Current Studies

Tear Your Hearts (Joel 2:1-17)

We are looking at the prophecy of Joel as God gives a message to his people to show them that he is all that they need. Joel stands as a timeless message as God teaches us what we should do when calamity and disaster strikes. In the first chapter of Joel, we read about the day of the Lord that has past. There has been an unprecedented locust attack that has completely wiped out the people’s prosperity. We learned that God shut down their worship, cutting off their sacrifices, so that they would go to the house of the Lord for worship. God wanted to get their eyes upward and move them to call out to him because he is sovereign over the earth. But God also wanted to get their eyes to look forward. The locust attack was a warning of another day of the Lord that was coming very soon. In Joel 1:15 the Lord proclaimed that another day of the Lord was near. As we come to chapter 2 we are going to see the day of the Lord described. Then God will tell the people what they should do…

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Come To The Feast (Matthew 22:1-14)

Jesus has been telling stories about what his kingdom is like. He has told a story about two sons and a story about farming tenants who refused to give the fruit of the land to the owner, which are recorded toward the end of Matthew 21. Jesus has one more parable to tell about the kingdom and about the rejection of his invitation. This parable is going to describe who can enter Christ’s kingdom and who cannot and why they cannot.

The Rejection (22:1-7)

The story begins by describing a great king who is preparing a wedding feast for his son. Immediately we would be able to hear that Jesus is telling a messianic story because the prophets foretold about a wedding and wedding feast that would occur when the Messiah/Christ came (cf. Isaiah 25:6; 61:1-5). Revelation 19:7-9 likewise depicts the wedding of the Christ. The message is sent out to his constituents that the great wedding feast is prepared and ready. Come to the wedding feast (22:4). Now please have in mind that this is not your average wedding. As exciting as it might be to be invited to go to a wedding, this is the wedding for the son of the king. The expense, the glory, the size, and the fanfare would be unmatched. To be invited by the great king to his son’s wedding would be the greatest of honors…

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When Gladness Dries Up (Joel 1)

The prophecy of Joel begins in a jarring way. There is no introduction. There are not dates, kings, or timeframe listed. There is no warm up regarding what is happening. We are simply dropped into the prophecy. This might be a key reason for why this prophecy is not frequently taught in its entirety. But we must realize that the information God gives us through his word is intentional and not accidental. Therefore, the message of Joel is a timeless message for God’s people. Scholars argue whether this prophecy best fits as one of the earliest prophecies against Judah (around 800 BC), or just before the destruction of Jerusalem (around 600 BC), or after Judah has been set into exile and now have returned from its exile (around 450 BC). But the book does not tell us and this book was written so that every generation at any time would use the principles of this prophecy and apply it to their own day and time…

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