Jesus Is Greater Than….
Jesus Is Greater Than… (Hebrews) It is anathema to compare two cultures and declare one to be superior. Cultural relativists will accuse you of ethnocentrism before you can finish your sentence. The author of Hebrews, himself a Jew, unashamedly argues that Jesus is greater than every prophet, priest, and king who came before him. He points to the supremacy of Christ over everyone and everything belonging to the old covenant. 1. Jesus > Prophets 2. Jesus > Angels 3. Jesus…
Nehemiah’s Final Reforms
“Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda“ (the church reformed, always reforming), has become a beloved slogan of the reformed church since it was first coined in a devotional book by the Dutch minister, Jodocus van Lodenstein in 1674. We might assume that he was talking about making major changes to the doctrine, worship, or government of the Church. But in his day, the church was already thoroughly reformed in each of those areas. Godfrey The great concern of ministers like van Lodenstein was…
Restoring The Sabbath
Since 1937 Gallup has tracked the decline in church membership in America. 2020 marked the first year that membership dropped below 50%. This trend applies across every demographic and subgroup of America. We cannot point the finger at one particular generation or denomination. We are simply becoming less and less religious across the board. Surely, the decline in Church membership is the product of a decline in church attendance. Only 22% of Americans say they attend Church every week, and…
Cleansing The Temple: Part 2
Revelation 2-3 contains seven letters to churches, five of which contained calls to repent. Most of them were compromised in faith and practice. Even a cursory reading of the epistles in the New Testament reveals that this is not uncommon. The last chapter of Nehemiah provides an example of just how quickly a community can slide into egregious error. Brown The concluding paragraphs of Nehemiah’s memoirs describe the reformation which took place under his vigorous leadership. Glaring sins had to be…
Cleansing The Temple- Part 1
One of the most frustrating things about watching movies today is wading through the plethora of options. The worst thing you can do is browse through the selection. The recommendations are all over the place. At least, they aren’t organized in a way that makes sense to me. I find movie selections based upon categories I have never shown an interest in. Obviously, they want me to watch something different. Usually, I base my movie selections off an expert and…
Restoring The Tithe
After building the wall in Jerusalem and overseeing a revival among the people, Nehemiah returned to King Artaxerxes (Neh. 13:6). While away, people quickly lost the ability to maintain the work. Some failed to separate from foreigners (Neh. 13:1-3), going against their own vows (Neh. 9:2, 38). Eliashib, the high priest, made room in a large temple chamber for Tobiah, one of Nehemiah’s foremost enemies (Neh. 13:4-9). This minimized the importance of the tithe. While the swift religious and moral…
A Dedication To Celebrate
US: 40M adults (18.1%) suffer from anxiety disorder. 18M major depressive disorder. The first year of Covid increased prevalence of depression 25% worldwide. Barna (2011): Almost 1/5 young adults leave church because their faith isn’t helping them cope with depression or other emotional problems. If church is a refuge, it won’t ignore genuine emotional tensions or paper over them with platitudes. Remember how book began? Neh. 1:1-3 God raised up Nehemiah, supplied resources + volunteers to rebuild the wall > Revived interest…
