Podcasts about Levite

In his latter days, David charges his son Solomon to build the temple for the worship of God, and we get a few new details. First, we learn that the Lord did not allow David to build the temple because his hands had shed so much blood and because he had waged great wars. We also realize that David looked forward to the building of the temple even though he himself couldn't build it, charging his son with the task and spending his own time and resources to create a stockpile for the project. David also assigns duties and tasks for the Levite priests before he dies, paving the way for transition from the tabernacle to the temple once Solomon becomes king. 1 Chronicles 20 - 1:13 .  1 Chronicles 21 - 2:59 .  1 Chronicles 22 - 9:12 .  1 Chronicles 23 - 14:08 .  Song of Songs 5 - 19:09 .  Song of Songs 6 - 22:23 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

The Food of the Gods “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, as to what you will tell him: for I am lovesick. What kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of beloved is your beloved, that thus you adjure us?” (So 5:9)   “The nations of the world say to Israel: ‘How is your beloved more than another beloved?” In what way is He God more than other gods, in what way is He a protector more than other protectors?'” (Midrash Rabbah to Shir 5§9)   Once again, the proto-typical event is the exodus from Egypt:   “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD.” (Ex 12:12) “And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods?” (2 Sa 7:23)   When did the other “gods” of the pantheon assume power over the nations?   And are these entities unruly evil demons or ruly assigned powers over the principalities (2 Pe 2:10; Jde 1:8)?   Too involved to answer, and probably not so fruitful, but when Israel goes into the principality of an assigned power, in a sense, it is the territory of that nation's assigned angelic majesty, elohim, or “judge, authority.” There are indeed, however, unruly demonic entities that operate within those principalities that are worshipped as gods.   Elohim is spirit, yet He “eats” the gifts of our worship, the human desire to be near to Him expressed in gifts and sacrifices:   ”You shall consecrate him, therefore, for he offers the food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I the LORD, who sanctifies you, am holy.” (Le 21:8) “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the food of his God.'” (Le 21:17) “…nor shall you accept any such [blemished, diseased] from the hand of a foreigner for offering as the food of your God; for their corruption (“decay”) is in them, they have a defect, they shall not be accepted for you.'” (Le 22:25)   Elohim’s food is to receive our heartfelt, lovesick obedience free of the decay of death. Our food is to do the will of the Father who sent Yeshua, the Living Word. (Jn 4:34)   The evil and unclean gods of the pantheon also receive “food” when we idolize them [we actually worship ourselves and they enable it]. As in the Garden, when the serpent offered the humans the opportunity to “be like God,” so evil spirits receive the gifts and sacrifices of human beings as food, fuel for their ability to cross into our realm and proliferate.   It was the serpent who was trying to be like God, and he needed Adam and Eve to feed that desire. He fed them what they desired; they fed him what he desired. The serpent is always eager to feed our wrong appetite, desire, emotion, and intellect. The end result, though, is death, not life.   Obedience to Elohim's voice, however, produces life and the ability to continue abundant life in the Garden, a Land flowing with milk and honey, wine and balsam.   The following recitation for the tithe of the third year contains specific language that reminds us we are not to feed the dead, whether ancestors or gods.   Instead, we feed only our Elohim with our holies of sacred obedience. In return, our Elohim sets us high above all the nations and their gods. This is why our Beloved is high above all others and why we are lovesick, seeking His Voice in the night of exile, which is what Adam and Eve should have done, waited to hear His Voice walking in the cool of the evening.   “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.' This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken.” (Dt 26:12-19)   The unruly rebellious entities derive power when they are worshipped; in a sense, they are “fed” by human beings, which attracts greater numbers of unclean and evil spiritual beings…unclean in that those spirits are NOT assigned to the physical realm, but they hunt for physical hosts to enable them to operate there. It actually speeds the process of death and decay to the host because it is an unclean mixture. Life is only within one's assigned realm:   “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” (Mt 12:45)   When we “feed” a spiritual entity our disobedience and rebellion, we transgress, mixing two realms, which invites death, not life. It has no place in the life of a believer in Yeshua, or in a human being at all. This is why disobedience is equated with witchcraft:   For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” (1 Sa 15:23)   Because of this rebellion, the kingship and authority was forfeited. Just as in the Garden when the serpent had to entice the human beings into rebelling in order to commandeer their authority to rule, so we still can be deceived into the giving our spiritual authority to the beast by trying to be “like God.” There is only one Elohim, and all other beings are created by Him, even the rebels of the universe. An altar is a “table” connecting the physical realm with the spiritual. Why would we feed rebellious spirits the food of our own disobedience and share their demonic table fare?   “Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” (1 Co 10:19-21)   Angelic powers over principalities don't need or want human worship to enlarge their influence or authority; they already have authority because it is assigned to them. Perhaps it was pre-assigned when the heavenly hosts were created, but more likely their creation prepared them to be assigned to their supervisory divisions after the Flood:   “Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.” (Ge 10:25; 32; 1 Ch 1:19)   There is also this verse that synchronizes the symbolic 70 nations of the earth and their divisions to the number of Israelites who went down to Egypt:   “Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. (Dt 10:22) “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.” (Dt 32:8)   This may not be a contradiction, but a hint to the restoration work in progress, a plan where the twelve tribes of Israel would become the judges over the nations from the gates of Jerusalem, i.e., the gates to the Garden of Eden, and the assigned princes over the nations would be shaken out of the way, that role concluded.   Whatever the details of the plan, it is evident that these angelic majesties were anticipated and assigned, but the original plan was for the righteous among humankind to judge those angels in administering the Kingdom on earth and possibly in the heavenlies:   “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?” (1 Co 6:2-3)   These things are what makes our Beloved greater than the other gods of the nations. In addition, Messiah Yeshua can give his most beautiful Bride authority to rule the nations as at the beginning when Adam and Even ruled.   The gods of the nations, whether unruly demonic or the ruly assigned angelic majesties, cannot and will not give this kind of authority, for their authority is either usurped or only a temporary assignment.   “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.” (Re 2:26-28)   The morning star? The first resurrection! We can share Yeshua’s table at the wedding supper of the Lamb. (Re 3:20) Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

June 24, 2026 - Wednesday PM Bible Class This episode is a classroom-style exploration of Barnabas, the New Testament figure known as the "son of encouragement." Recorded as part of a summer teaching series, the speaker walks listeners through key passages in Acts (chapters 4, 9, 11, 13, and 15) to trace Barnabas' life, ministry, and influence on the early church. Topics covered include Barnabas' background (Joseph the Levite from Cyprus), his generosity in selling land to support believers, and his defining role encouraging and strengthening the church at Antioch. The episode looks closely at how Barnabas bridged the gap between the church and Saul (Paul), advocated for second chances (notably with John Mark), and helped develop emerging leaders—demonstrating humility, courage, and sacrificial support. Listeners will hear Scripture readings and practical illustrations, including personal anecdotes from the class (camp mailboxes of encouragement, Devo leadership) and contemporary analogies (nicknames and team roles) to highlight how encouragement functions as ministry. The class discusses why churches struggle to accept changed people, how encouragers see potential rather than past failures, and the risks and sacrifices involved in standing with the rejected. Contributors and voices in the discussion include the class leader and responses from members. The episode emphasizes five practical lessons: encouragement changes lives; godly people look beyond a person's past; great leaders develop other leaders; encouragers also need courage; and godly people help restore failures. Expect a study grounded in Acts with clear, applicable takeaways for church life—how to give hope, mentor others, offer second chances, and use generosity and courage to advance spiritual growth in your community.   Duration 37:50

Most times, we end up fighting our own battles. But sometimes, the opposition is just – well, it's overwhelming. Then what? Well that's when we can discover that the battle, belongs to the Lord.   I Can Do Anything I Want In this day and age one of the things that they teach us is to be self reliant. To have confidence in our own abilities. You can do anything you set your mind to they tell us. You can make it, it's all up to you. That's ok to a point I guess. It's a good thing to have some confidence in who we are that God made us to be. But you can take this idea too far and it will bring you undone. The positive turns into a terrible negative. See what happens, when the situation we're in or the circumstances that we're facing are so far beyond our ability to deal with them, that any idea of self reliance is completely ridiculous. What happens when the problem confronting us requires skills and abilities that we don't have. What happens when the career we've chosen just doesn't fit who we are? What happens when the one we love, our wife or our husband or one of our children is going through some tough times. Something that as much as we love them, we can't seem to be able to help them through. An illness, a depression, a crisis. And nothing we can say or nothing we can do seems to make any difference. Well, then what? What happens when a tsunami hits our lives? What do we do when the enemy that gathers around us completely outnumbers and outguns us? Come on. Then what do we do? And this isn't some theoretical exercise. This is life. It's my life and it's your life. Because this happens. It's real. There are times in our lives when the enemy whoever or whatever that is, when the enemy is so much bigger than our ability to survive. It happens in families. It happens in work places. And it happens in our hearts. When sickness hits for no good reason. When a loved one is taken in their prime and the grief overwhelms us. When a marriage falls apart. It happens when retrenchment hits. When the economy takes a nose-dive. When their isn't enough food to feed the family. When people betray us. This is life. It's real life. Let me ask you something. When the enemy is so much bigger and so much stronger than anything that you or I could ever handle, what do we do? Some people panic and they run around in ever decreasing circles wasting their precious energy on panicking. You've seen it I've seen it. You know we've both probably been their too. Some people pull over and stop because they're immobilised by fear. That's what happens you know. But neither of those things cut the mustard. Neither of them help. Running around like a headless chook. It's exhausting. Wallowing in self pity is destructive. What do we do? See I'm a pretty self-reliant kind of guy. I like to think that I can handle most things. BUT – there are times when things happen that are completely and utterly beyond anything I can handle. And in those times to hang on to this notion of self-reliance, this delusion of "I can do anything", that will only make it worse. It's OK to believe in ourselves but the reality is that sometimes, maybe this time, we can't swim against this tsunami. It's too big. It's too scary. I was talking the other day with a young woman. She's extremely competent and confident in her field. Professionally she's a class act in every way that you can imagine. We got onto the fact that she had a couple of young kids. And her demeanour changed. See, as someone who's got kids and now they're all grown up, I'm well and truly past the stresses and the strains of bringing up young children. I love telling parents, "Don't worry it's the first 25 years that are the hardest. After that it's a piece of baklava!" It's my, I guess it's my gift of encouragement. Right?" But like any young mother, this motherhood thing was a struggle for this competent, professional woman. It's so tiring. There is so much that is new and is challenging. There's so much in bringing up kids. It's beyond our control. That's the key isn't it. When we're dealing with things that are under our control and we happen to have the skills and the ability and the inclination to control them, well, it's all good isn't it. But the further things are out of our control the more they look like that tsunami and that wave that we can't ride. Then, then it gets scary. I want to introduce you today to one of the kings in Israel's history. Actually he's the king of a couple of the tribes of Israel, Judah and Benjamin. His name was Jehoshaphat. Ok it's a long name. We don't use that kind of name these days. But he was definitely one of the good guys. And there was a time when he was confronted with an enemy that was way, way, way beyond his ability to fight and defeat. Let's pick up the story in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 1. After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; already they are at Engedi. Jehoshaphat was afraid; See this was an army much bigger than his own. The odds were completely overwhelming and Jehoshaphat were facing absolutely certain defeat. To the king that meant death for his people it meant death or slavery or loss of all their possessions and land. Probably rape for the woman. The higher the stakes are the scarier it gets, doesn't it? And for Jehoshaphat the stakes couldn't have been higher. He was in that place well and truly that you and I find ourselves in for time to time. I just want to establish here that old king Jehoshaphat, well he was human like you and me. He's not some super-human king. There were armies coming in against him. He was completely outnumbered and outgunned. This was a life and death situation and it says Jehoshaphat was afraid. Jehoshaphat is just one of us. I remember as a young boy going to the dentist. I'd walk in the front door and there was this staircase leading up to the dentist. And the smell of the dental surgery the moment you walked in the door. And their was a knot in my stomach sitting in the waiting room. Fear is something that disables us. It's not good for anyone when we're disabled by fear. It's not good for ourselves, it's not good for God. It's not good for those who need our help. Jehoshaphat was afraid. But it's what he did in his fear that made all the difference and we're going to take a look at that in just a moment   What Happens When I Can't? Well let's get back into God's word and take a look at what happened king Jehoshaphat. What he was facing in this completely overwhelming odds. Have a listen. We're starting, if you have a bible grab it, in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 beginning at verse 3: Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the LORD. Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, "O LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.' See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. See Jehoshaphat didn't let his fear immobilise him. He didn't get into a flap or into a panic in the face of overwhelming odds he turned to God. Sometimes that's the only way that God gets our attention. I'd like to be able to tell you that I first turned to God because I was wise and loving and understood that Jesus is the Son of God. But if I told you that I would be lying. I needed to be hit across the back of the head with a lump of four by two for God to get my attention. Overwhelming odds. That's what did it for me. I turned to God in the middle of fear. And for me it was the last resort but for Jehoshaphat God was his first port of call. Now a king is supposed to have all the answers. A King like Jehoshaphat should have a powerful army and contingency plans based on a comprehensive threat assessment. He should be self-reliant. A man for the people to respect and to follow and to trust for their safety and their future, but listen again to what Jehoshaphat says when he's praying to God in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 12: O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. I relate to this. When I stepped out of the secure, well-paid job as a consultant into full time ministry, that was a step of faith. Leaving security behind to serve God and I can't begin to tell you how many times since then I have been in that place that Jehoshaphat and his people were in. See I started out with this naive notion that if I was going to be about God's work, well lit should be easy. And yet so many times people and circumstances have conspired to be against God's work. Every couple of years our board gets together to do some strategic planning. That's important and the strategic plan always looks good on paper. Gives us a sense of what direction we think that God wants us to head in. And then invariably all hell breaks loose because the enemy wants to overwhelm us. He doesn't want to see God's will done here on earth as it is in heaven. And that's what's going on with Jehoshaphat and Judah. Remember these are God's chosen people. The king honoured God and by all accounts and by all accounts he was wise and competent. But in the face of overwhelming odds he admitted to God, "We do know what to do." So was the solution How did he cope with this? And the same sentence, the same breath, he says "but our eyes are on You." I wonder sometimes when I see people who profess to believe in Jesus running around in panic wasting so much of their energy complaining and worrying and being afraid. See, it takes a lot of energy to be afraid, you realise. I wonder if they spent even half that amount of their energy having their eyes on God, how much better off they'd be. You and I, we can't help but be afraid. Jehoshaphat was afraid. It's a natural human, reaction. I'm not here to tell you somehow to pretend that you're not afraid when fear is rocking you to the very core. That's ridiculous. But it's what we do when fear strikes that makes all the difference. When we panic we burn energy, when we frozen and immobilised that's probably the end of us. That's what fear does. Stop's us dead in our tracks. We go nowhere. Had Jehoshaphat done that, he and all his people would have been dead literally. Or we can just turn and look at God. "You know something Lord, this is so huge, I just know what to do but my eyes, my eyes are on you. I'm just going to wait on you. I don't know what you are going to do, I don't even know if you are going to show up, but no matter what, my eyes are on you." And here's the bit that blows me away about this story. It's this. That God wasn't Jehoshaphat's last resort. God was his first port of call. He trusted in the sovereign grace of God. Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. I wonder how different if things would be amidst our fear, if instead of running around and spending all that energy on panic or instead of running to the phone to talk to a friend, if we first ran to God. If the very first thing we did was to take stock and in our hearts, deep inside somewhere – decided to set ourselves to seek the Lord? God, the first point of call, rather than the last resort!   A Powerful Outcome So how did it end? Was Jehoshaphat's trust misplaced or well placed? Let's take a look. 2 Chronicle 20 beginning at verse 14: Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God and you will be established; believe his prophets." When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the booty from them, they found livestock in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the booty, because of its abundance. Unbelievable I hear you say. How could this possibly happen?? I'll tell you how. Because Jehoshaphat decided that he would stand and wait on God - no matter what the outcome! That's the key. That's the faith that God was looking for. No matter what the outcome. Let's take another look. 2 Chronicles 20:9-12: If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save. See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy – they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. This is the do or die faith that God is looking for. When we place our faith in God in this way – for things that are completely out of our control – right when that tsunami hits His Spirit and His Word come along and witness His truth to us: This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17) Listen to me. Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ? Have you? Then those times of fear are times when we discover what a beautiful thing it is to trust in the Lord, no matter what is coming against us. No matter what the world throws at us. No matter how overwhelming the odds might be. Those times are the times that we get to stand still and discover in our very own experience that the battle isn't our it's not ours at all. But the battle belongs to the Lord. Can I encourage you that if you feel right now that you're on death row, as though there is no tomorrow, to listen to the words of apostle Paul from his dungeon as he writes in Philippians Chapter 4 beginning at verse 6: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. See that's the word of the Lord for us today. Jehoshaphat knew it and learned it again in his experience. The people of Judah learned it again under the leadership of Jehoshaphat. This overwhelming army came against them. They couldn't win. It was a no win situation. And they discovered afresh and anew the battle was not theirs but the battle belonged to the Lord. And they listened to God through His prophets when he said, "Stand still to see and to watch what the Lord would do for you." Can I encourage you today to remember the battle is not yours. The battle belongs to the Lord. Stand still and watch to see what the Lord will do for you.

At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him. (Deuteronomy 10:8-9) ~~~~ This sermon was preached at Bells Yew Green Chapel. ~~~~ ***To have a Levites portion is to: -*** *1/ Be a separated people unto the Lord. 2/ Not lands, Not material things, but spiritual. 3/ To have the Lord as our inheritance. 4/ To be a scattered people. 5/ To be a people to serve the Lord.* **Sermon Summary:** The sermon explores the spiritual significance of the tribe of Levi, whose inheritance was the Lord Himself rather than earthly land. Drawing from Deuteronomy 10 and 1 Peter 2, it illustrates how believers are called to be a separated and scattered people, prioritizing eternal heavenly treasures over material wealth. The preacher emphasizes that God's chosen portion for His people involves spiritual blessings and service, requiring contentment with their current circumstances and trust in divine providence. This perspective encourages the congregation to view themselves as pilgrims on earth, finding their true rest and identity in Christ alone.

We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. Most of us learned it in Sunday school as a lesson about being kind, helping others, and doing the right thing.But Jesus wasn't just giving us another moral rule to follow.In this Sunday School Remix episode, I take a deeper look at Luke 10:25–37 and the moment that prompted Jesus to tell this parable in the first place. A lawyer—someone who knew all the religious rules—asked Jesus a familiar question: “Who is my neighbor?” Luke tells us he asked it hoping to justify himself.That detail matters.Because this story isn't about earning goodness or proving you're right. It's about how easily religious rules can distract us from mercy—and how God keeps placing opportunities for compassion directly in our path.In this episode, we explore:Why Jesus tells this story in response to self-justificationHow religious rules can become barriers to compassionWhy the priest and Levite walk by—and why that made sense religiouslyWhy making the Samaritan the hero was so shockingHow humility is the starting point for real compassionWhat it looks like to notice the needs God places right in front of usThe Good Samaritan isn't a story about being a better rule-follower. It's an invitation to live a life shaped by mercy—again and again.

On today’s edition of SUFTT, Mary takes a look at Psalm 73 as a much-needed answer to the wrestling we all do in the face of a world gone awry. Levite, prophet and worship leader Asaph, author of a dozen Psalms, takes us on a tour through his heart and mind over the seeming success of the rich and famous of his time. We wonder at times what he all struggled with, since we have all the knowledge of good and evil at our fingertips through global media. Nevertheless, he certainly had his share of wrestlings when it came to being distracted by those who had it all, and gave no thought to their own eternity. Why do people who know they will die at some point seem to not even care how it all ends? Asaph knew that God is good, and He has a covenant with Israel – but he still had lots of deep questions for His Maker. But has God ever taken away those who vex us with instant relief? No, the rich and carefree have been with us always, it is US who change after being with our God, in His house. A great lesson for us all who struggle with cultural issues and how to respond in our hearts with a life of contentment.   Stand Up For The Truth Videos: https://rumble.com/user/CTRNOnline & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQQSvKiMcglId7oGc5c46A

IntroductionIf there's one passage that makes American Christians squirm a little, it's this one. "Held everything in common"? "No needy person among them?” Sell the house, sell the land, drop it at the apostles' feet? Our first instinct is to wonder if private property itself is the problem. It certainly appears to be the case, considering that Ananias and Sapphira drop dead after deceiving the apostles about their land sale. Why is it such a big deal that they did not give the whole amount to the apostles?Sharing BurdensThe apostles had just prayed for boldness, and Luke shows us that prayer answered as they give the testimony of Christ's resurrection. This leads the community to also seek to share one another's burdens. The Jerusalem church was poor. Scripture tells us that the church was poor. The widows live on the church (Acts 6),Paul explicitly calls attention to the poverty of the Jerusalem church (Romans 15). Paul lays out the procedure and defense of the offering for the Jerusalem church (1 Corinthians 16). So when Luke says there was "no needy person among them," he is summarizing how well the church joins together to bear one another's burdens. Acts tells us how they did this: Christians sold land and houses and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet. This is a demonstration of submission. The Apostles would distribute the funds as needed by individuals. Barnabas, literally meaning “son of a prophet”, but Luke names him "son of encouragement.” This tells us that the word of God is encouragement. Barnabas is a Levite who technically should not own land under the old case laws, and yet he does, and he's never rebuked for it. This is puzzling: is it okay for a priest to own land if he gives it to the church? Does this mean that the call for Christians is not to have private property? Being a BurdenAnanias (grace of the Lord) and Sapphira (beautiful) enter the scene. Unfortunately, they do not live up to their names. They sell land, keep back part of the proceeds, and present their offering as if it were the whole. Peter's word for what they did is "pilfered.” This is a word that Luke borrows from Joshua 7 with the Achan story. Achan stole from the Lord, and so Luke is drawing the correlation to this couple in the context of the church. It is important to understand that this is not something they did as an absent-minded oversight. Acts 5:2 makes it very clear that they conspired together as a couple. We might think that the problem is that they wanted private property. However, Peter is explicit in verse 4: the land was theirs; they were never obligated to sell it, and even after selling it, the money was still theirs to keep or give as they chose. This tells us that the gifts were still voluntary, but people gave generously to share one another's burdens. So, the sin was not withholding money. It was staging a performance to gain a better place in the community. They are pretending to give everything for the praise of the church. They want to have a prestigious place in the community rather than seeking to serve their fellow Christians. Peter calls attention to the heinousness of this sin, “Why has Satan filled your heart?” We might think that Peter is a hypocrite in asking this question. Christ himself says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” However, Peter knows that one cannot blame satan. He knows that Ananias could have and should have stood up to Satan. However, his desire to be significant in the community without Christ is his downfall. The devil did not make him do it, but he did it himself. So, Peter is not condemning them for having land. He's exposing a heart that wanted to look sacrificial without actually being sacrificial. They lie to the Holy Spirit as they deceive the church. They use the church to prop themselves up rather than being used by the church. ConclusionIs it wrong to own private property? Is that why this couple dies? No! Scripture elsewhere defends both generosity and private land ownership, and this passage does too, if we read it honestly. We are reminded that Christians may have to radically share one another's burdens. Some might ask if Ananias and Saphira are in heaven? This is the wrong question, isn't it? This is a question that distracts us from the real issue: where do we find our significance? We are called to find it in Christ. This narrative reminds us that God is not pleased when people come into his community and use his community for their self-promotion and advancement. God does not praise those who exploit others for their own advancement. God cares about the poor, the widow, and those who are unjustly treated in this age. The severity of God's judgment here isn't really about money at all. No, it's a warning not to play games with the Lord, not to use the church's generosity as a stage for our own significance. This whole account only makes sense in light of Philippians 2. How does Christ care for the sinful and exploited? He does more than just share their burdens, but he emptied himself of significance so that the sinful and broken can have life in him. This church is emulating Christ's model as they voluntarily share one another's burdens for the glory of Christ. No, God is not greedy! In fact, he is abundantly generous. May his generosity impact our desire to share one another's burdens.

A @Christadelphians Video:What a thought-provoking and revealing journey this is! In this outstanding expositional study, we (your Christadelphian brothers and sisters) delve into the life of Obed Edom—a often-overlooked character whose story holds wonderful encouragement for every believer. Was he a Levite? Or a Gentile Philistine? The answer changes everything.Brother Roger Lewis masterfully unpacks 1 Chronicles 13, tracing the ark's journey from disaster at Uzzah's breach to divine blessing in Obed Edom's house. We explore how his attitude of reverence, not mere ceremony, drew Yahweh's favour. Most insightful of all, we see how this Gentile “Gittite” became a trusted porter before the ark—and how his family grew to supply 62 of the 93 temple gatekeepers! This isn't just history; it's a powerful prophecy of Gentiles being grafted into Israel's hope (Amos 9, Acts 15). Prepare to be inspired to make your own home a sanctuary for God's presence.**Chapters:**00:00 – Introduction & Purpose of the Series 00:55 – The Stark Contrast: Uzzah's Breach vs. Obed Edom's Blessing 02:01 – Was Obed Edom a Levite? Examining the Evidence 03:27 – “Gittite” – Uncovering the Philistine Origin (Joshua 13, 2 Samuel) 08:07 – Obed Edom: A Philistine Proselyte and David's Friend 12:48 – Why Was He Blessed? His Attitude of Reverence, Not Ritual 14:32 – The Blessing Defined: Psalm 128 & a Household Multiplied 18:45 – Obed Edom as a Porter Marching Behind the Ark (1 Chronicles 15) 25:10 – Two Tabernacles: Gibeon (Old Covenant) vs. Zion (New Covenant) 26:30 – Thirty Years Later: 62 Descendants Serving as Porters (1 Chronicles 26) 31:10 – Revelation in Amos 9: The Tabernacle of David & the Remnant of Edom 35:25 – Acts 15: James Quotes Amos to Include Gentile Believers 39:54 – Personal Application: Making Our Homes a Little Sanctuary 44:53 – Conclusion & Call to Action **

Can Christians watch horror movies? Is horror merely entertainment, or can it reveal profound theological truths? In this episode of The Biblical Mind Podcast, Dru Johnson sits down with theologian and film scholar Dr. Kutter Callaway to explore why horror has become one of today's most influential storytelling genres—and why Christians should take it seriously.Drawing from his new book, Be Afraid: What Horror Reveals About Facing the Darkness, Callaway argues that great horror doesn't simply frighten audiences; it exposes deep truths about evil, suffering, trauma, sin, and the human condition. Together, Dru and Kutter examine the horrifying stories already found in Scripture—from the Levite's concubine in Judges to the crucifixion—and ask what these passages have in common with modern horror films.The conversation also explores why supernatural horror resonates with younger generations, how films like Get Out, The Babadook, Hereditary, and Midsommar wrestle with inherited trauma and cultural fears, and why interpreting films in community resembles reading the Bible in community. Whether you're skeptical of horror or an avid fan, this episode offers a thoughtful biblical framework for understanding fear, art, and the stories that shape our imaginations.Learn more about Kutter Callaway at his website! (Click Here)Order his latest book (click here)We are listener supported. Give to the cause here:https://hebraicthought.org/giveFor more articles:https://thebiblicalmind.org/Social Links:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HebraicThoughtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hebraicthoughtThreads: https://www.threads.net/hebraicthoughtX: https://www.twitter.com/HebraicThoughtBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hebraicthought.orgChapters:00:00 Defining Horror: A Genre Exploration02:46 Horror in Biblical Texts: A New Perspective06:14 The Role of Horror in Understanding Humanity09:00 Personal Experiences with Horror and Its Impact16:09 The Supernatural vs. Slasher Horror: A Comparative Analysis21:12 Cultural Reflections in Horror Films22:16 Exploring Horror and Societal Trauma25:12 Artistic Truths in Horror Films28:01 Parent-Child Dynamics in Horror30:26 Emerging Voices in Horror Cinema32:42 Reflections on Personal and Societal Sin35:31 Horror as a Reflection of Societal Fears37:02 Engaging with Horror: Questions to Consider41:11 Community Interpretation of Art and ScriptureSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Levite leaves Bethlehem to look for another job, and runs into Micha who offers him to be a priest at his temple.

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall take a look at Jochebed and Zipporah.JOCHEBED (Yahweh Gloried): THE MOTHER OF MOSES.Jochebed, wife of Amram and mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, is mentioned by name only in Exod 6:20 and Num 26:59, both genealogical listings. Jochebed, whose name apparently means YHWH is glory,” is notable as the first person in the Bible to have a name with the divine element yah, a shortened form of YHWH.Jochebed, wife of Amram and mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, is mentioned by name only in Exod 6:20 and Num 26:59, both genealogical listings. The narrative in Exodus 2 about Moses' birth introduces her, without providing her name, as a member of the priestly tribe Levi; she marries a Levitical man, also unnamed here. The mother, in defiance of the Pharaoh's order that every male Hebrew child be killed, hides her newborn son for three months and then places him in a basket in the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter (also unnamed) finds the child and accepts the offer of Moses's sister Miriam, who witnesses the rescue of her brother, to find a Hebrew woman as a wet nurse for the infant. The narrative cleverly places Jochebed as the caregiver for her own son.The story in Exodus 2 clearly focuses on Moses, whose rescue from the river resembles other birth tales presenting culture heroes. The omission of the names of the child's family members contributes to the heightened interest in Moses. The genealogical information about his mother, as not only the daughter of Levi but also as the wife (and aunt!) of a Levite, serves to highlight the priestly pedigree of both Moses and Aaron. In addition, Jochebed, whose name (Hebrew yokheved) apparently means “YHWH is glory,” is notable as the first person in the Bible to have a name with the divine element yah, a shortened form of YHWH. The tradition that Moses announces to the Israelites that YHWH is the name of their Elohim (Exod 6:1–8) is thus embedded in his maternal lineage: if his mother bears YHWH's name, Moses learned it from her.Pharaoh's daughter said to Jochebed: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." (Exod. 2:9.)This is the last we hear of Jochebed, Moses' mother.THE RESULT OF HER LIFE's WORKwas the man Moses. The true mother lives again in her son. There is the answer to her prayers; there is the result of her watchfulness; there is the true correction of her own faults reproduced in her son. Moses might never have been the man he was had it not been for Jochebed.                Who knows how many a leader of Yahweh's people may be at the present time in course of training by some pious mother? Who knows but that the little James or John or William, who is playing with the kitten in the living room, may someday become a man to whom hundreds or thousands may look for help and direction? Oh let every mother who reads these pages understand her vocation when a higher than Pharaoh's daughter says to her: "Take this child and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages."                But the wages of Jochebed were not to be given by the princes of this world. To be the mother of a Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face, like who there arose not since in Israel (Deut. 34:10): this was an honor which none but Yahweh could give. ZIPPORAH (bird): THE WIFE OF MOSES.Exod. 2:15-22                Zipporah is the wife of Moses, given to him in marriage by her Midianite priest father. She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her son's foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. However, Zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her.                Zipporah is a Midianite woman who becomes the wife of Moses. After Moses kills an Egyptian, he flees from the pharaoh and settles among the Midianites, an Arab people who occupied desert areas in southern Transjordan, northern Arabia, and the Sinai. He meets the seven daughters of Reuel, priest of Midian, at a well; rescues them from shepherds who are harassing them; and fills their jugs with water. In gratitude, Reuel (called Jethro or Hobab in other biblical passages) offers Moses hospitality, then gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage (Exod 2:21–22). She and Moses have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exod 18:3–4).Zipporah is the heroine of a bizarre incident that takes place as Moses heads back to Egypt with his wife and sons (Exod 4:20). On their way, at a night encampment, “The Lord met him [Moses] and tried to kill him” (Exod 4:24). No reason is given, just as no reason is given for the angel's attack on Jacob as he came back from Mesopotamia (Gen 32:24). Jacob was alone and wrestled with the angel all night; Moses is with his wife, who comes to his rescue. She takes a flint and cuts off her son's foreskin. She then flings the foreskin at “his” feet, declaring that he is hatan damim to her (Exod 4:26). Zipporah's enigmatic statement has two possible explanations: she flings the foreskin at Moses's feet, saying, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me” (NRSV), or she flings it at Yahweh's feet, saying, “You are a blood father-in-law to me.” (Damim means “blood,” and hatan can mean either “bridegroom” or “father-in-law.”) Either way, her deed and words stop the attack. The story is already difficult for the narrator, who adds a comment that hatan damim refers to circumcision. The situation remains unclear to us. Zipporah, however, understood it and acted decisively to rescue Moses. Zipporah's name, meaning “bird,” combined with her protection of Moses, is reminiscent of the fierce loyalty to her husband Osiris of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who is often portrayed as a bird of prey.Zipporah is not well rewarded. At some point before the exodus from Egypt, Moses sends her and the children away (Exod 18:2). After the exodus, her father, the priest of Midian (here called Jethro), comes to visit Moses, bringing Zipporah and her two sons. Moses is told that his father-in-law Jethro is “coming to see you, with your wife and her two sons” (Exod i8:6). Moses goes out to greet Jethro and takes him into his tent, but nothing is said about his greeting Zipporah.Moses' neglect of Zipporah is obvious, as he (not Yahweh) tells the men at Sinai not to approach any women in preparation for Yahweh's approach in three days (Exod 19:2). Since he himself is apparently always in preparation for meeting with Yahweh, we can infer that he never sleeps with Zipporah. In Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because of the “Cushite woman” whom he married, but they do not mention her name. Midrashic tradition assumed they were discussing Moses' neglect of Zipporah. Other interpreters see the Cushite woman as a second wife, with Miriam and Aaron opposed to the marriage. But no children are ever recorded for a second wife of Moses.

The clergymen of Anathoth, a Levite city, are speaking religious bromides which give evil Judah false comfort. Jeremiah, by speaking the truth, has brought embarrassment to the men in his home town. Thus they plot to silence and perhaps kill him.

The Great CommandsJune 28, 2026 • Greg Pinkner • Luke 10:25–37This Sunday, Greg teaches from Luke 10:25–37. Jesus uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to show that the command to love God and love our neighbor is not merely a moral lesson, but a deeper picture of salvation, mercy, and true faith. When the lawyer asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus points him back to Scripture, revealing that no one can perfectly love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, which shows our desperate need for a Savior. The priest and Levite represent religious knowledge and position without mercy, while the Samaritan shows unexpected compassion by stopping, serving, and sacrificing for the wounded man. Jesus teaches that right belief and right living cannot be separated: true faith produces mercy, love, and action toward others.WEBSITE: https://fellowshipknox.org/INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/fellowshipknox/

The Rebbe responds to a letter about the Levite's song for the sixth day, connecting it to our era and the mission of spreading Chassidus. He explains how this relates to preparing the world for the revelation of G-d's kingship and the coming of Mashiach. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/012/004/4075

But if it's from God… Acts 5 by William Klock There was a package slip from Canada Post below the mail slot when I got here last Friday.  I was kind of annoyed, because not only did I have no idea where the package was from, for some reason I had to go all the way over to the post office in Comox to pick it up.  And when they handed it to me I was perplexed.  The sender was just some distribution company.  The box was large and heavy.  A mystery.  And when I got it home and opened it up, it was still a mystery.  A boxed set of about fifteen books from a ministry called Be United in Christ.  Nice looking hardcovers.  The set looks expensive.  A few of them were reprints of books by Jonathan Edwards, Jeremiah Burroughs, and Charles Spurgeon, but frustratingly none of the others say a word about their authors and I couldn't find much online about the ministry itself or who's behind it.  The books are a generous gift.  But do I just put them out for you all to take home and read?  Edwards, Burroughs, Spurgeon are okay.  Puritans, not Anglicans, but still part of the same general theological tradition—for the most part.  But are they there just to get me to trust the other anonymous books?  I don't know.  This is the shepherd's dilemma.  I don't have time to read them or really even to meaningfully skim them.  The problem would be solved if I knew something about who sent them. And I think that illustrates well what St. Luke is getting at in our text today.  We'll be looking at Acts 5.  [Page 1084 in the pew Bibles.]  And at first Acts 5 might seem like a series stories or events that are related only because they happened in the order Luke presents them, but are kind of otherwise “random”.  But the more I thought about the Chapter, the more a common theme started to take shape.  So far, Luke has shown us the birth of the church through the preaching of Peter and the work of the Spirit.  And then he's shown us the church taking shape, not just as some new religion—which I think is how we're often (wrongly!) prone to seeing it—but as the fulfilment of God's promises to Israel.  Luke shows us the church as the new temple.  God has returned to his people as he promised, but not to the bricks-and-mortar temple on the mountaintop above Jerusalem. Instead, he's come to indwell the people whom Jesus has purified with his blood.  This is a human temple meant to one day fill the whole earth and with it God's presence.  And Luke has shown us the church not just as a family, but as the family that Israel was always supposed to be, but failed to be; the family in which God is fulfilling his promises through Jesus and the Spirit; the family in which his kingdom, his new creation, his renewed humanity is being born.  It's a community meant to take up the vocation of Jesus and to be prophets, priests and kings, proclaiming the good news about the lordship of Jesus to Jerusalem and Judah—and eventually to the whole world. But as we've seen, it's not just the proclamation.  It's not just the preaching.  That's absolutely necessary.  But it's the lived community—the “family-ness”—of the church that backs up the message and says that this is the real deal.  Because Israel had been talking the talk for a thousand years.  But Israel ended up in exile in Babylon because she failed over and over to walk the walk.  You can't preach light while living in darkness.  You can't claim to be God's people while you worship idols.  You can't proclaim new creation while living like the old.  That's why, at the end of Chapter 4, which we saw last week, Luke talked for a second time about the way the church in Jerusalem became a family and took care of those in need.  They were actively living out the bounty and generosity of God and his new creation.  As the new Israel, they were a little land of milk and honey.  And Luke held up Jospeh the Levite as particularly exemplary, because he unselfishly sold some land and brought the proceeds to the apostles to help their ministry. It wasn't a requirement for church membership.  It sounds like Joseph was wealthy and so he used his wealth to build up the church and it was his way of living out new creation.  And it was obviously unique—not something everyone did—because they nicknamed him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement”.  And that leads straight into Acts 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  This couple wanted the same sort of attention Barnabas was getting.  Luke writes, “There was, however, a man named Ananias with his wife, Sapphira.  He sold some property and, with his wife's knowledge, kept back part of the price.  He brought the rest and laid it at the apostle's feet.  ‘Ananias!' said Peter.  ‘Why did the Satan fill your heart to make you tell a lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?  While it was still yours, it belonged to you, didn't it?  And, when you sold it, it was still in your power.  Why did you get such an idea in your heart?  It isn't men that you've lied to; it's God!'  When Ananias heard these words he fell down and died.  Everyone who heard about it was scared out of their wits.  The young men got up, took him away, wrapped up his body and buried him.  After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  Peter spoke to her.  ‘Tell me,' he said, ‘did you sell the land for this much?'  ‘Yes,” she replied, ‘that was the price.'  ‘So why,' Peter answered, ‘did you agree together to put the Holy Spirit to the test?  Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out too!'  At once she fell down at his feet and died.  The young men were just coming in and they found her dead, so they took her out and buried her beside her husband.  Great fear came upon the whole gathering and on all who heard about these things.” Great fear!  No kidding.  Now, growing up—and for years afterward—I thought this was a story about “tithing”.  In Sunday school we would sing a song about how Ananias and Sapphira got together to conspire a plot to cheat the church and get ahead.  They knew God's power but did not fear it, tried to cheat the Holy Spirit.  Peter prophesied it and they both dropped dead. Uh!  (That “Uh!” was the good part—one of the few times you could be rowdy in church.) And the chorus of the song went on to sing about how God loves a cheerful giver, give him all you've got.  It had me terrified as a kid.  I didn't have any income, but I knew that someday when I did, I'd better give God his due or I might drop dead.  No one ever talked about the part where they lied about what they were giving.  And no one ever paid attention to the context of the story. It is a terrifying story.  Even the people in the church who saw it and heard about, Luke writes, were pretty terrified.  But the way we usually hear about Ananias and Sapphira, I think, gets us worried about the wrong thing.  Because, Brothers and Sisters, this is isn't a story about tithing; it's a story about the need for holiness.  It's a story that reminds us that if we're going to be God's temple, if we're going to be the place where he dwells in the person of his Spirit, if we're going to be the place where the world meets God, we need to take holiness seriously. The first thing that ought to tip us off here is the way these first chapters of Acts are all centred on the temple.  More specifically, they're focused on how the church has become the new temple and how it—particularly through Peter and John spending their days in the old temple—how the church is confronting and challenging the old: the old temple, the old Israel, and the priests and elders associated with both.  The second thing that ought to tip us off is the nature of the story.  It's not a common thing, even in the Bible, for God to just suddenly strike someone dead.  But the few times we do see that happen, what's it associated with?  Think Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons, playing around with the holy things of God and offering “strange fire” on the altar.  Zap.  Dead.  Instantly.  And poor Uzzah when David's men were rescuing the ark of the covenant from the Philistines.  They didn't carry it the way God had told them to.  Instead, they put it on a cart.  And the cart started to tip and Uzzah—well meaning, but horribly wrong—reached out to steady it.  And zap!  Uzzah was struck dead on the spot.  I can think of a few other slightly less dramatic.  There was Achan who, in the ruins of Jericho, stole some of the treasure that belonged to the Lord.  His sin had consequences for the whole community of Israel in their next battle, but maybe most importantly, it was the Lord who revealed the guilty to Joshua.  And Achan and his family died.  Or King Uzziah who arrogantly entered the temple to burn incense and was immediately struck with leprosy. The point is this, Brothers and Sisters, if you're going to walk with God, holiness is not an option.  The wages of sin is death.  For the vast majority of us, living and then dying is just so normal that sometimes we need a reminder that life is God's gift, that sin separates us from God, and that we die because of that separation.  Sometimes the reminders are instantaneous, dramatic, and terrifying.  Other times they play out over generations.  Like Israel herself: generation after generation of faithlessness and idolatry that eventually led, for the northern kingdom, to annihilation—national death—and for the southern kingdom exile.  St. Paul warns the Corinthians that some of them are sick and dying because they've abused the Lord's Supper.  In John's revelation, Jesus warns the churches that if they aren't faithful, if they fail to properly represent him and his kingdom, he will take away their lampstands.  They will, as churches, die.  God requires holiness of his people and holiness is serious business.  The church is God's means of making the good news of Jesus known.  The church is God's means of making his new creation visible and real in the world.  And if we undermine the credibility of the gospel through unholiness—well, God is patient—most of the time—but if we refuse to repent, he will make us witnesses to his power and sovereignty through his discipline rather than his blessing. Ananias and Sapphira lied because they wanted a reputation they hadn't earned.  How do we misrepresent the gospel and the kingdom and Jesus?  In what way do we or does the church compromise our witness?  What idols have we set up alongside the cross?  What things do we do that bring public shame on Jesus and the Spirit?  What compromises our holiness?  And do our compromises and our idolatries and our hypocrisies run so deep or are they so common that maybe we no longer even see them.  But people out there do.  And God does.  Brothers and Sisters, that's what the story of Ananias and Sapphira is about. But Acts 5 is more than a terrifying warning to holiness.  It's also an exhortation.  Look at verse 12: “Many signs and wonders were performed by the apostles amongst the people.  They were all together in Solomon's Porch, while none of the others dared join them, though the people spoke highly of them.  But more people, a crowd both of men and women, believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  They used to bring the sick into the streets and place them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on them as he went by.  Crowds gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing people who were sick or infested with unclean spirits.  All of them were cured.” God struck down the people who were compromising the church's gospel witness, but he blessed the ministry of Peter.  As Luke notes, after the confrontation with the Jewish authorities, no one dared to join him, but when Peter went out with boldness to proclaim the good news, God made him a walking pocket of new creation.  It makes me think of the dead temporarily raised on Good Friday, as if the shockwave of life was so powerful it had an almost undiscriminating effect as it went out from the cross.  The same sort of thing happens with Peter. I think when we read this, our modern democratic mindset has us wondering why we don't see this happening today.  Why doesn't this happen when my shadow falls on people when I'm walking around.  And again, I have to come back to the biblical witness itself.  The point of miracles is that they don't happen every day.  And when they do happen, even in the Bible, they cluster around those times and places where God is doing something new.  They clustered around Jesus and now we see them clustering around the apostles, validating them in the same way they validated Jesus.  And they're happening right at the gate of the temple—God's not so subtle way to announce that, yes, he's come back to dwell with his people just as he promised, but he's not dwelling in the holy of holies in the bricks-and-mortal temple; he's come to dwell in this people purified and made even holier than the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus.  Think of it like a rocket launch.  There's a blast of almost uncomprehensible power that launches a rocket off the ground and into orbit.  Once it's up there, it just needs a little nudge from time to time to keep it there.  This was God's way of launching the gospel. Now, verse 17: “Then the high priest got up and all who were with him, namely the group called the Sadducees.  They were filled with zeal [think “righteous indignation”] and seized the apostles and put them in the public jail.  But an angel of the Lord came in the night, opened the prison doors, and brought them out.  ‘Go and take your stand in the temple,' he said, ‘and speak all the words of this life to the people.'  When they heard this, they went in at early morning and began to teach.  When the high priest arrived with his entourage, they called the official assembly and all the elders of the sons of Israel, and they sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in.  But when the attendants went they didn't find them in the prison.  So they came and reported back.  ‘We found the jail shut up with maximum security,' they said, ‘and the guards were standing in front of the doors.  But when we opened up we found no one inside.'  When they heard these words, the commander of the temple police and the chief priests were at a loss about them, with no idea what had happened.  But then someone came with a message for them.  ‘Look!' he said.  ‘The men you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.'  Then the commander went with his attendants and brought them.  They didn't use force, though, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.” Luke has a sense of humour.  So does God.  The high priest is full of zeal.  This idea of “zeal” characterised what the Jews of those days thought of as faithfulness.  Their heroes were men like Phinehas, who speared a law-breaking idolater to the ground; like Judas Maccabbeus, who led a revolt against the pagan Geek rulers of Israel.  They were zealous for God and for his law and they burned with anger at anyone who compromised it.  And that's how they felt about the apostles.  Peter and John, just like Jesus, were challenging the temple.  The temple leaders wanted them dead, but they also feared the people.  Everyone else could see new creation and the power of God—life—bursting into the world, but all these guys could see was a threat to the status quo.  And so they throw the apostles into jail.  And God sends an angel to set them free and not just that, but to send them straight back to the temple, to the place where they were arrested.  And there's an urgency to the angel's words.  “Go back the temple.  Take your stand.  Speak the words of this life to the people.” The miracles were wonderful.  The miracles said that God was doing something, that new creation life was breaking in.  That there was something about the apostles.  But Brothers and Sisters, miracles without preaching lead to superstition.  Good works without preaching leave people applauding the people doing the good works.  It's our proclamation, our preaching, our announcement of the good news about Jesus, crucified and risen and lord, that makes sense of the miracles and the good works.  It's the preaching that points people to Jesus—not just in a generic sense to “God”, but specifically to Jesus.  It's the preaching that makes clear that in the Messiah, God has provided a sacrifice that purifies us from the stain of sin to make us fit to be his temple, filled with his own Spirit, to bring his grace and his mercy and his love and his holiness and his new creation to the world.  It's our life as God's working model of new creation that attracts people, but it's our preaching that calls them specifically to Jesus in repentance and faith. This whole chapter is a reminder that preaching alone without holiness and without living out new creation is not enough, but that it's also not enough to live out that new creation, to be a heaven on earth people, even to work miracles.  It has to be accompanied by the proclamation of the good news about Jesus.  Otherwise we're like the mystery box of books.  Who's this from?  Should I trust it?  So the angel sends them back to preach.  And there they are preaching in the temple just as the priests assemble to hold court.  And they send for the accused and no one can find them, until someone runs in and shouts: “They're back preaching right under your noses!” “So,” Luke goes on in verse 27, “they brough them and stood them in the assembly.  The high priest questioned them.  ‘We gave you strict orders, didn't we?' he demanded.  ‘We told you not to teach in this name, but look what you're doing.  You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you're trying to bring this man's blood on us.'  ‘We must obey God, not men!' responded Peter and the apostles.  ‘The God of our fathers raised Jesus after you had laid violent hands on him and hanged him on a tree.  God exalted him to his right hand as leader and saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, which God gave to those who obey him.'  When they heard this, they were infuriated and wanted to kill them.  But then a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel stood up in the assembly.  He was a law-teacher, highly respected by all the people.  He ordered the men to be put outside for a short while.  ‘Men of Israel,' he said to the gathering, ‘be careful what you do to these men.  Before these times Theudas rose up, claiming to be someone special and about four hundred men went off to join him.  But he was killed and all the people who trusted him were dispersed.  The movement came to nothing.  After that Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew a crowd after himself.  But he was killed and all those who trusted him were scattered.  So my advice to you now is this.  Leave off from these men; let them be.  You see, if this plan or work is merely human in origin, it will come to ruin.  But if it's from God—well, you won't be able to stop them.  You might even be found to be fighting against God.'  They were persuaded by him and called the apostles back in.  They beat them and told them not to speak in the name of Jesus.  Then they let them go.  They, however, went out from the presence of the assembly celebrating, because they had been reckoned worthy to suffer disgrace for the name.  And all day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah.” The assembly has the apostles beaten, but they know the scriptures.  They've seen how Jesus suffered and died as part of his ministry to fulfil those scriptures.  So Peter and John and the others take this opposition as confirmation.  And Luke goes into these details here, because this is going to be a pattern throughout the book of Acts.  Suffering for the name of Jesus is a privilege.  But he also highlights the importance of the church's integrity to its—to our—witness.  Again, we are God's temple.  He's returned as he promised, not to the stone building that once sat over Jerusalem, but by filling us—the people purified and made holy by the blood of Jesus.  The beauty of a human temple is that it can grow and grow and grow until it fills the earth with God's presence, with his wisdom, with his gospel life.  But it's also important that the temple remain pure.  Jesus has purified it.  The Holy Spirit has sanctified it.  But we're still human.  We're not perfect—not yet.  Brothers and Sisters, this is why, as Paul puts it, we need to put on the Messiah.  To put off the old, corrupt, sinful and selfish way of being human and put on Jesus and the new life of the gospel, the new life of the Spirit.  To be the holy people Jesus and the Spirit have made us.  To walk in integrity: in our personal affairs, in our relationships, in our marriages, in our business, in our politics, in our finances, in our life together as the church, as the temple.  We really do need to be the new humanity and God's new creation.  We need to be—so much as Jesus and the Spirit make it possible—to be God's future right here in the present.  And we need to take our stand and proclaim the name of Jesus so that when people notice our holiness and our integrity, they'll also know that it's not just us, but that it's all about this Jesus who died and rose again—for us, for them, for the sake of all creation—to forgive, to purify, to heal, and to set to rights.  I can't say exactly what it's supposed to look like.  Acts was unique.  The rocket ship was launching.  Now it's in orbit.  Our shadows are highly unlikely to heal anyone, and yet Peter's shadow and Peter's preaching really do represent the ministry of the faithful church to bring healing to the world, to wipe away tears, to announce what Jesus has done and what Jesus is doing and what Jesus will, finally, one day finish as we bring hope to the world.  Do it with integrity, Brothers and Sisters.  And do it in holiness. Let us pray: O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not our hold on things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Pastor Kevin teaches Luke 10:25–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and what it really means to love your neighbor. A lawyer tests Jesus with a question about eternal life, and Jesus turns it back on him with a story: a man beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho, passed over by a priest and a Levite, then helped by a Samaritan that no self-respecting Jew would have expected to be the hero. The point Jesus makes is quietly devastating. The question was never who qualifies as your neighbor. It was whether you are willing to be one.

An elderly woman lies unconscious on a hot sidewalk after a terrible fall. Several people stop to help. One calls 911, another gently places a coat under her head. Others put towels under her arms, and still another holds an umbrella over her head until paramedics arrive. As the person who posted the video writes, it’s an especially heartwarming scene because those who stopped included a wide range of age and ethnicities—all working together to help someone in distress. When an expert in God’s law asked Jesus who his neighbor was (Luke 10:29)—that is, who he was obligated to show love to—Jesus responded with a story of a man badly beaten by robbers, lying near death by the side of the road (vv. 30–31). A Levite and then a priest approached, but both passed by on the other side. Finally, a Samaritan stopped to help. What made this so unusual was that Jews and Samaritans had a history of scorn for the other. Yet it was the Samaritan who stopped (v. 33). After telling this parable, Jesus asked which was a neighbor to the fallen man. The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him” (v. 37). Jesus told him—and us, “Go and do likewise.” May God help us see that everyone we meet is our neighbor, another human created by Him and deserving of our aid.

In his latter days, David charges his son Solomon to build the temple for the worship of God, and this is when we learn a few pieces of new information. First, we learn that the Lord did not allow David to build the temple because his hands had shed so much blood and because he had waged great wars. We also realize that David looked forward to the building of the temple even though he himself couldn't build it, charging his son with the task and spending his own time and resources to create a stockpile for the project. David also assigns duties and tasks for the Levite priests before he dies, paving the way for transition from the tabernacle to the temple once Solomon becomes king. 1 Chronicles 21 - 1:03 .  1 Chronicles 22 - 8:07 .  1 Chronicles 23 - 12:24 .  Psalm 104 - 17:22 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall take a look at Tamar and JudahThe story of the life of Tamar appears in the ancestor narratives of Genesis. As Judah's daughter-in-law, Judah believes she has killed two of his sons, (even though the Scriptures tell us that Yahweh killed them Gen. 38:7, 10) and controls her so that she is unable to remarry. However, she ultimately tricks Judah into impregnating her and therefore secures her place in the family. She gives Judah two sons, and her story illustrates her loyalty and her willingness to be self-confident and unconventional. We shall find her story in Genesis 38 Tamar, daughter-in-law of Judah, married two brothers who died. By law she should have been able to marry the third brother so she could have a baby and be a full member of the tribe. When this did not happen, she took matters into her own hands. She dressed as a prostitute, had sex with her father-in-law Judah, and conceived twin sons.Names in the Bible often says something about the person:Tamar means ‘palm tree', source of food, shade, life Judah means ‘give praise to Yahweh' Er means ‘watchful' is the name of Tamar's first husband;  Er spelt backwards in Hebrew ‘ra' is the word for 'evil' Perez means ‘breach or he who pushes through', the one who breaks through a wall; Zerah means ‘raising of the light' Onan means ‘strong or the virile one' - ironic, since he refused to give Tamar a child What the story is about The story describes the way a widow, Tamar, obtained a child for herself and an heir for her dead husband's inheritance. It shows a virtuous woman who risked everything, her life and her reputation, to get what was rightfully hers.   It is part of the continuing Jewish preoccupations with social justice. The story also shows one of the main themes of the Book of Genesis: Yahweh's promise to continue the Jewish people, through many generations, against all odds.  Tamar is one of the four female ancestors of Yahshua Messiah, in Matthew's gospel. All four had irregularities in their marriages/sexual relationships. The story of Tamar contains four different episodes:  1                       Tamar married, but remained childless, Genesis 38:1-11. Tamar married into the family of Judah, first to Judah's son Er and then, after his death, to Onan his brother. Because of Onan's actions, she did not become pregnant. For a Jewish woman, this meant disgrace, because people thought that being childless was a punishment from Yahweh.This practical law was about two things:The woman's right to have children, and  keeping property within the family.  Under Levite law, Er's younger brother Onan was obliged to give Tamar a child. But he refused outright to do so, probably because any child born to Tamar would carry Er's name, not Onan's, and when their father died the child would inherit the dead brother's portion of the estate. He practiced the some form of birth control, and Tamar did not conceive. Onan thus failed to carry out the Levite obligation to Tamar, and disregarded his father's command. He died, and his death at such an early age was seen as just punishment from Yahweh. Deuteronomy 25:9-10 describes the punishment for a man who refused to obey the Levirate law: the woman went up to him in a public assembly, pulled his sandal from his foot, spat in his face, and said 'This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house'. To us the punishment does not sound very much, but in the context of the time it meant public disgrace. The action in verse 9 had symbolic meaning: the foot symbolized the male genitals, the sandal the female sexual organs, and the spittle, the semen.  The woman's action publicly humiliated the man, and his family's disgrace was remembered long after he himself was dead. Public shame was often used to enforce the law in ancient times.  When Onan died without giving Tamar a child, she looked to the third son of Judah to be her husband. But he was only a boy, too young to be a father. So Judah sent Tamar back to her family, promising to send for her when Shelah, [request or petition] the third son, was old enough. In fact, he was playing a trick on her, getting her to return to her father's household. Judah began to look on Tamar as a jinx, bad luck, responsible for the deaths of his two eldest sons. 2                       She claimed her Levirite rights, Genesis 38:12-19. Eventually, Tamar had to trick Judah in order to obtain a child. By ancient Hebrew standards, her actions were legal and morally right.Tamar waited patiently, but after a while it became clear that Judah did not mean to give her his third son Shelah as a husband. He refused to keep the Levirate law.  When she saw that she was to be left a childless widow, she decided to act. She did not blame ‘the system', but took the initiative to obtain what was rightfully hers.  She would play a trick on Judah, just as he had tricked her. The deceiver now became the deceived. She dressed in the special clothing of a prostitute, which included a veil across her face that disguised her identity, waited for Judah at the city gates, and persuaded him to have sexual intercourse with her.3                       She was accused of promiscuity, Genesis 38:20-26. Because she did not name the father of her child, it was assumed that she had been promiscuous, and Judah sentenced her to be burnt to death. But she saved herself by a clever ploy.When Judah's friend came to make payment to the unknown prostitute and reclaim Judah's seal, cord and staff, the woman was nowhere to be found. Tamar had gone home, without telling anyone who she was. But through this one act of sexual intercourse with Judah she had become pregnant, a fact that was soon evident to the people around her. Judah, who already blamed her for the deaths of his sons, thought the worst when he heard that she was pregnant. She was accused of ‘playing the whore'. 4                       She bore twin sons, Genesis 38:27-30. Her stubbornness was rewarded with the birth of sons, one of whom would be the ancestor of King David. Tamar's persistence on her rights was rewarded by the birth of not one but two children! ‘While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson threat, saying “This one came out first”. But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez.'These twins were jostling for position even before they were born. The theme of a brother pushing ahead of his elder sibling is a common motif in Genesis.  Tamar's sons were called Perez and Zerah. Perez would be an ancestor of King David. So we see the hand of Yahweh was in control the whole time this event was taking place!SummaryIn an odd sort of way, Tamar was more loyal to the tribe of Judah than Judah was himself. She knew she had a duty to produce an heir to her husband, and she was determined to do so, come what might. Despite her unorthodox methods, she was a woman of integrity who risked her life to fulfill her duty to herself and her family. She knew she had the right to a child, and she knew that her first husband Er had the right to an heir. So she acted to make this happen.  Once again, Yahweh's plan continued to unfold through the unorthodox actions of a woman. Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh!Have any questions? Feel free to email me; keitner2024@outlook.com

Gluttony Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | June 21, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. While you're at it, check us out on Facebook and Instagram too. Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript The Good Samaritan and the Age of Life: Love, Eternal Life, and the Narrow Road of Luke 10 — Sermon TranscriptSouth Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VARev. Dr. Eric GilchrestLuke 10:25–37June 14, 2026 This is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Rev. Dr. Eric Gilchrest preaches on the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25–37. This sermon is part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series and addresses what eternal life actually means in the original Greek, why love and life are inseparable in Jesus' teaching, and how the Good Samaritan parable reveals that walking the narrow road means active, costly, others-centered love. Opening Prayer: A Church on MissionHeavenly Father, we come today offering you thanksgiving for Ian and for Emma, the great work that they're doing at GW, but also for this church and for the work that those who are in these walls do for those who are outside of these walls. We, Lord, desire to be a church on mission, and we need to keep that front and center. And so, Lord, plant it in each of our hearts that as we go where we go throughout the week on Monday and Thursday and random points on a Saturday afternoon, that we be reminded that we bear your image, we bring your word to the world, and we make new disciples. And so, God, we pray all of this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Where We Are in The Jesus Way SeriesWe are in a series on two ways, right? There is the narrow way that leads to abundant life, and this morning we are talking about that way, and the way that Jesus teaches us to walk — a way that leads to abundance and to life eternal. And then the other way we'll get back to next week, and that's the broad way. It's the easy way, frankly, and it's the way that leads to death and destruction. On Father's Day next week, we will cover the lovely topic of gluttony, so you definitely won't want to miss that, dads. You're welcome. For today, though, we are in a parable that you are probably familiar with. Whether you've been around the church much or not, you definitely know what a Good Samaritan is. We even have like Good Samaritan laws, right? Well, I want to dive down deep, and I'll say this whole framing for me — the whole like two ways, the life, death — has become clarifying, we'll say, in ways that I've not anticipated and I have quite enjoyed as we've gone throughout this series. And I almost think of it as like this lens that I take and then I put it over top of the scripture that we're reading and then I kind of see what pops out, like what's new. And so here we are in a very familiar passage and it is, well, it came as a little bit of a surprise to me, exactly how Jesus frames this. So I hope you have a Bible with you. If you don't, go ahead and grab the one that's in front of you — we definitely want to turn to Luke 10 together. Luke 10:25–28: A Lawyer Asks About Eternal LifeSo again, Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 25. It starts this way as you're turning there. "Behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test." Here we have lawyers doing what lawyers do, right? A lawyer, though, you should know in this day and age is not what you're thinking of as a lawyer. He does not work for the IRS. He does not do like tax law or something like this. He is a lawyer of the Torah, the Jewish law, right? And so this is a man who knows his law well, but very specifically the first five books of our Bible. And this is going to become important because Jesus is going to say to him, like, what does the law say? Like, what does our Bible say, the one you and I share together, right? And so this lawyer, he has spent lots of time in the law, as we'll see, as good lawyers often do. They know the law in order to kind of skirt through it, and he's trying to do this in this passage, but he actually knows what he's talking about. So the passage goes on, and he says, "Teacher" — rabbi, this is Jesus here, our rabbi, the one we should be listening to and following — "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And as I'm pulling that lens, remember, and I'm putting it on and I see this phrase, eternal life, I think to myself, well, here it is. This is part of what we're trying to do for this season of our church history — looking at ways that lead to life and ways that lead to death. And here Jesus is being asked like the exact question I'm asking you and I'm trying to get us all talking about, and that I think is of utmost importance. We might even say a matter of life and death. And he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Now, if you were asked this question, if somebody on the street came to you, it's worth asking, like, what would you say? How would you answer that question? What "Eternal Life" Actually Means in the Greek: The Age of Life vs. The Age of Death Backing up just a minute, this phrase eternal life needs just a little bit of clarification. The word for eternal here is not exactly the platonic, like, eternal sense that you and I often use it. Now, it might mean that to a degree, but only in like a secondary sense. It actually comes from a Greek word, eon — or the English version is eon. Eon is an age, right? There's one eon, and then there's the next eon, there's one age, and then there's the next age. And he's asking him, well, how do I get myself into the age of life? It's important that you know that there is an age of death — or as Paul calls it, the evil age, right? This age actually is that, right? It's the age that ultimately we all know is hovered over by these two things of sin and death and evil, and it lurks about, and none of us get out of here alive, right? That's why this age is the age of death. And this is why the Bible speaks to this matter over and over and over again. And this is the final enemy, death. And so the man is asking a very good question, which is, how do we make it out of the age of death and then make it into the age of life? And he has in mind — he thinks like a good first century Jew — and I need you to think this way for a second so that we can maybe make it a little more complicated. His timeline goes like this. There's the age in which we live, the age of death. There's then an ending to that, and there is a resurrection that happens of all people, good and bad. And then there's a judgment that happens, and the people are either judged good or bad. And then there is the age of life. That might be how you're thinking of things right now, in fact. But here's the important wrinkle. A resurrection has already happened. A resurrection has already happened. And so when Jesus is resurrected, the timeline gets shoved into the present. And then also, with that happening, there is a real sense in which judgment has also happened, and yet is also going to happen. It's a both-and. And Paul, if we had time, he gives us both of these. But the point is actually this — what Jesus does is he drags eternal life and he puts it smack dab into this life. And this life is where eternal life begins. And he'll say things like, "the kingdom of God is in your midst, is among you." He's referring to himself. He's saying, through me starts this eternal life. It's here and it's now. And so when Jesus is being asked this question — what must I do to enter into this age of life? — he doesn't say it out loud, but he is saying, well, it starts right now. It's not something we're pushing off to the future. We don't just kind of do all the right things now and then punch a ticket and then we get into the thing. No, you're in it right now. Jesus Tosses the Question Back: How Do You Read the Law?And so he says to this lawyer — well, he refuses to answer his question, actually. What does he do? He tosses it right back to him. And he says to him, well, you tell me, you lawyer, you know the law. What's written in the law and how do you read it? I actually love that last question — the "how do you read it" — that is so important. I don't have time to dig down deep here, but just know that we should all be asking, like, how do we read this scripture? Like, how do you read it? We all read it slightly differently, but Jesus wants to teach us how we read our scripture. And so the man says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus, maybe to his shock, certainly to my shock, says, wow, you're correct. You got it right. Like, that is the answer. And in fact, in the other Gospels, Jesus is the one to say these things. Who knows? Maybe this lawyer got it from Jesus. And he says, you're supposed to love God. And by the way, all of those categories — that just simply means your whole being, everything you are. You're just supposed to love God with like every last ounce of who you are. And then love your neighbor as yourself. And this is the simplification of all things. It's the simplification of the law, the scriptures, what God is trying to do with the world. It is just love, right? Love God, love your neighbor. Now, I'd add this. When we talk about loving our neighbor, the Bible breaks down for us to love God with our souls and our minds and our strength and all these various aspects of who we are. And I would say, well, that's just a description of how to love. And we should do the same with the people in our lives. We should love them in similar kinds of ways, with our whole being. "He said to him, you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." Again, there's our word — life, right? Well, how do we live a life? And how do we do it right? And how do we stay on that narrow path? He says, well, do this. The guy gets it. "Who Is My Neighbor?" — The Question Jesus Refuses to Answer DirectlyAnd if we stopped there, we would feel really good about this passage and it'd all be done. But the man, remember, he's a lawyer and he knows his law. And the job of the lawyer is to get around the law and to kind of sneak through it. And so he says the follow-up. He wants to justify himself and says to Jesus, well, excuse me, who is my neighbor? Jesus does not answer this question. I'll just go ahead and say that very clearly here. Jesus does not answer who the neighbor is. He pulls up the example of somebody being a good neighbor — that is the Samaritan — treats the robbed man that we're going to meet here as the neighbor, but the Samaritan is not actually technically the neighbor here. He's the one who's doing it right, who is loving his neighbor well. All of this explodes the boxes that this lawyer no doubt has, and it should explode ours too. And I can't go into exactly what a Samaritan is, but I assure you, the lawyer is thinking the Samaritan is not one of us. Whoever the "us" is for you — not one of us. He's over there. He's one of them. And Jesus is saying, well, look at the them. Whoever your "them" is, they're doing it right. They're the one who's loving well. And it should cause us to stop in our tracks and to ask, well, if they're able to love well, and they're finding what Jesus is calling eternal life or abundant life in this life that's leading to this eternal life, well, maybe I've got some work to do. Jesus replies to the question that the lawyer asks. He doesn't answer it. He, of course, does what Jesus does, which is to either ask a question — which is what he did the first time — or to tell a story, which is what he does this time. Luke 10:30–32: The Priest and the Levite Pass ByAnd so he says, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, there was a priest going down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Well then likewise, a Levite came to the place, saw him, passed by on the other side." I assure you, the Levite knows the law too, right? And the priest, well, he knows the law too. And Jesus is saying, do the priest or the Levite do the law? That is, do they love their neighbor? And the answer is very clearly no, right? They do not. Luke 10:33–35: The Samaritan and the Meaning of CompassionNow the Samaritan, whether or not he knows the law is actually not exactly clear, and in some ways not even to the point. The Samaritan does the law. He does the thing that should be done here, which is he sees the man half dead, and he goes to help him. I would stop here for just one minute and point out this word to you — compassion, at the end of verse 33. Compassion. This word shows up only three times in your gospel of Luke. It shows up in the following ways. The widow of Nain — Jesus encounters this woman who already is a widow. She's lost her husband. She then loses her son in the story that is being told. And Jesus looks at this woman who has lost her husband and her son, and he has compassion. Which is to say, the word itself means like his insides are like turning outside, and he's like physically in pain watching this woman and is feeling her pain, right? It also shows up in the passage we're going to talk about next week as you join us for gluttony, which is the story of the prodigal son, actually. When the prodigal son returns home from his gluttonous encounters, the father is there and he looks at him from afar and he has compassion on him. His insides are turned outside. And then here, the Samaritan — he looks at this man and he has compassion on him. I would say if we are going to love at all, we need compassion. If we are going to love our neighbor as ourselves, it is going to require us to put ourselves into the very shoes of the neighbor, to walk the mile with them, to see ourselves as the dead man on the side of the road who needs help, and to ask the question, if I were that dead man, what would I want this priest to do for me? If I were that dead man, what should that Levite do? I'm crying out for him, and he walks right on by. That is not keeping the law. But the Samaritan — the Samaritan sees him and is able to put himself into his place and to see the position that he's in, which is helpless, and he has the ability to do something, and he does. Interestingly, this idea of love is then here for the next few verses explained not as a feeling the Samaritan has — because we all have the feeling when we see something bad happen, and we're like, oh, that's awful, oh man, I feel so bad for this person — love requires action. It requires actually doing something, which is precisely what the Samaritan does in the verses that follow. In verse 34, "He went to him, to the man dying on the side of the road, and he bound up his wounds, he poured on oil and wine to heal them, and then he set him on his own animal, and he brought him to an inn, and he took care of him." This doesn't even account for the fact that he took time out of his own, no doubt, busy schedule to stop and to help this man and to assist him to a place. And he probably missed a really important meeting. And I'm sure some friends and some family were probably upset with the Samaritan who was supposed to be home for dinner. And he missed the kid's soccer game. But he did this very important thing that was in front of him. But it doesn't even stop there. "The next day, he took out two denarii. And he gave it to the innkeeper. And he said, take care of him. And if you spend more, keep track of that, because I will repay you when I come back." This is a man who loves in a way that goes above and beyond, and it is active. It's not just a man who walks and says, oh, there's a person that is almost dead over here, and that's tragic, as he keeps walking on by. This is the kind of love that God is calling us into as well, and this is the narrow road that leads to life. You might understand why now it's a narrow road, because it's difficult to walk. It's the road less traveled. It's the one that requires something of you. "Go and Do Likewise": Love and Life Are InseparableAnd then Jesus finishes up. He says, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" And the lawyer has to confess, well, I guess it's the one who showed mercy. And then Jesus says again, well, you got it right. "Go and do likewise." Go and do likewise. When I think about this passage and this idea that we are to walk down this narrow road that leads to life — life and love, in my mind, are almost like one in the same. They all come together, these two come together in ways that are almost impossible to pull apart as you dig down deeper and deeper and deeper into what a full life is. I was trying to wrestle with the question, why does this road lead to life? Like, why does loving someone lead to life? And here's what I think Jesus is doing. Remember, Jesus has pulled eternal life into this life. The very one that you're in now, listening to me speak. And love in this life, this eternal life we're hopefully, prayerfully in — it is the substance of it all. Love is the design of humanity. It is what we were made for. In Eden, when we were created, we were created to love God. And then it was not good for man to be alone. So he creates Eve, and we were meant to love one another. And then he looks at the first couple and he says, multiply, make more of you, and then love them too. And this is what it's all for and all about. The God who made us is in himself self-giving love — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If the Trinity means one thing, it means pouring out love one to the other to the other. And we are made in that kind of image, which means the great commandment — love God and love neighbor — this is not a rule that gets bolted onto the side of life, as if it's like some sort of external hope that you might do this at some point. It is the manufacturer's description of how this whole thing runs. Withholding love doesn't keep you safe, and spending love doesn't drain your life. Jesus, in fact, says, do these things and you will have life. Jesus Is the Good Samaritan: He Crosses the Road to Find Us Half DeadWe see this love most clearly in the person of Jesus. When he pours himself out on the cross, he redeems us. He snatches us out of death and delivers us into an age of life, eternal life. If Jesus has done this for me, well, then he must love me, right? And if Jesus has done this for you — and he has — then he must love you. But Jesus has loved the whole world and God has sent his son that we all might have eternal life, that we all might be entered into the age of life. And why love? Because God loves you, and he wants us to love one another and to love him as we were intended to do. Communion: The Table as the Place Where Love and Life MeetAs we come to the table this morning, it is important that we recognize that this two-fold command of love — to love God and love our neighbor — it is kind of one thing. I would suggest to you that when God says to us that we are to love him, what he does not mean is that we have like a really nice worship service together and I have all the feels and it's just me and God and I'm loving every minute of it. And I don't even think he means like, well, I love God and therefore I pray every day and I love God and I'm reading my Bible every day. These are all very good things and they actually do lead you to God. So don't misunderstand me. But what I think he means is he pairs that with love your neighbor, because that is the ultimate understanding of whether or not you love God well. Because every person in this room around you right now and every person you've ever met in your life is bearing the image of God. And if you can't love them well, it is worth asking whether you're loving God. And so this morning as we come to the table, we are reminded that Jesus has poured himself out for us. He has shown us what love looks like. He literally puts his hands on the cross like this, and he opens himself up for humanity. And he takes the penalty that was due to us, and he offers us a way to God. I find Jesus directly in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In fact, many interpreters have. It turns out he's not the priest, he's not the Levite, he is the Samaritan, though. He is the outsider, the despised one, yet the one who actually does the law of love. And he comes to our roads where we are lying half dead and he has compassion on us. He looks at us in our estate and he is moved. His insides turn outside. He says, I want something better for this child of mine. I want them to live a full life now, and eternal life forever. This is what I want for them. And so what does he do? He binds up our wounds. He pours the oil and the wine on them. He pays the price. And he promises he will come back to pay the rest of it. And this is what the table is. On the night before Jesus died, he took bread and a cup and he said, this is my body and this is my blood. And it is poured out for the forgiveness of your sins. We have all been robbed by the age of death. But we have also participated in the age of death. And we need forgiveness from that. So Christ, he crosses the road and he offers us a hand up and out of it. And this morning we get to participate in the forgiveness of sins that he offers to each and to every one of us. Our Call: To Be the Samaritan for OthersHe then expects something of us. As people who are walking down that road with him, the dust of the rabbi getting all over us — you remember that? — as we walk that way of love, we then too must take up the role of the Samaritan for the others who are around us. Our job in this world is to bandage those who are hurt and broken and to pour whatever oil and wine Jesus has given to us onto their wounds too. And we're to lift them up out of their estate. And this, this is what it means to be a follower of Christ. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit, you are self-giving love, perfected. God, we have fallen short of your glory, no doubt. We have sinned and are in need of a Savior. And so, Jesus, this morning, we come asking one more time for your salvation. Some of us, this might be the first time, saying, I need a Savior. I need someone to bandage up the wounds that are just too deep. I can't do it myself. Or somebody is lying there saying, I am half dead. I can't do this by myself. And Jesus, we know you are saying to them right now, I am here for you. I am here to bind those wounds and to raise you back to life again. So God, as we prepare our hearts for the communion table, we ask that we do so with sincerity and with gravity, knowing the cost that you have paid — your very life. And that out of this should flow for all of us gratitude, a thanksgiving. And for all this and more, we give you thanks and praise. In Christ's holy name we pray. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

They Boldly Spoke the Word of God Acts 4 by William Klock Chapter and verse breaks in the Bible are not part of the original text.  Chapter breaks were added about eight hundred years ago and verses about five hundred.  There's an old biblical studies urban legend that Robert Estienne, the French printer who published one of the early New Testaments with verse division, marked them out while riding on horseback from Paris to Lyon, explaining the often frustrating way they cut through thoughts and sentences.  Chapter breaks can be just as annoying.  I say this because last week we left off our study of Acts at the end of Chapter 3, but the end of Chapter 3 isn't where this story ends.  You'll remember that this story about Peter and John and the lame man followed right on the heels of Pentecost.  Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray when they met a lame man begging at the temple gate.  “Silver and gold have I none,” said Peter, “but such as I have I give.  In the name of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk!”  And he lifted up the man the man began to jump up and down and to praise God.  And as everyone began to gather around, Peter began to preach.  He reminded them of their own story, of God's promises going all the way back to Abraham, and how all those promises were fulfilled and how the story was brought to its climax in the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus. I won't repeat everything I said last Sunday, but needless to say—and even if you aren't familiar with the story—you probably knew that trouble was coming.  But that pesky chapter break.  It saved you from an hour-long sermon, but it also cut the story in half.  So we'll pick up after the break, with Chapter 4, now.  [It's page 1083 in the pew Bibles.] Luke continues: “As they were speaking to the people, along came the priests, the chief of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.  They were greatly annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming that the resurrection of the dead had begun to happen in Jesus.  They seized them and put them under guard until the next day, since it was already evening.  But a large number of the people who had heard the message believed it and the number of men grew to five thousand.” The idea of the resurrection of the dead was a big deal for the Jews and you'd think that announcing that it had somehow begun in Jesus would be good news.  And obviously it was for the thousands who believed.  Not so much for the Sadducees.  They were sad, you see, because they didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Okay, not really.  Their name goes back to Zadok, the high priest in the days of David and Solomon.  That name, Zadok, is also related to the Hebrew word for righteousness.  So the Sadducees thought of themselves not only as the sons of Zadok, but also as the righteous ones.  And in the First Century, they controlled the priesthood.  They were aristocratic and they were in power and people like that don't usually like revolutionary ideas, and if there was there was a great revolutionary idea alive in Judah, it was the idea of the resurrection of the dead.  Resurrection means that things are broken and that God will, one day, come to set things to rights—and that implied that the Sadducees were part of the problem needing to be set right.  So they're upset at Peter's preaching.  The Pharisees didn't like this talk either.  As far as they—and everyone else who hoped for resurrection—were concerned, all God's people would be raised from the dead at the end of the age.  The idea that Jesus was raised all by himself was like heresy.  And, of course, if Jesus had been raised, it meant he was the Messiah and they refused to accept that idea.  So no matter how many eyewitnesses there were to the risen Jesus, it had never happened, so far as they were concerned. But back to the Sadducees.  They controlled the priesthood and the priests were the gatekeepers of Israel.  And this talk about Jesus as Messiah and his being resurrected, which means he'd initiated the age to come already, that was the sort of talk that might spark a revolution.  And, of course, a revolution was what was already happening as the gospel and the Spirit were beginning to do their work.  But just as they hadn't recognised it in Jesus, the leaders of Israel refuse to recognise it now and they have Peter and John locked up for the night.  Even still, Luke goes to the trouble to make the point that thousands believed anyway.  The gospel cannot and will not be stopped! Verse 5: “On the next day their rulers, the elders, and the scribes gathered in Jerusalem, along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.  When they'd stood them in the midst, they asked, ‘How did you do this?  What power did you use?  What name did you invoke?'  Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit.  ‘Rulers of the people and elders,' he said, ‘if the question we're being asked today is about a good deed done for a sick man, and whose power it was that rescued him, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that this man stands before you fit and well because of the name of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.  He is the stone which you builders rejected, but which has become the head cornerstone.  Rescue won't come from anyone else.  There is no other name given under heaven and among men by which we must be rescued.'” Do you remember that scene in Luke 11 where Jesus is confronted after casting out a demon?  “You can only cast them out, because you're one of them,” they accused him.  The same thing is happening again.  I think Luke wants to highlight that what's happening here might be an “act” happening through the apostles, but it's still ultimately Jesus acting.  Or the Spirit, which amounts to the same thing.  Luke makes a point of saying that Peter was full of the Spirit when he answered the accusation.  So just like Jesus, when the council asks them in whose name they healed the lame man, not only is Peter bold to announce that it's Jesus of Nazareth, they boldly assert that he is the Messiah—the one they crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.  So Peter is reasserting everything: It's Jesus.  Yes the one they crucified.  And this isn't just about a lame man walking again, this is about the resurrection of the dead.  It's about the fact that Jesus is Lord and that the revolution has begun.  The age to come, new creation, the kingdom of God is here.  In fact, they quote Psalm 118 at the council to explain it all.  Psalm 118 is a psalm of the temple.  It's about people going up to the temple to celebrate God's new day to claim his rescue, his salvation.  It's a psalm about God's life-giving power and it's about God bringing his people through trouble and rescuing them from danger. It's a psalm about trusting in God's mercy and it's a psalm about God's victory over the powers of the world.  “It is better trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man…than to put confidence in princes,” says the Psalmist (vv. 8-9). So they're saying, “It's Jesus.  He really is the Messiah and he really has inaugurated God's new age.  But then it's like they're deliberately poking a stick in these folks' eye.  The Sadducees (and the Pharisees, too, and most people) were all about the temple.  It was the embodiment of Israel's hopes for God's rescue and for the fulfilment of his promises to one day come again to dwell with his people.  And so this whole episode started with a man who'd been sitting in the temple gate for years, hoping for a rescue, yet never healed, and now suddenly healed by Peter and John—in the power of Jesus.  So that's the first thing.  It says that God has, in fact, returned to dwell with is people, but instead of being in the holy of holies, he's indwelling the disciples of Jesus.  And then, in case they hadn't made the connection, Peter, inspired by the Spirit, quotes Psalm 118 at them.  Yes, the hope of God's return is happening—in Jesus.  Yes, God is now present in his temple—but that temple isn't made of stone, it's these Jesus people.  And yes, God has come to rescue us just as he promised, to set this broken world to rights, to wipe away the tears—through Jesus.  And at the same time, it would be hard for the council to miss the hint that the mortal princes, the people from whom God's people need to be rescued are not the pagan nations, but the Sadducees and elders and scribes who are rejecting Jesus.  (Yes, the pagan nations, too, but first, God's got to deal with the corrupt leaders of his own people.) It's the same thing Peter has been preaching, first on Pentecost, then to the crowd who gathered around the lame man when they saw him jumping up and down.  Every time, Peter grounds God's salvation in Jesus as the fulfilment of his promises and of Israel's story.  Every time, it's the announcement that Jesus is Lord; that he's come to rescue his people; and every time, it's a call to repentance and faith.  This sort of situational astuteness and gospel boldness is what it looks like to be full of God's Spirit.  And the council recognised this, even if they didn't want to admit what (or who) it was.  Verse 13: “When they saw how boldly Peter and John were speaking and realised that they were untrained, ordinary men, they were astonished and they recognised them as men who had been with Jesus.  And when they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.  They ordered them to be put out of the assembly while they conferred amongst themselves.  ‘What can we do to these men?' they said.  ‘This is a spectacular sign that has happened through them.  All Jerusalem knows it, and we can't deny it.  But we certainly don't want it to spread any further amongst the people.  So let's threaten them with awful consequences if they speak anymore in this name to anyone.'  So they called them in and gave them orders not to speak at all or to teach in the name of Jesus.” It's comical and I think that's what Luke intended.  It's like they've completely missed the significance of what Peter and John have seen.  They've seen Jesus risen from the grave.  They saw him ascend to his throne.  They heard everything he said.  They saw everything he did.  And now they're doing the same sorts of things themselves in his name.  They know, without a doubt, that in Jesus God has come, that Jesus is Lord, that the kingdom is now, and that the days of the principalities and powers, the old temple, and its priests are numbered.  Peter and John know which is the winning side…without a doubt.  Threatening them isn't going to change that. Brothers and Sisters, we really need to think on that.  Don't just read Acts and let it go in one ear and out the other.  Stick a finger in one ear if you have to, but let this sink in.  Because you and I have just as much reason to be as confident as Peter and John.  No, we aren't eyewitnesses to the resurrection or the ascension, but we have every reason to believe the accounts of them.  Someone a while ago asked me about difficulties with the creation accounts in Genesis and with the history of the Exodus.  There are difficulties in the Bible.  There are hard philosophical questions for which I haven't yet found the perfect answer.  But I do know that Jesus rose from the dead.  I've heard all the arguments against it.  And they don't hold up.  I don't want to get into those details here, because that's not what our text today is about.  My point is simply that we have every reason to believe that Jesus rose from the dead and just like St. Paul, confronted by that inescapable reality, we have to accept that Jesus is the Messiah and that the rest of it all is true—even we have to wait til the New Jerusalem to understand the ins and outs of exactly how some of it is true.  It's true.  As Matt reminded us last week: Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  And not only do those three facts change everything, they ought to give us confidence and boldness to proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord, that God has come to our rescue, and that his kingdom is now.  I'm not terribly concerned, for example, about Bill C-9.  But even if I were, I'm not going to let it stop me proclaiming the good news.  Because Jesus is King and in him the resurrection of the dead has begun.  And that truth ought to be as revolutionary for us as it was for Peter and John and the King and his Parliament and his Prime Minister ought to be just as afraid of this resurrection revolution as the Sadducees, the elders, and the scribes were. So Luke goes on in verse 19: “But Peter and John gave them this reply: ‘You judge,' they said, ‘whether it's right before God to listen to you rather than to God.  As far as we're concerned, we can't stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.'  Then they [the council] threatened them some more, and let them go.  They couldn't find any way to punish them because of the people, since everyone was glorifying God for what had happened.  After all, the man to whom the sign of healing had happened was over forty years old. Brothers and Sisters, don't stop talking about what you have seen and heard.  Peter and John were witnesses to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  You know what you're a witness to?  You're witness to the transforming power of those events.  Somehow most Christians seem totally unaware of this witness.  Maybe it's because we're so oblivious to our own history.  Maybe we need to read up on history so that we'll be aware of the power of the gospel.  The very thing that Peter and John looked forward to is now—at least partially—in our past.  Luke says there were five thousand believers in those days just after Pentecost.  Brothers and Sisters, today there are 2.6 billion.  They lived in a world in which no one outside Judaea had ever heard of Jesus.  We live in a world where Jesus is known the world over.  They lived in a little Jewish pocket surrounded by pagan nations so mired in moral filth it's hard for us to image the depth of depravity, because even as bad as might think the world is today, it has been so dramatically transformed by the gospel.  Our world, even the secular parts of it, value things like mercy and compassion, because of the transforming power of the gospel.  Brothers and Sisters, we live in a world that has been radically transformed by the power of the gospel.  If Peter and John had reason to be confident, you and I have even more. But notice, too, what they do when faced with opposition.  Verse 23: “When they had been released, they went back to their own people and told them everything that the chief priests and the elders had said.  When they heard it, they all together lifted up their voices to God.  ‘Sovereign Lord,' they said, ‘you made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them.  And you said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David, your servant, “Why did the nations fly into a rage, and why did the peoples think empty thoughts?  The kings of the earth arose and rulers gathered themselves together against the Lord and against his anointed Messiah.” It's true, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations and the peoples of Israel, gathered themselves together in this very city against your holy servant Jesus, the one you anointed, to do whatever your hands and your plan had foreordained to take place.  So now, Lord, look on their threats and grant that we, your servants, may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, so that signs and wonders may come about through the name of your holy servant Jesus.'” It would do us well—and it would do the kingdom well—if we responded to opposition the way the disciples did.  We need to pray more and fret less.  There is a battle raging in the world.  Jesus has won the decisive victory, but that doesn't mean that the powers of this old age aren't trying to maintain their grip.  They're like the bad guys in the movies, hanging on to the edge of the cliff with their fingers—doomed, but unwilling to give up.  To pray is to stomp on their fingers and to send them falling.  Pray.  Pray the psalms.  Pray Psalm 2 the way they do here.  This was Israel's prayer, but Jesus and the events surrounding those first Christians reoriented it.  They cry out with the Psalmist: Why do the nations rage?  Why do the peoples think with empty thoughts? The kings of the earth have huddled together against the Lord.  Except this time Israel herself had become one of the nations, her priests huddled together with Pontius Pilate.  They'd crucified Jesus.  And yet the disciples, in their prayer, also acknowledge that God is sovereign.  Remember that for Jews to quote a line from a Psalm was to call to mind the whole thing.  And in Psalm 2, yes the nations raged and their kings gathered together against his anointed, but then—do you remember Psalm 2?—God laughs at them, because they're fools.  And God establishes his king on Mount Zion.  The once raging nations become his inheritance.  And Peter and John and the rest knew that in Jesus this psalm was being fulfilled.  The Psalm concludes addressing those kings, “Now therefore, O Kings, be wise” and just so the disciples pray, “Now therefore, Lord, look on their threats and grant that we, your servants, may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, so that signs and wonders may come about through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  Brothers and Sisters, pray the Spirit-inspired scriptures back to God and things will happen.  Luke writes in verse 31: “When they had prayed the place where they were gathered was shaken.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they boldly spoke the word of God.” We should learn this prayer.  When the principalities and powers of the old age push back, pray this prayer.  When the local council or the legislature or Parliament or the King or the courts push back, pray this prayer.  When the gospel gets you in trouble with your family or at school or in your work, pray this prayer.  When you become discouraged, if you're struggling to keep the faith, if you're wrestling with sin, if you feel cornered by the world, the flesh, and the devil, pray this prayer.  Remember that you are a witness to the power of the gospel in the world.  And pray this prayer. And immediately Luke shows us the church—not just boldly proclaiming the good news—but also living it out as a community.  Luke shows us the church as the working model of God's new creation in the midst of the old.  Luke shows us the church being the new temple: the place of God's presence and the fulfilment of his promises of abundance and generosity.  Look at verses 32-37.  I was tempted to save these for next week as they lead us into Chapter 5.  I actually think they could warrant their own sermon.  But look at them now: “The company of those who believed had one heart and one soul.”  Remember Paul telling the Philippians to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Messiah Jesus”?  Be of one Jesus-like mind.  That plays out in all sorts of ways and Luke shows us one here: “Nobody said that they owned their property; instead they had everything in common.  The apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power and great grace was upon all of them.  For there was no needy person among them, since any who possessed lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale, and placed it at the feet of the apostles, who then gave to each according to their need.  Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, to whom the apostles gave the surname Barnabas, which means ‘son of encouragement', sold some land which belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the apostle's feet.” As I said a few weeks ago when we looked at Chapter 2, this doesn't mean they became a bunch of proto-Marxists.  Luke's point is that they became a family that live out the generosity and abundance of God's new creation.  We know from what we read later, that they had their own homes in which to meet.  And the focus of their charity was on the truly indigent, especially widows—on people notably with no family to take care of them.  And Paul will warn in his own letters that the able-bodied should get jobs instead of mooching off the community.  Again, the point here is that they very visible became the community in which torah itself was being fulfilled.  They've become the land of overflowing with milk and honey.  They've become the people who truly love their neighbours.  They've become the new temple in which God has returned to dwell with his people.  And they're doing and being this community right in Jerusalem: showing up the old Israel, exposing the priest and the council, showing that the old temple and its sacrifices are done.  God has fulfilled his promises and he's done so in Jesus and in the people who gathered around him in faith. And, Brothers and Sisters, we ought to be the same sort of new creation, heaven-on-earth community here.  As in Peter and John's day, the powers that be will tell us to go away and concentrate on heaven while they run the earth.  They'll warn us not to shove our religion down anyone's throat, while they, of course, will do their best to shove their materialism, their commercialism, their hedonism down our throats.  They'll get frustrated with us when we refuse to worship in their temples to money and power and sex and politics and war.  And when that happens, Brothers and Sisters, pray.  And remember that Jesus has died, Jesus has risen, and that Jesus will come again.  Be shaped by that story.  Be confident, knowing that God has and is and will fulfil his promises.  Be bold knowing that the gospel has power and that we live in a world transformed by that power, even if everyone ignores it or denies it.  Pray.  Remember.  Be bold.  And then remember that we are the family of the Messiah, marked out by his powerful name in our baptism and that in those baptismal waters, he's plunged us in to his Spirit.  He has made us new and we're not the family meant be and to bring and to live out his new creation, to live out heaven on earth in anticipation of the day when Jesus finally sets it all to rights.  We are the family that refuses to stop singing his praises and proclaiming his glory.  That's what we were created to do in the first place.  That's what Jesus has rescued us to do right now.  And it's what all creation will one day, by his grace, do again. Let's pray: O Lord, hear us in your mercy, we pray, and grant that we, to whom you have given the desire to pray, may be defended and comforted by your mighty aid, and strengthened in all dangers and adversities, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Join us as we dig deeper into last Sunday's sermon from Pastor Marcus Lane "The Gospel on Trial" and hear from Amy Duncan and Nate Zuellig on "Cornerstone". Digging Deeper Questions: How does the notion that "the word does the work" shift how you approach the calling to take part in God's mission?   Have you ever encountered the accusation or felt like Christianity is exclusive? How does the nature of grace help address this concern?   How might the life of the early church challenge you to grow in generosity? Scripture Reading: Acts 4:1-22, 32-37 1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.   5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."   13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.   32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Intro/Outro Song: "Only One" Nate Zuellig ULC Artist In Residence    "Cornerstone" Hillsong CCLI Song # 6158927   CCLI License # 11254293

Korah is the antihero in this Torah portion, infamous for leading a coup against Moses and Aaron that leaves 15,000 dead. However, every family dispute has two sides to the story, so we should learn more about Korah to fully understand the family dynamics. Korah was a prominent Levite and a close relative of Moses and Aaron. Korah's father and Moses's father were brothers, which makes Moses, Aaron, and Korah first cousins. As Korah watched his cousins attain the highest positions of authority in the community, resentment slowly took root in his heart.Support the showConsider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 134 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 133 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 132 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life, and the answer is “love.” Love God and love neighbor. But because the lawyer is practiced in manipulating the law, he follows this up with a question we all secretly ask: who can I exclude from my love? Jesus answers with a story that inverts everything. Not only is the Samaritan the neighbor, he is the very one who does the heart of the law by loving the neighbor, and by virtue of this fact, it is assumed that he is the one to inherit eternal life. Jesus' point is this: if you want to walk the path of abundant life now and eternal life in the future, you must learn to love. Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | June 14, 2026 The Good Samaritan Download Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. While you're at it, check us out on Facebook and Instagram too. What We'll CoverWhy eternal life begins now, not in the next lifeWhy "Who is my neighbor?" is really a question about exclusion and why Jesus refuses to answer it on those termsHow you can tell whether you actually love God (hint: it's not about your feelings on Sunday morning; its about how you love your neighbor)Why love is a verb, and the difference between the right words and the right worksWhat the Samaritan teaches us about empathy and compassionWhy self-giving love isn't a rule we're forced to keep but the design we were made to live Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript The Good Samaritan and the Age of Life: Love, Eternal Life, and the Narrow Road of Luke 10 — Sermon TranscriptSouth Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VARev. Dr. Eric GilchrestLuke 10:25–37June 14, 2026 This is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Rev. Dr. Eric Gilchrest preaches on the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25–37. This sermon is part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series and addresses what eternal life actually means in the original Greek, why love and life are inseparable in Jesus' teaching, and how the Good Samaritan parable reveals that walking the narrow road means active, costly, others-centered love. Opening Prayer: A Church on MissionHeavenly Father, we come today offering you thanksgiving for Ian and for Emma, the great work that they're doing at GW, but also for this church and for the work that those who are in these walls do for those who are outside of these walls. We, Lord, desire to be a church on mission, and we need to keep that front and center. And so, Lord, plant it in each of our hearts that as we go where we go throughout the week on Monday and Thursday and random points on a Saturday afternoon, that we be reminded that we bear your image, we bring your word to the world, and we make new disciples. And so, God, we pray all of this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Where We Are in The Jesus Way SeriesWe are in a series on two ways, right? There is the narrow way that leads to abundant life, and this morning we are talking about that way, and the way that Jesus teaches us to walk — a way that leads to abundance and to life eternal. And then the other way we'll get back to next week, and that's the broad way. It's the easy way, frankly, and it's the way that leads to death and destruction. On Father's Day next week, we will cover the lovely topic of gluttony, so you definitely won't want to miss that, dads. You're welcome. For today, though, we are in a parable that you are probably familiar with. Whether you've been around the church much or not, you definitely know what a Good Samaritan is. We even have like Good Samaritan laws, right? Well, I want to dive down deep, and I'll say this whole framing for me — the whole like two ways, the life, death — has become clarifying, we'll say, in ways that I've not anticipated and I have quite enjoyed as we've gone throughout this series. And I almost think of it as like this lens that I take and then I put it over top of the scripture that we're reading and then I kind of see what pops out, like what's new. And so here we are in a very familiar passage and it is, well, it came as a little bit of a surprise to me, exactly how Jesus frames this. So I hope you have a Bible with you. If you don't, go ahead and grab the one that's in front of you — we definitely want to turn to Luke 10 together. Luke 10:25–28: A Lawyer Asks About Eternal LifeSo again, Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 25. It starts this way as you're turning there. "Behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test." Here we have lawyers doing what lawyers do, right? A lawyer, though, you should know in this day and age is not what you're thinking of as a lawyer. He does not work for the IRS. He does not do like tax law or something like this. He is a lawyer of the Torah, the Jewish law, right? And so this is a man who knows his law well, but very specifically the first five books of our Bible. And this is going to become important because Jesus is going to say to him, like, what does the law say? Like, what does our Bible say, the one you and I share together, right? And so this lawyer, he has spent lots of time in the law, as we'll see, as good lawyers often do. They know the law in order to kind of skirt through it, and he's trying to do this in this passage, but he actually knows what he's talking about. So the passage goes on, and he says, "Teacher" — rabbi, this is Jesus here, our rabbi, the one we should be listening to and following — "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And as I'm pulling that lens, remember, and I'm putting it on and I see this phrase, eternal life, I think to myself, well, here it is. This is part of what we're trying to do for this season of our church history — looking at ways that lead to life and ways that lead to death. And here Jesus is being asked like the exact question I'm asking you and I'm trying to get us all talking about, and that I think is of utmost importance. We might even say a matter of life and death. And he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Now, if you were asked this question, if somebody on the street came to you, it's worth asking, like, what would you say? How would you answer that question? What "Eternal Life" Actually Means in the Greek: The Age of Life vs. The Age of Death Backing up just a minute, this phrase eternal life needs just a little bit of clarification. The word for eternal here is not exactly the platonic, like, eternal sense that you and I often use it. Now, it might mean that to a degree, but only in like a secondary sense. It actually comes from a Greek word, eon — or the English version is eon. Eon is an age, right? There's one eon, and then there's the next eon, there's one age, and then there's the next age. And he's asking him, well, how do I get myself into the age of life? It's important that you know that there is an age of death — or as Paul calls it, the evil age, right? This age actually is that, right? It's the age that ultimately we all know is hovered over by these two things of sin and death and evil, and it lurks about, and none of us get out of here alive, right? That's why this age is the age of death. And this is why the Bible speaks to this matter over and over and over again. And this is the final enemy, death. And so the man is asking a very good question, which is, how do we make it out of the age of death and then make it into the age of life? And he has in mind — he thinks like a good first century Jew — and I need you to think this way for a second so that we can maybe make it a little more complicated. His timeline goes like this. There's the age in which we live, the age of death. There's then an ending to that, and there is a resurrection that happens of all people, good and bad. And then there's a judgment that happens, and the people are either judged good or bad. And then there is the age of life. That might be how you're thinking of things right now, in fact. But here's the important wrinkle. A resurrection has already happened. A resurrection has already happened. And so when Jesus is resurrected, the timeline gets shoved into the present. And then also, with that happening, there is a real sense in which judgment has also happened, and yet is also going to happen. It's a both-and. And Paul, if we had time, he gives us both of these. But the point is actually this — what Jesus does is he drags eternal life and he puts it smack dab into this life. And this life is where eternal life begins. And he'll say things like, "the kingdom of God is in your midst, is among you." He's referring to himself. He's saying, through me starts this eternal life. It's here and it's now. And so when Jesus is being asked this question — what must I do to enter into this age of life? — he doesn't say it out loud, but he is saying, well, it starts right now. It's not something we're pushing off to the future. We don't just kind of do all the right things now and then punch a ticket and then we get into the thing. No, you're in it right now. Jesus Tosses the Question Back: How Do You Read the Law?And so he says to this lawyer — well, he refuses to answer his question, actually. What does he do? He tosses it right back to him. And he says to him, well, you tell me, you lawyer, you know the law. What's written in the law and how do you read it? I actually love that last question — the "how do you read it" — that is so important. I don't have time to dig down deep here, but just know that we should all be asking, like, how do we read this scripture? Like, how do you read it? We all read it slightly differently, but Jesus wants to teach us how we read our scripture. And so the man says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus, maybe to his shock, certainly to my shock, says, wow, you're correct. You got it right. Like, that is the answer. And in fact, in the other Gospels, Jesus is the one to say these things. Who knows? Maybe this lawyer got it from Jesus. And he says, you're supposed to love God. And by the way, all of those categories — that just simply means your whole being, everything you are. You're just supposed to love God with like every last ounce of who you are. And then love your neighbor as yourself. And this is the simplification of all things. It's the simplification of the law, the scriptures, what God is trying to do with the world. It is just love, right? Love God, love your neighbor. Now, I'd add this. When we talk about loving our neighbor, the Bible breaks down for us to love God with our souls and our minds and our strength and all these various aspects of who we are. And I would say, well, that's just a description of how to love. And we should do the same with the people in our lives. We should love them in similar kinds of ways, with our whole being. "He said to him, you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." Again, there's our word — life, right? Well, how do we live a life? And how do we do it right? And how do we stay on that narrow path? He says, well, do this. The guy gets it. "Who Is My Neighbor?" — The Question Jesus Refuses to Answer DirectlyAnd if we stopped there, we would feel really good about this passage and it'd all be done. But the man, remember, he's a lawyer and he knows his law. And the job of the lawyer is to get around the law and to kind of sneak through it. And so he says the follow-up. He wants to justify himself and says to Jesus, well, excuse me, who is my neighbor? Jesus does not answer this question. I'll just go ahead and say that very clearly here. Jesus does not answer who the neighbor is. He pulls up the example of somebody being a good neighbor — that is the Samaritan — treats the robbed man that we're going to meet here as the neighbor, but the Samaritan is not actually technically the neighbor here. He's the one who's doing it right, who is loving his neighbor well. All of this explodes the boxes that this lawyer no doubt has, and it should explode ours too. And I can't go into exactly what a Samaritan is, but I assure you, the lawyer is thinking the Samaritan is not one of us. Whoever the "us" is for you — not one of us. He's over there. He's one of them. And Jesus is saying, well, look at the them. Whoever your "them" is, they're doing it right. They're the one who's loving well. And it should cause us to stop in our tracks and to ask, well, if they're able to love well, and they're finding what Jesus is calling eternal life or abundant life in this life that's leading to this eternal life, well, maybe I've got some work to do. Jesus replies to the question that the lawyer asks. He doesn't answer it. He, of course, does what Jesus does, which is to either ask a question — which is what he did the first time — or to tell a story, which is what he does this time. Luke 10:30–32: The Priest and the Levite Pass ByAnd so he says, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, there was a priest going down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Well then likewise, a Levite came to the place, saw him, passed by on the other side." I assure you, the Levite knows the law too, right? And the priest, well, he knows the law too. And Jesus is saying, do the priest or the Levite do the law? That is, do they love their neighbor? And the answer is very clearly no, right? They do not. Luke 10:33–35: The Samaritan and the Meaning of CompassionNow the Samaritan, whether or not he knows the law is actually not exactly clear, and in some ways not even to the point. The Samaritan does the law. He does the thing that should be done here, which is he sees the man half dead, and he goes to help him. I would stop here for just one minute and point out this word to you — compassion, at the end of verse 33. Compassion. This word shows up only three times in your gospel of Luke. It shows up in the following ways. The widow of Nain — Jesus encounters this woman who already is a widow. She's lost her husband. She then loses her son in the story that is being told. And Jesus looks at this woman who has lost her husband and her son, and he has compassion. Which is to say, the word itself means like his insides are like turning outside, and he's like physically in pain watching this woman and is feeling her pain, right? It also shows up in the passage we're going to talk about next week as you join us for gluttony, which is the story of the prodigal son, actually. When the prodigal son returns home from his gluttonous encounters, the father is there and he looks at him from afar and he has compassion on him. His insides are turned outside. And then here, the Samaritan — he looks at this man and he has compassion on him. I would say if we are going to love at all, we need compassion. If we are going to love our neighbor as ourselves, it is going to require us to put ourselves into the very shoes of the neighbor, to walk the mile with them, to see ourselves as the dead man on the side of the road who needs help, and to ask the question, if I were that dead man, what would I want this priest to do for me? If I were that dead man, what should that Levite do? I'm crying out for him, and he walks right on by. That is not keeping the law. But the Samaritan — the Samaritan sees him and is able to put himself into his place and to see the position that he's in, which is helpless, and he has the ability to do something, and he does. Interestingly, this idea of love is then here for the next few verses explained not as a feeling the Samaritan has — because we all have the feeling when we see something bad happen, and we're like, oh, that's awful, oh man, I feel so bad for this person — love requires action. It requires actually doing something, which is precisely what the Samaritan does in the verses that follow. In verse 34, "He went to him, to the man dying on the side of the road, and he bound up his wounds, he poured on oil and wine to heal them, and then he set him on his own animal, and he brought him to an inn, and he took care of him." This doesn't even account for the fact that he took time out of his own, no doubt, busy schedule to stop and to help this man and to assist him to a place. And he probably missed a really important meeting. And I'm sure some friends and some family were probably upset with the Samaritan who was supposed to be home for dinner. And he missed the kid's soccer game. But he did this very important thing that was in front of him. But it doesn't even stop there. "The next day, he took out two denarii. And he gave it to the innkeeper. And he said, take care of him. And if you spend more, keep track of that, because I will repay you when I come back." This is a man who loves in a way that goes above and beyond, and it is active. It's not just a man who walks and says, oh, there's a person that is almost dead over here, and that's tragic, as he keeps walking on by. This is the kind of love that God is calling us into as well, and this is the narrow road that leads to life. You might understand why now it's a narrow road, because it's difficult to walk. It's the road less traveled. It's the one that requires something of you. "Go and Do Likewise": Love and Life Are InseparableAnd then Jesus finishes up. He says, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" And the lawyer has to confess, well, I guess it's the one who showed mercy. And then Jesus says again, well, you got it right. "Go and do likewise." Go and do likewise. When I think about this passage and this idea that we are to walk down this narrow road that leads to life — life and love, in my mind, are almost like one in the same. They all come together, these two come together in ways that are almost impossible to pull apart as you dig down deeper and deeper and deeper into what a full life is. I was trying to wrestle with the question, why does this road lead to life? Like, why does loving someone lead to life? And here's what I think Jesus is doing. Remember, Jesus has pulled eternal life into this life. The very one that you're in now, listening to me speak. And love in this life, this eternal life we're hopefully, prayerfully in — it is the substance of it all. Love is the design of humanity. It is what we were made for. In Eden, when we were created, we were created to love God. And then it was not good for man to be alone. So he creates Eve, and we were meant to love one another. And then he looks at the first couple and he says, multiply, make more of you, and then love them too. And this is what it's all for and all about. The God who made us is in himself self-giving love — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If the Trinity means one thing, it means pouring out love one to the other to the other. And we are made in that kind of image, which means the great commandment — love God and love neighbor — this is not a rule that gets bolted onto the side of life, as if it's like some sort of external hope that you might do this at some point. It is the manufacturer's description of how this whole thing runs. Withholding love doesn't keep you safe, and spending love doesn't drain your life. Jesus, in fact, says, do these things and you will have life. Jesus Is the Good Samaritan: He Crosses the Road to Find Us Half DeadWe see this love most clearly in the person of Jesus. When he pours himself out on the cross, he redeems us. He snatches us out of death and delivers us into an age of life, eternal life. If Jesus has done this for me, well, then he must love me, right? And if Jesus has done this for you — and he has — then he must love you. But Jesus has loved the whole world and God has sent his son that we all might have eternal life, that we all might be entered into the age of life. And why love? Because God loves you, and he wants us to love one another and to love him as we were intended to do. Communion: The Table as the Place Where Love and Life MeetAs we come to the table this morning, it is important that we recognize that this two-fold command of love — to love God and love our neighbor — it is kind of one thing. I would suggest to you that when God says to us that we are to love him, what he does not mean is that we have like a really nice worship service together and I have all the feels and it's just me and God and I'm loving every minute of it. And I don't even think he means like, well, I love God and therefore I pray every day and I love God and I'm reading my Bible every day. These are all very good things and they actually do lead you to God. So don't misunderstand me. But what I think he means is he pairs that with love your neighbor, because that is the ultimate understanding of whether or not you love God well. Because every person in this room around you right now and every person you've ever met in your life is bearing the image of God. And if you can't love them well, it is worth asking whether you're loving God. And so this morning as we come to the table, we are reminded that Jesus has poured himself out for us. He has shown us what love looks like. He literally puts his hands on the cross like this, and he opens himself up for humanity. And he takes the penalty that was due to us, and he offers us a way to God. I find Jesus directly in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In fact, many interpreters have. It turns out he's not the priest, he's not the Levite, he is the Samaritan, though. He is the outsider, the despised one, yet the one who actually does the law of love. And he comes to our roads where we are lying half dead and he has compassion on us. He looks at us in our estate and he is moved. His insides turn outside. He says, I want something better for this child of mine. I want them to live a full life now, and eternal life forever. This is what I want for them. And so what does he do? He binds up our wounds. He pours the oil and the wine on them. He pays the price. And he promises he will come back to pay the rest of it. And this is what the table is. On the night before Jesus died, he took bread and a cup and he said, this is my body and this is my blood. And it is poured out for the forgiveness of your sins. We have all been robbed by the age of death. But we have also participated in the age of death. And we need forgiveness from that. So Christ, he crosses the road and he offers us a hand up and out of it. And this morning we get to participate in the forgiveness of sins that he offers to each and to every one of us. Our Call: To Be the Samaritan for OthersHe then expects something of us. As people who are walking down that road with him, the dust of the rabbi getting all over us — you remember that? — as we walk that way of love, we then too must take up the role of the Samaritan for the others who are around us. Our job in this world is to bandage those who are hurt and broken and to pour whatever oil and wine Jesus has given to us onto their wounds too. And we're to lift them up out of their estate. And this, this is what it means to be a follower of Christ. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit, you are self-giving love, perfected. God, we have fallen short of your glory, no doubt. We have sinned and are in need of a Savior. And so, Jesus, this morning, we come asking one more time for your salvation. Some of us, this might be the first time, saying, I need a Savior. I need someone to bandage up the wounds that are just too deep. I can't do it myself. Or somebody is lying there saying, I am half dead. I can't do this by myself. And Jesus, we know you are saying to them right now, I am here for you. I am here to bind those wounds and to raise you back to life again. So God, as we prepare our hearts for the communion table, we ask that we do so with sincerity and with gravity, knowing the cost that you have paid — your very life. And that out of this should flow for all of us gratitude, a thanksgiving. And for all this and more, we give you thanks and praise. In Christ's holy name we pray. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 131 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

Saint Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles, a Galilean; the Gospel accounts say little more about him. It is said that, after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he traveled in the service of the Gospel to Arabia and Persia, and brought to India a translation of the Gospel according to Matthew. Eusebius writes that one hundred years later Pantaenus, an illustrious Alexandrian scholar, found this gospel when he traveled in India. By most accounts Bartholomew ended his life in Armenia, where he met his martyrdom by crucifixion. According to many, he and Nathaniel are the same person: the Gospel accounts that speak of Bartholomew do not mention Nathaniel; and St John's Gospel,which mentions Nathanael as one of the Twelve, does not mention Bartholomew. But according to the Greek Synaxarion, Bartholomew and Simon the Zealot are one and the same.   Saint Barnabas was one of the Seventy, from Cyprus, a Levite and at one time a fellow-student with St Paul under Gamaliel. After Christ's Ascension, he led the Seventy until the Apostle Paul's conversion. He is mentioned often in the Acts of the Apostles, which describes some of his travels as a companion of St Paul. By all accounts, he was the first to preach the Gospel of Christ in Rome and in Milan. His wonder-working relics were discovered on the island of Cyprus in the time of the Emperor Zeno; on this basis the Church of Cyprus was established as an independent Church, since it had an apostolic foundation.

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Barnabas; a Levite; not one of the Twelve, but referred to as an "apostle" by St. Luke; he was a friend to St. Paul, and brought him before the apostles, when he was seeking to redeem his reputation; Barnabas and Paul went to Antioch, where they taught Christians for a year; afterwards, Barnabas traveled through Asia Minor and was a respected missionary and advisor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/11/26 Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Oaks & Jabs back in action Radiomaxxing (you'll have to listen to the episode to get it). Jam packed show with a bit of a surprise even. Hope you enjoy. Peace & God Bless. Playlist: ALL WAYS by MC Imprint ft. tore xo Lokd In 2.0 Stedfastt ft. Stephen the Levite, Manchild, Russ Shanks & DJ Onenine Quiet On The Set by Braille & YP aka Young Paul Peace Automatic by TruWerdz UP by Derek Minor New Scene by Trutha & creed caldwell Barsmaxxing by Sintax The Terrific & Sir Chamberlain Cross Before The Crown by Si Knightly Father by Paradox & DJ Sean P ft. Liz Vice Refuse 2.0 by m1L, MotionPlus & Kaboose ft. Alyssa Jane Concrete Chronicles by Nikkuubeats kinda unintentionally ft. Oaks & Jabs Accept Joy by DJ Sean P Boptimus Prime by Tae Lamar AIN'T OVER YET by MC Imprint Stages by Kaboose ft. MonLee Mane Vote on the playlist at www.definitionradio.com/show/1003 Leave your requests/shout-outs on our socials www.facebook.com/DefinitionRadio www.instagram.com/DefinitionHH www.twitter.com/DefinitionHH www.krosswerdz.com

In this fascinating and profound episode, we dive into the deep mysteries of St. John's Gospel with John Johnson, the founder of Patmos Hosting and the Albertus Magnus Institute (and Joshua Charles's sponsor into the Catholic Church). Johnson reveals that St. John was likely a student of Aristotle, and used his most powerful rhetorical techniques to communicate the most sublime truths about Christ, the Eucharist, the betrayal of Judas, and the authority of Peter.You can read John Johnson's biography here: https://magnusinstitute.org/senior-fellows/john-johnson/VISIT OUR WEBSITEhttps://eternalchristendom.com/BECOME A PATRON OF THE GREAT TRADITIONAs a non-profit, you can support our mission with a tax-deductible gift. Help us continue to dig into the Great Tradition; produce beautiful, substantive content; and gift these treasures to cultural orphans around the world for free: https://eternalchristendom.com/become-a-patron/CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIAX: https://twitter.com/JoshuaTCharlesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshuatcharles/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuatcharles/DIVE DEEPERCheck out our “Becoming Catholic” resources, where you'll find 1 million+ words of free content (bigger than the Bible!) in the form of Articles, Quote Archives, and Study Banks to help you become, remain, and deepen your life as a Catholic: https://eternalchristendom.com/becoming-catholic/SUBSTACKSubscribe to our Substack to get regular updates on our content, and other premium content: https://eternalchristendom.substack.com/EXCLUSIVE BOOKSTORE DISCOUNTShttps://eternalchristendom.com/bookstore/CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction and Bio02:12 - Welcome, Prayer, and Why John's Gospel Matters10:01 - Who Was St. John? Levite, Witness, and Beloved Disciple13:04 - Aristotle, Rhetoric, and Enthymemes in John's Gospel20:08 - Hidden Logic: How John's Gospel Invites the Reader to See31:17 - John 6: The Bread of Life, Judas, and the Scandal of the Eucharist43:54 - Bethany: Mary's Adoration, Judas, and the Poor48:17 - The Last Supper: Betrayal, Tradition, and the Bosom of Christ58:28 - The Resurrection Epilogue: Peter, John, the Boat, and the Final Catch1:31:07 - Revelation, the Beast, Technology, and Final Reflections on LoveThis podcast can also be heard on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 126 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

Tune in as Joni takes a different look at the classic parable about the good Samaritan. -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible.     Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Today's Scripture passages are Judges 19 - 20 | Luke 10:25-37.(*Please note that today's reading includes a reference to an incidence of sexual violence.*)Read by Christina Edmondson.Get in The Word with Truth's Table is a production of InterVarsity Press. For 75 years, IVP has published and created thoughtful Christian books for the university, church, and the world. Our Bible reading plan is adapted from Bible Study Together, and the Bible version is the New English Translation, used by permission.SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of this podcast, use the code IVPWORD40 for 40% off and free shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode at ivpress.com.Additional Credits:Song production: Seaux ChillSong lyrics written by: Seaux Chill, Ekemini Uwan, and Christina EdmondsonPodcast art: Kate LillardPhotography: Shelly EveBible consultant: JM SmithSound engineering: Podastery StudiosCreative producers: Ekemini Uwan and Christina EdmondsonAssistant producer: Christine Pelliccio MeloExecutive producer: Helen LeeTo reach the IVP podcast team, please use this form.Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

In this episode, we tackle the raw and unfiltered Book of Judges. We step into an era where "there was no king in Israel" to see what happens when a society—and an individual—abandons prophetic boundaries and begins to substitute personal preference for divine law. The Pride Cycle: We analyze the text's relentless pattern of prosperity, pride, sin, suffering, supplication, and salvation. We look at why God preserves this cycle as a warning for our day. Gideon's Reduction: We explore why God reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 down to just 300 men. We learn why the Lord intentionally puts us in positions where we cannot boast in our own strength. The Leadership of Deborah: We study the courage of Deborah and the unexpected heroism of Jael, illustrating how God raises up faithful individuals to do what others are too fearful to attempt. The Descent of Samson: We map out the tragic, literal "downward" geographical and spiritual journey of Samson, looking at how a man of such high potential fell victim to low achievement because of weak self-discipline. Doing Right in Our Own Eyes: We conclude with the sobering final verse of the book, confronting the modern trap of moral relativism and discovering why true freedom requires submitting to the King of Kings. Call-to-Action: Gideon needed a fleece to confirm his faith, but eventually had to move forward in the dark. What is a "strange strategy" the Lord is asking you to trust in your life right now? Let's share our thoughts on overcoming personal spiritual cycles in the comments below. To keep your faith "Unshaken" through every round of life's trials, please like, subscribe, and share this video! Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction to the Book of Judges 3:01 The Pride Cycle 14:46 An Incomplete Conquest 23:29 Making the Rounds of Righteousness & Wickedness 43:25 The First Minor Judges 51:24 Deborah & Jael 1:08:06 The Song of Deborah & Mothers in Israel 1:31:45 Gideon's Doubt & Faith 1:54:49 The Sword of the Lord & of Gideon 2:17:28 Gideon's Aftermath 2:29:33 Abimelech's Reign & the Parable of the Bramble 2:44:07 Justice & Mercy, Goodness & Grief 2:52:11 Jephthah & His Daughter 3:16:15 Samson: Child of Promise 3:26:18 Samson's Strength and Weakness 3:57:39 Samson & Delilah 4:07:33 Bind and Blind 4:16:15 Micah and the Problem of Priestcraft 4:33:42 The Levite's Concubine and the Price of Virtue 5:00:52 Conclusion 

Retirement planning is not about retirement.That's the provocation David opens with — and he means it. This episode isn't another checklist. It's a ground-up rethink of what the 5-to-10-year sprint before retirement actually demands: emotionally, philosophically, and financially.Starting with a question no financial podcast has the nerve to ask — is retirement even a biblical concept? — David works through everything from the psychology of stopping work to the hard mechanics of income portfolios, tax strategy, and the risks that blow up otherwise solid plans.If you've been coasting toward retirement on autopilot, this episode is the alarm clock.In This Episode0:00 — Cold OpenWhy the conventional framing of retirement is wrong, and what this episode is actually going to cover.~3:00 — Is Retirement Even a Biblical Concept?The word never appears in Scripture. The one exception in Numbers 8, what the parables actually teach about accumulation, and why the biblical model looks more like a pivot than a finish line.~9:00 — The Behavioral Trap: What Will You Actually Do?The identity crisis nobody warns you about, retirement depression, underspending vs. overspending, and five questions worth sitting with before you make any financial decisions.~15:00 — The Purpose Problem: Should You Even Fully Retire?The happiest retirees David has seen, the financial benefits of partial work, and why "retire to something" beats "retire from something" every time.~20:00 — Business Owner or Employee: The Decisions Are DifferentW-2 employees: catch-up contributions, pension options, the healthcare gap before Medicare, Social Security timing. Business owners: exit planning, retirement plan vehicles, tax-efficient value extraction, and the concentration risk problem.~26:00 — Accumulation vs. Distribution PortfoliosWhy the portfolio that built your wealth can destroy your retirement. Sequence of returns risk explained plainly — same average return, completely different outcomes.~29:00 — The Bucket StrategyThree buckets, three time horizons, one framework that eliminates panic selling. How Bucket One is your shock absorber and why Bucket Three can still be aggressive.~32:00 — Roth vs. Pre-Tax: The Great DebateIt's almost always "and," not "or." Tax diversification, the Roth conversion window, and why business owners have unique opportunities here.~35:00 — The Risks Nobody Wants to Talk AboutLongevity risk (you live longer than your money does) and long-term care (70% of retirees will need it). What hybrid products exist now and why waiting to have this conversation is itself a costly decision.~38:00 — Spend on Experiences While You Can + Legacy PlanningThe go-go, slow-go, no-go framework. Why retirees wait too long. Legacy basics: beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, donor-advised funds, and the "talk while you can" imperative.Key Takeaways

The longest Parsha in the Torah (Nasso) contains a seemingly unconnected string of subjects. It begins by detailing the responsibilities of adult working-age Levites from three Levite families, followed by a census of those Levites. In the middle of the Parsha contains the laws of the sotah (the suspected adulteress) and the Nazir (a person […]

The longest Parsha in the Torah (Nasso) contains a seemingly unconnected string of subjects. It begins by detailing the responsibilities of adult working-age Levites from three Levite families, followed by a census of those Levites. In the middle of the Parsha contains the laws of the sotah (the suspected adulteress) and the Nazir (a person who accepts upon himself a vow to refrain from wine, coming into contact with the dead, and haircuts for a period of time, typically 30 days), and the priestly blessing (the special blessing formula that priests are commanded to bless Israel with). The Parsha ends with the special gifts and tributes given by the princes of the 12 tribes of Israel on the day of the inauguration of the Tabernacle and on the eleven subsequent days. At first glance, it seems very hard to find a common thread connecting these disparate subjects. In this very interesting and fun Parsha podcast, we share a powerful and counterintuitive theme that is strung throughout the Parsha. The takeaways for us are profound.– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –NEW TORCH Mailing Address POBox:TORCHPO BOX 310246HOUSTON, TX 77231-0246– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletterrabbiwolbe.com/newsletter– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe's PodcastsThe Parsha PodcastThe Jewish History PodcastThe Mitzvah Podcast This Jewish LifeThe Ethics PodcastTORAH 101 ★ Support this podcast ★

In the longest parsha in the Torah by verses, we continue to read about the Levite families and their responsibilities, we learn about the three tiers of the Nation's encampment, the laws of a suspected adulteress, the laws of the Nazir, the Priestly blessings, and we read a very wordy account of the gifts of […]

The Mishna states that the method of slaughtering a red heifer (para aduma) is not the same method used for breaking the back of the neck of a decapitated heifer (egla arufa), and vice-versa. A braita brings a source demonstrating that one cannot break the back of the neck of the para aduma and that one cannot slaughter the egla arufa. Both laws are derived from verses found within the passage of the egla arufa. The Mishna notes that while blemished kohanim are disqualified from Temple service, blemished Levites are fit for their respective duties. Conversely, while Levites are restricted to a specific age range for their service, kohanim can work in the Temple at all ages. A braita derives a source for both of these exclusive rules from a verse in Bamidbar 8:24. The age limitation on Levites only concerned the period of carrying the Tabernacle in the desert; for the singing service, there is no age limitation, provided the Levite can still sing properly. Regarding this age restriction for the Levites, a contradiction arises between two verses, as one states the youngest age one can work is thirty, while another states twenty-five. The Gemara reconciles this by differentiating the stages: at twenty-five a Levite begins his training, and at thirty he can actually perform the service. A braita brings a debate about the minimum age for kohanim to begin serving in the Temple - either at the biological age of maturity (the appearance of two pubic hairs) or at the age of twenty. The maximum age for their service is when they reach old age, which Rabbi Ela in the name of Rabbi Chanina defines as the point when one begins to tremble. Rav Chisda explains the scriptural source behind this minimum age debate. Later, the Gemara brings two explanations regarding whether Rebbi's requirement of twenty as the minimum age is an enacted rabbinic law, or if it was instituted because the older kohanim felt uncomfortable with teenagers performing the sacred Temple service. The method of contracting ritual impurity in earthenware vessels is not the same method of contracting impurity in other vessels. A braita details the exact differences and delineates the scriptural sources from which they are derived.

→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes → Timestamps: (00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.(06:25) The pride cycle explained.(11:29) The pride cycle illustrated in the Book of Judges.(15:56) Successive generations of Israelites forget God and the things he has done for them.(17:56) The theme of denigrating the northern tribes of Israel.(21:33) Othniel is the first judge. Ehud, the second judge, brings a “gift” to Eglon, the fat king of Moab.(27:24) Deborah is the third judge. How her story compares to the Ishtar myth.(36:51) Gideon is the fourth judge and humbly trusts in God.(47:43) Gideon refuses the invitation to be the king of Israel and teaches that Israel should make God their King.(53:20) Samson is the 7th judge and is blessed with great strength. His ultimate destruction is symbolic of the descent of the House of Israel. Other myths of the ancient world, those of Nergal and Oedipus, may indicate that Samson's story contains recontextualized tropes from older times.(1:11:00) Abimelech is the 5th judge and slays his seventy brothers.(1:14:15) Jephthah is the 6th judge and makes a rash vow and sacrifices his only daughter.(1:17:47) In the first epilogue Micah sets up a false religion.(1:19:59) In the second epilogue a Levite woman is horribly violated and killed. Civil war ensues among the Israelites. We see that if Christ isn't our King, we will be without civilization. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 373 | Judges, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 25-31) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.