Podcasts about righteous one

download the notes here:https://www.esm.us/wp-content/uploads/shabbat-ki-tisa-3-11-2023-cong.pdf_______________________________________________________Exodus 30:11-13a The LORD said to Moses, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuaryExodus 30:15,16 the rich is not to give more or the poor less than the half-shekel when giving Adonai's offering to atone for your lives. You are to take the atonement money from the people of Israel and use it for the service in the tent of meeting, so that it will be a reminder of the people of Israel before Adonai to atone for your lives.”Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness צדקה delivers from deathActs 3:13-15 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Yeshua, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.

Brad and David Grey NTP close out the week. The Sheet TPC caddies and discussion SWAT Conference August 5th SWAT in brief Paul didn't seek the light. The light sought Paul. ------------------ Acts 22:1-16 (ESV) ​1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Stefen Wisniewski, former NFL player now a pastor is Doug's guest today. Growing up in a football family Gold, Girls and Glory NFL Euphemisms for being fired Being at the SuperBowl Brothers in the game Home town disappointment Prayers for God's future for him Links: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefen_Wisniewski https://mobile.twitter.com/stefenwiz61 ------------------ Acts 22:1-16 (ESV) ​1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Brad is back from fighting the wind Faithful men Andy Stanley untethered The sheet has been found If they don't know Moses or the scripture... Caller Merv Clark from Crosswinds Leadership Ministries about the Strongman Rally Links: https://crosswind.ms/about https://www.facebook.com/Crosswindstrongmanrally ------------------ Acts 22:1-16 (ESV) ​1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

TPC behind the seens Doug is joined by Rick Brack in for Brad today. Searching for the Good News ------------------ Acts 22:1-16 (ESV) ​1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Craig Henderson is in for Brad today. TPC is in town Murdaugh guilty Taking the right route ------------------ Acts 22:1-16 (ESV) ​1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Introduction - James 5 Today the Bible is going to talk to us about money and our attitude toward acquiring it. In every modern society there have always been three classes of people: The poor, The middle class, and The wealthy. And for as long as those classes have existed people have bemoaned the economic disparity between these classes. Now, interestingly the Bible doesn't comment very much about the systems which create the economic disparity. The Bible almost feels carelessly indifferent toward the harsh machinery that causes the massive wealth gaps. The Bible just seems to accept the fact that these classes will exist. The rich will exist. - Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Augustus Caesar died in 17 AD so Jesus grew up under this emperor. Did you know that Augustus Caesar was the richest man that ever lived. He personally owned 1/5 of the wealth of the Roman empire. That's like the equivalent of 4.6 trillion dollars. And Jesus just says, render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. - "The poor you will always have." - To the Roman soldier he says, "Be content with your wages." - Paul says, "If you find yourself a slave, obey your master not only to the just but also to the unjust." - If you are a master, he says, "Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." Instead of commenting on the system that creates these economic disparities, he just gives commands on how to honor the Lord in your station of life, wherever you find yourself. Because, after all, most slaves complain. Most rich people are selfish. Most middle class people complain about their pay. So if you can be different, the light of Christ will shine brightly. Now that doesn't mean that the rich, middle class and poor are the same. These different classes will struggle differently. There are different temptations associated with those different social positions. So depending on where you are in the Bible, you will have different commands to different social classes. Today James wants to address the wealthy. He wants to address the rich. The rich are generally respected in the world, but James is reminding us that it is scary possible to be very wealthy and be very weak in faith or to have no faith at all. It is very common for those things to go together. And there's a reason they go together. Consider a natural habitat like a jungle. Every natural habitat has its own unique species of plants or animals that thrive in that habitat. A jungle is perfectly suited to grow giant trees, giant spiders, fruit, jaguars, wild boars, etc. Jungle conditions are required for these things to survive. Well, the habitat of wealth, the environment of wealth is very conducive to self-indulgence. It just breeds it. It just cultivates it. It's the perfect conditions for self-indulgence to thrive. And self-indulgence, 10 times out of 10, puts out the flame of faith. Now, wealth doesn't guarantee self-indulgence. There are plenty of wealthy people who are not self-indulgent. But talk to any one of those people and you will discover that to have wealth and not be self-indulgent takes constant weeding, constant maintenance, constant pruning to cut back that unwanted natural tendency. So let's see what James has to say about wealth. James, tell me what you really think. James is being quite direct. There are certain temptations associated with wealth and at the top of the list is self-indulgence. And James is warning you, if you succumb to that temptation, it will rot your soul. So what we are going to observe in the passage is four characteristics of this corrosive self-indulgence. To avoid self-indulgence, here are four things you are going to have to constantly prune and weed and cut back. Here's four characteristics of self-indulgence. The clear idea here in the first three verses is that this rich person whose core heart sin is self-indulgence has acquired more than he needed. At the end of verse 3 the ESV translates it, "you have laid up treasure in the last days." But I like the way the NIV does, "You have hoarded wealth." You have hoarded treasure. It's a better translation because hoarding is a negative term. So this becomes for us another test of genuine faith. Genuine faith does not hoard wealth. If your faith is weak, then you hoard. That's what weak faith does. Now HOW hoarding and faith are related is important to see and we can easily illustrate this from the OT. Do you remember the children of Israel when they were out in the wilderness, the Bible says that God would provide for them manna every day. But they were only supposed to gather a day's worth. They were not to gather any more than one day's worth of manna. What was the purpose of that exercise? It was to teach them to trust that God would provide for them. He said to them, "I don't want you to hoard. I only want you to gather what you need for that day. I don't want you to gather into the pantry a month's worth of food because then you are going to forget about me. You will trust in your pantry instead of in me." So he intentionally told them to trust in God BY NOT HOARDING. I will provide for your needs. Now very predictably we are told that some of them did not have faith. Well, I know God said this stuff will come tomorrow, but what if doesn't. There's plenty now and I don't want to be hungry. And so they hoarded. They took more than they needed for the day. And God made that food rot. Worms came pouring out of the manna. He graciously allowed the resource to fail them so that they would learn to trust not in the manna but in the God of the manna. To trust in Him instead of His gifts. Over time, as God proved himself faithful, again and again, every day there was the manna, they learned to trust and they stopped hoarding. So do you see how faith is related to hoarding? Genuine faith doesn't hoard. Genuine faith doesn't worry that it's up to me to provide for tomorrow and I've got to worry, worry, worry because right now it's pouring money and I've got to strike while the iron is hot, I've got to make hay while there's sun, and who knows how long this season of plenty is going to last, and I've got to fill my barns because the drought might come. I've got to live like Joseph in the 7 years of plenty because famine is coming. - I am in charge of my future security. - I need to fortify myself against danger. - I need to insulate myself with every conceivable financial advantage so that the unforeseen disasters of the world don't destroy me. That's faithless living folks. Genuine faith doesn't think like that. Now it's easy to get upset at this point, and perhaps you are upset right now, "What are you saying? Are you saying I'm not supposed to save? I'm not supposed to work hard? Should I just empty my 401k? Live paycheck to paycheck? Is that the idea? The easy way to answer that is by making a distinction between hoarding and saving. The Bible is pro-saving and anti-hoarding. In fact, there are plenty of places in the Bible where God rebukes those who do not save and do not work hard. God wants us to be like ants. Do you remember the Proverbs? Some people hear, live by faith and they think, "Sweet, I never liked work anyway. I'm going to trust God." That attitude is the attitude of the sluggard. Paul says, "You don't work; you don't eat." The sluggard never thinks about tomorrow. They are buried in debt, paycheck to paycheck, reckless spending. If you know a rent payment is coming, then don't go buy that new toy. Save for expenses you know will be present. Some day you will not be able to physically work so prepare. That's a basic concept that the Bible approves of. The Bible is not against saving; it's against hoarding. Now here's where this gets real. When we hear this, everybody says, "Okay, I hear what you are saying, but this is so unclear. Where does it turn from necessary spending to greedy self-indulgence?" How do I distinguish between a need, a want, a luxury? - If I buy a $5k car is that self-indulgence? What about $10k? What about $10,001? - Is it okay to buy a 40" TV, 50", 60" 70"?  See you are legalistic. All these decisions are so arbitrary. And in kicking up all this sand, in demanding precise answers to unanswerable questions, in demanding all this nuance, we nuance away the command. This is what is known in formal logic as the fallacy of the beard. The fallacy of the beard goes like this. How many hairs make a beard? Does one hair? No of course not. Does two? No. Does 10?  Some JH boys think so. And so the reasoning goes, if you can't tell me the exact number of hairs that make a beard, then I've caught you! Beards don't exist. Just because you can't name a number, doesn't mean that there isn't a point where it becomes a beard. And just because you can't easily define self-indulgence, just because you throw your hands up and say, "Well, who could possibly define that?" Doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. As soon as you start challenging the concept of self-indulgence, you are probably self-indulgent. The point is you need to draw a line. You better figure out between you and the Lord what that means in your life. If you haven't drawn those lines, you will become it. Where's the lifestyle cap? Where's the limit where enough is enough. The more money you make, the greater a distance there ought to be between the lifestyle you live and the lifestyle you're capable of living. No Christian should live as well as they're capable of. Nobody. Why? Because, Christ commands us to give some away. Do you have a way of answering the question, "What is a necessity and what is a luxury?" If you don't have a way to do that, then your lifestyle will eternally creep up with your income. If you have not created a cap, then there is no cap. At the peak of Rockefeller's wealth he had 1% of the wealth of the U.S. economy. He had in today's money the equivalent of around 300 billion dollars which makes our modern day billionaires look like paupers. When asked how much is enough, his answer was, "A little bit more." Corrosiveness of Wealth   Now why is James/God so concerned about acquiring too much? Is he trying to destroy our happiness? ON THE CONTRARY! He's trying to protect it. He says, if you hoard wealth, it will rot you from the inside out. Look at the imagery here. He talks about the gold, the silver standing in judgment against them. He talks about that hoarded wealth corroding. Let me ask you, when do things corrode? Things corrode when they are not in use. If you take a brand new car, purchase it, park it in your driveway and come back in 30 years, it won't start. It will be worthless. The engine will have seized up. And everybody will look at that purchase and say, "That was a waste!" Why? Can't you do what you want with your money? No, we all know that money needs to be applied to noble, worthwhile purposes. And you know what is a terrible purpose. Self-indulgence. Money spent on pampering self is a bad use of money. When that money just sits in the bank, unused for God's purposes, it just has a corrosive effect on your heart. If you are not taking your money and using it to awakening people's hearts to the glory of Christ, helping people, using it to undo the ugly effects of sin, helping the poor, if you're not putting your money into people, using it to make a difference in the lives of people, it's corroding. If you just take your talent and bury it in the ground, just sort of sit on it, the money will rot your soul like Gollum in the cave with his precious. But we can go even one step further. You know what that is really saying? It's not so much cause and effect. It's not so much, love money and it will cause your soul to rot. It's more a statement of fact. It's saying if you love money, I'm sorry to say, but your soul has already rotted. It's saying if you sit on piles of money and have no plans to use that money for God and his people, it's a sign your heart is dead. The only kind of flesh that rots is dead flesh. So if you see the vultures circling, there must be something dead. Here's a test that never lies: When all you have to live for is money, you know your soul has died. Cheating Others   So the first characteristic of the corrosive nature of self-indulgence is desiring more than we need. If you have wealth, that's something you are going to have to constantly prune in your life. There's a second thing he says here. Now notice what the text says here. When you love money, you have a tendency to take people for all they're worth. You have a tendency to step on people for your own financial gain. People are tools. You treat people like tools. People are like drills. How do you think about drills? You think about a drill like this: I don't want to use my precious fingernail to bore a hole into this beam. So I'll abuse my drill instead. You toss it on the ground when you aren't using it and let it get rained on. When you do need it: - you just run them at max RPM, - you ignore the horrible screeching sounds it's making and you plow them into your project, - you let them do all the hard work, - you burn them out, - and the poor thing is smoking hot, it's burnt wires and you throw them aside and say, "This piece of junk burnt out in 2 years. - They don't make 'em like they used to. - Oh well, there's more where that came from." James is saying, "If you think of people like that, that's criminal." That's the expression of self-indulgence. If you are boss, do you have a tendency to underpay people, to pay the minimum you can get away with. Or maybe the wage is fair, but you keep trying to extract more and more out of your employees. You under-appreciate. You demand more and more. Expectations for availability and response time increase. What is driving that? Is it, really at the end of the day, concern for self or is it concern for others? Is it concern for your bottom line and not theirs? That's the corrosive self-indulgence James warns against. The opposite of self-indulgence is others-indulgent. So to indulge your employees is to pay more than they would normally get. You are indulging them in greater benefits than the competition. You are indulging them with more time off than other comparable jobs. Instead of asking more of your existing employees you hire at your expense. So that's the second characteristic of self-indulgence that James points out. Here's the third. Now we see this at two points in the text. Back up in verse one there's this really interesting point. What's up with that phrase, "In the last days." You've stored up treasure "in the last days." It's a really intriguing phrase. We see another hint of it in verse 5. You have lived in luxury ON EARTH. You have fattened your hearts in 'A DAY OF SLAUGHTER.' What is this last day and the day of slaughter he is referencing? How is that related to hoarding wealth? The imagery all through here is imagery of judgment. Notice in verse 4 The Lord of hosts. In Hebrew the word host is literally the word for armies. And it's used to describe God as this powerful leader of both earthly and heavenly armies. So James is saying, "In the name of the Lord Almighty, in the name of the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied, in the name of the Lord of the heavenly hosts who you have defied..." REPENT before the day of judgment falls. This is a call to repent. God is holy, powerful and determined to judge those who infringe his commandments. And one of his commands is to not love money. Here's the entire point James is making. People who have too much concern for money or whose lifestyle is so important they are willing to sacrifice others, their eschatology isn't straight. They are living for luxury ON EARTH. But that's all going to end in a blink of an eye. To be greedy IN THIS LIFE is to accumulate indictments and charges against yourself in the day of judgment. All the self-indulgence of this life will be evidence of your love of money rather than your love of the Lord. That wasteful spending on self, or that wasteful saving without any purpose, will come back as a witness against you in the "last days." James is making the point that the rich here, instead of acting to avoid that judgment, are, by their selfish indulgence, incurring greater guilt. They are like cattle being fattened for the kill. Think about the judgment day. Repent! Give, give, give it away. Many card games are set up like this. When the first person goes out, you count up your points. And all those cards left in your hand count against you. That's how God wants you to think about your wealth. Sure you need those high face cards to make purchases, buy a house and car, but you have more than you need so give, spend, go out giving. Have nothing left in your hand. That's the Bible's view of money. James is basically saying, "If you hoard wealth, - you've forgotten about the fact that Jesus Christ could come back any time and the curtain could come down. - You've forgotten all of your gold and all of your silver will rust. - You've forgotten those high face cards will be counted against you not for you. - You've forgotten the distinction between temporal value and eternal value." Don't be like the rich fool who spends his entire life investing in wealth to be stored. He put all his money in barns, realized he didn't have big enough barns, so he tore down his barns to build bigger ones and then he died. What good is his money now? Every Christian ought to believe in prosperity theology. It's just a question of timing. Do we prosper now or in heaven? Here's the problem with this last verse. The translators here have made a decision for you and you can't see it. So your understanding of the text is hijacked by a decision that a translator made for you. You didn't even know there was translation decision to be made. When you read this you assume that the rich person used his power and influence to murder the poor, right? But there's an alternate way of translating this text. Here's a little Bible study tip. If ever you want to know the most literal possible translation of the Bible, open up a translation called the Young's Literal Translation. Robert Young translated this in 1862 for this exact purpose. He was pretty frustrated at the number of translation decisions that translators made for you. What this guy did was just literally translate word for word without any attempt at readability. So if you don't know Greek, this is kind of the next best thing. It's helpful sometimes to see the kinds of decisions translators have made in order to make the text more readable. Here's YLT. Literally, in the Greek, this is what James says, "You have condemned and murdered the righteous One (singular) who does not oppose you. You have condemned and murdered the righteous One." The "righteous One" is what it says, literally. "who does not oppose you." You see, most of the translators say, "Well, in the context here, James must be talking about the rich person somehow killing the poor." First of all that would be pretty extreme behavior going on in the church. There's not really any evidence of this. But secondly, and more importantly, it doesn't say that. It says you murder the "righteous One." - It doesn't say you have murdered "the righteous ones." plural. - It doesn't say you have murdered "the righteous poor." - It says you have murdered "the righteous One." I would expect if he were talking about a poor man, it would say, you have murdered him and because he was poor he was not able to oppose you. But that's not what it says. It says, "you have murdered the righteous one who does not oppose you." It's saying that righteous one who was murdered could have opposed you but chose not to. He voluntarily did not oppose. I think this is a reference to Christ. So what is he saying? James says ultimately the reason - you're so concerned about money and the reason - you're grasping at it - you're abusing your employees like drills - you're stepping on people - you're fretting about money You know why? Because you have forgotten the RIGHTEOUS One who was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, but he didn't resist. He voluntarily died for you. You have forgotten what he has done for you. Your behavior in self-indulgence is the behavior that put Jesus on the cross. Have you forgotten that it was self-indulgence that put him there? The GREAT sin, the greatest sin, the sin of sins is loving self. It's indulging self. It's making the world about self. It's worship of self. You want to know what ultimately rots your soul? Loving yourself. Don't forget what Jesus has done. Jesus died to save you from loving self. This whole deal about money is just a symptom at the very top. Get to the root. The root issue is that God wants you to look at that man hanging on a cross and see him bleeding, see the thorns. Stare at them. Look at the spear in the side. Fix your eyes on it. Jesus died that death to save you from the sin of self-indulgence. From the sin of thinking that you are the center of the universe and that all the wealth and money and riches of the world ought to be funneled to you to make you happy. Jesus died to save you from thinking that God gave you money to elevate and deify self. That's what he died for. He died for self-worshipers. Let that sink in. That's why the bloodied Jesus hangs on the cross. Will you now, say "Thank you Lord for dying for my self-indulgence and then continue to use your money for self in a self-indulgent way?" Are we now just going to go about life thinking about how to pamper ourselves? Are we just going to lazily spend without a budget and not think about the RIGHTEOUS One who is worth more than all the gold and silver, who died and did not resist because he loves you. Take Responsibility I want to end with a call to be courageous. What is courage? Courage is the ability to do something that is frightening. Here's something that takes incredible courage. Stand up and speak the words, "I take full responsibility for my idolatrous heart. I am the self-indulgent sinner who nailed Christ to the cross. My credit card statements say so. My bank balances say so. Look at my receipts." We need to take full responsibility for how we think/believe and act. You and I are not robots forced to respond to the stimulus around us. We are free-standing moral agents. And as free standing moral agents we have been given the ability to love differently. - We have been given the ability to set our affections on things above, not on things that are on earth. - We have been given the ability to look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are unseen. - We have been given freedom to love the Lord our God with all our hearts all our souls and all our minds and love our neighbor as ourselves....to not indulge self. So, as Americans, most of us are wealthy. Most of us need to prune, prune, prune, weed, weed and weed these ugly self-indulgent attitudes out of the heart. Let's do that right now as we close.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 55 Psalm 55 (Listen) Cast Your Burden on the Lord To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David. 55   Give ear to my prayer, O God,    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!2   Attend to me, and answer me;    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,3   because of the noise of the enemy,    because of the oppression of the wicked.  For they drop trouble upon me,    and in anger they bear a grudge against me. 4   My heart is in anguish within me;    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.5   Fear and trembling come upon me,    and horror overwhelms me.6   And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!    I would fly away and be at rest;7   yes, I would wander far away;    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah8   I would hurry to find a shelter    from the raging wind and tempest.” 9   Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;    for I see violence and strife in the city.10   Day and night they go around it    on its walls,  and iniquity and trouble are within it;11     ruin is in its midst;  oppression and fraud    do not depart from its marketplace. 12   For it is not an enemy who taunts me—    then I could bear it;  it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—    then I could hide from him.13   But it is you, a man, my equal,    my companion, my familiar friend.14   We used to take sweet counsel together;    within God's house we walked in the throng.15   Let death steal over them;    let them go down to Sheol alive;    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. 16   But I call to God,    and the LORD will save me.17   Evening and morning and at noon    I utter my complaint and moan,    and he hears my voice.18   He redeems my soul in safety    from the battle that I wage,    for many are arrayed against me.19   God will give ear and humble them,    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah  because they do not change    and do not fear God. 20   My companion2 stretched out his hand against his friends;    he violated his covenant.21   His speech was smooth as butter,    yet war was in his heart;  his words were softer than oil,    yet they were drawn swords. 22   Cast your burden on the LORD,    and he will sustain you;  he will never permit    the righteous to be moved. 23   But you, O God, will cast them down    into the pit of destruction;  men of blood and treachery    shall not live out half their days.  But I will trust in you. Footnotes [1] 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 55:20 Hebrew He (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Genesis 50:1–14 Genesis 50:1–14 (Listen) 50 Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. 4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.'” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;1 it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. Footnotes [1] 50:11 Abel-mizraim means mourning (or meadow) of Egypt (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 2 Chronicles 28 2 Chronicles 28 (Listen) Ahaz Reigns in Judah 28 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,1 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. Judah Defeated 5 Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. 6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king. 8 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. 10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God? 11 Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.” 12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. 15 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. 16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king2 of Assyria for help. 17 For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. 18 And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully3 and had been very unfaithful to the LORD. 20 So Tiglath-pileser4 king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him. Ahaz's Idolatry 22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD—this same King Ahaz. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the LORD, the God of his fathers. 26 Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 28:3 Hebrew made his sons pass through the fire [2] 28:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate (compare 2 Kings 16:7); Hebrew kings [3] 28:19 Or wildly [4] 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Acts 21:17–23:11 Acts 21:17–23:11 (Listen) Paul Visits James 17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,1 and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them. Paul Arrested in the Temple 27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!” Paul Speaks to the People 37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language,2 saying: 22 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language,3 they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel4 according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand5 the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' 17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” Paul and the Roman Tribune 22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,6 Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. Paul Before the Council 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. 23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Footnotes [1] 21:25 Some manuscripts omit and from what has been strangled [2] 21:40 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic) [3] 22:2 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic) [4] 22:3 Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated [5] 22:9 Or hear with understanding [6] 22:25 Or when they had tied him up with leather strips (ESV)

I started noticing the word "unrighteousness" in the Bible. I thought, why not use a stronger word like wickedness or depravity? Why just put an “un” in front of righteousness? But I'm not an ancient language scholar, and I assume Bible translation teams know what they're doing. So, I let the question remain in my mind, holding it loosely to see if God might answer..And soon after, I noticed something. A young deer, lifeless, discarded on the side of the road. It was probably hit by a car on its way to the woods. Maybe it was following its mother but got scared and froze. Maybe the driver stopped. Maybe they didn't. But now, the body that was once warm and breathing was now cold, its insides turned outward. Pink. Those innards, those intestines and kidneys, should have been tucked safely inside the deer's belly. Kept warm by skin and fur. Instead, someone had draped an old coat over the dead body to hide its ugliness. But the wind snatched the coat away..Un-righteous. A perversion of what is right and good. Wholeness become un-wholeness. Life become death. Innocence become collateral damage. That's what sin does. Sin takes what is good and lovely and turns its insides out. That's what happened to the world when the first humans went their own way against God. All that God made, everything that existed, was good. But our sin made things un-good. Twisted. Broken. Violent. Un-righteous. Now, instead of doing good, we kill. We steal. We destroy. We let our greed trample the innocent. We revert to self-preservation and accusation. We do what is un-righteous..But God still loves His creation. He still loves us. And He came to save us. When Jesus lived among us, He embodied righteousness. All He did was good, through and through. No mixed motives, no “ends-justify-the-means” rationale. And yet, we killed Him. We turned His insides out, ripped at His flesh and exposed His blood to the sky. And He let us. Because He wanted to forgive us. . . and set His creation free from unrighteousness. Though Jesus's body hung lifeless on a cross, though Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus's cold corpse with spices and strips of linen before the tomb was sealed, death was not the end. Unrighteousness would not prevail. Because on the third day, Jesus the Righteous One rose from the dead. • Hannah Howe.• Where have you seen unrighteousness in the world or in your own life?.If we've put our trust in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit in us, who empowers us to live righteously. And when Jesus returns, He will put an end to all unrighteousness and we will live with Him forever in restored creation. How can these truths give us hope? .For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

Acts of the Apostles 22:1-23 NLT1 “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” 2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. 3 Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. 4 And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. 5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished. 6 “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 “‘Who are you, lord?' I asked.“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.' 9 The people with me saw the light but didn't understand the voice speaking to me. 10 “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?'“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.' 11 “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. 12 A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. 13 He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And that very moment I could see him! 14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. 15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.' 17 “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. 18 I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won't accept your testimony about me.' 19 “‘But Lord,' I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.' 21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'” 22 The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn't fit to live!” 23 They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. • • •Sermon Points:Life before Christ (v. 1-5)Encounter with Christ (v. 6-16)Life in Christ (v.17-23) • • •Supporting Texts:1 Peter 3:152 Timothy 2:24-251 Corinthians 3:5-92 Corinthians 5:17 • • •Challenge: The power of a Christian testimony is witnessed in the life change that God brings to a person's life. People might not like what we have to say about Jesus, but they will never be able to argue with the change that Jesus does in a person's life. Know your story. Share your story. It is not your job to convert anybody, but it is your job to tell the truth about what Jesus has done for you. Then leave the results up to God.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 39 Psalm 39 (Listen) What Is the Measure of My Days? To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 39   I said, “I will guard my ways,    that I may not sin with my tongue;  I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”2   I was mute and silent;    I held my peace to no avail,  and my distress grew worse.3     My heart became hot within me.  As I mused, the fire burned;    then I spoke with my tongue: 4   “O LORD, make me know my end    and what is the measure of my days;    let me know how fleeting I am!5   Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.  Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!  Surely for nothing1 they are in turmoil;    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 7   “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?    My hope is in you.8   Deliver me from all my transgressions.    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!9   I am mute; I do not open my mouth,    for it is you who have done it.10   Remove your stroke from me;    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.11   When you discipline a man    with rebukes for sin,  you consume like a moth what is dear to him;    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12   “Hear my prayer, O LORD,    and give ear to my cry;    hold not your peace at my tears!  For I am a sojourner with you,    a guest, like all my fathers.13   Look away from me, that I may smile again,    before I depart and am no more!” Footnotes [1] 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Genesis 36 Genesis 36 (Listen) Esau's Descendants 36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter1 of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates2 reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Footnotes [1] 36:2 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac son; also verse 14 [2] 36:37 Hebrew the River (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 2 Chronicles 13 2 Chronicles 13 (Listen) Abijah Reigns in Judah 13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah1 the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, 7 and certain worthless scoundrels2 gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute3 and could not withstand them. 8 “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. 9 Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination4 with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods. 10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the LORD who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. 11 They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken him. 12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.” 13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops5 were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. 17 Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. 18 Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron6 with its villages. 20 Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo. Footnotes [1] 13:2 Spelled Maacah in 1 Kings 15:2 [2] 13:7 Hebrew worthless men, sons of Belial [3] 13:7 Hebrew soft of heart [4] 13:9 Hebrew to fill his hand [5] 13:13 Hebrew they [6] 13:19 Or Ephrain (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Acts 6:8–7:60 Acts 6:8–7:60 (Listen) Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.' 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:   “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?43   You took up the tent of Moloch    and the star of your god Rephan,    the images that you made to worship;  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.' 44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.1 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49   “‘Heaven is my throne,    and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,    or what is the place of my rest?50   Did not my hand make all these things?' 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” The Stoning of Stephen 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Footnotes [1] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob [2] 7:57 Or rushed with one mind (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 37 Psalm 37 (Listen) He Will Not Forsake His Saints 1 Of David. 37   Fret not yourself because of evildoers;    be not envious of wrongdoers!2   For they will soon fade like the grass    and wither like the green herb. 3   Trust in the LORD, and do good;    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.24   Delight yourself in the LORD,    and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5   Commit your way to the LORD;    trust in him, and he will act.6   He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,    and your justice as the noonday. 7   Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,    over the man who carries out evil devices! 8   Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.9   For the evildoers shall be cut off,    but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10   In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.11   But the meek shall inherit the land    and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12   The wicked plots against the righteous    and gnashes his teeth at him,13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked,    for he sees that his day is coming. 14   The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows    to bring down the poor and needy,    to slay those whose way is upright;15   their sword shall enter their own heart,    and their bows shall be broken. 16   Better is the little that the righteous has    than the abundance of many wicked.17   For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,    but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18   The LORD knows the days of the blameless,    and their heritage will remain forever;19   they are not put to shame in evil times;    in the days of famine they have abundance. 20   But the wicked will perish;    the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21   The wicked borrows but does not pay back,    but the righteous is generous and gives;22   for those blessed by the LORD3 shall inherit the land,    but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23   The steps of a man are established by the LORD,    when he delights in his way;24   though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,    for the LORD upholds his hand. 25   I have been young, and now am old,    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken    or his children begging for bread.26   He is ever lending generously,    and his children become a blessing. 27   Turn away from evil and do good;    so shall you dwell forever.28   For the LORD loves justice;    he will not forsake his saints.  They are preserved forever,    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.29   The righteous shall inherit the land    and dwell upon it forever. 30   The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,    and his tongue speaks justice.31   The law of his God is in his heart;    his steps do not slip. 32   The wicked watches for the righteous    and seeks to put him to death.33   The LORD will not abandon him to his power    or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34   Wait for the LORD and keep his way,    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;    you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35   I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.436   But he passed away,5 and behold, he was no more;    though I sought him, he could not be found. 37   Mark the blameless and behold the upright,    for there is a future for the man of peace.38   But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;    the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39   The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.40   The LORD helps them and delivers them;    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,    because they take refuge in him. Footnotes [1] 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture [3] 37:22 Hebrew by him [4] 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain [5] 37:36 Or But one passed by (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Genesis 34 Genesis 34 (Listen) The Defiling of Dinah 34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your1 daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price2 and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” Footnotes [1] 34:8 The Hebrew for your is plural here [2] 34:12 Or engagement present (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 2 Chronicles 11 2 Chronicles 11 (Listen) Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom 11 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.'” So they listened to the word of the LORD and returned and did not go against Jeroboam. 5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah. 6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin. Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem 13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. 14 For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD, 15 and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made. 16 And those who had set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon. Rehoboam's Family 18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.1 Footnotes [1] 11:23 Hebrew and sought a multitude of wives (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Acts 3–4:31 Acts 3–4:31 (Listen) The Lame Beggar Healed 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.1 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant2 Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus3 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Peter and John Before the Council 4 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus4 is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.5 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men6 by which we must be saved.” 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. The Believers Pray for Boldness 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,7 said by the Holy Spirit,   “‘Why did the Gentiles rage,    and the peoples plot in vain?26   The kings of the earth set themselves,    and the rulers were gathered together,    against the Lord and against his Anointed'8— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Footnotes [1] 3:1 That is, 3 p.m. [2] 3:13 Or child; also verse 26 [3] 3:16 Greek him [4] 4:11 Greek This one [5] 4:11 Greek the head of the corner [6] 4:12 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women

How do you calculate the cost of something? I usually check the price, do some comparison shopping online, and try to figure out how long we’d have to save to afford it. More thoughtfully, the famous American philosopher Henry David Thoreau said: “I count the cost of a thing in terms of how much of life I have to give to obtain it.” Jesus taught that to be His disciple involved giving up everything (Luke 14:25–33). True discipleship holds nothing back. To love God is to keep His commands (v. 3; cf. John 14:23). One cannot exist without the other. John repeats this point from two different angles. First, if we claim to know God, but are habitually disobedient, our claim is false (v. 4). That person is a liar and walks in darkness. Second (by contrast), if a person is generally obedient, they do know God and have a close relationship with Him. Their love for God is “made complete” by their obedience, or in other words, obedience, walking in the light, is a result of God’s love at work within them (v. 5). As Jesus taught, a tree is known by its fruit (Matt. 7:17–20). This is how “we know we are in him,” that is, Christ, and have assurance of salvation: Love and obedience go hand in hand. At times, we can overcomplicate the Christian life. James got straight to the point: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). John did the same here: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (v. 6). As followers of Christ, we are to imitate Him, the perfectly “Righteous One.” We ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Then, we walk that way. >> Jesus said that if we love Him, we’ll do what He says. Are you following Jesus or headed in your own direction? Take time today to count both the cost and the rewards of walking in the light.

Imagine that you are given an accounting ledger with your name at the top. In the negative column is everything you owe God—your sins carry the penalty of death. You can never do enough good deeds to repay that debt. How can you balance your account? Then you hear about God’s offer of forgiveness. Jesus paid that penalty by dying in our place. When we put our faith in Him and accept God’s gift of eternal life, our debt is canceled! In today’s reading, John explains three identities of Christ that reveal how this can be true. First, Jesus is our “advocate with the Father” (v. 1). Like a lawyer in a courtroom, Jesus defends us. We are guilty of sin and deserve punishment, but Jesus took our condemnation on Himself. As a result, we are free, if we trust in His name for salvation. On this same basis, we can confess our sins and walk in the light. Second, Christ is “the Righteous One” (v. 1). He lived a perfect, sinless life—the only human ever to do so! He did not owe a death penalty but chose to die in our place. Third, He is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (v. 2; see also Rom. 3:25). Only someone who is perfect would be eligible to substitute for someone else. Only God could do that. So God the Father sent God the Son to open the way to eternal life (John 3:16). The Old Testament sacrificial system looked forward to what Christ would accomplish once for all (Heb. 9:12). In theology, we refer to this as “propitiation,” defined in one study Bible as “a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath and turns it to favor.” >> Have you received God’s gift of salvation in Christ? There is nothing you can do to cancel the debt of sin. But if you accept this gift, praise the Lord, your debt has been paid! Let today be the day that heaven rejoices in your spiritual rebirth (Luke 15:10).

Letter writing is a lost art. Today, people fire off emoji-laden text messages. Business communications are usually email. The slower, more thoughtful process of handwriting a personal letter is as rare today as some endangered species. I appreciate the craft, though I'm not sure I'm very good at it. Oh, sure, back in the day I wrote letters to my fiancé. But that ended with our marriage. But my wife and her mother exchanged weekly letters for decades. Several books in the New Testament were written as letters, including 1 John. The book has an intimate tone. Listen to 1 John 2:1-2, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (NIV) In two verses, John gives his purpose in writing and a solution. The purpose was to encourage the readers to live right with God. But if they didn't, he reminded them of the solution – Jesus. His death was the payment of penalty that accomplished forgiveness. That's what the words “atoning sacrifice” mean. His death as God's Son has the power to provide forgiveness to the whole world. What a wonderful thing to remember today. How to leave a review: https://www.sparkingfaith.com/rate-and-review/ Visit Elmer Fuller's author website at: https://www.elmerfuller.com/ Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

Pastor‭‭ Bill continues in our sermon series, The Book of AmosThe Book of AmosWeek 3You should know better.‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭10‬‬If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.Listen Up!‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭14‬‬I'm trying to get your attention.‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬We are still accountable to God.‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭13‬‬“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name.Study Guides can be found at www.springlakechurch.org/study-guidesConnect with us!https://bit.ly/2HOEX2Yspringlakechurch.org Need Prayer? We'd love to pray for you!https://bit.ly/3l8Ysll

With family: Genesis 23; Matthew 22 Genesis 23 (Listen) Sarah's Death and Burial 23 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,1 4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God2 among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels3 of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. 17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites. Footnotes [1] 23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20 [2] 23:6 Or a mighty prince [3] 23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams (ESV) Matthew 22 (Listen) The Parable of the Wedding Feast 22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants1 to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”' 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” Paying Taxes to Caesar 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.2 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.3 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection 23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.' 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” 29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. The Great Commandment 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Whose Son Is the Christ? 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44   “‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at my right hand,    until I put your enemies under your feet”'? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. Footnotes [1] 22:3 Or bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10 [2] 22:16 Greek for you do not look at people's faces [3] 22:19 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer (ESV) In private: Nehemiah 12; Acts 22 Nehemiah 12 (Listen) Priests and Levites 12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua. 8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service. 10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua. 12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel. 22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe. Dedication of the Wall 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. 31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east. 38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah,1 and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. Service at the Temple 44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs2 of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. Footnotes [1] 12:39 Or of the old city [2] 12:46 Or leaders (ESV) Acts 22 (Listen) 22 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language,1 they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel2 according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand3 the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' 17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” Paul and the Roman Tribune 22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,4 Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. Paul Before the Council 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. Footnotes [1] 22:2 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic) [2] 22:3 Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated [3] 22:9 Or hear with understanding [4] 22:25 Or when they had tied him up with leather strips (ESV)

Acts week 64   Acts 21:40 ESV   40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:                 Acts 22:1 ESV   “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”                 Acts 22:2-3 ESV   2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:   3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.       Acts 22:4-5 ESV   4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.       Acts 22:6-9 ESV   6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.       Genesis 2:24 NIV   That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.       Zechariah 2:8 NIV   8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—       Acts 22:10-11 ESV   10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.       Ephesians 2:10 NIV   10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.       Acts 22:12-16 ESV   12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'       Romans 10:9 NIV   9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.       Acts 22:17-21 ESV   17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'”       Acts 9:29-30 ESV   29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.       1 Peter 3:15 NASB   but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence                      

Pastor‭‭ Jack continues in our sermon series, The Book of AmosThe Book of AmosWeek 3You should know better.‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭10‬‬If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.Listen Up!‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭14‬‬Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing? Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything? When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— who can but prophesy? Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.” “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.” Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.” This is what the Lord says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.” “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty. “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.I'm trying to get your attention.‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬We are still accountable to God.‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭13‬‬“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name.Study Guides can be found at www.springlakechurch.org/study-guidesConnect with us!https://bit.ly/2HOEX2Yspringlakechurch.org Need Prayer? We'd love to pray for you!https://bit.ly/

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:22 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language,[b] they became even more quiet. And he said:3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'”22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

With family: Genesis 7; Matthew 7 Genesis 7 (Listen) 7 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals,1 the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs2 of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing3 that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits4 deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days. Footnotes [1] 7:2 Or seven of each kind of clean animal [2] 7:3 Or seven of each kind [3] 7:4 Hebrew all existence; also verse 23 [4] 7:20 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV) Matthew 7 (Listen) Judging Others 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Ask, and It Will Be Given 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! The Golden Rule 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy1 that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. A Tree and Its Fruit 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. I Never Knew You 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Build Your House on the Rock 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” The Authority of Jesus 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Footnotes [1] 7:13 Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy (ESV) In private: Ezra 7; Acts 7 Ezra 7 (Listen) Ezra Sent to Teach the People 7 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest—6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And Ezra1 came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. 11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.2 And now 13 I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury. 21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents3 of silver, 100 cors4 of wheat, 100 baths5 of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. 25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” 27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Footnotes [1] 7:8 Aramaic he [2] 7:12 Aramaic Perfect (probably a greeting) [3] 7:22 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [4] 7:22 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [5] 7:22 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters (ESV) Acts 7 (Listen) Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.' 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:   “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?43   You took up the tent of Moloch    and the star of your god Rephan,    the images that you made to worship;  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.' 44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.1 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49   “‘Heaven is my throne,    and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,    or what is the place of my rest?50   Did not my hand make all these things?' 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” The Stoning of Stephen 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Footnotes [1] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob [2] 7:57 Or rushed with one mind (ESV)

Why is the language of St. John's writings so different? (1:59) 1 Jn 3:7-10 Who is a model of righteousness?  Jn 1:35-42 Father tells a funny anecdote from today's Gospel Letters (18:31) - Father comments on the Seventh Day Adventists and the Second Coming of Christ   (25:41) - What does Moriah mean?  (27:10) - What is 'vicar' of Christ?  Word of the Day: Children (31:40) Callers (33:01) - Your opening comments on happy new year to blessed new year is the same shift that occurred with the Mass when they changed the word happy to blessed. (36:48) - Do we get our Guardian angel at conception or birth? and where is the Ark of the covenant now? (38:02) - Galatians: What does Paul mean by works of righteousness? (40:55) - When John was in prison he asked if Jesus was the one so why did he say behold the Lamb of God in today's reading? (42:45) - Why does the Church not talk more about the consequences of sin today? (47:05) - A friend of mine lost her husband. Can I wish that she feels the presence of her deceased husband or is that against Teaching? (48:40) - Why does Jesus change names of people and how does that relate with changing the names of popes?

With family: Genesis 3; Matthew 3 Genesis 3 (Listen) The Fall 3 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, ‘You1 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,2 she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool3 of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”4 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The LORD God said to the serpent,   “Because you have done this,    cursed are you above all livestock    and above all beasts of the field;  on your belly you shall go,    and dust you shall eat    all the days of your life.15   I will put enmity between you and the woman,    and between your offspring5 and her offspring;  he shall bruise your head,    and you shall bruise his heel.” 16 To the woman he said,   “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;    in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be contrary to6 your husband,    but he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said,   “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife    and have eaten of the tree  of which I commanded you,    ‘You shall not eat of it,'  cursed is the ground because of you;    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;18   thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;    and you shall eat the plants of the field.19   By the sweat of your face    you shall eat bread,  till you return to the ground,    for out of it you were taken;  for you are dust,    and to dust you shall return.” 20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.7 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Footnotes [1] 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 1–5 [2] 3:6 Or to give insight [3] 3:8 Hebrew wind [4] 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11 [5] 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis [6] 3:16 Or shall be toward (see 4:7) [7] 3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for living (ESV) Matthew 3 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”1 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare2 the way of the Lord;    make his paths straight.'” 4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” The Baptism of Jesus 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,3 and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,4 with whom I am well pleased.” Footnotes [1] 3:2 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near [2] 3:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness [3] 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him [4] 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved (ESV) In private: Ezra 3; Acts 3 Ezra 3 (Listen) Rebuilding the Altar 3 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia. Rebuilding the Temple 8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. 10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,   “For he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. (ESV) Acts 3 (Listen) The Lame Beggar Healed 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.1 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant2 Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus3 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Footnotes [1] 3:1 That is, 3 p.m. [2] 3:13 Or child; also verse 26 [3] 3:16 Greek him (ESV)

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, ‘Look at us!' And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Yeshua the Messiah the Nazarene—walk!' And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, ‘Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Yeshua, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Yeshua which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Messiah would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Yeshua, the Messiah appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, “THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED [Deuteronomy 18:15-16] to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, “AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED” [Genesis 22:18; 26:4]. For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways'” (NASU).

RabbiJesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John 1:38)?Resurrection and LifeJesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26)Righteous OneWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, (Acts 7:52).Ask me a question | kory.cunningham@gmail.com

1 The king's heart is in Yahweh's hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice. 4 A high look and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin. 5 The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty. 6 Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death. 7 The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right. 8 The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright. 9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than to share a house with a contentious woman. 10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. 11 When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom. When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. 12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked, and brings the wicked to ruin. 13 Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard. 14 A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath. 15 It is joy to the righteous to do justice; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity. 16 The man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall rest in the assembly of the departed spirits. 17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man. He who loves wine and oil won't be rich. 18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, the treacherous for the upright. 19 It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and fretful woman. 20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up. 21 He who follows after righteousness and kindness finds life, righteousness, and honor. 22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the strength of its confidence. 23 Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles. 24 The proud and arrogant man—"Scoffer" is his name— he works in the arrogance of pride. 25 The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 There are those who covet greedily all day long; but the righteous give and don't withhold. 27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination— how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind! 28 A false witness will perish. A man who listens speaks to eternity. 29 A wicked man hardens his face; but as for the upright, he establishes his ways. 30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh. 31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with Yahweh. Listen Subscribe: Proverbs Daily Podcast Psalms Daily Podcast

Welcome to Day 2092 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Book of Proverbs – Chapter 21 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2092 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2092 of our Trek. Establishing good habits is imperative for living a Godly life and one habit I have practiced nearly every day for the past 45+ years of my adult life is to read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. This single habit has been the catalyst for gaining wisdom and creating a living legacy. Adopting this habit can do the same for your life. The realization that God's Wisdom is the only true wisdom drives me to seek God's wisdom each day, and there is no better way to do this than to meditate on God's book of Wisdom. Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. So we are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today I will read Proverbs 21. The Book of Proverbs - Chapter 21 21 The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases. 2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. 3 The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. 4 Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin. 5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. 6 Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.[a] 7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8 The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road. 9 It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. 10 Evil people desire evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them. 11 If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise; if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser. 12 The Righteous One[b] knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked; he will bring disaster on them. 13 Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. 14 A secret gift calms anger; a bribe under the table pacifies...