We begin Holy Week looking at God’s own people breaking the last two commandments before our very eyes. In the Gospel of John we see that the chief priests are making plans to kill Lazarus because everyone was believing in Jesus. Their hearts were so envious that they couldn’t see the miracle that Jesus performed, by raising Lazarus from the dead, but only saw a threat to their own popularity & authority. Jesus comes in humility the Pharisees respond in pride. Jesus enters to rejoicing while...
Apr 13, 2025•28 min
We begin Holy Week looking at God’s own people breaking the last two commandments before our very eyes. In the Gospel of John we see that the chief priests are making plans to kill Lazarus because everyone was believing in Jesus. Their hearts were so envious that they couldn’t see the miracle that Jesus performed, by raising Lazarus from the dead, but only saw a threat to their own popularity & authority. Jesus comes in humility the Pharisees respond in pride. Jesus enters to rejoicing while...
Apr 13, 2025•29 min
Apr 11, 2025•32 min
God’s heart cares about how we talk about other people in our lives. God commands us not to lie about our neighbor, betray them, slander them or give them a bad reputation. For many this doesn’t happen face-to-face but often it happens when we speak behind someone's back as we gossip and slander in private. God’s heart is to the love of our neighbor as we seek to defend them, speak well of them and put the best construction on everything and this really is the Heart of the Matter.
Apr 09, 2025•27 min
Apr 08, 2025•12 min
God desires us to live in an honest and content way as our hearts are at rest within His own. To steal is to take from others what does not belong to us and reveals a heart that is not at rest. We have received tremendous physical and spiritual gifts from God and have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Stealing can happen in many ways and even includes when we withhold things from being used by God that are rightfully His. Our time, talents, finances, possessions; even our very l...
Apr 06, 2025•21 min
God desires us to live in an honest and content way as our hearts are at rest within His own. To steal is to take from others what does not belong to us and reveals a heart that is not at rest. We have received tremendous physical and spiritual gifts from God and have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Stealing can happen in many ways and even includes when we withhold things from being used by God that are rightfully His. Our time, talents, finances, possessions; even our very l...
Apr 06, 2025•34 min
The second reason for this command is that God’s people are to reflect His heart and character. They are to be a holy people, set-apart for God’s purposes, and this includes our sexual purity. God does not want His people to just emulate what they see happening in the world. We live in a hyper-sexualized culture that often reduces a person's body to a mere sex object. We are not only to honor, care for, and respect our own bodies we are also to honor, care for, and respect the bodies of all peop...
Apr 02, 2025•31 min
Apr 01, 2025•11 min
God’s reason for giving this command is because of how important marriage is in the heart of God. God created marriage between one man and one woman and was the building block of His creation and of society. Even after the fall marriage is a sacred union in the way the man and woman complement one another and bring new life into the world through their marriage. With such a premium placed on marriage, it is no wonder that God would seek to protect this union from being defiled which is what adul...
Mar 30, 2025•37 min
God’s reason for giving this command is because of how important marriage is in the heart of God. God created marriage between one man and one woman and was the building block of His creation and of society. Even after the fall marriage is a sacred union in the way the man and woman complement one another and bring new life into the world through their marriage. With such a premium placed on marriage, it is no wonder that God would seek to protect this union from being defiled which is what adul...
Mar 30, 2025•30 min
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus doesn’t negate the command from Deuteronomy but pulls the teaching even deeper into a matter of the heart for all people. Jesus, in essence, is saying that God sees our hearts and if we have hatred in our hearts we are just as guilty of murder in the eyes of God. It isn’t just about our external practice or religion but it is about our purity of heart before the One who examines the heart and that is really the Heart of the Matter.
Mar 26, 2025•26 min
Mar 25, 2025•11 min
God is all about life and the things that lead to greater amounts of quality and flourishing of life. At its core the commandment says we are not to take matters of death into our own hands but also leads us to desiring greater amounts of quality and flourishing for all people. As we look around the world, we see the devastations that many people face that rob them of the quality and flourishing that our God desires. The way we honor our God is to honor, seek after, sacrifice for and give genero...
Mar 23, 2025•28 min
God is all about life and the things that lead to greater amounts of quality and flourishing of life. At its core the commandment says we are not to take matters of death into our own hands but also leads us to desiring greater amounts of quality and flourishing for all people. As we look around the world, we see the devastations that many people face that rob them of the quality and flourishing that our God desires. The way we honor our God is to honor, seek after, sacrifice for and give genero...
Mar 23, 2025•28 min
To honor your father and mother with your words and actions is to carry a humble attitude of esteem for their position. God values the roles of fathers and mothers so much that He included them in the commandments, so it is worth paying attention to it. We are commanded to honor parents, but this doesn’t mean we have to imitate ungodly ones. We honor our parents for the position they were given by God to be our protection and provision on His behalf, and it is good for our hearts to remember the...
Mar 19, 2025•25 min
Mar 18, 2025•27 min
Mar 18, 2025•11 min
Mar 18, 2025•36 min
Mar 18, 2025•34 min
The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning “day of rest”. On the last day of creation God looked at all He had made as very good and then rested from His work. “To keep it holy”…this four-word phrase in English is only one word in Hebrew which means to consecrate, set-apart or sanctify this day. We keep the Sabbath set-apart as a reminder that we have been set-apart as God’s own people. His heart of love, protection & provision are upon us and this day is Holy because it’s a day to al...
Mar 16, 2025•32 min
The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning “day of rest”. On the last day of creation God looked at all He had made as very good and then rested from His work. “To keep it holy”…this four-word phrase in English is only one word in Hebrew which means to consecrate, set-apart or sanctify this day. We keep the Sabbath set-apart as a reminder that we have been set-apart as God’s own people. His heart of love, protection & provision are upon us and this day is Holy because it’s a day to al...
Mar 16, 2025•28 min
Many people believe that using the Lord’s name in vain simply means using His name as a swear word, but it is much more involved than that. In the Old Testament, a person's name refers to their nature, attributes, or the totality of their being. To honor God’s name is to place Him in a place of ultimate respect in our lives. We respect the name of God by not pulling it into the ordinary things of this world or using it to convey feelings that don’t align with His heart. The respect of our God is...
Mar 12, 2025•22 min
Mar 11, 2025•12 min
The first Heart of the Matter is that our hearts were made by God and only work when aligned with His. He commands us not to worship anything else other than Him as our God. An idol is anything that replaces the one true God as the center of our devotion, focus, reverence or passion. Any “good thing” can become a “god thing” when it gets more of our time, money, energy, sacrifice, focus or passion than our God. Jesus says that we are to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-- ...
Mar 09, 2025•28 min
The first Heart of the Matter is that our hearts were made by God and only work when aligned with His. He commands us not to worship anything else other than Him as our God. An idol is anything that replaces the one true God as the center of our devotion, focus, reverence or passion. Any “good thing” can become a “god thing” when it gets more of our time, money, energy, sacrifice, focus or passion than our God. Jesus says that we are to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-- ...
Mar 09, 2025•28 min
We begin our Lenten journey going to the place where it all started. In Genesis we see Adam and Eve's hearts being led astray by the temptation to circumvent God and claim life on their own terms. God alone is life, and the consequence of sin is separation from God…death. Ash Wednesday is a day we remember that from the ashes we were made and because of sin to ashes we will return. It is also on this day we remember the mercy of our God who cleansed our forsaken ashes, in the waters of our bapti...
Mar 05, 2025•23 min
Mar 04, 2025•12 min
Last week, we were reminded that Jesus is our Leader. We cherish that fact. We want Him to lead us in this world and guide and direct us into the mission and vision He has for us. In truth, though, that’s sometimes as far as we want it to go with Him. Do we want to have Him lead us in our life? Yes! Do we want His guidance and direction every day? You bet! Do we want to take the next step and surrender our entire life to His complete control? Oh…no…wait a minute! Isn’t that kind of extreme? No, ...
Mar 02, 2025•26 min
Last week, we were reminded that Jesus is our Leader. We cherish that fact. We want Him to lead us in this world and guide and direct us into the mission and vision He has for us. In truth, though, that’s sometimes as far as we want it to go with Him. Do we want to have Him lead us in our life? Yes! Do we want His guidance and direction every day? You bet! Do we want to take the next step and surrender our entire life to His complete control? Oh…no…wait a minute! Isn’t that kind of extreme? No, ...
Mar 02, 2025•26 min
