Image by Zack Gross (2023)

Thanks for reading Pondering with Purpose! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This post is adapted from my teaching at Patmos on Ephesians 1:1–23.

Whenever I introduce a new book to my students at church, I love starting with a visual. So before diving into Ephesians, watch the BibleProject overview video. As it plays,notice the major themes of the letter: What is Paul trying to show us? Why does this letter matter?

The BibleProject makes it clear: Ephesians is about the spiritual realm, the unity of the Church, and the lordship of Christ.

Those three emphases saturate this entire letter.

And as we read our passage, Ephesians 1:1–23, pay attention to what it reveals about the gospel around four anchor points: Father, Son, Spirit, and prayer.

There’s also a refrain that occurs three times in this passage:“to the praise of His glorious grace.”In the live teaching, every time we hit that line, we read it aloud together.

As you read it you might read that part out loud too.

Reading of Scripture: Ephesians 1:1–23

Introduction (vv. 1–2)

Paul opens this letter in a very intentional way. He could have begun with any number of greetings or personal notes, but instead he starts like this:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus.”

Paul identifies himself first: an apostle: literally, a sent one, an ambassador, an official representative of Jesus Christ, by the will of God.

Right from the start Paul frames reality through the activity of the Triune God. His identity and calling are rooted in what God has done, not what he has chosen.

And that’s not just true for Paul…

“My hope is that each of you could say something similar: Zach, called to Patmos by the will of God… Justin, called to this job or that by the will of God.”

Where you are is not random.Your life is shaped by God’s initiative.

Then Paul identifies his audience:

“The saints in Ephesus, faithful in Christ Jesus.”

He could’ve described them in a dozen ways whether economically, culturally, morally but he chooses this: holy ones.Set-apart people.

Despite their struggles, failures, background, and environment, Paul declares their truest identity: holy people, faithful in Christ.

It’s both a proclamation and a gentle challenge:“You are this; so live like this.”

Knowing the story of the Ephesian church in Acts 19, it’s no surprise Paul begins with identity. He reminds them who they already are:a people set apart for God’s redemptive purposes in the world, in a particular place, at a particular time.

Just like them, you are a people in a place, set apart for God’s purposes.That’s the foundation.

After this opening, Paul launches into one of the most remarkable sentences in Scripture.In Greek, verses 3–14 are one single, rolling, cascading sentence as if Paul cannot contain the overflow of praise in his heart.

Before he even gets to his usual thanksgiving and prayer, he erupts with worship.

Why?

Because when Paul considers what God has done—Father, Son, and Spirit moving with unified purpose toward salvation—he sees the entire universe folding into this reality.This is ground zero for understanding everything else.

This entire opening is structured with a repeated refrain:

“to the praise of His glorious grace.”A refrain signaling transitions from the Father’s work, to the Son’s, to the Spirit’s, and ultimately into Paul’s prayer.

Let’s walk through each movement.

The Reality of the Purposes of the Father (vv. 3–6)

Paul begins:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

In Scripture, blessing always begins with God.He is the source of life, goodness, and abundance.When God blesses someone, whether Adam and Eve, Abraham, David, His words accomplish what they declare.

When humans bless God, we’re simply acknowledging who He already is.

And Paul does something remarkable here.He doesn’t say, “Blessed be the God of Abraham” or “the God of Moses,” the traditional Jewish formulas.Instead he blesses “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul, steeped his whole life in a Jewish worldview, has had his imagination so reshaped by Jesus that he cannot speak of God without speaking of Him as the Father of Jesus.

Why this blessing?

Paul continues:

“…who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

Again, God is always the initiator.As 1 John says,

“We love because He first loved us.”

Likewise, Paul blesses because God first blessed.

Here’s where many of us stumble:When Western Christians hear “in the heavenly places,” we picture clouds, harps, and a distant future location.

But Paul isn’t talking about some far-off realm.In Ephesians, the heavenly places is the unseen spiritual dimension that overlaps our physical reality, God’s space is present and active right now.

This isn’t “future pie in the sky.”It’s the truest layer of reality.

Paul then goes all the way back to the origin of this blessing:

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… in love He predestined us for adoption…”

This isn’t cold calculation.It flows from “the good pleasure of His will.”From love.From grace.

This is the master plan plotted out, rehearsed, perfectly executed. Better than any heist or movie ever.” The Father’s plan is first, ultimate, and overflowing with delight.

And Paul responds with the only fitting refrain:

“…to the praise of His glorious grace.”

This leads naturally to how Jesus Himself lived.Jesus said:

“I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me… I always do what pleases Him.” (John 8:28–29)

Jesus lived entirely from the Father’s purposes.And by His Spirit, He gives us the means to do the same.

The Reality of Being in the Son (vv. 7–12)

Paul shifts seamlessly from the Father’s eternal purposes to the Son’s redemptive work. He writes:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins…”

Notice the phrase “in Him.”Not because of Him.Not as a result of something He once did.But in Him.

Paul is talking about locationm, spiritual reality, and identity.

We think we’re “in El Salvador,” or “in this classroom,” or “in our hometown.” And those things are true.But even more true, at the deepest level of reality, we are in Christ.

There is a dimension of our existence that is unseen but more real than what we touch and feel.Paul keeps lifting the veil so we can see it.

Redemption (v. 7)

In Scripture, redemption always involves two things:

* A price being paid

* A person being set free

In Jesus, both are accomplished. His blood was the price. Our liberation is the result.

Redemption isn’t abstract. It’s bodily, costly, historical. Jesus’ physical life laid down on a cross.

Ryken puts it this way (paraphrased):

In the Exodus, salvation was from Egypt into the promised land.In Christ, salvation is from sin into glory.

It’s always a two-step movement:

Out of bondage and into fullness.

God never simply rescues from.He always rescues into.

This theme frames all of Scripture and Paul sees that movement unfolding in the Ephesians’ own story.

Forgiveness (v. 7)

Forgiveness means release, letting go, cancellation of debt.No longer do we carry the weight of our offenses.No longer do our trespasses define us.

Why?Because of the “riches of His grace.”Grace that overflows, abounds, pours out like a river that cannot be turned off.

Revealed Mystery (vv. 8–10)

Paul says God has:

“made known to us the mystery of His will.”

God wants us on the inside. He wants His people to understand the story they are living in.

In Christ, the divine plan, once hidden, is now revealed:

“…the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.”

All of history, all of creation, all spiritual powers, all human destiny —Everything is headed toward unity in Christ.

Inheritance (vv. 11–12)

Paul writes:

“In Him we have obtained an inheritance…”

But the language is intentionally ambiguous.Are we receiving the inheritance?Or are we God’s inheritance?

The answer seems to be:Yes.We get God.And in His love, He desires us.

Then Paul adds:

“He works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Not that God causes all things, but He controls the outcome of all things.Christ fills the Church, and the Church is filled with Christ.

I put it this way in the teaching:

“When you’re in the house, you can’t also be outside the house. When you’re in Christ, you are in Christ. You can’t simultaneously be outside of Him.”

This leads to one of my favorite quotes from Klyne Snodgrass:

“People sin because they forget God.How strange that we forget the very place we live.”

We live in Christ; in the life of the Trinity.From that place, we learn how to live for Him.

Thanks for reading Pondering with Purpose! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The Reality of Being Sealed by the Spirit (vv. 13–14)

Paul brings the movement full-circle:

“In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth… having believed, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

The order matters:

* You heard.

* You believed.

* You were sealed.

The image Paul uses is that of a royal seal a governor pressing his signet ring into wax to mark ownership.

God marks His people.He declares, “This one belongs to Me.”

The Spirit of Promise (v. 13)

This isn’t a new idea.The Spirit was promised long before Jesus:

Ezekiel 36:26–27

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you… I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees…”

Ezekiel 37:14

“I will put my Spirit in you and you will live…”

Isaiah 32:15

“…till the Spirit is poured on us from on high…”

This was always part of the plan when from eternity, the Father purposed to give His people His very own Spirit.

Down Payment (v. 14)

Paul describes the Spirit as:

“…the guarantee of our inheritance…”

In modern language:The non-refundable deposit.The first installment.Proof that God is not backing out.

God has invested Himself in His people.

And what is Paul’s response?Praise.Deep, theological, meaningful praise.The more he understands the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit — the more he worships.

Jesus Himself said:

“It is for your good that I go away… if I go, I will send the Helper to you.” (John 16:7)

Jesus lived a Spirit-empowered life.Then He shed His blood so we could be sealed with that same Spirit, knowing God, hope, and power.

And that leads Paul straight into prayer.

Prayer for the Revealing of Reality (vv. 15–23)

Paul begins:

“For this reason…”

For what reason?

Everything he just said.The Father’s purposes.The Son’s redemption.The Spirit’s seal.This entire Trinity-shaped reality.

Paul can’t move on without praying that the Ephesians would actually experience the truth of what God has done.

Paul opens his prayer with gratitude:

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

This is Paul’s pattern.Before he asks for anything, he thanks God for what He has already done.

Then he prays from a deeply Trinitarian perspective:

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…”

Paul isn’t praying for new information.He’s praying for revelation, apokalypsis, which is a pulling back of the curtain so they can see what is already true.

He wants them to know God more deeply, personally, experientially.

1. Know Your True Hope (v. 18)

Paul prays:

“…that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”

As one commentator put it, “What you hope for is what you live for.”

Christian hope is not merely about “going to heaven when we die.”It is far bigger: A renewed creation, a renewed humanity, a renewed world under the reign of Christ. This is the future God is pulling us toward.

2. Know His Inheritance (v. 18)

Paul continues:

“…what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints…”

Not our inheritance. His.

God counts His people as His treasure.His “riches.”His delight.

It is staggering to Paul, and he wants the Ephesians to feel that weight.

3. Know the Power Available to You (vv. 19–20)

Then Paul prays that they would understand:

“…the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe…”

He stacks up four different Greek words for power: power, working, strength, might all to make one point clear:

This power is not something you can earn, grow, or develop.It is a gift of the Spirit.

And what is the measure of this power?

“…the same power He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…”

Resurrection power.Enthroning power.Cosmic, universe-reshaping power.

And Paul says this power is toward us. It is available, present, active.

Christ Above All (vv. 20–23)

God raised Jesus:

“…and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion…”

In the Ephesian worldview, “rule,” “authority,” “power,” and “dominion” referred to spiritual beings, cosmic forces, cultural powers or everything that influenced the unseen realm.

Paul says Christ is above all of them.

And then:

“He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church…”

Which is His body.His fullness.The community He fills with His presence.

It’s like having the keys to the car but not realizing it. So you’re not driving it. The power is in the garage, available to you.

Paul wants believers to know what they already have.

Paul’s final movement pushes us toward response:

* Be holy. Live set-apart lives because God has already set you apart.

* Hope, riches, and power which are the very things the world chases are already yours in Christ.

* Does your life reflect the power of Christ?

* Does your weakness become a place where His strength shows?

For Paul, power is perfected in weakness.Patmos is a powerful example of this. A place where your weakness is unavoidable and Christ’s strength becomes unmistakable.

This entire chapter is good news:

* The Father purposed and planned our redemption before the foundation of the world.

* The Son accomplished it in His blood and draws us into union with Himself.

* The Spirit seals, indwells, guarantees, empowers, and reveals.

When Paul considers all this, he erupts in praise and prayer.A worldview shaped by the character and activity of the Triune God overwhelms him with joy, gratitude, and worship.

Conclusion

Ephesians 1:1–23 reveals the gospel through four lenses:

1. The purposes of the Father2. The reality of being in the Son3. The certainty of being sealed by the Spirit4. The prayer that we would see and live into this reality

This is the story truer than any other story in the world.

And Paul’s longing, and mine, is that you would not only know this story,but actually experience it:

* to know the hope of His calling

* to know the riches of His inheritance

* to know the immeasurable power available to you

* to live in the fullness of what the Triune God has done

May this reality shape how you see yourself, your world, and your God.

Amen.

Recommended Resource:

BibleProject has free seminary level classes and they did one through the letter to the Ephesians that I have thoroughly benefited from which you can check out here!

Image by Zack Gross (2025)

Thanks for reading Pondering with Purpose! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

INTRO:

I want to talk about an experience that I am sure everyone can relate to. It is a particularly prevalent experience in high school, but not limited to that timeframe. It is the experience of someone telling us something, parents, teachers, pastors, grandparents, etc, and hearing that thing, maybe even believing that thing, and then having a life experience that calls it into question. Some examples that came to mind: don’t swim within 20 minutes of eating, going to sleep with wet hair will cause a cold,

In this post, I want to talk about that experience of disorientation that happens when what we experience can’t fit into our grid of understanding anymore - in other words, we are talking about doubt.

When I was given some options of things to write about, I jumped at this one because this is something that is near and dear to my heart. I have had and continue to have profound experiences of real doubt about several things that I have genuinely questioned and continue to do so. I am not satisfied with easy answers, and I am unwilling to believe something just because I was raised to or my church teaches it. I want to know what Scripture actually teaches, what Jesus and the apostles meant, and how the earliest followers of Jesus understood them. That has led me to question things like the duration of hell, the timeframe of creation, end times prophecy, the historical accuracy of the Bible, how Christians should relate to violence, etc.

And as I have navigated these questions, I have been so very grateful to different guides and anchors. Most prominent among them would be the late Tim Keller. I am so indebted to him for helping to conclude that my faith is reasonable. It is not based on blind belief. Ultimately, I’ve concluded, as he puts it, “Faith is not opposed to reason because faith is not holding onto something despite the evidence but despite the appearance”. I want to have a reasonable faith, and that is not without doubts. So, as we think about this idea of Christianity and doubt, there are so many places we could go in Scripture to look at doubts and doubters, but we are going to use Psalm 73 as a launch pad for this idea.

As you read, I want you to think about this passage around these three points: What Doubt Is and Is Not, The Causes of Doubt, and The Response to Doubt.

Go ahead and read: Psalm 73

Asaph shows us in this Psalm that doubt is not the end of faith but part of the journey.

WHAT DOUBT IS & IS NOT (v. 1-5)

The superscription above this Psalm tells us that this is a Psalm of Asaph. These superscriptions are not part of the inspired scripture, but we have every indication that they are authentic. This Asaph guy is a Levite worship leader. So he is part of the priestly family. I find that really comforting that this doubt thing can and does happen to everyone, to a priest like this guy or to the disciples after spending 3 years in the 24/7 presence of God become human. If they doubt, then it seems safe to say that everyone will.

So Asaph begins with this truth claim in verse 1:

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

In the context of this Psalm, it becomes more clear that he is saying this less for others and more to himself. Either maybe sarcastically, certainly without conviction, maybe to try and convince himself. This truth about God that He was familiar with is not real to his heart. We begin to see why in verse 2:

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped

He is describing his journey of faith like climbing a steep mountain. That’s when you need footholds and when stumbling is a risk. With this metaphor, he is saying he nearly lost his faith. He nearly gave it all up. Why? Something broke. He had an experience that called into question what he believed. He began experiencing doubt.

He knows about God’s goodness, but his experience is not aligning with that. This experience, which he does not give exact specifics of, but of disorientation and slipping in his faith, would not be a problem if he did not believe in a God who is good to Israel and to those who seek Him. That is the heart of doubt: faith and confusion coexisting. So let’s clarify for a second what doubt is and is not.

I would say there are two competing ideas of what doubt is: in religious circles, doubt is often viewed as dangerous and as something to be avoided. “Just believe,” on the other hand, deconstruction and wallowing in doubts is in vogue - it is popular. Scripture and specifically the Psalms offer a more balanced and nuanced approach that is neither. Our doubts are not to be avoided, but neither are they ultimate. There is positive energy in doubt, but there is also a lot of sin in doubt.

Doubt is not the opposite of Faith:

There is a prevailing sentiment that doubt is the opposite of faith. But the problem with that is that the doubts are almost arising from the foundation of faith. Doubt is the tension between what we believe and what we experience. So it cannot be the opposite of faith because it is that very faith being worked out: This was the experience of Job and his friends. They believed in something called “Retribution Theology” that God always rewards the righteous and always punishes the wicked. So, for them, they concluded Job must have sinned, but poor Job knew he had not, and yet his experience disoriented him. He was not disbelieving in God; it was his very belief in God that was driving his questions and his doubt.

Doubt is not the Opposite of Faith; Doubt is the Working Out of Faith:

You don’t grow without doubts. Nearly every doubt has a genuine objection that, once worked through, will help you understand Christianity better. Job and his friends’ understanding of God and the way the world works was too small. It needed to grow.

There is something developmentally necessary about doubt that plays out in all of our lives. When we all began learning math, grammar, and maybe a foreign language, we began by learning the rules. We learn the fundamentals. And in all of these experiences, we get to this point where we start to see things that don’t fit the pattern or rules, and we are introduced to exceptions. “I before E except after C or when sounding in Ay as in neighbor and weigh”. You know what’s “weird” about that… exceptions to the rule. In the moment you encounter the word “weird,” you realize that the rule was not large enough and robust enough to contain your experience and the reality you are living in. It requires growth and expansion. Not to rigidly repeat the rule and close your eyes. To let the doubt and questions grow your vision of reality.

Doubt is not a Sin to Hide:

When doubt is seen as a shameful thing, then of course we would hide it. But the problem with that that Elyse Fitzpatrick points out is that, “As long as we keep doubt secret, it has more power in our lives than it needs to”. Secret habits and addictions are really dangerous, and the same is true of secret and hidden doubts.

There are two really meaningful times when people brought their doubts to Jesus in the gospels:

The first is the father of a demonized child in Mark 9, who had gone to the disciples and they had been unable to help him, and he comes to Jesus and Jesus presses him and he cries out in beautiful, honest confession, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!”

Jesus did not shame or condemn him; he took his honest confession, and he healed his son. I think often Jesus can be misunderstood in the gospels as condemning small faith: “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Instead of seeing it as an invitation to honesty and realization. “Oh, wait, my faith is small. I was doubting there. I needed to realize that and name that and bring it into the light in order to share this struggle, and that’s what doubt is.

Doubt is not a Sin to Hide; Doubt is a Struggle to Bring into the Light:

Elyse Fitzpatrick emphatically says, “You can have faith in your heart and doubts in your mind at the same time.”

One of the disciples is famously called a doubter; his name is Thomas. I think he gets a really bad rap.

According to John 20:24-29, He missed the time Jesus popped in to show everyone he was alive, and he missed it. So he says he won’t believe, and then Jesus shows up and doesn’t shame him, doesn’t rebuke him; he shows up for Thomas and meets his request. He gives him evidence to believe. He lets him touch and see. And the result was what scholars agree is the most clear and decisive articulation of faith in the gospels. “My Lord and my God”.

Thomas was not rebuked. Jesus met him in his doubts (John 20:24-29). So that’s what doubt is and is not. But what causes doubt?

Thanks for reading Pondering with Purpose! This post is public so feel free to share it.

THE CAUSES OF DOUBT (v. 3-15)

Back to Psalm 73, if you look at verses 3-16, what do you see are the reasons for his doubt? It is actually really relatable; he sees the wicked prospering while the faithful suffer. Again, doubt often comes when what we see doesn’t look like what we believe.

Now, the thing about doubt is that it is often framed as a strictly intellectual thing. You just need an answer and a verse, and you can get over your doubts. But the problem with that is that it doesn’t take into account a full enough view of what it is to be human. We are not brains on a stick. We are embodied mind, body, spirit, and so our doubts cannot be neatly parsed out. If we look at Asaph’s doubts, I think we see all of these, but nonetheless, with that qualification, I still think these categories are somewhat helpful:

Intellectual: Questions about science, the Bible, morality, or evil. This is often framed as “I can’t believe this because X,”. Which is something you probably hear often, but the problem is that it is presented as faith vs fact. “I can’t believe there is only one true religion.” Implicit under that doubt or objection is not fact but rather a belief. They believe that if there is a God that God would not be so narrow. Which is their prerogative, but let’s call it what it is - not faith vs. reason but faith vs faith. Two competing beliefs.

Emotional: Disappointment, suffering, unanswered prayer. Asaph says, “All in vain have I kept my heart clean”. Sometimes pain talks louder than our theology.

Morality: Fitzpatrick says, “Sometimes our doubts come because we want to be God. We want to call the shots”. Man, isn’t that the truth? We doubt God when his truth confronts our desires.

Social: hypocrisy, decision, cultural pressure. Sometimes we confuse disillusionment with people with disbelief in God.

Any combination or fusion of these things can contribute to that disorientation or spiritual vertigo, as Tim Keller describes it. These things loom large and eclipse our certainty.

This was Peter’s experience walking on the Water (Matthew 14). He had faith. He believed that it was Jesus walking towards him. He believed that he could walk to him. You cannot tell me he didn’t have faith. And yet in the moment when he started slipping, the storm looked bigger than Jesus. The waves were more real to him than Jesus was. Not if he had been rational and reasonable, but in the moment in his experience and appearance of things.

Tim Keller updates this example from C.S. Lewis and tells this story of a woman who meets a guy and is excited to go on a date with him. All three of her closest female friends, who don’t know each other independently, come to her to tell her that she shouldn’t get attached to this guy. He has a bad track record. He will date her until she gets attached, and then he will break up with her. But she goes on a few dates with him, and she begins to doubt what her friends are saying. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her friends, but he seems so nice, and maybe she’ll be different than all the rest. The problem at that moment is that her friends are on audio, and this guy is on video. He is more real to her than what she knows from her friends, and that is the experience of doubt, whatever its origin might be.

Doubt is the tension between what we believe and what we experience.

THE RESPONSE TO DOUBT (16-28)

You will notice I did not title this section “the answer to doubt” or “the solution to doubt”. Doubt is not this simple formula to solve and answer. Like I said before, we are complex creatures with brains, feelings, and experiences.Keller points out: “You won’t get into your doubts only by thinking, and you won’t get out of them only by thinking.”

But we do have hope and wisdom from this Psalm and the Saints. Namely

Doubt Your Doubts: Back in verse 3, Asaph was honest about his doubts. He realized that his doubt had come from envy. They have what I want. That ability to discern where the doubt is coming from is so important.

You have to distill and deconstruct your doubt to find the dishonesty.

Enter the Sanctuary: Down in verse 17, he has described how hopeless he was,

Until I went into the sanctuary of God.

So often, doubts come from embodied experiences in a classroom with a hostile teacher, the death of a loved one, etc. These are not just mental things but experiences, and so you need to answer those with the experiences of the community of faith: worship, prayer, biblical teaching, reading of scripture, community, and embodied practices of faith.

Jude 1:22 says, “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. That faith community needs to be a place that can hold people who are doubting. We need to be a place where people can sit with doubt and ask honest questions and not be shunned, embarrassed, or condemned.

Compare Footholds: Verse 18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.

You never have to choose between belief and unbelief. You always believe in something. For Asaph and for us, he realized that even if your faith might feel shaky, their faith is impossible.

Sheldon Vanauken in his book, A Severe Mercy:

“When it came to believing in Christ, there was a gap between what was possible and what could be proved. It was possible that Jesus is God; it was possible that this is all true. But can it be proved? No. So there was this gap — and I asked, ‘How am I supposed to cross it?’If I’m going to stake my whole life on the risen Christ, I wanted certainty. I wanted letters of fire across the sky. But I got none of these.Then came my second breakthrough: The position was not, as I had been thinking, that there was only a gap before me. My God, there was a gap behind me now, too! There might not be certainty that Christ was God, and so that would require a leap — but I had no certainty anymore that He was not God. To go back now would require its own leap of faith. Once I saw that, I flung myself across the gap toward Jesus.”

Feel for His Hand: In verse 23 forward, as Asaph ends this Psalm, it is suddenly overflowing with relational language as if somehow this experience of doubt has actually brought him closer to God. We look for God’s presence in His absence.

This is where we will end: I want us to turn our eyes to Jesus, our teacher, our older brother who has gone before us in the Garden of Gethsemane. Tim Mackie puts it this way:

“He is on his knees in agony. He quotes a number of Psalms, he says, I’m so grieved I could die right now. He says twice, Father, I don’t want to do this. He’s experiencing a deep absence of God’s presence, and human evil is about to rain in on him and crush him physically, literally. But it’s precisely right in that moment where Jesus experiences God’s forsakenness, that is the moment where God is meeting all of us in our moment of need. It’s in the hours that followed that Jesus’s experience of God’s forsakenness - became God becoming God forsaken with us in order to redeem and to conquer our God-forsakenness by his Love. And so for me, the Garden of Gethsemane has become this place where I have to go and kneel beside Jesus when I have crises of doubt and recognize…I was not here first. Jesus was kneeling here before me. And then all of a sudden you realize Jesus is right there holding your hand, kneeling alongside you, grieving over the state of the world with you.”

This is what we do with our doubts, as they come, and come they will, may we encounter Jesus.

Recommended Resources:

Podcasts:

205. The Mess of Doubt (w/ Elyse Fitzpatrick)

Questioning Christianity with Tim Keller - YouTube

Books:

Tim Keller – The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

Sheldon Vanauken – A Severe Mercy

John Mark Comer – Live No Lies

This is a recording of my message on Haggai & Zechariah for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO:

* Remodel a house, renovate vs remodel      

SPOKE: (BibleProject)

* What are some dominant themes in Zechariah? 

* Watch: Book of Zechariah Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

HUB: Renovate or Remodel 

* Haggai and Zechariah are both the writings and stories of prophets who at the same time were calling Israel to reform. They called the people to rebuild the temple and rebuild their lives around Yahweh.

* They were both successful to a point but they both pointed forward to the need for a remodel. Renovating the existing situation was not good enough. Something new was needed.   

SPOKE: Renovated Place Needing a Remodel 

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Haggai 1:1-11 Imperfect Renovation

* Haggai opens with the prophet coming with a word from Yahweh. He comes to the people and confronts them for rebuilding their own houses and neglecting the house of God. 

* You have to keep in mind that for this people the only way to interact with God was through the temple. It was their point of reference to God. So without a temple they had no way of connecting with their God.  

* Haggai calls them to put first things first. And they listen but the temple renovation sucks. Anyone who saw the first one thinks it’s lame  

* Who grew up building legos?  I loveddddd legos.

* I mostly bought the sets and played with them but sometimes sets fall apart, get broken, etc. and I have seen people later on want to rebuild the set and they kinda piece it together kind of like this: 

* When it is meant to look like this:

* It was an attempt to renovate and the people did respond but it was just disappointing. The Glory didn’t return and there’s just this sense of longing for Messiah. For the Messianic kingdom to come and for the promises of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David to be fulfilled.    

* Do you have a place where you encounter God? Do prioritize setting aside time, and a physical space for that? Morning evening etc? 

SPOKE: Renovated People Needing Remodel

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Zechariah 1:1-6 Imperfect Return

* Zechariah is around at the same time as Haggai and he also instructs the people to rebuild but he has a different priority. Haggai is handling the temple and he sees the need for the the people to rebuild their lives around Yahweh. They have gone off and the exile has not yet taught them to return. And they respond to a point. But it is just on the surface. 

* They change their behavior for a time but their hearts are unchanged. 

* Christianity is not about behavior modification. It is about inward heart transformation. - Joseph Prince

* I couldn’t help thinking of the movie trope where someone remakes themself. They have entered a new setting and now they are becoming a “new person”. 

* Mean Girls.

* The problem is that this is just a surface level change. It is not a heart level change.  

* They repent and yet there is this longing for a new heart like Jeremiah said.  

* Do we just modify our behavior? When we go to church or with certain people do we just modify? Have we experienced real heart change? 

* QUESTIONS?

Conclusion: Gospel & Jesus

* Gospel of Grace

* The Gospel is that 

* Jared Wilson: Only the gospel goes deep enough to effect real hard change. Everything else is just behavior modification 

* Our Savior

* Haggai 2:1-9 A Re(New)ed Place 

* Zech 12:10-13:1 A Re(New)ed People

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions:

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

How much of a priority for you is it to encounter God? Weekly? Daily? How? 

Has your heart really changed because of following Jesus or has your behavior just changed from being around church? 

What shows us the gospel of grace in Haggai/Zechariah?

What points to Jesus in Haggai/Zechariah?

This is a recording of my message on Habakkuk & Malachi for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO:

* Who has ever struggled with doubt? 

* Personal doubts      

SPOKE: (BibleProject)

* What are some dominant themes in Habakkuk? 

* Watch: Book of Habakkuk Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

HUB: Responding to Doubt 

* Everyone at one time and most many times struggles with doubts. Doubts about the future. Doubts about relationships. Doubts about being loved. Doubts about faith. Doubts about anything 

* Fitzpatrick: We think that admitting that we doubt means that we don't have faith. I think you can doubt and have faith at the same time. 

* Two ways to respond to doubt

SPOKE: Questions about Care 

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Habakkuk 1:1-4, God Responds 1:12-2:1 How Long O YAHWEH

* Habakkuk is asking honest questions. 

* He is telling God how he really feels. He is experiencing doubts

* But he is not stuffing them, or denying them he is going to God with them

* And his doubts are at the same time based on the character of God. he knows God and his doubts are arising from who God is and how what is happening doesn’t make sense. 

* Staton: Prayer itself makes us anxious because it uncovers fears. We can’t ignore as long as we don’t engage deeply thoughtfully vulnerably with God.   

* Little kids that always ask why why 

* Confident their parent knows the answer 

* Trusts them even when they don’t understand and have doubts.   

* DO we go to God with questions and doubts.

* Do we think he can handle it? 

* Do we trust him? Do we care enough to go to him with questions?

SPOKE: Conclusions about Carelessness

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Malachi 1 What a Weariness

* The people have wrongly interpreted God’s discipline as apathy or abandonment

* And in response they have stopped caring. They think God’s not watching so why bother.

* They come with the assumption that God doesn’t care and see everything through that lens. 

* Has anyone seen the new Apple TV movie Family Plan? 

* Poster 

* The daughter goes through that phase of rebellion where she gives up her passion for writing cause she’s convinced it doesn’t matter. And there is this scene that made me think of this passage. 

* “I’m serious that piece you wrote about pervasive corruption in the Board of Education…my gosh, I got chills..

* You actually read that?? 

* Of course I did  Come on. I’m your biggest fan. Always have been always will be. 

* Tim Keller: Two things can happen when you suffer. One is you think, I'm being punished." But the cross says, no, Jesus took your punishment.... The second question comes: Well, maybe God doesn't care…. 

* Have you found yourself deciding things for God. Deciding like Israel or Job’s friends how God works. Deciding you don’t care anymore

* Dropping a habit or relationship or anything else cause you’re done?

* QUESTIONS?

Conclusion: Gospel & Jesus

* Gospel of Grace

* Finish the quote

* Tim Keller: …But the cross says God does care, he lost a child out of his love for you.

* The Gospel from Genesis is that God cares so much that he promised hope in Genesis 3: WHAT? 

* Cares enough to redeem from Exodus. 

* Send prophets to tell them etc. 

* Our Savior

* Jesus Ask Questions 

* If it is possible let it pass 

* Jesus Answers the Question

* He is the answer. Every promise is yes and amen

* Jesus Encounters Those Who No Longer Care 

* Pharisees, saduccees, etc 

* Jesus Corrects Wrong Conclusions

* They have been asking if God cares. 

* He claps back that he obviously cares. Have you not read your Bible. 

* Then Jesus shows the full expression of how much he cares. 

* No other religion claims God came to us. 

* Bruce Shelley: Christianity is the only major religion to have at its central event the humiliation of its God... 

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions: 

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

What is a time you have had doubts about something big faith, future, family etc? 

Have you ever found yourself not caring anymore about something you used to care about? 

What shows us the gospel of grace in Habakkuk/Malachi?

What points to Jesus in Habakkuk/Malachi?

This is a recording of my message on Obadiah & Nahum for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO:

* Who likes a story of kings and queens? 

* We like royalty and it is this cool other thing because we don’t have kings and queens anymore. But I want you to imagine that we did have a king and his castle was in westlake. And we went there for a visit. 

* Would anyone in this room think of sitting on his throne in front of him and his royal guard? Or walking and insulting him and saying that he is a bad king or not your king? 

* That would be ridiculous wouldn’t it?       

SPOKE: (BibleProject)

* What are some dominant themes in Obadiah? 

* Watch: Book of Obadiah Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

HUB: Pride’s Lie 

* The problem with pride is that no one is the greatest person in the room or the universe. 

* No one person is greater than another and no one is greater than the God of the universe. In fact we’re all pretty small compared to him. 

* Obadiah 1:21 Yahweh is the King

* So proud people are spitting in the face of the king of the universe. They are not recognizing that he is king.  

SPOKE: Pride Says: I don’t need God

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Nahum 1:1-11 Making God your Enemy

* The first problem with pride is saying that you don’t need God. Exalting yourself against him.

* Nineveh had done that. They had rejected God and his reign and rule. They had pretended he didn’t exist but the problem is that he does. So to say you don’t know God is to fly in the face of reality. It’s to deny the truth. Ultimately it is to be utterly foolish

* “Wise people are always humble, because arrogance flies in the face of everything we know about how the world works and how people are”.  

* Famous movie scene where they anger this super powerful person. 

* “You’re gonna regret the day you made me your enemy”

* That’s what Assyria did with God.   

* And the truth is that is what every one of us does with God. We reject him. We try to do life without him. Secular Philosophers think they can find the meaning of life without God. Secular scientists think they can understand the universe without God. Secular rulers think they can rule without God and bring peace or change. 

* But we are all helpless before him. 

* We’re like a little kid that is trying to lift a bookcase and the parents are offering help and we say no thanks. 

* It doesn’t stop there.  

SPOKE: Pride Says: Your loss is my gain

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Obadiah 1 Mistreating Subjects of the King.

* The second problem with pride is that it not only encourages people to reject God but it encourages them to mistreat his subjects.

* Proud people think they don’t need to have grace or mercy on anyone else. 

* Everyone else is a threat. 

* You know the paranoid royalty type? 

* The queen of hearts “off with his head”

* There is no grace or mercy only my needs over yours and if you get in my way you’re dead 

* Chad Moore: Grace flows through the channel of humility. 

* People who recognize the world doesn’t revolve around them and recognize their need are also able to recognize that although other people are not perfect no one is and that’s ok    

* QUESTIONS?

* Humility Says:

Conclusion: Gospel & Jesus

* Gospel of Grace

* As much as people might say they don’t need God the truth is that they do.

* History shows that people are broken, sinful, and hateful and not getting any better on their own. We need God to intervene

* Pride says I don’t need God and other people’s loss is my gain but the truth is we all need God and we’re all lost. 

* And the good news is that God knows that and he cares. 

* 2,000 years ago the God of the universe didn’t sit up in pride and gloat at our failure or tell us to figure it out ourself. 

* He was the only one with the real right to demand we pay for our crimes. But he didn’t.

* The God of the universe humbled himself. Took on the form of a servant and being found in human form. He humbled himself in obedience to die on a cross. 

* He showed us what humility looks like. And the truth is humility is not thinking less of yourself: “I’m worthless. I’m a nobody”. That’s not what humility is. That’s false humility and actually still pride. 

* True humility is thinking of yourself less because you are busy thinking of others and ultimately of God more. The reason Jesus could be humble is because he knew the Father and how great he is. And he loved humanity enough to value their needs over his own.  

* The only reason there is hope in Obadiah

* Nahum 1:15 Beautiful Feet

* Our Savior

* The restoration that the end of Obadiah and Nehemiah point to has begun in Jesus. 

* He has opened the invitation to everyone no matter who they are to come to him. He has begun the long and slow process where God’s kingdom is coming and he will excercise his rule and justice over every evil and prideful person, ruler and nation. 

* He’s gonna take care of the world’s bully problem once and for all. 

* He will bring justice on the proud who have rejected him and mistreated others and exalt the humble who have recognized their need for him and the need to extend grace to others.. 

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 

* It is the character of God that we take comfort in. The truth is that God has always been slow to anger and great in power. 

* If he were a king like the queen of hearts no one could stand before him.

* But he is a God who is good. He won’t let evil and pride have the last word. He will make things right in our world. He’s not giving up on earth and zapping us out of here. He is making a new heavens and new earth. Where might doesn’t make right but humility and love are the greatest value. 

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions: 

Lesson Discussion: 15 mins

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

Is there a proud person in your life that mistreats you or rejects God? 

What is a way that you have shown your own pride to live without God or be the most important person? 

What shows us the gospel of grace in Obadiah/Nahum?

What points to Jesus in Obadiah/Nahum?

Prayer Requests: 5 mins 

High and Low into free talks: 10 mins

This is a recording of my message on Amos & Micah for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO:

* Has anyone here ever thought about running a marathon? You guys know that Josh Antioho did an Ironman. It was super enlightening for me to watch him train, prepare and complete that ironman. It made me realize how interrelated everything is.

* If Josh told his friends he was preparing for an ironman but he was gonna keep eating junk food, donuts, dessert, no salad but do some physical training and mostly focus on strategy of the course and technique for the swim and bike would you guys guess he is going to do very well?

* They are inseparable. If you don’t eat well, sleep well, train well, etc you will not compete well. The one is connected to the other.

* Amos and Micah are about two things that are inseparable. The people of israel had tried to separate them but God says they are two sides of the same coin. Let’s watch the Bible Project and see what I mean.

SPOKE: (BibleProject)

* What are some dominant themes in Amos?

* Watch: Book of Amos Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

HUB: God & Neighbor

* In Amos and Micah we get one of the clearest explanations of the rebellious wrongs of Israel. In Jonah and Hosea we focused on the idea that people run from good things to bad things and that God lovingly pursues them.

* In Joel and Zephaniah last week, we saw that the result of this running is the Day of the Lord. There have been days since Genesis and there will be days and one final day when God intervenes and sets things right again.

* Tonight we are going to look at what the nature of this rebellion was. What were the people doing that was so wrong? There are a lot of things. What Amos and Micah focus on is how they were separating how they treat people from how they treat God. How we treat the one is connected to how we treat the other.

* People in America and in our lifetime like to separate social life from spiritual life as if we have two different lives. The interesting thing is that in Hebrew, the language the bible was written in, there is no word for spiritual life because it’s all connected. You can’t have a good spiritual life without a good social, personal, work/school life.

SPOKE: Right Social Life (Relationship with People)

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:

* First we’ll look at the accusations for their unjust relationships.

* Amos 5:7-17 Injustice in Relationship

* They are perverting justice. So they are not taking care of the poor and vulnerable but they are taking advantage of them instead. They hate truth. Trample on the poor. Take bribes. Stop calling evil things good. Stop calling good things evil.

* They look at lying, stealing, bribery, and exploitation and say “gooodddd”

* And they look at honesty, generosity, integrity, and humanitarian aid and say “baddddd”. How messed up!

* Micah 6:9-15 Judgment on the Wicked

* So here is what God says to that, because you have had false weights which they used to make poor people pay more for a decent meal or to live in a decent place. And because you are violent and lying. God says I am going to judge you and bring upon you the things that you did to them. The ways that you didn’t give the homeless a home, you’ll be homeless. The way you didn’t give food to the hungry, you will be hungry.

* John Sailhamer: God’s people mistakenly presumed that as long as they kept up their external forms of worship, the Lord would not let them perish.

* How we treat people really matters. Judaism then and Christianity now, have never been private faiths. We cannot just pray and worship God and neglect our neighbor. The two go hand in hand. How we treat our neighbor shows how we really see God.

* If you guys had a friend. You were close. They came over to your house and kicked your dog, broke things in your room, disrespected your parents, made a messs all over the bathroom etc. would you say they really love and care for you?

* VIDEO

* NO because how they treat your things and the people you love shows if they really love you right? That is what is happening in these books. How God’s followers treat people that God made and loves shows if they really love God.

* For us: the way we treat people matters. People in this youthgroup. If you guys are gossiping, name calling, talking over the people in your small group or anyone else in the youth group. That shows that you don’t love them and it shows a disconnect in your love for God who loves them and wants you treat them the way you want to be treated. And how we treat people outside of the church, person at school who is different or ignored, your old lady neighbor, kid on your team who isn’t any good and gets made fun of. Do they matter to you like they matter to God?

* If they do it will affect our spiritual life.

SPOKE: Right Spiritual Life (Relationship with God)

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:

* Amos 5:18-27 Hypocrisy in Worship.

* Day of the Lord. Despises their feasts (religious feasts like passover or purim) HOLIDAYS. He does not delight in their worship services YOUTHGROUP SUNDAY. Their sacrifices mean nothing to him TITHE & WORSHIP SONGS. Why? because they don’t practice justice or righteousness. So what does true worship look like??

* Micah 6:6-8 True Worship.

* What does God want. What is true worship to God? Justice! Kindness! Humility!

* That’s not your regular goat sacrifice. It’s actually a lot harder.

* John Sailhamer: Such statements should not be understood as a mere indictment (accusation) of Israel’s worship. They are rather a call for justice along with worship and true morality.

* God is calling us to show or love for him in loving our neighbors (our neighbor as Jesus defined it as anyone even our enemy.

* How do you guys show your parents love? Chores, cards, hugs, etc. it’s as if God says that his version of those things is loving people. That’s how we show we love him. That’s how we train for the ironman. We can’t separate the one from the other.

* QUESTIONS?

Conclusion: Gospel & Jesus

* Gospel of Grace

* What is the good news except that God loved us so much that he treated us better than we deserve. That Jesus as God and man, perfectly loved his neighbor and God, giving his life for us. He saw people as being infinitely worth of dignity and God being worthy of ultimate allegiance

* Micah ends with a reference to the Abramaic covenant. The basis of hope is not in what undeserving Israel can do but in the gracious promises of God. The same God that picked an old pagan to be the means of his blessing. Is the same God that will be faithful to his people even when they abandon him.

* This should give us hope that God’s mercy in Jesus is not based on who we are or what we do but in his gracious and merciful promises. Even if we sin and rebel he will not abandon us. How has he done this? In Jesus.

* Our Savior

* Amos 9:11-15 The Davidic Messiah

* Talks about the descendant of David - who we know is Jesus - who would restore the nation of Israel and bring the nations in. we see that began with the apostles and pentecost and continues to us.

* Micah 5:2 Bethlehem & From of Old (eternal and born)

* Jesus birth place. Both eternal God and human born

* Micah 5:4-5 Glorious Ministry & Peace

* Jesus as the good shepherd will shepherd his people and bring peace. What was he called in the new testament? The prince of peace.

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

* Combining social life and spiritual life was not unique to Amos and Micah. Can you think of something Jesus said that was similar?

* Someone asked Jesus what the greatest commandment? And he said

* Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Torah and the Prophets.

* The torah was the first five books we studied! And the prophets is everything we have studied since then! Jesus just summarized the last 5 months of our series. God and neighbor.

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions:

High and Low of the Week?

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

Have you experienced God’s love in such a way that makes you love him?

How do you think the people who know you well would rate your love for neighbor (scale of 1-10)? How would they rate your love for God (1-10)?

Allowing space for reflection: what is one way this week/month you could love God and neighbor more?

What shows the gospel of grace in Amos/Micah?

What points to Jesus in Amos/Micah?

Prayer Requests?

This is a recording of my message on Joel & Zephaniah for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO: 

* Limbo activity. The bar doesn’t get any higher. You either submit to the bar by bending or you get hit and forced down. 

* You have a choice: how you experience the bar. One is positive and one negative but the bar is the same bar in both situations.    

SPOKE: (BibleProject)

* What is the central focus of Zephaniah? 

* Watch: Book of Zephaniah Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

HUB: The Day

* The Day of the LORD is a past, present, and future reality. There have been days of the Lord, there are days of the Lord, and there will be one final and ultimate day of the LORD. 

* It’s two sides of the coin. Deliverance & Justice or mercy & judgment.

* The Day of the Lord can be dreadful and terrifying if you are in wrong standing with God. Or it can be hopeful and wonderful if you are in right standing with God. 

* The problem is: 1st: Do you even know which camp you are in? Before 2nd: You decide if you are content in the camp you are in. 

* The people of Israel knew a lot about this day but unfortunately they thought about it like Jonah from last week. They wanted ONLY judgment on their enemies and ONLY mercy for themselves. They looked forward to being delivered from their enemies but what they didn’t stop to realize is that they had made themselves God’s enemies too and there would be justice for the ways they had wronged, exploited, and mistreated God & neighbor. So when the day of the Lord came in Jonah, he was disappointed that it looked like mercy on them instead of justice because they were humble and repentant before it was too late.  

SPOKE: Day of Deliverance

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation: 

* First this day of deliverance that they had hoped for. 

* Joel 3:1-3 Deliverance for Israel

* God promises through Joel that he will deliver his people. There is a day when wrongs will be righted. When he is going to restore justice. He is going to enforce the rules.

* He says he is gonna sit down and judge those who have wronged Israel. 

* Israel would sit there seeing God acknowledge the ways they have been mistreated and feel rescued. 

* Makes me think of a quote from the Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, he says: Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

* When the the Lion Aslan, the king comes, he is gonna restore order and make the bad guys pay and the good guys celebrate. 

* Zephaniah 3:9-13 Purification of the Nations

* The surprising development in the prophets was that the judgment was not just on the nations and the deliverance was not just for Israel. Here we see the nations being purified, restored, and delivered too! 

* There is going to be this reverse Babel. Where the people were dispersed in Genesis they will be gathered together. They are going to follow Yahweh. This would have been shocking for Zephaniah’s listener’s. The nations?? And the thing is that is us! Almost all of us are gentiles more on that at the end.

* The limbo bar is gonna come through and level the nations. Those who are proud will experience the pain of the bar. Those who submit humbly will be blessed when it passes. 

* Lion King: When Mufasa dies and Simba is gone, Scar gets to do what he wants, mistreat, exploit, etc. he thinks he is in the right. When Simba comes back there is judgment and deliverance. Judgment on? Deliverance for? Do you see how they are tied up together there?  

* We all know there is evil and wrong in our world. Things are not the way they should be. And I think it is the natural cry of the heart to look for God to come and make things right. To deliver us. To rescue the oppressed, broken, and hurting.  

*

SPOKE: Day of Justice

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* So it’s a day of deliverance but it’s also a day of justice.   

* Joel 3:19-21 Justice on the Nations.

* Joel promises that God is going to come and judge the nations. The people who have done violence, shed blood, and sinned against God. They will be held accountable. Those who have wronged Yahweh and his people will be judged. The limbo bar is going to pass through and correct them. 

* But it doesn’t stop there. It makes me think of a trial scene. Like lets say one of the big bad guys was on trial Hitler or Stalin. And they get condemned by the courts and then the judge and one more thing, YOU are under arrest for leaking information to them and being a spy. That’s what Zephaniah does to Israel here: 

* Zephaniah 3:1-5 Justice on Israel.

* Can you picture them as they realize they are in trouble. Oh God noticed that too. They had been pointing fingers at those who had wronged them not realizing that other people have been pointing back at them and telling God how israel had wronged and oppressed them. The poor, vulnerable, and weak. 

* Cho: We do justice because we believe our God is just. We don’t worship justice. 

* After we think about the things that are wrong that we want God to rescue us from, we must in turn think about what ways we deserve justice. How have we put ourselves against God and our neighbor. How have we been the oppressor. How have we played the spy.   

* QUESTIONS?

Conclusion: Gospel & Jesus

* The reality is that we are all in need of deliverance, but we all deserve judgment. We have all wronged God and neighbor. Which is why we need the gospel. 

* The Exodus was a day of the Lord where egypt was judged and israel was delivered, Judges the people of israel were delivered through a judge from oppressors, Exile the people were judged for those they had oppressed.

* The good news is God has and will continue to intervene in history to make things right 

* Gospel of Grace

* God sets his love on his people, they rebel, God disciplines, extends his mercy. 

* Joel 2:28-32 Spirit Poured Out. 

* Gentile inclusion 

* Keller: Justice is the sign that you have been justified by faith. It’s not the basis, you aren’t justified because you’re helping the poor, but a heart poured out in deeds of mercy and justice for the poor is a sign that you have been saved by grace. 

* Zephaniah 3:15 The LORD has removed judgment (Mercy)

* How has he done this? In Jesus. 

* Our Savior

* Jesus talks about the Day of the LORD a good amount. Jesus and the Apostles understood that the crucifixion of Jesus was a Day of the Lord. That he took the judgment that we deserved and gave us the deliverance he deserved. Boom 

* The return of Jesus will be the final and ultimate day of the LORD. 

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 

* 1 Cor 1:8 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ  

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions: 

High and Low of the Week?

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

What is something in your life specifically that is wrong and needs God’s deliverance/restoration?

What is something in your life specifically where you are in the wrong and deserve justice? 

What shows the gospel of grace in Joel/Zephaniah?

What points to Jesus in Joel/Zephaniah?

Prayer Requests? 

This is a recording of my message on Samuel for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO: 

* Who is the greatest leader you guys can think of? Fictional or real.

* How would you describe them? Confident, sure, competent? 

* Those are the things that human’s look for in a leader but in the Scroll of Samuel we see a different test set forth  

* 1 Samuel 16:6-7 

* This is a famous story that I am sure you have heard but it is all the more striking when seen in the context of the book as a whole.  We see confidence and think it is the mark of a good leader but God sees a heart exalted against him, and we see meekness and think it is the mark of a follower but God sees a heart willing to follow him and lead others in doing the same. 

SPOKE: Proud and Humble (BibleProject)

* What is the central focus of Samuel? 

* Watch: Book of 2 Samuel Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

* 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah’s Song

* Hannah is this sweet humble woman, who is childless. And as sad as that is even today for parents and especially a woman it was even more so then. A wife’s identity was so connected to being a mother. But she offers this prayer that is from her reflection on the Torah and she has seen a pattern of God bringing down the proud - babylon, Jacob, egypt, Balak. And raising up the humble - Abraham, Israel, Moses, etc.  And so she prays this and it sets up the whole scroll.

HUB: 

* The proud will be opposed/brought low and the humble will be given grace/raised. And Samuel is going to specifically look at this as it relates to leaders but the reality is everyone is a leader. 

* When I think about this little kid trying to climb some rock or obstacle and they try and try and keep slipping and sliding and their dad offers to help and they say no I got this. But their little sibling comes along and asks the dad for help and he picks up the other kid and carries them over the obstacle.  That is the picture: the proud think they can do it and they will fall the humble recognize their limitations and can be raised up. 

* That is absolutely the reality from Scripture from Adam and Eve onward people have been proud thinking they could do it without God and it has not gone well but those who have humbled themselves like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, have been raised up by God. 

SPOKE: Proud → Opposed

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation: 

* So first let’s look at king Saul. Saul is the first king. We’ve been expecting a king since the end of Genesis when we were told about the Scepter in Judah. So we get one. Could this be the guy that will crush the serpent? Let’s read and find out. 

* 1 Samuel 15:1-21 Saul’s Failure & Response (Page Number: 

* Does this remind you guys of anything? It reminds me of Moses and of Achan. Very clear instructions and clear disobedience.  

* God says go bring my justice on all the people and animals. And Saul spares the king, and the animals that looked good to him! 

* Have you guys ever been following really frustratingly slow step by step instructions. Ikea furniture, legos, or something and you think yeah no I can do that quicker, better, simpler. I don’t know what they were thinking.  I think I’ve done this once when something called for nails and I thought no screws will work better and I did it and ruined the whole thing.

* That’s what Saul does here. Yeah good idea God but like this is perfectly good burger meat, I’m gonna keep it. And that is prideful rebellion against God and as the leader of God’s people and this is not his first mistake it’s actually his third rebellion in 3 chapters. 

* And all without any repentance. He has the audacity to see samuel and say “I have performed the commandment of the Lord” 

* I know better than God. And that leads to him being rejected and then eventually downfall and death.

* When we position ourselves against the all wise, all good God, it might look succesfulf or a minute but it will never end well.

*  QUESTIONS?

* Let’s look at a different approach. 

SPOKE: Humble → Grace

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* See when I was growing up I felt like I was shown Saul is the bad guy and David is the good guy. Maybe that was the kids version 

* But the reality is that the scripture paints a much more nuanced picture of its heroes and villains for that matter. 

*  2 Samuel 12:7-15 David’s Failure & Response

* So David repeats the errors of those before him, he sees and takes! Genesis 3!!! 

* He exalts his needs and places himself in the palace of God as he takes a wife, defines good and evil, and takes life all of which are roles for God alone. 

* So the humble David from the beginning of the book takes a back seat to this new prideful david. But what I want us to see is the difference between his response and Saul’s response.  Saul was corrected and doubled down. David is corrected and Immediately shows his humility. He owns up to it and repents. His heart is soft and he sees the truth that he had momentarily forgotten. 

* Repentance requires humility. 

* This repentance leads to David finishing his time and blessing. He is restored by his humble repentance instead of being abandoned.  

* A perfect example of this is just last week I was driving to a hike and I was trying to navigate there on my own.  I got most of the way there and then I realized I was not where I was supposed to be.  When that happened I had two options. I could keep trying myself and act confident and say no I’ll get there.  Thankfully I did not do this and instead I pulled out google maps and humbled myself, turned around which is exactly what repentance literally means and then I got where I was going. 

* The scripture does not say Saul bad David good. It shows messy flawed humans following and failing to follow a perfect God everytime they make themselves their own god. Now the way David handles his failure with repentance and remorse is a further testament to his humility. David fails well. He puts himself back in submission but clearly David isn’t the promised serpent killer either. 

* You guys are gonna have the chance to follow a lot of people in your life and you will have the chance to lead a lot of people. And my hope and prayer is that even when everyone else is following the tall, charismatic, confident Saul’s you will follow and be the humble, repentant, honest David’s in the world. 

* We are all going to make mistakes. We can either harden our heart or humble ourselves and repent. 

* The only way humility comes is not from thinking of ourselves less or saying be more humble be more humble but from looking at something greater. By really seeing how great God is and how much greater than us he is, we see reality for what it is and humbles us. 

* I don’t know if any of you here tonight or in the last few weeks talking about the things humans have done have felt convicted or realized you were doing something in your own eyes but if you have would talk to a leader about that repent and confess?  

Conclusion/Exaltation:

* Gospel of Grace

* Saul and David are both imperfect, they both fail, but how do they respond? For Saul God is an afterthought. For David, God is central and when he messes up, he repents.

* Hate to break to it to you guys but we are just as broken as Saul and David the only question is, how will we respond - pride or humility??

* Deliverer of Gen 3:15 - a king could be that deliverer

* We’re gonna need a better king. A king that does not fail like all of us.

* Human effort cannot save us, no human can ever rid us of sin, only God can do that. 

* The power of repentance the only way for those things to be taken away is to repent. 

* Good works do not save us, but willingness to repentance. 

* But more importantly it points us to our savior.

* David and goliath: One champion set forward for each group. If one champion win’s that champion’s victory is gifted to the people and if they lose the champion’s death is shared. 

* In the same way the whole Israelite army received David’s victory without doing a thing. 

* That’s what the gospel says as well.  We get Christ’s victory without any effort ourselves. 

* Jesus is the true king 

* And like David he suffers in the wilderness for the sins of others.

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 2 Samuel 7:12-17

* This eternal son of David. The perfect ruler. The delivering king is Jesus. Jesus is the one. 

* That is how Samuel points us to Jesus. 

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

* Small group Questions: 

High and Low of the Week?

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

When you messed up recently, did you respond like Saul or David? Specific example (Leaders going first might help). 

What points to Jesus in Samuel?

Prayer Requests? 

This is a recording of my message on Joshua for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO: 

* Who here has ever ridden the train? It’s fun, its novel.  Fun fact - I had a dream that we did a JH trip on a train 2 weeks ago. 

* Are trains easily or quickly stopped? No  

* That’s why railroad crossings are so dangerous. If you wanted to get on a moving train, would you try to swing on like a cool cowboy or would you try to stand on the tracks and push against the train for it to stop. 

* The thing about the train is you can get either get on or get out of the way and the train will keep doing it’s thing either way.

HUB: 

* Joshua (like all of scripture) points to Yahweh as the center of history and see everyone else like shakespeare said “as merely players”. 

* God is the train in this analogy. He’s doing what he’s doing and Israel and now us - can participate or get out of the way the easy or the hard way. 

* Joshua 5:13-15

* What Yahweh is doing. Work with him or against him. 

SPOKE: For Yahweh (BibleProject)

* What is the central focus of Joshua? 

* Watch: Book of Joshua Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

* I see in Joshua, an invitation to participate.  It is an invitation to play on the winning team or fight against YAHWEH. 

* In the words of Drake, Joshua is all about “God’s Plan” not joshua or anyone else.  

SPOKE: For Yahweh

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation: 

* Joshua 24:14-15

* Joshua has been faithful to Yahweh through the whole book of Joshua. Yes, he makes some mistakes but the book repeats “and Joshua did as Yahweh said”.

* And here, Joshua is calling the people to choose. Are you gonna be for or against Yahweh? 

* He wants to give you rest in the promised land. Will you receive it with obedience?

* The second example of someone who was for Yahweh is surprisingly a non-Israelite.

* Joshua takes over as the New Moses - he calls the people to the law, he sends spies, he leads them through waters on dry ground. And the spies come across this woman named Rahab.   

* Joshua 2:8-14 

* Has anyone ever sat and watched the waves at the beach for a while? I spent a few hours alone with God at the beach last week and just watched the waves for some of that time. Waves are crazy. They just keep waving even when no one waves back… but seriously they are just a constant force. And I think surfing is so cool cause you’re looking at the waves and just harnessing that momentum,  you don’t choose where the waves go. You just ride em. 

* Same thing here in Joshua. God has been working since the fall to restore a place for his people to be with him and no matter who opposed him he’ll just keep working and people can work with him or against him.  And Joshua says I’m gonna work with God. Rahab says I don’t want to be hit by this tsunami, I’m gonna work with God. But some people will fight against the waves

*  QUESTIONS?

* The ability of the Lord to save the “outsider” (Rahab), and the danger of the “insider” falling away (Achan; see chs. 2 and 7).

SPOKE: Against Yahweh 

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Obviously all of the the kings and nations that opposed Yahweh and served idols, and sacrificed their kids and fought Israel were against Yahweh.

* But that is more obvious.  What about Israelites? 

* Joshua 6:15-18, 7:1 

* Achan

* Despite clear instructions on how to follow Yahweh and the clear promise of blessing from Yahweh - not like he was holding out all of the good stuff. 

* And these things in Jericho were supposed to be destroyed not in the sense of thrown away so you can't use them anymore because they're needless. No, they were supposed to be destroyed in the sense of utterly completely destroyed because they were dangerous. God wanted his people to be free from being influenced by the corrupt, debauched practices of the people who lived in the land. - Dever

* But instead of trusting Yahweh he saw what was good and what he wanted and he took it.  

* Who does that remind us of? 

* Achan could have snowboarded down the nice gentle slope of God’s will towards possessing land and home in the promised land and abundance.  But it’s like he saw sign that said short cut and despite the warnings above it that said “dangerous cliff” he took the shortcut and that was the end of Achan. 

* Just to be real with you guys for a second this is very real stuff.  I have seen people that seemed so far from God and didn’t look like a “good christian person” come to faith in Jesus and be used by him. And I have seen people whose parents parents were Christians who slowly drifted away cause of their choices and that’s really sad.

Conclusion/Exaltation:

* Gospel of Grace

* Joshua is all about God’s rest for the people. Resting them in the promised land.

* Joshua points us to a day when Jesus promises a new heavens and a new earth. It points us to that future day.

* So as God gave Israel in Joshua 24:13, he says, he gives Israel land on which you did

* not toil cities, you did not build and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olives

* groves that you did not plant. Right. So Jesus, he too, has gone ahead of us. He is preparing that place for us even now, a place that we have not build, gardens that we have not tended. 

* 9:14 the elders make a peace treaty with Gibeonites without consulting God. they make a decision based on their own wisdom.  Jesus on the other hand never made a decision without being in line with God’s wisdom. He prays in the garden “not my will but yours be done”.

* We are called to pray and do that same thing in the Lord’s prayer. No choice is so simple or clear as to not require prayer!

* But more importantly it points us to our savior.

* Jesus will obey, where Israel here is already failing. When tempted by sin, Jesus doesn't make peace with it. Even though the israelites made peace with sinful nations.  

* You know, that paradise that we lost, that Israel lost, Jesus would win back by His

* own sinless life.

* He is that better Caleb who would not just serve God wholeheartedly, but would serve Him perfectly.

* He is the great high priest of the safe house from Joshua 20, right? That great high priest who has shed his own blood life for life so that we who are guilty might be freed.

* He alone has lived heaven on earth for us. He alone has paved the way.

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 

* Joshua 23:12-13 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

* You realize that those whips on the back, the thorns on the brow, that's the curse that Jesus bore. That's the curse He bore for all of those who would turn from their sin, who would trust in Him.

* That is how Joshua points us to Jesus. 

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions: 

High and Low of the Week?

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

Do you think it is harder for you to believe that an outsider can be invited in or that an insider can drift from God?  

Does your life look more like Rahab or Achan?

What points to Jesus in Joshua?

Prayer Requests? 

This is a recording of my message on Deuteronomy for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.

Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.

INTRO: 

* Think back to when you were a little kid. 

* The first time you were crossing the street with your parents 

* They held your hand and taught you to “look both ways before you cross the street” 

* As a little kid did you listen to them? Did you obey them? Why? Love 

* When you love someone you will listen and respond to them and when you listen and respond you show them you love them. This is true of any relationship but especially between parents and kids and husbands and wives. 

* As a kid assuming you listened and loved your parents did that decision protect your life or endanger your life? 

HUB: 

* Listen & Love = Life  

* Listening and responding to the loving words of someone you love will lead to life.  

* Ignoring or hearing and not responding will lead to death

* This is true for us and it was true in Deuteronomy 

SPOKE: Listen & Love The Lord Alone (BibleProject)

* Watch for what they say is at the core of the Deuteronomy Scroll? 

* Watch: Book of Deuteronomy Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

*  A call to covenant faithfulness 

* What does that look like? Listening to and loving the Lord leading to life

SPOKE: Listen & Love

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation: 

* Deut 4:1-8

* Deuteronomy 6:4-5 

* Shema

* The Shema - were gonna focus on that for a week in our reading. 

* But our love for God and his laws are to be contagious and infectious; infectious to all of who we are. We don’t just love God with our heart and shut off our mind. We love God with our emotions: who we are deep down, and our strength or our effort. (Jesus later adds our intellect or mind)

* Good analogy is talking about music artists: 

* Who is your favorite music artist? How can you prove that they are your favorite? You listen to them? Why do you listen to them? Cause you love them? Most likely not just privately in head phones but in the car, with your friends, etc 

* Parents pass that on to their kids and share their favorite artists

* Stella Six Flags​​ Taylor Swift - not just passive listening but responsive listening, singing along, memorizing the lyrics it happens naturally with things you love.

* God wants his words to be our favorite music to our ears. That’s why the Psalms say “how I love your law”

* Someone that loves God should love to read the scriptures. They should find life, joy, and beauty in them even if it is hard to read and understand. And Joshua gives us a good example of that next week.  

*  QUESTIONS?

* God doesn’t just say listening and loving will just be good because he says so. He actually says it will make their life better. Living by His wisdom will raise the bar on morality, justice, and life.

SPOKE: Life or Death 

Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:  

* Deuteronomy 28:64-66

* Deuteronomy 30:15-20

* The Choice 

* And then repeats those same formulas of cursing for disobedience

* If you disobey you shall die? What does that sound like? The Garden!

* This section reminds me of the rules to a game. 

* In basketball, can you pick up the ball and carry it? I mean yeah you can. You’ll just get the ball turned over everytime. They won’t physically stop you from doing that, you can do what you want or you can obey the rules and your life will be easier and things will work out better. Does not guarantee you win. And that’s not what God is saying, he isn’t saying your life will be perfect if you follow him. But he is saying it will be richer, fuller, and more whole. 

* Moses is putting the options on the table

Conclusion:

* Gospel of Grace

* The choice is before them. And the choice is before us. See the fun thing about Deuteronomy is that Moses throughout the book, blurs who he is talking to. Between the people that died in the wilderness, their kids, or people in the future. And because of that we can see ourselves in Deuteronomy. We have the same choice. And we have the invitation to read the laws and find the wisdom of God in it. 

* Deuteronomy 5:17 repeats the 10 Commandments (Words) from exodus and says “You shall not murder”. Jesus grew up memorizing, meditating, listening to and loving God’s law. And this is what he said after 30 years of that

* Matthew 5:21-22

* Jesus read don’t murder and saw underneath that the deeper intent and wisdom of God. 

* So we have the invitation to read the law and meditate on it and say wait guys, does this law upon meditation mean this? 

* Deuteronomy therefore has wisdom and truth to speak to our lives. 

* But more importantly it points us to our savior.

* When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he points us to the Shema (found in deuteronomy) and loving neighbor as the most important law. He looked back to Deuteronomy

* Jesus through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension gives us a new heart that Deuteronomy said we needed and his return will enable us to live with those new hearts.

* Moses wrote the law on stone, Jesus writes it on our hearts. Through the Spirit we are told he will remind us of the new covenant. 

* And Jesus is the greater prophet than Moses that the end of the book says we need.

* Moses rebelled and did not enter the promised land. Moses mediated God’s words imperfectly.

* Jesus was faithful in all things and he promises to lead us to the promised land and he perfectly mediated God’s words to us (we have it written it in the gospel) and he gives us his very own spirit so that we can hear directly from God himself. 

* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: In the blessings and curses that Moses lays out at the end of Deuteronomy, he says, “if you do not listen and love this will happen”: death, exile, isolation. And as we look forward to Jesus we see one who although He did listen and love his whole life takes the curses on himself. He dies, he is exiled outside of the city, and he is alone. Why? So anyone who puts their trust in him and follows him can experience the blessings he earned. We can have life eternal that begins now, he we have the hope of the promised land, and we have fellowship with God now! (Gal 3)

* That is how Deuteronomy points us to Jesus. 

* QUESTIONS?

* Let’s pray!

Small group Questions: 

High and Low of the Week?

What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)

Do people that are listening know what you love (restaurants, music, guys/girls)? Do those people know you love Jesus? 

What is an example from your life recently that shows the choice between listening to God or listening to yourself?

What points to Jesus in Deuteronomy?

Prayer Requests?