Ongoing Transformation
by Ben Talmadge on August 7th, 2024
At the end of Exodus 34 Moses is described as shining after coming down from meeting with the Lord. In fact, this seemingly unnerves the Israelites, to the point that he covers his face with a veil. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul provides some further commentary on Moses and his veil. In v.13 he comments that Moses “put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was... Read More
Holy Spirit Language
by ben talmadge on August 5th, 2024
Jem and I recently spent the morning together. We started, of course, with breakfast at City Café, where the waitresses call you “honey” and the old guys at the big table by the window always have a new joke to tell you. From there we rode our bikes all around downtown Northport. We talked to two guys fishing down by the river, passed one of our neighbors who was also out biking, waved to people s... Read More
Creating Sacred Space
by ben talmadge on August 5th, 2024
When we look at God’s instructions to his people in Exodus 25-27 to construct a tabernacle in which his presence will be manifested, one of the things we are reminded of is the importance of physical place. The physical place of the tabernacle created a tangible environment for God’s people to keep him consistently before themselves. One application of this idea for us is to think about learning t... Read More
We Are Not Cool
by nita hallman on August 5th, 2024
Pastor Ben recently shared a link to an article entitled “In Praise of the Boring, Uncool Church.” I found it a very interesting and relatable read. Around the Church Office we will often joke and say, “We can’t do that. That’s too cool and we are not a cool church.” It is meant in fun, but really, it is true (at least according to the world’s standards), and it is intentional.This quote from the ... Read More
Reading Scripture for Transformation
by ben talmadge on August 5th, 2024
In God’s making of covenant with his people in Exodus 24, the people respond by agreeing to obey all of the commands God has given them. There is an important principle here, namely, that God’s words are meant to not just be acknowledged as important information; rather, they are intended to be followed in a way that brings transformation. In his book “Living by the Book” Howard Hendricks offers n... Read More
OT Law in Today's Society
by ben talmadge on August 5th, 2024
One of the categories of laws for God’s people in the Old Testament can referred to as societal or civil law. This past Sunday we referenced multiple categories of these types of laws (i.e. laws of slavery, protection against injury, restitution, social justice). Because God’s people in the Old Testament formed their own unique society as an independent nation-state, there were certain laws put in... Read More