As Christians, we spend a lot of time talking, thinking, and praying about God’s will. How do we discern the will of God from our own desires, ambitions, and impulses? In 1 Samuel, we see David after he defeated Goliath now facing an enemy in…
Proverbs
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the life of His followers. He declares that those who live in tune with what God is doing on the Earth are generous people. His disciples don’t just give, they naturally give. They joyfully give…
As we continue our study of the Lord’s prayer this week, Jesus calls us to examine the presence and source of temptation in our lives. Though we traditionally translate the prayer “lead us not into temptation”, it is best understood in a…
In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus addresses honesty by explaining that God’s people should be defined by their simple, honest speech. Every word should be just as truthful as if he or she sore an oath. Is there an area of your life that is currently not…
Matthew 5:21 “You’ve heard it said, ‘you shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” You may have heard the saying…
Does anger have an influence on your life? James warns us that we should be slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Anger is a tool we use to fix things, but it often does more damage. Anger is…
This weekend, the words of James challenge us to be quick to listen slow. Yes, you read that right. There is an element of irony in James’s words, because the fact of the matter is you can’t listen quickly. You can’t listen quickly if you do it…
The Proverbs often speak of life as a journey. We’re all walking down a path, but not all paths lead to the same place. Wise people have looked at the map. Of course, you can’t know for sure what looms down the road, but the wise disciple…
Money acts like a god and promises power, protection, provision, and pleasure. No wonder we put our trust in the almighty dollar rather than the Almighty God. But James warns us, don’t trust anything more than we trust Jesus. Jesus knows we are…
There’s nothing wrong with wealth or drive, but if the PURSUIT of wealth drives you, you won’t like where it takes you. “More” isn’t working.. Where do we draw the line? How do we know when to say “enough”? Note: We’re not talking about healthy…