Varysburg Valley Gospel Church

09/06/2026

Psalm 91 - You Are Not Alone

08/05/2026

Bible reading for Wednesday August 5: Job Chapters 17-20

Chapter 17: Job continues his response to Eliphaz: Instead of defending himself to his friends, he takes his complaints to God; he also anticipates his own death.

Chapter 18: Bildad’s second speech – he berates Job, arguing that if bad things happen to bad people, then, Job must be a bad person

Chapter 19: Job’s response – he maintains that what bad things have happened to him are not because he is a bad person, but that it is by God’s command for no good reason. What Job really wants from his friends is their sympathy for what he is going through, not their blame.

Even though he knows he will die in his innocence, Job knows that God will vindicate him and that he will be conscious of his deliverance. This is where the words to the song, “For I Know That My Redeemer Lives” comes from.

Chapter 20: Zophar’s second speech – feeling rebuked, Zophar attacks. “You think you’ve got it bad, wait til you see what’s coming to you!” He is also hinting that Job’s riches were the result of cheating people, and that is why God has taken them away.

08/04/2026

Bible reading for Tuesday Aug 4, 2026 – Job 14-16

Chapter 14: Job laments the brevity of life and the finality of death.

Chapter 15: His friend Eliphaz speaks again – This starts the second round of speeches between Job and his friends. Eliphaz rebukes Job for his arrogance and warns about the judgment that the wicked bring on themselves.

Chapter 16: Job’s reply to Eliphaz - Job now feels abandoned by God and by his friends, and he complains that this all makes his sufferings worse. But he still holds to his innocence as he continues his appeal to God as his witness.

How would we respond to our situation if we were in Job's shoes/sandals?

08/04/2026

08/03/2026

Monday Aug 3, 2026 – Job 11-13 – Recap: Job lives in Uz, east of Israel and northeast of Edom, in what is now North Arabia. One day, out of the blue, Job loses his business, his wealth, and his children. Job's three friends heard about Job’s tragedy (maybe from news carried by a caravan). Each left his own home around Arabia, met together, and traveled to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him. At first, they say nothing for 7 days, just sit with Job in the dirt. Then one by one, they try to convince Job he must have done something wrong and needs to repent.

Chapter 11: Job’s 3rd friend Zophar speaks – He is frustrated with Job's claims of innocence, and suggests that Job's punishment is less than he deserves. He also has a misunderstanding of divine justice and human suffering. God is not “doing” this to Job – in the first Chapter, we see the satan, the accuser/opposer, is behind Job’s suffering.

Chapter 12: Job responds - Job expresses his resentment at his friends’ attitude of superiority, and acknowledges the wisdom of God

Chapter 13: Job expresses his determination to reason with God, expresses his scorn for his friends’ advice, and demands to know what his sins are

Here is an excellent overview of the Book of Job from The Bible Project.:

What is the book of Job about in the Bible? Watch as we explain its major themes and gain a deeper understanding of its place in the biblical story.

08/02/2026

Sunday Bible Reading - Job Chapters 8-10.
Yes, it's hard reading about so much suffering, but in Chapter 42, it does turn around!

Chapter 8: - Bildad cannot even imagine saying that God is unjust.
Bildad Speaks to Job - He believes that is that Job’s family brought this on themselves, and calls on Job to admit it, humble himself, and seek God’s mercy

Chapter 9: - Job answers Bildad, talking about his own view of God.
In verse 33, Job wishes there was a Mediator to bring him and God together – This is looking ahead to when Jesus comes, who actually does that for us!

Chapter 10: - Job asks God why he continues to suffer without cause. At the end, he again wishes he had not been born, then looks forward to the end of his suffering when he is dead and in the grave.

The "comfort" that his friends have brought is sending him into a deep depression.

08/01/2026

*Church in the Park* tomorrow 9:30 am followed by a picnic, rain or shine under the shelter. Vince Almeter Memorial Park, Rt 98 across from the Catholic Church in Varysburg. Bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair.

08/01/2026

Saturday August 1 - Job chapters 5-7

Chapter 5:
Eliphaz continues speaking to Job

Eliphaz has made two mistakes with his speech:
(1) his tone was too cold and
(2) his examples did not fit Job’s case

Chapter 6:
Job replies to Eliphaz - I wish I was dead - and some friend you are!

Job continues to maintain he has done nothing wrong to deserve such suffering

Chapter 7:
Job continues his reply to Eliphaz, then complains directly to God, about how much he is suffering

Job seeks to escape the pain by sleeping, but instead is plagued with nightmares. He begs God to leave him alone

Here is another view of what is in the Book of Job from The Bible Project

In the Bible, Job is tested with suffering even though he's innocent - but why? Explore his story from the Old Testament to understand its main message.

07/30/2026

Bible reading for Thursday July 30: Esther 6-10

https://bibleproject.com/videos/esther/
https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-esther/

Chapter 6:
Mordecai is Honored - It seems things can’t get any worse for the Jews or for Mordecai. But all of a sudden, the story pivots in chapter 6. That night, the king can’t sleep, so he has the royal chronicles read to him. He just happens to hear about how Mordecai saved the king’s life from the plot of the guards. The king had totally forgotten about it!

So in the morning, as Haman enters to request Mordecai’s ex*****on, the king orders Haman to honor Mordecai publicly for saving his life. Haman then has to lead Mordecai about the city on a royal horse. This reversal forms a turning point in the story, beginning with Haman’s downfall and ending with Mordecai’s rise to power.

Chapter 7:
Haman is Impaled - The next day, Esther hosts the second banquet. The king and Haman arrive, and Esther informs the king of her Jewish identity. Then she reveals that Haman’s decree is a ploy to murder her and Mordecai, the man who saved the king’s life! After taking in a lot of w**e and Esther’s news, the king goes into a drunken rage (notice how many of those you find in this story). He orders that Haman be impaled on the stake he made for Mordecai. It’s an ironic and grisly way to go.

Some Bible translations describe a gallows instead of stake to impale Mordecai. The same Hebrew word refers to a tree or wood, but back in that time and place, people were not hung on a gallows – that method of ex*****on came later.

Chapter 8:
The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews – But Haman’s ex*****on doesn’t solve the problem of the decree to kill all the Jews. So the focus turns back to Mordecai and Esther as they plan to reverse the decree. After Haman is killed, the King gives Mordecai his position as 2nd in command. Who saw that coming!?

When they discover that the king can’t revoke a decree he’s already made, Mordecai is commissioned to issue a counter-decree. (Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews).

The Triumph of the Jews - On the day when all the Jewish people were to be killed, the people can now defend themselves and destroy any who plotted to kill them. As the new decree is delivered, Mordecai, Esther, and Jewish people everywhere hold banquets and feasts to celebrate their ability to defend themselves.

Chapter 9:
The Triumph of the Jews continued - Eventually, the decreed day comes, and the Jews triumph over their enemies. First, they destroy Haman’s family along with any other Persian officials who had joined Haman’s plot. The next day, the Jewish people are allowed to destroy anyone who plotted against them. It is followed by great joy and celebration because the Jewish people have been rescued from annihilation.

Purim Established - The story then tells how Esther and Mordecai establish another decree. This great reversal and rescue will be memorialized by an annual two-day feast called Purim, named after Haman’s fateful dice. The Esther’s call for a fast is replaced with a feast!

Chapter 10
The Greatness of Mordecai - The book concludes with a short epilogue. Mordecai is elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom, and we’re told of his royal greatness and splendor as the Jews thrive in exile.

Reflections on the Book of Esther –
One fascinating feature of the book is the moral ambiguity of the characters. There is a lot of drinking, anger, s*x, and murder, and Mordecai and Esther participate in at least some of it. Also notable is their violation of many commands in the Torah (like marrying Gentiles or eating impure food). And so the story doesn’t seem to put them forward as impeccable moral examples, nor does it endorse all of their behavior. However, they are presented as models of trust and hope in the midst of terrifying circumstances.
In fact, this focus on Mordecai and Esther’s hope brings us all the way back to the curious feature of this book, that God is never mentioned. When God’s people are in exile, unable to obey the Torah perfectly, and when God seems absent, does this mean God is done with Israel? Has he abandoned his promises?

The book of Esther says no. God can and does work in the mess and moral ambiguity of human history, using the faithfulness of even morally compromised people to accomplish his purposes.

The book of Esther asks us to trust in God’s providence even when we can’t see it working. That requires a posture of hope, to believe that, no matter how horrible things get, God is committed to redeeming his good world and overcoming evil. That’s what the story of Esther is all about.

Explore the exciting and unique book of Esther in the Bible. Discover its historical context, cast of characters, themes, and literary design alongside videos, podcasts, and more from BibleProject™.

07/29/2026

The Big Idea
The Bible Book of Esther asks us to trust in God’s providence even when we can’t see it working. That requires a posture of hope to trust God’s commitment to redeem his good world and overcome evil.

Wednesday July 29: Esther 1-5
https://bibleproject.com/videos/esther/
https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-esther/

Introduction:
Chapter 1: - Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of the mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

The King of Persia was known as Ahasuerus in Hebrew, and Artaxerxes in Greek. Historically, this is King Xerxes 1 who ruled the kingdoms of Media and Persia (modern Iran) between 486 BC – 465 BC, after Babylon had been conquered by his grandfather Cyrus decades earlier.

Queen Vashti Deposed - The story begins in about 483 BC when the king of Persia throws two elaborate banquet feasts that last a total of 187 days, all for the grandiose purpose of displaying his greatness and splendor. Military and political leaders were there as his guests. Queen Vashti also holds a banquet for the women in the palace. On the last day of the feast, the king is drunk and demands that his wife, Queen Vashti, appear at the party (perhaps wearing only her crown, with no clothes!) to show off her beauty. She refuses, (perhaps because she didn’t want to abandon her own guests?) and, in a drunken rage, the king deposes Vashti. It seems that he is afraid of the example she has set – that the women of Media and Persia would think it was ok to not obey their husbands, even if they were expected to do something self-degrading. The king makes a silly decree that all Persian men should be the master of their own homes.

Chapter 2:
Esther Made Queen – King Xerxes may have started to regret his decree against Vashti, so his advisors came up with a plan: a Cinderella-type of beauty pageant to find a replacement queen. After a year of beauty treatments, one by one, a young woman would leave the harem of the virgins, go spend the night with King Xerxes, and return the next day to live in a different harem with the concubines. And right when the story feels like a bad soap opera, we’re introduced to Esther and Mordecai. Esther (her Persian name) hides her Jewish identity (Hadassah was her Jewish name), poses as a Persian, and she wins the pageant. The king is so obsessed with Esther that he elevates her as the new queen of Persia.

Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy – Because Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, he likely was one of the king’s royal officials. That is where he “just happens” to overhear two royal guards plotting to murder the king. He informs Esther, who then tells the king, and Mordecai gets credit for saving the king’s life. And in all these remarkable events, God is not mentioned, but it all seems so providentially ordered. What is God up to?

Chapter 3:
Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews - We begin to find out just what God could be up to in the next part of the story. We’re introduced to Haman, who’s not a Persian but an Agagite, a descendant of the ancient Canaanites, mortal enemies of the Jewish nation (1 Sam. 15). The king elevates Haman to the highest position in the kingdom and demands that all kneel before him. But when Mordecai sees Haman, he refuses to kneel. Haman is filled with rage.
When Haman finds out that Mordecai is Jewish, he successfully persuades the king to enact a decree to destroy all the Jews. The King and Haman decide the date of this horrific day in an outrageous way. Haman rolls ancient dice (“pur” in Hebrew), and the decree is set. Eleven months later, on the 13th of Adar, (early March 479 BC), all the Jews will be executed. Haman and the king throw a party to celebrate the decree.

Chapter 4:
Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help - After this, the story focuses on Mordecai and Esther, who are now the only hope for the Jewish people. They plan for Esther to reveal her Jewish identity to the king and ask that he reverse the decree. But there’s risk involved because approaching the king without a royal request was an act worthy of death, according to Persian law. At a crucial moment in the story, Mordecai asserts that if Esther remains silent, “deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place.” Then he wonders aloud, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” She and Mordecai make plans to call the Jews in the city of Susa along with her attendants to a 3 day fast to strengthen and protect her. Esther resolves with bravery, “If I perish, I perish,” and she decides to approach the king.

Chapter 5:
Esther’s Request to the King – The stage is being set to see an ironic reversal of all of Haman’s evil plans. Esther hosts the King and Haman at a banquet, where she makes a special request that they both come to an even more exclusive banquet the next day.

Haman’s Rage Against Mordecai - Haman leaves the feast quite drunk and happy with himself, and he sees Mordecai in the street. When Mordecai doesn’t bow, Haman fumes with anger and at his own wife’s suggestion, plans to order that a tall stake be built, so that Mordecai can be impaled upon it the next morning.

Explore the exciting and unique book of Esther in the Bible. Discover its historical context, cast of characters, themes, and literary design alongside videos, podcasts, and more from BibleProject™.