1. History: The kingdom had split between Jeroboam and Rehoboam after the death of Solomon. Ten tribes went to Jeroboam – now known as Israel or Samaria. He was the leader of the party of the people. In Solomon’s final years he used forced labor to build his magnificent monuments and the people resented him. As well, he had strayed from the faith and married women who led him into the worship of other gods. Jeroboam had created a rebellion and Solomon wanted him dead. You might say Solomon had a bumper sticker on his chariot that read: “Not Jeroboam. Not ever.” Jeroboam kept the people from going to Jerusalem…

This morning we are going to look at one of the long conversations we find in the book of John. There is the conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3, the man born blind in chapter 9, and the final conversation on the shore with Peter in chapter 21. Then there’s this one: the woman at the well in chapter 4. All of them are unique but all of them are filled with questions from Jesus and from those with whom he is talking. It’s not parables like Luke or quick encounters like Mark but exchanges with individuals that serve to reveal something about Jesus. They are real people and not…

This is a book about burdens. The burden of Malachi – for that is what the word oracle means. The burden of leadership and the burden of loving Israel in spite of their failures. The time gap between last week’s study of Haggai and this week is not seven days. It is closer to 100 years. The situation in Israel has changed. Not only have the people rebuilt the Temple but there was a time of spiritual recommitment under Ezra and Nehemiah. But, as almost always happened, when the leadership changed the nation changed. The people have become careless and neglectful. While there was once a sense of anticipation for…

We don’t know much about the prophet Haggai other than he wrote during a time of international turmoil or what he calls the shaking of the nations. It was a time when there was instability everywhere. Kings had been deposed. Revolutions had overturned dynasties. Power was being shifted constantly and there were warring factions in every country surrounding Israel. It was not the best of times. But in spite of that, Darius the King of Persia, decreed that a number of Jews could return to their homeland from exile in Bablyon. Not many wanted to go back. In fact, it was probably less than 20,000 who left to return home.…

This is our final lesson from Romans – even though it is not the final chapter. But here Paul is wrapping up perhaps the most important of all his letters. If we look back it is hard to believe what Paul has explored in one letter, isn’t it? Look at the topics he has covered: The sinfulness of all men or what we call today total depravity The nature of the world that has turned the truth of God into a lie Natural Law Righteousness by faith Peace with God The transformation of the mind Christians and government The new life of the Spirit The formation of the universal Gentile…

Last week we talked about the weaker brother being accepted by those who had worked through some of the issues that new believers were wrestling with and this week the first part of this passage extends that. Clearly, it was an important issue then as it is now. Some people have liberty in areas that others do not. Some people have issues of conscience that others do not and learning to live with those differences and have respect for them is fundamental to everything Paul wants to encourage in the early Church. It was too easy to accentuate the differences and allow them to become divisions – whether it was…

What does it mean to have weak faith? It’s not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean “wrong faith” or someone who does not have saving faith. We have to remember that Paul uses the word for faith in at least two different ways in his letters. There is the sense that we are saved by faith alone – as he says in Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–“. Earlier in Romans he says that Abraham is the father of all believers because his righteousness came through his faith and not his obedience…

Again, if it were not for the insertion of chapters and verses we would read this without even pausing from verse 6. We are to pay everything that is due from us as citizens – regardless of whether we feel it is fair. We are not to be foolish about it since we have the options of tax deductions, offsets, exclusions and other perfectly legal means to reduce the burden but, in the end, we are to pay our debts to the government. Whatever we legitimately owe we are to pay and not be constantly figuring ways to off load our rightful debt to others without the means or knowledge.…

It is easy to see this as a whole new topic for Paul but it is not. It was not a new chapter when he wrote it. As you know, chapters and verses were only added later in the 15th century so there would have been no separation between 12:21 and 13:1. In fact, it is good to read 12:17 through 13:7 as a single passage because there is really no interruption between Paul’s addressing how we are to deal with evil and the role of government and authorities. The governing authorities are one of God’s ways of our living in peace and dealing with evil. We are not to…

We finished our study of the several gifts last week and, hopefully, you will remember what Paul makes clear every time he gets the chance. These gifts are not for personal fulfillment or satisfaction. In fact, if they are used in that way they will likely be misused – if not become harmful. They are for the strengthening of the body and not for the personal development of the believer. In the exact same way, the passage for this morning should be read. These are not moral maxims like something from Confucius or Marcus Aurelius or Benjamin Franklin. They are not to be taken as common sense principles by which…