Put Away and Incline

enCultivateLeave a comment

He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (ESV)

Joshua 24:23

At the end of Joshua’s life and ministry he is recounting to the people of Israel all the goodness and kindness that the Lord God bestowed upon them by fulfilling each and every promise that he had made to them through the years. This recounting of the faithfulness of their loving God was given with a call to serve the Lord. The people with one voice committed to serving the Lord alone, but Joshua was hesitant to allow them to make this commitment. He even tells them that they are unable to serve the Lord! Yet, the people are adamant that they will serve the Lord. So Joshua gives them this command in verse 23, “Then put away the foreign Gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” Our God is a holy God and his call upon our lives is to live a life of holiness. And Joshua is absolutely correct. In our own strength, we are unable to serve the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But there is One in whose strength we can serve the Lord. It is only in our Holy Savior that we can ever hope to serve our Lord in holiness.

Continue reading “Put Away and Incline” →

Desperate People: Personal

enCultivateLeave a comment

This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series titled, “Desperate People of the Bible.” The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion.

View Series

Psalm 23

Desperate People – Sunday School Winter 2025
Sunday School Lesson | February 23, 2025

For the lesson today, we’re going to look at the familiar Psalm 23 in maybe an unfamiliar way. This Psalm has been a source of tremendous comfort and encouragement in the midst of my own personal desperation and I know I am probably not alone in this area. During the last holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas, I spent every day meditating on a portion of this Psalm. I wrote 9 journal entries during this time that helped me take my ongoing meditations throughout the day and brought them to the Good Shepherd as a personal prayer. I am still reaping the benefits of this deep engagement.

Psalm 23 is a beautiful Psalm of the goodness of God in the lives of his people. A Psalm of meeting us exactly where we are and providing the tender sweet mercies we so desperately need.

Continue reading “Desperate People: Personal” →

Weak and Fearful

enCultivateLeave a comment

January 03, 2026 Saturday

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

I have been spending a lot of time this past week reading, studying, and meditating on Joshua 1 as I prepare to teach a lesson about the key themes found in that chapter. As I have been thinking throughout the week, I keep coming back to verse 9. It puzzled me for a while as to why this verse kept pricking me at various times throughout the day. I don’t feel particularly fearful or frightened. In the normal course of my day, I feel as though everything is going fairly well without many worries. Of course there are troubles as there always will be, but my mind was really coasting along without any apparent worries. Unlike Joshua, I am not embarking on a critical mission, leading millions of people into battle for their long-promised land of inheritance. I am not facing the loss of my leader, mentor, and friend. I am just a normal guy, leading a normal life. Yet, this verse spoken as an encouragement to Joshua in his time of trial is here today calling me to examine myself. To look past the surface level of complacency and deal with the fears and doubts that darken the corners of my heart. A call to understand that just as the Lord was with Joshua wherever he went, so too is Jesus with me at every moment and every step. So I too need to be strong and courageous and confront the areas of disobedience and apathy present in my heart.

Continue reading “Weak and Fearful” →

Creator and Heir

enCultivateLeave a comment

December 04, 2025 Thursday

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Hebrews 1:1-2 (ESV)

The incarnation of Jesus is the signifying moment of history being ushered into “these last days.” This is the final epoch of revelation from God being displayed and culminated in the life and death of Jesus Christ, the very Son of God. Whereas he previously spoke and revealed himself through a cloud of mystery, prophecy, signs, and wonders, he has now sent his Son to walk among us. In so doing, the Son of God has truly shown us the Father. For if you have seen and know the Son, then you have seen and know the Father. The incarnation brought the spoken word of God to life. Life in our reality and understanding. This same Jesus, who has come into our life and world to show us the Father, is the same one through whom the world itself was created and to whom the world and all creation are his inheritance. The eternal word of God came into our world and has both manifested and spoken the final Word of God.

Continue reading “Creator and Heir” →

Encounter with Thomas

enCultivateLeave a comment

This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Encounters with Jesus in the Book of John during the Fall of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion.

View Encounters with Jesus Lesson Series

Encounters with Jesus – Thomas

Doubt versus Unbelief
What is John’s stated purpose of writing this Gospel?
That you may believe… Believe appears 98 times in the Gospel of John

Continue reading “Encounter with Thomas” →

Encounter with Peter

enCultivateLeave a comment

This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Encounters with Jesus in the Book of John during the Fall of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion.

View Encounters with Jesus Lesson Series

John 21:1-23

John 21:1-14

  • Introduction reading to see the state of Peter’s heart.
  • Why were they fishing?
    • Were they waiting around for Jesus to appear to them again for the third time? Were they aimless and without purpose? Were they just waiting for the next experience of Jesus revealing himself? Just getting on with life?
  • Peter’s personality is one that tends toward the extreme.
    • John recognizes that it is Jesus, but it is Peter who abandons everything in the spur of the moment to go and be with Jesus > ASAP.
    • Jesus asks them to bring some of the fish. Peter goes and brings all the fish.

Question
– Peter is full of passion. What is one thing you can take away from this section and apply to your daily life and walk with Christ?

Continue reading “Encounter with Peter” →

Encounter with the Disciples

enCultivateLeave a comment

This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Encounters with Jesus in the Book of John during the Fall of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion.

View Encounters with Jesus Lesson Series

John 1:35-42

FOLLOW 1:35-37
John 1:35 / The next day AGAIN John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

  • These two disciples are Andrew and John.
  • They were both consistently around John the Baptist.
  • John the Baptist was consistently pointing people to Jesus.
    • 1:26-28 / One who stands among you
    • 1:29 / Behold, the Lamb of God
  • Thoughts
    • It intrigued me this week to think about Andrew and John being committed to the preaching and teaching of John the Baptist. Here is this Old Testament prophet coming on the scene after 400 years of silence and they are excited about the Word of God being given once again.
    • Now all of the sudden, the prophet is pointing out that the Messiah has not only come on the scene but is literally walking among us.
    • 1:37 / The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
    • Jesus was a unknown at this time. No crowds. No followers. Andrew and John decided to leave the comfortable and known for the uncomfortable and unknown.
    • They were the first to follow Jesus.
  • Questions
    • What are Andrew and John are thinking and feeling at this moment?
    • How difficult is it to make this move of allegiance?
    • Would anyone like to share their decision point when you started following Jesus?
Continue reading “Encounter with the Disciples” →

Grace of Affliction

enCultivateLeave a comment

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

2 Corinthians 8:1–2 (ESV)

Paul wants the Corinthian believers to know about the grace of God in a tangible way, so he gives testimony to the pouring out of God’s grace among the churches of Macedonia. He wants the church of Corinth to know about this grace of God by giving a tangible, real life example that they can readily identify and connect with on a personal level. There are a few shocking details in this example that caused me to stop and reflect about the work of God’s grace in my own life. First, there was a severe test of affliction. Second, there was both an abundance of joy and extreme poverty. This all led to the point that Paul wants the Corinthians church to grasp. In this test of affliction, their joy and poverty overflowed into a wealth of generosity. What I want to reflect on is the seeming inconsistency of this equation (God’s grace > Severe affliction > Abundance of joy in Extreme poverty > Wealth of generosity). It defies the logic of my 21st century mind.

Continue reading “Grace of Affliction” →

Effective Confirmation

enCultivateLeave a comment

for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

1 Corinthians 16:9 (ESV)

What I find fascinating about the Apostle Paul is that his view of this life and the world around us is oftentimes counterintuitive to how I view life as I journey through my time in this world. In this verse from 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul changes his established plans and commitments because the Lord had opened a door for effective ministry, and he was seeing the visible fruits increasing and multiplying. This time of ministry was so effective that he understood that he needed to drop all other plans to focus on where the Spirit was moving at the moment. This I understand. What is challenging to me is that the proof of the Spirit’s work and the effectiveness of the ministry were confirmed by the presence of adversaries. Paul was excited about the adversaries. The presence of those speaking out and working against this ministry work confirmed to Paul that the work of the Holy Spirit was truly being poured out, and he could not leave during this critical moment.

Continue reading “Effective Confirmation” →

Scum and Refuse

enCultivateLeave a comment

We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

1 Corinthians 4:13 (ESV)

The heavenly mindset of Paul is always a helpful barometer to examine my heart and soul. Paul encourages me to not just focus on the surface level appearance of presentation but to dig deeper and examine the cracks and crevices that are open within my heart. This passage from 1 Corinthians 4 is a good example of this. Paul is challenging the thinking and mindset of the Corinthian believers to move away from their pride, arrogance, and sense of entitlement in which they had grown accustomed. Their hearts were puffed up and filled with boasting over the blessings from God that they had been freely given. Paul is calling them back to a mindset of weakness and humility. He is calling them to be counter-cultural in their thinking. They are wanting to be seen as rich and wise in the eyes of the world, when they should be as “the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”

Continue reading “Scum and Refuse” →