Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Silence (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to live a life to the Lord without stirring up controversy.  Why would Paul say such things and what does Paul by living a peaceful and quiet life?

Job’s Wish Granted (2) (Job 40:6-42:6)

Job has not repented in a true Godly sorrow, but instead continues to hold to his innocence.  So, now the Lord is the one who continues with his speech to Job.  Job is invited to hear that the Lord is good, gracious, merciful, and the Lord is perfectly just.  We are invited to witness this speech, Job is invited to hear this speech, but will Job finally listen and concede the righteousness of the Lord?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Pilgrim (1 Peter 1:1,2)

Peter and James greet the church in the dispersion.  What is the dispersion?  Why would they greet the church with such strange language?  What can such language communicate about our Christian Sojourn?

Job’s Wish Granted (Job 38-40:5)

Job clings and defends his innocence.  He is a man who has not done anything to receive the punishment, the suffering, and the pain he has experienced.  This is all out of line and how can the Lord do such a horrible thing to such a righteous man?  Job fights for his day in court and now Job has his day to defend himself before the Lord.  Will Job give an adequate defense?  Will God concede that something has gone wrong?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Union (Ephesians 2:1-10)

We are getting towards the end of our series of Sojourning Under the Sun.  The intention of this series is for us to consider our placement in the Lord.  A very significant passage that covers our placement in the Lord is Ephesians 2 where the Apostle Paul makes clear that we have undergone a significant transformation in Christ.

Elihu's Conclusion (Job 36-37)

Elihu is going to conclude his speech which concludes the counselors speaking.  The counselors have told Job to repent of the sin that Job has committed, but Job has not committed a sin to deserve this punishment.  However, Job has attached the integrity and purity of the Lord claiming that something has gone wrong in how the Lord has treated Job.  Elihu has encouraged Job to drop his case.  Will this man drop his case?  Will Job see the goodness of the Lord?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Shining (1 Corinthians 13)

The Apostle Paul has written many letters to new churches.  His letters to the Corinthian church discloses that Paul is frustrated by the lack of unity in that church.  The people claim elitism, they call attention to social class, they call attention to their giftedness, they fail to discipline those who need some Godly correction, and there are more issues that we can list.  So, what is the positive solution?  What is the church called to do as we sojourn together through this age?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Suffering (Luke 14:25-35)

Christ uses very strong language regarding our Christian life.  He tells us that we are to actually hate our families.  Is this a contradiction of the 5th commandment?  I thought that we were to honor our parents?  I thought that we were to love our Lord as first priority and love our neighbor as ourselves?  How can Christ command us to hate our families?

God is Just! (Job 34:1-37)

Elihu waits for Job to answer, but Job gives no answer so Elihu continues to address his friend and the counselors.  Elihu defends the justice of God and desires all to know that our God is definitely just.  Has Job denied that God is just or is Elihu merely putting words in this suffering saint’s mouth?    Do we really need to care so much about God’s justice?

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Elihu’s Confrontation (Job 33:1-33)

Elihu continues to interact with Job.  He is not happy with Job's attitude and Job's accusations against God.  He now turns to Job and confronts his line of thinking.  Will Job concede the words from this young man? Will Job continue his course claiming his own holiness and cling to his self righteousness?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Spread (Luke 14:1-24)

Christ is invited to dine with the leader of the Pharisees.  It seems that Christ’s ministry is moving in a positive direction where he is making inroads with the movers and shakers of the society.  This seems to be underscored when we notice Luke tells us that the Phariesses were watching Him carefully.  This has to mean that Christ is being accepted by significant people.  Or is this banquet hosted for more nefarious reasons?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable that certainly teaches us to be concerned for our neighbor, it teaches us to care for the physical needs as well as the spiritual, but is there a deeper meaning to this parable?  In other words what other information can this parable be teaching us about the kingdom?

Elihu's Apologetic (Job 32:1-22)

Prior to Job 32 there have been a lot of words, speeches, and exchanges about suffering.  The speeches are frustrating because there is no resolution on the horizon.  The counselors and Job are finally finished with their bantering, but the book is not resolved.  Job is the last one to speak, but his words are not all that God glorifying.  Is there another man who can step up and offer some wisdom, offer some insight, or maybe a different perspective?  We meet Elihu.  Who is this man, and why has he been silent for so long?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Situated (Matthew 28:16-20)

We all know that the great commission is the call for the church to go out and to make disciples.  This is something that Christ explicitly states, but is this really the Great Commission?  What are we missing when we only talk about the call for the church to go out?

Easter Fools (1 Corinthians 15:45)

The resurrection of Christ is a difficult doctrine for us to defend.  I mean the absurdity of this is when recognize that we are coming together on April Fools day to talk about the resurrection of some guy who clearly died on the cross.  How can this be possible?  More importantly is it really that important to talk about the Resurrection of Christ?

Friday Fools (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Christ assures us that the folly of Christ’s cross is salvation manifested by the power of God.  How can this be?  This sounds impossible because the cross is a method of execution.  Why would we want this symbol?  The tragedy is that we are tempted to sanitize this symbol, but why is that so tragic?  What could be the possible benefit of this cross?

Struggling with God's Injustice (Job 31:1-40)

Job is one who has suffered, but he is not someone that we would say is a champion.  He is a man who continually rests in his righteousness while wondering how God can make such a righteous man suffer.  We can chuckle and Job, judge Job, and point out Job’s problems.  However, we still have not asked the deeper question: why is this book in our canon?  What can Job’s suffering and self righteous speech teach us about our Christian walk, our bent, and our failure to see the gospel?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Conforming: Self Examination (Matthew 7:13-29)

We conclude Christ’s sermon on the mount.  Christ is laying out an ethic that we are called to follow as a people set apart unto the Lord.  Do we just say that these laws are difficult so we can ignore them?  Do we more purposefully set out to obey these laws in our strength?  What are we to do with this challenging sermon that is set before us?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Cross Ethic (Matthew 7:1-12)

It is easy for fallen man to be judgmental.  If we are honest we would much rather fix someone else’s problem than our own because overall we are doing pretty well right?  This is not what Christ says, and Christ speaks in a parabolic way showing the absurdity of such a judgmental spirit.  So, what is the problem of being judgmental and what is the solution?

My Indictments (Job 30:1-31)

Job is not happy with how the Lord has treated him.  You would think that Job would be rather content considering that the Lord has blessed him, and allowed him to enjoy a great life.  However, now we hear why Job is so upset as he even uses the counselors own words to describe his suffering.  Why would Job be so upset if he is merely using the counselors own words to describe his suffering?