Inside Out

Jim Leffel

Jeremiah 37:1-38:20

As Jeremiah remains faithful to God in the face danger from those pursuing him, King Zedekiah struggles to make a decision to obey God or not. Contrasting the inner lives of Zedekiah and Jeremiah, we get a hint at why there is such a difference in their outer actions.

Understanding Ceremonial Law

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 25-28

The ceremonial laws of the old Testament were a form of instruction for the Israelites who were at that time mostly illiterate. They were a prediction of the future work of Jesus. They were only symbolic and now are obsolete.

Being Different

Ben Foust

1 Peter 1:13-23

Peter gives us instructions for living well as resident aliens in this world. We are to live as obedient children of God. This means living with hope, in security, in reverential fear, and being holy. This means we will be different. We will be freed from futility and slavery to live a new way of others-centered love.

God Prepares Moses

Conrad Hilario

Exodus 4:29-7:6

In the process of preparing Moses for the great he would eventually do, God had to teach him some lessons on failure. Moses needed to learn to not be careless with the words of God, to say exactly what God said. Moses needed to learn to follow God despite rejection, whether from Pharaoh or his own people. Moses learned that fear of failure is opposed to faith, but he can go to God when he does fail. Moses discovered El Shaddai is the God who is sufficient for our personal inadequacies.

The Calling of Moses

Conrad Hilario

Exodus 2:11-4:20

For the first forty years of Moses' life, he thought he was a somebody. God used the next forty years to teach Moses he was a nobody. When God was ready to use Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, He did not make Moses adequate for the job, but told him He would be with him. God's ways are different from our ways. If God can use Moses' rod, He can certainly use us.

The God Who Uses Our Failures

James Rochford

Exodus 4:21-7:6

We often think like Moses did that God's ability to use us in His plans is limited by our shortcomings, but God doesn't need us or our pitiful capabilities to accomplish His work. Moses learned through failure that he must follow God before he can teach others how to follow God. Moses learned not to improve upon God's words. He learned to to follow God despite rejection by Pharaoh and even his own people. Moses learned to follow God in spite of all his problems and limitations.

The Plagues

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 7-10

The series of plagues that God inflicted upon Pharaoh and his people were designed to demonstrate how impotent the Egyptian gods were and how powerful the true God is. Each of the plagues was designed to expose the worthlessness of a particular Egyptian god, culminating in Pharaoh, a self-proclaimed god, unable to save his first-born son from death. This demonstration of God's power was part of a bigger plan of rescue.

When God Calls

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 1-4

In the first four chapters of Exodus, God reveals who He is. He is distinct form humans. He is the eternal and unchanging I AM. He is who He is, not who we want Him to be. He is personal, and even has empathy. He pursues a plan of rescue for His fallen creation, humans. He calls us to join Him. He makes the large out of the little.

Slavery and Scripture

Scott Risley

Ephesians 6:5-9

Some skeptics try to argue the Bible supports the practice of slavery, but the reality is The Bible has a high regard for slaves. In the Old Testament, God proscribes humane treatment of slaves. The New Testament (NT), calls Christians to consider themselves slave, slaves to Christ. In the NT, slaves are treated as humans in God's image. Masters and slaves were both saved by grace. All Christians began calling themselves slaves of Christ. The most shocking point of all is that Jesus became a slave on our behalf. The Master submitted to the slaves and calls us to follow His lead.