perspective ⁽¹⁵⁰⁾

Psalm 51:1–12; Exodus 30:1–10; Hebrews 4:14–5:4 Even if every single Israelite behaved completely within the bounds of Law, and thus no sin offerings were offered for an entire year…still Aaron would have to perform the ritual of reconciliation. No matter how perfect every Israelite was,…

Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Daniel 12:5–13; Ephesians 1:7–14 We love countdowns. Before church service starts, we have a countdown. Every sporting event has a countdown. Part of its attraction is the pressure. It moves us. Another attraction of a countdown is finitude. We know there is…

Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16; Romans 4:13–25; Mark 8:31–38 I grew up with Richard Scarry books. One of my favorite stories was about the Bunny Family going to bed. As Daddy Bunny put each child to bed, each child shared their “future” dream job. The last child…

Genesis 16:7–15; Mark 8:27–30 Relational abuse is not something we should tolerate. This is with the understanding that abuse is the regular, deliberate intent to harm or diminish another. It’s important to address this based on Hagar’s statement to the Lord’s messenger. Based upon the…

Genesis 16:1–6; Romans 4:1–12 Abraham (Abram) did as his wife asked of him (the Hebrew translates to “beseech” or “pray”) and went to Hagar. Unlike Sarah (Sarai), Hagar becomes pregnant. As Sarah was focused on Abraham having children (perhaps more so than Abraham, it seems),…