Afleveringen
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Joshua 12:1-13:7 | Andrew Murch | Often when we study scripture it is easy to fall into the temptation of wanting to quickly âskip or skim overâ the chapters that are made up of lists. These lists could be a list of covenant commandments, a list of family members or as we see in our passage this week, a summarized list of conquered kings. But if we humble ourselves to the study of Godâs word, we will come to realize the depth and magnitude that these lists can speak to us regarding the character of God our Father.
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Joshua 11:1-23 | Andrew Murch | The question before us centers on why we should care about these narratives in Joshua. Arenât they just bedtime stories we read to our children? 1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us why the historical books in both the Old Testament and New Testament are so important. âNow these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction.â The narratives that we read are all lessons that we are to learn from those who went before us. As we read about the victories of Godâs people, our faith is increased knowing that God will do the same for us. He will give us victory over our enemies.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Joshua 10:16-43 | Stephen Collins | While Israel lived like He had commanded, God took the Israelites' meager force, listened to Joshua and the Israelites, and worked a mighty victory with them. God likes to work with us, even though he does not need us. He holds victory in his hands, but, like a good father, he likes to act with his children. The Lord of the sun and all of creation even bends natureâs laws that he put into place at the beginning of the universeâs natural processes. He is not limited by the time set for a day, but he can, if he wishes, lengthen or shorten them. The Lord lengthened the day to punish the kings of Canaanâs evils, but he shortened the time of the sunâs shining when he punished his son in our place. Adoni-Zedek and his coalition could be defeated by spears and hail, but human sin needed a more personal touch to plunge sinâs darkness into the sea of Christâs light.
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Joshua 10:1-15 | Andrew Murch | One thing to keep in mind as we read through Joshua is that the Lord is carrying out his judgment on the people in the land. Sometimes God uses man as his sword, but he is more than capable of carrying out his offensives without us. The focus of this passage is not on the martial might of Israel calling in the heavenly artillery by summoning a deity to fight for them. The Lord himself throws hailstones down on the Amorites, and most of the fallen were from his hand, not Israelâs. Whatever the Amorites did, it must have been pretty bad for God to make fresh stones just for their stoning. His ways are higher, and his knowledge is greater than ours. We must trust His righteousness in that time, also the text itself says that âthere has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.â This makes it clear that ascribing something this clear-cut of Godâs âsmitingâ of a people is something that we canât do in our modern context.
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Joshua 9:1-27 | Andrew Murch | In Joshua 9 the Nation of Israel continues its conquest of the land of Canaan. They are fresh off victories in Jericho and Ai so the Canaanites know that they have a target on their backs. Therefore they decide to band together as one to fight Joshua and Israel. Enter the Gibeonites (the Hivites). Gibeon was a town about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem, in modern-day El-Jib. The Gibeonites knew that the Israelites had defeated Jericho and Ai and decided to act cunningly to see if they could get Israel to make a peace treaty (covenant) with them. The Gibeonites became actors in their own play and pretended to come from a foreign land. They had all the right propsâŠmoldy bread, worn-out wineskins, patched sandals, and tattered clothing.
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Joshua 8:1-35 | Andrew Murch | God often uses our setbacks and failures to teach us to rely on Him more completely. In this chapter, we see Joshua grow as a leader as he learns to walk in deeper dependence upon the LORD. We see God take the very means of their earlier defeat at Ai and turn it into a brilliant strategy for victory. Godâs plan to deliver his people is back on track. Joshuaâs position as a leader is strengthened, and Joshua gains a new understanding of Godâs steadfast mercy and sovereign will.
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Joshua 7:1-26 | Andrew Murch | As Israel approaches their next adversary, Ai (not to be confused with artificial intelligence), all indications are that this should be a cake walk. Picture a sense of pridefulness and a bit of arrogance here. The recommendation is to only send a small squad, maybe the JV team (donât bother the whole group with such a small town.) Then, something goes horribly wrong. What happened, why did it all go south? What can we learn from this defeat? What can we learn from Joshuaâs response? What can we learn from the consequences of sin? Letâs explore Joshua 7 together and course correct where we see areas in our own life that might need transformation.
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Joshua 5:13-6:27 | Josh Lane | This week we have a familiar story of Joshua leading the Israelites against the fortified city of Jericho. They had just miraculously crossed over the Jordan River, set themselves apart by circumcising all the men, and now Joshua experiences a conversation with God. At this point Joshua is clearly set apart for the task of leading Israel against the city of Jericho. This is an impossible task done in an improbable way. God gave Joshua instructions to take the city, however not by force, but through obedience.
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Joshua 4:1-24 | Andrew Murch | Do you have something that brings up memories or starts conversations with others? Maybe a tattoo, a scar, or something hanging up in the house that stands out from what youâd normally see in someoneâs house? We tend to put things out on display for ourselves but usually it catches the eyes of others and sometimes leads to discussions. For the Israelites, God had instructed twelve men, one from each tribe, to take up a stone from the riverbed of the Jordan and place it where they were to camp that night. Having witnessed a miraculous display of Godâs complete control over nature, God instructed Joshua to display a monument to be seen and cause people to ask, âWhat do those stones mean to you?â These stones were just stones, yet, when the children and later generations would see them, they would ask what they mean. âWhat do these represent?â
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Joshua 3:1-17 | Andrew Murch | Years of wandering are about to end. It is hard to imagine whatâs on the minds and the hearts of the people. You might remember Joshua had been to the Promised Land forty years earlier. As a spy he came back to Moses with a positive report and encouragement to go in and possess the land, only to be shouted down. The crowd won the day, with their fearful disobedience earning them exile in the desert until that generationâs death. Joshua was a young man and now he is old. He is the new leader of Godâs chosen people. There would be many battles ahead. Strong leadership would be required. God would again remind Joshua that he was not alone. It was time to cross the Jordan.
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Joshua 2:1-24 | Andrew Murch | Joshua 2 introduces us to someone, who is quite honestly, unexpected as someone God would use. Her name is Rahab. She is mentioned alongside towering figures of the faith such as Abraham, Moses, Noah, Gideon, and King David in Hebrews Chapter 11. How is this possible? Why is it so shocking and unexpected? Itâs surprising because Rahab is a prostitute. And almost every time her name is mentioned in the Bible she is known as Rahab the prostitute. Not a religious giant as you would expect but a person most people would be ashamed to be associated with. But God saw things differently. God saw a heart of faith and someone who believed in Him wholeheartedly.
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In this first chapter of Joshua, God calls Joshua to lead the people into the land, the land he has given them. But it will take strength, courage, and commitment to follow Godâs law as well as trust that God is with them always. The Israelites will need this as they conquer the land.
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Luke 17:11-19 | Nathan Noorlun | âWere not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" In this week's passage, Jesus encounters and heals 10 men afflicted with leprosy. When only one man returns, we discover all the men were healed, but only one was truly healed.
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Isaiah 40:12-17 | Todd Miles
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1 Timothy 1:12-17 | Andrew Murch | "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (v. 15). The good news of Christmas is that God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to rescue and redeem sinners to his own eternal glory!
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John 9:1-41 | Stephen Collins | "Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind'" (v. 39). Some of the sayings of Jesus can be difficult for sinful human beings to understand andâoftenâeven harder to accept. However, the idea of judgment is critical to understanding the person and work of Jesus Christ. For the one who trusts in Christ, there is great hope in the final Judge.
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Luke 19:1-10 | Andrew Murch | "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.â The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus is familiar to those who grew up in the church. Zacchaeus, a wee little man and swindling tax collector, climbs because he simply must see Jesus. Despite the grumbling of the crowd, Jesus goes to his house and declares good news: good news for Zacchaeus then and good news for us today.
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Mark 10:35-45 | Andrew Murch | "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (vv. 43b-44). How are the people of God supposed to interact with one another? Here, we see that they are to love and self-sacrificially serve.
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Matthew 5:17-20 | Nathan Noorlun | "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (v. 17). In the Old Testament, God gave His people the Law and the Prophets so they would know what is required for them to be in right relationship with Him. Sadly, Israel rejected, distorted, and fell short over and over again. Something needed to be done for God's people to be forgiven of their sins and counted righteous before God! Here, we see that Christ is the one who does what sinful people could never do in the face of God's perfect law.
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Colossians 4:7-18 | Andrew Murch | Sitting on the floor of a Roman prison and bound in chains, Paul concludes the dictation of his letter to the church in Colossae. In his usual format, Paul closes the letter by extending his greetings to the complex network of leaders connected with his churches across the Roman world. After all that Paul has written to the Colossian church, this is what he wants to leave them with. Also, this means that after all that the Holy Spirit has inspired Paul to write to His people, this is what He wants to leave His people, us, with. Itâs easy to neglect these greetings and skim through them, but they matter just as much as every other word of Scripture - letâs see why!
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