Stonebridge Bible Church Sermons

Widely regarded as a children's story or a "whale's tale," Jonah is a text many of us ought to look at with fresh eyes. It is the living word of God. It’s also ridiculed by scholars because they cannot abide a man being swallowed by a large fish and survive. They have worked overtime to dismiss and re-interpret or allegorize the account entirely. G. Campbell Morgan: Men have been looking so hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God. This is a good reminder for how we want to read the Scripture: As God’s living word.  Nineveh was a famous literal city. God sent His prophet Jonah to warn of impending doom; Jonah tries to escape his duty and the story unfolds.  Today, Michael teaches an overview of the book of Jonah. 

Michael teaches an overview of the book of Obadiah. We don't know a lot about the prophet Obadiah or the exact timeframe in which this was written, but we know a lot about his message. It's very clear.

Amos prophesied during a period of national optimism in Israel… But below the surface, greed and injustice were festering. The prophet Amos strives to remind God’s people who He is, what He has promised, and to contend that He will indeed do as He said. He is unchanging and His Word is sure. Michael teaches an overview of the book of Amos, perhaps the oldest book of the Minor Prophets. 

Joel uses a recent calamity in the nation of Judah to teach his hearers a prophetic lesson. A locust plague had invaded the land, destroying every green thing in its path. Grapevines were stripped clean; grain fields lay bare; fruit trees stood leafless and unproductive. The devastation was so complete that even grain offerings to God were impossible. Joel uses the locust invasion as the starting point of his sermon. As bad as the locust plague was, it would pale by comparison with what God was about to bring upon His people. An army from the north would come to attack the nation, leaving behind devastation even more complete than that of the locusts. The only hope for Joel’s hearers: heartfelt repentance before that terrible day arrives.  Joel 1:1 “The Word of the Lord that came to Joel” – this underscores that this is the very word of God, and I don’t think we can be reminded of this too often. What Joel received, Judah heard, and today we’re reading it.  Join us as Michael teaches on Joel, a small but influential text which calls us to repentance.

Michael teaches an overview of the book of Hosea. Though judgment and destruction are sure, salvation will come. Hosea is called by God to prophesy during Israel’s last hours, just as Jeremiah would be called years later to prophesy to the crumbling kingdom of Judah. Hosea’s personal tragedy becomes an intense illustration of Israel’s national tragedy. It is a story of one-sided to love and faithfulness—between a prophet and his faithless wife (Hosea and Gomer) and Jehovah and His faithless people. Just as Gomer is married to Hosea, Israel is betrothed to God. In both cases the bride plays the harlot and runs after other lovers. But unconditional love keeps seeking even when it is spurned. In Hosea’s case, that means buying back his wife from the slave market; for Israel it means purifying punishment followed by restoration to the Land of Promise."

Michael teaches the first apocalyptic text in the Bible, the book named for Daniel, the exile whose pious life in among a pagan culture drew attention from his enemies and favor from His God. Sometimes referred to as the “Apocalypse of the Old Testament,” Daniel presents a majestic sweep of prophetic history. The Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans will come and go, but God will establish His people forever. Nowhere is this theme more apparent than in the life of Daniel, a young God-fearing Jew transplanted from his homeland and raised in Babylonia. His adventures—and those of his friends—in the palace, the fiery furnace, and the lion’s den show that even during the Exile God has not forgotten His chosen nation. And through Daniel, God provides dreams—and interpretations of dreams—designed to convince Jew and Gentile alike that wisdom and power belong to Him alone!

Michael teaches through the book named for the prophet Ezekiel.  Ezekiel prophesies among the Jewish exiles in Babylon during the last days of Judah’s decline and downfall. His ministry is in some ways similar to that of his older contemporary, Jeremiah. But while Jeremiah delivers a chilling message of destruction in Jerusalem, Ezekiel brings a warming message of reconstruction in Babylon. Jeremiah is a man of tears, Ezekiel is a man of visions. Join us as we look at what his visions reveal to us about God’s judgment, righteousness, and mercy.

Michael teaches an overview of the book of Lamentations. A mournful post-script to the longest book of the Bible (Jeremiah), Lamentations serves a sure and certain warning. As God’s people grieve the loss of the Tabernacle because of Jerusalem's sin, heaven remains silent. Yet the book contains more than just the backward glances of a vindicated prophet. ‘It is a mute reminder that sin, in spite of all its allurement and excitement, carries with it heavy weights of sorrow, grief, misery, barrenness, and pain. It is the other side of the eat, drink, and be merry’ coin’ (Charles R. Swindoll, The Lamentations of Jeremiah, “Introduction”). Lamentations both mourns the fall of the city and offers reproof, instruction, and hope to its survivors.”  So, what does this tell us about who God is? How should we read and respond to this difficult text? The encouragement found in the sorrowful prose of this book may surprise you–and even offer hope: God’s lovingkindness never ceases.

Michael returns to the Big Book Cover to Cover series, teaching on the book of Jeremiah, the second-longest in the Bible. We know more about Jeremiah's life than we know of any other prophet. For 40+ years, Jeremiah ministers to Judah and to Gentile nations, announcing God’s judgement due to their apostasy, idolatry, false worship, and overall decay as God’s people. Unfortunately, the recipients of his message chose to “beat the messenger” rather than heed the message.

Michael teaches on Psalm 111.