In the life and work of Jesus we see that when the King of all creation is present, everything changes!

The second of Matthew's Miracles Narrative turn the focus from the outcast leper to the outcast Gentile.

In Matthew 8, Matthew starts to tell a series of stories about the miracles of Jesus. In verses 1-4 he tells of a leper who comes before Jesus asking for healing.

The prophetic writings can be a bit scary and confusing. There's a lot of talk about judgement and wrath from God that can cause us to want to skip over and ignore them. But when we do that we miss the vital truth that God is communicating through the prophets.

Yes, there are horrible judgements foretold for egregious injustices and sin (for more on this listen to last week's episode, "The Rise and Fall of the Monarchy"), but just as prevalent is the calling back of sinners to redemption, the reminder that God has not forgotten His promises (even though Israel has forgotten theirs!), and that God will be doing a new work that involves the promised Davidic heir and the giving of new life to God's people.

This is the final week of the historical books of the Old Testament and we end with the kings of Israel. Israel desires and follows a king just like the nations around them and they see the consequences.

In Leviticus 19:2, the people of Israel are commanded to be holy because God is holy. We see Jesus say something similar in Matthew 5:48. As we follow the story of the family of Abraham, we see how that is impossible without action being taken by the Lord Himself and how we still need that extra action today.

From Genesis through Revelation there are many themes that connect the entire story of the Bible, but one that is clear throughout is the theme of God's Presence. In the book of Exodus we see this in an especially clear manner.

The story of Abraham is one of the most important passages for understanding the epic story of the Bible. How is God going to bring redemption to humanity? Will we finally meet the Son of Eve who would crush the head of the Serpent? This sermon covers Genesis 12-50.

The epic story of the Bible begins in a garden and shows the relationship between man and God. It then shows how that relationship was broken, how sin progressed through each generation, and how desperately the world needs a redeemer.

This is the first sermon of a new mini-sermon series called "The Epic Story of the Bible". This series is intended to help us study and appreciate the Old Testament and to understand the overarching story that ties all the other stories together. Listen in and see the epic story that we have been invited into.