Several decades after Solomon’s magnificent temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians, the Jewish people were allowed to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding it by a decree from Cyrus king of Persia. There was a great celebration when the foundation of the new temple was laid. Though many rejoiced, there were many…

It is easy to overlook minor details but details are often not minor—they only appear to be minor. Consider the Passover story in Exodus 12 where we read what initially appears to be a minor detail about sharing. God had sent nine plagues against Pharaoh and Egypt for Pharaoh’s obstinacy in refusing to let Israel…

First Kings 4 tells us that Solomon wrote over 1,000 songs. Two of them are included in our book of Psalms (72 & 127). In Psalm 127 he writes something very interesting: Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays…

This is our third—and final!—week online. That’s right: we’re back to the gathered assembly next Sunday, December 13! But today is not December 13. Today we are in our #scatteredassembly. We still worship a God who is worthy of worship, whether we can assemble together or we must stay home. Today is also the second…

Unity without diversity isn’t really unity—it’s sameness. Diversity, whether ethnic or socio-economic or simply diversity of thought will, inevitably, bring conflict. It is impossible for a group of people who spend significant time together to go very long without some form of conflict arising. Apart from the truly rare malevolent intent, such conflict is nearly…