Deliverance From Jaws of Death
Noah's Ark. This remarkable story of a catastrophic, global flood where God's wrath is poured out on the utter depravity of the world. And yet, God's mercy and kindness is all over this story as he preserves some through an ark-shaped vessel of his mercy. As we look at this story, I pray we see both the fullness of God's wrath toward wickedness, and the riches of his grace and mercy. Most of all, may we see how this global flood points us to gospel glories!
It is time to come back to the Lord. There are times we run from God. Sometimes those are blatantly obvious by the outward expressions of our life. Other times everything looks good on the outside, but we are spiritually cold on the inside. In 1 Kings 18 we see a showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal that turns the people's hearts back to the Lord. As we walk through this story together, there are three things we need to see and act if we need to return wholeheartedly to the Lord as well.
In Numbers 22-24 we find an entertaining and humorous story about a king, a pagan prophet-for hire, and a donkey. The donkey is significant because God makes the animal speak in a human voice, which is why this story is so memorable. But the story is not really about the donkey. This story is all about our God who is faithful to keep His promises. And His greatest promise, a coming Savior, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God find their Yes!
