David and Jonathan? But David and Jonathan were not brothers. They had different fathers, different families, and different places in Israel's story. So why have they appeared in a series called Brothers in the Bible? Because sometimes a relationship can become so deep, so faithful, and so costly that the people involved speak of one another as brothers. The story of David and Jonathan is one of the most remarkable friendships in Scripture. It begins when David returns fr

Joshua 7 had revealed why. There was hidden sin in the camp. Achan had taken what God had forbidden, and the consequences had reached the whole nation. But Joshua 8 begins with a very different word. “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed.” — Joshua 8:1 God was not finished with Joshua or with Israel.

The Bible closes history with two strikingly different scenes. Revelation 18 describes the collapse of the world's great city—Babylon, the symbol of humanity organized in proud independence from God. Revelation 19 then lifts our eyes to heaven, where songs of triumph give way to the glorious return of Jesus Christ, the King of kings. One chapter ends with mourning. The next begins with worship.

When God called Moses at the burning bush, Moses did not respond with eager confidence. Instead, he hesitated. He questioned his own ability, feared rejection, and protested that he was "slow of speech and of tongue." God answered those fears not by removing Moses' weakness, but by giving him a brother. Aaron would become Moses' spokesman. Moses would receive God's words; Aaron would proclaim them before Pharaoh and the people. Together they would stand before the most power

Joshua 7 reminds us that God's people do not live by momentum. Yesterday's victory cannot substitute for today's obedience. The God who fought for Israel at Jericho is the same God who allowed Israel to fail at Ai—not because He had changed, but because His people had.

When Israel faced the walls of Jericho, God gave them an unusual command: march, wait, worship, and trust. Joshua 6 reminds us that victory belongs to the Lord, and no wall can stand when He decides to bring it down.

Israel finally stood in the Promised Land. Forty years of wandering were over. The swollen Jordan River lay behind them. Jericho—the first great fortress of Canaan—stood before them. Everything seemed ready for war. But God had something else in mind. Before Israel would fight a single battle, He called them to stop.

After the tragedy of Cain and Abel, the Bible introduces us to another family of brothers. This time there are three: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They did not inherit a peaceful world. They inherited one that had been washed clean by the judgment of God. Only eight people stepped off the ark after the Flood, and from these three brothers every nation on earth would eventually arise.

Just as God had opened the Red Sea for Moses, He now opened the Jordan for Joshua. Israel could have no doubt that the same God who delivered them from slavery was now giving them their inheritance. The miracle also confirmed Joshua's leadership before all the people.

Adam and Eve knew the joy of welcoming children into a world that God had created good. Cain became a farmer, cultivating the ground. Abel became a shepherd, caring for his flocks. They shared the same parents. They grew up under the same roof. They undoubtedly heard the same stories about the Garden of Eden, the serpent, God's judgment, and God's promise of redemption. Yet as they grew, something very different was taking place within their hearts.

A New Leader for a New Generation The opening words of the book are both solemn and hopeful. "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun..." (Joshua 1:1) For forty years Moses had led Israel through the wilderness. He had stood before Pharaoh, received the Law at Sinai, and shepherded God's people despite their repeated failures. Now Moses was gone. But God had a replacement lined up.

The church at Corinth had struggled with division, immorality, lawsuits, questions about marriage, Christian liberty, worship, and spiritual gifts. Throughout the letter, Paul has corrected errors and pointed believers back to Christ. Now he arrives at the foundation upon which everything else rests: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ is not risen, the Christian faith collapses. If Christ is risen, everything changes—not only our future but the way we live today.

Good Friday was a big deal when I grew up in New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a national holiday, schools were closed, and most people got off work. We were glad to be out of school and played baseball all day, except from noon to 3 pm, when the priest from Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church chased us off their lot, and we had to find another place to play.

SThe feast of Epiphany stands at a fascinating crossroad of history, theology, and human longing. For centuries, Christians have observed January 6 as the day the church remembers how Christ was first revealed to the world — not just as a baby born in Bethlehem, but as God incarnate, manifest to all people. ome wise men, the Greek term “Magi,” from the East saw a star signaling the birth of the king of the Jews. Then they set out to find Him.

The LORD initiated celebration of the new year. It marked liberty, leaving slavery & moving on to a new and better place. Let's get ready!

She brought forth her firstborn son, & wrapped him in swaddling clothes, & laid him in a manger; for there was no room for them in the inn.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus in — John 15:13

An elderly priest and his wife quietly served the Lord. Zechariah, , ministered in the temple; Elizabeth, was righteous before God, “walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Yet they had no child, and their prayers for one had long since faded into habit. As the people prayed outside, the angel Gabriel appeared bbeside the altar and announced the impossible: “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”

My idea of a saint was old Mrs Walko, who cleaned the church every week and slipped me a quarter after Sunday night service. Or Sister Charlotte, a Polish lady who spoke little English and littel at all but when the Spirit moved her would cry ogut, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!! HALLELUJAH!!" at the top of her voice. Then there was Brother George Holadnak who made BRRRRinngg sounds like an airplane and later dropped $5000 in the collection plate.

On the morning of October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther walked to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg with a hammer in his hand and a conscience on fire. He did not go there to make a spectacle; he went because the Word of God had found him and would not let him be silent.