Numbers 22:21-41; The second installment of the Balaam narrative, where the pagan seer leaves for Moab with the Moabite digintaries and incurs the anger of Yahweh-God. Three times the angel of the LORD stood unseen in Balaam’s path, but he was saved by the spiritual sight of his donkey. After beating the animal for the […]
Luke 16:19-31; Sickness, suffering and death are repeated themes in Scripture, as the curse of sin applies to all humanity. Jesus related the topic of death to His own mission of atonement, as well as instructing those who would listen that there were only two eventualities following the death of an individual…..heaven or hell. Christ’s […]
Numbers 22:1-20; After twice defeating Amorite kings who attacked them, Israel temporarily settled in captured towns as they looked northward towards Moab. Balak, the king of Moab, was fearful of an Israelite invasion and sent emmisaries to hire a pagan prophet to curse God’s people. Balaam received the foreign messengers, then consulted the God of […]
Numbers 20:14-29; In this very impactful chapter, Miriam had died and the Israelite complaining about lack of water had prompted Moses to lose his composure. Instead of speaking to the rock, he struck it twice and was punished by the Lord by losing the privilige of leading the assembly into Canaan. Next they faced untrustful […]
Mark 12:18-27; Another Looking Forward message that is actually looking back to the Torah, as the Sadducees pose a rhetorical question to Jesus about the resurrection. The Sadducees based their beliefs in the Mosaic law and disbelieved in either the supernatural or a future resurrection of the dead. Their question to Jesus about marriage in […]
John 21:1-17; The final message in the “Gone Fishing” summer series on the use of fish as a teaching metaphor in the ministry of Jesus. Following two post-resurrection appearances to His disciples, Jesus meets seven of His close followers in Galilee along the familiar shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. Simpn had returned to fishing […]
Luke 24:36-49; The biblical metaphor of fish come into prominence once again at the end of Luke’s gospel, but with a more practical application. Jesus had conquered sin and death through His sacrifice on the cross and amazing resurrection by the power of God. The Eleven are anxious and fearful, when Jesus suddenly appears in […]
Matthew 12:38-42; Our 3rd message on the theme of biblical fishing, entailing both metaphors and miracles. The target passage details another confrontation between the Jewish religious authorities and Jesus, following the casting out of a demon. The Pharisees demand a sign from Jesus to affirm He is the Messiah, but his response was to deny […]
John 6:1-15; Week two of our ‘Gone Fishing’ summer series unpacks the Apostle John’s perspective on the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus takes the disciples across the Sea of Galilee to the isolated eastern side for some respite from the constant crowds. However the mass of people soon catch up and […]