Category: Sermons

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Isaiah 7:17-8:10 – A Sign of Judgment

Isaiah 7 and 8 address a question that is easy to recognize even when the ancient names are not: Where do you turn when you are afraid?

King Ahaz faced a real military threat. His answer was to seek protection from Assyria, a power much greater than the enemies at his border. Isaiah brought a different answer. Judah’s security depended on trusting God, not on purchasing the favor of a stronger king.

Here is the sharp edge of the passage: the power Ahaz trusted to rescue Judah would become an instrument of Judah’s judgment. Yet judgment would not cancel God’s promises. Running through these chapters is the name Immanuel, meaning God with us.

To understand the unusual names, invading insects, and overflowing rivers, we need to keep both truths in view. Judah would be humbled. God would remain faithful.

Deuteronomy 22:6-12 – Laws that Maintain Distinctions

What does a bird’s nest have to do with a rooftop railing? And why would laws about seeds, farm animals, and clothing appear alongside both?

Deuteronomy 22:6–12 brings these ordinary things into the life of Israel’s covenant with God. Its concerns are practical, but they are not merely practical. The passage addresses the preservation of life, the responsible use of creation, and the importance of remembering whom God’s people serve.

The central lesson is that stewardship carries responsibilities. Receiving something for your use does not give you permission to use it carelessly. That applies to a house, an animal, a field, and, by spiritual application, the people entrusted to your care.

Some of these commands are straightforward. Others raise difficult questions about their purpose and their application to Christians. Understanding them requires a distinction of its own: the difference between what the text explicitly commands, what its imagery suggests, and how a principle might apply today.

Isaiah 7:1-16 – The Sign of Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14 announces the birth of Immanuel, whose name means God with us. Matthew identifies this promise with the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. But the prophecy first appears in a setting that looks nothing like a peaceful Christmas scene. Judah faces invasion, its king is frightened, and the future of David’s royal house appears to be in danger.

That setting matters. The promise of Immanuel answers a question larger than how one king will survive one war: Will God keep his covenant when the people entrusted with his promises refuse to trust him?

Isaiah’s answer is that Judah’s unbelief will bring judgment, but it will not cancel God’s faithfulness. Ahaz looks for security in Assyria. God directs his people toward a different king altogether.

Deuteronomy 22:5 – The Theology of Clothing

Does God care what people wear? Deuteronomy 22:5 makes it difficult to answer with a simple no. The verse prohibits women from wearing what belongs to men and men from wearing women’s clothing, then describes the violation as detestable to God.

But that immediately raises practical questions. What makes clothing masculine or feminine? Does this command still matter for Christians? And how do we take it seriously without turning personal preferences into another set of commandments?

The central principle in the creation-order reading of Deuteronomy 22:5 is that clothing should respect, rather than deliberately erase, the distinction between men and women. Applying that principle requires attention to Scripture, cultural meaning, modesty, and the heart. It requires more than a list of approved garments.

Isaiah 6:8-13 – The Call and Commission of Isaiah

Isaiah 6 is often remembered for the prophet’s willingness to serve God. But willingness is only part of the story. Isaiah offers himself before he knows what his ministry will involve. Then he discovers that his preaching will meet resistance, deepen Judah’s hardness, and announce a judgment that God has already determined.

That makes this chapter more demanding than an inspirational message about finding your purpose. It asks a harder question: Will you serve God because of who he is and what he has done, even when the work is difficult and the results are not what you hoped?

To understand Isaiah’s commission, we need to hold together three things: God’s holiness, his mercy toward sinners, and his authority over the outcome. Separate them, and the chapter becomes either discouraging or sentimental. Keep them together, and even its darkest passages contain hope.

Psalm 77 – How To Respond in Day of Trouble

What do you do when you pray, but comfort does not come? When you remember God’s goodness, yet your present circumstances seem to contradict it?

Psalm 77 meets you there. Asaph describes sleeplessness, overwhelming grief, and questions about whether God’s mercy has come to an end. He is not writing from a comfortable distance. He is a believer struggling to make sense of suffering.

The central lesson of Psalm 77 is that hope grows as we bring our distress to God and deliberately remember his character and his works. The psalm does not promise that the trouble will immediately disappear. It shows how faith can recover its footing while the trouble remains.