Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

The Text: Judges 20

The Text: Judges 19

Exploring the true nature of the Holy Spirit as a distinct person and not just an impersonal force. Discussing biblical manifestations of the Holy Spirit's influence. Delving into the ministry of the Holy Spirit as a nurturing guide likened to a godly mother, emphasizing the importance of abiding in truth and love.

Starting a project is one thing, and finishing it is another. For this reason, the wise preacher said that the end of a thing is better than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8).

"Again the children of Israel did evil" (Judges 13:1)This phrase begins the Samson cycle of the book of Judges. The phrase is so common in the book of Judges that it could be the title of the book. In particular, it is repeated at the beginning of every major section of the book of Judges and introduces a very standard four element cycle that we see throughout the book. 1. The people do evil in the sight of the Lord, primarily by serving pagan gods. 2. The Lord delivers them into the hands of an oppressor. 3. The people then cry out to God. 4. God responds to their cries by raising up a judge to deliver them. 

The Text: Psalm 139

When we baptize a child, one of the things we do is ask the congregation to take a vow together withthe parents of the child. “Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting theseparents in the Christian nurture of this child? If so, then signify by saying amen.” #ere is a very realsense in which we are all in this together. While each of us should make sure we are carrying ourown load (Gal. 6:5), at the same time we should also be careful to carry one another’s burdens (Gal.6:2), thus ful"lling the law of Christ. One of the things we should conclude from this is that there isa strong social component to child rearing.

The Text: Isaiah 15

These two passages display the complexity of the biblical witness on compassion. In the first, we are to clothe ourselves in compassion (literally: bowels of mercy), which leads us to bear with each other and forgive each other as love binds us all together. Elsewhere Paul “yearns for the Philippians with the affection of Christ” (Phil. 1:8). Affection and sympathy are bonding agents (Phil. 2:1), enabling us to be single-minded and in full accord. The Lord, who is compassionate and merciful, is our ultimate model for compassion, and he has given us the fathers and mothers as images of his compassion (Isa 49:15; 1 Kings 3; Psalm 103).In the second, we are forbidden to show pity or compassion on those who would entice us to idolatry. Similar commands are given with respect to first degree murder and lying in court (Deuteronomy 7:16, 19:13, and 19:21). In such cases, God is adamant that “your eye shall not pity them.” And again, in doing so, we are to follow God as our model, who executes his judgment without pity or compassion (Jer. 13:14; Lam. 2:17; Ezek. 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18).So how should we make sense of this?

The Text: Isaiah 14:12-32