When I study the prophets, I am looking for God. I’m not looking for an outline of what’s going to happen tomorrow or the events of the next few years. What I want to know is: What does God have to say, what does it mean, and how might it affect my life? Because God doesn’t change, if God came down on an ancient people because they behaved a certai…

In the pages of your Bible, you may find something mildly surprising. You find holidays, quite prominently, and in both Testaments. Not only that, but they are found observed by the Church in the New Testament. These festivals are called the appointed times of Jehovah and around them flow the entire history of the people of God—from the Israelites,…

It is fascinating, when you’re reading history, to see how much people are the same—in every age and every time. Cultures change, standards change, technology changes, but human nature—at its base—changes very little, if at all. Petty politics, palace intrigue, deal making, trivial and great jealousies: They make us feel right at home even in stran…

War makes strange bedfellows sometimes. It’s possible that David might well have been an ally of the Philistines when they went to war against Israel and Saul. It’s hard to imagine David at war with Israel, but it was on its way to happening…except for one thing—the lords of the Philistines didn’t trust him and wouldn’t bring him into combat. After…

The long pursuit of David by King Saul, would make for a great movie. It has all the elements. Danger, treachery, romance, suspense, the chase. And the characters are all fascinating and any actor would love the roles. There was King Saul, who was a depressive paranoid, and yet a big handsome fellow; David, of course, red-headed, small, good lookin…

And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul we…

In the pages of your Bible, you may find something mildly surprising. You find holidays, quite prominently, and in both Testaments. Not only that, but they are found observed by the Church in the New Testament. These festivals are called the appointed times of Jehovah and around them flow the entire history of the people of God—from the Israelites,…

After the win over Goliath, David went on to show himself a true fighting man. He apparently fought without fear, believing with all his heart that he was in the right and that God would fight alongside him. He chalked up some great victories, and the people loved him and honored him to such an extent that it generated great jealousy on the part of…

One of the truly great ironies of the Bible followed on the heels of the failure of Israel’s first king: Saul, the son of Kish. From the moment of Saul’s rejection by God and the anointing of David as King in his place, the Spirit of God departed from Saul and went to David. The result for Saul was tragic. Because in the beginning, God gave him eve…

The first king of Israel was exactly what the people envisioned for a king—tall, handsome, athletic. And God gave him the gifts he would need as king. He had a chance to become great and to have his dynasty established forever. It was a real chance, too—not something extended and then taken away. But it was as true then as it is today that power co…

The decision by Israel to change their government from a theocracy to a monarchy was a disastrous decision. It was surely not God’s will for them, because they had lived in freedom for so long. But freedom includes heavy burdens for a people, and they just got tired. Sadly, I see signs of the same fatigue among our own people today. But the fact th…

توسط Ronald L. Dart

توسط [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

Freedom is a terrible burden to bear, and it is a sad fact of life that men are all too willing to lay down that burden in the name of security or some other combination of social goods that are promised by political leaders. We need to think about this, because the result of laying down the burden of freedom is the laying down of freedom itself. O…

If you saw the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, you will have been introduced to the idea that the Ark of God is a source of great power. Power that could be used, theoretically, as a weapon of war. Anyone remotely familiar with the Bible should know that while the Ark had great symbolic power, and was an object of great holiness, whatever power tha…

There aren’t very many things you can do that are worse than making people dread the worship of God. I know, you can kill people, you can maim them, you can cut off their heads. All these things and a lot more have been done to Christians in history. But when you begin to undermine the joy of worship, when you take away the comfort that people feel…

It has been said repeatedly that those who cannot learn the lesson of history are condemned to repeat it. I can only conclude that not many people believe that statement, because so few have any interest whatsoever in history. Eyes glaze over when it is mentioned. You may even have started to reach for the button on your radio when I mentioned it. …

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as …

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for you must go with this people unto the land which the Lord has sworn unto their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neith…

These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those gr…

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and …

When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and…

When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the st…

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever, because they met you not with bread and with water in the way when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor, of Pethor of Mesopotamia,…

You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them: you shall in any case bring them again to your brother. And if your brother be not near to you, or if you know him not, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be with you until your brother seek after it, and you shall restore it to him again. …

The earth was not made to last forever. All of us know that our sun will burn out one of these days and, if you look a little further into it, you’ll know that what happens when the sun burns out is that it gets a whole lot bigger. In fact, the size of the sun will actually reach beyond earth’s orbit. But the earth is getting warmer now because the…

توسط [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

توسط [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say un…

There is something that is puzzling me about our society. Maybe you have the answer. When the time comes to execute a murderer, and all the television crews are out filming the demonstrators, interviewing talking heads for and against the death penalty, why is it that they hardly ever tell us in any detail what the murderer did? And, during electio…

There is a great fascination with the lost tribes of Israel. Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, taught that the American Indians were among the lost tribes, and there was a television special not long ago that tracked down people in Asia and Africa who believed they were remnants of these forgotten bloodlines. But there is, in the Bible, a proph…

You have probably heard someone say that God works in mysterious ways. That’s true enough, and sometimes the mystery doesn’t become clear until the story has completely played out. But that’s just like any good Agatha Christie mystery. Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple always got everyone together to explain the mystery and expose the murderer. But tha…

What in the world is God doing? Did he just start all this going and go off and leave it? Or is he sitting in a heavenly recliner watching all this like a great, sweeping soap opera? Or is it possible that God has a plan and that he is implementing that plan? There is reason to believe that most of the time, in most of the world, God just lets thin…

What in the world is God doing? Where is he going with all this? So often the Bible reads like children’s stories or a prime-time soap opera. Is it all written down just for our titillation, or is there a point to it? One of the odd things in the Bible is the way God takes a special interest in some individuals and seems to shepherd them through th…

If there be found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, man or woman, that has worked wickedness in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, And has gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told…

The Bible says the first man was made out of dirt. Scientists says life might have originated out of green slime. That's close enough to agreement for the moment. The point being that somewhere between dirt or green slime, and the man we see standing before us, something had to be done. Not just something. A lot of stuff had to be done, and when yo…

If you ever needed an outline for a soap opera, you could find it in the Book of Genesis. Maybe you need a movie with a great sweep of characters and action. Genesis has everything. There are great dynasties, wealthy and powerful men, murder, sex, and intrigue. In fact, everything you could hope to find in a modern, prime-time drama is right there.…

I think I can guarantee that most perceptions of the Patriarchs of the Bible are all wrong. I don’t know what you visualize when you think of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but I know what is portrayed in most Christian art. They are solitary figures, robed shepherds, and tent-dwellers. Yet, in fact, they represent one of the most remarkable dynasties i…

When you were young and in love, what would you have paid for your spouse? What do I mean by that? Well, do you really expect a good wife to come free? Of course you do. One of the curses of the modern world is that we think love is free. A marriage may cost the father of the bride a few thousand dollars, but the bridegroom doesn’t have to bring an…

I think most people are puzzled by the intractable and irrational nature of the Middle East conflict. They want to know why the struggling nations in the Middle East can’t just get along. You would think, after so many generations of conflict, they would eventually get tired of it all and make peace. The problem is though, that the conflicts in the…

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread w…

Why do they send mothers to jail for killing newborn babies? It happens all the time: babies are left in toilets, thrown into dumpsters, or otherwise disposed of; and if they can prove who the mother was, she is prosecuted for infanticide. Now why do we do this? And what right does society have telling parents how to treat their kids? Don't the kid…

If you have ever been to Jerusalem there is a natural question that comes to mind. Why should anyone care very much about this particular piece of real estate? Jerusalem is not a port. It is not on a river. It is not on a trade route. It doesn’t sit on top of oil reserves or a gold mine. The hills and fields are rocky and a lot of work has to be do…

How would you feel about having someone else arrange your marriage? Judging by the way people make decisions nowadays, it might not be a bad idea. Half of the marriages people are arranging for themselves are headed for divorce. Maybe we should reconsider? Maybe not, but in the ancient world of the Bible, marriage was, in the main, arranged by the …

In Genesis 22, we have the story of Abraham’s trial—his test. God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham! Here I am, he replied. Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you. Now, it would be hard to overstate the crisis that t…

When God told Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham nearly talked him out of it. He got God to agree that if ten righteous men were found in the cities, he would not destroy the cities for their sakes. Abraham quit reasoning with God after getting to him to agree to ten. I think Abraham felt there where ten righteous men …

You shall not eat any abominable thing. These are the animals which you shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hare, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the ibex, and the antelope, and the mountain sheep. And every animal that parts the hoof, and has the hoof split in two, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you…

Not long ago, a man stood having pleaded guilty to raping an eight-year-old ten times. The judge had the unpleasant duty of sentencing this man. She wanted to say something appropriate when she sentenced him, so she came up with the words of Jesus: But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a…

There is such a thing as believing God and still having your doubts. The fact that a person doubts on a given point, though, doesn’t mean they don’t trust God. People who read the Bible and try to get it right should know this: God is not offended by our doubts. In fact, it is our willingness to put our trust in him in spite of our doubts that cons…

There is nothing new about surrogate motherhood, you know. In fact, there is an example of it in the Bible—and it carried with it then the same pitfalls and potential for discord as it does today. The infertile woman was Sarah, and her husband was Abraham. God had promised them a son. But, after some time, Sarah seemed to now be beyond childbearing…