August 4 Ezra 6 (ESV) The Decree of Darius 6:1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored.2 And in Ecbatana, the capital that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In [...]
Archive for the ‘Ezra’ Category
August 4 Ezra 6
Posted: August 4, 2011 by Pam Larson in August Bible Readings, Bible Passages, EzraTags: August 4 Ezra 6, August Bible Readings, Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, Scripture
Opposition!
Posted: August 3, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, EzraTags: Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, opposition to rebuilding the Temple, Opposition!, Ray Stedman, Scripture
Ray Stedman on Ezra 4-5 (from a sermon “Ezra: The Way Back”) The third factor in this return under Zerubbabel is the opposition that immediately develops, as we read in chapters 4 through 6. A force is at work in every human heart, as in world affairs, that immediately rises up to oppose everything that [...]
August 3 Ezra 4-5
Posted: August 3, 2011 by Pam Larson in August Bible Readings, Bible Passages, EzraTags: August 3 Ezra 4-5, August Bible Readings, Bible, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, Scripture
August 3 Ezra 4-5 (ESV) Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as [...]
Worship or entertainment?
Posted: August 2, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, EzraTags: authentic worship, Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, Scripture, Steven Cole, true worship, Worship or entertainment?
Stephen Cole, of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship comments on Ezra 3- Note first that both personal and corporate worship focus on God and affirm by faith His goodness and covenant love (3:11). Worship requires skillful musicians (3:10), but if the focus is on them, you’re into entertainment, not worship. Worship praises the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His [...]
August 2 Ezra 3
Posted: August 2, 2011 by Pam Larson in August Bible Readings, Bible Passages, EzraTags: August 2 Ezra 3, August Bible Readings, Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, Scripture
August 2 Ezra 3 (ESV) Rebuilding the Altar 3:1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar [...]
God’s predictions are as sure as He is powerful!
Posted: August 1, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, EzraTags: Bible, Bible study, daily Bible, Dr. John Piper, Ezra, God is sovereign, God's power, God's predictions are as sure as He is powerful!, God's sovereignty, Hunger for God, Power of God, Scripture, sovereign power of God
John Piper, in “A Hunger for God” p 166: Israel had been taken into Babylonian exile. They had been there for decades. Now the time had come, in God’s reckoning, for their restoration. But how could this happen? They were a tiny, obscure ethnic minority in the massive Persian empire. The answer is that God rules empires. And [...]
August 1 Ezra 1-2
Posted: August 1, 2011 by Pam Larson in August Bible Readings, Bible Passages, EzraTags: August 1 Ezra 1-2, Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Ezra, Scripture
August 1 Ezra 1-2 (ESV) The Proclamation of Cyrus 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: [...]
God’s Word, Good Exposition, Great Joy, Much Strength
Posted: August 19, 2010 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, Ezra, NehemiahTags: Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, Dr. John Piper, expository exultation, expository preaching, joy in God, joyful worship, Scripture
Since we have just finished reading Ezra and Nehemiah, this article will bless you- John Piper, at Desiring God Blog: Here’s another reason I am joyfully committed to expository exultation, that is, preaching. Look at this amazing statement of what biblical exposition is like when it’s done well—in the power of God’s Spirit and riveted [...]
One of our first and best models for expository preaching…
Posted: August 14, 2010 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, EzraTags: Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, daily Bible, expository preaching, Ezra, One of our first and best models for expository preaching..., Phil Ryken, preaching, Scripture, sermon, understand the Bible
Phillip Graham Ryken writes in Thermelios: Ezra also had a mind for biblical truth. Perhaps the best example comes from Nehemiah 8, where Ezra gathers the Israelites to renew the covenant in Jerusalem. The heart of that renewal was the reading and preaching of God’s Word. Ezra gathered people in the square in front of the [...]
Celebrating fellowship with God!
Posted: August 4, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, EzraTags: Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, Celebrating fellowship with God!, celebration of Passover, daily Bible, Ezra, fellowship, joy in God, Peninsula Bible Church, Ray Stedman, Scripture, sermon
Ray Stedman, in a 1965 sermon, “Ezra:The Way Back” comments on the events of Ezra 6: The minute the people began to turn back to God, he also turned the hearts of the kings, Darius and Artaxerxes, and they issued the decree that started the temple work again. Finally the work was finished. In chapter [...]