Psalm 69 is kept in Scripture not as antiquarian reading but as practical instruction for how God’s people are to live through seasons of pain, rejection, and trial. Read two ways, it teaches two things at once: how suffering shapes a faithful soul (think David) and how suffering saves the world (think Jesus). Both perspectives are meant to form us—our prayers, our patience, our zeal, and our posture before God and our neighbors.
Tag: bible
Luke 22 — The Plot to Kill Jesus: When Religion, Rage, and Providence Collide
Luke 22 is not a fable. It is a dated, deliberate account of a week in history when the plot to kill Jesus was hatched and carried out. The Passover was in the city. The crowds were present. The institutions and the religious leaders who should have recognized the Messiah instead conspired to silence Him.
The Tithe Law: Worship, Stewardship, and the Care of God’s People
The tithe law is not a relic of an agricultural past to be filed away with the rest of ancient ceremony. It is a deliberate, emphatic command that shapes how a people acknowledge God as owner and provider. The tithe law confronts our assumptions about money, tests our allegiance, and orders the church’s life so ministers and the needy are cared for. This is not abstract theology; it is practical worship translated into how we use what God entrusts to us.
Luke 21 – Jesus’ Prediction of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Jesus’ words in Luke 21:5-20 are rooted in a very particular moment: he stands in the temple during his final week, addressing people who can see the stones and splendor of that building with their own eyes. He warns them that what they admire will not stand. The question the people ask is simple and…
Deuteronomy 14:1-21 – Dietary Laws – Theology of Holiness
God gave Israel the dietary laws to keep them separate from the gentile nations. Underlying the dietary laws is the theology of holiness. In this sermon, we will look at how these laws were necessary for the Old Covenant, but no longer required for the New Covenant. From a redemptive history perspective, the distinction between Jew and Gentile is not relevant. Under the New Covenant the distinction is made between those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ. Christ has come to remove the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile; therefore, the dietary laws are no longer necessary.
Deuteronomy 14 — Dietary Laws and the Theology of Holiness
Deuteronomy 14 places two things side by side that at first glance feel unrelated: instructions about how Israel was to mourn the dead and a detailed list of what they could and could not eat. The organizing idea that ties these commands together is holiness — being set apart to the Lord. The laws are…
Psalm 68 — The Victory of the Ascended King
Introduction: Why this psalm still matters Psalm 68 is not a gentle hymn about personal comfort. It is a battle song and a coronation hymn. It celebrates a God who scatters his enemies, gathers his people, and installs his king in triumph. Read as prophecy, it points beyond the ark and the tabernacle to the…
Deuteronomy 13 — God’s Case Law Against the Family
Deuteronomy 13:5-8 Outline What this passage is about and why it matters Deuteronomy 13:5-8 is not a quirky antiquated law about domestic cruelty. It is a case law designed to teach a single, urgent principle: when someone seeks to turn your heart away from the one true God, that effort is idolatry, and idolatry is…
Deuteronomy 13 — Case Law Against an Apostate City
Introduction: Harsh Law, Greater Mercy Deuteronomy 13 confronts a hard truth: idolatry is not a private matter. When a whole city turns from Yahweh, the problem is systemic. The law Moses gives for that circumstance—utter destruction—sounds brutal until we see its purpose. It is designed to stop treason in its tracks and to prevent the…
Grace Reformed Baptist Church 