Focal Passage: Psalm 33:6-15; 18-22 We are a fearful people. We fear people, places and things. We fear the past, the present and the future. Economic, political, spiritual and physical fears plague our minds and hearts. Fear is a natural response to those things that threaten us. But too often we have misplaced fear. We have outlandish fear. As of last count there are more than 400 phobias or fears,
Focal Passage: Micah 7:1-10, 18-20 Hope is a strange thing to us because we didn’t come up with it. We see our limitations when we utter the word. We use the word almost as a wish, crossing our fingers. When the Bible speaks of hope, it’s not in reference to wishful thinking. It’s rooted in a confident, certain future, because the Bible knows God’s character. For those in Christ, our
Focal Passage: Psalm 107:1-9 When we think of the types of sins that God will judge we do not often think of ingratitude being on that list. But according to Romans 1:21 ingratitude will be severely judged by God. And we have become an unthankful people in an unthankful nation. The french fries are not hot enough, the service is never good enough and we’re never thankful enough. Outlandish expectations
Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Knowing and doing God’s Word are two legs of what ought to be a three-legged stool. To know God’s Word is key. To obey God’s Word is essential. But to share God’s Word is critical. Not sharing God’s Word is like keeping secret the single most important truth in the world. The simple truths of God’s Word are meant to be shared not hoarded for our
Focal Passage: Micah 4:6-8; 5:1-9 In Instanbul, Turkey several years ago, a shepherd was briefly distracted on the job. He turned to see one of the sheep in the herd walk over to the edge of a cliff. The sheep jumped to his death. Then another followed, and another, and so on. Before he could corral the herd, more than 500 sheep had jumped from the cliff, resulting in around
Focal Passage: Micah 3:1-12 Bernie Madoff was an entrepreneurial businessman who famously and fraudulently created the biggest Ponzi schemes in history, estimated at over 50 million. He had revealed to his brother and two sons, who worked for his firm, that his investment-advisory business was a fraud and nearly bankrupt. Madoff’s sons turned in their father to federal authorities, who arrested him the next day and he was later given
Focal Passage: James 1:19-27 Reggie Jackson was a highly successful, Hall of Fame, but controversial, baseball player from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. His arrogance attracted some and put off others. His confidence bordered on being narcissistic. But there was a reason he was called “Mr. October.” When it came to crunch time, Jackson’s words were matched by his production on the field. In other words, he did
Focal Passage: Hosea 14:1-9 There’s a sense in which all of us should long for the Day of the Lord, also known as Christ’s return. God has put that longing inside us, but that longing goes beyond us as well! All of Creation is groaning! (Romans 1) And we can feel the magnitude of it each time we look at tragedy or sorrow and desire justice for injustice. Dylan Roof
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: Hosea 10:5-15 A story is told of a farmer who went out to gather some eggs and harvest his crops. As he walked across the farm toward the hen house, he noticed a pump was leaking. So he stopped to fix it. It needed a new washer, so he set off to the barn to get one. But on the way, he saw that the hay needed to
Focal Passage: Psalm 33:6-15; 18-22 We are a fearful people. We fear people, places and things. We fear the past, the present and the future.
Focal Passage: Micah 7:1-10, 18-20 Hope is a strange thing to us because we didn’t come up with it. We see our limitations when we
Focal Passage: Psalm 107:1-9 When we think of the types of sins that God will judge we do not often think of ingratitude being on
Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Knowing and doing God’s Word are two legs of what ought to be a three-legged stool. To know God’s Word is
Focal Passage: Micah 4:6-8; 5:1-9 In Instanbul, Turkey several years ago, a shepherd was briefly distracted on the job. He turned to see one of
Focal Passage: Micah 3:1-12 Bernie Madoff was an entrepreneurial businessman who famously and fraudulently created the biggest Ponzi schemes in history, estimated at over 50
Focal Passage: James 1:19-27 Reggie Jackson was a highly successful, Hall of Fame, but controversial, baseball player from the late 1960s to the late 1980s.
Focal Passage: Hosea 14:1-9 There’s a sense in which all of us should long for the Day of the Lord, also known as Christ’s return.
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
Focal Passage: Hosea 10:5-15 A story is told of a farmer who went out to gather some eggs and harvest his crops. As he walked
