The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Amaziah is another King of Judah whose reign looks promising at the begining, but cools off towards the end. He leans heavily on the Lord at the outset, but as he experiences victory and grows wealthy and powerful, he turns away from the Lord. Here we learn the dangers of losing focus and putting our trust in anyone or anything other than the Lord.

Jesus tells His disciples that His "hour" has come. As He approaches the cross, He prepares His disciples for His imminent departure by rooting them deeply in His love.

Wicked Queen Mother Athaliah murdered all of the young royals in-line for the throne as she could get her hands on. But when a surprise heir is put on the throne, she yells, "Treason!" In this sorid chapter of Chronicles, the nation is being held together by faithful priests, while the monarchs run amuck.

When the monarchs of Judah adopt the treachery and faithless behaviors of the kings of Israel, watch out! Jehoram begins his reign by killing his brothers, men who were, "more righteous than he." Ahaziah, his son, reigns only a year before the wicked Queen Mother Athaliah ascends to the throne. So much evil, so little hope.

God looks at life and death differently than we do. In God's eyes, all who have faith in Him are alive. Conversely, many who appear to be alive are spiritually dead. In light of this paradox, we consider how the hope of everlasting life in Christ transforms this life, and the next.

Jehosaphat gives us a great pattern for prayer. Faced with impossible odds, he poured his heart out to the Lord asking for mercy. God saved faithful Jehosaphat and the nation, reminding us of the many times God intervened on behalf of his people.

Jehosaphat was a good and faithful king of Judah, who decided, for whatever reason, to ally with wicked king Ahab from Israel. God will preserve Jehosaphat from his folly, even though it nearly cost him his life. But Ahab will die a traitor's death because he proved unfaithful to the Lord and the nation of Israel.

Jesus states very clearly who He is as the Good Shepherd, and the very door to salvation. As His sheep, we hear His voice and follow His lead. Even in the face of death, we follow faithfully, because the hope of everlasting life in Christ transforms our earthly lives.

Asa was another righteous king in Judah, whose reforms brought back to faith many of those living in the godless northern kingdom of Israel. From him we lern the blessings of truly godly leaders.

When Jeroboam and Abijah go to war, God prospers the cause of the godly. This theme of God taking care of His own runs strong through the Chronicles. But how do we process loss when we are fighting for Christ, and we lose our battle?

When Jesus heals the man born blind, He teaches important lessons about the human condition and His unconditional love. There will always be those who are spiritually blind and refuse to believe in God, even when He shows them His love in unmistakable ways. Despite our spiritual blindness, He blesses us with His Holy Spirit, that even though we are blind according to our nature, we may see Him by faith.

David's grandson, in folly, creates a divison that seperates the nation. After strengthening his hold on power, he decides to worship other gods. Just two generations after David, the nation is being led astray and suffers greatly for her breach of faith. Here we learn that faith is always only one generation away from extinction.

The Queen of Sheba, the Mother of Africa, comes to see Solomon in all of his splendor. We see her so amazed that she is brought to faith in the One True God. Imperfect though he was, Solomon was good at pointing others to the Lord and impressing upon them the wonders of His love.

The Pharisees and Jesus go round and round because His opponents refused to accept Him. He is the very Wisdom and Word of God in human flesh, yet they stubbornly refuse Him. We pray that we would be delivered from such foolish pride and arrogance, recognizing God and His Son.

When Solomon offers the dedication sacrifice for the Temple, God indicates His divine approval by sending fire from heaven. This is yet another way God made His personal presence known to His people at this monumental moment in their history.

At the dedication of the Temple, God's glory filled the place. We are reminded of the clouds at Sinai, and upon the Mount of Transfiguration. When God descends to His people, all we can do is marvel and praise the One who breaks our darkness with His love and living light.

Humans have a knack for making a mockery of justice. A woman caught in the act of adultery is brought in front of the public for a show trial. But where's the man, if she was caught in the act? Jesus saves her by fufilling both the law of love and the law of Moses. So too, we are saved by Jesus, even when we are wrong.

The Temple was created as a little "heaven on earth." In worship still today, we get a taste of "heaven on earth" when we receive the Lord's love and gifts anew. As we consider the wisdom of the Temple's design, we reflect on how we experience heavenly splendor in worship.

Wisdom, properly applied, is the key to earthly success. While wisdom can give you untold earthly success, no amount of earthly success or possessions can ever give you wisdom. We consider the gift of wisdom as we consider the key to Solomon's success.

In the face of hatred, Jesus brings love! This chapter reveals the hatred that Jesus experienced from the crowd, the Pharisees, and even His own family. Yet Jesus continues, because the work of God is to bring transformational love to people filled with hate.

David blessed the people in his farewell speech, encouraging them to live lives of service. Despite his personal struggles, David proves to be a good example of a life of service. There is great blessing for us when we follow the Lord gladly and willingly.

We hear echoes of Joshua's blessing and Jesus's Great Commission as David reminds young Solomon that the Lord will never leave nor forsake him. We are ourselves comforted with this assurance, knowing the Lord is always present and blessing us even when we doubt His loving care.

Jesus insists that He is the very Bread of Life, come from heaven to earth. He is so insistent on this fact that He offends many listeners. There can be no middle ground on this. Either Jesus is, or is not, the Son of God. Who do you say that He is?

Here we are given occasion to thank God for worship musicians, greeters and our church security teams! These often under-appreciated servants in the Lord's Church are highlighted. We thank God for those who are called to teach through music and greet, as special expressions of God's love.

Two whole chapters are set aside by the Chronicler to list the genealogies, roles and responsibilities of those who would serve in the temple, both leading worship and in supporting roles. This shows us how important worship life was to God and his people in the eyes of King David. We also are given in this episode an opportunity to appreciate and thank those who are mentioned as supporting cast members.

The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. In John's gospel, it gives us opportunity to reflect on why Jesus came from heaven to earth. He didn't come to become a "bread king," but rather as the King of Kings.

Did you realize that King David's net worth was greater than the richest person alive today? Did you know that the gold he donated to the construction of the Temple was worth ~$330 billion? Here we consider the blessing of his generosity, and how our giving to the Lord and His purposes richly blesses others both now and forever.

In two chapters chronicling the military victories God granted to David and his armies, we reflect on the prevalence of conflict in the world. In this fallen world, we often only find peace in the midst of conflict. Conflict is often necessary to secure peace. This is not God's original intention for humanity, but rather the course humanity choose in the Garden, and the course we choose for ourselves when we exercise our will over others or over the clearly revealed will of God.

After being confronted by the Pharisees for healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus points to five witnesses to Who He Is. John the Baptist. His own works. God the Father. The Old Testament scriptures. Moses. If the works were not enough to sway the skeptics, Jesus gives them four more reasons to listen to Him.

We hear the priestly version of God's promise to build a house for David, and to bless his family, so that his throne is established forever. New testament believers know these promises were not ultimately fulfilled in Solomon, but rather in Jesus. As "Immanuel," "God With Us," God dwells with us in the Person of His Son. He reigns over us both now and forever as a good and loving God.

David learned a painful lesson when he tried to move the ark in an unorthodox way. But in these chapters, we see that he learned his lesson. We also hear legendary songs of praise that were sung as the ark entered Jerusalem, which were also recorded among the psalms.

Jesus exalts a woman with a checkered past when he deigns to speak with the Samarian woman. Despite the ethnic, religious, social and other barriers between these two, God's love prevails. By the end of this chapter, the woman is a leading evangelist, bringing her entire town to Jesus.

In moving the ark, and building his family, David was only half-faithful to the Lord. His decision to move the ark on a cart, instead of on poles, as Moses instructed, cost the life of a priest. His lust, and accumulation of wives in Jerusalem, is also not what God requested of the kings. These chapters remind us that David, great as he was, is still human.

David's installation as king, and early military feats, are recorded in these chapters. Imperfect though he was, David was used mightily by God to unite the nation politically and in faith. He was a great blessing as king for all the good he did for the nation.

We hear a perfect summary of Jesus's life's work and the entire Bible in John 3:16. Nicodemus learns of the Spirit's work in a cold dark world. Then, John the Baptist reappears, to affirm that the work of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is one and the same-to bring light to darkness and life in place of death.

The circumstances surrounding Saul's death are recorded in this chapter. We learn from Saul to watch our own souls, and be careful always to listen to the Lord and His will for us.

Saul's descendants were important players in Israel when the exiles were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Despite his sin, Saul was the first king of Israel. As such, he was honored, even though he was not always an honorable man.

Jesus has an honest conversation with Nicodemus, who saw God at work in Jesus, but didn't understand how God works. We find comforting words here, as we grow in our understanding of baptism and the powerful promises of God.

The tribe of Levi gets a whole chapter, but poor Naphtali only gets a single verse of mention. This gives us opportunity to reflect on the promise Isaiah gave to Naphtali, that the Savior would arise there, despite her demise and mediocrity among the tribes.

King David receives special treatment as the king who faithfully established the Temple worship and affirmed the priests and Levites. We notice that the Chronicler makes editorial comments on the people and events from Israel's history. Each editorial comment is a lesson in God's faithfulness, despite the unfaithful nature of His people.

When Jesus turned water into wine, He made sure to point out that He didn't come from heaven to earth just to help a few people, but rather, to save all people. Whenever we hear Jesus speak of His "hour" coming in John's gospel, our hearts and minds are being directed to His life's work on the cross.

Chronicles is the priestly, spiritual account of Israel's history. The Chronicler was a returning exile, who most likely worked at the direction of Ezra and/or Nehemiah. As he begins his account of Israel's history, he places them within the table of nations. He points out how God was faithful to them, despite their unfaithfulness to Him.

The nation of Judah is carried into exile. Only the poorest of the land were left behind to maintain the ground. But even in exile, we see rays of hope as Jehoichin, one of the kings carried into exile, is restored to a place of prominence in the courts of Babylon. Even in darkest days, the hope of God's redeeming love shines brightly.

In the opening chapter of John's gospel, we witness the baptism of Jesus. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were each revealed in Jesus' baptism. We also hear a perfect summary of Jesus' life work as, "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

It is a normal occurance that as a person approaches death, that family and friends who surround the dying person see their loved one rally just a few days or even hours before the end. So too, couples in broken relationships, often show signs of hope before ending their relationship once and for all. In this episode, under Josiah's leadership, Judah experiences a spiritual cleansing and revival. But it is too little, too late, to assuage the Lord's wrath.

Josiah is the last righteous king of Judah. He recognized the grave danger Judah was in for having forsaken the Lord. He made it his life's work to bring as many as possible back to faith in the God of Israel.

John's gospel begins before the beginning of time, when God brought all things into existence. John writes from a different perspective than the other gospels. He was an old man, who had already seen many of his dear children in the faith lose their earthly lives for the gospel. He writes to encourage us all with the truth. The light and life that dwell within us are greater than the world's deepest darkness.

King Hezekiah sees the mighty deliverance of the Lord both professionally and personally. He is king when God strikes Assyria, killing 185,000 of their soldiers in a single night. He then is healed from a life threatening disease. But his life ends in folly as he shows-off to Babylonian spies, who will return to take the wealth of Judah for themselves.

Israel receives her due from the Lord when she is conquered and sent into exile. God chastized His people, not in hate, but in love. He wanted them to repent of their evil and return to Him after learning how serious He is about His Word, and the faith-life of His people.

Jesus was not taken from His disciples in His Ascension. Rather, He ascended to draw nearer to them than ever before. We celebrate the Ascension, seeing God draw near to us, because of the love He has shown us in His dear Son.