Archive for the Sermon Follow-Up Category


Jul 16

The Misery of Life and the Mystery of Rain

2014 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Job 5:8–10, Job says, “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields.”

Why is God amazing? Rain! Really? Really.

Here’s a reflection by John Piper on rain in his article, “The Great Work of God: Rain.”

If you said to someone: “My God does great and unsearchable things; He does wonders without number,” and they responded, “Really? Like what?” would you say, “Rain”?

When I read these verses recently I felt like I did when I heard the lyrics to a Sonny and Cher song in 1969: “I’d live for you. I’d die for you. I’d even climb the mountain high for you.” Even? I would die for you. I would even climb a high mountain for you? The song was good for a joke. Or a good illustration of bad poetry. Not much else.

But Job is not joking. “God does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.” He gives rain on the earth.” In Job’s mind, rain really is one of the great, unsearchable wonders that God does. So when I read this a few weeks ago, I resolved not to treat it as meaningless pop musical lyrics. I decided to have a conversation with myself (= meditation).

Is rain a great and unsearchable wonder wrought by God? Picture yourself as a farmer in the Near East, far from any lake or stream. A few wells keep the family and animals supplied with water. But if the crops are to grow and the family is to be fed from month to month, water has to come on the fields from another source. From where?

Well, the sky. The sky? Water will come out of the clear blue sky? Well, not exactly. Water will have to be carried in the sky from the Mediterranean Sea, over several hundred miles and then be poured out from the sky onto the fields. Carried? How much does it weigh? Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 27,878,400 cubic feet of water, which is 206,300,160 gallons, which is 1,650,501,280 pounds of water.

That’s heavy. So how does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it’s so heavy? Well, it gets up there by evaporation. Really? That’s a nice word. What’s it mean? It means that the water sort of stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down. I see. Then how does it get down? Well, condensation happens. What’s that? The water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That’s small.

What about the salt? Salt? Yes, the Mediterranean Sea is salt water. That would kill the crops. What about the salt? Well, the salt has to be taken out. Oh. So the sky picks up a billion pounds of water from the sea and takes out the salt and then carries it for three hundred miles and then dumps it on the farm?

Well it doesn’t dump it. If it dumped a billion pounds of water on the farm, the wheat would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the billion pounds water down in little drops. And they have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalks.

How do all these microscopic specks of water that weigh a billion pounds get heavy enough to fall (if that’s the way to ask the question)? Well, it’s called coalescence. What’s that? It means the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger. And when they are big enough, they fall. Just like that? Well, not exactly, because they would just bounce off each other instead of joining up, if there were no electric field present. What? Never mind. Take my word for it.

I think, instead, I will just take Job’s word for it. I still don’t see why drops ever get to the ground, because if they start falling as soon as they are heavier than air, they would be too small not to evaporate on the way down, but if they wait to come down, what holds them up till they are big enough not to evaporate? Yes, I am sure there is a name for that too. But I am satisfied now that, by any name, this is a great and unsearchable thing that God has done. I think I should be thankful – lots more thankful than I am.

Jun 11

Contrasts for a Climax of 1 Samuel

2014 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Sunday’s sermon, “Thus Saul Died,” from 1 Samuel 31, Ryan highlighted a number of contrasts between Saul and David that help bring the book of 1 Samuel to its climax and conclusion. Ryan showed these across a few slides, but we thought we’d compile these fascinating contrasts for you here on the blog.

Contrasting events, Same Day

On two separate days there are a series of contrasting events that happen alongside one another. There are clear queues in the text, but it can be hard to pick up at first. Ryan pointed them out to us on two slides.

Day 1:

  • Saul hears of Philistines assembling for battle against the Israelites (1 Samuel 28:4-5)
  • David discovers the terror of Ziklag city raided, burned, and families taken (1 Samuel 30:1-6)
  • Saul inquires of the Lord in vain just silence (1 Samuel 28:5-6)
  • David inquires of the Lord and hears and is led out with God’s blessing (1 Samuel 30:7-8)
  • Saul sets out to Endor for a medium (1 Samuel 28:7)
  • David sets out to pursue Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:9)

Day 2:

  • Saul faces Philistines and is slain (1 Samuel 31:1-5)
  • David finds Amalekites and decimates them (1 Samuel 30:16-20)

The Contrast Increases toward the Close of the Book

As the book nears its close, the contrasts between David and Saul get more and more pronounced.

  • David inquired of the Lord and was led (1 Samuel 30:8)
  • Saul inquired, but got only silence, then judgment (1 Samuel 28:6-7)
  • With no strength David strengthened himself in God (1 Samuel 30:4, 6)
  • With no strength Saul was “strengthened” by a witch (1 Samuel 28:20, 22)
  • David was divinely rescued by Philistines (1 Samuel  29)
  • Saul was divinely judged by Philistines (1 Samuel 31:1)
  • David faced God’s enemies with confidence (1 Samuel 30:9, 10)
  • Saul faced God’s enemies with fear (1 Samuel 28:5, 19-20)
  • Facing death, David sought the Lord for strength (1 Samuel 30:6)
  • Facing death, Saul asked his servant to expedite it (1 Samuel 31:5)
  • David pursued and struck down the enemy (1 Samuel 30:17)
  • Saul fled, hid, and was struck down by the enemy (1 Samuel 31:1-3)
  • With David, none of his 400 men died (1 Samuel  30)
  • With Saul, everyone around him died (1 Samuel 31:6)
  • Israel’s enemies fled before David and his people (1 Samuel 30:17)
  • Israelites fled after Saul’s death (1 Samuel 30:7)
  • David plundered the enemies (1 Samuel 30:20)
  • The Philistines plundered Israel (1 Samuel 31:7b-10)
  • David sent out good news of victory to his people (1 Samuel 30:26)
  • The Philistines sent out “good news” of Saul’s death (1 Samuel 31:9)
  • David led Israel in peace, care, and blessing (1 Samuel 30:24-26)
  • Saul led Israel into utter chaos, shame, and exile (1 Samuel 31:7-10)

Sep 6

“Yahweh,” Sermon Series Wrap-Up

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

This Sunday we will wrap up our series studying God’s name, Yahweh, with a sermon from Ezekiel 48:35, “The Lord is There.” On the following Sunday, September 15, Ryan will be back in the pulpit to begin a new series through 1 and 2 Samuel, “In Search of The King.”

Before this series is over, though, we simply must include here the text of a reflection on God’s name from an article by John Piper, “Yahweh Is the Sweetest Name I Know.” Enjoy!

You are not wrong to sing, “Jesus is the sweetest name I know,” even though Yahweh is.

Here’s why.

God gave himself the name Yahweh. No man gave him this name. It is God’s chosen personal name. He loves to be known by this name. It is used over 5,000 times in the Old Testament. It is almost always translated by Lᴏʀᴅ (small caps). But it is not a title. It is a personal name, like James or Elizabeth.

You know the name Yahweh best from its shortened form Yah at the end of Hallelujah, which means “praise Yahweh.” I love to think about this when I sing. When I sing, “Hallelujah,” I love to really mean, “No! I don’t praise you Bel, or Nebo, or Molech, or Rimmon, or Dagon, or Chemosh. I turn from you with disdain to Yah! I praise Yah. Hallelu Yah!”

God announced his name to Moses in Exodus 3:15. God said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers. . . . This is my name forever.”

He preceded this announcement with two other statements so the meaning would be clear. He said, “I am who I am” (verse 14a). And he said, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you’” (verse 14b).

The Hebrew name Yahweh is connected to the Hebrew verb “I am.” So Yahweh is most fundamentally the One-Who-Is. “I am who I am” is the most foundational meaning of Yahweh. It means: My am-ness comes from my am-ness. My being from my being. My existence from my existence.

There are vast personal and covenantal implications of this. But this is foundational. No beginning. No ending. No dependence. He simply is, always was, and always will be. He communicates all of this with a personal name. To be sure, he has titles, and he has attributes. But this is a personal name. He packs the weightiest truth about himself into a personal name. Infinite greatness and personal knowability are in the name Yahweh.

Then in the fullness of time, Yahweh came into the world to seek and save the lost. The angel said to Joseph, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is an English transliteration of the Greek Iesoun. And this in turn is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Joshua. And Joshua is a combination of Yah and “salvation” or “save”. It means “Yahweh saves.”

So Jesus means “Yahweh saves.” Jesus is Yahweh with a human nature coming to save his people from sin.

Paul confirms this in Philippians 2:11. He says of the risen Jesus, “Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That is a quote from Isaiah 45:23 where Yahweh is the one to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. Paul is saying that, in the end, the whole world will acknowledge that Jesus is in fact Yahweh incarnate.

So you don’t have to choose between singing, “Jesus is the sweetest name I know,” and, “Yahweh is the sweetest name I know.” Indeed you dare not choose.

Yes, it is true. One clear and astounding evidence of God’s mercy for sinners is that he came to us himself in the person of his Son. Jesus is Yahweh come to his people.

If you haven’t had a chance to join us for each of the last five Sundays, each of the sermons is available in audio and video at the Messages page:

Aug 15

Appetizers for the Age to Come

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Sunday’s sermon, “The Lord, Your Healer,” we heard two stories of healing. These were stories of the kind of healing God is gracious to provide through his providential use of doctors and technology. Sometimes, of course, he is pleased to do the wonderfully miraculous, as well. We should pray for both.

But however he does it, when we experience relief from pain and physical help in this life, it is always an appetizer for the total healing that God will bring about in the new creation. As Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time  are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

Here’s the video of the girl from the first story, born deaf and hearing now for the first time:

The second story was of a boy in Guatemala who came to one of our medical clinics for dental help this past May. The next day he met with one of our physical therapists who announced that the boy’s problem was muscular, and largely correctable through stretching. In the last photo you see the boy’s father and grandparents.

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If you missed Sunday’s sermon, here’s the clip telling these stories:

Jul 30

Resources on Biblical Eldership

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

Knowing what the Bible says about eldership is important for all of us.

It’s important for those who are leading and shepherding as elders, for those who are taking their lead and receiving their care, and for those who aspire to serve formally in this role in the future.

In Sunday’s sermon, “The Shepherding of Christ’s Flock,” we looked at 1 Peter 5:1-5, one of the key passages in the New Testament on eldership. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 would be another go-to passage.

If you are interested in digging around more on this subject, here are a few great books:

You’ll notice we linked to two books by Alexander Strauch. The first is a thorough treatment of the breath of the Bible’s teaching on the subject, and the second is more more like a pamphlet than a book. Both of these books, along with the others, are available at the Book Nook. If you’re more of a listener then a reader, check out Strauch’s sessions on Biblical Leadership from his visit to DSC for a Saturday Seminar in 2006.