The seventh day of the creation week remains open—what might human participation in that divine rest look like? The faithful God is shown in Genesis 2:4-17 to further lavish provision by his grace on his creatures as the LORD establishes his people in his place to enjoy his providential presence. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Do you struggle to commune with God? A number of things contribute to such a struggle, but the foundational issue is a matter of faith. Do you believe that God loves you in particular? You can only receive the love of God in Christ if you believe of the love of God in Christ. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
Jesus offered a memorable parable when asked about forgiveness. A servant was forgiven an enormous debt by a merciful king only to leave and demand repayment of a much smaller amount from a fellow servant. This is how our King forgives, and we do well to do likewise. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Americans have a complicated relationship between our work and our rest. We're driven toward productivity and can feel guilty to take time off. When we do try to rest, we put so much expectation on the time it is no longer restful. On the seventh day of creation, God formed a day set apart for the activity we're all looking for in our rest. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 2:1-3 for more.
When your world is upended or grief crushes with such force, how will you respond? A prime example is a man who slept soundly in the hull of a boat in the midst of a raging storm. He trust his Father and stood to silence the storm. You can rest like him by trusting in him. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation for more.
You don't have to be an avid gardener to know that seeds are remarkable. You can preserve them and keep for a long time. Expose them to the right conditions, and they'll grow to produce food. Genesis 1 contains seeds that germinate to reveal God's purpose and design for humanity. Part of that design is for us to do God's prescriptions while being sustained by his provisions. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:26-31 for more.
The first chapter of Genesis brings us into the true story about where we all came from and begins by introducing the main character: God. He was there in the beginning and ordered and filled his good creation to display his sovereign, wise, and good character. As the days of creation progress, anticipation builds for the climactic creature. But the way the story is written does more to answer, "Who am I?" than, "What am I?" Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:26-27 for more.
As we look back on church history, focus is given to momentous efforts of starting hospitals, establishing schools and seminaries, forming organizations for sending missionaries, and many other great deeds done by faith. And those things can make our small acts of faithfulness seem inconsequential. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation to not despise the small things.
Extend your arm. Hold your hand out, palm facing up. Extend your fingers so your hand is as outstretched as it can be. Now, relax. What happened? Your contracted with your fingers closing in. That's what we too readily do in relation to money. This is why Michael Urch exhorts us to kill the love of money. Click through to read more.
Within all the wonder and beauty captured in the creation account across the days recorded in Genesis 1, the steady refrain points us to the King of Glory who speaks. It is by his sovereign decree that he so wisely orders his good creation. Listen to Jonathan Worthington, Vice President of Theological Education at Training Leaders International, he unpacks Genesis 1:3-25.
Sojourning on through the wilderness for forty years as everyone over twenty dies gave rise to plenty of doubts and outright unbelief among the people of Israel. They wanted a god like the nations around them. Into this context, Moses wrote a story. A story to recapture the wonder and worship of a people who were redeemed by the God who was there in the beginning. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:1-2 and enter into who God has made you to be.
If you're hiking or running on trails, it can be helpful to have someone ahead of you that highlights particular hazards based on how they navigate the terrain. However, you can't match them step for step—different strides, different abilities, different people. You have to run your path. When navigating the weight and sin that entangles us, the same is true. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Throughout the Bible, you find described that there really are just one of two ways to live. Psalm 1 highlights that distinction clearly: walk in the way of sinners or delight in God's Word. Which path will you choose? Can you even truly be the kind of person that walks the path God would have you? Listen to Pastor Aaron Browning, from Northwest Bible Church, point us to the Blessed Man of Psalm 1.
On your summer road trip, did you play the classic game, "Would you rather?" Often the game is given to trivial options, yet we find the question posed to us in Scripture with a far more serious juxtaposition. Would you rather bear the reproach of Christ or have the wealth of the world? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
An ornithologist described his experience studying the shrike species of bird with such awe that he even said it was a kind of worship. Indeed, we are not merely Homo sapiens, "wise man," but Homo adorans, "worshiping man." We're made for worship, for praise. Psalm 150 holds out to us the "simple enthusiasm" that is the trajectory of the redeemed. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Christians are made holy by virtue of our union with Christ, but we find in the Bible the call to grow in holiness. How can we do that? First Thessalonians directs us to turn towards others in love so that we would be made holy. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
Sitting poolside at a large aquatic center, you have to choose wisely where to sit to get the best vantage point. Seeing what's right in front of you will be clear, but if you have an obstructed view of the main pool, you need your vision improved. The psalmist sees clearly the struggles before him but wrestles to see the main thing. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 89 for more.
God does not delight in the things people think are mighty and of great value. Rather, God delights in those who hope in his steadfast love. Can you fathom it? God *delights* in those who humbly come to him. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation to hope in God's steadfast love for more.
How does a parent cope when their twenty-year-old son's heart unexpectedly stops beating? Where does a ten-year-old turn when his family is undone through his parents' divorce? What will give hope to the veteran undergoing surgery yet again for issues from his military service? Psalm 46 exhorts us to put our faith in God, come what may. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
So much focus in a church service can be on the music. "Worship" encompasses far more than music, but how can we be confident our worship is acceptable to God? When Isaiah had the vision of the temple of the Lord, he was undone because of his sin. Is that how God perceives our worship? In Jesus Christ, we can rejoice that our worship is acceptable. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
You know of those people who are famous for being famous. They know how to market themselves and distribute viral content. The presence of this kind of celebrity leads one to conclude, "In a secular age, celebrity itself is the closest thing we have to transcendence." May we not succumb to such delusions by transfixing on the transcendent. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Sickness and death is pervasive, and we go through seasons where mortality seems to be everywhere. So how in the world can we have confidence in God to face such hardship? Psalm 16 holds out to us that if we find our refuge in God we will be secure in him forever. Listen to this sermon by Pastor Jacob Hatfield, of Grace Bible Church of Monticello, for more.
Having marked our second anniversary as a church, we need to pivot from a start-up mentality for our pastoral team to one that is more sustainable for the long haul. As such, the pastoral team is inclined to proactively plan for how best to lead and serve the church to position us to most faithfully make advances in establishing healthy churches. Listen to this episode from Pastor Brett and connect with a pastor to share your input.
Following Christ is no low bar; he requires so much of us. Yet Jesus is the only who gives more than what he requires. When the burden of following him seems too much, look to all that Jesus has provided. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Everyone knows the line from Handel's Messiah, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth - Hallelujah!" Yet the masterpiece quotes as well from a psalm that can make us squirm with its raw emotion and the longest section of imprecatory prayer in the Psalms. How do we benefit from this psalm? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 69 for more.
The context of a song impacts its significance. Horatio Spafford's "When Peace Like a River" is a prime example. Psalm 34 is another. When we reckon with the experience of God's deliverance celebrated, we gain a greater appreciation for tasting God's goodness and hoping in his redemption. Listen to Pastor Brian's sermon on Psalm 34 for more.
As much as you or your kids may love bubbles or are in awe of their simple beauty, you don't give much thought to them when they pop. You know that they come and go. The same should be our disposition towards the opinions of others about us. Don't live out of the fear of man just like you wouldn't be invested in the longevity of a bubble. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Pastor Brett shares about the vision driving the pastors' to lead in the beginning of Discipleship Classes this fall as well as addressing some of the logistics planned for those classes.
Hold a single grain of sand between your forefinger and thumb. Extend your arm fully up to the sky. How much of the sky is framed behind that grain of sand? The first images of the Webb Space Telescope reveal galaxies are in that space. And they lead us to exult in the Lord. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 8 for more.
Our existence is marked by constant conflict. It comes about when a desire is rejected or actively opposed. We deal with conflict in many different ways, but they are not all the way we should handle conflict. We should face conflict in dependence on our Father in Heaven. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
