When God Starts in the Margins Let me begin with a question: If you were going to launch a movement to transform and redeem the world, where would you start? It is natural to think in terms of power, visibility, and influence. Our minds go to capitals, capitals of religion (Jerusalem), of politics (Rome), of... Continue Reading →
Three Strikes Against a King: Impatience, Pride, and Partial Obedience
I. Saul’s First Mistake: He Did Not Wait on God (1 Samuel 13:1-23) We all know how difficult it can be to wait on God. We probalby know how hard it is to wait on a job offer, a diagnosis, or direction in life. Waiting tests us like nothing else. 1 Samuel 13 is about... Continue Reading →
A Song for the Night Sky
Introduction to Psalm 8 If you have ever been camping far from city lights you may have experienced the beauty of the star-filled night sky. In moments like these, you feel your smallness, the short breath of your life. And if you're paying attention, you feel something more: wonder. King David must have felt that... Continue Reading →
A Prayer, A Promise, A Prophet
Sermon Audio: LINK Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1–28, ESV There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name... Continue Reading →
Power Through Faith and Discipline
Sermon Audio: LINK Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:7-14 ESV “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you,... Continue Reading →
Testing Our Motives (Part 1)
Sermon Audio: LINK Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18 (ESV): “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in... Continue Reading →
The Kinsman Redeemer
Sermon Audio: LINK Opening: Today, we're diving into Ruth chapter 3, but first, let's quickly refresh ourselves on the journey so far. Our journey through the book of Ruth began with Naomi, a woman who once felt utterly forsaken. She had known the fullness of family, cherished a life blessed by God, and experienced the... Continue Reading →
Ruth Meets Boaz
Sermon Audio: LINK Opening: Last week, we began our journey through the book of Ruth, where we saw Naomi’s devastating loss and her return to Bethlehem. Faced with famine in Israel, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, decided to lead his family to Moab, a land outside the covenant of God and filled with pagan worship. This was... Continue Reading →
Micah: Idolatry and It’s Consequences
Sermon Audio: LINK Introduction: This morning, as we continue our journey through the book of Judges, we find ourselves in a time marked by moral chaos, where “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). In this setting, we encounter a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim who believed... Continue Reading →