From the Blog
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A Worship-Filled Life
We talk about worship often in the church, but there is often confusion about what it actually means. Many of us reduce worship to singing. But singing is only one expression of something far deeper. Worship is not primarily a moment in a service, it is the orientation of a life. In fact, every human being is already a worshiper. The question is not whether we worship, but what we worship. Something will sit at the center of our lives and shape everything.
And what we worship always takes control. It determines how we spend our time, where we invest our energy, what we sacrifice for, and where we place our hope. Whatever sits at the center becomes the engine that drives us or the weight that slowly crushes us.
And in Psalm 63, we see what it looks like when a life is anchored in worship of the only One worthy to carry the weight of our souls. In Psalm 63, while David was in the barren wilderness, he expressed his desire to live a worship-filled life whose greatest desire was not comfort or safety, but the presence of God. -
The God Who Delivers From Death
In previous chapters, we saw that even when God is not mentioned, He is not missing. God positioned Esther as queen for a purpose she did not yet understand. We saw the crisis unfold as Haman’s hatred toward Mordecai turned into a genocidal decree against the Jewish people. Faced with fear and uncertainty, Esther chose courage, calling for prayer and stepping forward in faith. Then God turned the tables on Haman’s wicked plans and Haman himself was destroyed by his own gallows.
Now as we come to Esther 8–9, the enemy Haman is dead, but the danger is not. The decree still stands. Across the Persian empire, the people of God are living with the shadow of an appointed day of death hanging over them. Can God still be trusted when the threat is still on the calendar?
This text answers with a resounding yes. It shows us that our God is not only powerful enough to expose the enemy – He is faithful enough to carry His people all the way through the danger. In Esther 8–9, the author described how God providentially delivered His people from death by positioning His servants to issue a new decree that enabled the Jews to overcome their enemies and survive Haman’s irrevocable edict. -
The Restoration of Communication: Forgiveness
We all know the pain of broken communication—harsh words, unresolved conflict, silence that grows like a wall. Whether in our homes, marriages, friendships, or church family, we’ve all experienced the damage that unforgiveness causes. But God has given us the way to restoration: Christlike forgiveness. Without forgiveness, communication breaks down and relationships fall apart. So how do we move from brokenness to restoration in our communication? In a word: forgiveness!
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he exhorted believers to put away relational sins and practice Christlike forgiveness as a Spirit-led expression of their new life and oneness in Christ. -
Judgment in the Kingdom
Does our country feel more polarized today than in the past? Do you know what happens a lot when there are issues that divide groups of people? Most times, people identify with that issue. They make that issue part of their identity.
Jesus continued His Sermon on the Mount by addressing judgment as He transitioned His message towards more interpersonal issues. In Matthew 7, Jesus continued the Sermon on the Mount and taught His listeners to avoid harsh and hypocritical judgment while also maintaining spiritual discernment. We can avoid harsh and hypocritical judgment and practice spiritual discernment. -
Seeking First in the Kingdom
Anxiety is a topic that dominates the narrative today. You may not be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but are there stressors in your life that you are anxious about? Have you lost a job or looking for a new one? Are there final exams coming up, college decisions, financial aid or other academic stresses? How about relationship stress that causes anxiety? Marriage issues, dating problems, friendship relationships that are not “two way” can all cause anxiety.
Jesus, with the crowds on the mountainside, guides us away from a life of anxiety, stress and worry and guides us towards a life of freedom with their Father. In the Sermon on the Mount, after Jesus called His listeners to make God their master, He then challenged them to not be anxious by freeing themselves from the worries of the world. Having made Jesus our Lord, we can free ourselves from the worries of the world. -
Praying in the Kingdom
Jesus, with the crowds on the mountainside, began to remove some of those obstacles in prayer and guide them towards an intimate and purposeful fellowship with their Father. He guides through His Word today.
In Matthew chapter 6 as Jesus continued the Sermon on the Mount, He taught the crowd how to pray as citizens in God’s Kingdom. -
The Wait is Over
It can be uniquely challenging to know what to do as a Christian because so much of our Christian faith is based on trust and dependence on God. But there is a distinct line between rightly trusting in God’s will, power, and provision and being spiritually passive or lazy.
Maybe you are at a decision point in life about a job opportunity or a relationship or something major like that. Carefully praying and trusting in the Lord is right, but it doesn’t stop there. Pursuit is what follows. When it comes to our walk in Christ this is always the right pattern … prayer and then pursuit.
In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul instructed the church in Philippi that the one thing he did was press on towards the goal God had called him towards. We can do this one thing and pursue God’s goal for us. -
A Shared Family
People today are starving for true and lasting relationships. Yet, Americans are struggling with loneliness more than ever. To attempt to cure our loneliness, we’ve turned to social media. But a 2023 study in the National Library of Medicine concluded this: “This study found that more time spent on social media was associated with higher levels of loneliness… in particular for people who used social media as a means for maintaining relationships.”— National Library of Medicine
In the book of Acts, Luke described the “authentic community” of the first century church. He said they were marked by four “devotions.” We can experience this community when we pursue these four devotions. Today, we’re going to focus on the second devotion, “A Shared Family.” -
God is Merciful
The saying goes: only the strong survive. From marketing campaigns and sports teams to climbing the corporate ladder, strength is one of the highest values in our culture – we spoke about that last week as we explored the mightiness of God. Mercy, on the other hand, often doesn’t make the cut when we talk about things we value. In a society placing more and more emphasis on power, mercy has almost become a foreign concept. So, what is mercy all about and should it even matter to us?
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he told the believers that they could know God's rich mercy. We can know this rich mercy of God.