you.     The Church Emerging from Religion Servant - 12/30/2010 I see a huge iron structure --mountain-like. It is smooth and brown with bronze tones; smooth, glossy, shiny. It is warm and strong in appearance. Underneath and in the ground a little shoot cries, “Oh, Father, we desire Your presence!” Over and over the little shoot cries, “Oh, Father, we desire Your presence!” SUDDENLY their cry is heard of the Father. He sits forward on the throne. His eyebrows are shaped in a “V” as He looks at the mountain of religion preventing the little shoot. All the balconies of Heaven stand at attention. The earth begins to move to and fro. The mountain begins to sway as the shoot emerges from under the mountain by the power of God. GOD STANDS UP! Shaking, reeling such as never seen before! Then, with a mighty noise, the mountain reels, rips in half and falls in two pieces. The earth shakes: Destruction! Shaking! Such loud noise! Darkness; then all is still. The shoot, the true Church, emerges from the ground. God's glory -- bright, white, brilliant -- covers the shoot and the true refreshing begins. Joy! Strength! Power! The shoot rapidly grows in strength and power. Arms form, much like a mustard tree. This is the true refreshing; this is the power, glory, joy of the Lord. The earth will see and the earth will marvel at the strength, power and glory of the end-time Church. All this must be fulfilled. The Church is arrayed and ready for Jesus. Amen.   Destruction Comes for Apostate Leadership B.A. - 06/23/2015 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that I found myself in Jerusalem, back in Jesus' day, and I was looking up at the temple (a temple made by man's hands which God does not inhabit). Act 17:24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commanded men that they should all everywhere repent: 31 inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. There were stone steps leading down from the temple and the steps were being occupied by Pharisees and Sadducees. I was standing with a crowd of people in an open area a little ways from the temple and the stone steps, and just as I was looking around me in this crowd of people, I saw a man come forward out of the crowd who began to sternly address the men who were standing up (or exalting themselves) on the stone steps of the temple. I knew that the man speaking was Jesus. Pro 25:6 Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: 7 For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen. And Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. As Jesus began to speak, I began to recognize the “Word” He was speaking to these men, since I had heard these same words before. Here is what I heard: Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. When Jesus spoke the first “Woe”, I heard a loud pop-like sound and what sounded like a crackling sound. I looked down upon the stone steps of the temple that these Pharisees and Sadducees were standing on and I noticed a large, deep crack had gone right up through the middle of those stone steps, and they were beginning to crack and crumble. I noticed that the deep crack was between the feet of a rather large and extremely overweight man. (This is the apostate leadership overcome by their flesh.) 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Then, when Jesus spoke the second “Woe”, I heard another much louder pop-like sound and more of the crackling sound. I looked around to see where this sound was coming from and I saw that a large, deep crack had gone all around the temple foundation and it was cracking up and crumbling as well. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? 34 Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Just as Jesus had finished His Words to these men, the stone steps gave way and all of those men standing on the crumbling stone steps fell down into a deep pit that had opened up under the stone steps. And just after that happened, the entire temple came crashing down on top of them and covered them up. I noticed that from Matthew 23:15 through verse 39, there are “six” woes – “six” being the number of man. Also, I found it interesting that there is a “Woe” in Mathew 23:23 and the date of this dream is the 23rd and 23 means “death.” (This is clearly a reprobation of the apostate leadership and their fake temples, as Jesus pronounced in His day, and now we see a repeat of history in our day.)     Apostate Leaders Fleecing the Sheep B.A.- 04/01/2012 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in some type of city. It was strange because there were no people on the sidewalks or cars on the streets. There were these strange-looking brick buildings (buildings made by the flesh) everywhere I looked. (Sounds like the people of God slaving to make bricks for Pharaoh's buildings.) I decided to go inside one of these buildings. Once inside, I saw a familiar female TV preacher who was hosting an event. I also recognized several other female preachers as well, and others whose faces I recognized but could not remember their names. (Father said, 1Ti 2:12 But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. Read Word, Women and Authority.) There were elaborate tables set up with all kinds of party food and they were all playing games. Each time the hostess presented a new game, she would have on a different outfit. I watched this for a while, then I decided to leave and go see what was going on inside one of the other buildings. Once back out on the street, I saw a long, rectangular, brick building so I decided to go check it out. It was very dimly lit; I could barely see where I was going. This building was huge inside and it appeared to be some kind of art gallery. There were statues on the floor and statues mounted on the walls. Further on up ahead, I saw some people standing around a picture on the wall, so I went to see what they were looking at. As I got closer, all of these people were dressed up like pilots and they were looking and admiring a picture of various airplanes. Some were elaborate jets and some were small Cessna-type planes. I recognized some of these people to be leaders in the apostate church. (Big time prosperity preachers can't fly with us common folks. They have to have at least one private jet. Poor Jesus, He walked or rode a donkey.) Further on up ahead, I saw another group of people standing around a picture on the wall. As I got closer to these people, they were all dressed up like gladiators and they were looking at a picture of a large coliseum (I believe this to be representative of megachurches) and bragging about their own personal coliseum. (The competitive spirit is always trying to best those who are also a part of the body to see who is the greatest, as Jesus rebuked the disciples for.) Then, all the way to the back of the art gallery, I saw several rows of people seated and listening to a man standing at a podium. Behind this man was a large mural of TV and radio stations (the apostate leadership use the media to steal from God's people). He was teaching these people how to successfully get more money from their viewers and God's people in general. (Representing, using mass media to make mass money and live in luxury while not doing the works of the kingdom. Jesus said, Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give.) As I stood there listening to this, I cried out to the Lord, “Do you see what they are doing? They are scheming and preparing a plan on how they are going to fleece your sheep during tough economic times!” Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Don't be concerned; their days are numbered.” Then I woke up. (Their greed, debt and sins against God's people will take them out.)     Last House Cleaning Shelly Lynch - 06/23/2013 (David's notes in red) I had a short dream this morning. I saw myself taking a speck out of the corner of my eye. Mat 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Then I saw myself cleaning the corners of a building (Representing cleaning up the last hidden places of leaven), removing the last scraps of spoiled dog food (leaven of false teaching) from the building with a white paper towel (representing the pure Word). Php 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision: (This could be the Bride's last cleansing before the anointing! And the Bride's ministry of removing the speck out of their brother's eye (which can only happen when she has the speck out of her own). Hallelujah!) (However, for Israel, which is a type of the Church and is not cleaned up at the beginning of the tribulation but through the tribulation, this text was given as a warning of coming tribulation.) Eze 7:1-10 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying, And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, 'An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. 'Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!' Thus says the Lord GOD, 'A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! 'An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it has come! Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near-tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. 'My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, do the smiting. Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. (Chastening will bring the elect to righteousness. Isa 26:10-11  Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah.  11  Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries. Including their flesh. (The persecution from the apostate Church toward the faithful in the Lord can be seen here.) Act 5:28-29 Saying Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men'. And verses 40-42 And to him (Gamaliel) they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Considering these two paths, it would be good for the disciples of Jesus to heed our instructions to be spotless and blemishless in the Bride company.) 2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 1Th 3:13 To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. Eph 5:27 that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing (speck); but that it should be holy and without blemish. And 2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Sandy Shaw shared at this same time while in prayer she heard, “This is the last cleaning”, and we all believed this would be the cleaning of the Bride of the Lord before the tribulation. She then asked for a word and got by random: 2Ch 29:15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah. 16 And the priests went in unto the inner part of the house of Jehovah, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron. 17 Now they began on the first [day] of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah; and they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of showbread, with all the vessels thereof. 19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah. 20 Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah. Hezekiah, as a type of the Man-child, “went up to the house of the Lord on the third day” and this was after the failed Senacherib Beast attack on the Bride when they were smitten. She then got by random, “into the ark” in Gen 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; and we read back in verse 9 there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

Liam Lawson wasn't the only Kiwi ripping it up at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Synthony - an orchestra which reimagines some of the biggest dance hits of all time - was there as well. The group stems from New Zealand and is increasingly going global. Singer-songwriter Ilan Kidron – who's teamed up with Synthony – joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this lively cross-border episode, Bernie and Gil huddle up in Barcelona, while Dan joins from Sweden, to explore an ancient meeting of minds in 525 BC. As the Persian empire expanded into Egypt, Jewish communities from different lands converged, sharing stories and traditions that would become the foundation for parts of the Old Testament. Join us for a journey back to a pivotal moment where worlds—and minds—collided, leaving a lasting mark on history.Link to Gil's Podcasthttps://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com/This is a podcast by Dan Hörning and Bernie Maopolski.If you like what we do you can support the Fan of History project on https://www.patreon.com/fanofhistoryContact information:E-mail: zimwaupodcast@gmail.comhttp://facebook.com/fanofhistoryhttps://twitter.com/danhorninghttps://www.instagram.com/dan_horning/Music: “Tudor Theme” by urmymuse.Used here under a commercial Creative Commons license. Find out more at http://ccmixter.org/files/urmymuse/40020 Support the show and listen ad-free to all of the episodes, including episode 1-87. Click here: https://plus.acast.com/s/history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 131Domine, non est1O Lord, I am not proud; *I have no haughty looks.2I do not occupy myself with great matters, *or with things that are too hard for me.3But I still my soul and make it quiet,like a child upon its mother's breast; *my soul is quieted within me.4O Israel, wait upon the Lord, *from this time forth for evermore.Psalm 132Memento, Domine1Lord, remember David, *and all the hardships he endured;2How he swore an oath to the Lord *and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:3“I will not come under the roof of my house,” *nor climb up into my bed;4I will not allow my eyes to sleep, *nor let my eyelids slumber;5Until I find a place for the Lord, *a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”6“The ark! We heard it was in Ephratah; *we found it in the fields of Jearim.7Let us go to God's dwelling place; *let us fall upon our knees before his footstool.”8Arise, O Lord, into your resting-place, *you and the ark of your strength.9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; *let your faithful people sing with joy.10For your servant David's sake, *do not turn away the face of your Anointed.11The Lord has sworn an oath to David; *in truth, he will not break it:12“A son, the fruit of your body *will I set upon your throne.13If your children keep my covenantand my testimonies that I shall teach them, *their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”14For the Lord has chosen Zion; *he has desired her for his habitation:15“This shall be my resting-place for ever; *here will I dwell, for I delight in her.16I will surely bless her provisions, *and satisfy her poor with bread.17I will clothe her priests with salvation, *and her faithful people will rejoice and sing.18There will I make the horn of David flourish; *I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed.19As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame; *but as for him, his crown will shine.” Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons2 Kings 23:4-25English Standard Version4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.1 Corinthians 12:1-11English Standard Version12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 22Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 97Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the earth rejoice; *let the multitude of the isles be glad.2Clouds and darkness are round about him, *righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.3A fire goes before him *and burns up his enemies on every side.4His lightnings light up the world; *the earth sees it and is afraid.5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, *at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.6The heavens declare his righteousness, *and all the peoples see his glory.7Confounded be all who worship carved imagesand delight in false gods! *Bow down before him, all you gods.8Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, *because of your judgments, O Lord.9For you are the Lord,most high over all the earth; *you are exalted far above all gods.10The Lord loves those who hate evil; *he preserves the lives of his saintsand delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11Light has sprung up for the righteous, *and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, *and give thanks to his holy Name.Psalm 99Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the people tremble; *he is enthroned upon the cherubim;let the earth shake.2The Lord is great in Zion; *he is high above all peoples.3Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *he is the Holy One.4“O mighty King, lover of justice,you have established equity; *you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”5Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand fall down before his footstool; *he is the Holy One.6Moses and Aaron among his priests,and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.7He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.8“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *you were a God who forgave them,yet punished them for their evil deeds.”9Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand worship him upon his holy hill; *for the Lord our God is the Holy One.Psalm 100Jubilate Deo1Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *serve the Lord with gladnessand come before his presence with a song.2Know this: The Lord himself is God; *he himself has made us, and we are his;we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.3Enter his gates with thanksgiving;go into his courts with praise; *give thanks to him and call upon his Name.4For the Lord is good;his mercy is everlasting; *and his faithfulness endures from age to age. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons2 Chronicles 29:1-3English Standard Version29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.2 Chronicles 30English Standard Version30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— 3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— 4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.” 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.1 Corinthians 7:32-40English Standard Version32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 21O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Welcome to a new series of Changes Focus where we focus on a specific area of change and hear multiple perspectives from some of our incredible guests. In this episode the focus is on Changemakers - people who are working hard to drive meaningful, positive change in the world.In this powerful episode, Annie revisits her conversation with poet and advocate for prison reform Lady Unchained. She talks about her own experience within the criminal justice system and how this led her to work with other ex offenders. We hear from Baroness Beeban Kidron - documentary filmmaker turned member of the House of Lords - who talks about her tireless efforts to change and update the laws around child safety online. Ex right wing group leader Nigel Bromage shares his story of life after leaving the far right and how this inspired him to help others to do the same. And finally we've got actor Rose Ayling Ellis, who's memorable appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 paid tribute to the deaf community and was responsible for a huge rise of interest in British Sign Language. Rose talks to us about how important being a part of this community is for her. You can find all the featured episodes in full wherever you get your podcasts. Vote for Changes at the British Podcast Awards! Voting is open until 29th August. Just click this link and search for Changes. https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/votingGET IN TOUCHContact us at changespod@gmail.com with your emails and voice notes.Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changesPlease Note: The transcript is automatically generated in case you come across any typos or misquotes during your reading. Enjoy the episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John 18:1–11 [1] When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. [2] Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. [3] So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. [4] Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” [5] They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. [6] When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. [7] So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” [8] Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” [9] This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” [10] Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) [11] So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

In a very special episode of Film Stories, Baroness Beeban Kidron joins Simon for a chat about her career, her films, and her move to politics. They go from her early film Carry Greenham Home, from being one of the first British women to direct a movie with Vroom. Then a big turning point: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, an acclaimed adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's book. The chat covers Kidron's move to Hollywood, and then the documentary that launched what effectively became her second career... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a brief moment in the history of Acre, there was a Hebrew community that linked old and new settlements. It had a national-Zionist orientation and consisted of Jews of local and Mizrachic origin. This community is no longer visible in the cityscape, and its history has disappeared from the collective Zionist memory - but it played a role in building the Jewish national community in Palestine. The unusual history of Acre shows how it succeeded in attracting new, nationalist settlers. Anat Kidron and Shuli Linder Yarkony's book The Jewish Community of Acre in Mandatory Palestine: The Story of a Forgotten Community (de Gruyter, 2024) seeks to illuminate the complexity and diversity of the Zionist enterprise in relation to the Arab and mixed towns of Mandatory Palestine by raising questions about the relationship between the "history of a place" and "national history." By describing the failure of the Hebrew settlement in the Mandate territory of Acre, the book views the Zionist project as a fascinating intersection between the dreams of those who created the leading narratives and between local interests and the unique geographical conditions of the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

For a brief moment in the history of Acre, there was a Hebrew community that linked old and new settlements. It had a national-Zionist orientation and consisted of Jews of local and Mizrachic origin. This community is no longer visible in the cityscape, and its history has disappeared from the collective Zionist memory - but it played a role in building the Jewish national community in Palestine. The unusual history of Acre shows how it succeeded in attracting new, nationalist settlers. Anat Kidron and Shuli Linder Yarkony's book The Jewish Community of Acre in Mandatory Palestine: The Story of a Forgotten Community (de Gruyter, 2024) seeks to illuminate the complexity and diversity of the Zionist enterprise in relation to the Arab and mixed towns of Mandatory Palestine by raising questions about the relationship between the "history of a place" and "national history." By describing the failure of the Hebrew settlement in the Mandate territory of Acre, the book views the Zionist project as a fascinating intersection between the dreams of those who created the leading narratives and between local interests and the unique geographical conditions of the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

For a brief moment in the history of Acre, there was a Hebrew community that linked old and new settlements. It had a national-Zionist orientation and consisted of Jews of local and Mizrachic origin. This community is no longer visible in the cityscape, and its history has disappeared from the collective Zionist memory - but it played a role in building the Jewish national community in Palestine. The unusual history of Acre shows how it succeeded in attracting new, nationalist settlers. Anat Kidron and Shuli Linder Yarkony's book The Jewish Community of Acre in Mandatory Palestine: The Story of a Forgotten Community (de Gruyter, 2024) seeks to illuminate the complexity and diversity of the Zionist enterprise in relation to the Arab and mixed towns of Mandatory Palestine by raising questions about the relationship between the "history of a place" and "national history." By describing the failure of the Hebrew settlement in the Mandate territory of Acre, the book views the Zionist project as a fascinating intersection between the dreams of those who created the leading narratives and between local interests and the unique geographical conditions of the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

For a brief moment in the history of Acre, there was a Hebrew community that linked old and new settlements. It had a national-Zionist orientation and consisted of Jews of local and Mizrachic origin. This community is no longer visible in the cityscape, and its history has disappeared from the collective Zionist memory - but it played a role in building the Jewish national community in Palestine. The unusual history of Acre shows how it succeeded in attracting new, nationalist settlers. Anat Kidron and Shuli Linder Yarkony's book The Jewish Community of Acre in Mandatory Palestine: The Story of a Forgotten Community (de Gruyter, 2024) seeks to illuminate the complexity and diversity of the Zionist enterprise in relation to the Arab and mixed towns of Mandatory Palestine by raising questions about the relationship between the "history of a place" and "national history." By describing the failure of the Hebrew settlement in the Mandate territory of Acre, the book views the Zionist project as a fascinating intersection between the dreams of those who created the leading narratives and between local interests and the unique geographical conditions of the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23 David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed, and the Lord's […]

Jesus and His disciples cross the Kidron valley and enter an olive grove. Thus begins Jesus last moments with his disciples as He is arrested, taken before Annas, the High Priest Caiaphas, and finally He stands before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. As you read through John's account of these moments, take note of how Jesus interacts with the various groups he encounters and what that reveals to us about our King.  Prepare for this week's message by reading John chapter 18.

Friday Bible Study (4/5/24) // 1 Kings 15 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.orgFollow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but...#1kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon1 Kings 15 (ESV) Abijam Reigns in Judah 15 Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. Asa Reigns in Judah 9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 15 And he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. 16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a covenant[a] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and

Today's Bible Verse: "When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it." (John 18:1) Want to listen without ads? Become a BibleStudyTools.com PLUS Member today: https://www.biblestudytools.com/subscribe/   MEET OUR HOSTS at https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

With family: 2 Chronicles 33; Revelation 19 2 Chronicles 33 (Listen) Manasseh Reigns in Judah 33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. Manasseh's Repentance 10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. 14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.1 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place. Amon's Reign and Death 21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. Footnotes [1] 33:19 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai (ESV) Revelation 19 (Listen) Rejoicing in Heaven 19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,   “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,2     for his judgments are true and just;  for he has judged the great prostitute    who corrupted the earth with her immorality,  and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out,   “Hallelujah!  The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,   “Praise our God,    all you his servants,  you who fear him,    small and great.” The Marriage Supper of the Lamb 6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,   “Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God    the Almighty reigns.7   Let us rejoice and exult    and give him the glory,  for the marriage of the Lamb has come,    and his Bride has made herself ready;8   it was granted her to clothe herself    with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said1 to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The Rider on a White Horse 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in2 blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule3 them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,4 both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence5 had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. Footnotes [1] 19:9 Greek he said [2] 19:13 Some manuscripts sprinkled with [3] 19:15 Greek shepherd [4] 19:18 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [5] 19:20 Or on its behalf (ESV) In private: Malachi 1; John 18 Malachi 1 (Listen) 1 The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.1 The Lord's Love for Israel 2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,' and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.'” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!” The Priests' Polluted Offerings 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?' 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?' By saying that the LORD's table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts. 9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts. 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be2 great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,' and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Malachi means my messenger [2] 1:11 Or is (three times in verse 11; also verse 14) (ESV) John 18 (Listen) Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus 18 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”1 Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus2 said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant3 and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas 12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews4 arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Peter Denies Jesus 15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants5 and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The High Priest Questions Jesus 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Peter Denies Jesus Again 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. Jesus Before Pilate 28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters.6 It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. My Kingdom Is Not of This World 33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.7 Footnotes [1] 18:5 Greek I am; also verses 6, 8 [2] 18:6 Greek he [3] 18:10 Or bondservant; twice in this verse [4] 18:12 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14, 31, 36, 38 [5] 18:18 Or bondservants; also verse 26 [6] 18:28 Greek the praetorium [7] 18:40 Or an insurrectionist (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 30; Revelation 16 2 Chronicles 30 (Listen) Passover Celebrated 30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month—3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem—4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. 13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the LORD. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”1 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might2 to the LORD. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. Footnotes [1] 30:19 Hebrew not according to the cleanness of holiness [2] 30:21 Compare 1 Chronicles 13:8; Hebrew with instruments of might (ESV) Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters1 say,   “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,    for you brought these judgments.6   For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,    and you have given them blood to drink.  It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying,   “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,    true and just are your judgments!” 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed2 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The Seventh Bowl 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds4 each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. Footnotes [1] 16:5 Greek angel of the waters [2] 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21 [3] 16:18 Or voices, or sounds [4] 16:21 Greek a talent in weight (ESV) In private: Zechariah 12–13:1; John 15 Zechariah 12–13:1 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) John 15 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,1 for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,2 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Footnotes [1] 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20 [2] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 29; Revelation 15 2 Chronicles 29 (Listen) Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah1 the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth2 from the Holy Place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs. 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the LORD came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” 12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the LORD, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.” Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship 20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the LORD. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. 25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king's seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped. 31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to3 the LORD. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly. Footnotes [1] 29:1 Spelled Abi in 2 Kings 18:2 [2] 29:5 Hebrew impurity [3] 29:31 Hebrew filled your hand for (ESV) Revelation 15 (Listen) The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues 15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,   “Great and amazing are your deeds,    O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways,    O King of the nations!14   Who will not fear, O Lord,    and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.    All nations will come    and worship you,  for your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent2 of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Footnotes [1] 15:3 Some manuscripts the ages [2] 15:5 Or tabernacle (ESV) In private: Zechariah 11; John 14 Zechariah 11 (Listen) The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” (ESV) John 14 (Listen) I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life 14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;1 believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?2 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”3 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me5 anything in my name, I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,6 to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be7 in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. Footnotes [1] 14:1 Or You believe in God [2] 14:2 Or In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you [3] 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know [4] 14:7 Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also [5] 14:14 Some manuscripts omit me [6] 14:16 Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 [7] 14:17 Some manuscripts and is (ESV)

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Gil Kidron and I announce a brief course about the prophet Isaiah. This will be conducted in two sessions in January 2024. Emnail me for more information.