God miraculously gave Abraham a son but later commanded to sacrifice him. Instead of Abraham having to go through with Isaac's death, a ram in the thicket became the substitute.

It didn’t take long before sin corrupted God’s good creation. While disobedience brought about brokenness, God revealed a plan to redeem what had fallen.

The Bible is not a collection of disconnected, moralistic stories. It is the one overarching story of how the cross of Christ will rescue a fallen people.

Similar to our context, Ezra the scribe lived in a time when the Word of God had been neglected. How are we to reorient our lives to what the Bible teaches?

King David refused an opportunity to make a sacrifice to God which would cost him nothing. When we give anything to God, we must give our very best.

When David was king, his followers killed giants even larger than Goliath and it wasn’t even that significant of an event. Giant slaying leaders develop giant slaying followers.

When King David was supposed to be winning the battle on the field, he stayed home and lost the battle within his heart. Sin can start with being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No matter the plots of man against us, God’s love endures.

After God’s Own Heart: Reserved Seating (2 Sam. 9) – David showed kindness to disabled Mephibosheth by carrying him to the king’s table. Seated with the King of kings, our brokenness is hidden and God’s favor is restored.

David wanted to honor God by building him a house, but God had a greater house of which David could never build. The greatest work of our lives will not be what we do for God but what God has done for us.