The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

Offerings and Sacrifices: What do These Things Mean?

Text for discussion: Numbers 28.  

Here we have a summary of offerings to be made on special feasts, as well as the everyday offering.  From the Old Testament to the New Testament church and beyond there were changes in offerings, rites, and customs.  Today we talk about some of those changes and their significance.  

 

The painting: (public domain).

The hymn: I Bind Unto Myself Today (Public domain).  

Paying the Full Price

Text for discussion: Numbers 27.  

Who wants to pay the full price, especially when you get a great discount?  
The price for salvation was steep, impossibly high.  Keeping the Law with the goal of salvation in mind is an errand of despair.  
Isn’t there another way?  It’s on full display, wrapped up in Jesus’ very name.  

The hymn: Savior Again, to Thy Dear Name We Raise (public domain).  

The painting: Ecce Homo!, by Mihály Munkácsy, 1896. (public domain).  

You Were Meant for More

You Were Meant for More

June 13, 2025 podcast

Text for discussion: Numbers 26.

This chapter is about the generations that would be going into the Promised Land after their captivity in Egypt.  

The generation that started in Egypt did not get to go in.  We have a source and a destiny.  Our life is not meaningless, but God intended that we should seek Him and find Him.  Indeed, you were meant for more in this life and beyond . . . . 

The hymns: Eternal Father Strong to Save
My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker
I Bind Unto Myself Today

 

The artwork: Study for Jacob's Dream, by Gustave Doré. (1865). Public domain.  

The Great Temptation

Text for discussion: Numbers 25.  

Who we decide to pair ourselves with in life is serious business.  Marrying among the other nations for Israel was not just about genetics or genetic traits, it was about whether people would belong to God or belong to the world and its gods.  Some among Israel paired themselves with Midianites and then followed after their gods.  

 

the hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy (public domain).  

the painting: Jesus Stilling the Tempest by James Tissot (public domain).  

 

A Ladder to Heaven, Revisited

 

Jacob dreamed of a ladder to heaven, and God's promise to Abraham was reaffirmed to Jacob . . . .  What is the Jesus connection?  What is our connection?  This discussion deals with Part II of Genesis 28.  

 

All passages come from the ESV translation of Scripture.  

The Hymn is Glory Be to Jesus #433, a Lenten Hymn in the public domain.  

This episode was originally published March 12, 2021.

Blessings and Curses on the Way to the Promised Land

Text for discussion: Numbers 24.  

Balaam could do no other than speak the blessings of God upon Israel.  That they were favored by God went back to Genesis 12.  Yet, Balaam also speaks of destruction to come for those who were set against Israel and against God.  

The hymn: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Public domain).

 the painting: Balaam's Ass, 1626.  Rembrandt.  Public domain.  

Of Blessing and Forgiveness

Main text: Acts 20:17-35

A sermon 

[This is a special podcast]

One of the (I think) little quoted sayings of Jesus is, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."  In our day and age, people may use the word "blessing" lightly.  What does this word really say?  How do we understand the fullness of a thing like forgiveness?  These things are covered in this message.  

The hymn: Savior Again, to Thy Dear Name We Raise

The photo: Pillars at the Ruins of Ephesus. (from March 2011, by Slyronit.)

The Purposes of God Unfold Even Today!

Text for discussion: Numbers 23. 

The children of Israel were secondary in this narrative.  Balak, King of Moab wanted to curse the children of Israel, but Balaam could by no means do so.  

Here we see the purposes of God unfolding in time.  God's ways and purposes will unfold-it is good, and best for us to sail with this flow in life.  

the hymn: My Faith Looks Up to Thee (public domain). 

 the painting: Balaam's Ass, 1626.  Rembrandt.  Public domain.  

Do Not Disbelieve, But Believe

The title is Jesus words to Thomas in John 20.  

We live in a world of skepticism, and there is much to be skeptical about.  There are illusions and untruths set before us constantly.  How do we know what is true and what is untrue?  In Scripture we have something different than what the world gives.  In it we find virtue and truth.  God's Holy Spirit is at work in it.  It is dependable and reliable.  Yet, when we say, "I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" we cannot confess this for someone else-we must confess it for ourselves.  We must make it our own.  God gives us a solid foundation in His Word.  At some point we must be believing rather than unbelieving but God allows us to take a look and determine these things to be beyond a reasonable doubt.  

The hymn: Savior Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise.  (public domain)

The painting: Doubting Thomas by Carl Bloch.  (public domain).  

Miraculous Fallout

In this podcast we celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead.  

Christ's victory over sin and death is our victory.  

While the world and skeptics may dismiss the ancient accounts, there was indeed miraculous fallout that indicates there was beyond the ordinary going on.  

The Apostles changed drastically, the Christian faith did not go away, and the tomb was empty.  

Christ is the Savior, and He is risen.  What does all of this mean?  

Hymn:  He's Risen, He's Risen (text: CPH, 1941.  Music: public domain.)

The painting: The Holy Women at the Tomb by William-Adolphe-Bouguereau. 1890.  Public domain.