Line Upon Line

A verse-by-verse study of Judges 11 and the story of Jephthah, showing how God graciously uses flawed people while warning believers not to live with one foot in the world. The teaching examines Jephthah's rejection, rise, rash vow, and tragic outcome as a caution against being shaped more by surrounding culture than by the true and living God.

Pastor Mark Childress teaches Judges 10:1 as a caution rather than a condemnation, tracing how Israel deconstructed, self-destructed, and reconstructed its covenant relationship with God in a single chapter. He applies the lessons of prosperity, pride, and lost humility to the church and concludes with a "well done" celebration of how the congregation is loving people and making disciples.

Through the account of Abimelech's bloody rise and fall in Judges 9, this teaching shows that when a people turns its back on God, they are left only with bad choices and reap ungodly consequences. The real problem is never merely the wicked ruler but a nation that has forgotten God, and the remedy is to keep our eyes on Jesus and fulfill our God-given purpose to make disciples.

A study of Judges 8 contrasting Gideon's faithful, God-reliant beginning with his prideful, vengeful, and self-glorifying finish, showing that in the Christian life it is not how you start but how you finish that matters. The teaching warns against trusting in one's own strength after victory and calls believers to lay aside sin and fix their eyes on Jesus.

Pastor Miles presents the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the most important event in human history and the foundation upon which all of Christianity stands or falls. Tracing the disciples' journey from following Jesus for selfish reasons, to fleeing in fear at his death, to becoming bold martyrs, he argues that their radical transformation is only plausibly explained by their having seen the Risen Lord.

A Good Friday meditation on how the cross—once a symbol of fear, shame, and death—became the worldwide emblem of hope and salvation through Christ's suffering. Pastor Miles surveys the full scope of Jesus's passion and explains why a day of horror is rightly called "good."

Through the opening chapter of John's Gospel, Pastor Miles examines three witnesses (John the Baptist, Andrew, and Philip), the seekers they encountered, and the skeptic Nathaniel, to call every believer to the work of being a witness who points people to Christ. The teaching emphasizes that Jesus came with a sacrificial purpose, seeks seekers, makes his followers into finders of seekers, and loves to turn skeptics into saints.

Through the story of Gideon in Judges 6–7, Pastor Miles teaches that God delights in using weak, fearful, ordinary people to accomplish great things so that He alone receives the glory. He calls believers to step out in faith despite their fears, beginning with small acts of obedience that God multiplies for His kingdom.

A verse-by-verse teaching on Judges 6 showing how Israel's idolatry brought the oppressing Midianites, how God sent a prophet to recall them to the words of Deuteronomy, and how God called the fearful, reluctant Gideon to deliver them. The message presses listeners to identify the "midianites" consuming their lives and to step forward in faithful obedience so God can pour out His power through willing vessels.

Continuing the story of Deborah in Judges 5, this teaching examines Deborah's song of victory as a model for how praise overcomes anxiety and how God calls His people away from the sin of inaction into obedient service. Through the example of the tribes who answered the call—and those who stayed home—it challenges believers to worship wholeheartedly and to actively serve as the hands and feet of Jesus.