Today we turn our attention to understanding the book of Judges, where Israel, newly settled in the Promised Land, faces a different kind of battle—no longer combat with swords and spears, but with the temptation to adopt the culture of those around her.

Surrounded by Canaanite customs and religion, God’s chosen people begin to lose sight of who they are, as they attempt to trade faithfulness for what feels like security.

For Israel, YHWH may have delivered them from captivity in Egypt; but that was a long time ago. And life in Canaan presents new challenges, challenges for which, perhaps, the gods of the Canaanites are better suited…? What’s so wrong with a dash of pagan worship here or idolatry there, if it brings the rain or secures the harvest? The short answer: If you're YHWH's priestly people, a lot!

And as we’ll see, this temptation to replace faith in YHWH with obedience to the deities of the larger culture is hardly limited to the ancient past. We, too, are inclined to hedge our bets – to put our trust in the gods the locals worship so devoutly: power, wealth, security, status…, if they can only grant us comfort and peace. It’s not a trade worth making. But it’s a trade even many in the church today are attempting!

Interested in Rev. Mike Regele's class? Here the link to A Primer on Christian Nationalism: What It Is, Why It's Not Christian, and What We Can Do. (It really is oustanding! I hope you'll take a look or listen!)

And if you have thoughts on the sermon, the series, the podcast..., I'd love to hear them. You can reach me anytime via the contact link at jesusat2am.com, by sending me email, chatting with me on BlueSky, or finding me on Facebook or Instagram.

And while you're at it, might you be up for supporting the podcast? You’re tax-deductible gift to Canvas is a major help. As are your prayers, your online reviews, telling a friend or two!

Want to follow along with the biblical texts for this sermon? Here's the link: Judges 2:1-23 (NRSV)

Today we arrive on the cusp of Canaan, that is to say: the promised land. After a generation of wandering in the wilderness, Israel arrives at last on the eastern bank of the River Jordan. And what lies ahead of them – according to the book of Joshua – are many, bloody battles necessary to secure Israel within Canaan’s borders. (For the modern reader it makes Joshua difficult to interpret as it sure seems like God might be commanding… genocide?)

But even if the battle scenes are not the whole story, Israel still enters Canaan in a very precarious position. God’s people are the weaker party. And if the Canaanites resist their arrival, Israel could easily be destroyed.

So as Israel prepares to cross their Rubicon, Joshua gives an impassioned speech about God, and about faith and about the role of God’s priestly people in the world.

It's a speech that we might do well to hear again today as circumstances – at least for some of us - feel more than a little precarious at present. (This sermon was originally preached in Feb. 2025, but it feels even more true today!)

And I hope – in the words of Joshua – it will help you not be dismayed.

Have a thought? A comment? A question? Or just up for saying, "helllo"? I’d love for you to get in touch! You can reach me anytime via the contact link at jesusat2am.com, by sending me email, chatting with me on BlueSky, or finding me on Facebook or Instagram.

And while you're at it, might you be up for supporting the podcast? You’re tax-deductible gift to Canvas is a major help. As are your prayers, your online reviews, telling a friend or two!

Want to follow along with the biblical texts for this sermon? Here's the link: Joshua 1:1-18 (NRSV) And here is a link to the map of Canaan.

In this episode we arrive, alongside Israel, at Mt. Sinai where God gathers the whole of his people to receive the Ten Commandments. But rather than looking at the specific, nuanced meaning of each of the commandments (we recently did this in the series The Abundant Life), we focus here on the larger question of: why? Why does God's journey with his newly established people begin with a set of instructions about what thou shall and shalt not do?

Is God, in the end, one, giant rule-giver in the sky - testing individuals to see who qualifies to receive blessings here and now, or perhaps in the hereafter? Is faith mainly a moral act? (Many strains of Christianity have certainly argued for something quite close to this!) Or is there another purpose in these "commandments"? A purpose having far more to do with love and health than determining a person's moral goodness?

I, obviously, think the latter. Specifically, I think that the 10 commandments are ultimately about establishing love as Israel's fundamental way of being in the world. And in this sermon I will hope to make my case!

Have a thought? A comment? A question? I’d love for you to get in touch!

You can reach me anytime via the contact link at jesusat2am.com, by sending me email, chatting with me on BlueSky, or finding me on Facebook or Instagram.

And while you're at it, might you be up for supporting the podcast? You’re tax-deductible gift to Canvas is a major help. As are your prayers, your online reviews, telling a friend or two!

Want to follow along with the biblical texts for this sermon? Here's the link: Exodus 19:1-6, 16-20:17 (NRSV)