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Thoughts from Exodus 7b-8a: Shaming the Gods

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

Plagues one and two.  The Nile and frogs.  Anqet was the goddess of fertility and the Nile – their source of life and nourishment.  In turning the life-giving waters to blood (their symbol of death), all hope in this goddess was shattered.  She was clearly no more powerful than the God of Israel, and couldn't protect […]

Thoughts from Exodus 7a: Pharaoh

Tuesday, February 6th, 2007

I'm not sure what the Bible means when it says that God hardens Pharaoh's heart.  (The most blatant is in 9:12).  I've never heard mentioned in the Bible that the Lord 'took control' of someone, or 'made their decisions for them' in a I-can't-help-myself-I'm-being-controlled sort of way.  I've never read it, or seen it myself, […]

Thoughts From Exodus 6: Yahweh's Declaration

Sunday, February 4th, 2007

In chapter 6, God lays it all out.  He will deliver His people from Egypt and slavery into the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This is a pivotal point in the story.  God has remained a bit mysterious, leading Moses and asking him to do certain things, and giving proof with powerful […]

Preaching from the ESV

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007

Mars Hill is switching to the ESV Bible translation for their public preaching.  Elder Mark Driscoll gives their reasons at the link below.
http://theresurgence.com/mark_driscoll_2007-01-09_pastoral_reflections_on_bible_translations
I think the ESV is a great translation, for many of the reasons he points out.  Also, I really enjoyed the refresher course on the historical accuracy of the Bible.  Locally, we've talked […]

Thoughts from Exodus 4 & 5: Signs and Bricks

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007

Exodus chapter 4 begins with God giving Moses several miracles with which to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and worship away from Egypt.  At this point, we've been watching the Lord eagerly, waiting for what He's going to do next.  He's already picked an unlikely hero (and we still wonder whether he'll make […]

Thoughts from Exodus 3: Unlikely Hero and Plan

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

Last post, we looked at how to read the Exodus story.  Today I'm adding to your background, and once again, more on how to read the story.  We've talked about anticipating what God might do next, but I'd like to mention why today.  Why do I care enough about this story to really be eager […]

Thoughts from Exodus 1 & 2: Where is God?

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

When we read Exodus 1 and 2, I get this real sense of how it needs to be read.  It begs for you to read with your eyes peeled — looking, waiting, and asking, 'Where is God?  What will He do next?'
So even before we touch the text, we can pull this "life lesson" from […]

Thoughts on Joseph, Part 2

Friday, January 12th, 2007

I'm moving from the end of the Joseph story into Exodus now, but I thought it might be good to take a few minutes and reflect back on what Joseph's story has given us, and what his legacy was.
Joseph brought what was then the family of God into Egypt, where they were given a great […]

Thoughts on Joseph, Part 1

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

The story of Joseph intrigues me.  I find it fascinating.  The man was put through some real hell for all of his developmental and early adult years, and is recorded as both trusting God through the suffering, and also being able to look back , forgive, and see God's hand through his whole life.  That's […]

Christian DNA

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

In our meetings on Sunday morning, and our overall corporate study times, we've been looking at 2 Thessalonians, just walking through it, looking at what it says.  A real theme we've run across is the terms faith, hope, and love.  It really seems like this is what was placed in us when we were brought […]

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