Anxiety and fear can be crippling. Sometimes it slowly builds up and explodes. Other times it seems to come out of nowhere. Swirling questions and emotions. A tailspin of negative and mostly untruthful thoughts about yourself. Hopelessness. Darkness. Anxiety and fear are pervasive forces in the world, but they aren't new. Humanity has been plagued … Continue reading Psalms: Anxiety and Fear
We live in a world that in some respects is becoming more and more detached from nature—from God's created world. Certainly, humanity is called by God to make new stuff from what God has already created (Gen. 1:28) and we've made some amazing things. However, while we have harnessed the earth for our benefit, we … Continue reading Psalms: Nature and Worship
This past year I studied the Psalms A LOT. I got to study the Psalms in a seminary class (Hebrew 4), I went through the whole Psalter devotionally with two friends of mine at church (went through Tim & Kathy Keller's outstanding book The Songs of Jesus), and we're currently teaching through the Psalms in … Continue reading Psalms: It’s OK not to be OK
As followers of Jesus, we know that we are supposed to be on mission in some sense. Most of us are familiar with the "Great Commission" when Jesus commissions His disciples in Matthew 28. However, this is far from the only verse that tells us we should be on mission in the world. But what … Continue reading The What and Why of “Mission”
This blog post is going to be looking at the book of Exodus as a whole. This post will be discussing one of the main movements within the book itself. Let's dig in! Most of us know that the book of Exodus is about freedom in some sense. If I were to ask you to … Continue reading Exodus: Freedom From, To, and For
In previous blogs, we've already encountered several instances of the beautiful artistry of the Book of Exodus. It's hopefully becoming apparent that the author of Exodus is big on hinting at where the story is going. We're going to look at another instance of foreshadowing involving Moses and the people he will lead—Israel. The gist … Continue reading Exodus: Moses and Israel, Jesus and the Church
The note card read, "Zipporah". "I don't know who that is!" yelled one of the youth group students at our Church. We were playing a Bible guessing-game. Everyone had a notecard (either on your forehead or back, so you can't see it) with the name of a Bible character written on it. The goal of … Continue reading Exodus: Zipporah and her Sisters’ Ironic Declaration
The more I’ve read the Bible, the more I’ve come to realize and appreciate its artistry. I mean the writers are beautifully creative and carried along by the Spirit of God so it’s hardly surprising. Yet, I’m often gleefully surprised by the depth of God’s Word. The Book of Exodus has no shortage of artistic depth … Continue reading Exodus: Moses a.k.a the New Noah
A constant claim of the Bible is God's sovereignty. He is the true King—the only true God—whose plan of redemption will not be stopped. The book of Exodus details a battle of sorts between a false king and his gods (Pharaoh and his gods) vs the true King and the true God (YHWH). At the beginning of … Continue reading Exodus: Pharaoh Plans His Own Demise
God often uses women to thwart the plans of evil. We see it all over the Bible and I've seen it plenty of times in my own life. In the early chapters of the book of Exodus, God uses women (Shiphrah, Puah, Jochabed, Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter) to defeat the most powerful man in the world—Pharaoh—and … Continue reading Exodus: Two Women Defeat Pharaoh
