4/3/2024
Judges 1 profiles Israel's initial conquest of Canaan following Joshua's death, yet it also foreshadows their cycle of sin and deliverance. Despite initial victories, Israel fails to fully drive out the inhabitants as commanded by God, which ultimately leads to compromise and idolatry. This sets the stage for the recurring pattern throughout the book of Judges, where Israel's disobedience brings oppression, followed by God raising up judges to deliver them.
4/10/2024
In Judges Chapter 2 we see Israel slowly turn away from God. Because they are choosing to disobey, their path eventually leads to God’s discipline. As God’s discipline steers them towards repentance, we’ll learn that He disciplines us because He loves us.
4/24/2024
In Judges chapter 3, a cycle of sin continues to unfold as the Israelites turn away from God, leading God to allow oppression by foreign nations. In response, God raises up judges to deliver them, illustrating His plan to break the cycle through His redemption and restoration. God will allow trials to test our trust in Him.
5/22/2024
When God delivers us from evil and brings about victory in our lives, it should cause us to praise Him with all our hearts and to encourage others to join our song. God delivered Deborah and the Israelites from oppression, but He has delivered us from something greater. Celebrate with us!
5/29/2024
The story of Gideon shows that God is not limited by our fears and weaknesses. God can and does chose people like you and me to accomplish his will on this earth.
6/5/2024
In Judges 6:25-40, God initiates the cycle of grace with Gideon by instructing him to destroy his father's altar to Baal and build an altar to the Lord. This process of God’s work in Gideon’s life marks the beginning of his transformation from a fearful man to a faithful leader.
6/12/2024
Judges 7 recounts how Gideon, guided by God's command, led a small army of 300 men to victory against the vast Midianite forces. This miraculous triumph illustrates that we are more powerful in God's hands than relying on our own strength.
7/10/2024
Judges 8 details Gideon's pursuit and capture of the Midianite kings and their armies. Instead of glorifying the Lord, Gideon finds ways to glorify himself. The work of the Lord does not carry on to the next generation, because the people of the Lord do not carry on in Him.
7/24/2024
Throughout the book of Judges, God puts on display the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. Through Gideon’s disregard for God’s law and plans, we see how the next generation departs from God’s promises. God’s unbroken promises to His people are “what we sow, we will reap”!
7/31/2024
As we get a better look at these little-known but faithful judges. We will see the same scenario sin, suffer, and repent was routine in this period in Israel’s history. If the Israelites had only reviewed their own history and learned from it.
8/7/2024
Tonight, we learn through Jephthah and the Ephraimites how far off course God’s people can go. Thankfully because of the work of Jesus we can also learn how God’s people can be a light and bring hope to the world.
8/14/2024
As God looks again at a sinful and broken generation of Israel, He reveals His plan for His people. Despite the fact the people do not cry out for deliverance, but God moves forward, faithfully to His people.
9/4/2024
In Judges 15, Samson takes matters into his own hands, seeking revenge after being wronged, which leads to a cycle of violence and destruction. This passage challenges us to trust in God’s plans, knowing that His way is always better than our own, by surrendering to His holy plan to bring about true justice and peace.
9/25/2024
Judges 17-18 is about a man named Micah who sets up his own little shrine, makes idols, and hires a personal priest, showing how worshiping something we create is just idolatry. The story shows how easily people can drift away from God when they start doing things their own way instead of following His commands. Then suffer the consequences.
10/23/2024
Join us today as we recount one of the major low points of the Israelite people in the Old Testament. The good news that comes out of this story is that God is faithful, patient, and ultimately sent his son to save us and teach us to be better people.
10/30/2024
Judges 21 recounts the Israelites' struggle to preserve the tribe of Benjamin after a civil war, leading to a controversial plan to secure wives for the surviving men. This chapter underscores themes of desperation and moral compromise in a broken nation. The good news is God’s promises remain unbroken to them and to us.
Calvary Chapel