Nowhere in the Bible is it more obvious that some people strongly believed in the “an eye for an eye.” This entire book is a fantasy on revenge. The Israelites hate the Assyrians and dream of their demise. It is in this lens we must understand that Nahum is only part of the voice that we need to hear from. The payoff of a well-worked-through deep suffering is the recognition of deep love. Understanding Nahum’s place in our scripture is important. It is not the gospel by itself. But it also helps flesh out the complexities we all face in life. 

There’s no other book quite like Jonah in the Bible. It’s almost completely self-contained without the interference of other writers, historical figures, or references to Israelite history. There’s no date given or historical precedent for why Jonah’s been called by God. What we do know is Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14 during the reign of Jeroboam II which would have been the 8th Century and Assyria gaining power. We know Ninevah was destroyed by Babylon in the 6th Century, so it stands to reason Jonah is somewhere between the two. Regardless, this folklore-style prophecy is one of the most descriptive and peculiar books in all the Bible. 

Amos is contemporaries with Micah and Hosea. He’s a southern farmer from Tokoa who travels to the northern kingdom, Israel, to speak to Jeroboam II and his government warning them of Assyrian allegiances. Amos is one of the easiest to date. He’s an 8th century prophet speaking to the northern kingdom, Israel, during Assyrian rule. 

We know very little about Micah. His name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” Thanks to the superscription, we can date him to the 8th century around the Judean kings of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This means he is writing to the southern kingdom, Judah, as a native, during the pivotal years of the Assyrians trying to lay siege to Jerusalem, but ultimately failing. His earliest oracles predate the destruction of Israel in 722. The back half of his book clearly speaks of Israel’s destruction and Micah’s warning that those same events not happen to Jerusalem in the south. 

We know very little about Obadiah. As a matter of fact, Obadiah may not have even been his name. Obadiah means, “worshiper of Yahweh.” Whether Obadiah is his real name or not, what we do know is he was a prophet living in the 6th century who witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. The southern kingdom Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and all the Judeans were sent into exile. Where did all these people go? Edom. Obadiah’s prophecies speak directly to Edom while the Judeans are in exile. 

The Bible Jesus read consisted of the Law (Genesis - Deuteronomy), the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and the Prophets (Major and Minor). One of the most important genres of the Bible is the voice of the prophet, who speaks in oracles and pronouncements, and it is time we hear from them. One of the best illustrations we have is from Amos. His “oracles against the nations” proves just why the prophetic matters. 

Revelation 22 is one of Pastor Barrett’s favorite texts. It’s the last chapter of the Bible and the last image God gives us to think about our relationship with the Divine. It just so happens to be a scene at the river of the water of life with the tree of life growing. These five verses draw perhaps the most important image of what our future (the telos) entails. Hint: we reign with God forever and ever.  

The pride of such an accomplishment as graduation is matched only by the mystery and majesty of what lies next. It couldn’t be more fitting that the lectionary text for this Sunday is Revelation 21 where the angel reminds John that God is in the business of making all things new. This might just be the most important nugget of advice for any adult-bound teenager to hear. God is in the business of making all our brokenness new.

If there were ever a ranking system dedicated to complex words, prolepsis would be in the top five. Prolepsis is the thought or image of something describing a situation that hasn’t happened yet. For instance, one proleptic statement is, “dead man walking.” The person walking isn’t actually dead but the sentence insinuates he’s headed somewhere and will be punished for some past act. He’s alive but proleptically dead. This sermon will break this concept down, for we need it to truly understand Revelation 7.

If there were ever a painting contest for the most vivid set of scripture, Revelation 4 has to win. It is quite ornate and poignant. It, undoubtedly, paints the picture that whatever our future holds with God, worship will be an essential component if not the whole thing. This sermon gives weight to the powerful pronunciation of corporate worship. 

The death of Jesus is worst day in human history. It was our attempt at snuffing out the light God brought into the world, for it is the day we kill Jesus. Hear Pastor Nate reflect on how humanity did her best to extinguish God’s light.