When in your life have you felt most vulnerable? Have you ever had a close call with death? Come with me, back to the city of Susa, in Persia, in the year 474bc. Yesterday we saw that wicked Haman had convinced King Xerxes that the Jewish people, ALL of them, everywhere in the empire were enemies of the king and must be eradicated, eliminated, […]
In our time vocabulary is continually expanding for finding ways to express ideas, some of which are ancient ideas but need new words to explain them. So, we have words like terrorism or terrorist or pandemic or genocide or ethnic cleansing. Join me again back in Susa, one of the capital cities of the great Persian empire, […]
We live in a hero world, don’t we? Sports heroes, political heroes, business heroes, in fact with social media now almost anyone can be a hero, with millions of fans and followers! Sadly, we occasionally watch a popular hero turn villain and very bad things happen. Today as we return to Susa and the story of […]
Have you ever ‘overheard’ a conversation which frightened or concerned you? How did you decide what you should do with the secret information you had discovered? Come with me again back to the city of Susa, the capital of the Persian kingdom, about 2400 years ago. We’re in a fascinating story about Mordecai and Esther, […]
Have you ever found yourself pacing back and forth in deep contemplation, trying to make sense of a situation, trying to evaluate your options and discern what your next best action steps should be? Yesterday I left you watching a man do exactly that. His name is Mordecai and he’s pacing back and forth outside the palace harem […]
I have an important question for us to begin today: ‘When you and I are doing the best we can to ‘walk with Jesus’… faithful to the truths of God’s Word; prayerfully and worshipfully facing life’s challenges; …do we expect God will in return protect us, provide for our needs, and bless us with […]
How many times have you applied for a job? Probably several in your lifetime. Some were simple 1-page applications and a brief interview, maybe even over the phone. Others were many pages, background checks, reference checks and multiple interviews with various levels of management. But have you ever been hired simply on the basis of your […]
What’s the most remarkable party you’ve ever attended? Come with me to one in the Bible which will, I’m sure, overshadow anything you’ve ever seen. Yesterday I left you in Jerusalem about 515bc during the great Passover festival. This Passover was unique in that it was the first Passover to be celebrated at the newly constructed second Temple, […]
You’ve probably heard the phrase “timing is everything”, right? Undoubtedly there have been times in your life when circumstances converged together at just the right time for something memorable to happen. I’ve had the wonderful experience several times in my life. Join me today, in the partially rebuilt city of Jerusalem, in the year 515bc for one […]
What’s the greatest celebration you’ve ever attended or even watched on TV? Perhaps the Olympics opening or closing ceremony? Perhaps an inauguration of a King or President? Did you know the Bible describes several amazing and even extravagant celebrations? Perhaps the greatest of all was the dedication of the Temple for God which King […]
