This morning we continue our consideration of Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. Last week we saw how Abraham and Sarah expressed faith in God’s promises—despite their advanced years—not only by believing that God would bring about what he promised but also by acting on their belief. And a key component …
This morning we have the privilege of considering parts of Hebrews 11, which, for obvious reasons, has come to be known as the “faith chapter” in Scripture. Now if we had to provide our own definition of “faith,” I imagine we would say things like faith is a hope—or a …
Last October we considered Matthew’s version of a prayer that we recite each week during the service, the Lord’s Prayer. This morning we have an opportunity to look at Luke’s shortened version of the same prayer. I’m always grateful that there are so many accounts of events in Jesus’ life …
This morning’s passage—following immediately after the Good Samaritan passage we considered last week—focuses on two sisters who, along with a third sibling, a brother, were part of a family that Jesus loved—Mary and Martha are the sisters and, though he isn’t mentioned here, Lazarus is an important third sibling in …
Over the past year, we’ve noted on a number of occasions that if we were asked to summarize the teaching of the 39 books of the Old Testament in a nutshell we would do well to use the summary Jesus himself taught, namely: Love the Lord your God with all …
In this morning’s passage we continue to see how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, manifests himself as the one true God not just over Israel but over all of the created order and over all nations. Naaman is a commander of the king of …
This morning we come to the last of the Elijah stories in our series in which he passes his prophet mantle—literally—on to his spiritual son, Elisha. As our passage opens, Elijah’s prayer that the LORD take his life, which we looked at last week,[1] is about to be answered. In …
This Father’s Day morning—and once again, a Happy Father’s Day to all who are fathers!—we have yet another snapshot into the life of Elijah, God’s prophet, and his ongoing confrontations with the wicked king of Israel, Ahab, and his ruthless Canaanite queen, Jezebel. The passage opens with Ahab telling Jezebel …
This morning we continue to consider how the LORD used Elijah to confront that evil power couple, King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician queen, Jezebel. In this season of planting gardens—Ron and I recently put in our vegetable garden—we see the drama in our morning’s passage revolving around Ahab’s …
Last week in considering I Kings 18, I mentioned that there was a three-year drought sent by the LORD due to the disobedience of his people. In this morning’s passage we see that even Elijah, God’s prophet, is affected by the drought but we also see that in the midst …
