1 Samuel

Hannah, Samuel, Eli, Saul, David, Goliath, Jonathan, Ichabod, (Ichabod?) (Yes, Ichabod), Hophni, Phineas, Doeg the Edomite. These are characters you meet inside the action-packed book of 1 Samuel. Was Samuel the last judge or the first prophet? What is this Ark of the Covenant and does it have anything to do with Indiana Jones? Why do the people want a king? What king do they get? Why does this king want to kill David? Why won't David kill him back? How does all this point to Jesus?

Here are the videos for the conversation John and I had about the Old Testament book called 1 Samuel. The entire conversation is only about twenty minutes long and, I think, very informative about the content of this book. If you would like to read 1 Samuel and know what it is you are reading and what it means to us as Christians then these videos were made for you. Watch and be blessed.

Psalm 8 - The Incarnation

Psalm 8 is one of the more beautiful and familiar of the Psalms. Categorized as a "creation psalm", this psalm praises God for his glorious creation and asks the poignant question, "What is man?"

But there is more to this psalm than meets the eye. I try to look at it through the eyes of David, but then I go further and see what Jesus had to say about the psalm, and finally how it was interpreted by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It's a short psalm--nine verses. Read through it and then click the link to hear the sermon I preached from it.

Soli Deo Gloria

O LORD, our Lord, 

how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

You have set your glory above the heavens. 

Out of the mouth of babies and infants, 

you have established strength because of your foes, 

to still the enemy and the avenger. 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

 the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 

what is man that you are mindful of him, 

and the son of man that you care for him? 

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings 

and crowned him with glory and honor. 

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; 

you have put all things under his feet, 

all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, 

whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 

O LORD, our Lord, 

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Click here: Psalm 8 - A Psalm of the Incarnation

Ruth--Grace In The Midst of Chaos

Tucked away in the Old Testament is a beautiful little book called Ruth. Four chapters long, it is easily overlooked among all the longer works in the early narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures. What is Ruth about and why is it important? When I open it, what should I expect? Is it possible that this little story points to Christ?

Judges

The biblical book of Judges is a gritty chronicle of the early days of the people of God after they entered the promised land. If you attended Sunday School as a child then you are familiar with many of the characters and stories in the book--Gideon, Samson and Delilah, Barak and Deborah. The book of Judges is a fast-paced, sometimes gruesome portrayal of heroes, apostasy, faith and faithlessness, triumph and tragedy. In this video we look at some of the details and ask some tough questions. Most importantly we tackle the meaning and purpose of the book and what the Christian can take away from it. Finally we look for Christ and, of course, we find him here, too. Only about twenty minutes total, I hope you will take the time to watch.

Psalm 4 - A Sermon

While at first glance you might not think so, the Psalms speak to us and our faith in our every day lives. Psalm 4 certainly does, and the faith that it encourages us toward is a necessary element of our lives. In this Psalm David both encourages the people of God and adds a poignant message to the unbelieving world around him.

Below is a link to the audio of a sermon I preached from Psalm 4 this past Sunday. I hope it is a blessing.

Psalm 4 - An Evening Psalm

(I mention John Chrysostum in the sermon.)

Joshua

Genocide, holy war, the sun standing still, whole families being wiped out for the sin of one individual . . . what are we to do with the book of Joshua? John and I take a look at this tough to understand, controversial book in the Old Testament canon, and we look it right in the face. Does God command his people to wage holy war? Is it fair that God punishes whole families for the sins of a patriarchal leader? Do Christians really believe that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and it did? What are we to make of this book and what does it have to say to us today as Christians in the 21st century? Does it have anything to do with Jesus?

I would like to say that we give thorough and satisfying answers to all these questions, but I'm not sure we do. What we do, however, is look the questions right in the face without flinching and give a defense of the holiness of God and the authority of Scripture. Having reviewed this several times I'm still not satisfied with my answers completely, but I believe the testimony of God can stand up to all scrutiny. Watch and think and learn and trust and adore.

The Historical Books of the Old Testament

There are 39 books in what we call the Old Testament. Each of these books is unique and yet all unite  together to give testimony to the faithfulness of the God of Israel--and all point forward to a Messiah.

We divide these 39 books into four major sections. The first one is the Pentateuch or the five books of Moses, also called Torah or the Law. (We have covered these books previously.) Now we come to the second major section, known as the Historical or narrative books of the Old Testament.

How many books are in this section and what do we find in them? That is the topic of these next videos. John asks and I try to answer some important questions about the Historical books. The conversation is designed to introduce this section of the Bible and give you an idea of what is coming. I recommend you have the table of contents in your Bible open as you listen, just for quick reference, especially if you're relatively unfamiliar with the books. Afterwards, you should be able to begin reading with a better idea of what is in them. Again, the first video is just short of 15 minutes and the second one less than 5.

 
The next videos in the series will cover each of these books individually.