Chapter & Verse

Samson Harris · December 17, 2025

Pastor Adam Wood · December 14, 2025

Pastor Adam Wood · Luke 1:46–55 · December 14, 2025

Adult Sunday School: Our Great God · Pastor Adam Wood · December 14, 2025

The Heart of the Bible—The Book of Psalms · Pastor Adam Wood · Psalm 51:1–12 · December 10, 2025

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand—The Book of Matthew · Pastor Adam Wood · Matthew 19:3–12 · December 7, 2025

Pastor Adam Wood · 1 Timothy 3:16 · December 7, 2025

Adult Sunday School: Our Great God · Pastor Adam Wood · December 7, 2025

The Heart of the Bible—The Book of Psalms · Pastor Adam Wood · Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 11–12 · December 3, 2025

Transcript:
Alright, Psalm number 51 tonight. You wanna go ahead and get ahead of the game? You can go to 2 Samuel chapter 11 as well. Psalm number 51. We're gonna go ahead and read the Psalm, and then we're gonna go to 2 Samuel. We're gonna spend a fair amount of time tonight reading, which is not something we often do, but sometimes when you're studying a passage of scripture, the context calls for a certain familiarity with the surrounding events so that you can get a better understanding of what is happening in the text before you. So that's where we're at in Psalm 51. The subtitle here says, "'To the chief musician, a Psalm of David, "'when Nathan the prophet came unto him "'after he had gone into Bathsheba.'" Verse one. "'Have mercy upon me, O God, "'according to thy loving kindness, "'according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, "'blot out my transgressions. "'Wash me throughly from mine iniquity "'and cleanse me from my sin. "'For I acknowledge my transgressions "'and my sin is ever before me. "'Against thee, thee only have I sinned "'and done this evil in thy sight, "'that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest "'and be clear when thou judgest. "'Behold, I was shapen in iniquity "'and in sin did my mother conceive me. "'Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts "'and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. "'Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. "'Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. "'Make me to hear joy and gladness "'that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. "'Hide thy face from my sins "'and blot out all mine iniquities. "'Create in me a clean heart, O God, "'and renew a right spirit within me. "'Cast me not away from thy presence "'and take not thy holy spirit from me. "'Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation "'and uphold me with thy free spirit. "'Then will I teach transgressors thy ways "'and sinners shall be converted unto thee. "'Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God. "'Thou God of my salvation and my tongue "'shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. "'O Lord, open thou my lips "'and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. "'For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. "'Thou delightest not in burnt offering. "'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, "'a broken and a contrite heart, O God, "'thou wilt not despise. "'Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. "'Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. "'Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices "'of righteousness with burnt offering "'and whole burnt offering. "'Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.'" Would you pray with me? Our Father, thank you for Psalm 51, how it has been useful to us and profitable to us so many times in our Christian lives. And Lord, as we study these things and the surrounding events that have led to Psalm 51, please give us understanding and wisdom. Speak to us, teach us, help us to see the scriptures and the truths and principles found therein in a way that we can apply to ourselves. Lord, guide me and help me to say what you have me to say in our short study here tonight. And Lord, give your people, give us all hearts that are open and receptive and inclined to receive the word in Jesus' name, amen. Now, as I said, we're gonna go back to 2 Samuel chapter 11. So if you'll turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 11, we're gonna go back to 2 Samuel chapter 11. Now, the reason we're gonna read these two together, Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 11, is because 2 Samuel 11 and 12 give us the narrative of David's sin and surrounding issues or surrounding events with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 gives us David, the inner working of David's heart during those events or shortly after those events. And by comparing the two, we get a rare insight both into what God is doing in David's heart and in how David is responding to his sin. And there are so many, this particular Psalm is just full of truth, full of truth that will help us. And I want to point out those things to you, but in order to do that, you have to understand the narrative. You have to understand what brings David to Psalm 51 and what, because a lot of Psalm 51 is hinges on these events. And you compare the two and you can learn a great deal. And it's a good principle in Bible study when you try to get the context. You can do this also with the book of Acts and the epistles. You can compare one is a personal letter, one is the narrative of those events, the history of those events. And by comparing them, you can draw, you can get insight. So chapter 11 of 2 Samuel says this, and it came to pass after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him in all Israel and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabba, but David carried still at Jerusalem. The first warning is you will stay, I will stay out of sin by doing your duty. That has nothing to do with sin. By doing the things and occupying yourself in the good duties that you have, you reduce the opportunities to be involved or to be tempted that otherwise you would not be tempted with. David should be out at battle. In other words, he should be at work, but he's not, he's sitting at home. David has duties before him, but he's shirking his responsibility. That's the first danger. Verse 2, and it came to pass in the evening tide that David arose up from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Some people have criticized Bathsheba. What is Bathsheba doing, bathing on top of a roof? Well number one, in this time roofs, roofs, somebody help me, Ms. Lynn is it roofs or roofs? Well you say roofs and roofs. She was going to give a nuanced, a nuanced. Roofs yeah, who's from Michigan? Did you say roofs? Does your mom say roofs? She's probably going to text right now. So some people criticize Bathsheba because she's on the roof. Well number one, the roofs were flat. Number two, and you think well she's bathing, well it's in all likelihood the lady is clothed. Because did you know in places where they don't have indoor plumbing, they would wear something while they bathe. That's the true thing in Cambodia. A lot of places they do that. So you can't look at well what is Bathsheba doing out, no what is David doing out there lusting after a woman he had no business lusting after. Don't blame the woman, it ain't her fault. She's just, that's probably where she took a bath. It's probably the most private place in her house to truth be told. Anyway I'm going to get on there. I don't give them on a hobby horse here. Everybody in this room knows that there's something behind what I'm saying that's kind of the force behind it but it kind of annoys me when people blame women in cases like this. And I've heard it personally and it's, anyway. All right. And David verse three sent and inquired after the woman and one said, Is not this Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in unto him and he lay with her for she was purified from her uncleanness and she returned unto her house and the woman conceived and sent unto David and said, I am with child. And David sent to Joab saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when David was coming to him Joab demanded of him how Joab did. David demanded of him how Joab did and how the people did and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet and Uriah departed out of the king's house and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. You might say, well why is he trying to get him to go home? He's trying to cover his tracks. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord and went not down to his house. And when ...

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand—The Book of Matthew · Pastor Adam Wood · Matthew 18:21–35 · November 30, 2025

Transcript:
Matthew chapter 18, and we will add the second part of what we looked at this morning. Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. And we'll begin reading in verse number 21 tonight. Now this morning we were talking about the issue of a trespassing brother. That is someone who has sinned against us and sinned against God and then also caused harm to us as a result of their sin. And the response, the biblical response to that person, and we looked at the various, at least some of the facets and reasons why the Lord says that this is the way to handle it. But it is natural when you're dealing with this issue of a trespassing brother that you come to the question of forgiveness. That is a natural outcome to the issue of someone that has sinned against you. Now in verse 15 and verse number 16 and 17 we see the progression where it's the issue or the sin and the addressing of that starts between just two people. And then it rises to three or four and then it goes to the whole church. And if still that person who is in sin refuses to repent and confess his sin, then he's to be of course disfellowshipped. But and that's of course the worst case scenario. That is not what the desire, the Lord's desire or it should not be our desire for sure when trying to address these kinds of issues. But that is sometimes the case. But what we address starting in verse number 21 is not the case of the man who refuses to repent, but the man who does repent. The man who does acknowledge his wrong and the man who does confess his sin. Because just because that happens, just because the person acknowledges what they've done and has confessed it does not mean that all of a sudden it's going to be simple for you as a person who has been hurt to just get over it and to forgive that person. And so that's why I say it's natural that the question of forgiveness is addressed by the Lord. Actually, it's brought up by our brother Peter immediately after this. But it follows directly with the question of trespasses. So we're going to start in verse number 21 and read down through the end of the chapter. Verse 21 says this. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven. Verse number 23. So Peter asked the Lord about how often we must forgive someone. And then he and so the Lord in response to Peter's question, after he answers a question, he gives Peter a parable. Now note, like in many cases, the parable is directly interpreted for us in the last verse of the chapter. So you don't have to really you don't have to understand. You don't have to like figure out what the purpose of the parable is because the Lord tells you in the in verse 35. But verse 23 says this. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, he was one was brought unto him which had owed him ten thousand talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold and his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made. You know, I won't take a long time here, but there's something to be said about the mention of not only the man, his wife, his children and his property. In other words, this man is in debt to God. And what is happening? It is affecting his whole family, right? His sin in the sight of God, because this is the picture of a man who does not who is who is not a believer, who is in great debt to God. And God debt in the obviously in the form of sin and how that sin has so dreadfully impacted his whole family. Verse 26. The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him in hundred pence. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou o'est. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay thee all. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servant saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father also do unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Let's pray together. Lord, in heaven we thank you so much for your word. Lord, we thank you for the sustenance and nutrition, spiritual nutrition that your word gives us on a regular basis. Thank you for your people that have gathered here tonight. And I pray, Lord, as they are ready to hear from your word that you, Lord, would be the speaker and the teacher and that you would help us to have a clear understanding of this truth of forgiveness and how you present it in this passage. Please guide me to help your people, Lord. Our eyes are upon you. In Jesus' name, Amen. I want you to note the word trespass. Note the word trespass in verse number 35, the last verse of the chapter. I'm trying to connect it to what we read this morning in verses 15 to 20. Because verse 35, the Lord gives the interpretation of his parable, but he uses the word trespass and the last word of the chapter, he says, If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. So again, that's the same idea is a sin in the sight of God, which is affecting another. So we're actually, whether we're talking about forgiveness or whether we're talking about dealing with a trespass in verse 15 to 20, we're actually talking about the same issue. We're actually talking about the same issue. Now in this parable, there are two debts that are in view. There's what you might call a vertical debt, that is a debt between the servant and the king. Verse 24 says this, And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. So that's the vertical debt. It has to do with God, ourselves in God. And then there's what we might call a horizontal debt. That's just my term. Verse 28, But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence. So this man also, there's a debt here between two servants. So there's this way and then there's this way. Now if you notice in verse number 24, the debt between the servant and the king or Lord is ten thousand talents. And the debt between the two servants, the one servant to the other is one hundred pence. Now we won't go into all the details about a pence, which we've studied it before, but the idea of a pence was you got one of those for one day's labor, sun up to sun down. So essentially 12 hours of work got you one pence, a British, obviously a British term. But it's just a pence is a reference to what in history is called a denarius, which is a Roman piece of money. So I'm just going to throw out some numbers because I want us to really understand the difference and the comparison between these figures of ten thousand talents and one hundred pence. So if you take one day's wage, which is one denarius, one pence, and I'm going to just put forth, say you work for twenty dollars an hour, just throw in a number out there, a nice round number, and you work eight hours a day, that would be a day's wage, one hundred sixty dollars. So you ear...