Exodus 19:1-25 Pastor Todd introduced this chapter by saying that it describes three expressions of God’s grace toward His people: salvation in vv 1-8, revelation of Himself in vv 9-15, and mediation in vv 16-25. Salvation (v4) and the response of obedience God requires of those He saves...
Exodus 18:13-27 Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses’ father-in-law, wisely advised Moses to share the burden of judging the people, lest he wear himself out, and succinctly summarized qualifications for leadership assistants. We may not all become leaders, but we can all aspire to the...
Exodus 18:1-12 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, is described as “the priest of Midian.” Pastor Dave explained that many scholars believe Jethro knew something of Yahweh, the God of Israel, and worshipped Him, but as one god among many. After hearing Moses’ account of how God...
Exodus 17:8-16 Pastor Dave began by reviewing how God has tested His people in the wilderness through difficult circumstances to reveal what He already knows – whether they will follow and obey Him, or not. In this week’s passage, God seems to be testing their leader, Moses, as the...
Encouragement from Psalm 121 Guest preacher John Tebay began by saying that he and Grace memorized Psalm 121 during the pandemic year 2020. It was clear that he has also reflected deeply on the psalm. Let’s pray for one another, that we would follow the Tebays’ example and turn to...
Matthew 2:1-15Against All Odds In the faceoff of King Herod and the newborn king, Jesus, the smart bet was on Herod. He was a man with power, a hustler who had manipulated his way to the throne as the king of the Jews. He was a narcissist who was so determined to protect his status as king that...
Exodus 17:1-7 In this week’s passage, God tests the Israelites again – Will they trust Him when they’re thirsty? – but the people also test God by demanding that He solve their problem on their terms. If someone asked me, “Do you ever put God to the...
Exodus 16:1-36 God used difficult circumstances – no potable water in sight, food supplies depleted – to test the obedience of His people in ancient times. He uses difficult circumstances to test our obedience, too. Pastor Dave emphasized that God doesn’t test us to discover...
Exodus 15:1-21 The first song recorded in the Bible is Moses’ song of praise after God parted the Red Sea for the escaping Israelites and closed it again to wipe out the Egyptian army. The LORD is the focus of Moses’ song, and He should be the focus of our prayers. Too often, though...
Exodus 14:1-31 Pastor Dave asked rhetorically, “Is it egotistical of God to want glory?” His answer was that, while it is egotistical for a human being to want glory, it is completely appropriate for God. It is easy to point a finger at egotistical people who actively seek glory...