Wildwood Assembly

The Conquests Retold: What God Has Already DoneMoses continues his historical survey, and the emphasis is unmistakable: God did this, not you. The journey through Edom, Moab, and Ammon reveals a God who respects the boundaries He has given to other nations—the descendants of Esau, the descendants of Lot. Israel is commanded not to provoke them, not to take their land, not even to pick a fight. God’s promises to Israel do not nullify His promises to others. Then the tone shifts. King Sihon of Heshbon refuses peaceful passage, and God hardens his heart—a deliberate act that leads to his destruction. King Og of Bashan, the last of the giant Rephaites, meets the same fate. His iron bed, thirteen feet long, is mentioned almost as a museum curiosity—proof that even giants fall before the God of Israel. The conquered land is divided among Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, but with a condition: their fighting men must still cross the Jordan and fight alongside their brothers. No one inherits in isolation. Then Moses turns to Joshua with words that carry the weight of a dying man’s blessing: ‘You have seen everything the Lord your God has done. Do not be afraid.’ And finally, Moses’ own plea—‘Let me cross the Jordan’—is refused. ‘That’s enough,’ God says. ‘Speak of it no more.’ The finality is crushing. Moses may look at the land from the peak of Pisgah, but he will never set foot in it. The servant who gave everything is denied the one thing he wanted most.00:00 Passing Through Edom, Moab, and Ammon01:00 God Respects Other Nations’ Boundaries02:00 Thirty-Eight Years of Wandering03:00 The Defeat of King Sihon05:00 The Defeat of King Og06:00 Og’s Iron Bed07:00 Land Divided East of the Jordan08:00 Fighting Men Must Cross Over09:00 Moses’ Charge to Joshua09:00 Moses Pleads to Enter the Land10:00 ‘That’s Enough—Speak of It No More’Buy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Sermon

The Bargain at the Border: Reuben, Gad, and the Road Already TraveledThe tribes of Reuben and Gad see the rich pasturelands east of the Jordan and make their request: let us stay here. Moses’ reaction is immediate and fierce—he hears the echo of Kadesh Barnea, where the previous generation’s refusal to cross over condemned the nation to forty years of wandering. ‘Are you going to do the same thing your ancestors did?’ The question is not rhetorical; it is a warning. History repeats itself when memory fails. But Reuben and Gad offer a compromise: they will build shelters for their families and pens for their livestock, then march armed at the front of the invasion force until every tribe has received its inheritance. Moses agrees, but his warning lingers: ‘If you fail to keep your word, your sin will find you out.’ It is one of the most sobering sentences in Scripture—not a threat but a law of spiritual gravity. Then comes the travel log, forty-two encampments from Ramesses to the plains of Moab. Each name is a memorial—some marking miracles, others marking failures. God has kept count of every stop. And the chapter closes with a warning about the land ahead: drive out the inhabitants completely, or those who remain will become splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. Half-measures in obedience produce whole measures of misery.00:00 Reuben and Gad Request the East01:00 Moses’ Warning: Kadesh Barnea Repeated02:00 The Tribes’ Promise to Fight03:00 Moses’ Terms Accepted04:00 Land Distributed East of the Jordan05:00 Towns Built by Gad and Reuben06:00 The Travel Log: Egypt to Moab07:00 Forty-Two Encampments09:00 Aaron’s Death Recorded10:00 Final Camps on the Plains of MoabBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

The Daughters Who Changed the LawFive women stand before Moses, the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire assembly and make a claim that has no precedent in Israelite law. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—the daughters of Zelophehad—have no brothers, and their father died in the wilderness (not in Korah’s rebellion, they are careful to note, but for his own sin). Under existing law, his name and his land would simply vanish. The daughters refuse to accept this. ‘Give us property,’ they say. Moses brings the case to God, and God’s verdict is remarkable: ‘The claim of Zelophehad’s daughters is legitimate.’ The law is changed—not by revolution but by petition, not by overthrowing the system but by appealing to the God behind it. Then Moses is told to climb a mountain and look at the land he will never enter. His response is not self-pity but concern for the people: ‘Please appoint a new leader so the community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.’ God chooses Joshua, and Moses lays hands on him before the whole assembly—a public transfer of authority that echoes Aaron’s garments being placed on Eleazar. The old guard is passing. The reading then turns to the elaborate calendar of offerings—daily, weekly, monthly, and festival sacrifices prescribed in meticulous detail. The sheer volume of animals and grain is staggering, but the purpose is clear: every day, every week, every season, and every year is to be marked by worship. Time itself belongs to God, and Israel’s calendar is designed to make that truth inescapable.00:00 Zelophehad’s Daughters Petition01:00 The Inheritance Laws Changed02:00 The Census of the Levites03:00 Not One Name from Sinai Remains04:00 Moses Told to View the Land05:00 Joshua Commissioned as Leader06:00 Daily Burnt Offerings07:00 Sabbath and Monthly Offerings08:00 Passover Offerings09:00 Festival of Harvest11:00 Festival of Trumpets12:00 Day of Atonement Offerings13:00 Festival of Shelters: Seven Days17:00 Final Instructions on OfferingsBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups,

Believer's University Bible study

The Donkey, the Angel, and Blessings That Cannot Be ReversedBalak, king of Moab, watches the Israelite horde spread across his landscape and does what any frightened king would do—he hires a professional. Balaam is a prophet-for-hire, a man who deals in curses the way a merchant deals in spices. But God intercepts the transaction. ‘Do not go with them,’ He tells Balaam. ‘These people are blessed.’ Balak sends more distinguished envoys and more money. Balaam, to his credit, says the right words—‘Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could do nothing against the will of the Lord.’ But he saddles his donkey and goes anyway. And then comes one of the most wonderfully humiliating scenes in Scripture. The donkey sees the angel that the prophet cannot. Three times the animal swerves, and three times Balaam beats her. When God opens the donkey’s mouth, she asks the most reasonable question in the Bible: ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ Balaam, the man who speaks for God, is rebuked by his own beast of burden. His eyes are finally opened, and he proceeds—chastened—to do exactly what God commands. Three times Balak sets up altars and asks for a curse. Three times Balaam opens his mouth and blessings pour out. ‘God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.’ The words are not Balaam’s; they are God’s, spoken through a reluctant vessel. And then, in his final oracle, Balaam sees far into the future: ‘A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel.’ The pagan prophet, hired to curse, becomes an unwitting herald of the Messiah.00:00 Balak Summons Balaam01:00 God Says Do Not Go02:00 Balak Sends More Officials03:00 Balaam’s Donkey Sees the Angel05:00 The Donkey Speaks06:00 Balaam Arrives in Moab07:00 First Oracle: Blessing Instead of Curse08:00 Balak’s Frustration09:00 Second Oracle: God Does Not Lie10:00 Third Oracle: The Spirit of God12:00 Balak’s Rage13:00 Final Oracle: A Star from Jacob15:00 Balaam DepartsBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups,

The Spirit Poured Out and the Graves of CravingThe Levites are purified with a ceremony that makes their meaning unmistakable: the people of Israel lay hands on them, and they become living substitutes—offered to God in place of every firstborn son. They are, in a sense, a nation’s thank-offering for the night death passed over Egypt. Then comes the provision for a second Passover—a remarkable concession for those who were unclean or traveling. God’s festivals are not traps designed to exclude; they are invitations with room for those who arrive late. The cloud above the tabernacle governs Israel’s movement with a beautiful simplicity: when it lifts, they march; when it settles, they camp. Sometimes for a night, sometimes for a year. The people have no schedule but God’s presence. Then the tone darkens. Israel departs Sinai at last, and almost immediately the complaining begins. The people crave meat, remembering Egypt’s fish and cucumbers while forgetting Egypt’s chains. Moses, crushed under the weight of leadership, cries out: ‘Did I give birth to them? Why do you tell me to carry them like a nursing baby?’ God’s response is twofold: He distributes the Spirit among seventy elders, and He sends quail—mountains of quail. When Eldad and Medad prophesy unbidden in the camp and Joshua objects, Moses replies with one of the most generous lines in Scripture: ‘I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets!’ But the quail become a judgment. The people gorge themselves, and the plague strikes. The place is named Kibroth-hattaavah—the graves of craving. God gave them exactly what they wanted, and it destroyed them.00:00 Purification of the Levites01:00 Levites as Substitutes for the Firstborn03:00 Retirement Age for Levites04:00 The Second Passover Provision06:00 The Cloud Over the Tabernacle07:00 The Silver Trumpets09:00 Israel Departs Sinai11:00 Moses Pleads with Hobab12:00 The People Complain13:00 Craving Meat from Egypt14:00 Moses Overwhelmed15:00 Seventy Elders Receive the Spirit16:00 Eldad and Medad Prophesy17:00 The Quail and the PlagueBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And

Bible Study on Romans

Vows, Jealousy, and the Blessing That Never FailsThe opening laws of this reading deal with the unglamorous mechanics of community life—removing the unclean from camp, making restitution for wrongs, resolving suspicions of infidelity. The jealousy ritual is difficult for modern readers, and perhaps it should be. It belongs to a world where a woman’s word alone could not settle a dispute, and the ritual, for all its strangeness, placed the verdict in God’s hands rather than a husband’s anger. Then comes the Nazirite vow—a voluntary act of radical consecration. No wine, no haircuts, no contact with the dead. The Nazirite’s uncut hair is a visible testimony that this person belongs entirely to God for a season. It is not a permanent state but a temporary intensification of devotion, and when the vow is complete, the Nazirite shaves and places the hair on the fire beneath the peace offering. What was set apart is returned to God. But the passage that crowns today’s reading is the Aaronic blessing—six lines of staggering beauty: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Three times the Lord’s name is spoken, and the movement is from blessing to grace to peace. These are the words God gives His priests to speak over His people, and His promise is astonishing: ‘Whenever they bless the people in my name, I myself will bless them.’ The priest speaks the words, but God performs them.00:00 Removing the Unclean from Camp01:00 Restitution for Wrongs02:00 The Test for an Unfaithful Wife05:00 The Nazirite Vow07:00 Defilement During the Vow08:00 Completing the Nazirite Vow09:00 The Aaronic BlessingBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Sermon for Mother's Day

Dr Jack gives an overview of forgiveness and how it effects your life

The Priest as Physician of the SoulThe skin disease regulations of Leviticus may be the least-read chapters in the Bible, and that is a pity, because they reveal something extraordinary about God’s character. He does not simply condemn the sick; He provides a system for their examination, quarantine, and—crucially—their restoration. The priest functions not as judge alone but as physician, examining sores and swellings with the patience of a careful diagnostician. Seven days of quarantine, then another seven, then another examination. God is in no hurry to declare someone unclean. And when healing comes, the purification ceremony is breathtaking in its symbolism: two birds, one slaughtered over running water, the other dipped in the blood and released into the open sky. The living bird, stained with death, flies free—a picture of life redeemed from the grave. The same ritual applies to houses contaminated with mildew: examine, scrape, replaster, and if healing comes, purify. Nothing is beyond restoration in God’s economy. The entire system assumes that uncleanness is temporary and that the goal is always return—return to cleanliness, return to community, return to the presence of God.00:00 Examining Skin Diseases02:00 Chronic Conditions04:00 Boils and Burns06:00 Sores on the Head08:00 Living in Isolation09:00 Mildew in Clothing11:00 Purification Ceremony: Two Birds13:00 Blood on the Ear, Thumb, and Toe14:00 Offerings for the Poor17:00 Mildew in HousesBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Bible study

Dr Jack gives an overview of forgiveness and how it effects your life

Bells, Pomegranates, and ‘Holy to the Lord’The priestly garments are now actually being made—not designed on the mountain, but stitched and hammered and woven by human hands. Gold thread is beaten thin and cut into fine strands, then worked into linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. The breastpiece carries twelve gemstones, each engraved with the name of a tribe, so that whenever Aaron enters God’s presence, he carries all of Israel over his heart. The robe with its alternating bells and pomegranates—gold and yarn, sound and color—would have announced the priest’s every step in the holy place. And on his forehead, the gold medallion with its engraved declaration: ‘Holy to the Lord.’ This is the central truth of the priesthood, and perhaps of all human life: we are made to bear God’s name. The phrase ‘just as the Lord had commanded Moses’ appears like a refrain throughout today’s reading—seven times, by some counts. It is the heartbeat of obedience: not reluctant compliance, but faithful craftsmanship. Every stitch, every setting, every thread is an act of worship. The garments are theology you can wear.00:00 Crafting the Ephod01:00 The Onyx Stones02:00 The Breastpiece with Gemstones03:00 Attaching the Breastpiece04:00 The Robe with Bells and Pomegranates05:00 The Turban and ‘Holy to the Lord’ MedallionBuy Immerse Beginnings today!4 Questions to get your conversations started:1.    What stood out to you this week?2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?4.    How might this change the way we live?QUICK START GUIDE3 ways to get the most out of your experience1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Sunday Sermon

A topical discussion on the busyness of the season and the benefits of taking time to enjoy it.