RG AUDIO 071118   Jeremiah 30:1-11 Parents are interesting to watch when they’re dealing with their children. They balance a tight rope between letting their kids make mistakes and protecting them, between giving them freedom and boundaries and even between grace and consequence. The thing with good parents is that they know their children and […]

RG AUDIO 071018   Jeremiah 23:21-32 When you were a kid do you remember being asked, “Who do you want to be like when you grow up?” For many, the answer is usually the name of the teacher or mentor they are around the most or spend the most time watching. We want to be […]

RG AUDIO 070918   Jeremiah 23:1-11 Chaos, devastation, lawlessness, greediness, every man for himself—this is the way of the world. Then the WORD of the Lord is spoken through Jeremiah, “The days are coming… When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch… The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” Finally a word of hope, finally […]

RG AUDIO 070818   Psalm 111:1-10 Dedication to studying God’s word is a wholehearted expression of gratefulness to God for all that He has done. It is by studying the stories and instructions recorded in God’s word that we learn His will in the past and for our own lives. Understanding the rightness and trustworthiness […]

RG AUDIO 070718   James 1:1-18 God is absolute goodness. God’s proclamation of “it is good” is evidence of His goodness in creation. Therefore, what God creates, does, and gives is good, pure, true, and right. James makes this point with double emphasizes by saying that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” God’s […]

RG AUDIO 070618   Romans 9:25-33 Life presents choices: left or right, yes or no. Those choices often appear like paths at a fork along the road of life. The meaning of the paths, the one not taken and the one less traveled in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” is debated. Are the […]

RG AUDIO 070518   Romans 9:14-24 Grappling with complex theological questions, Dr. Rob Staples informed students, often requires placing them back on the shelf of ‘suspended judgment’ for later re-examination. He did not suggest that we throw up our hands and conclude that the mysteries of God are impossible to comprehend with finite minds. Yet, […]

RG AUDIO 070418   Romans 9:1-13 As a pastor, it disturbing to know family members of active Christians who are actively disengaged from Christian faith. Then, there are persons who grow up without a Christian family and they become dynamic Christians. Working with individuals recovering from drug addictions, some will demonstrate a rational understanding of […]

RG AUDIO 070318   Jeremiah 18:13-23 Seneca the Younger, an ancient Roman philosopher, emphasized the continuity of the final hour of life with all the hours before it. Thus, the hour of judgment is merely the completion of a process. Although the Christian attitude is love (see Matthew 5:44) and patience (see Romans 12:20), consequences […]

RG AUDIO 070218   Jeremiah 18:1-12 Making pottery was a common trade in ancient Israel. The Lord’s invitation to visit the potter’s house provided Jeremiah autobiographical insights into YHWH activity and Israel’s response. A pottery artist once told me that the nature or quality of the clay is the ultimate determiner of what can be […]