Tomorrow, October 22nd, you will receive a GIFT! 

The ESV Scripture Journal on the book of Judges

Sunday, October 29th, we begin a 22-week series in the Book of Judges. Judges is ugly, violent, and depressing. Yet, in all the chaos, we see God powerfully at work as He faithfully and patiently sustains His people and points us forward to our Savior.

Christ in the Chaos - Into the darkness of this ugly, violent, and sinful world, “the sunrise,” (Luke 1:78 ESV) God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, came to us! Into the chaos of our messed up sinful lives, the Savior has come! What a pure JOY! What a certain HOPE!

These Journals are given to you as a means to encourage your study and meditation on the book of Judges. They include the complete book of Judges (ESV) and space to take notes. 

During this series, each of the sermons will give us the opportunity to open the pages in the book of Judges and hear God speak to His Church… to us… in order that Jesus may be magnified. Therein the light of His Word will shine into our hearts and lives. We will be challenged, confronted, convicted, given grace, encouraged, granted hope, moved to fall before Him, and to stand in awe of Him in true worship! 

Use these Journals to take notes. 

That last sentence made me laugh out loud! “... take notes?” Are you kidding me? This is from the guy who at Eastwood Middle School was more interested in collecting NFL pencils (from a vending machine in the front office) than I ever was interested in actually using them to take notes! 

We don’t need scientific proof that note-taking helps us remember more. Just revisited your desk, the front of the fridge, the countertop, the bathroom mirror, the car dash, and the “texts-to-self” on our phones. The dilemma is not the Word… it’s our forgetfulness, neglect, or disregard. Consider the possibility of redeeming these struggles by the intentional application of the simple God-given tool of taking notes in order to recall again, recite again, and delight in God’s Word again and again. 

I found this on the internet (I am sure it is true :-)) : “One Saturday night, apparently from exhaustion, Charles Spurgeon fell asleep before preparing his sermon for the next morning. However, he began talking in his sleep. Taking up pen and paper, his wife Susannah wrote down the things Spurgeon said in his sleep, handing her notes to him in the morning. He used those notes to preach the sermon to his 6,000-member congregation!” Not an exact application of the kind of note-taking I was referring to, but I’ll bet you never forget the story!

I know for certain that this series in Judges will definitely be etched a little deeper in this “middle-schooler’s” mind and heart because I will finally use that pencil. How about you?