Preparing for the Lord's Day On May 27, 1564, Reformation leader, John Calvin died. Throughout his life-time, Calvin had grown in renown. His systematic theology, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, his commentaries, his letters and his lectures were all known throughout the European continent. However, his desire was never to bring attention to his own name. It was...

Preparing for the Lord's Day St. Augustine (b. 354) described the relationship between the Old and New Testament in these words, "The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed." As we continue through the book of Numbers we repeatedly see how the message of Christ is concealed within the text. This week we come to chapter 19 of Numbers, in which the Lord...

Preparing for the Lord's Day In verse 5 of Numbers 17, the Lord makes very clear His intentions. He says, "I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you." (ESV). The people of Israel continue to pursue the path of grumbling against the Lord. They have rebelled against His commands and they have sought to cast off His ...

Preparing for the Lord's Day Envy is at the heart of the sin in our passage for this coming Sunday. Envy is the emotion that we feel when we desire what someone else owns. It is when we break the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet." Korah was Moses and Aaron's cousin. He and his family had been given the most prestigious religious duties in Israel aside from the pri...

Memories are important and powerful, and they impact us in both positive and negative ways. More importantly, the Lord in His goodness has given us the ability to remember events in our lives to shape us and sanctify us. There are experiences in life that we never want to forget, and there are those that we sometimes wish we coul...