This is our pastor’s newsletter article for SOTHLC’s November, 2013 newsletter. Last month, Sheri and I took our 21 year old dog, Samson, to the vet to be put to sleep. It was heart breaking. Yet, we felt compelled, as his health had declined so badly that his life was one of constant burden and […]
Genesis, Chapters 1-2: To Renew Us, Jesus Becomes One of Us
October 21, 2013 by
If we were to view human history in broad, sweeping strokes, we would find a long-simmering war between the religion of mother earth and the religion of Father God. And what is this religion of mother earth? It’s putting your trust (which is, faith) in some part of creation instead of God, the Creator. Long […]
Hosea, Lesson 5: Reaping the Whirlwind
October 16, 2013 by
We have learned that Israel half-heartedly repented. The repentance was not real repentance but only of outward show—and even the outward show of repentance was not convincing. And so the harsh words for Israel continue. Read Hosea 8:1-3 Hosea used a word to describe a bird overhead, ready to eat Israel. The word can either […]
Matthew 22:1-14: The King’s Feast For You
October 16, 2013 by
Today, we no longer know what true feasting entails. For few of us ever go hungry and, for many of us, we overeat more than we should. We see such excess in others, even ourselves. Our tight pants and honest looks in the mirror testify to this truth and betray our sinful gluttony. Some from […]
Exodus, Lesson 13: God Words as It Relates to Others
October 12, 2013 by
Still looking into God’s Ten Words (Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 10:4) to His people, we continue to understand what to means to live as God’s people toward those around us. Read Exodus 20:14 We now take an extended look into this word from God as our culture, in many ways, revolves around one’s view of sexuality […]
Hosea, Lesson 4: Unfaithful Kings, Unfaithful People
October 12, 2013 by
In the last lesson, we made our way through Hosea chapter 5. Through poetry, Hosea described what would happen to the Northern Kingdom if they did not “return to [God’s] place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek [his] face” (Hosea 5:15). Today, we hear Israel’s answer. Read Hosea 6:1-3 – How do these verses […]
Genesis 28:10-17: Jesus is the Stairway to Heaven
October 7, 2013 by
While we were preoccupied with other events of life, the Lord of the universe came down the backstairs. That happened 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born. Like coming down the backstairs, Jesus’ birth was, at first, a little-known event in the little town of Bethlehem. Joseph’s extended family didn’t even know of that event, […]
Exodus, Lesson 12: God Words to His People
October 3, 2013 by
After the people of Israel agreed to do all that God had spoken, God gave to Moses His Ten Words. We went through God’s first word, which declared who He is as their God–the God who rescues, saves, and delivers. God’s second word dealt with having no other “gods before Him,” which after their recent […]
St. Michael and All Angels
October 2, 2013 by
On September 29th, we at SOTHLC celebrated St. Michael and All Angels. The name Michael means “Who is like God?” The Old Testament book of Daniel mentions Michael (Daniel 12:1), as well as the New Testament in Jude (v. 9) and Revelation (12:7). The Jewish, non-biblical book of 1 Enoch, which the New Testament book of Jude […]
Hosea, Lesson 3: Being a Prostitute and Loving It unto Death
October 2, 2013 by
Hosea had to buy back his wife (as if he were paying for her services as a prostitute). Hosea provides us a picture of what God does: He buys us back, using His Son, Jesus, as the price. After that, we learn that the priests in the Northern Kingdom were not fulfilling their teaching role. […]
