Emmanuel’s Story: Simeon’s Light

It’s been so long, Lord. You made a promise from before the beginning of time, and your people have waited. We need Messiah. We were cast out of the garden. Our fathers failed to obey. We continue to turn away from you. Your law only proved how wicked our hearts truly were. We can’t save…

Read More

Emmanuel’s Story: A Gentle Whisper

Today we turn to the next person in our quick journey through the Old Testament. Remember his story? The Lord sent him to preach against the evil King Ahab and his uber-wicked wife Jezebel. During the ultimate stand-off, Elijah went against Baal’s prophets. Simple test: I’ll make an altar to my God. You make an…

Read More

Changed by a Baby: From Bitter to Pleasant

Did you realize there were so many babies in the Old Testament? I never really thought about it until I started doing this study! Now we come to another one—or another lack of one. The book of Ruth opens with the land of Israel languishing in a hot mess they’ve created for themselves. They have no…

Read More

Emmanuel’s Story: Manna or a Manger–God Provides

How those Israelites could complain! The Lord had just miraculously brought them out of hundreds of years of slavery. They saw the plagues—frogs, boils, grasshoppers, even the loss of the firstborn. They witnessed firsthand how God provided a way for the angel of death to pass over their homes, sparing their sons. He split the…

Read More

Finally…A Baby is Born!

 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14, ESV) O come, thou Dayspring from on high And cheer us by thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Abraham. Sarah. Isaac. We encounter so much waiting in this life, don’t we? I…

Read More

Christmas and …Noah? Shelter from the Storm

Okay, we’ve seen that God loved us from before the beginning (how cool is that!). We’ve also discovered that right after we (represented by Adam) fell to sin, our gracious Friend promised to send a deliverer. He was already thinking about Christmas! But there’s still so long to wait. Who will the Messiah be? What…

Read More

Emmanuel’s Story: Are You Your Own Savior?

Yesterday we talked about how before the foundation of the world, God made a promise, an Emmanuel promise, to rescue His children from the ugly sin that entrapped us. He’s loved us for so long! Today, let’s look at when we first heard about this promise.  It was early in the book of Genesis. Remember…

Read More