Sermon Series

Background on Exodus

Author As with the other books of the Torah or Pentateuch, Moses has traditionally been acknowledged as the author of Exodus. While there is no direct claim to Moses’ authorship within the book (though an indirect argument could be made from God’s commands for Moses to write down His law), Jesus validates Moses as the …

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Rethinking the Relationship Between Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Songs

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VQNZtJJkV6FhlCiBHXfYU?si=iE1UymdURS6L_VOMJRS1Eg Saying that you have a favorite book of the Bible kind of feels as wrong as saying that you have a favorite child. It is all God's inspired Word, so we should love all of it equally, right? Well, maybe favoritism is the wrong way to think of it; nevertheless, I do think that …

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Six Principles for Reading the Bible

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ovbQi9imqJudNgeJT4vj3?si=idFHH_wHQeWyjmVziedRyg My reading goal for 2023 is to go deeper rather than merely wider. From 2017 onward, I have aimed to read fifty-two books each year, and there are great benefits to be gained from reading widely. Yet my plan for this year is less about variety and more about meditative chewing. For example, I …

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Looking Forward | Looking Back (2022)

A couple of years ago I began the tradition of ending the year by writing a post looking forward to the year ahead and back upon the year now behind. This is that post for 2022-2023. Looking forward to 2023, I will not make too many plans, since my wife and I are expecting our …

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Fragments from the Burial

You may have noticed that Sunday's sermon had significantly less quotations than normal. That is because I ended up going in a different direction with the sermon than I typically do. Rather than focusing upon the centurion, the women, and Joseph in detail, I decided to largely focus on the three together as example of …

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Allow Me to Vent: How Not to Be a Grumbling Israelite

https://open.spotify.com/episode/02bQ2rFGf7j7tXZvJO8XQb?si=2j3SdsUYR-yZxan_oPdH_w Another Thanksgiving is in the books, placing us firmly in the midst of the holiday season. Although Christmas/Advent is my favorite time of year, I will likely receive your solemn nod of agreement when I say that these days never go as smoothly or joyfully as planned. Now we could point to a multitude …

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Fragments from the Cross

I frequently tell others that one of the most difficult parts of sermon preparation is deciding what to leave behind. Since God's Word is infinitely profitable, no one can ever mine the full depths of even one passage or one verse. Thus, after spending time in study, I have never come away wondering if I …

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The King Has Conquered

Background on the Gospel of Mark

Author Like the other Gospels, Mark is technically anonymous; however, as the title declares, tradition has long held John Mark to be the author. Theme Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Background John Mark is first spoken of in Acts 13. When Paul set out on his first missionary journey with Barnabas, we …

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Preorder My Advent Devotional & Help Fund Our Adoption

October means that the season of Advent is just around the corner! As a way to fundraise for our adoption process from my wife's home country of Colombia, we are selling an Advent devotional written by me and designed by Tiff. If you would like to purchase one or more books, please fill out the …

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Forgiveness Might Not Mean What You Think It Means

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0yrCc9X4HJvWFS5LiLKPOm?si=Z7GMVBSmSUmyRAY5FtjQwQ I was not planning to write anything about the recent student loan forgiveness act from the Biden administration, but then I kept seeing social media posts making, in various wordings, the following point: Christians should not be opposed to student loan forgiveness because our entire belief system is built upon being forgiven of our …

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