Fox Valley Church

Passage: Isaiah 6 Theme:  God’s holiness requires his just wrath for sins. Why was Isaiah not consumed by God’s holiness? Jesus took Isaiah’s “guilt away” and “made atonement” for his sins – and he can do the same for you too!

  Passage: Exodus 34 Theme:   God is simultaneously described as forgiving, yet unwilling to clear the guilty. How does God solve this paradox? The answer is Jesus Christ. Rather than arbitrarily clearing the guilty, God punished Christians’ guilt on the body of Jesus, so that those who exercise repentant faith can be forgiven!

  Matthew 10:34-39 There is a cost to following Jesus; it’s one He himself calls us to. But to follow with our whole selves, not just part of us, means life and freedom and victory.

Passage: Matthew 1:18-25 Theme:  The angel, a messenger of God, brings another reason why we need Christmas.  This angel gives Joseph a fuller understanding of God’s plan to be among His people through this One called Jesus and Immanuel.  [Note: There is good cause to take the angelic quote all the way through verse 23).]  […]

Passage: John 18:37 Theme:  One person we have not yet considered is what Jesus says about Christmas.  He finds Himself in a conversational trap with Herod and is asked whether He is a King.  Jesus says “for this He was born: to bear witness to the Truth.”  We need Christmas because we need truth about […]

Passage: Matthew 2:1-6 Theme:  We get an unlikely source with the chief priests and scribes that we need Christmas because of the promises of God being fulfilled.  God’s promises are rich and full.  If one of them failed it would be impossible to trust Him for the promise of eternal life.  We were promised a […]

Passage: Luke 2:25-35 Theme:  Simeon, carried along by the Holy Spirit, shows us in another way why we need Christmas.  With clarity and insight he reveals God’s promised salvation with Jesus’ birth.  He describes this salvation with a strong mood of hope as Light comes for the nations and glory for Israel.   By implication there […]

Passage: Luke 1:66-75 Zechariah got pulled into the unfolding plan in a most mysterious way and adds an insight into God’s work (the Benedictus).  He is filled with the Holy Spirit (67) and gives tremendous insight on these events.  God’s visit of His Son is a gracious act of redemption from our enemies (the world, […]

Passage: Luke 1:46-55 Theme:  Mary is thunderstruck with the announcement that God chose her to bear the holy offspring.  In her exuberance and by the Spirit, she gives us a unique insight into the work of God.  She understands what God is doing and she breaks out in praise (the Magnificat) to the Almighty One, […]

  Passage: Philippians 3:12-17  Theme: God changes us when we persevere.  So many Christians today are fainthearted and weak.  We know that trials and tribulations bring about perseverance . . . and hope which does not disappoint. The word is an anchor for our soul and so few Christians know the Word, the promises of […]

Passage: 1 Peter 1:22-25  Theme: God’s Spirit enables us to obey; love supernaturally, and overcome the world.  But how does this happen?  We see change take place when we practice repentance and live by faith.  What keeps us from change?  A failure to keep a posture of humility (repentance) and an unwillingness to trust God […]

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Theme: Change feels impossible and sometimes we wonder whether deep, resilient change can really happen.   The gospel promises the power of God to change us from the inside out.  This process is often painful and always gradual, but significantly purposeful.

Passage: Romans 11:25-32  Theme:  With God’s plans, purposes and promises there is mystery.  It is this mystery that moves against any possible snobbery (25).  The mystery is openly revealed—Jews and Gentiles are co-heirs, equal beneficiaries of the promises of God.  God’s plan brings hope to all the world and healing to those who believe.  Tucked […]

Passage: Romans 11:11-16  Theme:  The gospel is now unshackled and spreads “riches” throughout the world as Israel stumbled and fell.  The Gospel brings hope, freedom and deliverance and will one day again bring “greater riches” to Israel. With a Gospel turn towards the entire world, maybe Israel would become envious and turn back to God’s […]

Passage: Romans 11:1-10 Theme:  Rejection is a terrible thing.  God has not rejected His people and there is evidence for this statement.  However, the issue is God’s electing, redeeming love received as justification came by faith.  God did harden His people, but it is not permanent and it is not hopeless.

Passage: Romans 10:14-21  Theme:  Telling and showing the story of Jesus is essential. Through a string of questions that begin with tellers being sent and ending with people far from God getting delivered, but what about Israel?  Have they heard?  Yes, read Moses, read the psalms.  Stripping all excuses, a stubborn rebellion persisted.  We should […]

Passage: Romans 10:1-13  Theme:  If chapter 9 focused on God’s plans and purposes, we now see the human condition and factors.  The gospel becomes front and central—Christ is the telos (goal, end, or termination, etc.) of the OT.  Jesus is our Righteousness!  Even while others look for alternative ways to be or find Righteousness such […]

Passage: Romans 9:14-33 Theme:  With anguish and sorrow over people far from God and due to His electing, sovereign ways it forces three questions: is God unjust? And Is God fair?  What can be said?  To choose some for  salvation and overlook others by looks like a failure of justice.  Not when we look through […]

Passage: Romans 9:1-13  Theme:  The church at Rome was filled with Gentile and Jewish believers.  With the gospel being a central part of the letter, it surfaced many questions, not least, What about the Jews? (or anyone else far from God for that matter!) There is also no denying that this section of Romans (9-11) […]

Passage: Psalm 127 Theme:  For Labor Day the psalmist lays out a contrast between blessing and vanity.  This wisdom psalm brings a response among the wise to be God-centered and puts everything else in perspective, including work.  As we understand a life yielded to God, we see the blessings of the Lord on the family.