Lots of things claim to be of value — but which ones really are? Which ones are just so much “Monopoly money”? Pastor Tim explores the question as we continue in John 5 tonight.
When evil still creeps in unchecked and we wonder why God doesn’t swoop down to stop it, it can feel as if He isn’t even paying attention. Psalm 11 speaks to us when we feel that nagging doubt.
We all want justice against the wrongs we see and experience, but Jesus calls us to better understand just what we really need.
The Pharisees had a standard to make themselves feel justified, but was it good enough to make them truly justified?
We often walk into church feeling as though we should polish up our pain and act like everything is under control. Psalm 10 gives us a different perspective, making room for the days when evil seems to prosper, God feels distant, and honest faith sounds more broken than triumphant.
We continue to explore Psalm 9 by returning to what God values. Are we keeping our focus and our actions on Him or veering off course?
When we read about God’s judgment, we can wonder if God is the one putting us into bad places and how it could possibly be that someone who is loving would do that. Scripture helps us see things are actually a “tad” different than that.
After Jericho’s walls fall without a fight, Israel feels certain the next battle will be routine—so certain they never bother to ask God first. Joshua 7 exposes a harder truth: what happens when success convinces us we’ve earned God’s blessing. One man’s hidden sin and a leader’s unexamined confidence unravel an entire people, revealing the dangerous gap between assumed standing and actual standing before God.
We keep chasing what looks impressive—the success the world promises—forgetting it all carries an expiration date, like a freshly cut tree that soon dries out and becomes trash. Samuel falls into the same trap sizing up Jesse’s sons in 1 Samuel 16, until the Lord stops him cold.
We love remembering that Jesus overturned tables in the temple—especially when we imagine them belonging to someone else. But in Luke 19:45–48 when Jesus drives out those who sold, and declares, “My house shall be a house of prayer,” His challenge isn’t just to those people who annoy us. What might He overturn when our own convenience, usefulness, and preferences begin to define worship?