The Tenth Plague

Conrad Hilario

Exodus 11:12

The powerful way God foreshadowed the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross by the tenth plague of the deaths of the first-born sons in Egypt is a prophetic reminder through the ages of God's desire to save us. God gave the Passover message to strengthen our faith in Jesus and to give faith to those who are not yet Christians.

The God Who Is Forgiving

James Rochford

Exodus 10:28-12:29

Some argue that the God of the Bible is an unforgiving and judgmental god, but the Exodus tells of a God who hates sin and will judge it and yet loves the sinner and offers a way to come out from under that judgment. This God of the Bible prefigures the work of Jesus on the cross through the Passover event where Jews and even Egyptians could paint their doorframes with the blood of the sacrificial lamb and death would pass over their household, sparing their first-born sons.

One More Plague

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 11-12

The story of the Exodus where God rescues His people from the slavery of Egypt is a typology of God's bigger plan to rescue all of mankind from the slavery to sin. The details of the Passover Meal that commemorate the Exodus all point forward to the work Jesus would do to save us from judgment.

The Plagues

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 7-10

The series of plagues that God inflicted upon Pharaoh and his people were designed to demonstrate how impotent the Egyptian gods were and how powerful the true God is. Each of the plagues was designed to expose the worthlessness of a particular Egyptian god, culminating in Pharaoh, a self-proclaimed god, unable to save his first-born son from death. This demonstration of God's power was part of a bigger plan of rescue.

Living In Light of Jesus' Return

Gary DeLashmutt

James 5:1-11

James' audience is poor Christians who are being mistreated by rich non-Christians. James stresses how Jesus' future return should affect the way we live. God often allows mistreatment in this life but will ultimately intervene and condemn those who refuse to repent. So, Christians should not take personal revenge, but leave that to the Lord. They should not quit serving the Lord when it seems fruitless, but wait upon His reward when He returns. Don't pass judgment on fellow-Christians because Jesus will evaluate all of us when He returns.

Spirituality and Our Relational Lives

Gary DeLashmutt

James 3:13-4:3

The author of James describes the two kinds of wisdom, each having a relational posture which leads to two different relational results. The wisdom from below is self-centered and leads to a harvest of disorder and evil. Whereas the wisdom from above is self-giving and results in relational peace and wholeness.

The Bad News is for Everyone

Ben Foust

Romans 1:18-2:3

Paul argues that people often suppress the truth about God and forge their own way. Paul uses the example of sexual ethics to illustrate this point. As controversial today as it was then, this presents a difficult dilemma for Christians. Yet the passage resolves the dilemma by teaching that all people are in the same boat as those who need God's grace. Christians have no standing for self righteous judgement, but rather are to bring the gospel to the world with humility and love.

Partiality

Ryan Weingartner

James 2:1-13

James calls on his audience to not show partiality towards others based on worldly standards but instead, keep themselves unstained by the world's values. Law-breaking earns judgment, but mercy triumphs over judgment.

New Creatures

Mike Sullivan

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Three features of being a new creature in Christ are one, that we have a new motivation for a new life, second, we have a new way to measure success, and third, we have a new role as "sent ones." Our new motivation is to no longer live for self but to life for Christ. We no longer measure success as the world does, but we see people with new eyes. We now have a new role as ambassadors of Christ, entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.