Over the Jordan at Last - Part Three

Theme: God’s Power and Holiness
This week’s lessons teach us about the character of God, as seen in the ark of the covenant which went before the Israelites through the Jordan.
 
SCRIPTURE
Joshua 3:1-17
 
Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
The second lesson is that the God who goes before us is the same God who has gone before His people at all times. That, too, was symbolized by the ark. He is the God of the exodus who had brought judgment upon the Egyptians, and who had parted the Red Sea, and who had led the people out with a strong hand. This was the same powerful, sovereign God now who was leading them into the Promised Land, just as He had led them out of Egypt. And the symbolism was clear: just as God had parted the waters of the Red Sea to lead them out of Egypt, so God parted the waters of the Jordan in order to lead them into the Promised Land. Moses was the channel through whom God did that first miracle. And now Joshua is the channel through whom God works again. But the point is that it is not Moses or Joshua who are important, but God Himself, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of Moses is the God of Joshua, and the God of Joshua is our God, too.
 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Is it Missional to tell the truth?

Does being missional require that we mislead people? 

I remember when the word missional was new. It was filled with all the facial hair, slim-fit shirt, Avett Brothers cache that a single word could carry. If churches were not actively seeking how to be “missional” they were missing out on the next great thing. And no church wants to miss out on what’s hot. 
 
It has not been easy nailing down just what missional means. I have heard about as many definitions for it as there are people who have attempted to define it for me.

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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

Joyful Exiles

Be a joyful exile, a penitent stranger, as your ancestors of the faith were before you, and in doing so lay hold of your identity in Chirst.

When talk turns to exile, Christians ought to understand the full sense of that term. God’s kingdom does not advance despite opposition from the world, but as a result of it. The church is experiencing her own exilic quality in many parts of the world, and the American church should not think she is exempt from such an experience as well. The experience of exile, however, should not inspire a generation of worried hand-wringers but a community of humble commitment.

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How the Church Ministers to Every Member

Is "women's ministry" a helpful term?

So I am a woman, who is a Christian, who loves to be a part of women’s Bible studies. I used to think that meant that I should be actively involved in a women’s ministry. But I haven’t always been sure of what women’s ministry should entail. And one theological concern that has been nagging away at me is the whole use of this word “ministry.” 
 
It seems that everyone in the church needs to be a part of some kind of niche ministry these days and women’s ministry is the queen of them all.

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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

Following Jesus 79

Those who disciple are those who by teaching explain the truth of God. “Teaching them… (Matthew 28:20a). Those who disciple are those who after being taught, observe and obey the truth they have been told. “…to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20b). Discipleship is also “…the obedience (agreement, respect, submission) to those teachings that promote the lifelong lifestyle of becoming ever more like Jesus (in my character), thereby bringing Him glory.” 
 
Those who disciple are those who by teaching explain the truth of God. “Teaching them… (Matthew 28:20a). Those who disciple are those who after being taught, observe and obey the truth they have been told.

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Over the Jordan at Last - Part Two

Theme: God’s Providence
This week’s lessons teach us about the character of God, as seen in the ark of the covenant which went before the Israelites through the Jordan.               
 
SCRIPTURE
Joshua 3:1-17
 
Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
The thing that is the most prominent, especially in chapters 3 and 4, is the presence of the ark of the covenant. Now we haven’t seen the ark of the covenant up to this point, but suddenly here it is as the focal point of the narrative. And it is mentioned again and again. It’s mentioned nine times in chapter 3, seven times in chapter 4, and four more times by the use of a pronoun. What was important about the ark? It was the focal point of the nation of Israel.  It was where God symbolically resided among his people.
 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Our Lord Weeps for Jerusalem

The Gospel of Luke amplifies Mark’s account to tell us that as Jesus came to a turn in the road and saw Jerusalem in the distance, He wept, saying, “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:42-44).
 
Theme: The Mirror of Prophecy
 
SCRIPTURE
Mark 11:1-11
 
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them,“Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

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Making God’s Word Plain is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Making God’s Word Plain and the mission of the Alliance.

Conflicts Over Truth and Morality

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Conflicts Over Truth and Morality
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If a worldview can be likened to a set of corrective lenses through which one sees life and the world around them, it’s not hard to imagine why a proper worldview is important. If your perception of the world is inaccurate, you struggle to find your way, get dizzy, and bump into things. Holding a “Christian worldview” means taking “every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). It means Christ is your optometrist, and so your vision is clear. For example, we see Jesus operating as the great optometrist in passages like Mark 8:22-26.

If a worldview can be likened to a set of corrective lenses through which one sees life and the world around them, it’s not hard to imagine why a proper worldview is important. If your perception of the world is inaccurate, you struggle to find your way, get dizzy, and bump into things. Holding a “Christian worldview” means taking “every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). It means Christ is your optometrist, and so your vision is clear. For example, we see Jesus operating as the great optometrist in passages like Mark 8:22-26.

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Place for Truth is a voice of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Place for Truth and the mission of the Alliance.

Following Jesus 78

Those who disciple are those who by teaching explain the truth of God. “Teaching them… (Matthew 28:20a).

Those who disciple are those who by teaching explain the truth of God. “Teaching them… (Matthew 28:20a).
 
Those who disciple are those who after being taught, observe and obey the truth they have been told.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Reformation Societies is a fraternal of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Reformation Societies and the mission of the Alliance.

Over the Jordan at Last - Part One

Theme: God’s Promise Fulfilled
This week’s lessons teach us about the character of God, as seen in the ark of the covenant which went before the Israelites through the Jordan.
 
SCRIPTURE
Joshua 3:1-17
 
Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

I’m sure you can think of some day in your life for which you waited a long, long time. And then, eventually it came. It may have been Christmas, a birthday, perhaps a birth of a child, or something else. Your anticipation grew as the event got closer. Imagine the intensity of the Israelites’ anticipation as they stood on the banks of the Jordan River and prepared to cross over and go into the Promised Land. Most were part of the new generation that had come from the one who had refused to believe God could give them the land. God had judged them by allowing them to wander in the desert for the 38 years until all of the old generation that were over 20 years old at the time had died. So it was a new generation that was going in, and they had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Joshua and Caleb had waited even longer than that. They were about 80 years old at this time. Of the twelve spies who had gone into the land to bring a report to Moses, they were the two who had believed that Israel could triumph. They were the only ones of that generation who had not died. 

 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

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