The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The book of Zephaniah is not the most frequently read book of the Bible. You might not know anything about Zephaniah; he’s obscure enough to slip under the radar. But our reading today is one of the most remarkable verses in the Old Testament, if not in the whole Bible: vs. 17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Before prepping this sermon, I didn’t know of any other verse in the Bible that directly describes God Himself singing. Turns out there are more in the Psalms that speak prophetically about Jesus singing and leading our song to God—and Jesus sang hymns with His disciples on the night of His betrayal, and no doubt all through His life in the worship at God’s Temple and synagogues. Still, this verse stands apart, because song and music usually flow to God, not fr...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Psalm 10 opens with these cries out to God, “ Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” In times of trouble, don’t you feel like God is hiding? The Psalmist cries out, “Where are you God?” “Why aren’t you helping?” “Why are you so far away?” How often have you wondered the same? Is there anyone who hasn’t, at the lowest times in their life, felt like God was hiding His face, even when we were calling out to Him in prayer? In the midst of suffering? Or when evil seemed to be rising out of control? When earthly justice failed, and there seemed no help from heaven? In these trying times, we naturally think like the Psalmist, that God is hidden or distant. This is a favorite type of scene for moviemakers, because it strikes a chord with our experience. Often they show a person in ultimate despair or loneliness, and they are crying out, but ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. One of the most fascinating stories in the Old Testament is the prophet Jonah. Jonah happens to be the only prophet Jesus directly compares Himself to, and He says the Sign of all signs that will prove who Jesus is, would be the Sign of His three day burial and resurrection. Jesus says this was foreshadowed by the 3 days and nights Jonah was in the belly of the whale. Jonah lived about 800 years or so before Jesus, during the time when Assyria was the mega power in the Middle East, and had a reputation for its terrifying armies and the total destruction they brought on conquered lands. Nineveh, the capital city, was the heartland of the wicked empire that spread violence across the Middle East, even to Israel. It’s not too hard to figure out why Jonah didn’t want to obey God’s command to go there and cry out against their evil. The prophet Jonah can teach us a lot about ourselves. Instead of obeying God, Jo...