SERMON QUOTE “Fear is a big topic in the Bible, and not fearing because we trust God, will come up over and over and over again. The most common way Jesus greets His friends is, ‘Fear not.’” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Dear fear, You’ve been a tormenting influence from start to finish. You’ve told me lies. You are a miserable, wretched companion and I am no longer willing to be involved with you. I am writing you this letter to let you know that from this point forward I will not fear. I have a…
Daily Devotionals
SERMON QUOTE “It’s not just that God is going to keep Abraham safe. God promises to bless Abraham. He says, ‘I am your reward.’ Abraham wins God. That is a lot better than winning the lottery.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Abraham was not just after God’s treasures. He was after God. How do we know this? If Abraham had only been after the treasure, he would never have left Ur with his father Terah. Ur was the prosperous, urban center of a strong Mesopotamian state. Ur had all the modern conveniences of it’s day: schools,…
SERMON QUOTE “Genesis 15:6 – some have called it the key verse in the Old Testament. Because it shows how we get right with God. Even in the Old Testament it is faith not works.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Abram is living in a place of tension. God has promised to bless him abundantly, to entrust a land to him, to make his descendants as numerous as the stars. Yet he stands before us aging and childless, waiting for promises to become reality. Does that resonate with you today? Are you waiting, perhaps for opportunity…
SERMON QUOTE “It’s worth noting that doubts need to be managed. We do not need to fear them, but we shouldn’t ignore them – they can lead us to wrestle with life and faith and God in ways that take us deeper.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT I remember watching wrestling growing up with two brothers on Saturday night. As the sister, it was quite difficult to appreciate the value of these big overgrown men flinging each other around in a ring. As impressed as I was with Hulk Hogan, (I mean, he WAS entertaining!), I…
SERMON QUOTE “I want you to lean in. If you are holding back – held back by fear or whatever – I want you to see that God walked through the fire for you. He went first. He is all in.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT You are asleep and you have a dream. You are frantically running along a river bank through the thick, rocky brush trying to escape a fire behind you. You’re getting scratched, bruised, poked, and are tripping, falling, bleeding, fearful. Out of the corner of your eye you see a raft…
SERMON QUOTE “We give because we believe that the local church is the hope of the world – uniquely equipped to help people face their forever, and uniquely equipped to help the world work today.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Key questions need to be asked of any investment, such as, what is the return? What is the past performance? What are the risks associated with it? Basically, is it a wise or prudent investment? The same questions can be asked as we think about investing in the church. Is God’s church still positioned to make…
SERMON QUOTE “Having enough money has a lot more to do with who you are than with what you make.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT What exactly would it take for you to be content? Is your contentment based on things that are temporal or eternal? John D. Rockefeller, at one point considered the world’s richest man, was once asked, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.” That candid response would likely be the response of many people, because many are convinced that just a little more money would make them…
SERMON QUOTE “Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be the boy who gave Jesus the bread and fish that Christ used to feed 5000?” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT When the little boy left home with his food for the day he had very specific plans for the bread and fish. He was going to eat them. What other purpose could they fulfill? He had his food, for his stomach, nothing else. That is what we do with our possessions, we give them limits on what they can accomplish. Whether it…
SERMON QUOTE “I’ll say it again – God doesn’t need our money. He can speak things into existence. But we have a chance to give.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Remember in Mark 10, the rich man who wanted to inherit eternal life? Mark says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him…” then asked the man to give his wealth to the poor and follow Jesus. When the rich man heard this his “face fell and he went away sad because he had great wealth.” Jesus loved this man, asked the man to give, and join…
SERMON QUOTE “Learning to listen to God and examine your life and weigh your convictions and make this kind of decision is hard but it’s also one of the ways we grow.” DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Out of all the many mysteries in Scripture, the one I keep coming back to is God’s invitation to collaborate. He invites humans into His redemptive plan by asking us to partner with Him through prayer, ministry, engaging our gifts in the world around us and, of course, by giving. Giving isn’t just an obligation; it’s an invitation to…