Redemptive history progresses with a series of “false peaks,” showing partial fulfillment of the expectation of restored sanctuary but never complete and always fleeting. Is the vision of temple dwindling? Or is it perhaps focusing?
Category: Series
The whole world was created to be a temple, and in the center of his temple God places his own image: humanity. Man and woman were meant to be the image of God in the world—not lifeless idols made of stone reflecting dead pagan gods, but living breathing humans reflecting the living God.
Temples still sit at the center of our cities and call us to a different kind of worship than what we offer at church. Though they look different than their ancient counterparts, they largely serve the same role—and even house the same gods. How can this be? What is a temple in the first place? And what exactly is it we’re all worshiping?
People are desperately looking for hope, for meaning, for understanding, for purpose, for relief from suffering, for forgiveness of all the wrong they’ve done. The God of the Bible offers all of that and we as Christians are in the same position as Jonah. We have the words of life for those in desperate need—though they may sound like words of death.
If you’re anything like me, you have one primary question on your mind at the end of Jonah 3. Where is the justice? How can God relent His punishment? Like we already said, no amount of personal suffering can undo all the evil Nineveh has done; their enemies are still dead, raped, and homeless. How can all of that go unpunished? It can’t. And it doesn’t.
Friends, you are never too far gone for God to save you. God knows how to bring you back to Himself. He’s totally fine with using both ordinary and extraordinary means to call you back. If you are in Christ, if you are a Christian, no matter how far you’ve run and how deep you’ve descended, God can and will deliver you. He has appointed a fish for you.
For the next four weeks, we’ll be working our way through the spectacular book of Jonah. Many of us are familiar with the general narrative, but it’s easy to assume we know the whole story because we heard it in Sunday school as young children. Truth be told, this is no little kid’s fable. Jonah
Part One can be found here. Part Two can be found here. __________________________ This is the last part in my series on studying God’s sovereignty in Romans 8:28-9:29. The content and concepts covered already have been challenging. What lies before us has the potential to shake your understanding of God and salvation to its core.
Part One can be found here. __________________________ Let’s briefly summarize what we have read so far. God, before His act of creation, set apart a specific group of people whom He promised to one day glorify. God assures them that He is continuously active in this world to bring about their good and nothing ever
Early into my freshman year of college, I read the book “Erasing Hell” by Francis Chan. I had bought the book a few years before that and had let it collect dust throughout high school. I was intrigued enough to buy the book at 16, but I lacked the time, maturity, and interest to read
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