There’s a fateful story in the Bible that begins like this: It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of …

You know the directory in the mall, with the little star that reads, “You are here”? Well, let's figure out where we are in Jesus' Sermon - we’ve been through the Beatitudes • we've made the transition from Jesus’ closing remarks to his declaration that he had not come "to abolish the Law or the Prophets," • but to empower them so they do in our li…

Approaching 2025, I found myself struggling with hope for the new year - I think of myself as an optimist • for instance, Divorce equals two Christmases and two birthdays - but today's world looks grim • vicious election cycle, out of control inflation, wars, many tragedies, etc. • I have been searching for hope…

We need to know where we are in Jesus’ Sermon Verses 17-20 are the heart of the Sermon (perhaps the heart of the entire Bible) - these verses hold the key to interpreting the rest of Sermon • unfortunately, many Christians read this passage, but don’t understand it - speculations have resulted in some big errors: • one, is that Jesus and St. Paul w…

Back in the days, when I was the pastor of a sizeable church, We would celebrate Christmas with big productions. One year, when the stage was crowded with props and children, the music still ringing in our ears, I went to the microphone with my Bible in hand. As I began to speak, a girl six or seven years old, who had been sitting on a step right i…

These last two Beatitudes on Jesus’ list are not easy to digest Jesus envisions a grim future for us – and if so, - we’re expected not only to survive it, but to rejoice and be glad • John Chapman was the Abbot of a monastery in Britain • he was also a spiritual director to others, especially through letter writing ◦ one man who wrote to him, wante…

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. C. S. Lewis, ". . . In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity . . . down to…

Jesus is sitting on a mountain overlooking Sea of Galilee He is teaching a course on “Christian Spirituality” - we are now five weeks into his introduction: The Beatitudes • prior to teaching this course, Jesus had been announcing, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" ◦ the course he teaches is meant to prepare us for that kingdom ◦ the Beatitudes re…

When I began preparing today’s talk, there was a sudden moment when I felt very small The spiritual wisdom of Jesus rivals every other enlightened text - even gurus, like Gandhi, who rejected Christianity have admired the Sermon • reading the words of Jesus, and trying to explain them to you, ◦ leaves me feeling inadequate and foolish ◦ like a four…

Par Chuck Smith, Jr

Welcome back to Jesus’ Sermon On the Mount He begins with the Beatitudes – not to be confused with "benedictions" - they are more like a series of riddles • he describes conditions in which people are already blessed ◦ already acceptable to God and discovering the abundant life ◦ but what he says sounds like the opposite of abundant life • we would…

Recently, I came across an interesting ad: The caption said, “Free AI Sermon Generator” “Free AI sermon outlines help you preach a confident, creative message. AI sermon starter ideas make your sermon fresh and relevant.” - I realized, from now on my life could be easy; for example, • last week I mentioned my frustration with “kingdom” (bringing to…

Last week I gave my introduction to the Sermon On the Mount This week we’re going to look at Matthew’s introduction - but first, I have a question – and it’s for me as much as anyone: Are we ready for this? - the Lord has made many changes in our exterior lives, • but the big challenge of the Sermon is what it does on the interior ◦ we’ve cleaned u…

A couple weeks ago someone told me, “Your next series of talks should be about The Sermon On the Mount” - that title has a pleasant ring to it, doesn’t it? • isn’t that where Jesus talks about birds and lilies? Love your enemies? Do not judge? • it’s like a friend has invited us on an outing: “Hey, go with us to the park for a picnic. We’re going t…

The prophetic ministry of Elijah provides one of the most entertaining stories in all the Bible. When it comes to phenomenal miracles, Elijah’s only rival would be Moses. His spiritual stature as a man of God is equal to the greatest heroes in scripture, and yet St. James wrote, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (Jas. 5:17). Like us, Elija…

Par Chuck Smith, Jr

Psalm 3 is the most loved, most quoted, and best known of all Psalms There are lots of reasons for this. It’s short – just six verses. But though it’s so short it’s incredibly deep. It’s simple – easy to understand. The Lord, the shepherd is God. I am the sheep. I get it! And there is something uniquely encouraging, comforting, and empowering about…

This first sentence of 2 Kings is an odd way to begin a new chapter. The transition from the previous book to this one could have been much smoother. For instance, the last lines of 1 Kings provide all the explanation we need for this new episode: Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria . . . and he reigned for two years. He d…

King Ahab left the battlefield, victorious over the Syrians, but he arrived home moody and sullen. In theory, there’s no reason for kings to be “moody and sullen.” If they are troubled, they have counselors. If they feel sad, they have jesters. If they need comfort, the priest is always on call. Having the luxuries afforded them by wealth and power…

Today’s episode requires an explanation, because my plan was to skip this chapter. For the past seven weeks we’ve been immersed in the story of Elijah, but for some reason he does not appear here; not even his name is mentioned. But that is one of the curiosities in this episode that interests me. There are still gifted seers through whom God deliv…

The Elijah with whom we spent time in the previous chapter is hardly recognizable in this episode. He is no longer the prophet who lost heart and had been wallowing in defeat, sulking in a cave. He was transformed. Once again he is on the move, and you would have had to jog to keep pace with his long, rapid strides. Every time his foot hit the grou…

Elijah was excited–an energetic excited–an excited he had not allowed himself to indulge until now. The tide was turning. The entire crowd witnessed God’s answer from heaven. They had been won over. They had chanted, “Yehovah, he is God! Yehovah, he is God!” The king was there too. He saw it for himself. Now he also knew who was the real God. Runni…

Elijah found King Ahab sitting off by himself still as a statue, staring into nothing, and his face coated in confusion. Ahab wondered, “What just happened? How could it have happened?” His feud with Elijah had ended suddenly in a phenomenon of fire and blood. His army of prophets failed to rouse their Bah-al god, while from the sky Yehovah answere…

There must have been court officials who wished they could restrain King Ahab’s poor decisions and thoughtless actions. But those with enough skill in diplomacy to hold a position in the royal court also had enough sense to value their lives. Ahab was too full of himself to take advise from anyone else, let alone, take orders. However, there was th…

The village where Elijah had been living was on the Mediterranean coast, so I find it easy to imagine him walking the shoreline, allowing the onshore breeze to be refreshed. He listens to the rhythm of the waves and the squawking seagulls, and opens his heart to receive the moment. Then, hearing something else, he pauses, and shading his eyes from …

Picking up from last week, directed by the word of Yehovah, Elijah came to the home of a widow in Sidon, north of Israel’s border. She had helped Elijah when he was hungry and homeless. She let him stay in her home, in the small room upstairs. She hid him from King Ahab’s spies. And, now, this! Her son was struck down with an illness. Was this the …

A crooked king, a wicked queen, and a foreign god. You know this is going to be a great story. That’s because in literature (and storytelling), evil is more entertaining than good. We can predict a good person’s actions–they will be honest, kind, generous, and always choose what is right. The villains, however, are full of surprises. And they typic…

This week a nearby church hosted a Vacation Bible School My fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Adrianna, volunteered to help out - on Friday, a friend sent me a video that she filmed the day before • when I watched it, there was Adrianna on a stage in front of a crowd of kids • she had a Bible in her hand, and from it she read a couple verses from th…

In this final chapter we come to the end of the vision To me, it feels like waking up from a dream - just before I woke up yesterday morning, I was enjoying a pleasant dream • I heard someone call me, and I was immediately awake ◦ the house was completely silent ◦ I then realized it was my dad’s voice in the dream that called my name • for me, this…

Once again, John begins to describe an event with “I saw” We are reminded that this entire book is a mystical vision and uses the strange language of images and symbols - however, we could be tempted to read last two chapters differently, • as if John were describing events in a literal future • but when, once again, he says “I saw,” we know this i…

When Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son, He did not expect anyone to come to him afterward and say, - “Lord, I’d like to visit that family. Where do where they live?” • it was just a story – a made-up story meant to make a point • if all the crowd heard was a heart-warming story, they missed the point - here in Revelation 19, John describes…

This is a fascinating chapter It is complex, and it is put together well - the chapter divides into two parts: • in the first half, heaven reverberates with praise • in the second half, Jesus leads heaven’s army in a final battlePar Chuck Smith, Jr

I’m going to begin with a quote by St. Augustine In The City of God he traces two cities through world history Augustine, “Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly [city] by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly [city] by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in…

A few years ago, Barry Liesch, a professor at Biola-Talbot University, - wrote an article on worship in the book of Revelation • he suggested that by using its examples of form, content, and splendor, ◦ we might enjoy a more meaningful, intense, and richer worship experience • worship here on earth is already a participation in heaven’s worship ◦ o…

I’ve been feeling that talking about the book of Revelation Is like trying to practice dream interpretation - how do I make sense out of all these foreign signs and symbols? - of course, the bigger question is: what is God’s Spirit trying to communicate to us?Par Chuck Smith, Jr

I think most anyone reading Revelation sees that it takes a turn in chapter 13 What stays the same: the dragon (Satan) is still here - at least at the start – and he’s continuing his fight against God What changes: the dragon, after being defeated three times in the previous chapter - now scores a significant victory - also, prior to this, his batt…

Yesterday Barb asked me, “Are you still in Revelation?” In answered with a weary, “Yes” She said, “Oh.” then added, “You’ll probably be in Revelation till the end of the world” One of the challenges of this mystical book is distraction - the shifting scenes, outrageous creatures, and sudden surprises pull my thoughts in different directions • if I …

We have arrived at the heart of Revelation Not only the middle of the book, but its central message - I’m going to take you backstage and show you my work room • the Bible is many books and among them, different writing styles ◦ there are books of history (written more or less like storytelling), poetry, legal codes, prophetic writings, wise saying…

Story of El Sal Prison There's something life giving when we choose to be a loving presence. Especially to those who have been out-casted. I’m addicted to it… but I’m not perfect at it. I have a sneaky suspicion that after I share about this, I’ll be reminded of how great it is to be a loving presence and then I’ll get into my truck outside and sta…

I get the feeling that when we read the book of Revelation, We tend to watch each scene unfold from a safe distance - I don’t think it was meant to read this way, • we’re supposed to feel a threatening closeness • we’re drawn into the dream – it’s our collective nightmare - John was certainly more than a spectator • characters approach him, convers…

When my children were small, I’d read to them every night First from a book of fairytales, then from a Bible storybook - we would pray, say goodnight, and turn off the lights • we were careful about the last thing that entered their minds before bed • I doubt we can prevent our kids from having nightmares ◦ but we can do things to help them sleep w…

They came on the first day of week, first thing in morning They knew what spices and ointments to bring, - and knew what they were doing – they had done this before • what they did not know, was that overnight their world had changed • so what they found at the tomb was not what they expected - I love the lines: Why do you seek the living among the…

How did Palm Sunday become recognized as a holy day? I don’t mean, how did it get put on the Church calendar, - but why do we celebrate it? • Palm Sunday is not like Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter ◦ these were the major events in Jesus’ life and ministry • but Palm Sunday is not noteworthy in the same way ◦ in fact, if you’ll excuse the expressi…

Revelation is not a normal book – in fact, it’s a conundrum We enter a mystical world of symbols without a map or compass - as I understand it, the Revelation is meant to open our eyes to a reality beyond our knowing or experiencing • there is no way for us to go straight into it with our rational minds - I’ll share something with you that helps me…

You may not have noticed, but something is missing The action that began prior to this chapter involved a magic scroll secured with seven seals - six of those seals have been opened (chapter 6) • but now in chapter 7, there’s no mention of the seventh seal • instead, we have come to an interlude before returning to the seventh seal - this will happ…

A long time ago, I became interested in Douglas Coupland’s works of fiction One novel he wrote as if it were the journal of a young man traumatized as a child - his character had lived on a military base that came under a nuclear threat, and everyone was rushed into a shelter • this had left a lasting and foreboding impression on him • an entire ch…

Among Jeremiah’s prophecies, we find one that is different from the rest. The difference is that this one brings a positive message regarding Israel’s future - after receiving the prophecy, Jeremiah says, At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me (Jer. 31:26) • when I wake up from a pleasant dream, I want to go back to sleep and c…

One day, a few years ago, I was visiting my oldest daughter Her oldest daughter, came to me and said, “I dreamed you last night” - she had told my daughter, “I dreamed grandpa” • Jennifer asked her, “Which grandpa?” she said, “The bald one.” • fortunately I have another dream story - in 1992, my life had been shattered by divorce • that summer a ni…

Chapters 2 and 3 may be the most well known section of Revelation At least two of our favorite quotations are found here - what’s the theme of these chapters? Answer: “Church Repairs” • in chapter 1 Jesus appears in a form not found in the Gospels • in his right hand he held seven stars–which represented the angels of the seven churches ◦ in script…

Revelation gives us a unique picture of the inner life of our Christian experience It is much different from Paul’s carefully structured teaching - with his separation of the new self from the old self • and his contrast of having the mind of the Spirit versus the mind of the “flesh” • Revelation reaches into our inner lives through symbols and biz…