Podcasts about lord god

As always, the Lord God makes good on His promises, and Solomon flourishes under the Lord's lavish provision. Blessed with peace on every side and abundant wealth, Solomon does not kick back and take it easy; instead, he sets His mind on things above and gets to work. Knowing that the Lord had promised David a son who would come from his family and would establish God's house forever, Solomon builds a center of worship for God that reflects the plans for the original tabernacle. In work, wealth, and worship, Solomon is a foreshadow of the Son of David who would establish a greater kingdom where God is worshipped by the nations and the people dwell with Him in peace. 1 Kings 4 - 1:12 .  1 Kings 5 - 6:13 .  1 Kings 6 - 10:41 .  Psalm 88 - 17:18 .  Psalm 89 - 19:39 .  :::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 grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” — Isaiah 40:8 The prophet Isaiah contrasts the briefness of human life with the eternity of the Word of God. We are born, grow, mature, and die, but the Word of God remains forever. We come and go from history, but the Word of God remains alive, sovereign, and victorious from generation to generation.Many have tried to discredit the Word of God, but its truths endure. Many unbelievers and skeptics have tried to stand against the credibility of Scripture, shouting with arrogance and claiming it is false, but the Word of God is the anvil that has broken their hammer every time. The Word of God has overcome all the fires of intolerance and remained victorious. It is inspired, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient. It does not need to be updated or redefined.Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will not pass away (see Luke 21:33). It is the truth. It is the sword of the Spirit. It is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). It is more precious than much refined gold and sweeter than honey.The Word of God restores the soul, enlightens the eyes, gladdens the heart, and gives wisdom to the simple. It is living and active. It is powerful. God's Word endures forever! Lord God, remind us that although our lives fade, your Word stands forever. Plant your eternal truth in our hearts. May your Word guide our steps, strengthen our faith, silence our doubts, and anchor us in your unchanging victory. Amen.

Deen Salami | Guest Pastor Standing Firm: A Look at Stephen 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 Standing Firm: What Stephen's Martyrdom in Acts 6–7 Teaches Us About Faith Under Fire — Sermon TranscriptSouth Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VA Guest Preacher: Deen SalamiActs 6:8–7:60June 7, 2026This is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, guest preacher Deen Salami preaches on the martyrdom of Stephen from Acts 6–7. This sermon addresses how Stephen — an ordinary believer full of faith and the Holy Spirit — stood firm against hate and persecution before the Sanhedrin, what his conduct, his defense, and his death reveal about the cost of following Jesus, and why the church's first martyr was not a tragic accident but a catalyst for the spread of the gospel. Opening: A Passage That Can Almost Preach ItselfI am a little excited today about the message. We've got a lot of ground to cover. There's a large section of scripture that I want us to go through. I'm going to act as your guide. It's not very often that there are passages of scripture that actually can preach themselves. This passage just might be one of them. So what I'd like to do is just to act as your guide. I'll read through big chunks of scripture and I'll just make a couple of observations for us to consider as we do. To do that, though, I'll only need about another hour. Are you guys good with that? I know better than to get in the way of lunch, so I'll make sure that I'll get through this thing in a reasonable amount of time, and I promise we'll survive the experience, all right? All right, why don't you join me in prayer? Gracious God and Father, behold this time. It is you who have called all these people here. None are here by accident. You have assigned me to this task for this day and this hour, and I just pray, Lord God, that you would act and move. Empower now your servant to be able to bring forth this majesty for your people's benefit and for the glory of your great name. May everything that be said and done would be pleasing to you. We pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen. Context: Who Was Stephen, and Why Does He Matter?Now, we've already had the first section of our passage read to us. We're going to look at the first martyr of the early church. If you guys know, that is a follower by the name of Stephen. Before he was crucified, Jesus warned the disciples that the world would hate them because of him, and as a result, they would suffer persecution. So how do we stand firm against the hate and persecution? Well, Stephen is going to help us answer that question because he experienced exactly what Jesus said he would. How he handles the hate is a great example for us to follow. Now, again, we've already read that first section in Acts 6:1–8, but as we go into the commentary of it, I want you to consider three simple things: the charges brought before Stephen, his conduct throughout this whole trial, and what it costs him at the end. Three things — charges, his conduct, and the cost. The gospel was being preached early on. It's the early part of the church's existence. The gospel was being preached, and after an early reception by the masses, opposition began to rise, specifically from the religious leaders. Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, which means that his native tongue was not Aramaic, but it was Greek. He was also a Diaspora Jew, meaning that he was not born and raised inside Israel proper. He was born and raised outside of Israel. He came to Jerusalem, heard the gospel, and became a believer. He was not one of the original 12. He had no special place of prominence. In fact, when we first learn of Stephen a few verses earlier, he was in charge of food distribution for the church. In other words, Stephen was a simple, normal person, just like any one of us. His only desire was to serve and to be used by God. Now look at how he was described in this section. It says that he was full of God's grace and power, and he performed great signs and wonders. Up until this point, that description was only made of the apostles. But he ran into his fellow Diaspora Jews, and they could not withstand him in debate, because the Spirit of God had given him great wisdom. Since they were unable to defeat Stephen in debate, they slandered him, brought him up on trumped-up charges, and dragged him before the Sanhedrin. And this, by the way, is the third time that a follower of Jesus was dragged before the Sanhedrin. The first time it was Peter and John for healing a lame man. But because the crowds were praising God, they let them go. The second time was with all 12 apostles. They were beaten and sternly warned no longer to preach the gospel. This time, the Diaspora Jews were mobilized as a mob against Stephen, and if you were hearing properly and paying attention, you noticed that Stephen is alone. Incidentally, this is the same council that sentenced Jesus to death. The Charges Against Stephen: Disrespecting Moses and the TempleSo let's hear the charges brought against Stephen. It was the disrespect of the law — which is referred to as Moses — and the disrespect of God, the temple, because they believed that God's presence was in the temple. But Stephen is going to take these two charges and turn them on his accusers. But for now, I want to draw your attention to how Luke describes Stephen as he stands before the Sanhedrin. He says that he has the face of an angel. Now, I doubt very much that the Sanhedrin thought Stephen was hot, right? But what is it that made his appearance unmistakable? The question I want us to consider is, how is it possible that a normal person like Stephen — who was not part of the inner circle of Jesus — is able to do the things that Stephen had done and was described the way Luke describes him? Acts 6:5 — Full of Faith and the Holy Spirit: What That Actually MeansAnd I believe that the answer is found in verse 5 of chapter 6. This is the very first description we have of Stephen: he's a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. But the question is, what does that mean exactly? Let me start with full of faith. Because there are three aspects of faith that we see in Stephen. First, there's an intellectual determination. What do I mean by that? It simply means that he's asking himself, is the gospel true, and do I believe it? Am I a sinner, like the gospel says, and do I need a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Stephen's answer is yes. The second is, do I trust Jesus? Will I submit my life to him and proclaim him as my Lord? Again, Stephen answers, yes. But finally, will I commit everything to him, even if it means my death? And as we will see, Stephen will answer that question yes as well. But let me ask us all a question here. How are we doing in these three aspects? For most Christians, they're okay intellectually up here. Do I need a Savior? Yes. But it's the other two that they stumble at. Is he actually Lord? Am I running my own life? Do I just need Jesus as an advisor — I'll call on him when I need to? Or is he actually Lord? Do we actually commit our lives to him, willing to die? Because Stephen was all in with Jesus, it gave the Holy Spirit free reign to use Stephen any way he wanted. Not like a puppet, but as an active and willing partner in the work of advancing the kingdom. It's like the Fellowship of the Ring. Do you guys remember the Fellowship of the Ring? Remember when Frodo said he was going to go and take the ring to Mordor? Aragorn said to him, if by my life or death I can protect you, I will. Why? Because the fate of Middle Earth hung in the balance, right? But for us today, it's the souls — the eternal souls of people — that hang in the balance. And the only hope for them is Jesus Christ. Amen? If by our life or death, if we have the opportunity to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ, will we? Are we all in like Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit? What the Sanhedrin saw in Stephen was the very presence of the divine emanating from him. But let's move on and see what happens next. Acts 7:1–16: Stephen's Defense Begins — Summarizing Genesis 12 Through Exodus 1 from Memory I'm going to read from chapter 7, verse 1. "Then the high priest asked Stephen, are these charges true? To this he replied, brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. Leave your country and your people, God said, and go to the land I will show you. So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no children. God spoke to him in this way, for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, God said, and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place. Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later, Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. Then a famine struck all of Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was. And Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, 75 in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. And as the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die." Now, for those of you who may have picked up on it, Stephen just summarized Genesis 12 all the way through Exodus 1. Genesis 12 is where we have God's promise to bless the world through Abram. Stephen starts there and ends in Exodus chapter 1. That is approximately 39 chapters that he summarized from memory under pressure. Now, if you were on the Sanhedrin, what would you be thinking right now about the charge of disrespecting the law? At least at this point, it looks like that charge is on kind of shaky ground. In fact, some of the Sanhedrin might be looking at Stephen and secretly giving him a thumbs up. Way to go, bro. Good job, all right? Why Stephen Uses Geography and the Stories of Joseph and Moses StrategicallyWhat I don't want you to miss, though, is how Stephen is telling this story. I want you to notice the way Stephen is making use of geography — Mesopotamia, Haran, Israel, Egypt. He is summarizing what God did in those places, but why is he doing this? Also, I want you to keep in mind what he says about Joseph and his brothers. I'm going to develop that here in a minute. Just be patient, okay? Now, before we move on, I want to highlight how Stephen addresses his adversaries. To the mob, he refers to them as brothers. To the Sanhedrin, he refers to them as fathers. This mob who dragged him forcefully before the Sanhedrin, and this council that not only sentenced Jesus to death but beat the 12 apostles — the question on the table is, why is Stephen so cordial? A few observations. First, he does not seem to be taking their behavior toward him personally. The moment is not lost on Stephen. He's acutely aware of the danger he is in, but he remembers his mission, which was the same as Jesus. He does not want to condemn them. He wants them to know the truth. So he speaks to them in a way fitting that purpose. He does not retaliate against them for mistreating him. Second, Stephen understands that their behavior is symptomatic of a bigger issue. He knows what the Apostle Paul will later go on to understand and share with Timothy. As we read in 2 Timothy 2:25–26, Paul says this: "Opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will." Stephen understands that these people have been taken captive by the devil so that they would do his will. But Stephen hopes that they will come to their senses. So he begins by instructing them gently. And in his approach, Stephen is reflecting the very heart of God. Back in Ezekiel 33:11, we hear God say this: "As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways. Why will you die, people of Israel?" Stephen does not clap back at them. Third, he is gentle because he is focused. He knows it's not about him. This encounter is much bigger than Stephen, and he is keenly aware of it, and we can tell by the way he conducts himself. It's a powerful lesson for us today, isn't it? If we're going to stand firm against hate and persecution, we will resist the urge to take people's behavior toward us personally. We remember that their behavior is symptomatic of a bigger issue. They are captives of the devil, and what we want to stay focused on is our mission to be active agents in freeing them through spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now one last point before we move on. We are 19 verses into Stephen's speech and in all his words, Stephen is not trying to defend himself. He has not yet answered the question that was put before him: are these charges true? He hasn't quite answered that question, at least not directly. Acts 7:20–43: Moses, the Burning Bush, and the Pattern of Rejected MessengersBut let's get back to the rest of Stephen's speech, because I think we'll find some more for us to consider. "Now at that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months, he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day, Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, men, you are brothers. Why do you want to hurt each other? But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say, I am the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt. This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, who made you ruler and judge. He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for 40 years in the wilderness." Once again, Stephen has done an excellent job in summarizing that next section. He pretty accurately brings the story to the lawgiver himself, the man Moses. But let me begin to tie some pieces of this puzzle together for us. Stephen brings up Joseph and Moses very strategically. Joseph, with his dreams, and Moses, even at his birth, were both marked by God for God's use and for the good of his people. But in both cases, they were originally rejected. In other words, our ancestors, says Stephen, missed God's messengers the first time. Even though the signs were there, they rejected their God-appointed leaders the first time. And Stephen is about to be very clear about the implications of this for them. He mentions God being with Moses in Midian and in Egypt. All the geographical references that Stephen has made is the point he's taking aim at — the misunderstanding of the temple. They refer to the temple as this holy place. But yet Stephen reminds the Sanhedrin that when Moses was in Midian on Mount Sinai, Moses was commanded to remove his sandals because where he was standing was holy ground. So which is it? Is it the holy ground that Moses was standing on in Mount Sinai in Midian? Or is it this holy place, the temple in Jerusalem? Wherever the presence of God touches down becomes holy. What Stephen is saying is that God is not bound by any single location. This is what the Sanhedrin failed to see in their attempt to defend the temple. And it is a pattern that Stephen is pointing out for them. In addition, Jesus sternly rebuked the religious leaders when he turned over the tables of the money changers and called the temple a den of thieves, because they were keeping people from God. God had left the building, and they were completely oblivious. Let me highlight the wisdom Stephen is using here. First, he knows the word and how to apply it to the situation he is presently in. Second, he understands the charges brought against him and how to use those same charges to highlight the error of his accusers. And finally, he does not lose focus of his mission. And the question on the table for us is, if we were under this pressure, could we do the same? Acts 7:44–53: Stephen Flips the Script — You Are the Ones Who Violated the LawNow Stephen is about to end his time with the Sanhedrin, and it's going to be a colossal end. Let's finish reading. "This is the Moses who told the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people. He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living words to pass on to us. But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him, and their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him. That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in it in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: did you bring me sacrifices and offerings 40 years in the wilderness, people of Israel? You have taken up the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your God Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says, heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build me, says the Lord? Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? You stiff-necked people, your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You were just like your ancestors. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him. You who have received the law that was given through angels, but have not yet obeyed it." Stephen ends his speech with a powerful rebuke of the Sanhedrin and this mob. The history of the Jewish people had been one of rebellion, culminating in the murder of Jesus, their long-awaited Messiah. Just as they did with Joseph and Moses, they missed Jesus the first time. I want you to underline verse 53. Stephen courageously tells the truth and provides a proper diagnosis of their problem. In so doing, he flips the script. So you accuse me of violating the law and desecrating the temple? I'm not guilty of either one of these, but you are. The evidence he provides is rightly in the law of Moses, and he records the embarrassing incident with the golden calf. This was abject idolatry, which got them exiled, and it's clear that their stubborn rebellion continued to blind them. Making the Means the End: The Sanhedrin's Fatal Error with the Law and the TempleThe inherent problem the Sanhedrin and the mob suffered from was that they made the means the end and did away with the end itself. What do I mean by that? Well, in Galatians 3:24–25, Paul says this: "So the law was our guardian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." The law was the means by which we would be ready for Christ, who was literally the end of the law — he was what the law was preparing us for. But they made the means, the law, the end, and did away with the end itself, Jesus. Jesus says the same thing about the temple. In Mark 11:17, Jesus says this: "My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." The temple was the means by which all the nations would come to know who God is and pray to him. They turned the temple into a money-making machine, and they did away with God altogether. It's the same pattern. Acts 7:54–60: The Stoning of Stephen — Dying Like His LordLike all who stubbornly live in rebellion and refuse to hear the truth, they go after Stephen. "When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of the young man named Saul. And while they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of their killing." Stephen took a bold stand and it cost him his life. But here's the beauty of this passage. Stephen died in the same way his Lord did. He dies praying for the forgiveness of the people stoning him, just like Jesus. And because Stephen was so faithful to his call, the heavens opened so that Stephen sees the Lord Jesus rise from his throne to welcome his faithful servant home. How to Stand Firm Against Hate and Persecution: Look Up, Not AroundHow do we stand firm in the face of hate and persecution? First and foremost, we look up, not around. We look to Jesus. We need to be focused on Jesus because he is all he's asking us to be, and he has done all he's asking us to do. That includes suffering for his sake. Second, we need to remember one important thing. We're not simply spectators or victims. We are active agents of change. In other words, we do not lose sight of the mission, because this is why we are here. You know, I know some people — I've spoken to some people about this passage — and they seem to think that it's unfair for Stephen to have died. After all, why couldn't God have saved him? He saved the apostles. He saved John and Peter. Why couldn't he have saved Stephen? But if we read Acts 1:8, where Jesus told the disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and in the uttermost parts of the world, we begin to realize one important thing. Up until this point, guess where the church was localized? Jerusalem. Guess where they had their small groups? Jerusalem. Guess where they had their worship time? Jerusalem. But where were they supposed to go? But after Stephen was killed, we read this: "On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." Stephen's death was the catalyst for the advancement of the gospel outside of Jerusalem. Remember, our faith is not a faith that we simply talk about. Our faith is a full contact sport. If by my life or death I can advance the gospel, I will. Stephen did it by his death. Closing: Active Agents of God's Redemptive WorkLet me read you one quote as I close. It says, "Suffering becomes the ongoing evidence that creation awaits restoration. And believers, bearing God's image and indwelt by the Spirit, participate in that redemptive work. Rather than passive victims of evil, they become agents through whom God's original creative intention progressively reasserts itself against the disorder introduced by sin." Will you be a part of that? Because this is our purpose. And once we understand our purpose and totally embrace it, then we look at the world very differently. We can stop asking why the world is the way it is. Because that's really the wrong question. The right question is, what are we going to do about it? Because we are supposed to be the active and willing participants in God's redemptive work. Is this work dangerous? Yeah. Stephen found that out very clearly. Remember, Jesus died for us first. So it is not like God is asking us to throw away our lives cavalierly. Far from it. Stephen understood the stakes and was keenly aware of the moment. But he determined that his life was worthy of sacrificing for the gospel. He stood firm. Can we? Let me pray. Our gracious God and Father, we thank you for this time that we can be in your word. We are reminded, Lord, that it's you who preserved your word, lo, these 2,000 years for us, this generation of believers, to learn and glean from. I pray, Father, for whatever lessons that may have been brought out here, that those seeds would be scattered in the hearts of your people and that they would grow into folks that would stand firm for the advancement of the gospel. Our only desire, Lord God, is like Stephen. We ask humbly that you would use us as we serve, and that you would be glorified. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 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

Once again God's words through Isaiah attracted our thoughts.  There are so many parallels today with the attitudes the LORD was seeking to counteract in Israel in the time of Isaiah.  The message the prophet was to convey was, “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning (or repentance, mg) and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.' But you were unwilling …” [30 v.15]In v. 18 this is repeated with added emphasis, “… the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”  We see that the LORD's words to the people through Isaiah have remarkable parallels in the words of Jesus – remember the invitations to the wedding banquet – and the poor response – see Matt 22 v.3 and John's record of Jesus saying, “the Scriptures … bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me … you do not have the love of God within you.” [John 5 v.39-41]  What would he say to you?As we read each day – let us make sure we see the “witness” of the Scriptures.  There are also some thought parallels in today's final chapter in Hebrews, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.' So that we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” [v.5,6]  Paul writes of the sacrifices we should make, to be content, to have no love of money.  He reminds and stresses, our Lord sacrificed himself “in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” [v.12]  And then v.15 should jump out to attract our thoughts, “Through him then let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name … for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” [v.16] Let us make sure they are pleasing to us – and come genuinely from our hearts – a contrast to the noise and show in the Temple in the days of Isaiah, Jesus and Paul; learning that “in quietness and in trust shall be (y)our strength.”

Revelation 21 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”   9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb...  22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.   Introduction: The End Toward Which Everything Moves God's Final Goal Is Restoration, Not Escape (Vv.1–2) God Will Dwell with His People (V.3) The End of Suffering, Death, and Curse (V.4) Eternal Worship and Joyful Service (22:3-5) Application: How We Must Live          1. Hope Shapes Holiness (1 John 3:2–3)          2. Long for God's Presence (Psalm 73:25)        3. Live with Eternal Perspective (Colossians 3:2)

Our Isaiah and Hebrews readings provide an abundance of thoughts today.  Some verses encourage peace of mind, others a sense of awe at what is coming on the world – the judgements our godless world deserves.  Ch. 26 in Isaiah is a grouping of quite contrasting revelations from God – verses 3 and 4 are worthy of being memorised. “You will keep him (her) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he (she) trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”  How wonderful to have a mind that is “stayed on” God, the only foundation for “perfect peace” in a world which knows no peace: no peace between nations – yes – but more vital than that – no trust and peace between individuals. The reign of Jesus returned to the earth will see the time “when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness…” [v.9]  But at the moment, as in Isaiah's day, “O LORD your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it.” [v.11].  May we “see” the Lord's hand so that the next verse is true for us, “O LORD, you will ordain peace for us; you have done for us all our works.” [v.12] because those works have been done in the strength that God gives to us – and then we will heed the warning given in v.20,21 “… my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.  For behold the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth …”There are words in our Hebrews reading which dovetail in with these;  “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works … encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” [ch. 10 v.23-25]  This is the only way to achieve and maintain “perfect peace.” 

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.19 And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.20 And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.21 And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.24 Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.25 Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.26 And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.27 And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.28 Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.30 And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.31 And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.34 Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,38 And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.44 All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Tuesday, 2 June 2026   Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Matthew 20:14   “You bear the ‘yours', and you go! I will, also, this: the last to give as also you.” (CG)   In the previous verse, the housemaster told the grumbler that he was a scammer, asking if he didn't agree to a denarius. Without waiting for a response, he next says, “You bear the ‘yours', and you go!”   In other words, “You got what we agreed on. That is yours. Take it and hit the road.” Having said that, he continues with, “I will, also, this: the last to give as also you.”   If such is his will, it has not harmed anyone else. Rather, it was an act of his own charitable goodness to hand out money as he saw fit. There was no wrongdoing, no intent of malice toward another, and the only wrong involved is that of perception by a person who had received what he agreed to work for.   Life application: In the United States, it is common to tip people who work in service industries, especially waitresses. They normally receive less pay for the work they do with others based on the anticipation that when they do a good job, they will be rewarded for it by those they serve.   It is true that some cultures or individuals don't tip, but that disregard for the care of others is their own issue. The poor servers just have to bite their lip and live with it. Besides such people, tipping is how some people are able to pay their bills. However, at some point in the past, some restaurants came to the ridiculous conclusion that it was unfair for one server to make more than the others.   Think about it. You have hired Lazy Linda. She does the minimal amount of work, is late serving people their food, and shows up ten minutes late every day. You also have Moaning Myrtle. She never smiles, complains to the customers about the amount of food they order, and has plenty of words about her unhappy family life to share with complete strangers.   You also have Piggy Peggy. Her clothes are dirty, she doesn't smell very good, and if she laughs, it is more a grunt than anything joyful. She delivers the food randomly, and when you get it, it seems something may have been picked off the plate on the trip between the kitchen and your table.   And then, there is Amazing Amy. She shows up early, always has a well-pressed, clean uniform, smiles at everybody, never has a bad word to say about anyone or anything, and never stops helping others. Her customers become regulars, they know her birthday, and always wish her a merry Christmas with a nice little gift.   Why on earth should Amazing Amy have to split the $1000.00 a day she makes in tips with Lazy, Piggy, and Moaning, who collectively make about 85 cents in tips on a good day? This rewards indolence, negative attitudes, and sloppy work. It also penalizes hard work and outstanding effort.   The first laborers hired by the housemaster got exactly what they agreed to. Maybe they worked hard, or maybe they slouched on the job, but the housemaster was faithful to meet his obligation to them. The last people were given a great measure of grace, receiving what today would be considered a nice tip for their minimal labors. But nobody was wronged in the process.   Be content with your pay. If you are unhappy with it, or with how your boss treats others for whatever reason, as long as he is not violating any law, remember that there are other options available on the other side of the door.   As Christians, we should always strive to do our best at whatever we do. Jesus' name rests on us. So honor the Lord first. In doing so, everything else will find its proper place.   Lord God, may we rejoice when others are successful. If we want what they have, may we be willing to expend ourselves to obtain those things. May we not be envious of what we do not possess. And, Lord, keep us from taking from others what they have rightfully earned. Amen.  

Proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. . . . — Isaiah 40:2 God's people had ignored his law and had closed their ears to the words of his prophets. As a consequence, the people were taken into captivity and exile. Because they would not listen to the voice of grace, they heard the crack of the whip of discipline.But the same God who disciplines his people restores them by his mercy. God called Isaiah to speak tenderly and with assurance to his exiled people, proclaiming that their time of captivity was over and that their sins were forgiven. What a comforting message!Because God loves his people, he disciplines them. And along with disciplining his people, God also forgives them. God forgives his people, and he also restores them.There is no remedy for guilt except in God's forgiveness. No medicine can calm a heart tormented by guilt. No therapy can stifle the desperate cries of a conscience plagued with remorse for wrongdoing. Only God's forgiveness can lift the heavy burden that crushes us.Have you been forgiven by God? Do you enjoy the peace that “transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7)?Now is the time of grace. If your heart weighs heavy with sin, now is the opportune time to turn to God in repentance and seek his forgiveness. Lord God, speak to our hearts with your restoring mercy. Lift the weight of our guilt, forgive us, and lead us from discipline to renewal, bringing the peace that only you can give. In Jesus, Amen.

Let us link up the closing words of our reading in Hebrews (ch.9) “Christ … will appear a second time … to save those who  are eagerly waiting for him” with the words God gave to Isaiah, in today's ch. 25, which we referred to yesterday.  This describes the time when God “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth …”  It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him … let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” [v.8,9]How eagerly are we waiting?  Is the world around us full of ways of living that attract us, things that largely or fully occupy our minds?  Yes, we have to live in the world and earn our living, but are we keenly interested in the vision God's word provides for us that goes far beyond the present materialistic way of thinking and doing?  We are forced to admit that this computer communication age, which is very helpful in many ways, is also very distracting – do we need to allow it to be totally distracting?  The more our minds feed on God's word the more we will be attracted to that word.  In that coming day, the LORD tells us through Isaiah, the redeemed will say, “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you … for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure … Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.” [v.1,3] At that time those who have been “eagerly waiting” and showing this by their priorities in life will “be glad and rejoice”. Peter in his 1st epistle, which we will soon read,  expresses this powerfully, “Though you do not now see him, you believe him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith …” [1 Pet. 1 v.8,9]  Imagine the joy?  Imagine the glory?Finally, note the point Paul made earlier in Hebrews ch. 9!  “How much more will the blood of Christ who … offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” [v.14]   If we do not sense our progress in that purifying and, as a result, serving, then we have to ask ourselves, ‘Do I genuinely belong to Christ?' 

Genesis 1:1-2:4 - The Beginning 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image,     in the image of God he created them;     male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Adam and Eve 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

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Monday, 1 June 2026   But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Matthew 20:13   “The ‘also answering one of them', he said, ‘Scammer! Not I wrong you! Not for a denarius, you harmonized me?'” (CG)   In the previous verse, the workers who were hired earlier in the day grumbled that the housemaster made those who worked only one hour equal with those who bore the burden of the day. In hearing this, it next says, “The ‘also answering one of them'.”   This is the housemaster. He probably directs his words to the one who was the chief grumbler who stirred the others up. As for his words, “he said, ‘Scammer!'”   This is a new and rare word, found only three times, all in Matthew. It may be that because Matthew was a tax collector, there were particular words he and other tax collectors used to identify people of a certain sort. The word is hetairos, a comrade, fellow, or friend.   However, HELPS Word Studies provides insights into it, saying it is someone “posing to be a comrade but in reality only has his own interests in mind.” They also say it “suggests someone viewed (associated) as a friend, but is actually an imposter acting for self-gain.” As such, the words scammer or shammer make a suitable translation of the thought.   The housemaster continues, explaining why he is such a person, saying, “Not I wrong you! Not for a denarius, you harmonized me?”   The agreement which they came to was a denarius for the day's labor. The offer was made, the man accepted it, and a state of harmony was realized when he went off to the vineyard. Had the housemaster paid him first and sent him out the door, there would have been no complaints or grumbling because he would have been none the wiser.   However, jealousy crept into him when he saw that others benefited in a manner differently from him.   Life application: The previous administration under Joe Biden frittered away billions of dollars of taxpayer money by wiping out loans that were made to college students. The program was set up to help people get through college with the understanding that the loans were to be repaid at a set rate of interest.   It doesn't matter if the rates later seemed unfair to those who took out the loans. It also doesn't matter if they never got the job they trained for because they chose a field that nobody has a need for, like “Blue-haired social justice manager for underprivileged surfers.”   What matters is that they signed a legal document, took the money, got the education, and were required to pay it back. However, with his inability to effectively run the nation and needing to bolster his list of potential voters, Biden arbitrarily canceled these loans.   What kind of example does it set when certain people are granted such favor while others have to pay back their loans? Biden did this with the banking industry as well, bailing out those banks that were unprofitable, but which supported left-wing agendas. When a conservative bank failed, no assistance was given.   Such behavior permeated the policies of Biden's presidency, turning what was right and proper upside down. Understanding this, be sure to always evaluate your voting choices on who most closely will uphold biblical values. In doing so, you may not get the best guy in the world running things, but you will avoid real trouble that inevitably arises from hiring someone who is opposed to the moral principles set forth in Scripture.   Lord God, may we not grumble or complain when we are treated unfairly by those we interact with. We can't see all the circumstances of the future that may change, and so we should not later try to upend our agreements. Help us to stick to what we have agreed to and strive to always set a proper example for others. Amen.

Today's and tomorrow's chapters in Isaiah (24 & 25) contain a powerful message about the climax of human history, yet they are not very often quoted.   Chapter 24 ends with “for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and Jerusalem and his glory will be before his elders.”  The next chapter begins with the reaction of the righteous, “O LORD, you are my God, I will exalt your name for you have done wonderful things …”  Humanly fortified cities have become ruins, never to be rebuilt (v.2) and the “cities of ruthless nations will fear you.” [v.3]  God has “been a stronghold to the poor … to the needy in his distress” [v.4]Then a glorious scene opens up, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food … he will swallow up death forever and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces … Behold this is our God, we have waited for him … “ [v.6,8,9].    But go back, we jumped over nearly all of Ch. 24 – it speaks of what is to happen before this time of wonder and joy on the earth.  It is an extremely frightening picture!  Is it about to happen?  The chapter started, “Behold the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate …”The next verse indicates that all the buyers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, creditors and debtors will suffer.  Verse 3 says, “The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word”.  Then we read “the earth lies defiled under its inhabitants” [v.5], “its inhabitants suffer for their guilt” [v.6] and then follows details of the ways in which they will suffer.Reading further – “The earth is utterly broken … is violently shaken … its transgression lies heavily upon it and it falls and will not rise again” [v.19,20].  This is symbolic language of the heavens and the earth (rulers and people) that now exist being destroyed.  But later in Isaiah we will come across a wonderful vision, for God says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold I create Jerusalem to be a joy  … my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” [Ch.65 v.17,18,22]  Will you behold these things?

Send us a messageIn Part 2 of “Warriors of Truth Arise!” we revisit the Armor of God, with encouragement to the Holy Remnant who are contending for God's Word in the midst of the darkened compromises of last days Laodicean Church.As this modern Church yields to the enemy's seduction, she is becoming more inept and sick unto death, having slipped into a quagmire of preaching the doctrines of the world while crediting them falsely to the Bible – leaving many with a false salvation security.And yet in spite of this, the Lord God has guarded over His Word, with the Holy Spirit being the Sacred Interpreter in Truth. And the one who has been called to be chosen will be given understanding in recognition of the One Who alone is the Way – and the Truth – and Eternal Life. And they will hear His Voice when He calls – and will follow no other. Therefore, let those who have ears to hear – Hear! And come quickly – for the Ark of Salvation is getting ready to depart – and soon!Support the showVisit our website: https://agapelightministries.com/

These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty.4 Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.5 Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.6 Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.8 And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.15 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;19 And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;20 Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:26 I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.28 And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers.29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;34 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the Lord.36 And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.

KJV 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

First Sunday after Pentecost Trinity Sunday Old Testament: Genesis 1:1-2:4a 1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."27So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Psalm: Canticle 13 Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *        you are worthy of praise; glory to you. Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *        we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever. Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *        on the throne of your majesty, glory to you. Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *        we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever. Glory to you, beholding the depths; *        in the high vault of heaven, glory to you. Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *        we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever. Epistle: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 11Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

What is enough? How do you know when you have enough? Is the answer: “Just a little more . . .”? If so, you're not alone, but you're also on a dangerous road. From the rich fool who built bigger barns to the algorithm that lives in our pocket, something has always been working to convince us that the next thing is the thing that will finally make us secure. But Jesus names a deeper truth: greed isn't really about money at all. It's about where we go for safety, and whether we trust our stuff or our Father to be the ground beneath our feet. Greed Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | May 31, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This Sunday we're exploring:The rich fool of Luke 12 and how building a bigger barn was a dangerous replacement for the work only God can doHow the algorithm and our social media networks form us every day into people who can never quite be satisfiedGreed as a trust problem: the quiet transfer of our security from God to the things in our closets or our bank accountsWhy the offering plate is one of the most counter-cultural things we do — and how the practice of charity and generosity is an important way we take the offramp from greed back onto the narrow road that leads to abundant life 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 South Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VAPastor Eric GilchrestMark 3:1–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 34:6–9; Jonah 4May 10, 2026 — Mother's DayThis is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Pastor Eric Gilchrest preaches on anger and wrath as part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series on the seven deadly sins. Drawing from Mark 3, Genesis 4, Exodus 34, Jonah 4, and Matthew 5, this sermon takes the congregation on a biblical tour of what Scripture says about anger — the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger, what Jesus' own anger reveals about the nature of God, and how to keep the fire in the fireplace. Announcements: Bridge Walkers and a Joint Service on May 31stGood morning, friends. It's good to be with you. Before we get started, there's just a couple things I want to say. There's something that I haven't alerted you to yet, but this is as good a time as any. So a few weeks ago, right before Easter, I was invited into a group of pastors who met over the course of two days, and there was an evening together. We stayed at a hotel. There was a grant connected to it. And it was a group of white pastors and a group of black pastors in the area here, in the Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. And the hope of this — it's a group called Bridge Walkers, which gets its name from the walk from Selma to Montgomery back in the 60s. And as somebody who lived right outside of Selma in Marion, Alabama, I know the scene well. In fact, I was there at the 50th anniversary of it in 2013, and it was a really powerful event. And so the meeting was one that I definitely wanted to participate in. And as we gathered together, we had some really frank discussions about race in the United States and in the church, and how we can be, as a church, agents of reconciliation.And so the fruit of this and the hope of where this all goes is for our churches of these pastors to do some things together over the coming year or two. And so the first of these is coming up May 31st, which happens to be the exact same day as the picnic. I did not get to pick this, it just kind of happened this way, which is in part why we are holding the picnic immediately after the service. And Jeff was right. I will be dressed for the part, and I need you to be dressed for the part too. The picnic will be fun. We'll have games. We'll drag stuff out. But then we wanted to give enough time for those of you who would like to attend this service to get home, maybe take a nap, or do whatever you do on your Sunday afternoons. And then at 6 p.m., it's up in Glen Arden, Maryland, we will have the first of these services together. I don't know what to expect, but I do expect that God will move, and I expect the Holy Spirit to be present, and I expect some of our preconceived notions to be challenged. I expect transformation is always beckoning us, and I am deeply hopeful for what might come out of this. So put that on your calendar. This is May 31st, just right around the corner, and it is 6 p.m. that evening.Happy Mother's Day: A Childhood Binder and a Mom Who Saw All of YouToday is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers and the spiritual mothers in the room. I was trying to think of what to say at this point, and what came to mind was a collection of photos that I found from my childhood that my mom had gathered together. It was one of those binders that back in the 1998 time frame when I graduated from high school, that people would put photos into and they'd put words about what was happening at that time. And my mom was way into this. And so she chronicled my whole childhood from zero to 18 and then presented me with this big binder. And now as a father of an 18-year-old, I think about that a little differently.And I think about what it means to be a dad, only because I can't think about what it means to be a mom, because I'm not one. But I know this much on the receiving end of it all. I had a wonderful mom who looked after me in ways that I don't think I'll ever be able to fully appreciate. She saw every last bit of me and who I was, and she was there every step of the way, even if I didn't realize it. And so for all the moms in the room, I am grateful. We are all grateful. And for those of us who have moms who are still alive, may we reach out to them today and give them the thanks that they deserve.Let's begin with some prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray a special prayer of blessing over the mothers in this room today. Lord, the kind of love that you call us into, that agape love, a self-giving kind of love, I can think of no better human example than what mothers do on a day-to-day basis for their children. And so, God, may we all aspire to that. We give you thanks for them, and we give you praise for that kind of love, and may we be drawn into being those kinds of people too. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.The Jesus Way Series: Vanity, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Today's Stop — Anger All right, we are — if you don't know — we are on a road together, a path, right? And this began a few weeks ago. Well, I mean, it kind of began a long time ago, but we're on this transformation kick. But then since Easter, we've been walking in these two ways. And I've been trying to show you that there is this narrow way, right? It's the way that Jesus is drawing us into. It's narrow because fewer people choose it. It's a little hard. There's more friction to it. It requires something of you to be on it. But it is the way to life and to fullness of life and to eternal life. And this is what Jesus is trying to get us to do. But then there is this other way. There's this broad way. It's bigger and wider, and it's much easier to find yourself on it. And it's marked by a number of things. And so two weeks ago, we talked about vanity as one of the markers of this way. And it's easy to just kind of slide into vanity. And then today, we're talking about the broad way again. And I want to talk about anger. And I know it's Mother's Day. So apologies ahead of time for this. I do want you to know there was a toss-up between this and gluttony. And so I put gluttony on Father's Day. So, you know, you can get ready for that too. And I'll say, all of the analogies are aimed at the men in the room today. So all the stories — you know, like I'm looking at guys here — women, you get the day off. So you're welcome. All right, so just clarify a couple things up front. I originally had the name wrath for this sermon, and I was afraid that it might draw up like the wrong image for you. But here's the truth of the matter. The word anger and the word wrath — actually, it's the same thing. The roots of these are the same, like the down deep parts of it. They're just two different words for the same thing. The goal of what I want to accomplish in this sermon today is to really lean into the middle section of this rotten tree that stands before you. We've already touched on vanity, the far left, and we'll get to each of these branches at some point over the weeks here. And then just to remind you, at the base of all of this is your pride and your ego. It's kind of the thing that is the last thing that will die in this earth, right? Because if you could just simply root that part out, then it would take care of the rest. But pride is much trickier than simply just plucking it out like a weed. It has roots that go much deeper than you or I can really frankly imagine. So today we're just focusing on the middle one. We're talking about wrath or anger. And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Maybe I enjoy it too much. I'm realizing this right now as I said that. I have like a thousand things I want to tell you, and I will only tell you maybe ten of those. And so if you think to yourself, well, Pastor Eric, I wish you had talked about this — I probably could have and maybe should have. But I'm glad that you're leaning in and you're really digging into what you need to know about anger and wrath. Also, it's a pitch to come to Sunday morning Bible study where we do go deeper for a whole hour on this topic. The goal of the sermon is, with the theme of roads and ways and all, to take you on a tour — like a driving tour of your Bible — and the things that it has to say about anger. Think of it this way. We've got a few key destinations I'm trying to get us to. And then as we go to those destinations, there's like bathroom stops I want to point us at, or maybe just a couple things that you should have in your view as we head to these main stops. First Stop — Mark 3:1–6: Jesus Gets Angry in the Synagogue The first stop is the one we read already, which is Mark chapter 3. And so I'd encourage you, please, open your scriptures, open your Bibles to Mark chapter 3 as we dig into what Jesus demonstrates for us about anger. Mark 3:1 to 6. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, come over here. And then he said to the Pharisees, he said, is it lawful? Does the law permit? Does your Bible tell me that it's okay to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? He's asking them, how do you read your Bible? What's the right thing to do here? But they were silent.And then he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he said, I'm going to teach you how to read your Bible. And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to keep the Sabbath. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and they immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him how to destroy him.There are two angry parties here. Jesus gets angry and clearly the Pharisees do as well as they seek to destroy him by the end. There are just a few things that I want to point to in this passage that will become important. And the goal as we make these stops on this journey together is to maybe build up a case of the kinds of things we can say about anger based on what we find in our scriptures. The first would be simply that Jesus does get angry. And it's actually okay for you to be angry too sometimes — with a huge caveat around it. Because anger is actually one — it's the only sin on the list of the seven deadly sins — that it's okay to, we'll say, participate in when it's not a sin. The sin looks a whole lot like the not-sin. It's the only one that looks like this. Knowing how to distinguish between the sinful version of anger and the righteous version of anger, it takes wisdom and it takes maturity. I don't recommend it to the littlest ones among us. It's a little bit like holding a knife. Like, you want to teach someone how to do this and to train them well, or they're going to do what? They're going to cut someone, maybe themselves. And anger is much the same way. And we need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.But Jesus does get angry. And then I'll say this about his anger. If you read closely, what is he angry at? It's actually remarkably precise here in Mark. He's angry at their hardness of heart. He's not precisely angry at them, just generally, as if Pharisees are awful people or something like this. No, he's angry at something specific. The object that he's directing his anger at is their hardness. There's something in them. And he says there's something really wrong with that. And it provokes some anger in him.The other thing I'd say is that his anger is connected to justice, which is what anger is always connected to, by the way. Usually — well, actually both in the righteous form and the unrighteous form. When something's gone wrong in the world, righteous anger says, something's wrong with the world, and I want to fix it. When anger is unrighteous, usually you're saying, something's wrong with my world, and I want to fix that. The last thing I'd say about this passage is maybe the most important of them all, which is that if you really look closely at verse 5 there, it says this: he looked around at them with anger, grieved. Two emotions are sitting together — anger and grief. Anger and grief. How does one have anger and grief sitting side by side? Well, the only way is if you manage to find empathy for the one you are angry with. It's when moms and dads say it — and I promise they mean it, kids — when they say, this is harder for me than for you. Well, they mostly mean it. I feel grief over having to discipline. I feel grief because I want your world to be right. And Jesus here is feeling grief for the Pharisees, saying, I wish your hearts were not so hard. I could teach you a better way. I could teach you a way to life.Thumos and Orge: Two Greek Words for Anger in the New TestamentAll right, let's keep going on our journey here. Actually, let me pause one more minute. This is a good opportunity to introduce two words that appear in our New Testament. Both of them are words for anger, and they are thumos and orge. It's a hard G. We're still talking about the sin of anger here. Thumos and orge.I want you to think about anger as a fire. This is the metaphor for anger often. And fire, much like a knife, is something that can do damage or it can do good. Thumos is the damaging kind. It flames up quickly. It's the road rage. It's somebody getting upset, right? And it's named specifically in Galatians 5:20 and Ephesians 4:31, if you want to look those up. Galatians 5:20 is right next to the fruit of the Spirit. You know the fruit of the Spirit? These are the ones we love to talk about. But there's the fruit of the flesh right before it. And in this fruit of the flesh is thumos. It's that anger that rages up, right? This is what we're trying to avoid.But the one next to it is orge. And orge — sometimes it is unrighteous anger, it's not always righteous — but it is a controlled anger. It has some measure of control around it, as I say, a controlled burn, right? There are times where if there's a fire in your fireplace, that's a great thing, and it's controlled. But if that fire jumps out of your fireplace and is uncontrolled and creeps up the walls, now we've got a different kind of problem. Our goal today is to learn how to keep that fire in the fireplace.Pit Stop — Genesis 4:3–7: Cain's Anger and the Sin Crouching at the Door All right, we'll move on. We need to take a quick pit stop, however, on this journey and look at Genesis chapter 4, verses 3 to 7. This is the famous story of Cain and Abel. You probably know what happens to Abel and then maybe to Cain. Cain murders his brother. But before he does, we read a little bit about how this gets set up.In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and his offering, he did not And so what happens? Well, Cain was very angry, and here we see the burning starts, right? The fire begins to burn. And Cain's face fell, and the Lord said to Cain — the question you should be asking yourself this morning — which is, why are you angry? Why are you angry? When you get angry, why? What is under that for you? It's a very good question. And why has your face fallen? And then he says — God says to him — if you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you do not do well, and here's the key, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must master it."And what is the sin here? The sin is anger, and it's burning in him. And he says, you must master it, you must keep this in the fireplace. And if you don't keep this in the fireplace, it's going to destroy everything. We know exactly what happens. The sin that was crouching does what? It leaps out of that fireplace, and Cain kills his brother. And we have the first murder in all of Scripture.Murder is a terrible sin. It's actually not one of the deadly sins, is it? It's not one of the seven. Because underneath murder — and Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 5 — underneath murder sits the thing that's in our heart. We call that anger. Second Stop — Exodus 34:6–9: God Reveals His Nature as Slow to AngerAll right, the next stop on our tour is Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 to 9. I would encourage you, go ahead and pull your Bibles there now. Exodus 34:6–9. This is where Moses is up on the mount, Mount Sinai. He's getting the Ten Commandments. But in this very important scene, God reveals his nature to him. And he tells us, and he reports to us, what kind of God he is.And I'll say God is angry at times. God can have wrath. I do not deny this, and I don't want to even diminish this in any way. But I'd encourage you as we read through this to recognize a very important fact — that even for God, maybe especially for God, who is perfection and the thing that we are trying to strive for — God's wrath and anger flows from his love. Love is the primary, and out of that flows his anger. You might wonder, well, Eric, how in the world does that work? That doesn't seem obvious to me at all. But I would point us back to maybe Mother's Day or the fathers in the room. When you get angry as a parent, like in a good way, a good angry, when you see your child being hurt by somebody and that mama bear rage wells up — why? Because you want to protect your child. An injustice has happened or is about to happen and you want to protect them. God is not dissimilar. He knows what is good for us. He knows when the world is off kilter. He knows when you are off kilter. And he knows that when it is and when you are, that this is destructive to you. And he wants to save you from your destruction. And we call this anger. And it's him maybe punishing or reaching out and trying to fix the situation. And sometimes — and parents know this — the discipline requires something harsh.So it goes like this in verse 6. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. And this is what the Lord is saying about himself. "The Lord, Yahweh" — and he says it twice, Yahweh, Yahweh — "I am a God who is merciful and gracious, and I'm slow to anger." And there it is, right? I'm not quick to anger. I am slow to anger. I am gracious. I'm merciful. I'm slow to anger. I abound in this. The word here is hesed. It's a steadfast love. It is a love that never quits. It is like a mother's love — like, you can do all kinds of things, but your mom is just going to love you throughout and throughout and throughout. And this is what God is saying of his very self, that he has this kind of hesed love, a steadfast love, of faithfulness. And he keeps steadfast love for thousands. And more than that, he's forgiving. And he forgives all the kinds of words for sin that appear in your Old Testament. Sometimes we call it iniquity, sometimes transgression, and sometimes sin. And he says, I'm willing to forgive all of these things. He then does go into the fact that he is a just God, and there needs to be justice. And so he says he doesn't clear the guilty just by virtue of wiping it away. And he, in fact — and this needs some explanation, and fortunately this is going to have to wait for another day — he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children so that the third and the fourth generation, they sometimes feel the effects of the father's sin. I think you know this to be true just if you look through your family history and you think about your father and his father and his father and the ways in which their failures have a way of creeping through a family line. I think that's what God is teaching us here.And so Moses quickly bows his head toward the earth and he worshiped and he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, oh Lord, please let this God — let you, God, the one who is merciful and slow to anger — that is the God we need in our midst. Because we're a stiff-necked people and we need you to pardon our iniquity."This is a remarkable passage in its historical context. There are lots of gods in the ancient world, if you don't know. There's a group that's praying to a God named Asherah at this point. And that God happens to be really good at fertility matters. Or there's the folks who are crying out to Baal. And Baal is one of these like really fickle gods who may get angry with you and then doesn't. And you never know who you're going to get with Baal. Or if you fast forward in time, you might get the God of Mars, who is the God of war. And that's the God you're going to meet in the pages of history.But this God, Yahweh, is unlike all the other gods. There is no other God named in history, certainly at this point, who describes himself in the ways that our God describes himself. This description literally changes the course of history. Because we should look to our God, to this God, and say to ourselves, thanks be to God that you are the God who is all of these things, and especially the God who is slow to anger.This passage is, again, as I said, one of the most important in all of the Old Testament, and we know this with certainty because — I've just got a couple here, Psalm 30 and Micah 7 — but you could do a Google search later on how many passages from the Bible as a whole, but especially our Old Testament, appeal to and quote from Exodus 34, and you'll be amazed. The Bible repeats this part of the Bible over and over and over again. Psalm 103, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 86, Joel 2 — or the next stop on our journey, Jonah chapter 4.Third Stop — Jonah 4: HOT Anger and Everything Jonah Gets WrongLet's turn there together. Jonah chapter 4. Jonah is a troubled prophet. I would encourage you, whatever you do, do not look to Jonah as an exemplar. He will let you down. Jonah is one of these — actually he's the only prophet who I can really say that about. The whole book is an upside-down prophet. He's not doing what he should be doing, and he's doing what he should not be doing, and we see this ever so clearly in chapter 4 here.We'll read it. For the sake of time, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time in it, but what we see is an angry prophet. Now, prophets are actually often angry. You should know this. The other prophets are too. They're just angry, typically in the righteous kind of way, because again, if justice is the name of the game for anger — the prophets are looking out and they're seeing injustice and unrighteousness everywhere. And they're shouting at their people, you got to fix this. And they're angry with them. And they say, the world's not right, and it should be. And you need to be doing something about it. Jonah is angry as well, much like the prophets. But he is, we'll say, more self-centered than he should be. And so it goes like this. If you don't know the story of Jonah, the lead up to this point is that he has taken his word of disaster to the Ninevites, and he has said, you need to repent. And they said, okay, we will. And they did. And then God relents, and he does not destroy them. And Jonah is not pleased with this. Chapter 4, starting in verse 1: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." There you go. It's just kind of on the face of it. He's displeased. He's angry. What's he angry about? That God was the merciful God. He wanted the war God, the wrath God. He wanted Mars. He wanted Baal. But instead, he got Yahweh. And he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "Oh Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish." If you don't know that part of the story, he didn't even want to go to Nineveh at all, and so he fled. And so he says, this is why I left. I didn't want to come here. And then he just says it outright. "I knew you were a gracious God. You were merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster." He said, this is why I didn't want to come. I was looking for Mars. I was looking for the God of war. I wanted you to come in and destroy this whole place. And I knew, I knew you wouldn't do it.Jonah's upset. Does he have a righteous anger? Let's all say it together. No. No, he doesn't. He's showing us all the wrong ways. And he goes on: "Therefore now, Lord, please take my life from me." Twice he's going to ask for this — "for it's better for me to die than to live." And then God asks him the same question, or a similar question to the one Cain gets, right? Do you do well to be angry? Again, the question maybe you're being asked right now. Do you do well to be angry? And Jonah went out of the city, and he sits east of the city, makes a booth for himself there. He sat under the shade till he should see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed a plant to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from the discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of this plant. But when dawn came the next day, God appoints a worm that attacks the plant and it withers. And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that again he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live. And God asks another time, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And Jonah says, yes. Wrong answer, Jonah. But he says, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said — and here's the convicting part — he says, you're angry about all the wrong things. Your anger is an unrighteous anger. You're targeting the wrong targets. You are not upset about what I get upset about. Your anger is self-serving. This is what he's saying when he says in verse 10: "You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. But shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, a great city in which there are more than 120,000 souls? Shouldn't I care about that? Shouldn't I have pity on those people? And shouldn't you too, Jonah?"And then the story ends very abruptly. It's kind of one of these where you feel like maybe there's a missing chapter somewhere and someday we'll uncover it. But for today, this is what we get.Diagnosing Your Anger: The HOT Framework — Wrong Heat, Wrong Object, Wrong TimingThere's a few things from this that I want to kind of put into your cap to maybe help you remember something about anger that will help you diagnose it later on. I'm calling this HOT — H-O-T — hot, Jonah's hot anger. So there's the wrong heat, which is to say the wrong heat level. He gets too angry about the wrong things. His anger is the wrong intensity — he gets so angry about this plant. But he's not angry about the right things with regard to the people. And then the wrong object, right? The wrong object of his anger. So he's angry not about what is just or unjust. He's instead angry at God. He's angry at God's mercy and ultimately at the loss of this plant. He's very interested in this plant. And then lastly, the timing of it all is wrong. He stays angry for too long and it burns for too long. He's still upset about leaving Tarshish. He brings that back up, right? That was sitting somewhere in his heart that he didn't even want to go at all. And so he's mad at God for taking him out of Tarshish and his own land and heading over to Nineveh. And he's holding this grudge.But all of this speaks something to your anger and my anger, which is sometimes our anger is too hot for the situation. And when the kid spills the milk at the table and you blow up — is that the right heat level? No. No, it's not. The object of our anger — maybe you do blow up at the table, Dad. And you get angry with the kid in that moment. But that's not even the object of your anger. You're angry from work earlier that day where your boss said something to you that you didn't like. And now you're upset generally speaking, and then when the kid spills the milk, you yell at him. That is not the object of your anger. Don't take it out on him. Or the timing of it all — maybe you've been holding this grudge for years, and you've just been gathering it over time. This is why we need to forgive, and we need to reduce our resentments. And if we are going to walk this Jesus way, the way that leads to life, it is going to require some wisdom around all three of these things. Final Stop — Matthew 5:21–22: Jesus on Anger, Murder, and What's Sitting in Your HeartAll right, one more stop on the way. This one's Matthew 5:21 and 22. This is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is perhaps the passage maybe I should have preached from, so I am. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry" — and there Jesus is just calling it out for us, even if you've got anger in your heart — "will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire."There's a lot in this passage. A lot can be said, so I'll just keep it simple. If anger is sitting at the root of this and it's sitting in our hearts, there are any number of fruit that can come out of that anger. Sometimes it's murder. I hope that's not the case for any of us. But sometimes it's just calling someone, you fool, you idiot. Or maybe it's just the rolling of your eyes at that person you think is an idiot. Or maybe it's you online. Maybe it's what you're saying in the comment box, right? To say, you don't know what you're talking about. And it's a self-righteous kind of anger. And it sits there and it burns.And here's what I'd say about all this. There is a destruction that is happening. Jesus calls this the way of destruction for a reason. Because you are aiming at God, believe it or not, when your anger is unrighteous. Because you are saying, the world is not as it should be, and I don't trust God to fix it. So I am going to fix it myself. And then the damage you're doing is all around you too. This one's a little more obvious — if you walk through the world and you're an angry person, constantly throwing barbs at other people, you are affecting them. You are changing the climate of the room when you just simply walk into it. But then also, what may be missed is that you — you are destroying yourself from the inside out.And it may actually feel good to be angry. I learned this. I didn't realize. I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don't like conflict. But I have learned over the years some people love conflict. They actually like the fight. To them, it feels good. It feels like you're alive. But what's happening in that situation, and really any situation where anger is burning within you, is that from the inside out, you are being hollowed out. Three Antidotes to Anger: Soft Answers, Lament, and HopeThere are some antidotes to anger, and I will keep these brief, and three. One, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Jesus teaches us the gentle way, the gentleness, gentle startups. This is always the first step forward. Anger might come way down the road, right? But you need to be slow to it. Number two, lament. Learn to grieve like Jesus grieves in Mark 3. Learn to grieve even alongside your anger. And I would encourage us mere mortals — unlike Jesus, us mere mortals — we should probably start with grief and allow the anger to follow, because it's going to be a much more trustworthy form of anger if we do. And the last thing is hope. Hope. You see, the angry person, as they rage at God — Jonah, as he rages at God — ultimately is saying, I don't trust you, God. I don't trust your way to be the right way. But we need to be people of hope and people of faith who trust that even though it seems like the world is all cattywampus — and it is, like it's all upside down — we hope and we trust that the God of the universe is fixing all the things. And we play our part. And we live as people who expect the unrighteous to receive their due reward and for the wrongs to be made right again. And that we only have control over ourselves and our hearts. And so we better take control of them, lest that fire jump out of the fireplace and begin to burn the house down all around us. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you are a passionate God. We are to be passionate people. And some of the angriest among us can show us something about what it means to have passion. But God, it can be dangerous to hold that fire. And so, Lord, we ask for your wisdom. We ask for people who will gather around us and be honest with us about the nature of our anger — whether it's the slow-burning anger that leaps out of the fireplace eventually, or whether it's the kind that just flares up all the time. God, you are teaching us a better way, a narrow way, a way that leads to life. May we walk with you down that. Lord, we pray this in your holy name. 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

Psalm110 Our church's own Dylan Ackley returns to the pulpit to teach/preach Psalm 110 (the Old Testament passage quoted more often than any other in the New Testament).  The "LORD" (God the Father) welcomes King David's "Lord" (Jesus, the Son of God) to "sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool."  Rich theology with important applications!

“A Prayer for Mercy” Daniel 9:1-19                     May 31, 2026 Pastor John Choi    ----more---- Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”   We confess our sin honestly and seek God's mercy confidently, because our hope is in His name alone.      •  Adoration: The Greatness of God (1-4)          •  Confession: The Guilt of God's People (5-15)        •  Supplication: The Glory of God's Name (16-19)

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,2 The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,3 The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,4 The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,5 The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.7 And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.9 For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel.12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.14 Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand;15 And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,16 And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:17 That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.18 And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God.19 The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.20 And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house.21 And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,22 Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.23 Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?24 Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.27 Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem:28 And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

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Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:3 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;4 With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.8 Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:10 That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.11 Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.12 And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.13 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.19 And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.20 For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat,22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

SCRIPTURE- Isaiah 61.1"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners,"REFLECTION- Sr. M. KarolynMUSIC- "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" by John Catchings- "Forest Path" by Damjan Krajacic & Robert ThiesCONCERT FRIDAY"Good Day" by Forrest FrankOkay, okay, okay, okayI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)No matter what they say (What they say)The sun is shining down on meBirds are singing praiseI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)In every single wayThe God who made the universeKnows me by my nameSo it's a good dayBaby in my arms walking through the neighbourhoodLiving in the present, not woulda shoulda or couldaI remember back when I was low as a rugNow I'm standing up look at what my father doesTurning old things newGrey skies blueHear the church saying "Won't He do it"I know He's got my backThat's why I'm singing thatI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)No matter what they say (What they say)The sun is shining down on meBirds are singing praiseI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)In every single wayThe God who made the universeKnows me by my nameSo it's a good day (Yeah)It's a good day, mmm no, it's greatEverything I prayed for didn't come in lateI got all I need and I didn't have to waitAsk me if You love me, You didn't hesitateTurning old things newGrey skies blueHear the church saying "Won't He do it"I know He's got my backThat's why I'm singing thatI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)No matter what they say (What they say)The sun is shining down on meBirds are singing praiseI'm 'bout to have a good day (Good day)In every single wayThe God who made the universeKnows me by my nameSo it's a good dayNah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nahIt's a good dayNah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nahIt's a good dayNah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nahNah-nah-nah-nahIt's a good dayNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Friday, 29 May 2026   But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. Matthew 20:10   “Having come, also, the first, they deemed that more, they will take, and they took, also themselves, each – denarius.” (CG)   The previous verse noted that those who were hired at the eleventh hour received a denarius. It next says, “Having come, also, the first, they deemed that more, they will take.”   Under normal circumstances, one would assume that pay is based on time and/or the amount of labor that is produced. As such, and forgetting the original agreement, they assumed this would be their case.   Those who were out working for just an hour got nice wages for such a little amount of work. As such, how great would their pay be! But it next says, “and they took, also themselves, each – denarius.”   This was what was originally agreed on, but it doesn't match what one might expect when placed beside the labor of those who came later.   Life application: Grace is getting what you do not deserve. The workers who came later were given what they did not deserve when compared to the labor of the others.   This, however, cannot be equated to salvation. There is no merit at all in a person's salvation. If labor were to be figured into salvation, it would diminish the significance of the cross. All people must come to God in the same way, with empty hands, receiving by faith what Christ Jesus has done.   It is a great problem in the church when merit is introduced into one's Christian theology concerning salvation. And yet, it is one of the primary canons of the Roman Catholic teachings concerning justification. It is a principle teaching found in any law-observant church. It is implied in any church that requires tithing to be considered in right standing with the congregation.   These things put emphasis on some personal merit or another to indicate whether a person has satisfied God in regard to salvation. It is even the doctrine of many standard protestant churches that claim good deeds “stem necessarily” from salvation.   Such a thought makes it appear that salvation was by grace through faith and that deeds follow. However, if deeds must follow to prove salvation, then salvation in some respect is dependent on those deeds, even if they come after the fact. Why do deeds have to come after salvation? What deeds prove a person has been saved? Who determines such a standard?   These things are not found in the Bible unless they are forced into the text. Be careful to think this issue through. One sad result of such teachings is an inevitable judgmental feeling that will arise toward the lost.   If one has somehow merited salvation, then those who are not saved must also come to God through the same path as they did. When they fail to comply with such a demand, they are considered unworthy of being saved.   For those who have met the requirement, salvation then becomes a club where only those who have followed whatever misguided path is deemed necessary are included. For example, the Church of Christ says you must be baptized in order to be saved. And more, it must be in their church. Because of this, they are their own little club that excludes everyone else. Only they get Jesus. Everyone else is out.   Watch out for such teachings. Jesus alone saves. Come to Him through belief in the gospel, and you will be saved by Him. That's it! Thank God for His wonderful plan of reconciliation.   Lord God, thank You for Your goodness which has been poured out upon us through the giving of Jesus. All praise, glory, and honor belong to You alone. Jesus did it all! Hallelujah for Jesus. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 May 2026   And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. Matthew 20:9   “Having come, also, those about the eleventh hour, they took each – denarius.” (CG)   In the previous verse, the housemaster called his commissioner to call the laborers to give them their wages, from the last to the first. It now says, “Having come, also, those about the eleventh hour.”   These are those noted in verses 6 & 7. They had been standing idle all day long. The housemaster hired them with about an hour left in the workday, sending them into his vineyard. Despite their labors not adding up to very much in comparison to those who were hired first, it says, “they took each – denarius.”   The meaning is clear. It wasn't one denarius for all who were hired at the eleventh hour. Rather, it was one denarius for each of those who were hired at the eleventh hour. The number of those hired late in the day isn't known, be it two or twenty. But each received the same pay.   This was the amount agreed upon for those in verses 1 & 2 who were hired to do a full day's labor, starting in the early morning. Despite that, the housemaster felt this was what was a righteous sum to pay, according to his promise to the men.   Life application: Despite the assumptions of the past few verses concerning whether the day laborers were there at the first hour or not, or whether they turned down an unfavorable job earlier in the day or not, those comments were mere speculations about what could have happened, not what did happen.   There is nothing said about such things. All that is known is that the men were at the market when the housemaster came. Each time he came, he found more men, hiring them as they were identified by him.   As such, the pay that each one received from the eleventh hour was based on his decision to hire those who had ostensibly been there throughout the day, waiting for a job. As this is so, he could have potentially received a full day of labor from them if he had run into them earlier in the morning. As such, his pay to these men is based on what could have been as much as it is on what occurred.   Think about that from your perspective. You may have come to Christ as a young child, during high school, while in the military, after retiring from a company, or as an older person in a retirement home.   Regardless of when you came to Christ, you received the same salvation that everyone else has received. There is no getting “more” saved than anyone else. Each person who believes is sealed with the Holy Spirit at that time (Ephesians 1:13, 14).   Some denominations teach that a person who believes is saved, but they aren't truly filled with the Spirit until they have a manifestation of the Spirit through signs, such as speaking in tongues. This is not biblical. In fact, it is anti-biblical. Paul sets the parameters for being sealed with the Spirit as just noted.   One cannot get “more” of the Spirit. It is a one-time and for-all-time event. From there, we are to work out our salvation. This is not to keep being saved, but to be obedient in our salvation. The life we live in Christ will not make us more saved. Rather, it will be considered at our time of judgment, as detailed in 1 Corinthians 3 and 2 Corinthians 5.   Rewards and losses are a completely separate consideration. The Bible teaches eternal salvation. What we do with our salvation is up to us. It is evaluated based on our adherence to Scripture. However, we cannot adhere to Scripture without knowing what the Bible says. So be sure to read it and then apply it to your walk in Christ.   Lord God, how grateful we are to You for the salvation You have graciously granted to us. Help us to now be diligent in pursuing a properly directed life to You through adherence to Your word.  May it be so to Your glory. Amen.  

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:9 Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,10 And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.14 Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;15 That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.16 We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.18 The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.19 And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.22 Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Wednesday, 27 May 2026   “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' Matthew 20:8   “Evening, also, having become, he says, the ‘lord, the vineyard' to ‘commissioner, his', ‘You call the toilers, and you pay them the reward, having commenced from the last unto the first.'” (CG)   In the previous verse, the house master sent laborers into his vineyard even in the eleventh hour of the day. Next, it says, “Evening, also, having become.”   As noted previously, this means the day's length where work can be conducted, which is approximately twelve hours. The shortest day is in the winter and is a bit more than ten hours. The longest is in the summer. It is a tad over fourteen hours.   As the evening was coming, it also signifies the start of a new day because biblical days start at evening. This is based on the Genesis 1 account, where it says, “And it was, evening, and it was, morning – Day, X.” Thus, to go past evening would mean work continuing into a new day. Therefore, in the evening, “he says, the ‘lord, the vineyard' to ‘commissioner, his'.”   Here is a new word, epitropos, a commissioner. It is derived from epi, upon, and tropos, a turn and thus a mode or style of doing something, as in “The way [tropos] a hen gathers her chicks.” It signifies one who has been given a commission, meaning full power, to act on behalf of another. This person is entrusted with the authority of the house in a manner similar to Joseph, who was first over Potipher's house and eventually over Pharaoh's house –   “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.' 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.'” Genesis 41:39-41   The housemaster is ensuring that the law is being complied with. In Deuteronomy, it says –   “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. 15 Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.” Deuteronomy 24:14, 15   As it is the evening, the wages for the day must be paid. The fact that these are day laborers shows that they are exactly who the law was intended to protect. Therefore, the housemaster says, “You call the toilers, and you pay them the reward.”   This is what is expected, both by the laborers and by the law itself. The day is over, the laborers have complied with their part of the bargain, and it is time for his words “if it should be righteous” to be enacted.   Only the first were guaranteed a denarius for their labors. All others were at his decision concerning what is righteous. Thus, to ensure all see that he pays a righteous amount, he says to his commissioner, “having commenced from the last unto the first.”   Those who came last are to be paid first. It seems contradictory to the way one would normally think, but it is a demonstration to all concerning grace. Grace is getting what one does not deserve. The housemaster wants all of the laborers to see that he will treat the last with care and respect, despite their being late into the field.   Life application: Remember that what we are reading is a description of the kingdom of the heavens. What the world sees in one light, God sees in another. As such, things seem turned upside down until we understand what is being conveyed.   As seen in the parables of the hidden treasure and that of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13, the general consensus over the millennia has been that it was speaking of us selling all we have in order to “buy” the field or “buy” the pearl. That would make the parable about us earning heaven.   Rather, the man in both parables is Christ, who saw the people of the world as His treasure and pearl of great price. He sold everything, stepping down from heaven to redeem us to Himself. When we look at what God is doing from our perspective, we will always have a flawed sense of what He is doing.   Our failed marriages are then mentally considered to be like God's kingdom. Our fallen fathers who bumble through life, often making bad decisions, make us think that God must be like them. Instead of looking at things this way, we must look to God as the perfect ideal, and to what He does as what is perfectly right.   In doing this, we will always more fully appreciate Him and what He is doing. Have joy in your heart when you think of God. He has a perfect plan that will be perfectly fulfilled in us someday. Don't let the imperfection of “right now” cause you to live a life lacking joy. It will be behind us soon, and things will be more glorious than we can even imagine.   Lord God, we are so thankful to You for what lies ahead. In this world, there are all kinds of troubles, but someday they will be behind us. Thank You for this wonderful hope we possess because of Jesus Christ. Amen.  

What God Promised You Will Happen—TRUST HIM ABOVE ALL | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

Tuesday, 26 May 2026   They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.' He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' Matthew 20:7   “They say to him, ‘Because no one, us, he hired.' He says to them, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard, and the ‘if it should be righteous', you will take.'” (CG)   In the previous verse, Jesus said the housemaster went out at the eleventh hour and found laborers still standing around idly. He then asked them why they were standing idle all day. Next, we read, “They say to him, ‘Because no one, us, he hired.'”   As noted previously, there could be other reasons, such as having turned down a particular job, having not been where others saw them, etc. Regardless of that, however, by the end of the day, they had not been hired for a job.   At least they were persistent not to give up and go home before the final hour of the day. Instead, they remained hopeful of some small tasks to fill the final hour. And lo and behold, “He says to them, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard.'”   This was a pretty sweet deal. They may not make a lot, but the heat of the day is behind, the workers would be finishing up their labors, and whatever they were tasked to do would include that final clean-up rather than the more rugged labors of the day. Whatever they made would be appreciated and just. This was confirmed with the housemaster's last words to them, “and the ‘if it should be righteous', you will take.”   Life application: These laborers were told they would be given what is just and righteous. The agreement was made, and so whatever they received was to be considered in that light. This is no different than our own situation when working.   A set amount of work is detailed, a set amount of hours a week is specified, and a particular amount of money, along with any benefits, is agreed to. In return for being hired with the expectation of the job conforming to those parameters, employees are then expected to perform according to what they said they would do.   It is unconscionable for the employer to withhold the wages of someone who worked according to a preset agreement. It is also unconscionable that a person would not show up for work and expect to be paid anyway.   But the world is full of cheaters from both ends. They refuse to do what they committed to. Other people will see this and look down on those who don't meet their obligations. But how many of us fail to meet our obligations in other ways? We treat divorce as if it were just a sad occurrence. Societally, it is no longer looked at as a failure to meet one's obligation to another.   People may steal from a store, as if they have a right to whatever it is they put their hands on. They fail to meet the obligation of paying for what someone else had to produce. Stores cost money to build or rent. Electricity, water, insurance, and many other bills have to be paid. The cost of merchandise must be considered. And yet, people steal from others as if they have a right to what is taken. This has been blown to epic proportions in liberal cities where even the government fails to protect the rights of store owners. Instead, they treat theft as a right for the poor to participate in.   All of these type of things leads to the greatest failure to meet obligations of them all. As people continue to tolerate such activities, they also move further and further from God. They fail to honor Him for what He has done. They become ungrateful, abusive, harmful toward others, etc. Unholiness abounds, and any thought of honoring God is cast out the window. In fact, those who attempt to honor Him are ignored, mocked, treated as societal offenders, etc. This pattern has repeated itself throughout history, including in the pages of the Bible. We need to be firm in meeting our obligations, resolute in standing up for morality, and firm in never accepting the unholiness of others – be it individuals, organizations, or governments.   Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing, but doing right is the right thing to do. Honor God through standing fast and doing what is right at all times.   Lord God, help us to be people of integrity, even as the world moves towards ever-increasing wickedness. May we never allow unholiness to creep into our surroundings and cause us to adapt to it. Help us in this, O God. Amen.

“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generati... More...

Monday, 25 May 2026   And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?' Matthew 20:6   “Around, also, the eleventh hour, having exited, he found others having stood inactive. And he says to them, ‘Why, here, you ‘having stood all the day' inactive?'” (CG)   In the previous verse, it said that the housemaster went out at the sixth and ninth hours to hire more people. Jesus next says, “Around, also, the eleventh hour.”   There is an emphasis in these words with the inclusion of the article before “eleventh.” In the other instances, there was no article. This emphasizes the fact that it is right at the end of the day, about 5 pm. Twilight would be coming, and the day would be complete.   In John 11:9, Jesus says, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” Though probably not specifically talking about a workday, it would signify the duration of a day where work could be accomplished. As Jesus next says in John 11:9, “If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.” That builds upon what Jesus said in John 9 –   “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4, 5   Because the housemaster is hiring day laborers, they would be hired out for the full day. As there is still more light, it says the housemaster, “having exited, he found others having stood inactive.”   These guys had been standing around the market, ostensibly, for an entire day. It is true that some of them may have gotten up later, had things to do at the house, took the morning off for some reason, etc., but for the most part, the next verse indicates they would be people who have come early for the sole purpose of finding work. Because of this, it next notes, “And he says to them, ‘Why, here, you ‘having stood all the day' inactive?'”   He seems incredulous that they had been lolling around all day doing nothing. What is to be done with such people?   Life application: Imagine being a day laborer today. You have a bike to get you to the office, where day laborers go. In the early morning, someone comes in and says he has work digging out stumps. It is a very labor-intensive job. You know, because you did it before. You decide to pass on taking that job.   Throughout the day, people keep getting assigned to jobs, but every time someone comes by, you have missed the call. One time, you went to the bathroom. The next time you went outside to stretch your legs, after that, your wife called and said little Johnny is sick. While trying to console her, two other guys are selected. Each time, a job has slipped past you.   Toward the end of the day, nobody else has come by to hire anyone. Just as you are getting up to get back on your bike and head home, someone walks in and asks why you have been sitting around all day. Do you take it as an insult? Do you take it as light humor? Do you consider it an indictment concerning your skinny frame?   Or does his tone ring of sincerity, really wanting to know why you weren't selected for work, as if he might be able to help out next time you come for work? The scenario is possible, and it doesn't just apply to work. Some people are looking for marriage in their lives, and it keeps eluding them.   Others may be looking for the opportunity to buy a home, but each time one becomes available, something always comes up to interfere with it coming about. It seems like life is against you in this regard. The thing is, we all have to continue on with life.   Are we going to bear a grudge against God? Will we think we are destined for failure? Do people perceive us as incapable? People go through such times questioning their situation. If you are a believer in God, you should remember that at one time you were not saved and now you are.   You had the greatest change a person can ever experience. And it was solely by God's grace that it came about. If you can remember that truth, clinging to it through the trials, you will be able to hold fast to the fact that God was with you, is with you, and will never abandon you. It doesn't matter what people may think about you, and it is one hundred percent certain that you are not destined for failure.   God selected you through the gospel to be his. Whatever trial you are facing, He is there with you as you go through it. So hold fast to Him. If the house is meant to come, it will. If not, you still have an eternal home ahead. If a husband or wife comes along, that is great, but if not, you are a part of the bride of Christ, the church.   The temporary lives we live are a blip in the eternal scheme of things. Eyes on Jesus! You are His. Everything else falls behind that as a reason for being joy-filled at all times.   “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2   Lord God, we have needs in this life that You are faithful to tend to. We also have desires as we walk in this world. Search us out and help us as we strive for what we want. It may be that such things are not meant to come about, but we can still pray for them, knowing that You are tending even to the desires of our hearts according to Your wisdom. Thank You that You are always with us in this walk of life. Amen.  

862 I AM THAT I AM, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:13-15 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 KJV 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. ESV 3 Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Reflection on Scripture: It is difficult even to know exactly which way to go when thinking through this passage. It is heavy and simple at the same time. Moses had a legitimate problem. He didn't even know how to refer to God. He did not know God's name. He presented it as a tactical problem. How could he preach belief in a God without a full understanding of who God is. The simplicity and complexity is that God's response is not specific. On the one hand it represents an actual thing Moses could pass on as a solution for this question but on the other it is not a formal name. In fact it is much deeper. It is the essence of being.  In greek the phrase would have been written as Ego Eimi which is just I am or I exist. It is the essence of being. And also it is declarative. In contrast with the human notion of existing that we exist because we can do or think. God exists because he exists. We come into existence by God's hand in creation, and He exists. There is not criteria for proof given in this declaration, just the certainty of His eternal existence.  This became such a profound statement from God such that when Jesus later said in the book of John "Before Abraham was, I AM" the people instantly grabbed rocks to stone him for blasphemy. He equated Himself to be the one who spoke to Moses in this experience with the Burning Bush. The most important statement God wanted to make to the people is. I am here, and I am me. And that is the declarative statement that should be rend us to our soul. God exists. God is here. He is who He is and it is our great blessing to slowly gain understanding of what that means for the rest of our lives and into eternity.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

God Knows What You're Facing—HE'S COMFORTING YOU NOW | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

The Witnesses of Christ Dan Jaussen Download Sermons Archive RSS John 5:31-47 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”1 Kings 18:36-37 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,John 2:24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,John 12:42-43 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Sermon Discussion Questions:Why did Jesus name witnesses?Who were these witnesses?What can we learn from the failures of the Jews He is speaking to?Summarize Jesus' whole discussion with the Jews in second half of Chapter 5.

Matthew Week 137   Matthew 24:23-25 ESV   23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.       Matthew 24:26-28 ESV   26 So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.       Matthew 24:29-31 ESV   29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.       Isaiah 13:10 ESV   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations   will not give their light;   the sun will be dark at its rising,   and the moon will not shed its light.       Isaiah 13:19 ESV   And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,   the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,   will be like Sodom and Gomorrah   when God overthrew them.       Isaiah 34:4 ESV   All the host of heaven shall rot away,   and the skies roll up like a scroll.   All their host shall fall,   as leaves fall from the vine,   like leaves falling from the fig tree.       Isaiah 34:5 ESV   For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;   behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,   upon the people I have devoted to destruction.       Ezekiel 32:7-8 ESV   When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens   and make their stars dark;   I will cover the sun with a cloud,   and the moon shall not give its light.   8 All the bright lights of heaven   will I make dark over you,   and put darkness on your land,   declares the Lord God.       Ezekiel 32:1-2 ESV   In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:       Luke 19:42-44 ESV   42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."       Matthew 23:35-36 ESV   35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.       Matthew 24:32-35 ESV   32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.       Matthew 24:36 ESV   36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.       Matthew 24:37-39 ESV   37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.       Matthew 24:40-42 ESV   40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.       Matthew 13:40 ESV   30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, "Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."       Matthew 13:49-50a ESV   49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace.  

Saturday, 23 May 2026   and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Matthew 20:4   “And to them, he said, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard, and whatever if it should be righteous, I will give you.' And these, they departed.” (CG)   In the previous verse, Jesus noted that in the third hour, the housemaster went out and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. He continues, saying, “And to them, he said, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard.'”   With a quarter of the day gone, the chances of getting a job are waning. This offer was certainly good news for the men who were dependent on work to make ends meet. It may be preferable to wait a bit more for a good tiling job in someone's house out of the full sun, but what if such a job didn't materialize?   And more, this guy was willing to be fair, as Jesus says concerning their conversation, “and whatever if it should be righteous, I will give you.”   If he is a man of integrity, his word is a surety that he won't cheat them at the end of the day. That is as much a risk as waiting, because he may be a person looking to cheat those who are getting desperate for any work just to make enough for dinner. But he has promised, and work is needed. Therefore, it says, “And these, they departed.”   No easy job like being a donkey valet has arisen. No exciting job, like laying mosaic tiles, has been offered. Working in the vineyard means standing, cutting, weeding, carrying heavy buckets of grapes, or whatever else is demanded by the on-site foreman. And all of it will be in the weather, even if a storm arises, but at least it is a job. And so, off they go.   Life application: When we have a job with a steady income, we generally don't worry a great deal about how we will get through the day, week, or month. Yes, we may have mechanical problems with our car, but that will just mean less fun stuff like movies and going out for dinner for a few weeks.   But what happens when we suddenly lose our jobs? We have to mentally reconstruct our entire life's paradigm. What can we do without? What will we be willing to do if no comparable job arises to fill our void? How will we be able to keep our children in their favorite activity next becomes how will we be able to keep our car? That soon turns into, how can I keep the house?   Each part of our existence gets a bit more precarious, starting with the least important, but leading to the most important. Sometimes, these are self-inflicted wounds. But other times, such a loss comes right out of the blue. The company isn't doing well, and jobs are being cut. Then what will you do?   During such times, we have spiritual decisions to make that we may have avoided during times of prosperity. If we believe in God, or if we “think” He might be there, we start to think about Him. Then we start to talk to Him. Then we start to really call out to Him. Eventually, we ask friends who know Him well to pray for us.  Finally, we even begin going to church. God has allowed the catastrophe to occur. In this allowance, we start to put Him first. This is good. If it is a permanent change, this is very good. However, we may get a job out of the blue. It is better than the one before. Things suddenly take an upturn in our lives. We forget to thank God for the relief. We stop going to church. We reprioritize with even more stuff in our lives.   This is just one set of possibilities. Maybe the return to church becomes permanent. We now see everything through a new and permanent God-centered paradigm. We become unshakeable in our faith, even if the new job collapses after a few months.   Where does your ultimate hope lie? If it isn't in God in Christ, it is a futile hope indeed. But even that hope must have a sure context to ground you –   “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” 1 Corinthians 15:17-19   If we have the hope of the resurrection deeply grounded in us. Everything, good and bad, that comes our way is just a blip on the road to eternal glory. What is it that motivates you above all else?   Lord God, may we find our hope in You alone. Everything else is temporary and ultimately tragic because it cannot last. But our hope in You is based on what is eternal. Thank You for the sure hope we possess in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

God Is Ordering Your Steps—JUST TRUST THE PATH | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day With God SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

There is a truth about work that has been lost to much of our culture since the creation of the world. It is that GOD CREATED WORK. He created work for us, to do together and for HIS glory. Genesis 2:19 - "So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one."  Work is NOT a PUNISHMENT, it's a GIFT. And God wants to JOIN US in it. Every day. He DELIGHTS in it. He is our team-mate, just as He was with Adam. He brought the animals TO Adam to name. So how about YOU? Won't you invite God to work WITH YOU today? WHEREVER He has placed you? 

Today's readings.. (Joshua 8), (Isaiah 12), (1 Timothy 1-3)We usually have a reasonable idea of what we are going to talk about as today progresses, also some of the things that are likely to be part of our thoughts and conversations tomorrow – but it is invaluable to meditate on what the 6 verses that make up the entire 12th chapter of Isaiah told Israel and tells us of what “you will say on that day.”  How utterly wonderful to be among those who will say, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength …” [v.2]   Of course, believing in God and his Son should always be the foundation on which our “strength” rests – it is not physical strength is it!  What strength of mind do you have?  How much does your mind meditate on the ultimate future? In v.3 we read “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation”. This takes our thoughts to what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “… whoever drinks of the water that I will give him …(it) … will become in him (or her) a spring of water welling up to eternal life” [John 4 v.14] We link this saying with his words “on the last day of the feast” that the one “who believes in me … out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” [7 v.38]    After Jesus left them, “the Spirit” [v.39] was to flow out of the heart of the disciples to produce more of the words of God – on which we can (and must) feed our minds.Now back to Isaiah, the last 2 verses vividly picture the time when the redeemed will “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously … Shout and sing for joy. O inhabitant of Zion. For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”  These words take us to “the song of the Lamb” in Revelation 15.  Let us live so that, by the grace of God we will be there to experience and sing this “in that day” “Great and amazing are your deeds O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!  … For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” [v3,4]   At the moment they have been concealed – except to those who read and mediate on God's word and prepare themselves for what they “will say (and sing) in that day”

What is the Lord God establishes like?

Jesus Explained that His Followers Would Both Pray and Fast, and Prayer and Fasting Are Matters of Heart Between His Followers and God MESSAGE SUMMARY: There are times when you need clarity, understanding, knowledge and insights from God about the specific issues that you are facing. In your personal relationship with God, the Lord will speak to you; but sometimes it takes both your listening and fasting to hear Him. Jesus, in Matthew 6:18, was speaking to the Apostles as well as those gathered for His “Sermon on the Mount” where he explained that praying and fasting are matters of the heart between Jesus Followers and God. Jesus assumes that his followers will fast: "that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Lay Up Treasures in Heaven.”. Also, when Joel received a Word when the land was to be destroyed, he called a fast (i.e. Joel 1:14): “Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.”. Some things you are facing in your life must be dealt with by both prayer and fasting. Fasting releases a spiritual power – in your weakness, God is made strong in your life. Daniel's prayer, from Daniel 9:3-5, provides a context for asking direction from God: “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.'".   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, you know how difficult it is for me to be in silence before you. At times it feels almost impossible, given the demands, distractions, and noise all around me. I invite you to lead me to a quiet, silent place before you — to a place where I can hear you as Elijah did. In Jesus' name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 123). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Anxiety. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Joel 1:13-16; Matthew 6:16-18; Daniel 9:3-7; Psalms138:1-8. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit?”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

God's Not Done With You Yet (GO DEEPER WITH HIM) | Blessed Daily Effective Prayer To Start Your Day With God SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

You're About To See God Move (STAY IN POSITION) | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day With God SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

Feed Your Faith Before The Day Starts (PRAYER + SCRIPTURE) | Blessed Morning To Start Your Day SUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast! For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit: https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org © Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

Clyde continues his testimony to judge, jury, and the Lord God above. As our favorite defendant continues his lies - damnable lies - upon the witness stand, your host continues to express his displeasure with Clyde's defense strategy. And what happens when Mason gets his turn to interrogate this least reliable of narrators?Support Obscure!Read Michael's substackFollow Michael on TwitterFollow Michael on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alan's Soap https://AlansSoaps.com/Todd Honor John's memory and the legacy he created for Ian and Alan with Alan's Artisan Soaps “John's Favorites” bundle.  Get one bar of each of his favorites for only $28.99. Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comRegister now for the FREE “Impact of Energy" live webinar May 21st at 3:30pm Pacific.Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/Todd Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/ToddGet the new limited release, The Sisterhood, created to honor the extraordinary women behind the heroes. Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Episode links:A Really Wild Claim About Sexual Union in Evangelical MarriagesCasual Sex the Christian Way; The evangelical approach to married sex has a lot in common with hookup culture Casual Sex the Christian Way; The evangelical approach to married sex has a lot in common with hookup cultureDid Jesus Clobber People With The Way, The Truth and The Life?"Clobber, clobber, clobber" - Presbyterian pastor (PCUSA) says that 'I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life, no one comes to the Father except through me' is a CLOBBER text that can be dangerous and used to do harm and damage.On Israel, Gaza and Anti-Semitism: Speak Truth in Grace To Our Jewish Friends and FamilyProverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,    but an enemy multiplies kissesEzekiel 22, a Dramatic Reading  Ezekiel 22, NKJVSins of Jerusalem22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 3 Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. 5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as [a]infamous and full of tumult.Sexual Sin6 “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his [b]power to shed blood in you. 7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the [c]fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.