The battle against Amalek recorded in Exodus 17:8-16 contains some fascinating elements that help us think about how to read and understand the Old Testament. Within these verses there are a number of “firsts” that point us forward to events that will soon be happening. First, the fact that this is the first battle fought points forward to many more battles that will be fought in order to secure t...  Read More

Have you ever wondered what Children’s Ministry is? Well, here’s the Grace 101 answer—Children’s Ministry is designed to help families build a strong spiritual foundation based on the Word of God. We want to support and reinforce these teachings in the homes represented at Grace Church so that we can become true “worshipers in community, engaged in ministry.”Does “worshipers in community, engaged ...  Read More

One of the historical scholarly debates around Exodus 14 is what body of water was actually crossed by Moses and the Israelites. This is primarily due to the fact that the Egyptian rendering of the phrase “red sea” contains a word often translated as “papyrus” or “reed.” In other words, some have suggested that the crossing of the Red Sea was not a supernatural miracle, but rather a tromping throu...  Read More

Having a job is a grind. Whether you work full time or only part time, you reach a point of needing some time away to maintain healthy functioning. Even in ministry, there is a threshold of too much work that can easily be reached. While vacation helps in the individual and family context, something else is needed as part of the organization’s structure that will provide this necessary ingredient....  Read More

There are generally four characteristics of God’s Word pointed to by scholars that are taught in  the Scriptures themselves that give us confidence in their reliability and authority:1. Scripture is inspired. The Bible was composed by a number of different authors, with different personalities and contexts, yet Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.” The doctri...  Read More

Psalm 147:5 states, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power.” If there is one over-arching lesson we can learn from the plagues on Egypt, it is that God is abundantly powerful. There is nothing and no one that can stand up to him. He does what he wants when he wants how he wants. At the same time his power always flows from his goodness. So often in our broken world those in power use their powe...  Read More