What does it look like to truly love God with all of our being? Is that what we are seeking with God? In the 16th Psalm, we see this in the way David vividly expresses his attachment to God and his adoration towards Him. In this lesson, we study how David’s prayer communicates truths that we can adapt and imitate in our relationship with God as well.

Patterns of Predestination

September 19, 2021
Like the term “faith,” the word “predestination" is surrounded by diverse and false ideas in our religious world. “Predestined” is a word used in verses 5 and 11 to describe a critical way that God fulfilled His plan of salvation in Christ. In this lesson, we first examine how Predestination, like “faith," is a term that fulfills a pattern of examples from the Old Testament. Then, we examine how these Old Testament examples connect to and clarify the way Predestination is described in this passage. Lastly, we reflect on 3 lessons that can be gained from understanding what Predestination means for us in our relationship with God.
The last chapters of the book Judges are downright disturbing, especially chapters 19-21. They show the complete unraveling of the morality and faithfulness of Israel in the generations immediately following the grand success of Joshua (listen to last week's lesson). The chapters in this lesson are not as physically unsettling but nonetheless still show the systemic lack of consideration for God's laws in those times. 
One of Moses' very last speeches was to dictate to the nation that once they entered Canaan, they were to do a theatrical exercise of shouting commands from opposing mountainsides. And they did, in Joshua's day. But would their commitment last?