What Kind of Rest?
Wilderness Wanderings
For day after day, they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God (Isaiah 58:2). This is a difficult chapter to read. God is angry with is covenant people. Very angry. They show up for the appointed worship services and other religious festivals. They ask God for direction. They appear eager to come near to him. They love the Sabbath day. They do all the right things. There is just one problem. A rather large one. When they return to non-Sabbath activities, its as if the Sabbath never happened....
info_outline
Staying on the Altar
Wilderness Wanderings
Don’t pay back evil with evil…My dear friends, don’t try to get even. Leave room for God to show his anger…Scripture says, “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. By doing those things, you will pile up burning coals on their heads.” Don’t let evil overcome you. Overcome evil by doing good (17-21). The Heidelberg Catechism teaches us that we have a natural tendency to hate God and our neighbor (A 5). That seems about right. To repay evil with good seems overly optimistic. Getting even is our natural bent. Have you...
info_outline
Finding Rest
Wilderness Wanderings
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will not be shaken (Psalm 62:5-6). Well, Advent and Christmas are behind us again. Our wall calendars have been exchanged for fresh ones (if we still use those). This means that Wilderness Wanderings returns to its Avodah series. A refresher is likely needed. What is this series about? Why return to it? Here is why: the rhythm of work and rest was established by God in the beginning. It was part of his declaration: “It is very good”. Since the fall, it has been especially...
info_outline
Growing Small
Wilderness Wanderings
A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Peter 5:1-11. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it . Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: Why the title “Growing Small”? What are the three “Ts” mentioned in the sermon? What two things does the word “mighty” refer too? What is the difference between worry and humility? What should we know about God that helps us trust him? How do we...
info_outline
The Mountains
Wilderness Wanderings
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved and will endure forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forevermore. Evil people will not always rule the land the Lord gave to those who do right. If they did, those who do right might do what is evil (Psalm 125:1-3). Jerusalem was a walled city on the top of a mountain surrounded by other mountains. Standing on top of those walls, looking out at those mountains, an Israelite could feel secure. From those walls the psalmist declares: like the mountains surrounding this...
info_outline
Lost
Wilderness Wanderings
After three days [Jesus’ parents] found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers (Luke 2:46-47). Of all the stories about Jesus’ childhood, why would Luke choose to tell this story? Certainly, there were more interesting ones; stories that would give us a flavour of what his youth was like. This story fills in the portrait of Jesus being painted. In Philippians 3, Paul details how he had been the perfect Jew. Luke is picturing Jesus with similar colours. He...
info_outline
Doegishness
Wilderness Wanderings
“Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever (Psalm 52:1,5,8). David is hiding from King Saul and his murderous paranoia. When the priest Ahimelech gives David refuge, Doeg tattles on him. Having volunteered to kill the priest, Doeg kills Ahimelech and 83 of...
info_outline
What Do You Want?
Wilderness Wanderings
"How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2). Let’s begin with a simple question, “What do you want?” Some of you may be looking in the refrigerator to get some breakfast. I’m not interested in your breakfast. This is one of those annoyingly profound questions like what you want your legacy to be. What do you want for your life? or from your life? I get irritated with stories in which a character immediately knows the answer to such a question. I find...
info_outline
Flickering Lights
Wilderness Wanderings
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25). There is a scene in the sixth Harry Potter movie that offers an image of the church. Harry’s guardian, mentor, friend, and father/grandfather type figure, Albus Dumbledore, has just been murdered by a trusted friend. Dumbledore was the leader of those fighting against the rise of evil. Now he lies dead, at the foot of the Hogwart’s walls. Thus far in the story,...
info_outline
What Can We Say?
Wilderness Wanderings
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:1-3). Human words muddy the beauty of this profound text. How can we convey the intensity with which God desires to communicate with his people? ...
info_outlineA Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Peter 5:1-11. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!
To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca
- Why the title “Growing Small”?
- What are the three “Ts” mentioned in the sermon?
- What two things does the word “mighty” refer too?
- What is the difference between worry and humility?
- What should we know about God that helps us trust him? How do we grow in this trust?
- What were some of the examples given from the Bible in which we see God’s timing?
- Why is it so difficult to trust in God’s timing? How long may we need to wait?