Tune in as Pastor Josh preaches from Hosea 2 this morning:

“God will foil the plans and decisions of his wayward people. This doesn’t mean he takes away our ability to freely choose him, but he will keep his own from the disastrous direction they are headed in, and he will win his bride…How do I know that I belong to God? Not because I’m just such a great guy, not because I’m such a spiritually mature person. But because everytime I would fall away God says “No, you’re mine.” He disciplines me…The way I know I belong to God is that he brings me to repentance daily. He walls me in with stone and thorns…The sovereignty of God does no violence to the human will, only it is far more potent and will have its way.”

Tune in as Pastor Josh introduces Hosea:

“By comparing Israel’s sinful behaviour with the vile behaviour of an immoral and adulterous wife, Hosea reminds his audience, then and now, of both the seriousness of sin and its effects, and of the amazing greatness of God’s mercy and love…Unfaithfulness to God in Israel and the church cannot be ignored. Either people are believers and are faithful to their covenant commitments to God, or they are not a part of the family of God… Unless we respond to these warnings of Hosea, we should have no certainty of our salvation.”

Tune in to hear Andrew preach from Philippians 2 this morning:

“Humility is not somehow detached from the pursuit of righteousness. Humility does not seek to avoid the offence of the gospel…Genuine humility puts others before themselves while still submitting to God’s word…Genuine humility is deference to God, which in turn causes a deference towards others…”

Tune in to hear Pastor Leighton preach from Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem this morning:

“Mark is keen to show, almost word for word, that absolutely everything went according to plan. That everything occurred just as Jesus said it would. Ever, always in Mark, Jesus is shown to be in control of every situation, he is always the authority in the room, he is always in command of what happens around him. It’s one of Mark’s big themes that grows throughout his book, guiding his readers to readily acknowledge Jesus, not only as the King of kings and Lord of lords, but personally so. You and I are to witness these moments and proclaim, Jesus is my King. He is my Lord…”

Tune in to hear Pete Hamm preach from Habakkuk this morning:

“Rose City, we need to change the framing of this book. We are not Habakkuk complaining about the unrighteous people…we are the unrighteous people he is complaining about…”

Tune in as Pastor Josh gives a teaching on Rose City Baptist Church’s understanding of church membership and the authority of the elders:

“Another way I see domineering leadership enter the church is when church elders try to force the change they wish to see in people rather than to teach the word, set an example with the way they live their own lives, and then give time for the gospel to do its work. We can be very sincere in our desire for holiness in the church and to see people changed, but if we try to accomplish the sanctification of God’s people by authoritarian means, we have become oppressors rather than shepherds…Hearts are not changed by threats and anger, but by greater understanding of the loyal love and gentle compassion of our Lord.”

Tune in to hear Pastor Leighton continue teaching us from the Gospel of Mark this morning:

“…This could well be our spiritual constitution. Every kingdom needs a constitution, and this is as fine a summary as ever there was. In the kingdom of God, only God is king, everyone else ranks the same, and even though upon which he confers some role of authority is only just a servant. None higher, none lower. We are all just servants. Slaves even. Happy, well-looked after slaves of the king. If God is good, providing for our every need, and is our leader, keeper, and guide, there’s no need to jostle for position, there’s no point in jockeying for rank…”

Tune in as Pastor Josh teaches from the conclusion to the book of Ruth:

“God truly provided Naomi a daughter-in-law of greater benefit to her than seven sons could ever be.  Ancient Israelites thought that the ideal family consisted of seven sons, but God knew better.  He understood far better what would really result in the best for Naomi. In her earlier bitter tirade against God (Ruth 1:21) Naomi thought that God was out to get her; “the Almighty has brought calamity upon me.”  Little did she know that God had already given her everything she would need in order to be filled…In the dark days of the judges the foundation is laid for the line that would produce the Savior, the Messiah, the Redeemer of a lost and destitute humanity. Boaz has been a redeemer, now Obed is called a redeemer — but they both foreshadow a future Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who would come and redeem all of his people, buying them back so that they would no longer be slaves to sin…”

Tune in as Pastor Josh preaches from Ruth 3 this morning:

“The 3rd act ends once again with the words of Naomi.  The narrator opens and closes all the other acts, but here, again, Naomi has the first and last words. Her first words are the the first expression of ḥeseḏ which come from Naomi.  We get to watch God restore her in more ways than one.  Naomi’s outlook changes radically from self-absorption to concern for her daughter-in-law’s well-being. The bitter old woman has started to care for the needs of others.  God is truly gracious in the restoration of his people. And he is using his people to bring about this change. This restoration comes as a result of the ḥeseḏ of God expressed to her in the ḥeseḏ of faithful Boaz and loyal Ruth. It was God who first provided her, out of all the unfaithful Israelite, and Moabite women, a daughter-in-law worth more than ten sons; a woman of valor who would devote herself to Naomi’s cause.”

Tune in to hear Pastor Josh teach from Ruth 2 this morning:

“The Book of Ruth demonstrates that peace and well-being — the shalom of God — is possible in the midst of personal catastrophes and amid societal degeneration as in the days of the judges, not unlike as it is today. When God is at work, however and bitterly hopeless the beginning, it can result in surprising good.  When we are in similar desperate straits, we might see in simple food at the table, and loyal friends, the very work of God, His ḥesed love, his covenant faithful love, sustaining and guiding us until the day he dispels the darkness. We also see that this sovereign control, the meticulous provision of God, is on display in the obedience of his people…”