Exodus 21:1-11 Pastor Dave was honest in describing our gut reaction to the word slave and to God’s rules about slavery: we recoil. We wonder, is God is condoning slavery? How can slavery possibly fit with loving our neighbor? A skeptic reads this passage and throws the Bible away...
Exodus 20:22-26 Pastor Dave cautioned us not to dismiss as irrelevant this passage and following chapters that set out the detailed laws God gave Israel. These laws don’t apply to us directly because we do not live in a theocracy, as Israel did, but they do teach us things about God. We...
Exodus 20:12-21 Love was a major theme on Sunday, both in Pastor Dave’s communion meditation and in Pastor Todd’s sermon, but not because it was Valentine’s Day. Both drew a direct line from love to obedience. Dave quoted John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will obey...
Exodus 20:1-11 Pastor Dave began by describing a Goldilocks “just right” view of the Law: Obeying the 10 Commandments does not make us righteous, but it does make us more like Christ, our Savior, by helping us love God and love each other. The Law doesn’t save us, but it...
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...