Focal Passage: Psalm 33:6-15; 18-22 

We are a fearful people. We fear people, places and things. We fear the past, the present and the future. Economic, political, spiritual and physical fears plague our minds and hearts. Fear is a natural response to those things that threaten us.

But too often we have misplaced fear. We have outlandish fear. As of last count there are more than 400 phobias or fears, and the number is ever increasing. Fear can multiply into a myriad of mentally and spiritually paralyzing roadblocks to healthy, obedient living. 

Many of the things we fear never materialize into something to actually be afraid of. The taproot of the wrong kind of fear will produce spiritual paralysis.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Psalm 107:1-9 

When we think of the types of sins that God will judge we do not often think of ingratitude being on that list. But according to Romans 1:21 ingratitude will be severely judged by God. And we have become an unthankful people in an unthankful nation. 

The french fries are not hot enough, the service is never good enough and we’re never thankful enough. Outlandish expectations have caused us to demand our rights and privileges in ways that are born out of anger and selfishness. Psalm 107 gives us at least three reasons for living with a heart of gratitude: salvation, guidance and provision. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 

Knowing and doing God’s Word are two legs of what ought to be a three-legged stool. To know God’s Word is key. To obey God’s Word is essential. But to share God’s Word is critical. Not sharing God’s Word is like keeping secret the single most important truth in the world. 

The simple truths of God’s Word are meant to be shared not hoarded for our personal consumption alone. The text before us reminds us of the need to share God’s Word in what may be called “concentric circles of concern,” beginning with oneself, one’s family, and then with your neighbors.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Micah 3:1-12

Bernie Madoff was an entrepreneurial businessman who famously and fraudulently created the biggest Ponzi schemes in history, estimated at over 50 million. 

He had revealed to his brother and two sons, who worked for his firm, that his investment-advisory business was a fraud and nearly bankrupt. Madoff’s sons turned in their father to federal authorities, who arrested him the next day and he was later given a sentence of 150 years in prison. His brother would spend 10 years in prison and one of his sons would commit suicide. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: James 1:19-27 

Reggie Jackson was a highly successful, Hall of Fame, but controversial, baseball player from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. 

His arrogance attracted some and put off others. His confidence bordered on being narcissistic. But there was a reason he was called “Mr. October.” 

When it came to crunch time, Jackson’s words were matched by his production on the field. In other words, he did what he said he would do, especially when it counted.

Pastor James’ argument for obedience is not meant for us to develop a self-righteous, arrogant attitude like Reggie Jackson. It is to say, that if we say we are people of the Word, we need to demonstrate what we say by what we do. It’s called obedience.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Psalm 1:1-6; Philippians 4:8 

We live in a “feeling culture” not a “thinking culture.” More emphasis is placed on how we feel than on what we think. Feelings can be mercurial, subjective, even dangerous (Jeremiah 17:9). 

And while God has given us the gift of emotion, the focus on emotional wellbeing has stunted the development of a robust intellectual life that is based on God’s Word. The thinking life should drive the feeling life, not the other way around.

As we think over spiritual truths God gives us the insights and wisdom we need to live life and to keep our emotions in check (II Timothy 2:7). God’s Word provides the “stuff” that guides and shapes the contours of our thinking. Two such “thinking passages” are Psalm 1 and Philippians 4:8. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: II Timothy 2:14-19, 22-26 

It is a well-known fact that biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. This is true of those outside of the church. But it is also true of those within the church. 

The people of “The Book” often do not know their own “Book.” This is sad and disturbing. In order to know God’s Word a person must study God’s Word. This was the Apostle Paul’s entire point to Timothy (and to us) in the text before us — the believer must diligently study, faithfully apply and obediently follow God’s Word. 

Diligent study, II Timothy 2:14-15. The diligent study of God’s Word does not mean quibbling over words and useless arguments. Words matter, but getting “lost in the weeds” on useless issues that have no import on the meaning of God’s Word actually detract from the meaning of God’s Word. As verse 14 notes, such arguments “ruin those who listen.”

Instead of useless issues, we are to diligently study God’s Word as one who presents himself “to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed” (v. 15). We are to rightly or correctly handle and teach God’s Word.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 7-12 

Do you have a hearing problem? Some people tragically cannot hear because the internal mechanisms of the ear no longer work. However, many of us do not hear because we do not comprehend or process what is being said to us. 

When Jesus called the seven churches of Revelation to hear He was not asking if the hearing mechanisms of the ear worked; He was commanding them to listen, process, and embrace what was being said (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22). 

The power of hearing the Word of God is demonstrated in the companion books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the priest and the politician God used to restore Israel and rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah helped rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem and Ezra helped restore worship of God’s people. In restoring the worship of God, Ezra centered his work around the Word of God.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: II Timothy 3:1-5; 13-17 

Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries recently released their 2022 State of Theology report, and the findings are not good. 

More than half of those surveyed do not believe Jesus is the only way of salvation; 73 percent believe Jesus was a created being and not eternal; 43 percent do not believe Jesus is God; 60 percent do not believe the Holy Spirit is a person; and, 57 percent do not believe that people are sinful by nature. And, more than half of those surveyed (53 percent) do not believe Scripture is literally true.

The criticism of God’s Word is not new. In fact, Satan’s initial ploy — “Did God really say …” (Genesis 3:1) — was to tempt us to question the veracity of God’s Word.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: James 4:13-17; 5:7-11 

Time is the only “commodity” that once you spend it you can never get it back. I have seen people accumulate and lose wealth and then do it again, all in one lifetime. 

I have observed people secure and then lose a job in a short period of time. But I’ve never seen anyone create time. Only God can create time (Genesis 1:1). What we do with our time says a great deal about our priorities. Faith in God glorifies God and prioritizes God’s will and purposes.

My plans or God’s plan?, James 4:13-17. Apparently, in the church James pastored, there were some who were making plans without consulting God. 

They were traveling to a neighboring city, spending a significant period of time there, and seeking financial gain through business.  [Read more…]