The golden calf incident in Exodus 32 is a paradigm for idolatry in the Bible. Examining this story helps us understand the nature of idolatry and the ways that we are led into it. The character of Aaron also reveals to us the sinner's tendency to make excuses for sin and blame others for them. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the lessons that we can learn from this story of idolatry and how blame-shifting keeps us from enjoying freedom from the snares of idolatry.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

It is not uncommon to hear the phrase "filled with the Spirit" in connection to some kind of erratic spiritual experience. But in the Bible, that phrase is first connected to the skills necessary to build the tabernacle. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss what it means to be filled with the Spirit in light of the skill and wisdom given to Oholiab and Bezalel to manufacture the parts of the tabernacle. What might this mean for our understanding of the phrase? They also discuss the charismatic view and compare it to the task-oriented nature of work. Finally, they discuss the importance of work and Sabbath for the Christian.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

The worship of the tabernacle involved a lot of visceral components that people experienced through the senses. Incense, fire, smoke, water, and oil each play their part in the tabernacle. While many of these are shadows that point to heavenly realities, they also point to the creaturely nature of our worship. We may lean into a gnostic tendency to focus exclusively on spiritual things. But the visceral components of worship speak to the importance of bringing all our creaturely life to God in worship. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the spiritual referents of these visceral things while also discussing how we should avoid an overly spiritualized and gnostic-leaning worship.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

The coming new creation is one of the big themes of the New Testament. This new creation is so deeply related to our current redemption in Christ that we read that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17). But does the Old Testament teach new creation? Are there hints within the tabernacle and priesthood of the new creation that Christ came to bring? In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the pervasive theme of the new creation within the Old Testament portrait of the high priest. As we look at the ordination process of the high priest, we see that new creation was always the plan.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

Exodus 28 is all about the clothing that the high priest wore when serving in the tabernacle. Examining the details of the high priestly clothing helps us to understand how Christ is our High Priest. This clothing points to Christ's incarnation and mediatorial as our second Adam. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Rusten and Pastor Jon discuss the meaning of the priestly underwear, the materials of the garments, and the glorious high priestly ephod.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

A crucial aspect of the tabernacle construction is its dimensions and geographical order. While we might scratch our heads and wonder why all these details are important, we haven't been left without the keys to understand what they mean. To understand the tabernacle, we need to look back to Sinai and Eden. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss how the tabernacle calls back to these moments to convey God's redemptive purposes to his people in a geographic and tactile way.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

God has a purpose for his people. He didn't just save them from Egypt, he reconciled them to himself and made them a new people that were to live for him and worship him. The number of words and chapters giving the details of God's prescription for the tabernacle speaks to the importance of corporate worship for his people. This is an important lesson for us today. Just like we might de-emphasize the intention of the tabernacle details, many evangelical Christians today tend to de-emphasize the importance of the Church. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the importance of God's purpose for his people and God's redemptive work in history.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

When God instructs Moses on the construction of the tabernacle, there are details...lots of details. While these things may seem foreign or arbitrary to us, every detail was intentional and spoke something crucial that God's people needed to hear. It is helpful to think of the tabernacle as a kind of word of God communicated through the fabricated objects of the tent and its furniture. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss how they communicated that God has provided a way to invite his sinful people to come home to him.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

How do the covenants of the Bible relate to the new covenant? How is Sinai related to the coming of Christ? Is Sinai a gracious covenant? In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the unfolding nature of God's promises and administrations of his covenant of grace. At Sinai, we see a covenant that is incomplete and unfulfilled. But it is still a gracious covenant that points to the fulfillment that was to come in Christ.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].

God is against partiality in justice. But today, we are seeing an intentional institutionalization of partiality in the law. For example, in many cities, theft is being decriminalized by applying partiality to certain "disadvantaged" groups. This is exactly the kind of partiality that Exodus 23 addresses and condemns. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss why justice must be impartial and how we are seeing the abandonment of this principle today through laws, lawfare, and partial application of the law.

We hope you enjoy, and as usual, if you have any questions for Sermon B-Sides or anything else, email us at [email protected].