Tag: Old Testament

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Fire in the Desert – Isaiah 63:11-14 & Exodus 13:20-22

We’ve been exploring the Holy Spirit as person of the Trinity and member of the three-in-one Godhead. But where do we see this in the Old Testament, or was it purely an innovation of the early church?

But in the story of the Exodus, we do get a look at what the prophet Isaiah calls “the Holy Spirit.” The people of Israel have just come out of bondage, which should be a good thing, but it also means that they are leaving the world they knew and entering the unknown. This is something we all relate to, as we are constantly in transition from one thing to another, whether jobs or relationships or just phases of life. Like the Israelites, we need the Holy Spirit to go before us and lead us into that unknown.

In the narrative, the people of Israel have gone through the experience of Passover and are fleeing Egypt. But God did not lead them on the shortest path – this is often the case with God. He very often leads us in directions that seem entirely illogical and difficult. But that leading is part of the relationship – if it were just a simple if-then statement, we wouldn’t need the Holy Spirit, but just a piece of paper with a decision tree.

And so the Holy Spirit led them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The Spirit provided direction, shade and light even as it led God’s people into an unknown land.

Hundreds of years later, the prophet Isaiah (possibly the third one using that name) used this as an example, likely following the exile of many of the people into Mesopotamia. The Israelites would be asking questions about where God is and what He is doing in the midst of all the turmoil. And so Isaiah points them back to the work of the Holy Spirit in the past, as a promise of what He will do in their context – and in ours.

And so we see what the Spirit offers. He offers personal guidance and protection in real-time. This guidance is step by step and unconventional – we don’t get the entire story all at once, just the next right thing that we are called to do and be. We are incapable of seeing the full picture, spread across space and time and billions of souls. But the Holy Spirit sees and leads us in a way we can trust.

And finally, the Holy Spirit is an unfailing and ongoing presence that provides us not only with guidance but enlightenment, protection and peace.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood, WA, June 21, 2026

Images by Gemini.

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A Spirit-filled Mosaic – Exodus 3:1-12

We state that we believe in the Trinity, but in practice we often neglect the Holy Spirit, demoting a full person of the Godhead to the status of an impersonal force. Even our language is inadequate to this task, calling this active, personal deity “it.”

But the Holy Spirit is the real presence of God at work. We see this in the story of Pentecost, when the church erupted out of a scared group of blue collar men and women. This is the same presence we can experience today. Anne Lamott writes:

It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.

We are here to ask and learn, as communities and as individuals, are here to learn what it means to be Spirit-filled, and how to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit. This search is of a piece with the deconstruction many of us are going through, taking apart the human structures that make up church in the wake of failure, betrayal and hurt that many of us have experienced. We are seeking to strip away the accretion of man-made structures that have not up and to come as we are to God as He is, in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s scripture is the “origin story” of Moses, whet he fist encountered the living God. The people of Israel have moved into Egypt, a relationship that started well but over the years had degraded into slavery and infanticide. We see this people group described in two ways in the story – the Israelites, when describing them as the people of the covenant God made with Israel, or the Hebrews, when describing them as the ethnic community being oppressed by Egypt.

Moses was one of these Hebrews, who escaped the campaign of infanticide and was adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, raised in the royal court Egypt. As the original “third culture kid” Moses is caught between two worlds, which boils over when he kills an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, only to find himself rejected by those people as well. And so he flees into the wilderness, marries into a community of itinerant herdsmen and lives as a refugee for many years.

And that is where God meets him, and where his origin story begins.

God calls to him, repeating his name in a pattern we see throughout scripture, calling from a fire that burns but does not consume. He calls to him to put off his sandals because he stands on Holy ground.

This combination of protection and awe, of safe and holy, is key to understanding the nature of God. The fire burns but does not consume, the ground is holy but we are called to stand upon it.

This is how the Holy Spirit approaches all of us, and the safety God provides to each person means that that each person is accepted in their diversity and identity, and the community of faith is made up of an infinite combination of holy, safe relationships between believers and the Holy Spirit.

We see this play out directly centuries later at Pentecost, when fire again burns but does not consume, and deity again calls frightened refugees into His service, again empowering men and women to spread His message. This was promised by the prophet Joel:

I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

As we as a church move forward, whatever changes come, this should be our focus and our goal. We are called to be a place that is safe and holy, a place where people between identities, like Moses can come and find their new identity in God.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood, WA, June 7, 2026

Images by CHATGPT.

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Unlearn What You Have Learned – Genesis 2:15-18

One of the main things we need to unlearn from our western culture is the “radical individualism” – spirituality is not meant to be an individual sport. We are meant to live and love God in relationship with Him and with each other.

This starts from the beginning, when God refers to Himself in the plural – this may be the royal we, it may be a declaration to the angelic court, or it may even be an early preview of the Trinity. Either way, it’s an immediate indication of the vital nature of relationship at the core of our being, at the core of the Imago Dei.

We are also built to be in relationship in regards to our relationship with creation. It is within the context of Adam’s role as caretaker of creation that God identifies his need for a helper and partner. In fact, Adam being alone is the first thing God identifies in His creation as “not good,” before even the Fall.

So, together, Man and Woman shared the Stewardship of creation, shared the relationship with God – “walking in the Garden in the cool of the day.”

This communality is core to who we are, though many aspects of western culture push against that. Much of this is driven by positive concepts like the rights and dignity of the individual, but if we lose the communal and relational aspects of our life and faith.

And so we seek to value those things that draw us together, even things that may seem frivolous or even secular. From extended greeting time to potlucks to fun group activities, the things that draw us together in the faith are important and God-honoring.

May we experience God’s love more fully as a part of this community.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 19, 2026

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Psalms of Lament – Psalm 31

Psalm 31 answers the question “what do we do when we are filled with shame and despair?”

Lament is not a popular topic. The scriptures are full of it, but our culture, our Christian culture in particular, is not. We seek to “skip ahead” to the glory of the cross, over the pain, grief & humility of the cross.

Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he took time to grieve that death – “Jesus wept.” Lament is medicine for the soul and a check against injustice.

One of the key themes of the psalm is shame and disgrace. Benjamin Rush wrote, “Ignominy is universally acknowledged to be a worse punishment than death,” and this is what David is facing in and through this psalm. His response is “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” the same words Jesus quoted as He faced the ultimate shame and despair on the cross.

In verse 15, God’s hands come into play again – David’s “times” are in His hands, the ordained moments of his very life.

The cornerstone of this relationship is the love of God, in Hebrew “hesed” – a covenantal, relational love that God lavishes on us and that He seeks from us in return.

And this is the answer to the question posed by the Psalm – when faced by shame and despair, our answer is to love God and to accept His love in return.

— Sermon Notes, Diana Cleveland, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, February 1, 2026

Image by Gemini.

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Ascent Through Time – Psalm 126

The Psalms of Ascent provide a deliberate pilgrimage framework, designed to accompany believers on their spiritual and physical journeys, originally the Israelites as they ascended to the temple. This group of Psalms is compact, intentional and deeply communal, emphasizing the shared experience of a people rooted in their history and sacred places. By focusing on the collective memory of the faithful, these psalms transform individual travel into a shared act of devotion, reinforcing the idea that the path toward God is one best traveled together.

At their core, these psalms are woven together by the overarching themes of trust, unity, and hope. This is expressed through various “micro-themes” that address the practicalities of faith, such as seeking God’s protection in Psalm 121 and finding communal joy in worship in Psalm 122. Ultimately, the collection moves the heart toward a state of humility and dependence, culminating in a celebration of unity and the assurance of God’s divine presence and blessing.

Psalm 126 provides an ascent through time, across the varied journey of life with its ups and downs. It starts with the past, when “we were like those who dreamed.” What are the “great things” the Lord has done for you in the past? As you remember God’s faithfulness in the past, what dreams are still stirring in you? In what ways can you share the story of God’s goodness with others, just as the nations recognized it in Israel?

Then it moves to the present, a time of struggle and “sowing in tears”. This is true for many of us. In what areas are you experiencing sorrow while trying to remain faithful? Where are you asking for streams in a dry place. Are you currently in a season of “weeping” while trying to plant seeds for the future? How can you find joy in the present, even while waiting for full restoration?

It is important to grapple with these honest human emotions, to not just slap a happy face over or sadness. All facets of human emotion are real and legitimate and a part of who we are created to be.

But we do look forward to Songs of Joy. What harvest (“sheaves of grain”) are you trusting God to bring, even if they aren’t visible yet? How does the image of “songs of joy” inspire you to persevere in your faith and service? How can you show hope and joy in the present, confident that God will renew all things?

All of this human experience, both the joyful and the painful, is a part of who we were made to be. God is there in all phases of our ascent through time – and we as a body should be there for each other through all phases well, as we journey together towards the throne of God.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, January 18, 2026

Image by Gemini

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Sing a New Song – Psalm 98

What is your bouy? When you are in times of panic and disorientation and despair, what do you look to?

Psalm 98 is one of six “enthronement Psalms” that declares the kingship of Yahweh, His sovereignty and His eternal reign.

There are key characteristics across all of the Enthronement Psalms. The Lord’s Divine Kingship is obviously one of them, but so is the Universal Scope of the messages. Many Psalms are specific to Israel, but these songs call all people – indeed, all of creation – to the worship of God.

On that note, Creation’s Joy is another key theme here that runs across all six Psalms. And that joy springs in part from God’s Righteous Judgment – “He will judge the world with righteousness and equity.”

Finally, the Psalms all reference singing a “new song” to the creator – a call to creativity, a warning against getting stuck in stale tradition, and perhaps also a call forward to the New Thing that God was working towards, the culmination of the universal scope and righteous judgement promised here.

For ourselves, what are the new songs we should sing in the new year? What is God putting on our lips? What are the old songs we should leave behind?

Sometimes, when we look in front of us it looks like other people are in charge, controlling things. But when we root ourselves in creation we see that our earthly divisions and challenges are as nothing when we put them in front of the King and creator who calls us to sing the new song he puts in our hearts.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, January 4, 2026

Images from the Burnet Psalter and Gemini.

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Psalms of Lament – Psalm 42

Sometimes as Christians we shy away from lament and other strong emotions, especially more negative ones. But opening ourselves up to lament is a way to open ourselves up to the pain and tragedy around us, even when things are fine on our end. It’s a way to empathize with those around us who are suffering.

As we look at the Psalms, we can break them into five categories generally – Lament, Praise & Thanksgiving, Wisdom, Royal/Messianic and the Psalms of Ascent.

Psalm 42 is the first psalm of book two of the Psalms, out of five – correlated with Exodus from the Pentateuch. It is one of the first psalms of lament, as well.

It’s a psalm we can relate to, as the psalmist wrestles with the fact that he sees evil winning and his enemies triumphing – “where is your god?” It’s a question we have all wrestled with as we see horrible things happen. But we tend to wrestle with it individually, rather than corporately. In public we often paper over our challenges with an outward face of joy that does not match our heart. We take the calls to rejoice from scripture and turn them into a mask, rather than honestly responding to the calls elsewhere to lament.

Theologian Walter Bruggeman, in his writings on the Psalms, describes our lives as moving in one of two directions – into the pit or out of the pit. This means we are in one of three places – either Orientation, when we feel like things make sense and we understand the world and our place in our; Disorientation, the crisis point when everything that made sense previously no longer does; or Reorientation, where we are given a new way of understanding the world and our place within it.

Within that paradigm, Psalms of lament are there to serve as reflections of those times of Disorientation, to point us back to times of Orientation, and forward to times of Reorientation. In Psalm 42, the speaker is so downcast that his tears are his only food – but calls on himself to remember the better times when he did feel connection with God, but also allows himself to cry out in desperation, itself an act of worship. But ends with a call forward to what he knows of God and how he will respond – “yet I will praise him, my savior and my God.”

So when we look at the world and see pain and chaos and hypocrisy, we can, with the psalmist, “yet praise him.”

We are people of rhythms – day and night, the turning of the seasons, reminding us of times of death and sadness, of times of joy and rebirth. We can use the Psalms as we go through these seasons ourselves – we can pray the Psalms of lament both as we ourselves find ourselves lamenting, but also as a spiritual exercise to open ourselves up to the sorrow of others.

What are you lamenting in your personal life. What do you lament for your family? What about your workplace, school or neighborhood? In our nation? In our world?

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, November 16, 2025

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Widows, Orphans and Foreigners – Deuteronomy 10:18-19

We don’t ourselves have the same experience as Israel is pointed to here, but all of us have depended on others in the the past, even if just when we were infants. We have all been vulnerable in the past, like Israel, and like Israel as a faith communitand we are all called to demonstrate empathy for and actively advocate for the most vulnerable around us.

This passage comes just after the golden calf rebellion, when the people of Israel lost patience and created their own god target than waiting on the Lord. It comes as a piece of the covenant renewal, expanding the ritual purity into a broader doctrine of compassionate holiness, from ritual purity to justice and compassion. The response to divine mercy God asks for is ethical faithfulness.

This call to love the out group was radical in the ancient Near East, even more than in today’s society. The boundaries and borders of the world are real, but the first identity for them (and us) is as a child of God.

This message is a reminder that the ethnic identity – even for the chosen people of God – is a responsibility rather than a recognition of innate goodness. They literally just finished giving up their good jewelry to create a pagan idol. Likewise, if we today conflate our cultural, national or ethnic identity with our identity as children of God, we likewise make that mistake. When we see our political units and political players as anointed by God, we miss the point of what God truly cares about.

God shows us what He cares about when He orients Israel’s law to center on the dignity of marginalized.

Today, much of the church has lost this understanding. We have to make excuses to show compassion, we condemn empathy. We spend more time gatekeeping our communities and places of worship than welcoming in the stranger.

So as a community we are called to respond to God’s justice in the same way Israel was. We are called to welcome immigrants with radical, practical hospitality. We are called to support orphans, widows, and immigrants in their needs; to learn the stories of the marginalized; to use our places of privilege to advocate for justice in our communities; to build friendships across difference; to pray and worship with mercy in mind.

As a church we are a subversive community, living in the world, within particular political boundaries, but with a higher calling. Let us continually seek that calling and to live out the unconditional love God shows us.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, October 5, 2025

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The Promise of Christ – Jeremiah 33:14-16

Advent is a time of anticipation of the coming of Christ, both as a memory of what happened historically, and as a coming into our lives to transform us. It’s a time of joy, also, joy in gifts and presents and songs – but as we grow in maturity, the more we see that patience and anticipation as a core part of the joy. To persevere for a good thing and finally grasp it, that is true joy. This us something we learn better as we age, though aging also comes with disappointments. Financial, relational, emotional, even faith related.

The time of Advent also comes when the world is drenched in consumerism and business. What had been a time of waiting leading up to the feast commemorating Christ’s birth has become a secular frenzy of spending and accumulating.

What we are called to do in Advent, though, is to wait in hope. Those are not exactly the same thing. One can wait without hope, but hope is a leaning into a future that is greater than what we have today.

We see that in today’s passage, written by the prophet Jeremiah in a time of upheaval and turbulence. This promise comes in the midst of condemnation of the nation of Judah. The people are breaking the Covenant of God both with idol worship and social injustices. Jeremiah warns the king of Judah, Zedekiah, not to be making alliances that will bring Babylon down on them.

In the midst of that, Jeremiah gives a promise from God – that He will raise up a “righteous branch” who will do both what is right and just, addressing both the idolatry and injustice of the present time. A leader will come who will embody all the goodness of God, who will make His people both saved and safe. Verse 16 promises both of these, again addressing both the material and the spiritual.

His name will be “The Lord is Our Righteousness.” We can look back and see this as a promise of Jesus who, through His life, death and resurrection, becomes our righteousness.

What are the promises of God? Love and Faithfulness; Strength and Help; Presence and Guidance; Provision; Peace; Forgiveness; Eternal Life and Salvation; Rest.

And that rest is a deeper and truer rest than laying around on the couch, but rather a total fulfillment of our anxieties and desires.

That promise is coming – let us seek to imitate it and live into it as best we can, especially in this season of waiting and anticipation.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 1, 2024

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The Lord is Our Banner – Exodus 17:8-16

Yahweh Nissi means “the Lord is Our Banner” – in Exodus 17, Moses named an altar this after defeating the Amalekites. Banners were key to pre-modern warfare, telling soldiers who is leading and where to attack. “Under the banner” can also mean “in the name of” – “under the banner of love* for example.

The name is used only once, in a passage that is ultimately problematic. The Amalekites ambushed the people of Israel, and after God enables victory, the Amalekites are marked out as a people for destruction.

This destruction becomes relevant again in 1 Samuel, when Samuel instructs Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, down to the children.

This story is hard to square with the teachings of Christ, and is even difficult to reconcile with the teachings of the Old Testament like “do not kill.” This is important because we see leaders today justifying violence in God’s name as well. In reality, if the Lord is our banner then it redefines our relationship with our enemies.

Irenaeus was an early church father who struggled with this difference as well. He sees the story of the Old Testament as one of “gradual pedagogy” where His gradually moves a primitive, violent people to a full understanding of the God who is Love. Origen was another, who saw over time a development and revelation of how to interact with enemies, finding its fullness in the Cross.

If the Lord is our banner, He redefines the source of our security. We no longer place our faith in our own strength or resources, but rather in God Himself. We no longer need to have a scarcity mindset, but can rest in His abundance, letting that impact our engagement with others in love rather than fear and competition.

If the Lord is our banner, it redefines our identity, our vocation and equips us with a different ethic. We are to participate in God’s work of lifting up the marginalized, freeing the captives and giving sight to the blind.

— Guillermo Jimenez, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, July 21, 2024