Podcasts about read proverbs

The Host shares her story about how she thought she was a good judge of character. She exercised her own wisdom in making decisions about people and the world. However, she will later come to realize that there is a better source of wisdom which has the highest rate of success. It can be found in the Word of God (the Bible). Read Proverbs 3:5-6.SHOW NOTESFor more information, check out the following resources:Bible.com Gotquestions.org Livingwaters.com Bibleproject.com Spokengospel.com Jesus.netMwtb.orgContact Us: Savemysoul@usa.com website: https://msjocelyn.buzzsprout.com

Peace What if peace could actually slow your progress—but without peace, you'll never get where you're going? In today's message, we explore the surprising tension between pressure and peace—how both are necessary to grow. From the invention of Play-Doh to the Apostle Peter's words during intense persecution, we learn that peace isn't found in perfect circumstances, but in the presence of a Savior who calms both the storm around us and the one within us. We'll look at the command to cast our anxieties onto God—not gently place but throw them off—because He cares for us. If you're searching for peace, we'll unpack where it's truly found, how it shapes your thoughts, and why what fills your mind will eventually lead your life.   1 Peter 5:7 Discussion topics Read Mark 4:35–41 – The storm on the sea What stands out to you about Jesus' response in the middle of the storm? Have you ever experienced a moment where peace came before the problem was solved? How does that shape your view of faith? Read 1 Peter 5:6–7 – Casting your cares What do you think it really means to “cast” your anxiety on God? Are there worries in your life you've been gently handing over, instead of throwing off? Read Proverbs 4:23 (choose a few translations) – Guarding your thoughts How do your thoughts shape your peace (or your panic)? What are practical ways you can guard your mind this week? Take Action: What dominates your thoughts during the week? Is there one truth from this sermon or scripture that you want to meditate on intentionally in the coming days? Have you and your group signed up to help serve at the Easter Egg Hunt?  If not, please take time to open up the app and sign up to serve in order to help build bridges to God in an easy and practical way.  Check out our other audio series and video playlists that can help you find Jesus in every moment and then discover what's next

Healing Have you ever felt stuck in your pain, wondering if healing is even possible? In this sermon, we explore how Jesus repeatedly asked people, "Do you want to be healed?"—not because He didn't know the answer, but because healing requires a response. From the man at the Pool of Bethesda to Blind Bartimaeus, Jesus never assumed someone wanted freedom—He called them to step into it. So why do so many of us stay trapped in frustration, offense, and resentment? Could it be that we've built expectations that reality can't fulfill? Today, we unpack the formula for frustration, how the enemy uses offense as a weapon, and why responding differently is the key to breakthrough. Healing is available—but do you really want it? Let's talk about it.   Luke 23:34 Discussion topics Have you ever experienced a time when you knew you needed healing (physical, emotional, or spiritual) but struggled to ask for it? What held you back? How can we recognize when our brokenness is keeping us from stepping into healing?  Read Psalm 34:18—What does it mean for God to be near to the brokenhearted? How have you experienced His closeness in difficult seasons? Jesus calls us to Recognize it, Receive it, and Rise above it. What is one area in your life where you need to respond differently this week?  What's a situation where you need to replace obstacle with opportunity, hindrance with healing, or defense with deliverance? How can this group support you in walking that out?  Read Proverbs 18:19—How does offense build walls in our relationships? Have you ever struggled with holding onto offense?  Have you and your group signed up to help serve at the Easter Egg Hunt?  If not, please take time to open the app and sign up to serve to help build bridges to God in an easy and practical way.   Check out our other audio series and video playlists that can help you find Jesus in every moment and then discover what's next

On Tuesday (Feb. 25), a session of the Oklahoma Senate transformed into a spontaneous Bible study. Or perhaps more of a Bible study cosplay demonstrating how not to read the Bible, specifically how not to read the Book of Proverbs. In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor unpacks the errors in how Proverbs was cited by a state senator trying to justify public schools using corporal punishment against children with disabilities. You can watch a video version of this podcast here. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, culture, and politics. And order a copy of Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood. If you buy it directly from Chalice Press, they are offering 33% off the cover price when you use the promo code "BApodcast."

Send us a textRELINQUISH SLAVERYLess $tress | Part 3Dr. Jessica FernandezFebruary 16, 2025#realspringcreekchurch #financialfreedom #stressfree #godandmoneyDebt is more than just a financial burden - it's a form of modern day slavery that can control decisions, emotions, and even our faith. In this sermon, we explore what the Bible says about debt, financial bondage, and true freedom in Christ. Many of us unknowingly live under the weight of financial oppression. How does debt keep us enslaved? How can we break free and step into God's provision and peace?DISCUSSION QUESTIONS1. What does it mean to be enslaved to debt, and how can financial burdens affect your ability to fully trust and serve God? Read Proverbs 22:7 and Matthew 6:24. How do these verses relate to financial bondage and our relationship with God?2. Jesus said we cannot serve both God and Mammon (Matthew 6:24). How does the spirit of Mammon influence people's financial decisions, and how can we resist its pull? What are some lies that Mammon tells us about money? How do they compare to God's promises in Scripture?3. The Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10) was a time when debts were canceled and slaves were freed. What does this tell us about God's heart for financial freedom? How does this principle apply to our lives today, and how can we walk in financial freedom as believers?4. In what ways does debt impact relationships, marriages, and families? Have you ever experienced or seen financial stress create tension in your relationships? How can biblical financial wisdom bring peace and unity?5. What practical steps can you take today to begin the journey toward financial freedom? Read Philippians 4:19 and Proverbs 4:7. How does trusting in God's provision and seeking financial wisdom help us break free from financial bondage?

Read Proverbs 4:20 -27

READ: Proverbs 29:18; John 14:26; 16:13-14; Proverbs 25:2; Ephesians 1:16-17   MEDITATE: God wants to speak to us. What are some things you need God to reveal to you over these 21 days? Write those things down and commit them to the Lord. And then be expectant for God to speak.   PRAY: God, I desire to hear from you and to know you better. Help me to clear my mind and thoughts so that I may hear your voice and learn from you.   Need prayer? Submit a prayer request online: https://mountparannorth.com/prayer-request/   21 Days of Prayer & Fasting website: https://mountparannorth.com/21-day-prayer-fast/   Contributors: Jason Duncan, Experiences Pastor & Dr. Scott Bennett, Communications Pastor

Welcome back to Build Your Bible Habit, where you can listen to a chapter of Proverbs in five minutes or less. The habit of feeding your soul from the Bible daily is like the habit of providing nourishment for the physical body. Just as junk food doesn't build strength, filling the mind with everything but the Bible leads to spiritual weaknesses. Building a daily Bible habit will build your wisdom and understanding.  Read a chapter of Proverbs without skipping for 90 days and see how God speaks to you directly from His Word, teaching you how to handle matters wisely. You will appreciate the newfound strength! Read Proverbs 27 on the 27th, Proverbs 28 on the 28th, and so on. Keep this up, and you will grow in grace and knowledge of God, as well as developing a sound heart and mind. A great verse in Proverbs 27:17 focuses on our influence. We are all "influencers" in the lives of others, but is that a good thing or not? If we're living biblically, we are helping others to become spiritually "sharpened." "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17) Apply: Living What We Learn--Daily Devotional by Francie Taylor Far Above Rubies: A 31-Day Devotional by Melissa Hedrick Encouragement for Young Women: A 30-Day Devotional for Teens by Charity Berkey & Team What Do I Have to Lose: Losing My Way and Finding God's by Janice Wolfe Ponder the Path: A 31-Day Devotional by Francie Taylor Follow Keep the Heart on Instagram Like Keep the Heart on Facebook

In today's episode of Embracing Your Season, Paige shares an interview from her recent trip to AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) in Dallas, TX with Zach Clinton. Zach is a licensed resident counselor who currently serves as the Vice President of the American Association of Christian Counselors, is the host of the renowned ‘Built Different Podcast', and is President & Host of Ignite Men's Impact Weekend which gathers nearly 10,000 men each year. Paige and Zach discuss how to create a flourishing life in the various facets of our lives: from physical health, mental health, spiritual discipline, and marital intention, to showing up in the lives of our children. This is a power-packed conversation - you'll probably want to take some notes!Paige's TakeawaysHow do we help our kids create a flourishing life?Remind your kids that their worth is NOT dependent on their performance.We get to show them that their worth has been assigned to them by the Creator of the universe! Created with a purpose, for a purpose.Communication: Speak truth over your kidsPointing out in a loving, grace-filled way the areas that they can grow in actually loving them well! We care about them enough to ensure they don't stay stuck in unhealthy patterns. Read Proverbs 27:5-6.Show them their worth through your behaviors and choices! Prove to your children their significance by being PRESENT. Are your time management choices showing your children that they are of great importance to you?Paige ClingenpeelQuestions About the Podcast? Email: paigeclingenpeel@gmail.comFacebook: @Paige ClingenpeelInstagram: @paigeclingenpeelYouTube: Embracing Your Season Sponsored by HomeWordHomeWordConnecting with Zach ClintonZachClinton.comEven If by Zach ClintonBooks Mentioned:The Power of Showing Up by Dan SiegelThe Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtMade for People by Justin Whitmel EarleyThe Measure of a Man by Sidney PoitierKeywords/Hashtags#embracingyourseason #mentalhealth #podcast #podcastcommunity #paigeclingenpeel #homeword #therapy #counseling #aacc #flourishing #flourishinglife #evenif #spiritualdiscipleship #hope #inthefire #intentionaltime #growth #choice #healthywholisticlifestyle #pfcaudiovideo 

Our sixth edition of Cloak, Books, and Parchments gives you ample time to purchase wisely this Christmas. In this episode we discuss the following books. Please update your wish list accordingly.- The February 2025 reading challenge book: Screwtape Letters. C. S. Lewis- Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Cal Newport (Portfolio)- Finding My Vocation: A Guide for Young People Seeking a Calling. William Boekestein (Reformed Free Publishing)- Strangely Bright: Can You Love God and Enjoy This World? Joe Rigney (Crossway)- Keeping Holiday. Starr Meade (Crossway)- Little Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens and Joe Sutphin (Moody)- How to Read Proverbs. Tremper Longman III (IVP Academic)- What It Means to be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church. Gavin Ortlund (Zondervan)- When Darkness Seems My Closest Friend: Reflections On Life And Ministry With Depression. Mark Meynell (IVP)- The William Monk Mysteries: The First Three Novels. Anne Perry (Ballantine)- Up From Slavery. Booker T. Washington (Dover)- Repeat the Sounding Joy: A Daily Advent Devotional on Luke 1-2. Christopher Ash (The Good Book Company) Scriptures Referenced: 2Tim 4:13 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MandMsPodcast

Daily scripture bible read. Proverbs 12 the righteous and the wicked. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/christmediapolitcs/support

Read Exodus 20: 1-17 (today's focus is v. 16).1. What do you think of when you hear the word “lie”? What does“lying” mean to you?2. Why is it is so important to always tell the truth? What can happenif we don't tell the truth?3. Commandment #9 refers to “false testimony” or “false witness,”depending on the translation. What do these terms mean? Dothey expand your understanding of why lying is so dangerous?If so, how?4. Read Proverbs 12: 22. What does this verse teach us about ourrelationship with God?5. You've probably heard the phrase, “Truth hurts.” What does thisphrase mean? If the truth hurts, why are we supposed to tell it?What happens if we lie in an attempt to avoid the hurt?6. Read Ephesians 4: 25. What does this teach us about our lifetogether in community? What can happen when we don't followthis advice?7. What are some ways lying can hurt the person telling the lie? Howcan it hurt others?8. What did you think about the lyrics to Matthew West's song, “TruthBe Told”? Have you ever told those lies? How might life be betterif you didn't?9. Read John 8: 32. How does the truth set you free?10. Read Acts 1: 8. How does this verse add new meaning andimportance to the term “false witness”?Prayer for the Week:Almighty God, we confess that the 9th Commandment is more difficultthan we originally thought. Forgive us for all of the ways, big and small,intentionally and inadvertently, that we bear false witness to ourneighbors. Help us to truly put off all falsehood and speak truthfully toour neighbors. Even when it's hard, and even when we're scared, helpus to stand up and let the truth be told. And in so doing, may we allexperience the peace and freedom of your truth. We pray all of thisin the name of the One who makes it all possible, our Risen Lord andSavior, Jesus the Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the HolySpirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Today's message is learning the deceptive charms of holidays. The true meaning and reason why we celebrate. Read Proverbs 7:1-2 and Proverbs 9:1 Join us live in the Morning Glory on the We Believe God Prayer and Devotional Line Monday-Friday at 5am est dial 516-253-3558. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tasha-mack9/support

Being God conscious will keep you aware of your surroundings. God will not have us ignorant of Satan's devices. Be aware and not be a fool. Read Proverbs 18:6-7 and Proverbs 29:11 Join us live in the Morning Glory on the We Believe God Prayer and Devotional Line Monday-Friday at 5am est dial 516-253-3558. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tasha-mack9/support

Who is pulling you up? Who are your peers? Who are you pulling up? In this episode, Jeff, Jeff, and Bryan discuss: Learning discipline and self-control from a young age through wrestling and motorcycles. Setting goals and learning from others. Advice for going through succession and recession.Having a mentor, being a mentee, being a mentor.   Key Takeaways: Lean into your holy discontent, identify it, and make a change. You can impact God's Kingdom through the things that you feel deeply about. Through God, you can accomplish big visions one man at a time. Get a mentor who you trust and who can help you through things you don't feel you can do alone. The core five areas of mentorship are faith, family, fitness, finance, and friends.  "Read Proverbs. Read the Proverb of the day and keep doing that every week. It's God's wisdom." —  Bryan Zeamer Episode References: The High Center: https://thehighcenter.com/The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness by Steven K. Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Richest-Man-Who-Ever-Lived/dp/1400071976 About Bryan Zeamer: Bryan Zeamer has been coaching, mentoring, and leading for two decades. With a strong sense of discipline and a drive to see the world made better, Zeamer is dedicating his life's purpose to helping others win. When God is first, we can achieve balanced success in all areas of life. • President/Owner, Utility-Keystone Trailer Sales, Inc. (2008 – Present) • Founder/President/Partner of several regional investment initiatives; PennStro Leasing (2014), PennStro Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm (2011) • Founder/Chairman, Men of Iron, a Biblically based non-profit organization that has impacted thousands since its 2006 launch. • Wrestling Coach; Elizabethtown College, Millersville University and Manheim Central High School (1996-2001) • Graduate, Elizabethtown College, BS Business Management, 1995; earned All-American status as a wrestler, 1995. Bryan and his wife, Heather, live in Manheim, PA, where they raised their three sons. In his free time, Bryan enjoys hunting, trips to the family cabin, and watching wrestling. His favorite spot to hang out is around the kitchen island, laughing at his boys' antics and stories.  Connect with Bryan Zeamer:UKTS - Website: www.utilitykeystone.comPennStro Leasing - Website: www.pennstroleasing.comMen of Iron - Website: www.menofiron.org  Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

Read Genesis 2: 15-17.1. What is a boundary and why are boundaries important?2. Pastor Mick told a story about a farmer putting up a fence. In whatways are boundaries ways of both “fencing in” and “fencing out”?3. What boundary did God set for Adam and Eve? What happened whenthey ignored the boundary? What can we learn from this?4. Read Proverbs 3: 5-6. What does this tell us about obeying theboundaries God sets for us, even if we don't fully understand why theyare important? What could happen if we don't adhere to God'sboundaries?5. Read Isaiah 55: 8-9. Have you ever applied this kind of logic whensetting boundaries for your own kids/grandkids? What does this meanfor your own relationship with God?6. In what ways can boundaries provide freedom?7. How can we better see boundaries as gifts from God? (Hint: thinkabout Sabbath)8. Read Galatians 5: 13. How does Paul instruct us to use our freedom?How might this relate to boundaries?9. Pastor Mick described boundaries as being like guard rails. What didhe mean by that? Do you agree? Why/why not?Prayer of the Week:Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of boundaries. Weconfess that we don't always like them, much less obey them, but we aregrateful for them. Please help us to do better at setting and living withinhealthy boundaries, and make your presence known to us even as weexperience the consequences of living outside of those boundaries. Guideus, Lord, toward living the lives you have created us to live, lives that areabundant and eternal. Help us receive your gifts of boundaries with joy,praise and thanksgiving as we allow them to shape our lives in accordancewith your will. We pray all of this in the strong name of Jesus, who livesand reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

·      The average American will earn over $1.7 million over his or her lifetime.  ·      You are richer than you think! ·      The average American spends about $3.3 million over his or her life.  ·      Who teaches you to make decisions about money? ·      Proverbs 3:9-10 – Honor the LORD from your wealth; and from all your first products.  Your storehouses will be filled with plenty and new wine will burst open your wine vats. ·      Involve God in all your financial decisions.  ·      You can earn it.  ·       Proverbs 14:23 - All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ·       What did I gain by working today?  ·       Proverbs 28:25 - The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper. ·       Heavenly Father, guide me about earning decisions. ·       You can spend it.  More is not better; contentment is. ·      Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.  ·      Heavenly Father, guide me before I spend. ·      You can save it.  ·      Money cannot buy happiness, but it can provide margin.  ·       Proverbs 21:20 - The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.  ·       To save, spend less than you make.  ·       Heavenly Father, give me the strength to save money. ·       You can borrow money.  ·       Proverbs 22:7 - The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.  ·       Heavenly Father, is it wise for me to borrow this money? ·       You can give it.  ·       Proverbs 3:9 - Honor the LORD from your wealth; and from all your first products.  ·      Giving is the #1 way we attack selfishness in our lives.  ·      Giving reminds you that God is first.  ·      Proverbs 3:10 - Your storehouses will be filled with plenty and new wine will burst open your wine vats.  ·      You cannot put God first until you are humble.  ·      Would you rather: a) Have $10,000,000 a year for the rest of your life? Or b)Have peace with God?  ·      Matthew 6:24b – You cannot serve God and money.  ·      Are you honoring God with your money?  ·       Do you choose God over money?  ·       PIX: William Borden ·       No reserves ·       No retreats ·       No regrets        LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS  Starter Question: There are five things you can do with money: earn it, spend it, save it, borrow it, and give it.  Which one of these is easiest for you?  Why?  1.      Read Proverbs 3:9 2.     Who in your life have you seen put God first in their financial decisions?  What was his or her life like? 3.     Read Proverbs 14:39 4.      How would you define hard work?  How would define the benefit of hard work? 5.      Read Proverbs 28:25 6.      Have you ever seen a greedy person stir up conflict?  What happened? 7.      Read Proverbs 19:23 8.     What does contentment look like to you? 9.      Read Proverbs 3:10 10.      What would you say are the top three ways God could bring abundance into your life? 11.      What would it mean for you to honor God with all your financial decisions?

PIX: Jessica Rocha.  Exodus 20:12 - 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Attachment is the secure bond you have with someone.  Honor what you can and forgive the rest. How to be parents worthy of honor and how to honor our parents.  Proverbs 1:8-9 – Listen my son, to the correction of your father; and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.  9For they are a garland of grace for your head; and a necklace for your neck. Proverbs 15:20 – A wise son causes joy for a father; but a stupid man despises his mother.  Martin Luther – There are few things wholly good or wholly evil.  Do you bring joy to your parents or are you stupid?  Proverbs 20:20 – One who curses his father and his mother – his lamp will be snuffed out by deep darkness.  There are no perfect parents.  Forgive your parents.  Proverbs 30:17 – The mocking eye toward a father, and the eye that despises a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick out that eye and the son of a vulture will eat it. More curiosity, less judgment.  Proverbs 23:25 – Your father and your mother bring joy and the one who gave birth to you rejoices. Be parents of joy.  Dallas Willard: Joy is a deep, pervasive sense of well-being.  Are you honoring your Father and your Mother?     Are you forgiving your Parents for not being perfect? Do you have a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father to fill in the gaps your parents couldn't fill?             LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS  Starter Question: What is one positive thing your mother gave you in life?  1.    Read Proverbs 1:8-9 2.   What instruction did your parents give you that turned out to be a garland of grace? 3.    Read Proverbs 15:20 4.    What advice did your parents give you that rejected, but it turned out they were right? 5.    Read Proverbs 20:20 6.    Have you known someone who stayed angry at their parents?  What was his or her life like? 7.    Read Proverbs 30:17 8.    Have you mocked your parents?  Do you need to ask forgiveness? 9.    Read Proverbs 23:25 10.  What do you need to do to be a parent who brings joy to your children?

-Describe a time in your life when you really needed a friend. -Read Proverbs 17:17, 27:6, 27:9-10 - Who in your life has been this kind of friend to you and how? -Talk about a time you have been able to be a good friend to someone in a challenging season. -Read John 15:9-17 - What aspects of Jesus command to love are most challenging to incorporate into our friendships?  

I Kings 3:9-12 documents Solomon's famous request from God for wisdom to rule the kingdom of Israel after the death of his father David. Recognizing the weight of his calling: “your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or accounted for multitude.” ...and recognizing his own inadequacy: “I am but a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in.“, Solomon beseeched the Lord for anointing to rule. The next chapter records many fruits of Solomon's answered prayer including: (I Kings 4:29-34) some 3000 proverbs or wise sayings and 1005 songs. Many of these proverbs are preserved in the book of the Bible so named. In this collection largely attributed to king Solomon, the theme of Proverbs is clear. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (worship text), the purpose of the book is also evident from its 1st pages: To provide a handbook for all of life on how to glorify God. The book of Proverbs introduces us to a form/genre of literature less familiar to our modern age, namely: wisdom literature. This genre features several distinctive elements (see handout), among them: practical instructions/observations, clever literary devices, and character types. This 3rd element uses personification to illustrate concepts. This explains why a sermon series on Proverbs might begin with the 2nd to the last chapter (30). Here we read the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. Agur represents the model student of wisdom. His chapter presents a character sketch example for anyone who would seek to benefit from the book. Agur teaches us how to read the proverbs.

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RATE! REVIEW! FOLLOW! Email me your thoughts, comments or questions at caniberealpodcast@gmail.com • So the word for 2024 that I believe God gave me is: "I the Lord will make you succeed." ○ Brief Background ○ This took place after the period of the captivities of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Medo-Persians. The destruction and burning of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC was a catastrophe, but the temple's destruction and its restoration 70 years later was prophesied by Jeremiah. ○ The events recorded in the Book of Ezra takes place approximately 14 years before the events recorded in Nehemiah. (Ezra was about rebuilding the Temple, while Nehemiah is about rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem) ○ Side note: the events recorded in the Book of Esther take place during the period of time that the Book of Ezra covers. ○ Nehemiah, the author of this book, had a job in the king's court as the cupbearer. Nehemiah had the trusted position of serving wine and of making sure it was not poisoned by tasting it first himself. This position allowed Nehemiah to be present at top-level conferences and privy to state secrets as well as the personal life of the king. Nehemiah had the king's ear. ○ Read Nehemiah 1 & 2 (especially Nehemiah 2:20) ○ "I the Lord will make you succeed." § You will succeed because God said so! □ But with that, you need God to succeed! Don't make the mistake thinking that you can do it by yourself or by our own strength or willpower. □ Read Proverbs 3:5-6 ® Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. § However, what God has promised to make you successful in are the things that He has placed in your heart to do! □ Read Psalms 37:4 ® Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires. ◊ Remember, that when you truly delight in the LORD, you delight in the things that he does, thus transforming you. You will desire the things that God desires. □ Read Jeremiah 29:11-13 ® "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me." § You will face opposition, trials and hard times, but take heart! God has given us everything to live a godly life! □ Read 2 Peter 1:3 ® By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. Read Ephesians 6:10-18 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rachel398/message

In his book on How to Read Proverbs, Tremper Longman III says that one of that book's themes is Loving the Right Woman. He adds “Proverbs understands that a good wife [or husband!] is one of the most important things in life." While acknowledging that marriage isn't for everyone, Matthew & Mike discuss the goodness of marriage and some principles from Scripture for how to identify someone with whom we should be happy to pursue a relationship. Scriptures Referenced:Gen 24; Prov 12:4; Prov 18:22; Prov 31:10; Prov 31:30 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook

Who is the Proverbs 31 woman? It's not about what she did like we often focus on, but it's more about WHO she was, and the fruit that her life produced because of the source it was coming from. She was just trying to live for the Lord, not to be perfect or meet the world's standards, and we can learn 2 major things from her! Review and Read Proverbs 31 alongside this podcast.   Email me at mallen@lwf.org or message me through Instagram https://www.instagram.com/faithful31moms/ about a FAITHFUL EVERYDAY MOM Interview.   *For more products go to https://www.lwf.org/faithful-31-moms and use code F31M10 for 10% off your purchase!   A podcast for Christian moms. Meeting you in the midst of motherhood to encourage you to grow in your faith, so you can better point your kids to Jesus daily! Hosted by Mallory Allen, walking through a series of devotionals on different moms of the Bible and a variety of interviews. Check out faithful31moms.com today for more!   Originally published January 2023

Have you ever been disappointed with God? Are you disappointed with God right now? Chances are our disappointment with God comes from our plans being changed because of his plans. We look at the life of Mary and Joseph and how God changed their plans to bring the Savior into the world to save us from our sin. And through all the changes in their plans, they chose to worship through and trust. Their disappointment was actually a divine appointment with God and your's can be, too!Group Questions:1. Have you ever been disappointed with God? Have you ever been made to feel guilty for feeling such a way toward God?2. Read Proverbs 16:9 & Proverbs 19:21. When was a time God changed your plans? How did it work out?3. Mary and Joseph were both troubled by the role they would play in God's story for humanity. (Mary - Luke 1:29) (Joseph - Matthew 1:19). Was ultimately their response and talk candidly about their process to arrive there.4. LEADER - select a worship song to play before you wrap-up your discussion time. Use that time of listening and worshiping to trust God's plan for whatever is on your heart.5. John Powell wrote: "I have a sign in the mirror of my room I see everyone morning in my groggy condition, when I first wake up: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT GOING TODAY, GOD? I'D LIKE TO BE PART OF IT. THANKS FOR CHOOSING ME!" Let this be your prayer in the days ahead.  

We all have goals we are after. However at the same time, many of us carry the intention of not going before God and always being intentional about being in His will. Today I'll answer a couple Ask Churchboy submissions to discuss goal-setting and enduring the valley seasons of life. This is the last episode of the season and year of CC. Thank you all for a great 2023. Merry Christmas!   Read: Proverbs 16:9; Isaiah 55:8–9; Psalm 23:4; John 1:12–13; Romans 8:28   Audition to perform at our next Poetry Jam!: https://forms.gle/gDvNMWoh7Qi7xQk49   Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to UN-ASSOCIATED HERE.   Bible Study Sign up! https://forms.gle/ra53byPArBpmYn6L8

Read- Proverbs 14: 30 Philippines 4:4-13 1 Timothy 6:6-12The enemy wants to rob you of now. He wants to empty today by causing you to worry about tomorrow, but a heart at peace is what we need to long for, because what we go through emotionally will affect you physically!Your pain gives you power to preach more effectively if you can learn to be content at “empty”. Because if you can't be content at the end you will never be content at full. Because it's not about being filled it's about being fulfilled.Here are four things to know about contentment:Contentment must be learned. Contentment is a choice. You can have contentment on empty Contentment is the good fight of faithThe only thing that can bring you contentment is not found here. When we leave this world we will not be taking anything with us, but a change in our focus will allow us to make it through this life.Don't beat yourself up for being discontent, but ask God to help you see the things you can be grateful for in this moment, and you can rejoice like the wordApplication - What are some areas in your life that you have envy and discontentment? What can you be thankful for instead in your life?Prayer - Father, I'm so grateful for the life you have given me. Allow me to see all that you've already set your hand to in my life because I know that everything has purpose! I discard discontentment from my life and I choose to fix my eyes on you! In Jesus name.

Primary reading (Slide 1 Reading for the Day): 8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:8,9 ESV) (Slide 2 Reading for the Day): 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:1-4 ESV) Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Meadowbrooke. I am so happy you have joined us today. For those who dont know me, my name is Ben McKay, and I am filling in today for our lead pastor, Keith. He and the staff were at a conference this week, so I am stepping in to help amidst their travel and activities. I am one of the elders here at Meadowbrooke and have served in that capacity for a couple of years. As I shared last time I gave a sermon, I count it as one of the most distinct privileges God has blessed me with to join these men who are completely sold out for Christ. My wife, Michaela, works as the office administrator here, and we have two boys, Brayden and Grayson. Michaela and I also host a life group and serve in other ministries here. All that being said, I am not a pastor by occupation. So please remember that and be kind as we work through todays message. After all, we are in church and told to be charitable toward one another. Professionally, I work in software development and AI applications. Part of what drew me to this line of work is my love of data and how software makes it easier to show us how things relate to each other and how those relationships behave. Now, you may be asking, what does this have to do with Genesis and Revelation? Well, that is a fantastic question. One of the key takeaways that I hope to leave you with today is that the Bible, a compilation of 66 books, is, in fact, a complete and cohesive narrative of Gods plan of salvation. This fact is astonishing because the Bible was written over approximately 1,500 years. This started with Moses somewhere around 1,400 BC[1][2][3] when the first five books of the Bible were written and ended with John writing Revelation somewhere around 95 AD[4]. During this time, over 40 individuals contributed to writing the various books of the Bible. Some wrote just one, like Isaiah the prophet; some wrote many, like Moses and Paul; and some books had multiple people contribute, like the books of Psalms[5] and Proverbs[6]. Let that sink in for a minute. At least 40 people, who were separated by centuries, came from very different backgrounds (some were kings and others were fishermen) and whose cultures had undergone drastic change (consider how different life looked for people living under King David when compared with those living in exile in Babylon) wrote accounts of God and his plan for salvation that were not only internally consistent individually but also consistent with each other. Thats incredible! Ive been to movies that cant stay internally consistent for an hour and a half! Many social media posts cant even stay internally consistent across two sentences. I want to move our hearts from being merely impressed by this fact to seeing the intricacies and internal consistency of the Word of God in awe and wonder. This is one of my favorite data visualizations of all time[7]. It shows the biblical cross-references that the creator of this image had identified. Each arc shows a verse referencing another verse. The Bible is quite literally in conversation with itself. We can see concepts come up repeatedly, prophecies being made and then fulfilled. God tells us something about Himself and then elaborates on it further. Throughout it all, we see the fulfillment of Gods eternal plan to redeem His creation back to Himself. This has led people like Jordan Petersen, the renowned psychologist, who is not an avowed Christian by the way, to say, This is the first hyperlinked book[8]. He means you can navigate through the Bible like web pages on the Internet. Instead of following hyperlinks, though, we follow cross-references. This is one of the reasons that lifetimes wouldnt be enough to get everything out of this book that it has to offer; another is that these are the words of God, and well, hes a lot smarter than us. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8,9) What were going to do today is to pull on one of those threads, click through the hyperlinks if you will, and we will get to stand in awe at how the gospel, the good news of God, radiates from the pages of scripture. You probably have seen the thread Im alluding to from our readings, the Tree of Life. This tree makes its first appearance in the second chapter of the Bible and appears again in the very last chapter. I bet thats just a coincidence. We will go back to Genesis, the story's beginning. In Chapter 2, we read, 7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:7-9 ESV) Here, we see Adam being placed into an idyllic garden (Adam was created outside of the garden and then brought into it), filled with life, sustenance, and beauty. Trees seem to abound. But the author immediately draws our attention to two. The first, we are told, is in the midst of the garden. This phrase has significance throughout the Bible, especially in the first five books. Moses would have written these books during the 40 years of Israels wandering in the desert. This was when God had the nation of Israel, his earthly representatives to the nations, build the Tabernacle. This was where Gods presence was most vividly and intensely seen. Check this out. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. (Ex 29:45,46) Its not easy to see in the English translation, but where we see dwell among them, the Hebrew word that gets translated among is the same word that gets translated in the midst of. Throughout the Tabernacle's description, we see that Gods plan is to be literally in the middle of his people; the word Tabernacle even means dwelling place. God goes so far as to have the Tabernacle placed in the very center of the camp. He didnt just want to be the God of the people. He wanted to be God dwelling with His people. The people of this time and this place would have literally seen Gods glory settle over the Tabernacle in the middle of their camp. Therefore, they would have seen the deep imagery intended within this passage. The garden was where God intended to dwell with His people; we see Him literally walking in the garden in Chapter 3. And as the Tabernacle was placed in the middle of their camp, so too was something in the middle of the garden, the Tree of Life. Now, we dont know much about this tree except that it could have permitted the man and the woman to live forever. God intends that his image bearers will have life. He is, after all, the living God. So, God placed life, which only He can give, in the middle of the garden where it could be seen and easily accessed. Jesus reinforced this idea that God wants his image bearers to have life when he said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (Jn 10:10b). But more on that in a moment. The only other tree mentioned by name is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I want to pause here because this name has been misunderstood and misused. This is not the tree of knowledge. Knowledge is not the thing that hurts humanity. Read Proverbs. Knowledge is a good thing when it begins with the fear of the Lord, Proverbs 1:7. It is the knowledge of something very specific here that causes a problem, namely good and evil. This tree represents our choice to have moral experience, put ourselves in the place of God not through fear but through disobedience, and define good and evil for ourselves. Lets look at the narrative. 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.4 But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Gen 3:1-6) There it is, right there. The temptation was, You will be like God. Open a newspaper, and you will see the consequences of believing this lie. This is the underlying heart condition that has plagued humanity since this moment. Want to know how people like Putin come to be? Want to know how people can commit genocide and call it justified? Want to know how people can murder children and call it righteous? Want to know how people can enslave each other? Its all right there in that one fragment of a sentence. You will be like God. God doesnt get to tell me right from wrong; I get to. He is not the center of and reason for all creation; I am. Eve reached out to grasp the forbidden fruit. We also reach out to grab what only God can define: good and evil. They ate the fruit because they believed the lie that God was holding something back from them. Their belief led them to eat from a false tree of life. This should be seen as a representation of what was to come. We reach out to things that cannot offer life, yet we pretend they do. We do this, brothers and sisters; I do this. We believe we know better. We buy into the lie that Gods law is meant to enslave us rather than free us from bondage. Moreover, they were image-bearers of God and believed the lie that they werent. Look at this. 26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:26,27) They were already image bearers of the God whose power was awesome enough to speak the universe into existence. They had access to the Tree of Life. Notice that God did not issue a prohibition against eating from the Tree of Life. He wants us to have life and have it abundantly. However, humanity chose rebellion, and death came into the world with rebellion. Now, the question may arise: Why couldnt Adam and Eve then eat of the tree of life? Why did God take that away from them? They still could have lived forever. Embedded in this question is, I think, a profound misunderstanding about God in the modern age. He is both perfectly holy and the exact definition of perfect love. He is both things at the same time. Because of our separation that was caused by sin, this would have resulted in eternal separation from God. Sin and Gods holiness cannot exist together. And, as we saw from Exodus, God is not content to leave us as we are and, therefore, remain separated from Him for eternity. So, we were banished from the garden, and we became subjected to death. Here, we see a split in the underlying symbology of trees in the biblical texts. To the ancient Hebrew mind, trees represent something inherently linked to life and vitality. Look with me at the first Psalm. 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (Ps 1:1-4) The tree, in this case, is said not to wither. In opposition, we see chaff, which is fleeting and blown to and fro. The tree is planted. This is in opposition to the chaff, which is driven away. Now, turn to Psalm 92. 12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Ps 92:12-15) Notice here that the same attributes we see in Psalm 1 are also found in Psalm 92. Trees are used as a representation, an image, of flourishing, strength, yielding fruit, and maintaining that vitality for a long time. This makes sense since trees can live for hundreds or even thousands of years. They make excellent metaphors for abundant life. But, notice something important here. It is not just anybody that is like a tree. It is the person who is what? Psalm 1 says they delight in the law of the Lord. Psalm 92 says they are planted in the house of the Lord and declare that the Lord is upright. Their roots are solidly well rooted in the only source of eternal life. Now, lets look at the opposite imagery of trees. Trees are used to represent darkness and evil. It ties back to the trees in the garden, where we exchanged the truth for a lie, life for death. There was a warning that Moses left the Israelites with as they were about to enter the land of Canaan. Nested within commandments about how Gods people were to act is this. 21 You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates. (De 16:21-22) This command was given because the surrounding cultures built idols to worship pagan gods. One of the most prominent among these was the fertility goddess Asherah. One of the ways to worship Asherah was to plant a tree or make a pole on a hill; the Bible often calls these high places. Now, if you read your whole Bible, which I strongly encourage you to do, you will notice this tendency. People will take a piece of Gods creation and then worship the created thing instead of the Creator. We exchange a true thing for a false thing. Doesnt that sound reminiscent of what we are told happened in Genesis? Paul put it like this in Romans after describing how we can understand some of Gods attributes, namely his power and divine nature, because of the grandeur of creation. However, he then talks about people who disregard God and worship created things instead. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:22-25) But it gets worse. A lot worse. Instead of heeding the warning of Moses, Israel participated in and went beyond the worship they were prohibited from. In 2 Chronicles, we see what Gods people chose instead of worshipping the one true, living God. 1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. (2 Ch 28:1-4) A lot is packed into these four verses, and I could spend an entire sermon unpacking just this. But I want you to see a couple of things. First, just like we saw from Pauls letter to the Romans, who we worship has real consequences beyond just the worship itself. Paul talks about God handing people over to the lusts of their hearts, resulting in them dishonoring their bodies because of their worship. Similarly, Ahaz murdered his own sons because of whom he worshiped. Second, we see a direct tie between Moses's warning and the sins the nation of Israel committed. Some are very quick to talk about Gods judgment of the Canaanites when the people of Israel drove them out. What is missed is that God judged them because of practices like these. People also leave out that God judged his promised people the same way. He held them accountable in the same way. If you read on to the end of 2 Chronicles, you will see that God used the nations to judge Judah in the same way. Their rejection of God and subsequent sin led directly to exile in Babylon. I know this probably seems like a bleak story so far. But this is a foundational truth that we have to understand to grasp the gospel. We are fallen. It is not just Adam, Eve, Ahaz, Israel, or the Pharisees. It is all of us. This is my story. This is your story. But, it is not the end of the story. We see the promise of this story even as God puts a curse on the earth and removes humans from the garden. There will be one who comes who the snake, the evil one, will wound. But it will be the snake who is crushed. God promises Abraham that all of the world's nations will be blessed through his family. He then reiterates that promise to his son and grandson. King David was told that one of his descendants would be the promised Messiah, whose throne would be established forever. We can read the promises from the prophets in detail. I want to focus on one of these, but there are hundreds more examples. 1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turnedevery oneto his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Is 53:1-10) Sound like anybody you know? The miraculous thing is that this was written over 700 years before Jesus lived[9]. It accurately renders the same scripture Jesus read while undertaking his ministry. We know that this is true because we have the archeological evidence. This is the Great Isaiah Scroll. It was found in the caves of Qumran in a collection commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains the entire text of the same book we read today. And youll never guess what. When the archaeologists carbon-dated it, they found that it predated the birth of Jesus by 100 years. Let that sink in. We have archaeological proof that this prophecy and the entire book of Isaiah predated the events. And this is not unique to Isaiah. Modern translations use this and other ancient manuscripts. You are reading the exact words that Jesus read about himself. And what we see in prophecy is precisely the suffering servant that we encounter in the person of Jesus. He was pierced by the nails that held him to the cross. He was ridiculed and mocked, deemed smitten by God. Like a sheep, he was led to slaughter. He was buried in the tomb of a rich man. And in so doing, he took on the iniquity of us all. As Luke, the author of Acts, put it, 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:30-32) And there it is again, the tree. We were allowed to eat from the tree of life. Instead, we chose a false tree, where we attempted to put ourselves in the place of God. We were told to be rooted in the word and knowledge of God and thus be like trees planted by a stream. Instead, we chose idols and rejected the Creator, the giver of life. We were given the Son, the second person of the Trinity, who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. Instead of accepting him, we rejected him and killed him on a tree. Do you see the pattern? There is a choice here. And we dont seem to choose very well. Why does Luke mention a tree? Wouldnt it have been enough just to say you killed him? And this is where the biblical narrative, imagery, and deep interconnectedness get so incredibly good. Please turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 21. 22 And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. (De 21:22,23) This section of scripture is Moses giving his final commands to the nation of Israel as they are about to enter the promised land. Notice here the language. A hanged man is cursed by God. This is in reference specifically to a man hanged on a what? A man hanged on a tree. If you happen to be using a study Bible right now, you almost certainly have this cross-reference. Please turn with me to Galatians 3:13. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for usfor it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13,14) If this doesnt stop you dead in your mental tracks, I dont know what will. When I say that the Bible is in conversation with itself, this is precisely what I mean. Trees are used repeatedly in the Bible to represent images of life. But humans used them not only to replace the worship of the one, true creator God for the worship of created idols but also as a means of torture and death. Exodus was written 1,400 years before Jesus lived and well before crucifixion was invented as a method of execution, yet it perfectly fits within the biblical narrative. Jesus knew he was to die at the cross well before the events and that this verse was pointing not just to how he would be killed but to the underlying reason why. He was to take on the curse even though he didnt sin to take away the consequences from us who did sin. This is grace, unmerited favor. Ive covered a lot of ground just now, so I want to recap just a bit before moving on. Humanity was given the Tree of Life in the garden. Instead, we chose disobedience, ate from the forbidden tree, and through sin, we received death. We were to worship the one true God, the creator of the universe. Instead, we chose to worship what was created, including trees. We were told to be like trees, rooted in Gods word. Instead, we chopped trees down and made them idols and tools of death. We were given the Son of God, who was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Instead, we nailed him to a tree. Looks pretty bleak, right? Thank God it doesnt end here. As Paul Harvey would have said, And now its time for the rest of the story. God uses the imagery of trees to take us to the good news, the gospel of God. We see it foretold in the Old Testament. 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (Isa 11:1,2) This will sound like a ridiculous question, but what is a stump? What is left over after a tree has been cut down, right? Isaiah prophesied that the kings of Israel would cease. That happened, and it was because of Israels sin. There was no royal family when Jesus was alive, and there is no royal family in Israel now. But Isaiah promised something else. A branch will come from that stump, which was supposed to be dead. And it will bear fruit. We see this also in Jeremiah. 14 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jer 33:14,15) Out of the spiritual death that was a consequence of sin and disobedience, God brought life. That branch, Jesus, was righteous and bore fruit. He would execute not only justice but also righteousness in the land. That branch would come out of a stump, which was supposed to be dead. But, like the stump, Jesus didnt stay dead, did he? And if you are still on the fence about all of this, if Jesus is not your savior yet, this is the most important point I will make today. The cross is empty. As was commanded in Deuteronomy, Jesus was taken down from the tree that day and, as prophesied by Isaiah, was buried in a rich mans tomb. The cross could not hold him. And guess what? The grave couldnt either. The empty cross and the empty grave are some of the best-attested facts of the ancient world. This is so much the case that critics and skeptics have resorted to developing all sorts of implausible theories. An example is that Jesus just fainted on the cross, and the cool air of the tomb brought him to. Another is that Jesus had a twin, and nobody noticed the difference. These hypotheses are put forward without any evidence or historical justification. Instead, the truth is that Jesus lived the life that you and I cannot, died the death that we deserve, and then rose from the grave to new life, something you and I cannot do ourselves. And because of the work of Gods divine grace, our debt has been paid in full by the Son of God. Paul puts it extremely succinctly in Romans. 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:3,4) You may have guessed this already, but the Bible also has a tree metaphor for this. In this same letter to Rome, Paul wrote the following as he compared Gods chosen people, Israel, to the Gentiles. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Rom 11:17-24) In this metaphor that Paul uses to describe how we achieve new life, Jesus is the root that we are grafted into and receive life through Him. I was shocked to learn that this is a thing. You can take a branch from a tree, cut it completely off, and then graft it into another tree, and it will grow. Im really curious how humans first learned to do this. But to be honest, Im not sure I want to meet the person who first figured it out. I cant help but picture that they looked something like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein[10]. All joking aside, this is a crucial and pivotal point that I dont want us to miss. We receive life because we have been supernaturally grafted to Jesus. As Paul said in Galatians, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20) There is now no distinction between Jew and Greek (thats you and me). We are all able to receive life through Jesus. It is not our life but His that we live by. If you have been saved by faith through Jesus, you will experience this by the Spirit of God dwelling inside you. And the life you experience will be ever more witnessed by the fruit from that life. Lets return to the chart that I showed before. The bad news we discussed was all driven by our decisions to disobey the one true God and instead live by our own standards and desires. If not for the grace and love of God, that is where we would have been left. But, praise God, that is not where He left us. Well look at this in reverse order. We were given the Son of God, who was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Instead, we nailed him to a tree. But he rose again to new life, conquering the grave. We were told to be like trees, rooted in Gods word. Instead, we chopped trees down and made them idols and tools of death. We, as believers, are now grafted into Jesus, the root, and receive His life. We were to worship the one true God, the creator of the universe. Instead, we chose to worship what was created, including trees. We now worship the one true God in spirit and truth because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. That leaves us with one obvious stepthe Tree of Life. And we saw its return in our opening readings this morning. Please turn with me again to Revelation 22. 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:1-4 ESV) Chapter 22 of Revelation is the very end of the biblical narrative. The apostle John was being shown a glimpse into eternity. This is after death has been destroyed, the enemy has been defeated, and the servants of God are eternally with Him. We will get to see His face. There will be no more night. Life flows directly from the Lamb and the throne of God. And on either side of the river, we see the Tree of Life, healing the nations. Because of Jesuss sacrifice, the host of heaven sings. We get a picture of it when John writes the following in Revelation. 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Rev 5:11-13) We will ultimately see restoration. As sure as I am that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, I am sure that believers will see this. If you have placed your trust and hope in Jesus, you will have eternal life; you will experience complete healing, and you will see the face of God. This brings us to the last theological point that I want to make. Humanity was given the Tree of Life in the garden. Instead, we chose disobedience, and through sin, we received death. Because of the work of Jesus, we will again gain access to the tree of life and will be in the presence of God for eternity. Despite the incredible theological implications of what we have covered today, there is a considerable risk. And that is that we all walk out the doors of this building and live like the rest of the world. If we are genuinely grafted into the life of Jesus, we should bear fruit. Now, that does not mean that we are perfect, not by any means. But we should all seek the sanctification that the Bible promises we will see in increased measure. And I think this scriptural journey weve been on today can guide us. Tree of Life: We should start with a reverent fear of God. As Proverbs tells us, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom. Unlike Adam and Eve, we need to rest in the trust and faith that God is not holding anything back from us. His laws are good, His intentions are kind, and He wants us to have abundant life. Get rid of idols in our lives: We all can have idols in our lives. They are as real as the Asherah poles that the Israelites and the nations surrounding them stood up. It can be sports, it can be wealth, it can be our spouse or kids, it can even be our very selves. Remember, who we worship has implications beyond just the worship itself. You will become like what you worship, and only the worship of God will result in a life that bears fruit and eternal salvation. We should root ourselves in the Word of God: If we turn back to Psalm 1, we see what it means to be rooted. We are to meditate on the law of God day and night. We are to delight in His law. We should get rid of whatever we need to get rid of to make this possible. If you have to get up before kids, do it. If youre not in a LIFE group, join one. If you need to listen to Bible readings instead of the radio on your way to work, do it. Get into scripture, memorize it, meditate on it, and your life will bear fruit as the Holy Spirit works on your heart. Have confidence in the truth of the Gospel: Jesus really did come and live the life you and I could never live. He really did die the death that you and I deserve. And he really did rise from the dead, walk out of the tomb, and conquer death. He then offered that same life to anybody who would believe in and follow him. Root yourself in this, the rock of our salvation. It doesnt matter what happens to you if you are rooted in this; you will not be moved because of who you are rooted in. Benediction I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faiththat you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:17-21) [1] Introduction to Genesis, ESV Study Bible, pp 39 [2] Introduction to Deuteronomy, ESV Study Bible, pp 325 [3] Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Moses, pp 973 [4] Introduction to Revelation, ESV Study Bible, pp 2453 [5] Introduction to the Psalms, ESV Study Bible, pp 936 [6] Introduction to Proverbs, ESV Study Bible, pp 1129 [7] https://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/visualizations/BibleViz [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2wt=4280s [9] Introduction to Isaiah, ESV Study Bible, pp 1233 [10] https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7d0e87853917613964998c/1586365377311-5U14I8VN4HY3NVLWV2FM/f2e1ab082e83ac27c667ae2d6102a3fe.jpg

Primary reading (Slide 1 Reading for the Day): 8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:8,9 ESV) (Slide 2 Reading for the Day): 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:1-4 ESV) Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Meadowbrooke. I am so happy you have joined us today. For those who dont know me, my name is Ben McKay, and I am filling in today for our lead pastor, Keith. He and the staff were at a conference this week, so I am stepping in to help amidst their travel and activities. I am one of the elders here at Meadowbrooke and have served in that capacity for a couple of years. As I shared last time I gave a sermon, I count it as one of the most distinct privileges God has blessed me with to join these men who are completely sold out for Christ. My wife, Michaela, works as the office administrator here, and we have two boys, Brayden and Grayson. Michaela and I also host a life group and serve in other ministries here. All that being said, I am not a pastor by occupation. So please remember that and be kind as we work through todays message. After all, we are in church and told to be charitable toward one another. Professionally, I work in software development and AI applications. Part of what drew me to this line of work is my love of data and how software makes it easier to show us how things relate to each other and how those relationships behave. Now, you may be asking, what does this have to do with Genesis and Revelation? Well, that is a fantastic question. One of the key takeaways that I hope to leave you with today is that the Bible, a compilation of 66 books, is, in fact, a complete and cohesive narrative of Gods plan of salvation. This fact is astonishing because the Bible was written over approximately 1,500 years. This started with Moses somewhere around 1,400 BC[1][2][3] when the first five books of the Bible were written and ended with John writing Revelation somewhere around 95 AD[4]. During this time, over 40 individuals contributed to writing the various books of the Bible. Some wrote just one, like Isaiah the prophet; some wrote many, like Moses and Paul; and some books had multiple people contribute, like the books of Psalms[5] and Proverbs[6]. Let that sink in for a minute. At least 40 people, who were separated by centuries, came from very different backgrounds (some were kings and others were fishermen) and whose cultures had undergone drastic change (consider how different life looked for people living under King David when compared with those living in exile in Babylon) wrote accounts of God and his plan for salvation that were not only internally consistent individually but also consistent with each other. Thats incredible! Ive been to movies that cant stay internally consistent for an hour and a half! Many social media posts cant even stay internally consistent across two sentences. I want to move our hearts from being merely impressed by this fact to seeing the intricacies and internal consistency of the Word of God in awe and wonder. This is one of my favorite data visualizations of all time[7]. It shows the biblical cross-references that the creator of this image had identified. Each arc shows a verse referencing another verse. The Bible is quite literally in conversation with itself. We can see concepts come up repeatedly, prophecies being made and then fulfilled. God tells us something about Himself and then elaborates on it further. Throughout it all, we see the fulfillment of Gods eternal plan to redeem His creation back to Himself. This has led people like Jordan Petersen, the renowned psychologist, who is not an avowed Christian by the way, to say, This is the first hyperlinked book[8]. He means you can navigate through the Bible like web pages on the Internet. Instead of following hyperlinks, though, we follow cross-references. This is one of the reasons that lifetimes wouldnt be enough to get everything out of this book that it has to offer; another is that these are the words of God, and well, hes a lot smarter than us. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8,9) What were going to do today is to pull on one of those threads, click through the hyperlinks if you will, and we will get to stand in awe at how the gospel, the good news of God, radiates from the pages of scripture. You probably have seen the thread Im alluding to from our readings, the Tree of Life. This tree makes its first appearance in the second chapter of the Bible and appears again in the very last chapter. I bet thats just a coincidence. We will go back to Genesis, the story's beginning. In Chapter 2, we read, 7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:7-9 ESV) Here, we see Adam being placed into an idyllic garden (Adam was created outside of the garden and then brought into it), filled with life, sustenance, and beauty. Trees seem to abound. But the author immediately draws our attention to two. The first, we are told, is in the midst of the garden. This phrase has significance throughout the Bible, especially in the first five books. Moses would have written these books during the 40 years of Israels wandering in the desert. This was when God had the nation of Israel, his earthly representatives to the nations, build the Tabernacle. This was where Gods presence was most vividly and intensely seen. Check this out. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. (Ex 29:45,46) Its not easy to see in the English translation, but where we see dwell among them, the Hebrew word that gets translated among is the same word that gets translated in the midst of. Throughout the Tabernacle's description, we see that Gods plan is to be literally in the middle of his people; the word Tabernacle even means dwelling place. God goes so far as to have the Tabernacle placed in the very center of the camp. He didnt just want to be the God of the people. He wanted to be God dwelling with His people. The people of this time and this place would have literally seen Gods glory settle over the Tabernacle in the middle of their camp. Therefore, they would have seen the deep imagery intended within this passage. The garden was where God intended to dwell with His people; we see Him literally walking in the garden in Chapter 3. And as the Tabernacle was placed in the middle of their camp, so too was something in the middle of the garden, the Tree of Life. Now, we dont know much about this tree except that it could have permitted the man and the woman to live forever. God intends that his image bearers will have life. He is, after all, the living God. So, God placed life, which only He can give, in the middle of the garden where it could be seen and easily accessed. Jesus reinforced this idea that God wants his image bearers to have life when he said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (Jn 10:10b). But more on that in a moment. The only other tree mentioned by name is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I want to pause here because this name has been misunderstood and misused. This is not the tree of knowledge. Knowledge is not the thing that hurts humanity. Read Proverbs. Knowledge is a good thing when it begins with the fear of the Lord, Proverbs 1:7. It is the knowledge of something very specific here that causes a problem, namely good and evil. This tree represents our choice to have moral experience, put ourselves in the place of God not through fear but through disobedience, and define good and evil for ourselves. Lets look at the narrative. 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.4 But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Gen 3:1-6) There it is, right there. The temptation was, You will be like God. Open a newspaper, and you will see the consequences of believing this lie. This is the underlying heart condition that has plagued humanity since this moment. Want to know how people like Putin come to be? Want to know how people can commit genocide and call it justified? Want to know how people can murder children and call it righteous? Want to know how people can enslave each other? Its all right there in that one fragment of a sentence. You will be like God. God doesnt get to tell me right from wrong; I get to. He is not the center of and reason for all creation; I am. Eve reached out to grasp the forbidden fruit. We also reach out to grab what only God can define: good and evil. They ate the fruit because they believed the lie that God was holding something back from them. Their belief led them to eat from a false tree of life. This should be seen as a representation of what was to come. We reach out to things that cannot offer life, yet we pretend they do. We do this, brothers and sisters; I do this. We believe we know better. We buy into the lie that Gods law is meant to enslave us rather than free us from bondage. Moreover, they were image-bearers of God and believed the lie that they werent. Look at this. 26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:26,27) They were already image bearers of the God whose power was awesome enough to speak the universe into existence. They had access to the Tree of Life. Notice that God did not issue a prohibition against eating from the Tree of Life. He wants us to have life and have it abundantly. However, humanity chose rebellion, and death came into the world with rebellion. Now, the question may arise: Why couldnt Adam and Eve then eat of the tree of life? Why did God take that away from them? They still could have lived forever. Embedded in this question is, I think, a profound misunderstanding about God in the modern age. He is both perfectly holy and the exact definition of perfect love. He is both things at the same time. Because of our separation that was caused by sin, this would have resulted in eternal separation from God. Sin and Gods holiness cannot exist together. And, as we saw from Exodus, God is not content to leave us as we are and, therefore, remain separated from Him for eternity. So, we were banished from the garden, and we became subjected to death. Here, we see a split in the underlying symbology of trees in the biblical texts. To the ancient Hebrew mind, trees represent something inherently linked to life and vitality. Look with me at the first Psalm. 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (Ps 1:1-4) The tree, in this case, is said not to wither. In opposition, we see chaff, which is fleeting and blown to and fro. The tree is planted. This is in opposition to the chaff, which is driven away. Now, turn to Psalm 92. 12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Ps 92:12-15) Notice here that the same attributes we see in Psalm 1 are also found in Psalm 92. Trees are used as a representation, an image, of flourishing, strength, yielding fruit, and maintaining that vitality for a long time. This makes sense since trees can live for hundreds or even thousands of years. They make excellent metaphors for abundant life. But, notice something important here. It is not just anybody that is like a tree. It is the person who is what? Psalm 1 says they delight in the law of the Lord. Psalm 92 says they are planted in the house of the Lord and declare that the Lord is upright. Their roots are solidly well rooted in the only source of eternal life. Now, lets look at the opposite imagery of trees. Trees are used to represent darkness and evil. It ties back to the trees in the garden, where we exchanged the truth for a lie, life for death. There was a warning that Moses left the Israelites with as they were about to enter the land of Canaan. Nested within commandments about how Gods people were to act is this. 21 You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates. (De 16:21-22) This command was given because the surrounding cultures built idols to worship pagan gods. One of the most prominent among these was the fertility goddess Asherah. One of the ways to worship Asherah was to plant a tree or make a pole on a hill; the Bible often calls these high places. Now, if you read your whole Bible, which I strongly encourage you to do, you will notice this tendency. People will take a piece of Gods creation and then worship the created thing instead of the Creator. We exchange a true thing for a false thing. Doesnt that sound reminiscent of what we are told happened in Genesis? Paul put it like this in Romans after describing how we can understand some of Gods attributes, namely his power and divine nature, because of the grandeur of creation. However, he then talks about people who disregard God and worship created things instead. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:22-25) But it gets worse. A lot worse. Instead of heeding the warning of Moses, Israel participated in and went beyond the worship they were prohibited from. In 2 Chronicles, we see what Gods people chose instead of worshipping the one true, living God. 1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. (2 Ch 28:1-4) A lot is packed into these four verses, and I could spend an entire sermon unpacking just this. But I want you to see a couple of things. First, just like we saw from Pauls letter to the Romans, who we worship has real consequences beyond just the worship itself. Paul talks about God handing people over to the lusts of their hearts, resulting in them dishonoring their bodies because of their worship. Similarly, Ahaz murdered his own sons because of whom he worshiped. Second, we see a direct tie between Moses's warning and the sins the nation of Israel committed. Some are very quick to talk about Gods judgment of the Canaanites when the people of Israel drove them out. What is missed is that God judged them because of practices like these. People also leave out that God judged his promised people the same way. He held them accountable in the same way. If you read on to the end of 2 Chronicles, you will see that God used the nations to judge Judah in the same way. Their rejection of God and subsequent sin led directly to exile in Babylon. I know this probably seems like a bleak story so far. But this is a foundational truth that we have to understand to grasp the gospel. We are fallen. It is not just Adam, Eve, Ahaz, Israel, or the Pharisees. It is all of us. This is my story. This is your story. But, it is not the end of the story. We see the promise of this story even as God puts a curse on the earth and removes humans from the garden. There will be one who comes who the snake, the evil one, will wound. But it will be the snake who is crushed. God promises Abraham that all of the world's nations will be blessed through his family. He then reiterates that promise to his son and grandson. King David was told that one of his descendants would be the promised Messiah, whose throne would be established forever. We can read the promises from the prophets in detail. I want to focus on one of these, but there are hundreds more examples. 1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turnedevery oneto his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Is 53:1-10) Sound like anybody you know? The miraculous thing is that this was written over 700 years before Jesus lived[9]. It accurately renders the same scripture Jesus read while undertaking his ministry. We know that this is true because we have the archeological evidence. This is the Great Isaiah Scroll. It was found in the caves of Qumran in a collection commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains the entire text of the same book we read today. And youll never guess what. When the archaeologists carbon-dated it, they found that it predated the birth of Jesus by 100 years. Let that sink in. We have archaeological proof that this prophecy and the entire book of Isaiah predated the events. And this is not unique to Isaiah. Modern translations use this and other ancient manuscripts. You are reading the exact words that Jesus read about himself. And what we see in prophecy is precisely the suffering servant that we encounter in the person of Jesus. He was pierced by the nails that held him to the cross. He was ridiculed and mocked, deemed smitten by God. Like a sheep, he was led to slaughter. He was buried in the tomb of a rich man. And in so doing, he took on the iniquity of us all. As Luke, the author of Acts, put it, 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:30-32) And there it is again, the tree. We were allowed to eat from the tree of life. Instead, we chose a false tree, where we attempted to put ourselves in the place of God. We were told to be rooted in the word and knowledge of God and thus be like trees planted by a stream. Instead, we chose idols and rejected the Creator, the giver of life. We were given the Son, the second person of the Trinity, who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. Instead of accepting him, we rejected him and killed him on a tree. Do you see the pattern? There is a choice here. And we dont seem to choose very well. Why does Luke mention a tree? Wouldnt it have been enough just to say you killed him? And this is where the biblical narrative, imagery, and deep interconnectedness get so incredibly good. Please turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 21. 22 And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. (De 21:22,23) This section of scripture is Moses giving his final commands to the nation of Israel as they are about to enter the promised land. Notice here the language. A hanged man is cursed by God. This is in reference specifically to a man hanged on a what? A man hanged on a tree. If you happen to be using a study Bible right now, you almost certainly have this cross-reference. Please turn with me to Galatians 3:13. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for usfor it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13,14) If this doesnt stop you dead in your mental tracks, I dont know what will. When I say that the Bible is in conversation with itself, this is precisely what I mean. Trees are used repeatedly in the Bible to represent images of life. But humans used them not only to replace the worship of the one, true creator God for the worship of created idols but also as a means of torture and death. Exodus was written 1,400 years before Jesus lived and well before crucifixion was invented as a method of execution, yet it perfectly fits within the biblical narrative. Jesus knew he was to die at the cross well before the events and that this verse was pointing not just to how he would be killed but to the underlying reason why. He was to take on the curse even though he didnt sin to take away the consequences from us who did sin. This is grace, unmerited favor. Ive covered a lot of ground just now, so I want to recap just a bit before moving on. Humanity was given the Tree of Life in the garden. Instead, we chose disobedience, ate from the forbidden tree, and through sin, we received death. We were to worship the one true God, the creator of the universe. Instead, we chose to worship what was created, including trees. We were told to be like trees, rooted in Gods word. Instead, we chopped trees down and made them idols and tools of death. We were given the Son of God, who was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Instead, we nailed him to a tree. Looks pretty bleak, right? Thank God it doesnt end here. As Paul Harvey would have said, And now its time for the rest of the story. God uses the imagery of trees to take us to the good news, the gospel of God. We see it foretold in the Old Testament. 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (Isa 11:1,2) This will sound like a ridiculous question, but what is a stump? What is left over after a tree has been cut down, right? Isaiah prophesied that the kings of Israel would cease. That happened, and it was because of Israels sin. There was no royal family when Jesus was alive, and there is no royal family in Israel now. But Isaiah promised something else. A branch will come from that stump, which was supposed to be dead. And it will bear fruit. We see this also in Jeremiah. 14 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jer 33:14,15) Out of the spiritual death that was a consequence of sin and disobedience, God brought life. That branch, Jesus, was righteous and bore fruit. He would execute not only justice but also righteousness in the land. That branch would come out of a stump, which was supposed to be dead. But, like the stump, Jesus didnt stay dead, did he? And if you are still on the fence about all of this, if Jesus is not your savior yet, this is the most important point I will make today. The cross is empty. As was commanded in Deuteronomy, Jesus was taken down from the tree that day and, as prophesied by Isaiah, was buried in a rich mans tomb. The cross could not hold him. And guess what? The grave couldnt either. The empty cross and the empty grave are some of the best-attested facts of the ancient world. This is so much the case that critics and skeptics have resorted to developing all sorts of implausible theories. An example is that Jesus just fainted on the cross, and the cool air of the tomb brought him to. Another is that Jesus had a twin, and nobody noticed the difference. These hypotheses are put forward without any evidence or historical justification. Instead, the truth is that Jesus lived the life that you and I cannot, died the death that we deserve, and then rose from the grave to new life, something you and I cannot do ourselves. And because of the work of Gods divine grace, our debt has been paid in full by the Son of God. Paul puts it extremely succinctly in Romans. 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:3,4) You may have guessed this already, but the Bible also has a tree metaphor for this. In this same letter to Rome, Paul wrote the following as he compared Gods chosen people, Israel, to the Gentiles. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Rom 11:17-24) In this metaphor that Paul uses to describe how we achieve new life, Jesus is the root that we are grafted into and receive life through Him. I was shocked to learn that this is a thing. You can take a branch from a tree, cut it completely off, and then graft it into another tree, and it will grow. Im really curious how humans first learned to do this. But to be honest, Im not sure I want to meet the person who first figured it out. I cant help but picture that they looked something like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein[10]. All joking aside, this is a crucial and pivotal point that I dont want us to miss. We receive life because we have been supernaturally grafted to Jesus. As Paul said in Galatians, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20) There is now no distinction between Jew and Greek (thats you and me). We are all able to receive life through Jesus. It is not our life but His that we live by. If you have been saved by faith through Jesus, you will experience this by the Spirit of God dwelling inside you. And the life you experience will be ever more witnessed by the fruit from that life. Lets return to the chart that I showed before. The bad news we discussed was all driven by our decisions to disobey the one true God and instead live by our own standards and desires. If not for the grace and love of God, that is where we would have been left. But, praise God, that is not where He left us. Well look at this in reverse order. We were given the Son of God, who was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Instead, we nailed him to a tree. But he rose again to new life, conquering the grave. We were told to be like trees, rooted in Gods word. Instead, we chopped trees down and made them idols and tools of death. We, as believers, are now grafted into Jesus, the root, and receive His life. We were to worship the one true God, the creator of the universe. Instead, we chose to worship what was created, including trees. We now worship the one true God in spirit and truth because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. That leaves us with one obvious stepthe Tree of Life. And we saw its return in our opening readings this morning. Please turn with me again to Revelation 22. 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:1-4 ESV) Chapter 22 of Revelation is the very end of the biblical narrative. The apostle John was being shown a glimpse into eternity. This is after death has been destroyed, the enemy has been defeated, and the servants of God are eternally with Him. We will get to see His face. There will be no more night. Life flows directly from the Lamb and the throne of God. And on either side of the river, we see the Tree of Life, healing the nations. Because of Jesuss sacrifice, the host of heaven sings. We get a picture of it when John writes the following in Revelation. 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Rev 5:11-13) We will ultimately see restoration. As sure as I am that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, I am sure that believers will see this. If you have placed your trust and hope in Jesus, you will have eternal life; you will experience complete healing, and you will see the face of God. This brings us to the last theological point that I want to make. Humanity was given the Tree of Life in the garden. Instead, we chose disobedience, and through sin, we received death. Because of the work of Jesus, we will again gain access to the tree of life and will be in the presence of God for eternity. Despite the incredible theological implications of what we have covered today, there is a considerable risk. And that is that we all walk out the doors of this building and live like the rest of the world. If we are genuinely grafted into the life of Jesus, we should bear fruit. Now, that does not mean that we are perfect, not by any means. But we should all seek the sanctification that the Bible promises we will see in increased measure. And I think this scriptural journey weve been on today can guide us. Tree of Life: We should start with a reverent fear of God. As Proverbs tells us, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom. Unlike Adam and Eve, we need to rest in the trust and faith that God is not holding anything back from us. His laws are good, His intentions are kind, and He wants us to have abundant life. Get rid of idols in our lives: We all can have idols in our lives. They are as real as the Asherah poles that the Israelites and the nations surrounding them stood up. It can be sports, it can be wealth, it can be our spouse or kids, it can even be our very selves. Remember, who we worship has implications beyond just the worship itself. You will become like what you worship, and only the worship of God will result in a life that bears fruit and eternal salvation. We should root ourselves in the Word of God: If we turn back to Psalm 1, we see what it means to be rooted. We are to meditate on the law of God day and night. We are to delight in His law. We should get rid of whatever we need to get rid of to make this possible. If you have to get up before kids, do it. If youre not in a LIFE group, join one. If you need to listen to Bible readings instead of the radio on your way to work, do it. Get into scripture, memorize it, meditate on it, and your life will bear fruit as the Holy Spirit works on your heart. Have confidence in the truth of the Gospel: Jesus really did come and live the life you and I could never live. He really did die the death that you and I deserve. And he really did rise from the dead, walk out of the tomb, and conquer death. He then offered that same life to anybody who would believe in and follow him. Root yourself in this, the rock of our salvation. It doesnt matter what happens to you if you are rooted in this; you will not be moved because of who you are rooted in. Benediction I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faiththat you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:17-21) [1] Introduction to Genesis, ESV Study Bible, pp 39 [2] Introduction to Deuteronomy, ESV Study Bible, pp 325 [3] Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Moses, pp 973 [4] Introduction to Revelation, ESV Study Bible, pp 2453 [5] Introduction to the Psalms, ESV Study Bible, pp 936 [6] Introduction to Proverbs, ESV Study Bible, pp 1129 [7] https://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/visualizations/BibleViz [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2wt=4280s [9] Introduction to Isaiah, ESV Study Bible, pp 1233 [10] https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7d0e87853917613964998c/1586365377311-5U14I8VN4HY3NVLWV2FM/f2e1ab082e83ac27c667ae2d6102a3fe.jpg

It is a blessing

We need wisdom and understanding because without it, we are just fools. Read: ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9:1‭-‬5‬ ‭KJV‬‬ [1] Wisdom hath builded her house, She hath hewn out her seven pillars: [2] She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; She hath also furnished her table. [3] She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth Upon the highest places of the city, [4] Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, [5] Come, eat of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tasha-mack9/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tasha-mack9/support

Have you heard these myths about getting predictable milestones, manifestations, and miracles? Myth 1: You need to have extraordinary talent or luck. Myth 2: You need to work harder and sacrifice more. Myth 3: You need to wait for the perfect timing. Today's episode will reveal the truths that will change everything... In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the Power of Partnering with God: Unleash your potential by learning how to collaborate with the Creator to achieve your milestones and experience miracles in your life and business. Take Prophetic Action to Manifest Your Desires: Learn the secrets to aligning your actions with divine guidance, allowing you to manifest your deepest desires and create the life you've always dreamed of. Surrender with Faith and Trust for Divine Intervention: Explore the transformative power of surrendering your worries and fears to God, and discover how this act of faith and trust can invite divine intervention and miracles into your journey. Cultivate the Importance of Faith and Belief: Unlock the key to achieving your milestones by understanding the incredible impact that unwavering faith and belief can have on your ability to manifest your desires and experience supernatural breakthroughs. Find Support and Elevate Your Circle: Discover the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who uplift and inspire you, and learn how elevating your circle of influence can enhance your journey towards achieving your dreams and goals. God is predictable. When you partner with Him, you can expect predictable results. - Rachel Luna Take Prophetic Action to Manifest Your Desires Prophetic actions act as tangible proofs of your inner faith, demonstrating your readiness to accept the blessings that lie ahead. They are aligned with your dreams and translate into meaningful steps that propel you towards your desired outcome. It's the act of preparing yourself, like digging a ditch even in a drought, showing you have faith in the impending rain. Links & Resources mentioned in this episode are: Visit my website: www.rachelluna.com Join my neuroscience based life coaching certification program called Certified to learn more about the strategies for predictable milestones, manifestations, and miracles @ www.rachelluna.com/certified Look up Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Numbers 23:19, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 40:31, and Hebrews 13:5 in the Bible to find evidence of God's predictability. Consider partnering with God in your business by treating your conversations with Him as board meetings. Seek His guidance and ask for His plans and strategies. Resist the enemy's attacks of confusion and remember that God has plans to prosper and not harm you. Develop company policies that align with God's principles, such as taking care of the poor and being lenders, not borrowers. Consider implementing philanthropy and strategies to avoid unnecessary debt. Read Proverbs 31 for guidance on building your business God's way. Explore the idea of having seven and eight streams of income, as mentioned in the Bible, to create multiple sources of revenue. Test the spirit and verify the information shared. xo, Rachel Luna  

Read: Proverbs 2:1-22; James 3:13-18

RATE! REVIEW! FOLLOW! Email me your thoughts, comments or questions: caniberealpodcast@gmail.com Show Notes: ○ Galatians 5:22-23 ○ 1st and foremost, remember that these Fruits of the Spirit are all characteristics of God • Self-control ○ Self-control- the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations. ○ Self control is the war between impulsivity and doing what's right or beneficial. It's the ability to control emotions, impulses or behaviors to achieve a greater goal. ○ Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. ○ Self- control is not doing what • Self-control in the Old Testament ○ David & Saul ○ In 1 Samuel 15, God rejects Saul as king over Israel and in 1 Samuel 16, God had Samuel anoint David to be the next king over Israel. In 1 Samuel 17, David defeats Goliath and by 1 Samuel 18, Saul is afraid and jealous of David and begins his attempts to kill him. In 1 Samuel 19, Saul is no longer discreet about it and he told Jonathan and his attendants to kill David, forcing David to flee Saul and leave Israel. David and his men go to several different places seeking refuge from Saul, one of those places was Nob, where the priests lived and where David and his men stopped to get food. They ended up eating the consecrated bread and Ahimelek the priest gave David the sword of Goliath. When Saul found out that the priests had aided David and his men, Saul had the priests at Nob killed. ○ So all this happens between David and Saul and in 1 Samuel 24, we are introduced to the first time that David spares Saul's life, and demonstrates self-control. § Read 1 Samuel 24:1-10 § Read 1 Samuel 26:1-11, 23-24 ○ Nehemiah & the opposition to the rebuilding of the wall ○ Nehemiah had the God-given assignment of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, which was the beginning stages of making Jerusalem a city again. ○ Read Nehemiah 4:1-15 ○ Read Nehemiah 6:9-13 • The Self-control of Jesus (so many examples to choose from!) ○ Luke 4 talks about how Jesus tempted in the wilderness for 40 days by the devil. ("Go read for yourselves!"_ ○ Jesus demonstrated self-control time after time! He was constantly accused of some wrong doing despite the fact that all he did was good and preach Truth from God's word. ○ Read Luke 22:47-53 ○ Read John 19:7-11 • What about Us? ○ Read Romans 7:18-25 (NLT) ○ Read 2 Peter 1: 5-11 (NLT) ○ We need Jesus to help us! We need the Holy Spirit daily to live like Christ! ○ Read Proverbs 25:28- A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. ○ Read Proverbs 16:32- Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rachel398/message

RATE! SHARE! SUBSCRIBE! Email me your thoughts, comments or questions: caniberealpodcast@gmail.com Show Notes: ○ Galatians 5:22-23 ○ "Peace" in the New Testament: § Peace as the absence of war or chaos § Peace as a right relationship with God § Peace as a good relationship among people § Peace as an individual virtue or state, that is tranquility or serenity § Peace as part of a greeting ○ Peace as an individual virtue or state, that is tranquility or serenity § Under this type of "Peace" I want to highlight two types of situations □ Situations out of your control ® These are the storms that come into your life unprovoked that you don't see coming or can't do anything to stop ® Read Matthew 8:23-27 ◊ To experience peace in these types of situations, you have to take a step back and remember who God is and what He has promised you! ® Read Psalms 23 ® Read 1 Peter 5:7-"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." ® Read John 14:27-""I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." ® Read Isaiah 26:3-"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" □ When you find yourself in a situation that you didn't see coming that tries to rob you of your peace, remember what Jesus said he would give us-peace! You have to choose to have faith and trust that God will fulfill his promises to you! □ Situations within your control ® These are the storms that you knowingly walk into ® Read Acts 27:9-44 (this is a long one) ® These storms are avoided using wisdom and discernment ◊ Read Proverbs 25:24-"Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife." ◊ Read Proverbs 27:12-"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty." ◊ Read Proverbs 28:26-"Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe." ® Sometimes you may have to choose between doing what you want to do and having peace ○ A few other verses about peace to remember: § Read 2 Thessalonians 3:16 □ "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all." § Read Colossians 3:15 □ "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful." § Read Romans 8:6 □ "So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace." § Read Proverbs 16:7 □ "When people's lives please the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them." § Read 1 Peter 3:11 □ "Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it." § Read Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rachel398/message

People of God, it's time to get back to the basics. This week, we are challenged to return to a place in our lives where we reverence the Holiness of God and center Him in all that we do. Let us not be distracted from the things of the world, but let us be reminded that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.   Read: Proverbs 9:10 Submit a Question or Topic Suggestion to Ask Kendra HERE If led, please consider making  a tax-deductible donation to our ministry HERE.  

Proverbs: The Wisdom of Life A Survey of the Bible For bulletin in PDF form click here. Message SlidesProverbs Chart - WilsonProverbs in the Ancient Near East - LomgmanProverbs 1:1-7 (A Literal Translation) - WilsonThe Proverbial Pathway of the Fool - WorksheetSimpleton, Fool, Scoffer - Wilson Context: Who, Where, When, and Why?• Who composed Proverbs? • Where were he and his audience?• When was Proverbs written?• Why was he writing? Content: How and What?• How is Proverbs organized? Introduction 1:1-7 Title (1:1) Purpose (1:2-6) Motto (1:7)A Father's Plea to Attain Wisdom 1:8-9:18Collections of Proverbs 10:1-31:39 Solomon's First Collection (10:1-22:16) The Sayings of the Wise (22:17-24:34) Solomon's Second Collection (by Hezekiah) (25:1-29:27) The Words of Agur (30:1-33) The Word's of Lemuel (31:1-9)The ABCs of Wisdom 31:10-31• What is the message of Proverbs? Conviction: So What?• Where does this fit? The wisdom of proverbs illuminates the path to a productive lifethat leaves a legacy for others to admire and follow.• What should we believe? • “The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom.” • Skillful living requires a discerning character. • The Way of Wisdom is the Way of Life.• How should we behave? • Anchored in reverence for God and His revelation in Scripture and Christ. • Living as a craftsman, creating a life that is admired and leaves a lasting legacy.Next Steps• Commit to read one chapter of Proverbs every day. • Make a plan for a family discussion of Proverbs each week. • Read Proverbs in a different translation. This Week's Growth GuideGod's Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.• Monday - Proverbs 1:1-7•. Tuesday - Proverbs 2•. Wednesday - Proverbs 5•. Thursday - Proverbs 7•. Friday - Proverbs 8•. Saturday - Proverbs 9• Sunday - Proverbs 31:10-31FinancesWeekly Budget 31,390Giving For 05/28 13,252Giving For 06/04 31,611YTD Budget 1,538,097GIVING 1,531,143 OVER/(UNDER) (6,954) Father's Day Slide ShowWe will share a slide show of fellowship fathers during both services on June 18. Send one high-resolution photo (per family) to rmorrow@fellowshipconway.org by June 13. New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you joined the Fellowship Family to worship this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium; we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Fellowship Kids VBSWe're taking a journey back to ancient Babylon - where you'll talk to Daniel and find out what it was like to be a captive in a strange country. Join us Monday, July 17-Friday, July 21, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for (current) grades Kindergarten through 4th-grade students. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register. We are also looking for volunteers available for VBS to help point our kids to the Lord in various ways. Please email Heather at hmckinney@fellowshipconway.org if you are willing to serve.Automate the ImportantSummer travel is here, and routines will be changed. Plan now to ensure your giving continues throughout the summer, even when you are away. Would you consider setting up recurring giving for the next few months to enable Fellowship to continue to have the resources needed to carry out its mission? Go to fellowshipconway.org/give and click on “Automate the Important” to get started. Nine Months That Will Change Your Life - DownlineApply now for next year's Downline class that starts on August 29th. The program equips individuals to know God's Word and make disciples where God has strategically placed you around the city. Space and time are limited, so visit DownlineConway.com for more information and to submit your application. Questions? Contact Chris Kear at chris@downlineconway.com.PrayerFellowship places a high value on prayer. After the message, members of our prayer team will be under “Hope” and “Love” for anyone who would like to be prayed for this morning. A team member will walk into the hall with you to pray with you. Thank you for letting us engage the Lord together in prayer. Fellowship 201 - Core Doctrines of FellowshipJoin us June 18 and 25 as we launch Fellowship 201. This class is designed for anyone who has gone through Fellowship 101 in the last year and those who simply want to have a deeper understanding of our beliefs. Together, we will go through core Christian teachings of the faith and how they apply to our daily lives. Sign-up fellowshipconway.org/register. Stay connectedFellowship sends a weekly email on Thursdays with upcoming events, information, the Sunday songlist, and more. If you are not receiving this email, but want to stay connected, fill out a connection card and drop it in the offering baskets by the doors. Message

READ TOGETHER:John 10:1-10DISCUSS:What does it mean that Jesus is the door (v. 9)? What impact does that truth hold for your life personally?Jesus speaks of a thief and robber who tries to break into the sheep pen. Who was Jesus referring to? How does Jesus protect us from our spiritual enemy, Satan?Jesus says, “His sheep know His voice.” Who or what has the loudest “voice” in your life (i.e. Holy Spirit, news, culture, entertainment, politics, etc.)? What could help you better listen and obey the voice of Jesus?What does it mean that Jesus calls His sheep by name? Why is it important that Jesus knows us personally?What does Jesus mean that, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved?” Will the door of salvation be opened forever? Why or why not?Describe what you think Jesus means by abundant life? How do you experience abundant life through Jesus Christ?Jesus says He is the door to the sheep pen and the only way to God the Father. How would you respond to someone who says that teaching is too "narrow" or "exclusive"? PRAY:Pray that you would have the faith to walk through the doors the Lord has opened for you, and the wisdom to avoid the ones He has closed.PRACTICE (on your own): Every day we have doors of opportunity set before us. This week choose one of the “doors” below to walk through in faith.Door of Service: Serve someone in need. Signup for the upcoming ServeWeek (July 10-15).Door of Prayer: Lift up those in need through intercession.Door of Encouragement: Reach out to someone who is lonely or hurting.Door of Forgiveness: Seek restoration for broken relationships.Door of Faith: Be willing to go wherever the Lord is leading.Door of Sharing: Share the gospel with someone who doesn't know Christ.DIVE DEEPER (on your own)Read Proverbs 8:34; Matthew 7:7, 13-14; Colossians 4:3; Revelation 3:8, 20This week, think about how you can experience the abundant life on a deeper level through Christ, the Door.

Main Point: Don't give up. Live fully for God.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? Why is encouragement so important to make it through the hardships of life?Think of a time when you were encouraged during a hardship. What happened? How did it make you feel? How can encouragement change a person's perspective on a situation?Read Hebrews 12:12. What is the “therefore” there for? (Read Hebrews 12:11 for context.) In a race what does it mean when runners drop their hands and their knees get weak? What does this tell us about the situation that the people in the book of Hebrews are facing?In this verse, the author of Hebrews is referring to Isaiah 35:3-4. Read these verses. How do these verses help us better understand Hebrews 12:12?Why is it important to be encouraged personally and encourage others with the truth? How does knowing that God is working even in hardships encourage us to keep persevering?Read Hebrews 12:13. The author of Hebrews starts by quoting Proverbs 4:26. Read Proverbs 4:25-27 for context. What does it mean to make level paths for your feet?Why is it important to remove obstacles to from your path when you are running? Following the metaphor, why is it vital to remove from our lives things that are damage to our faith? Name a few things specific things hinder or damage a Christian's faith.What is the result of making level paths? How does this impact the individual and the community of faith?What is one thing you can do this week to put into practice what you learned in this message?

Main Point: Don't give up. Live fully for God. Questions: What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? Why is encouragement so important to make it through the hardships of life? Think of a time when you were encouraged during a hardship. What happened? How did it make you feel? How can encouragement change a person's perspective on a situation? Read Hebrews 12:12. What is the “therefore” there for? (Read Hebrews 12:11 for context.) In a race what does it mean when runners drop their hands and their knees get weak? What does this tell us about the situation that the people in the book of Hebrews are facing? In this verse, the author of Hebrews is referring to Isaiah 35:3-4. Read these verses. How do these verses help us better understand Hebrews 12:12? Why is it important to be encouraged personally and encourage others with the truth? How does knowing that God is working even in hardships encourage us to keep persevering? Read Hebrews 12:13. The author of Hebrews starts by quoting Proverbs 4:26. Read Proverbs 4:25-27 for context. What does it mean to make level paths for your feet? Why is it important to remove obstacles to from your path when you are running? Following the metaphor, why is it vital to remove from our lives things that are damage to our faith? Name a few things specific things hinder or damage a Christian's faith. What is the result of making level paths? How does this impact the individual and the community of faith? What is one thing you can do this week to put into practice what you learned in this message?

This week we level up in trusting God! At every stage in life, God gives us the opportunity to trust Him through our challenges. My hope is that through God's word, you are reminded that God's direction for your life is better than any plan you can create.   Read: Proverbs 3:5–6 Please consider donating to our next Poetry Jam!: https://www.un-associated.com/tupjfundraiser/ Submit a Question or Topic Suggestion to Ask Kendra HERE  

Math is hard, but it's also a great pointer to God. In this episode Bryan talks with Dr. Satyan Devadoss, math genius and award-winning professor. Dr. Devadoss talks about math and mystery and unsolved problems, revealing a connection between the twin pursuits of math and God. Talking Points:Math (as with faith) is like a language you learn, building on itself year after year. For some, that's what makes math (and God) intimidating. When it comes to math (and God), there will always be mystery. The more you study something, the more you realize how much more there is to study. Every question you answer opens up ten more questions to explore. (See Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries.) Ecclesiastes 2:12-17Math is the cleanest of the disciplines, and even then there are so many mysteries! How much more complex are emotions, relationships, and God himself? The existence of unsolved problems doesn't mean we can't have faith and push ahead.There's something in us that hates the tension of unsolved mysteries. Read Proverbs to learn life's principles… and then read Job to see the exceptions! To explore meaning, goodness, and truth is more about the journey than the destination.

Rediscovering Joy #6 | February 19, 2023 9a Brian Priebe | Title “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” Philippians 3:12-17 (NIV) “ Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV) “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (NIV) 1. Who in your life do you, should you, or could you be imitating? 2. How do I find people to imitate? 3. Are you someone others can and should imitate? Reflection Questions:1) Philippians 3 speaks to knowing and being like Jesus. Read it together and share areas of life where you feel aligned to Jesus and areas where you still have the opportunity to grow to be like Him. 2) Read Proverbs 13:20. Who are the people in your life that demonstrate wisdom and share what areas they do so? 3) Read Phil 3:17 and 1 Cor 11:1. Who are the people that you’ve followed their example or imitated during your faith journey? Next Steps: Complete the Connect Card to receive more information, have us pray for you, or to ask us any question: http://journeyweb.net/connectcardWant to worship through giving and support the ministry of Journey Church: https://journeyweb.net/giveDownload our app: https://journeyweb.net/app Join our Facebook Group to stay connected throughout the week: https://facebook.com/groups/JourneyChurchBozemanGet your children connected to our children's ministry, Base Camp: https://journeyweb.net/childrenOur Student Ministry is for High School and Middle School students: https://journeyweb.net/studentsSubscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JourneyChurchBozemanNotes Page: https://journeyweb.net/sermons/notes/2023.02.19.pdf

In this episode, Rachel opens the Bible and does a study of Proverbs 16, and reveals what God is speaking to her through this chapter lately.

"If God is loving, why does He deal with sin so harshly?" It's a great question. Before we go on, let's remember that God is always the same, always keeps His promises, and is always good, even when we don't understand (Romans 11:33-35)..Judgement for sin may not seem nice, but it actually shows God's love. Sin is going against God's good design for life, and going against God's plan ultimately leads to death..Since God is completely good and perfect, He must address evil and sin. Our sin breaks our relationship with Him and those around us, but God loves us so much that He made a plan to rescue us from sin. Jesus is fully God, and He became human and lived among us, eventually dying on the cross for our sins, taking our guilt upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through His own death and resurrection, Jesus beat sin and death, providing all who trust in Him with forgiveness and the promise of being with Him for eternity (John 3:16). He defeated the power of sin and evil: this is the best news ever (Luke 2:10)!.God's justice is also good news when we look at a world full of evil and suffering. Because we know that Jesus is King, we can have peace and comfort in remembering that evil will not go unaddressed. When Jesus returns to judge the world and make all things new (free from the effects of sin and death), there will be no more suffering (2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 21:1-5)..Love without justice is superficial, and justice without love is cruel. God's justice shows that He cares about us and doesn't want us to suffer or inflict evil on each other, and His love shows His grace and compassion. When we look to the cross, we see how bad sin is. Yet, when we look to the cross, we also see how amazing God's love is. • Abby Ciona.• Read Isaiah 42:1-7. This passage talks about God's promised Rescuer: Jesus! How does it show that love and justice go together?.• Read Proverbs 21:15. How is justice good news for Christians? (Hint: read Romans 3:22 and Ephesians 2:1-5.).I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. Psalm 101:1 (NIV)

God put it on my heart to dedicate the first month of this new year by hosting a “First Fruits” podcast series. In this podcast series, we will take every Monday and give the first of a different area of our lives to the Lord. Last week we gave the first of our health and wellness to God. This week we are dedicating our plans. Just recently I experienced the difference between plans submitted to God and those that aren't submitted to Him. I prayed about the timing of releasing something, felt peace to move forward, and God blessed it. A few days later I was in a hurry to check something off my to-do list, didn't talk to God about it, and moved forward, and you could hear the crickets chirping from the lack of response. The difference? One was submitted to God and His timing and the other was not. READ: Proverbs 19:2, Psalms 33:11, Exodus 33:15 PROCESS God, what plans do I need to submit to You? Think of a specific plan you have in mind. Ask God for His timing on moving forward with this plan. God, show me any of my plans not from You. I don't want to move forward if you aren't in it. RESOURCE: My book launch team is open and I have space to lead a group of women through an early-release copy of my book, Image Restored. The first 100 to register get a physical advanced reader copy of my book. Anyone after that will get a digital copy. To learn more and register, head to ImageRestoredBook.com. 

Who is the Proverbs 31 woman? It's not about what she did like we often focus on, but it's more about WHO she was, and the fruit that her life produced because of the source it was coming from. She was just trying to live for the Lord, not to be perfect or meet the world's standards, and we can learn 2 major things from her! Review and Read Proverbs 31 alongside this podcast.   Email me at mallen@lwf.org or message me through Instagram https://www.instagram.com/faithful31moms/ about a FAITHFUL EVERYDAY MOM Interview.   *For more products go to https://www.lwf.org/faithful-31-moms and use code F31M10 for 10% off your purchase!   A podcast for Christian moms. Meeting you in the midst of motherhood to encourage you to grow in your faith, so you can better point your kids to Jesus daily! Hosted by Mallory Allen, walking through a series of devotionals on different moms of the Bible and a variety of interviews. Check out faithful31moms.com today for more!

Can you be lazy and busy at the same time? A week ago I thought that was impossible. After reading this desiringgod.com article, I have a lot that I want to discuss on the topic of laziness. I pray this episode encourages all of those struggling with the sin of slothfulness. Remain faithful to what God has put in front of you.   Read: Proverbs 6:9-11; Proverbs 21:25; Ephesians 2:10; Deut 29:29 If you would like to sow a seed to this ministry, please consider donating at HERE Bible Study Sign Up.