Dan Lee
John 17:1-2, Salvation for the Glory of God

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 begins with a focus on the glory of God. Jesus prays that His impending death will ultimately glorify the Father and that this would come about through the granting (gifting) of eternal life to His elect. What Jesus’ crucifixion puts on display is the glory of God’s grace in salvation.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 27-34, Two Ways to Live

As Moses closes his final message to the children of Israel, he focuses on the consequences of obedience and disobedience. He does so by setting down before them two pathways: the pathway to life, good, and the blessing, and the other pathway to death, evil, and the curse. Along with these options for their future, he reveals to them their future in apostasy, judgment, and even a restoration afterwards. The Pentateuch closes with an allusion to the prophet like Moses to come, the Lord Jesus, who speaks from the LORD and all the people ought to hear. The call to choose life echoes throughout the ages, calling all to be reconciled and restored to God and to enter into His blessing through the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 12-26, The Place and The Prophet

In this final legal section of the Pentateuch, Moses touches on a wide range of laws. Among these, two stand out as the most prominent in the main message of Moses regarding the Messiah: the place of worship and the future prophet like Moses. These two ideas propel us to build up God’s church, hope in Christ’s return, and listen to Christ.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 1-11, Remember and Obey

Moses speaks his final message to the children of Israel before heading up Mount Nebo and see the land of Canaan and die there. His aim is to expound the law but he is gripped by the urgency of the spiritual needs of his people and thus he earnestly exhorts them with a long introduction (nearly all of 11 chapters) to remember and obey. In this three part study of Deuteronomy, we examine the practical relevance of this exhortation and consider the ultimate Israelite who lived up to all that this exhortation required.

Dan Lee
Numbers 22-24, The Messianic Prophecies of ...

The very perplexing figure of Balaam shows that God can use even a wicked pagan priest to speak forth His truth. Unbeknownst to this man, the LORD intended to use him to reinforce His immutable commitment to bless Israel and send the Messiah for our salvation. Balaam’s prophecies show that Jesus is the coming king who will reign supremely over all the nations, crushing all His enemies. They also show that Jesus is the promised seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, who grants the blessing of salvation to all the elect of God.

1 Peter

1 Peter 3:1-6, Traits of a Woman of God

Against the tide of the world today, the word of God speaks the truth about His design for women in marriage. His special calling for married women is submission and inner beauty. Wives are to submit to their husbands and adorn themselves with the inner beauty of godliness. May the Holy Spirit encourage the women of our church to pursue biblical womanhood as they learn from Christ and abide in Him.

1 Pet. 1:14-19, Five Motivations for Holy Living

Peter gives us a strong encouragement toward Christian holiness which is marked by separation from sin, imitation to God and permeation of this reality in every aspect of our lives. Peter points out in this passage five motivations for holy living: filiation (we are new covenant children of God who obey the Lord from a changed heart), extinction (our former life should never be brought into the present), revelation (this duty of the people of God has been written down by God in Scripture), evaluation (God evaluates our lives with objective and impartial judgment), and calculation (Christ paid the infinite price of ransom for our redemption). May the Lord help us to have the wisdom of the Word of God to daily pursue a life of holiness.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 3]

In this final installment on walking with the Lord, we examine Peter’s last imperative regarding ministry. Those who faithfully anticipate the coming of the Lord live their lives as stewards of the manifold grace of God. Our lives are not our own. All that God has graciously given us is meant to be used to bring Him glory. May our great and gracious God be glorified through all that He’s given us as we leverage them for His service.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 2]

Peter exhorts us to eschatological living by exercising fervent (“stretching”) love toward one another. He gives us one pivotal example of hospitality: share our home with others. He then directs our attention to what God has graciously entrusted us so that we would leverage it to serve one another. We are stewards of God’s gracious gift, not owners of it.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 1]

Christ is coming and will usher in the end of this age. How shall we prepare for His imminent return? Peter gives us a fourfold answer: pray, love, share and serve. In this first installment of our study of 1 Peter 4:7-11, we examine the first two imperatives to pray and love. We are to maintain our spiritual senses sharp (“be of a sound mind” and “be sober”) for the purpose of prayer, and we are to exercise a love that goes beyond what is merely human and natural, a “stretching love” that cares for those from a different background but brethren nonetheless, and a forgiving love that overlooks offenses and exhibits graciousness that we all need and want from others.