Join us for this study of Genesis 1:6-10 which recounts both the reasons why, and the benefits to us, when God separated the “waters from below from the waters that are above,” and, when he created the expanse, or firmament, in between them. Six times in creation God commanded his created matter to obey him, and they did so, without resistance! Tha…

Ever wonder about what was “before the beginning?” The Bible says a lot about what was before the beginning as we know it from Genesis 1! God’s creation was carried out by His spoken word—that word was the very cause of all that was created, and Jesus, as John 1:1-3 says, is the Word of God. Colossians 1:15-20 says that Jesus, the Word of God, and …

In Isaiah 53:10-12, Isaiah the prophet wrote about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, 700 years before Jesus came to the earth! That tells us that the plan of God for a redeemer, God’s will, always was! It was also God’s will that, even in death, it did not end the plan and will of God, because through resurrection, God’s will and testament, Jesus, …

The book of Deuteronomy 16:13-17 describes one of the feasts that God established for the Israelites as part of his Covenant with them. The Feast of Booths was to occur every seven years, and last for 7 days, after the summer’s harvest and gathering-in of crops. They were to remember God’s prior provision for them and rejoice over God’s current abu…

We see such a dichotomy of values in this present time. In I Corinthians 1:26-30 the Bible says that God chose His own definition of what’s wise, powerful, and wealthy, namely, those who ascribe to and receive the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ unto salvation. What God chose as valuable is foolishness to the world, but to those who believe…

In Isaiah 5:7 the Bible says that the Lord planted himself a vineyard and he cared for it and tended it carefully and that the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, are his pleasant planting. Again, using the symbol of the vineyard of the Lord, in the gospel of John 5, Jesus tells the disciples “I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser.…

In Ezra 1:1-11, King Cyrus was mightily used by God to accomplish his will, even though he was not a Jewish believer, but a foreign king. God blessed him greatly, and stirred up his heart to repatriate the scattered Jews, who were in exile in Babylon. Not only did Cyrus allow the Jews to repatriate back to Jerusalem, he also facilitated the rebuild…

A fundamental verse in the Christian faith is I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The whole of scripture is very clear that confessing our sins or repentance, and faith in God to forgive us our sins results in salvation. There is not a substitute for repentan…

In Numbers 15:37-41 God provided fringe benefits to the Children of Israel. He instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to sew fringes, or tassels, onto the hems of their garments. This accomplished two things: 1) it identified them to the world as God’s chosen people and 2) the fringe was to be used as a visual reminder for them not to follow their…

Today is Father’s Day, when we celebrate our fathers. Jesus loved his father! He prayed, Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name! Proverbs 23:24 says that, The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. The Father God was well pleased in His righteous son! Yet, God’s heart, as well as ours, …

Romans 8:1-2 tells us that there is no condemnation—no condemnation to eternity in hell, for those who are in Christ Jesus! Because, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have the Spirit of Life in us, and He has set us free from the condemnation of sin and death through the blood of Jesus, which he shed at Calvary’s cross. But still, …

In Galatians 6:2-10 Paul admonished those who name the name of Christians to take care of one another; to bear each other’s burdens and in so doing, we will fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ is to love one another, just as the ultimate burden bearer, Jesus, bore our sins in his own body. In Verse 7-8, Paul warns against becoming impresse…

The value of our life’s journey can be seen in both natural and spiritual ways. The life experiences we have and the character that is developed, are all part of our journey. Sometimes it turns out like we expect, and sometimes it doesn't. In the Luke 19 Parable of the Minas (about three month’s wages) Jesus tells about three different men, and how…

I John 11 Martha, Mary and the Jews each said, if only Jesus had been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. In other words, had Jesus done what they'd asked, when they'd asked, this wouldn’t have happened. Sounds familiar, hmmm? Jesus was not taken by surprise by Lazarus’ death, but they couldn’t comprehend what Jesus said they would see—the glory of G…

In John 11:1-16, Jesus’ disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus didn’t go to Lazarus the minute that he heard that his good friend was ill. They couldn’t even imagine what Jesus had planned. A plan that was, until this miracle, yet unseen, but as Jesus said, was for their sakes—so they would believe in Him. Then Jesus waited until Lazarus had been …

The representation of Jesus in the Old Testament is very evident, for those who will see it. Scholars predominately agree that all the references to “The Angel of the Lord” is speaking of Jesus in each instance. In addition to The Angel of the Lord being the pre-incarnate Jesus, many also agree that Jesus can be seen in so many other manifestations…

In the book of Exodus, when the Children of Israel left Egypt’s bondage bound for the Promised Land, God provided an angel in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to go in front of them to lead them on the way. But, just at the time when they were seemingly trapped between the Red Sea and the Pharoah's encroaching army…

In II Chronicles 20:12-24 King Jehoshaphat’s great horde of enemies were coming after him, so he went to prayer. Jehoshaphat said, we are powerless against this great horde and we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon you, Lord. God answered Jehoshaphat’s prayer through the prophet Jahaziel using the same language Jehoshaphat used saying, Do…

Jesus said, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. A seed pod, so full of life and potential in itself, must fully surrender itself and die, become useless and dead, because the plant, which bears the fruit, grows from the life inside the seed, splitting apart and causing it to di…

In Jeremiah 5:20-24 God instructs the prophet, Jeremiah, to tell the foolish and senseless people, in the house of Jacob and in Judah, that they need to fear the Lord. He said, I’m the One who drew the boundary of the sea in the sand and though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against that boundary. He also said, I am the One who sends the rain …

In John 19:28-30 when Jesus uttered the words “It Is Finished,” He meant a lot more than just the fact that his life on this earth was nearly over. Hebrews 2:10 tells us that Jesus’ obedience to the Father was perfected in his suffering on the cross, and through that suffering, Jew and Gentile were united in one spirit; the reign of eternal death w…

When the Israelites were miraculously delivered by God from Egyptian bondage and slavery, they left Egypt with a vast amount of goods which was a fulfillment of scripture. Those goods were contributed by those people whose hearts were moved upon by the Holy Spirit to be used to build the tabernacle, where God himself would dwell and meet with the p…

The Nazirite laws laid out in Numbers 6 governed how a person who wanted to make a vow to God must separate themselves and be dedicated only to God. These laws were strict and, if entered into, must be kept until they were completely accomplished. Then, after sacrificial offerings were made to God, the blessing would be given to them. Abraham also …

In Matthew 12:22-32 Jesus upset the religious leadership. He performed a miracle, healing a man who was blind and mute and the man both saw and spoke. But the Pharisees accused him of using Satan’s power to perform this miracle. The one thing God will not tolerate is attributing his divine power to Satan. It’s called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, a…

In II Kings 3:9-20 the three kings of Israel, Judah and Edom joined forces to fight against the far mightier king of Moab, King Mesha who was poised to conquer all of them. They consulted the prophet Elisha and the Lord gave Elisha a message of deliverance for the three kings united against Moab. Elisha said, “this is a light thing in the sight of …

Want to know how to ‘take it in stride’ and not get tripped up when we hit a curve on life’s pathway? Proverbs Chapter 4:1-4 instructs us to seek hard after God’s wisdom and, to develop good judgment. Verse 12 says that, when we are equipped with these two weapons, we will not be hindered nor restricted by whatever befalls our path and, when we run…

Luke 24 records the two men walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus after Jesus’ death and they said, we had hoped that he was the Messiah, the one sent to rescue Israel—but now, he’s dead and our hope is gone. Like we do, too, they assume’d that their circumstance was too much for God to change! But when they came to know Jesus was alive, they said, didn…

In Acts 2-3 we see the Holy Spirit working miracles through the early church to capture the attention of unbelievers and open their hearts to the gospel message. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is still calling to the unbeliever. Like the church in Acts 4, we diligently pray that the Holy Sprit work miracles through us as a si…

The measurement, or barometer of discipleship that Jesus taught in Luke 14:25-35 was certainly not easy to achieve. He spoke of ‘hating’ those we love most, the point being that we cannot derive personal comfort nor satisfaction by loving anyone else more than we derive by loving Christ! He spoke of carrying our own cross—just as He did on the way …

From the beginning of creation, God sought a way to commune with man, but sin was always in the way. In Exodus 24 and 25, God formed a plan and created a place for this communion to take place, and He told Moses, you build it this way, and I'll meet you there! But first, the sin issue had to be dealt with by the sprinkling of the blood of the anima…

Mount Zion is prevalent throughout scripture. It was a physical mountain in ancient Jerusalem, but it was also used to describe the Jewish Nation, and it is referred to as the Heavenly Jerusalem and will be the physical location of the Millennial Jerusalem, and it was the very birthplace of the early church! Mount Zion was the dwelling place of God…

Less than 90 years after the prophet Jonah had preached to Ninevah that they must repent of their sin of idolatry and return to God, they’d not only fallen back into idolatry but had become so barbaric and cruel to the people of Israel that God had had enough and sent the prophet Nahum to Ninevah, but this time, it was to tell them of their certain…

The Lord gave Isaiah some very strong words about not following along with his culture, which we can certainly relate to today. V11 The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies h…

It can be hard for us to comprehend some portions of the Christmas story. While the joy that comes from the birth of a baby is easy to relate to, it’s harder for us to comprehend that, Jesus WAS—HE EXISTED, in all of His Heavenly, Kingly, status, before he was sent to earth in the flesh as a baby by His Father. We must remember, remember and worshi…

The book of Isaiah prophecies the coming of the Son, who would be called the Prince of Peace. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under our feet shortly. From the first prophecy of the promised Messiah through the final war between Jesus and Satan, when Jesus fully and finally crushes him, God h…

Genesis 22:1 tells us that Abraham’s faith was tested by God. God required him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, the son of promise to God. Abraham said that this act of service to the Lord was “Worship.” That’s a very, very different interpretation of what some modern-day church goers might call worship. It’s not fancy lights and loud music per…

Repentance always precedes revival. It’s God’s way. In the book of I Samuel Chapter 8, God had provided Israel with a righteous judge and prophet, Samuel. But the people rebelled, and demanded a king. Despite God’s warnings that a king would exact taxes from them, put their men into work camps and hijack their women for his own purposes, they still…

Last week Pastor Debbie called on the congregation to prepare something uplifting and edifying to share with the church this week. Join us as we share our testimonies, favorite scriptures, or whatever else we felt may uplift and edify the church.By Pastor Debbie Haynes

The Jewish leaders were so indoctrinated in the laws of Moses that they were blind to the message of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In Acts 13, Paul built on the familiar, until in Acts 13:23, he told them: And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel. There, he’d said it. Addressing yet another group of st…

Yokes are intended to equalize the weight of a heavy load between a team of animals. It serves them well as long as the animals don’t rebel under the yoke. God told the prophet Jeremiah to fashion a yoke around his own neck as an illustrated sermon to show the people of Israel that they soon would be under the yoke of the King of Babylon because of…

Faith or Fear? Sometimes, because we are 100% human, it’s both. The Prophet of Israel, Elijah was mightily used by God in I Kings Chapters 18 &19. He did mighty things through God, but his humanness was a big struggle for him. He was called to a confrontational type of ministry—one that required introspection and personal decision. He asked the peo…

It’s important to God that we remember. Like in Joshua, Chapter 4, where He instructed Joshua to have the priests erect memorial stones so that they would always have a marker by which to remember God’s miraculous deliverance of them out of Egypt. In Deuteronomy 19:14 God told the people not to forget the landmarks, the stones that would mark their…

Have you ever felt like you’ve lived through something before? Deja vu? We can find the answer to this in Ecclesiastes 3:15! What is happening now has happened before and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. When God brings the past into a believer’s present, He is virtual…

I Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. From the beginning, on the very first day of creation, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God established order out of chaos. He brought form and filled the voids with all things pertaining to life and godliness. He did the same wi…

It is said that the drink offering described in Numbers 15 represents the works that the worshipper did in order to make the sacrifice. The drink offering was not shared with the priests or the worshippers, but was only for God. Jesus, under the New Covenant, became our sacrifice, and when he was offered once and for all, the Old Testament sacrific…

God had a dual intent and purpose for the children of Israel. On the one hand, He wanted them to learn to trust Him, depend fully upon Him, but He also wanted to bless them. To provide for them. So He took them through the desert, through hardships and trials to teach them. And God will do the same for us. Whatever it takes—whatever it costs, for u…

One of the most confusing aspects of Jesus’ power is that of healing. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that the reason Jesus bore vicious beatings and the stripes on his back was for our healing. Jesus healed every single person who came to him in faith. He also said that those who believe and follow him will have visible signs that follow them—signs that iden…

In the 17th Chapter of Judges is a very disturbing story of how a mother and son blended the teachings of God, which they knew from childhood from the Books of the Law written by Moses, with idolatry to suit themselves. On the one hand, the mother was thankful to God for the good fortune of the return of her stolen money (stolen by her own son!), b…

A prophecy, a prayer, and a praise. Many times, God uses the physical realm as a prophetic model of what He plans to do in the spiritual realm. This has recently happened at our church. In Job, God instructed Job to pray for his friends as they made a sacrifice to God because they mis-spoke about God to Job. In doing so, God doubly restored all Job…

Have you ever felt the need to present your evidence in God’s courtroom of prayer? King Hezekiah did in II Kings 18-19, when Sennacherib, the wicked king of Assyria and his even more wicked cup bearer, Rabshakeh, came against him to seize the throne in Judah. They brought railing taunts and blasphemies against the Lord God of Israel, so Hezekiah to…