God's Restorative Heart In the first week of our series, "The Prophets Foretold," I mentioned that the ancient prophets were poets. This means they often use metaphor and symbol to communicate their message. This passage is a good example: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous
Advent Reminds Us We Live In The In-Between Advent is a season where the people of God live in between the joy of Christ's coming as a baby at the first Christmas and the longing of his second coming. This season calls us to live with the tension of hope that has arrived, but isn't
The Nature of Prophecy This Advent season at Emmaus Road Church we are doing a series called "The Prophets Foretold." Prophecy is a word that carries all kinds of baggage so let me lay a foundation of what prophecy is and is not before getting into Isaiah's messianic prophecy. Prophecy is not just predicting the
The Christian Calendar Tells a Story November 29th, 2015 marked the first Sunday in Advent. We are one of many churches in Fort Collins, but probably one of few churches that intentionally observed the beginning of Advent. This begs the question, why do we observe the Christian calendar? And what is the Christian calendar? Time
Confession is Part of Our Language of Faith Nehemiah chapter nine is a story about the people of God entering into a time of confession for their sin. They were brought to the point of confession because as the law was being read over them, they realized they could never live up to the standards
Reading the Law Nehemiah chapter eight tells the story of God's law being read to the people who have returned to Jerusalem after exile in Babylon. When it comes to a public reading of the laws of God, you may be tempted to think that the people were forced into it or that it was
Injustice Among God's People Nehemiah chapter five is a bit of a mystery. The first four chapters of Nehemiah tell this remarkable story of how how God's people came together and overcame opposition to rebuild the wall around the city. In Nehemiah five, the narrative about the wall has come to a halt, and we
Nehemiah Helps Us Know How To Overcome Opposition The first three chapters of Nehemiah tell a very positive story. Chapter one tells us about how Nehemiah's calling develops. In chapter two we get to see King Artaxerxes help the project. And chapter three is a beautiful story of people coming together to accomplish a goal.
Working Together Toward A Common Goal - You Cannot Do It Alone Nehemiah is famously known for rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. This was an important job because a city without walls was vulnerable to attack and exploitation. Chapter three of Nehemiah is a beautiful story of what can be accomplished by a group of
Prayer Foundation Nehemiah 2:1-8 Last week, our church began a journey through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is famously known for rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. This was an important task because a city without walls was vulnerable to attack and exploitation. The first chapter of Nehemiah tells the story of how his
