Our first reading is from Judges 6:1-12

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Our Second Reading is from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

And so, it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

Our first reading is from Isaiah 10:12-20

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the wilful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.

I removed the boundaries of nations; I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.

As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;

as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries;

not one flapped a wing or opened its mouth to chirp.’”

Does the axe raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it?

As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!

Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;

under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.

The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame;

in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.

The splendour of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy,

as when a sick person wastes away.

And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.

In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob,

will no longer rely on him who struck them down

but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

Our Second Reading is from John 7:14-17

Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

Our first reading is from Psalm 73:21-28

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Our Second Reading is from Colossians 3:1-11

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Finally, from Psalm 119:169-176

May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word.

May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.

May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.

May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.

May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight.

Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.

I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

The Gospel reading for this week is from Mark 8:27-38

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” they replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus then began to teach his disciples. He taught them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He taught them that the elders would not accept him. The chief priests and the teachers of the law would not accept him either. He must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke clearly about this. Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him.

Jesus turned and looked at his disciples. He scolded Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You are not thinking about the things God cares about. Instead, you are thinking only about the things humans care about.”

Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow me. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the good news will save it. What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? Or what can anyone trade for their soul? Suppose anyone is ashamed of me and my words among these adulterous and sinful people. Then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

Our Second Reading is from Isaiah 50:4-9a,

part of the suffering servant motive which foreshadows Jesus’ suffering

The Lord and King has taught me what to say. He has taught me how to help those who are tired. He wakes me up every morning. He makes me want to listen like a good student. The Lord and King has unplugged my ears. I’ve always obeyed him. I haven’t turned away from him. I let my enemies beat me on my bare back. I let them pull the hair out of my beard. I didn’t turn my face away when they made fun of me and spit on me. The Lord and King helps me. He won’t let me be dishonoured. So, I’ve made up my mind to keep on serving him. I know he won’t let me be put to shame. He is near. He will prove I haven’t done anything wrong. So, who will bring charges against me? Let’s face each other in court! Who can bring charges against me? Let him come and face me! The Lord and King helps me. So, who will judge me?

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text of Mark 2:23-3:6. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE DEEPER

1. What difficulties or compulsions make it hard for you to stop?

2. How does taking a sabbath enhance your enjoyment and worship of God?

3. What makes a sabbath day nourishing and replenishing to you?

4. What happens to you when you go without regular rhythms that allow you to rest in God?

Our first reading is from Joshua 2:15-24

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

So, [Rahab] let [the spies] down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”

Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So, she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua, son of Nun, and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”

Our Second Reading is from James 2:17-26

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

Our first reading is from Joshua 2:1-14

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two spies from Shittim. He sent them in secret. He said to them, “Go and look over the land. Most of all, check out Jericho.” So, they went to Jericho. They stayed at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.

The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight. They’ve come to check out the land.” So, the king sent a message to Rahab. It said, “Bring out the men who came into your house. They’ve come to check out the whole land.”

But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “It’s true that the men came here. But I didn’t know where they had come from. They left at sunset, when it was time to close the city gate. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You might catch up with them.” But in fact, she had taken them up on the roof. There she had hidden them under some flax she had piled up. The king’s men left to hunt down the spies. They took the road that leads to where the Jordan River can be crossed. As soon as they had gone out of the city, the gate was shut.

Rahab went up on the roof before the spies settled down for the night. She said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land. We are very much afraid of you. Everyone who lives in this country is weak with fear because of you. We’ve heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. We’ve heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings. They ruled east of the Jordan River. You completely destroyed them. When we heard about it, we were terrified. Because of you, we aren’t brave anymore. The Lord your God is the God who rules in heaven above and on the earth below.

“Now then, please give me your word. Promise me in the name of the Lord that you will be kind to my family. I’ve been kind to you. Promise me that you will spare the lives of my father and mother. Spare my brothers and sisters. Also spare everyone in their families. Promise that you won’t put any of us to death.” So the men made a promise to her. “If you save our lives, we’ll save yours,” they said. “Just don’t tell anyone what we’re doing. Then we’ll be kind and faithful to you when the Lord gives us the land.”

Our Second Reading is from Hebrews 12:7-11

Put up with hard times. God uses them to train you. He is treating you as his children. What children are not trained by their parents? God trains all his children. But what if he doesn’t train you? Then you are not really his children. You are not God’s true sons and daughters at all. Besides, we have all had human fathers who trained us. We respected them for it. How much more should we be trained by the Father of spirits and live! Our parents trained us for a little while. They did what they thought was best. But God trains us for our good. He does this so we may share in his holiness. No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later, it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does this for those who have been trained by it.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.

Our first reading is from Judges 15:9-20

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah. They spread out near Lehi. The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight against us?” “We’ve come to take Samson as our prisoner,” they answered. “We want to do to him what he did to us.”

Then 3,000 men from Judah went to get Samson. They went down to the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you realize the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?” Samson answered, “I only did to them what they did to me.” The men of Judah said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up. We’re going to hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said, “Promise me you won’t kill me yourselves.” “We agree,” they answered. “We’ll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We won’t kill you.” So, they tied him up with two new ropes. They led him up from the rock.

Samson approached Lehi. The Philistines came toward him shouting. Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on Samson. The ropes on his arms became like burned thread. They dropped off his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it and struck down 1,000 men.

Then Samson said, “By using a donkey’s jawbone I’ve made them look like donkeys. By using a donkey’s jawbone I’ve struck down 1,000 men.” Samson finished speaking. Then he threw the jawbone away. That’s why the place was called Ramath Lehi.

Samson was very thirsty. So, he cried out to the Lord. He said, “You have helped me win this great battle. Do I have to die of thirst now? Must I fall into the power of people who haven’t even been circumcised? They aren’t your people.” Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi. Water came out of it. When Samson drank the water, his strength returned. He felt as good as new. So, the spring was called En Hakkore. It’s still there in Lehi. Samson led Israel for 20 years. In those days the Philistines were in the land.

Our Second Reading is from Matthew 17:9-20

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with his blessing:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.