The Word for Everyday Disciples with Dave DeSelm

Today, we’re going to be considering one of the most remarkable occurrences in all the Bible. It happened on a day when an ordinary man asked an extraordinary God for a miracle of the highest order. He asked for the sun to stand still. And it did! In Joshua 10, Joshua and his troops marched all night to come to the aid of their allies, the Gibeonites. A coalition of five kings had marched against Gibeon, seeking to take control of this strategic location before Joshua could occupy it. B...

The story about how the walls of Jericho came “a-tumblin’ down” is a favorite. But it’s also the target of a great deal of skepticism. Today, we’re going to look briefly at three of the most frequently asked questions related to the battle of Jericho, and then we’ll seek to apply the events of that day to our day. 1. Is Jericho a real historical site? Yes! In fact, Jericho is known as the oldest continually inhabited city on earth. Archeologists have uncovered artifacts that indicate a...

She wasn’t anyone’s first pick for a hero, but God had other ideas. She showed a courageous faith that changed her life—and history—forever. Her name was Rahab, a disreputable woman from the pagan Canaanite city of Jericho. The word the Bible uses to describe her is zonah: prostitute, harlot. There’s no way to sanitize it. Yet Rahab had come to a point of faith in Israel’s God, Yahweh. She had heard the stories of the miraculous ways God had given victory to His people, so when she heard that...

We’ve been talking about how to build a big connection to Jesus because the stronger the connection, the better the fruit, and the greater the joy. In this message, I want to look at a practice we don’t often think about in terms of spiritual rhythms, and that’s the practice of celebration—marking moments with joy and gratitude. God understood the power of joyful celebration. God dotted the calendar of His people with it. Regularly, He told His people to stop their work, to gather toget...

In John 15, Jesus tells us that if we hope to have lives of fruitfulness and joy, we must abide in Him. We must remain intimately connected with Him at the soul level. The stronger the connection, the better the fruit and the greater the joy. In this series, we’re exploring ways to build a strong connection with Jesus. The analogy of a grapevine helps us identify some of those practices. Today, we are considering the importance of nutrition. Just as a grapevine needs good soil fro...

With the powerful hold idols have over us, is there any hope that we might dethrone these counterfeit gods? The answer is, “Yes!” …IF we take to heart this foundational truth. Idols cannot simply be removed – they have to be replaced. How do we do that? If we hope to deal with our idols, what we need is not merely a vague belief in God but a profound encounter with God. Jacob had such an encounter, and it changed him forever. We met Jacob and his wives, Leah and Rache...

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your attention and affection more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Idols can take on many forms: money, success, power, popularity, or physical attractiveness. But idols can also take on human form. When you look to a person for the kind of deep affirmation and acceptance that only God can provide, it results not only in pain but in bondage. The Bible graphically illustrates th...

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel wrote, “These men have set up idols in their hearts.” (Ex. 14:3) I would suggest that those words written thousands of years ago could easily apply to us. Though we may not bow to idols of stone or wood, the issue of idolatry is no less real now than it was in Ezekiel’s day. As we begin this series, we’re going to consider some fundamental questions: What is idolatry?How do I know what my potential idols are?Why does the Bible make such a big deal...