Focal Passage: Psalm 1:1-6; Philippians 4:8  We live in a “feeling culture” not a “thinking culture.” More emphasis is placed on how we feel than on what we think. Feelings can be mercurial, subjective, even dangerous (Jeremiah 17:9).  And while God has given us the gift of emotion, the focus on emotional wellbeing has stunted the development of a robust intellectual life that is based on God’s Word. The thinking

Focal Passage: II Timothy 2:14-19, 22-26  It is a well-known fact that biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. This is true of those outside of the church. But it is also true of those within the church.  The people of “The Book” often do not know their own “Book.” This is sad and disturbing. In order to know God’s Word a person must study God’s Word. This was the

Focal Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 7-12  Do you have a hearing problem? Some people tragically cannot hear because the internal mechanisms of the ear no longer work. However, many of us do not hear because we do not comprehend or process what is being said to us.  When Jesus called the seven churches of Revelation to hear He was not asking if the hearing mechanisms of the ear worked; He was

Focal Passage: II Timothy 3:1-5; 13-17  Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries recently released their 2022 State of Theology report, and the findings are not good.  More than half of those surveyed do not believe Jesus is the only way of salvation; 73 percent believe Jesus was a created being and not eternal; 43 percent do not believe Jesus is God; 60 percent do not believe the Holy Spirit is a

Focal Passage: James 4:13-17; 5:7-11  Time is the only “commodity” that once you spend it you can never get it back. I have seen people accumulate and lose wealth and then do it again, all in one lifetime.  I have observed people secure and then lose a job in a short period of time. But I’ve never seen anyone create time. Only God can create time (Genesis 1:1). What we

Focal Passage: James 4:1-10  “Enemy love” is one of the most difficult biblical truths to embrace. It is difficult to turn the other cheek and walk the second mile, especially when you’re being abused and misunderstood.  “Enemy love” has become particularly difficult in our hyper-political age where anyone on the ‘other side’ of an issue is our enemy. Polarization is not THE issue, demonization is. Jesus declared in the Sermon

Focal Passage: James 3:1-5a; 9-10, 13-18  You may have heard the saying, “Whoever controls the narrative is in control.” This is another way of saying that language is important. Words matter a great deal. If we don’t know what words mean then we cannot communicate, i.e. that a man is a man and not a women. In his classic work, 1984, George Orwell warned of “doublespeak” where words are used

Focal Passage: James 2:14-26  The relationship between saving faith and good works has always been a source of controversy. Some would argue that we must work for our salvation, demonstrating to God that we are worthy of His love and grace.  On the contrary, Scripture teaches that saving faith is a Spirit-empowered gift from God through and in Jesus Christ. We do good works not to be saved but because

Focal Passage: James 1:1-12  Everyone hates them, but everyone has them — hard times. But why is it that when the grass is green, and all is well that we learn little about God and ourselves? We seem to learn more about life when we go through difficult times than we do when all is well. God has a way of using hard times to mold and shape us into

Focal Passage: Matthew 18:21-35  Love leads us to forgive. Not only that, being loved empowers and compels us to forgive. This discourse presents an incredible example of a man who had been forgiven an impossible debt, only to threaten and abuse another whose debt he would himself not forgive.  When we realize the great, infinitely immeasurable debt we owe, it is impossible for us to then withhold forgiveness from someone