The Book of Samuel begins with the story of Hannah, a barren woman who has felt forgotten by God and frustrated by her family. Completely heartbroken, Hannah’s pain grows year after year. But Hannah does not give up her faith. Instead she pursues God in worship and prayer until … when things are seemingly at their worst … God gives her peace, remembers her, and makes Hannah “no longer sad.”
The Melrose staff give an update on January at Seven Mile Melrose
Justin and Sara sit down to talk about plans for the Gottlieb's upcoming sabbatical.
Advent is the season of reflecting on the arrival of Jesus, the son of God, as a human. God the Father sent Jesus his Son to free us from sin. In itself, this is an incredible and undeserved blessing he has given us. What’s even more amazing is that God sent Jesus to elevate us to be full members of God’s family. Through our union with Jesus, we have full access to God as our Father. This is an even greater blessing than forgiveness of our sins. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth...
Peace. We all want it. We want peace with one another, and we want peace with God. Our world is full of advice on how to get peace: better organization, better planning, better relationships and use the Breathe app on your watch. But all of that is just advice on how to manage.What we really need for peace is news, especially the news that "God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.” As we begin our advent series *The Fullness of Time* this Sunday with these words, we’ll hear and see that the certain hope of Christ’s coming into a fallen world 2000 years ago also gives us certain hope today.
Psalm 145 Depending on life situation, praising God can seem easy or impossible. So, how do you praise God when nothing in life seems to be going right? In Psalm 145, David grounds his praise of God in his character rather than our circumstance and shows how we can praise God with everything without ending.
Have you ever wondered, “Will I ever be holy and blameless?” The gap between who we are and who God calls us to be is large, and we can feel hopeless to get there. As Paul closes his letter to the Thessalonians, he assures this baby church that disciples of Jesus will one day be holy and blameless … and it won’t be because they are great or smart or hardworking. They will be made holy and blameless because the faithful God who called them is also the God who will make them holy....
How does a family function and get a long in peace together? It’s one of the aims in our homes, but also in the church. Paul tells us how to conduct ourselves in 4 important areas in order to keep the peace in the church. It’s these “house rules” that help us to think about how we relate and work together as God intended.1 Thess 5:12-22
The return of Jesus often raises so many questions in our minds. It did for the Thessalonian church plant also. “What happens to the dead when Jesus returns?” “When will Jesus return?” “How should we live as we wait?” Paul reminds the Thessalonians that our Gospel identity prepares us for Christ’s return. This Sunday, we will look at how the return of Jesus both gives us courage and calls us to live each day prepared.
What's happening in and around Seven Mile Melrose this month!
Who knows the will of God? How in the world could we possibly know what the God of the universe wants us to do? Well, as it turns out, God has told us exactly what His will is. God’s will is not a mystery, it is not hidden, it is not buried, it sits right on the surface for everyone to know.This is the will of God, your sanctification.This is Paul in his most direct, his most helpful, his most loving. This is what God wants, that you be holy.
Being a family is demonstrated in so many different ways. Time spent, intentional presence, true concern, and rooting for one another are all visible displays of family. A family has commitment to these things.If a church is the people of God being a gospel-formed family in a specific place, then we will see similar commitments to what Paul displayed towards the Thessalonian church.1 Thess 2:17-3:13
In 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of how they received the Gospel and calls them to live a life worthy of God. God calls us to live the same way.But how do we live lives worthy of God? By continually reminding ourselves of the Gospel and God’s gracious calling that makes us part of His faithful family.
"Hey Thessalonians, God loves you and you're doing great. Keep on! - Paul" As we begin a new sermon series called God's Faithful Family this week, we'll hear how the gospel reached this young church, how they responded, and how they are now encouraging others to receive Jesus ... even though things are tough for them.
At the end of the Seven Mile Road story, the disciples finally see. It takes a ton of help from Jesus, but they truly see. As they see, Jesus helps them see God’s redemptive plan across history and geography. Even more than seeing the plan, Jesus sends them (and us!) to join His mission.
Lots going on this month at Seven Mile Melrose, listen for all the info!
Spaghetti sauce might make our heart burn, but the Scriptures rightly taught definitely do, or at least they are meant to. In Luke 24, Jesus teaches two disciples the Scriptures, and when they reflect back upon that time, they recognize that something profound was happening inside their chests. A burning, a passionate wave, a growing flame for what was true and what that meant. They met Jesus, and their hearts burned, and they could see him, and the only thing left for them to do was to run off ...
After Jesus’ resurrection, two disciples encounter Him as they walk to Emmaus. Not recognizing it is Jesus, the disciples explain their sadness and confusion over his death. While they are shocked that the visitor isn’t aware of all that has happened in Jerusalem, even more shocking is that they still don’t see who Jesus is … so he opens the scriptures and helps them see.
After the discovery of Jesus' empty tomb, his disciples were sad, uncertain and confused. They didn't understand how the pieces fit together or how they'd fallen apart. As two of the disciples walked along a road discussing and struggling to make sense of things, the risen Jesus drew near. He didn't wait for them to find him. He didn't wait for them to figure things out. Jesus drew near to them and he does the same to us. Luke 24.13-16
Update on what's to come this month at Seven Mile Melrose.
In Psalm 19, David tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God and the scriptures show us God’s glory in revealing his perfect word to us. Like the heavens, God’s word is active in declaring his glory and helping us see who God is and there’s only one right response to seeing His glory: humble confession.
This week we will hear from God’s word in Psalm 1. How do my daily choices and habits shape my life? What words truly guide my whole life? The psalmist invites us to consider that the path to a life blessed by God is marked by finding our delight in his words which guides us in all areas of life. We can’t meet this ideal. But through the gospel, Jesus transforms us to love God so that our delight in his word increases. As he does this, we learn to live by his Spirit who guides our lives and draw...
The Lord does not leave us as we are. He hears and heals. He is merciful. When the days are dark, we need reminding of this. But this psalm is for after God has acted for us, and it calls us to rejoice in thankfulness for what God has done for us. There are many such acts of God we can be thankful for. He turns our mourning to dancing, and so dance we must for our gladness is from Him. Psalm 30
In Psalm 16, we read the words of a fearful King David. He is fearful he’ll abandon faith in God and fearful that God will abandon him in death. Out of his fear, King David asks some of the same questions we ask: What can I trust God with? How long can I trust him? Not only does he ask the questions, David gives a rock-solid answer grounded in who God is and what he has done: I can trust God with everything forevermore
Listen for an update for this month at Seven Mile Melrose.
Where do you turn when the bottom falls out? When you face the big uphill life challenge or scary unknown ahead, what provides confidence or hope? We can give a simple rote answer until the situation comes.In Psalm 20, we will learn from Israel’s posture of approaching God in these type of situations and be inspired by the king’s faithful response as an example for us. Psalm 20
