New Season, New Series
Can you feel it? The changing of the winds? The tips of trees, threatening their transformation from vivid green to hints of yellow and red? The sun tucking itself in far sooner than its recipients want to face the night? The pumpkin spice EVERYWHERE? Friends, Fall is here. Lament if you’d like, weep or rejoice, ‘tis the inevitable change of seasons upon us. And with it, a change in where we’ll be at for the next nine months in the Scriptures as a church.
At EBC, our preaching philosophy is to always preach exegetically. What I mean is that we’re always seeking to let a primary text dictate what gets preached on a weekend. Our study and prep for a weekend sermon never starts with the question: “What do I think I should preach on this week?” Instead, it always starts with: “Lord, what do you want to show us this week from your Word?” After finishing our series through the Torah in April, and seeing the impact that it had on many of you, it seemed clear that the Lord was pushing us to continue in the OT. So, for the next nine months (with a few short breaks), we’ll be returning to the Promised Land, looking at the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth together. Here’s a little preview of what we’re diving into:
JOSHUA: PURSUING THE PROMISE
If we were to boil down the book of Joshua to three things, it’s all about: God keeping His promises, Israel responding to God in faith, and God judging the nations. Joshua is a triumphant, beautiful book about how God goes before the next generation of Israelites, who cross into the promised land with God as their captain and king. He goes before them in every battle, and asks them to trust his judgment and Word. All the while, God also shows that He will judge the wicked for their heinous actions, and He uses His people Israel for these purposes. In this book, we will be challenged as Christians about what it looks like to have a faith that obeys God, listens to His commands, and trusts that His judgments are good and right.
JUDGES: SCANDALOUS SAVIORS
While the book of Joshua leaves us with a beautiful picture of God’s people responding in faith, the book of Judges quickly smears that beauty with a bucket of oozing, bubbling tar. It outlines the compromise of God’s people, acquiescing to the cultures around them instead of heeding God’s Words. In the midst of their sin, God raises powerful, Spirit-filled judges who for a time, free Israel from their snares. But none of these Judges, each more corrupt than the last, can TRULY save. Judges is a book about the horrifying implications of a people who choose to judge right and wrong for themselves, and the devastating results of sin that stems from “doing right in their own eyes.”
RUTH: OASIS IN LIFE’S CHOAS
After reading Judges, one could ask, is there any hope for God’s people? Is there anyone who remains faithful in their commitment to God? The book of Ruth answers these questions with a resounding YES. While on the whole, the Israelites toy with idolatry and other heinous sin during the time of the Judges, the book of Ruth zooms in on one little family living during the time of Judges, highlighting the choices of Ruth, and her kinsman redeemer, Boaz, to let God be their judge of right and wrong. This wonderful vignette teaches Christians that the fight for faith isn’t just about winning the big battles, but also pursuing God in the mundane, ordinary, day to day acts of life. God cares about everyday faithfulness, and Ruth and Boaz are exemplary examples of what this ought to look like in our own lives.
There is so much to be gleaned from these books, friends. Our team is thrilled to dive into these ancient texts with you in great expectation that God will speak loudly and clearly to our hearts and minds.
In Christ’s Mercy,
Pastor Ryan A.