August 2021

Go On Back

Have you ever heard of Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels? He was an All-American center from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1929, his team, the “Golden Bears,” were facing the Georgia Tech “Yellow Jackets,” in the Rose Bowl. Riegels was playing both on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, that game. It was […]



July 2021

Exalted Humility

Pride and humility both have the same motto, “Look out for #1.” The difference is that pride and humility have different ideas about who precisely is numero uno. So in a sense both Orpah and Ruth were looking out for #1 when they made their respective decisions in the first chapter of Ruth. In the […]



Steely Resolve

Verses 16-17 of the first chapter of Ruth are undoubtedly the most famous lines of the entire book. They contain Ruth’s determined vow to remain with her mother-in-law no matter what forces tried to separate them. She said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go […]



June 2021

Bitter

Down through the years people had some interesting reasons for changing their names. For example, in 2015 a young man named Adam Armstrong legally changed his name to Adam West because it was cheaper to change his name than to change his flight booking which had been made under the wrong name by his girlfriend’s […]



Brought Low

The Great Commission is not just a to-do list item. It is not a command that can be obeyed in the same way as taking out the trash or paying our taxes. It can’t even be done as someone might deliver a letter. We might be tempted to think of it that way. For example, […]



War of Words

Last message we were introduced to a man whom the Bible identifies as “The Rabshakeh.” He was a trash-talking envoy of the great and terrible King Sennacherib of Assyria. In 701 bc the Assyrian army encircled Jerusalem and the Rabshakeh sidled up to within earshot of Jerusalem’s defenders and fired off the opening volley in […]



May 2021

Rabshakeh

In Isaiah 36 we are introduced to a man who is called “the Rabshakeh.” Rabshakeh is probably not the man’s name but rather a title that translates roughly to “field commander.” He has been charged by King Sennacherib of Assyria with overthrowing Jerusalem. As I mentioned in last week’s worship service this Rabshakeh is a […]



Bezalel and Oholiab

In this message we will be getting to know Bezalel and Oholiab who the Bible mentions in Exodus 31, 35 and 36 as the two artists chiefly responsible for creating the tabernacle, its decorations, the ark of the covenant and the garments worn by the priests. In Exodus 31 we are told that God “called […]



Uzziah

In this message we study the life of one of Judah’s lesser known Kings, Uzziah. We find his story in 2 Chronicles 26. In the Old Testament we are given the names of 46 men who were kings over Israel and Judah. Some of these names are famous (like David for example), some of them […]



Jephthah

Sarah and I have pretty much decided on the name “Oliver” for the newest Tater Tot who is due to arrive in just a matter of weeks. It seems a fitting handle to us because “Oliver” means olive tree and Sarah’s family have been olive growers for generations in Southern California (and in Italy before […]