In Kindergarten, I walked to the store with my next door neighbor and stole some candy. Actually, he stole it, but that’s not the point—I watched him and gladly agreed. Not long after, I understood the gospel in a very basic way and something began...
There is a war taking place among all believers: while our new nature of the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, our fleshly desires are constantly fighting against it. We must evaluate the "fruit" of our lives to know what has taken root...
The Holy Spirit is at work to convict the world of sin, reveal God’s righteousness, and remind us of the coming judgment. As Christians, we are ushered in to be a part of the work He is doing here—pointing the world to Christ....
We just finished studying the book of Hebrews as a church where arguably the main point of the entire book can be boiled down to: Jesus is better. The author uses Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, the Tabernacle, and more to make the point that Jesus is...
Studying the basics of Christianity begins with our relationship with God. All people are born completely sinful as rebellious enemies of God. The way to be right with God is not by comparison to others or good works but through faith in Jesus by the...
The examples of faith in Hebrews 11 encourage us to run our own race of faith, looking to Jesus as the reward for our perseverance. As we grow in faith, God disciplines us like a father to make us more and more like Him. Our...
As we have continued to walk through the book of Hebrews, the big idea remains the same: Jesus is Greater. Although the Hebrew audience is still caught in the old ways of a Levitical priesthood to grant access to God, the solution the author gives...
When I read Hebrews 5:2, the sentence, “He is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people” resonates deep in my soul. Because that’s me—ignorant, wayward, rebellious, broken, sinful. The verse goes on to say, “because He himself is subject to the same weaknesses.”...
In Hebrews 4:14-5:10, the author is describing to us how Jesus is our “mega” high priest. Jesus was made high priest by God and He charted a path to God that was marked by His suffering, sacrifice, and obedience. Jesus is like us in all...
David left a legacy behind him of both devotion to God and failure. As he leaves a legacy of corruption and generational disobedience for his sons in 1 Kings, he simultaneously praises the Lord and sacrifices all the resources and wealth he has left to...
Our current community group study has me excavating the depths of my heart and taking a thorough inventory of my sin patterns and their effect on my life. It’s a dark and lonely road. I am learning how easily I gloss over, legitimize, or even...
In 2 Samuel 15, the consequences of David’s sin are being revealed in the rebellion of his son, Absalom. Through his own sin, David helped create the moment and opportunity of Absalom’s rebellion. Upon hearing of this rebellion, David flees Jerusalem but shows his trust...
God sends Nathan to speak truth into David’s life and cast light on the darkness of David’s hidden sin. Nathan risks his life to confront King David’s sin, knowing that obeying the one true King is more important than his own fears or desires. ...
I grew up with the understanding of God’s grace before I understood how desperately my heart needed it. I fully believed that He lovingly accepted me no matter what I did. I fully believed His love was unconditional, that He would never walk away from...
In 2 Samuel 11, we find David at the peak of his power. His army is going to battle, and instead of engaging in work and going with them, he stays behind in idleness. This decision, and the choices that follow, create space and vulnerability...
Peter was a man who experienced a life of continual failure; a life that many of us are all too familiar with. Facing his most crucial of many defeats, he turned not toward self-loathing or dismission. But, rather, he jumped in and waded through his...
As one of the twelve disciples, Judas was a chosen ambassador of hope. Yet, it was his own despair that led to his ultimate destruction. He had been given the authority to heal and cast out demons. He was trusted as the treasurer. He had...
“At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more. Probably the Queen knew quite well what he was thinking; for she knew, though...
In Christ a new humanity is formed. Those who live in the new humanity do not live disoriented, futile lives but instead have hope in Christ. God has the power to bring us from darkness into the light; however,...
Many of us like to pretend that we have it all together, that all of our ducks are in a row. No one can know that we struggle, and we certainly hesitate to admit needing assistance of any kind. We are constantly chasing what we...
For us to have access to Jesus, we have to declare that we are in a state of emergency. Things are worse than what we can handle and we don’t have the resources to handle it. We need help....
“A whole world of wickedness” — that’s how James describes the tongue in his infamous section on our trouble with words. But what does that mean practically? For the Bible here to claim the tongue to be a whole world of wickedness, certainly it would...
Trials and suffering are common topics throughout the Bible, and this weekend we continued to look at James and what he has to say about living through the trials and temptations. In James 1:12-18, we see the importance of enduring through the trials and acknowledging...