We begin by continuing our look at the intensity of the wrath of God by reading a passage on His rewards for obedience versus His punishment for disobedience.  In the end what we will see is that the strength of God's love is greater the strength of His anger.  Lastly, we wrestle with the statement of God calling Himself "a jealous God."  The key to understanding this lies in the fact that He is our loving Father who cares for us and will save us at all costs, literally, having sent His beloved Son to die for us.

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We continue our deep dive into the anger of God by seeing an example of Jesus was open and honest about it.  In particular, we look at God's love for children and how bad it is to cause them to sin and to turn them away from Jesus.  We then start looking at the intensity of God's anger, a wrath that is often described as "fierce."

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

Having seen that Jesus can save us from the coming wrath, we shift our focus to understanding what wrath is and why God has it.  The answer is rooted in a fundamental principle of values, that whatever we love and are passionate about, we also hate its opposite, the thing that opposes it.  To put it more simply, if you love love, you're going to hate hate, and no one loves love more than God. 

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

It is difficult to imagine a more serious topic than the one we will attempt to tackle over the next several episodes.  It isn't fun or entertaining; it is serious and admittedly scary.  Still, we have to debunk the lies and the myths about God's anger and wrath so that we can understand it and so we can help unbelievers to comprehend it as well.  In this first episode, we will begin with the end in mind, that Jesus can save us from it all.  Because of this, we need to put our trust in Jesus.  We also need to learn and embrace what He always did, the values of the Father, especially that of love.

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

Comedic Bible-story teller Jungle Jim goes over the long rivalry, the intense battle that Rachel and her sister Leah had when it came to trying to either keep or win the heart of their husband Jacob.  For Jacob it leads to two more wives, 12 sons, a daughter, and probably a whole lot of therapy.   In all seriousness, of the various lessons to glean from this story, probably the most important is that God sees it when we are unloved, and His heart is moved to have compassion on us. 

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

Theologian, zoo keeper, and world explorer Jungle Jim tells of Jacob's flight from his brother Esau - how he was instructed to go to his mother's families home town and the incredible dream he had along the way of a ladder reaching all the way to heaven.  After this, there is the tale of the most romantic story in all the Bible, that of the love of Jacob for Rachel.  Unfortunately for Jacob, Rachel's father Laban and her sister Leah throw a wrench into their plans that no one could see coming, literally!

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

From before they were born the twin sons Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah, struggled to get along.  Although Esau was the firstborn, Jacob founds ways to take both his birth right and his blessing.  Theologian and oh yes, former zookeeper Jungle Jim joins the show to tell us all about it. 

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

Oddly insightful(??) theologian Jungle Jim tells stories concerning the childhood and youth of Isaac, son of Abraham.  The stories include the dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael, a move that almost cost them their lives, and the most unusual request ever made by God of any man, the request that Abraham kill the very son of promise for whom he had long waited, Isaac. 

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

Unusual theologian that he is to say the least, Jungle Jim tells the story of how Abraham sends out his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac.  It is a story of prayer, of trust, of humility and of wisdom.  In the end, the tale leads to a young, beautiful wife of godly and noble character for Isaac, a woman named Rebekah.

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.

The often goofy theologian Jungle Jim continues his march through the Bible stories of the Old Testament, this time talking about how God called a man of faith, a man named Abram, to move without telling Abram where he would end up.  It is to this Abram, later to be called Abraham, that God gave great promises including one that foreshadowed the coming of Jesus, Son of God. Along the way we learn of Abram's wife Sarai, her servant Hagar and how Sarai's impatience led to the birth of Hagar's son Ishmael.

To see David Hicks on YouTube, click here.