The first 10 verses of Judges chapter 6 are probably ones that most readers will spend little time considering.  The average reader of Judges (and their aren’t too many) would rather skip ahead to verse 11 for the “action” of Gideon and his “300” begins to unfold.  A careful reading of Judges 6 makes these first verses feel  somewhat parenthetical, almost like a speed bump in thought before entering the main thoroughfare.  There are no accidental anecdotes in God’s Word; every word is carefully and intentionally breathed out by God to declare His glory and build our faith. These 10 verses are intended to slow us down so that we don’t lose sight of God’s point for the larger story, of which Judges is simply one chapter in. […]

I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.Psalm 40.1-3 I preached on the Song of Deborah (Judges 5) this week.  It is one of those texts that most will read hastily, without much thought, as it seems little more than a commentary on chapter 4.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is much to learn from this song, one that was written to help preserve, protect, and even perpetuate the cultural identity of Israel as God's people.  In summary, it is a song about the details of what happened before, during, [...]

Ugh. Rarely do I ever write a sermon that I don't completely rewrite in my mind AFTER I have preached it. This not only evidences the richness of God's immeasurably deep word, it also probably evidences my own desire to try and control more than I actually can.  God is in control and speaks what he wants, when he wants, through and to whom he wants, despite me. Nevertheless, God has graced me a blog to share my revisionist thoughts.  This week's sermon was a difficult one. All week I have been at a loss to the "big lesson" we are supposed to gain from this 4,000 year old story. I am resigned to believe that most of the lessons we can learn from Scripture are secondary to the one lesson we are supposed to learn--God is big, God is awesome, and God is in control of everything. By everything, [...]

I can't stop thinking about Ehud.  It seems that, with every text I preach, I discover that there are probably seven other ways it could have been preached.  Alas, the richness of God's Word--it can never be fully comprehended or sufficiently proclaimed.Regarding Ehud, there is another meaningful truth that can easily get lost in the delightfully disturbing narrative.  Though Ehud pretended to be many things, though his ruse was full of creative acting, the one role he fulfilled free of any deception was that of a faithful mailman--he delivered Yahweh's message.  The message was not a secret password or tidbit of wisdom, it was a double-edged sword.  Hebrews 4.12 tells us that the Word of God is a double-edged sword, able to cut men down to the heart, to kill them or clean them.  In Revelation 1.16 we see that Jesus speaks with a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth.  This is Revelation Jesus, not the once marginalized Gailean peasant Jesus, but the [...]

Before you continue reading, you’ll want to listen or read the sermon on Judges 3.12-30.  After preaching this sermon many asked, or were thinking, ‘Did he just say what I think he said?”  The answer is probably "yes". Unfortunately, we live in a sensationalistic world where even preachers proclaim God’s Word in such a way that they believe they have the power.  They add clever jokes, funny illustrations, or emphasize the most sensationalistic details of text in order to make their message more "memorable" or shocking.  All the while, God’s message is lost in the noise.I didn’t want that to happen with this passage.  So, in an effort to avoid unnecessary shock value, and to protect some younger listeners, I attempted to preach a PG-13 version of the story of Ehud.  Below is some explanation to help clarify any confusion about what I believe really happened in this story.  Consider this [...]

Never satisfied.  I wonder if I will always feel that way about my sermons.  I remember reading that Charles Spurgeon, regularly wept after sermons out of fear of having dishonored the Lord unintentionally.  If the "Prince of Preachers" struggled with sermon contentment, then I can expect this "pauper of preachers" to live in the same tension.  Preaching is hard and pastors are their worst critics.  Unlike many occupations, results are not always immediate--fruit takes time to grow.  More often than not, I feel like preaching is akin to tilling hardened soil with a broken tool. Perhaps this is God's way of making preachers desperate for His Spirit and assuring He gets the glory whether they are or not.  The last sermon I preached was Judges 2.7-11, title, Generational Unfaithfulness. This weekly blog is where I reflect on the sermon, here are the points that I would want to repeat, reject, [...]

The second sermon in our series on Judges, titled {UN}faithfulness, centers on the progressive, but deliberate, disobedience of God's people.  The video can be found here.  The passage contains a lot of verses, 41 to be exact.  It is not often we read that many verses in a service, but whenever I do, there is deep level of satisfaction as the my finite words are drowned out by the eternal words of Scripture.  It reminds me of Paul's charge to a young pastor named Timothy was to "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture" (1Tim 4.13). We would do well to do this more. Not only was the text long, it was complicated. As a purely historical narrative, Judges would make a lot more sense if it started in chapter 2. The first chapter is strange, containing three seemingly unrelated vignettes including an assassination, a romance, and an operation of Israel’s "Seal [...]