The next set of Proverbs challenge us to think about how our words — even seemingly insignificant ones — can have a huge impact on those around us.
We’ve all set out to pursue what we think God wants, only to watch the road curve in ways that make no sense. How do you trust Him when His path seems to undo the very promise He gave? In Genesis 22, Abraham faces exactly that moment as God calls him to offer Isaac.
The next set of Proverbs challenge us to think about how our words — even seemingly insignificant ones — can have a huge impact on those around us.
We’ve all felt stuck in the middle—watching God work powerfully somewhere else while wondering if He’s forgotten us. In Genesis 21 the long-promised son finally arrives and the house fills with laughter, yet Isaac almost vanishes into the background of his own story. Even there, something unseen is still moving.
Pastor Tim helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“No, Christ died once for all. The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast. But those who take part with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgment on themselves.”).
Do we really have to show love to those whom we consider “enemies”? God calls us to show His love to everyone, so let’s think about what that means.
We love remembering that Jesus overturned tables in the temple—especially when we imagine them belonging to someone else. But in Luke 19:45–48 when Jesus drives out those who sold, and declares, “My house shall be a house of prayer,” His challenge isn’t just to those people who annoy us. What might He overturn when our own convenience, usefulness, and preferences begin to define worship?
As people struggle through things, it can be hard to understand how to help them. We may not always get it right, but how can we be more Christ-like in helping them through struggles?
We keep wanting peace now—the right circumstances, the right outcome, the right person in charge—and that hunger is not wrong, just misdirected. In Luke 19:41–44, Jesus weeps over a city shouting for peace while blind to the only kind that lasts, and his tears raise an uncomfortable question about what we’re actually seeking when we seek it.
Pastor Tim helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“Is baptism with water the washing away of sin itself?”) as we continue to explore what exactly it is that Baptism does.