God’s discipline isn’t a topic we like talking about or facing in any way. It feels intimidating and leaves us wondering if God is angry at us. But Proverbs gives us a different story.
Listening to Jesus is one thing; trusting him when the waves are coming over the sides of the boat is another—and most of us know the difference from the inside. In Matthew 8, seasoned fishermen who have already followed Jesus into the storm find their faith put to exactly that test.
It is easy to read “You shall not commit adultery” and decide that command belongs to someone else. But in Matthew 5, Jesus carries it beyond the outward act into the hidden life of our looks, desires, and thoughts—so where does that leave any of us, and why does God care so deeply about our purity?
Most of us know what it feels like to pray with one eye on the people around us—wondering whether we sound holy enough, reaching for language we’d never use in ordinary conversation. In Matthew 6, Jesus warns us that prayer aimed at impressing an audience—human or divine—has already received its only reward.
How do we come before God when our prayers so easily become empty phrases, desperate demands, or distant formalities? In Matthew 6, Jesus says our Father knows what we need before we ask, then gives His disciples words for approaching Him: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
We can hear God’s Word, begin moving in the right direction, and still stop short when the journey lasts longer than expected. In Matthew 2, the wise men do not settle for reaching Jerusalem; they keep following God’s leading toward Bethlehem, raising a searching question for us: What will we do when obedience requires another step?
In the midst of the uncertainties of life that seem so present right now, we have a certain God. In our new three-week live streaming series, Steadfast, we will be reflecting on the certainty we have in the Lord. Join us as Pastor Tim shares a message of encouragement from Psalm 57:1-3.
Temptations appear in seasons. How does Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness help us better understand how we prepare for those seasons?
Are we stagnating or are we learning? How are we doing helping others with that question? Pastor Tim tonight leads us to consider those questions in light of Jesus’s command to teach each other as his disciples.
Are we prepared for Jesus’s return? Pastor Tim continues our series in Matthew 24-25, looking this week at Jesus’s call that we always be prepared.