This week, we turn a corner. We move from James—practical, pastoral, and searching—to the Epistle to the Galatians, a letter written in urgency, even alarm. If James asks how genuine faith lives, Galatians asks a more foundational question: What is the gospel itself—and can it be altered?

Joel opens not with a vision, but with a disaster. A devastating locust plague has swept through the land of Judah. Crops are destroyed. Vineyards are stripped bare. Grain, wine, and oil — the essentials of daily life and temple worship — are gone. This is not distant theology. It is lived catastrophe. “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten…” (Joel 1:4)

Abraham’s Silence Genesis 22 is marked by what Abraham does not say. He offers no explanation to Sarah. He gives no justification to Isaac. He makes no appeal to public reason. When Isaac asks, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb?” Abraham replies with the only words he can honestly speak: “God will provide himself a lamb.” (Genesis 22:8, KJV)

This Sunday, we will complete our study of the Epistle of James, turning to chapters 4 and 5. James has spoken plainly from the beginning. He has not allowed us to hide behind correct doctrine, religious language, or good intentions. His concern throughout has been simple and searching: What does living faith actually look like? In these final chapters, James presses that question home.

Hosea ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel during its final decades before destruction. The nation was outwardly prosperous but inwardly corrupt—idolatrous, self-confident, and spiritually unfaithful. God’s call to Hosea was unlike any other. Instead of beginning with visions or sermons, the LORD commanded Hosea to live the message: “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD

Joseph is born to Jacob in his old age, the first son of Rachel, the wife Jacob loved above all others. From the beginning, Joseph is set apart—by his father’s affection and by God’s early dealings with him. His dreams speak of authority and purpose, though neither he nor his father yet understands their cost. pJacob’s favoritism is unmistakable. The coat he gives Joseph is not merely clothing; it is a public declaration. In a family already strained by rivalry, it becomes a

Some passages of Scripture grow familiar with time. Others never do. Genesis 22—the binding of Isaac—is one of those texts that resists comfort. No matter how often we read it, it remains unsettling. A father is told to offer his promised son. The son carries the wood. God is silent. The knife is raised. We hurry to the end. We reassure ourselves that God never really intended the sacrifice. And that is true. But Kierkegaard insists that if we rush past the fear, we miss

Last week in James 1, we were reminded that hearing the Word is not enough; we are called to do it. In James 2 and 3, the apostle presses that call into the everyday realities of Christian life, giving us two searching tests of spiritual maturity: how we treat others and how we use our words. Bring your Bibles with you this morning. We will read these chapters together slowly and carefully.

Daniel was among the first captives taken from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He was still a young man when he entered exile, selected with others of royal or noble lineage—“children in whom was no blemish… skilful in all wisdom… and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace” (Daniel 1:4). Babylon intended to reshape these young Israelites into servants of empire. God had other plans.

Last Sunday we concluded our study of Acts 28, where we saw the Gospel unhindered — preached freely, even in chains. This Sunday, we begin the Epistles with James, likely the earliest New Testament letter. If Acts shows the Gospel advancing outward through history, James shows faith embodied — lived out in ordinary life.

Paul arrives in Rome not as a free man, but not as a condemned one either. He is allowed to live by himself with a soldier guarding him. God has brought His servant exactly where He promised — not by the path Paul might have chosen, but by the path God ordained.

Jeremiah is the second of the “major prophets” of Scripture, following Isaiah by roughly a century. Like Isaiah, he was called directly by the LORD, spoke at the national level, and confronted kings, priests, and false prophets. Yet in temperament and experience, Jeremiah could hardly be more different. Where Isaiah seems to stride confidently into his calling, Jeremiah shrank back from it. Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of t

Abraham had waited decades for this son. Isaac was not merely a child; he was the child of promise, born when hope seemed biologically and humanly impossible. Every dream Abraham carried for the future was wrapped up in this one boy. And it is precisely here that God speaks the hardest words a father can hear: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…” (Genesis 22:2)

Isaiah (700s BC, Ussher) stands at the head of the prophetic books as the first of the major prophets, not because he was the earliest chronologically, but because of the scope, depth, and spiritual reach of his vision. Through Isaiah, God shows us why prophecy is necessary, and why His people cannot live by history, ritual, or memory alone. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Is

If you were called into court to prove you were a Christian, would you have enough evidence to convince the judge? Would your testimony and lifestyle convince a jury of your peers? Paul's testimony and missionary work left no doubt wherehe stood. One day, Jesus said, every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.--Marrhew 12:36 Let's make our words count for Jesus and His kingdom. Learn how from Paul!

I never once doubted my salvation until I went to college. Why? ---I was born into a Christian home where we read the Bible every day. ---Jesus was a part of my daily life, and I knew He loved me. ---The world challenged me as the devil challenged Eve with the question: Hath God said? Salvation is simple. Jesus said the Father hath revealed it unto babes. Matthew 11:25 "whosovever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:15 It's simple:

I have made countless appeals in my life because an unjust decision was made. Often something was clearly wrong and needed to be overturned. Sometimes those in positions to make decisions would not act. Every appeal is made to one with more power and with a hope of justice. Paul's appeal was to the Emperor Nero, an iffy situation. but the Lord saw him through. *****************

Acts 23 opens immediately after Paul’s defense before the Jewish council (the Sanhedrin). He begins boldly: “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (v.1) That single sentence triggers outrage.

“My son…”With those words, Solomon addressed Rehoboam again and again in the Book of Proverbs. More than twenty times, the wisest man who ever lived pleaded with his son to listen, to walk in the fear of the Lord, to avoid evil companions, and to treasure wisdom. Rehoboam heard it all. And Rehoboam ignored almost all of it. This is not just a story from 1 Kings 12 — it is the story of many Christian parents watching their adult children turn away from the very truths they

Key Verse:“I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”— Acts 21:13 Acts 21 is a turning point in the Book of Acts. It carries us from Paul’s missionary freedom into his years of imprisonment — years in which the Gospel will reach kings, governors, and even Caesar’s household.