IMPERATIVES FOR PEACE - Philippians 4:4-9

  In the most adverse of circumstances, Paul offers imperatives resulting in a peace that surpasses all understanding.

#PeaceImperatives

BEHOLDING HOPE - Jeremiah 32

 Throughout the entirety of scripture the word “behold” is held forth as an assurance of hope for the people of God

#BeholdHope 

THE PUNCHLINE OF FORGIVENESS - Matthew 18:21-35

 The punchline of forgiveness is no laughing matter.

#AHauntingDestruction

LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS - Matthew 13:1-23

Though many have sought to reduce faith down to nothing more than the intellectual belief of certain truth claims, we hauntingly aware of the expectations of true belief.

#Expectations

THE HIGH PRICE OF WORRY - Luke 12:22-30

 Some are so haunted by constant worry, it’s as if all of life is about waiting for bad things to happen.

#ExpensiveWorries

FAITHING YOUR FEARS - 1 Samuel 17

 What are the giants that haunt your fears? There is another reality in which your life can exist.

#FaithYourFears

SALVATION WITH CERTAINTY - 1 John 5:6-13

Of this you can be certain, the salvation God offers is eternal life, not temporary, momentary, or conditional life.

#SavedAndCertain

THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE… - John 13:31-38; 18:15-17, 25-27; 21:12, 15-22, 25

 Whether the baseball diamond or Federal court, one maxim remains constant, “Three strikes and you’re out.” 

#Graceball

THE COMPANY OF THE DENIED - Mark 14:32-36

The disappointment that God often says “No” to our prayers, can easily cloud the miracle that he answers at all.

#RequestDenied

COMPETING WITH A COMPLEX - Jeremiah 1:1-19

What could you possibly have in common with a prophet like Jeremiah? At one time or another, we have all been riddled with feelings of inferiority.

#ANewSelfPerception

THE OTHER SIDE OF “IF ONLY” - Acts 12:12,25; 13:5,13; 15:36-39

 If it were possible to move beyond the regrets of the past, would you be interested? And all the people said, “Amen!”

#FlippingTheScript

THERE’S A WAR ON - 2 Timothy 2:3-4

Christianity is not a religion of sanctuary decorum but a warfare for the soul of every person in the trenches of life.

#BootCampMentality

HIGH FASHION - Galatians 3:23-29

 

#fitcheck

LIFE’S ULTIMATE QUESTION - Matthew 16:13-18

 Out of all the major questions you may anticipate having to answer in the course of your lifetime, there is only one that carries the weight of eternal consequence.

#TheUltimateQuestion

THE HIGHEST SPEECH FORM - James 5:12-20

After mentioning in every chapter various patterns of destructive speech, James closes his letter by holding forth the one redeeming form of speech that is practiced exclusively by the church.

#AboveAllElse

WHY WAIT? - James 5:7-11

 In dealing with adversities of this present life, James offers an answer no one wants to hear: Patience.

#WhyWait?

HELP WANTED - Psalms 102

 #HelpWanted

THE BUSI-NESS OF LIVING - James 4:13-17

 If we imagined life as a business to be built, is yours being built to last? Or does it represent the flavor-of-the-day fads and trends that seek to capture the moment?

#BuiltToLast

WORDS BETTER LEFT UNSAID - James 4:11-12

 While Homer wrote, “Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid, ” James argue for even more words that are better left unsaid.

#WordsBetterUnsaid

SPIRITUAL SITUS INVERSUS - James 4:1-10

 What happens when the heart is in the wrong place?

#SitusInversus

THE WISDOM WE NEED - James 3:13-18

 If intelligence is the acquisition and assimilation of information, wisdom is its application for a greater good.

#WiseUp

MARSHMALLOWS, WAFERS, AND BEETHOVEN -Galatians 5:1

The journey of faith has freed us to experience more, know more, and want more, than could have ever been realized under the restraints of the “present evil age.”

#WantMore

THE JESUS WAY - Luke

 #HWJDI

THE OFFICE YOU HOLD BUT DON’T WANT - James 3:1-12

 Though James speaks directly regarding the office of teachers, the fact is, by our words and actions, every confessing believer is teaching a watching world something about what it is to be a follower of Christ.

#AStricterJudgment

EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT - James 2:14-26

Claims of faith are not left to their own subjectivity. When real, it will bear forth, objective, observable evidence.

#InnocentOrGuilty

PLAYING FAVORITES - James 2:1-13

Within a secular society, and under any given political ideology, equality is an impossible ideal. In the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, however, it is a non-negotiable expectation.

#PlayingFavorites

A FAITH THAT SHOWS - James 1:26-27

 James makes clear the difference between a religious show and a faith that shows

#Showtime

THE ERGONOMICS OF FAITH - James 1:22-25

 Faith isn’t so much a cognitive exercise of belief as it is the active exercise of what you believe.

#ErgonomicFaith 

KNOWLEDGEABLE INFLUENCERS - James 1:19-21

 Knowing what we know regarding the Gospel, places us in a position of immeasurable influence.

#WordPower

TEMPTATION IS TEMPTING - James 1:13-18

 Most people do well in resisting everything except temptation.

#ResistanceTraining

DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER - Ephesians 2:1-10

 #Remember

THE CONDITIONS OF UNCONDITIONAL - James 1:12

 While God’s love for all is unconditional, there is one condition in particular that proves out eternal life.

#EnduringProof

WHAT HAVE YOU GOT WHEN YOU’VE GOT IT - James 1:9-11

 When you catch what you’re chasing, what will you have when you’ve got it?

#LifePursuit

THEREFORE: What Easter Means For Monday - 1 Corinthians 15:58

 As the church, we best bear witness to the reality of the resurrection not in our Easter Sunday participation but our every day manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit.

#EasterTherefore

AN ETHICAL MATRIX FOR WISDOM - James 1:5-8

 James offers the keys to acquiring a wisdom that exemplifies practical righteousness in everyday living.

#JustAsk

AN ETHIC FOR THE TRIALS OF LIFE - James 1:1-4

 In the growing reality of secularity, our task is not to look less like the church that the masses might find us attractive. On the contrary, it’s only as we reflect the witness of a living hope, even in our hardships, that we become the Real Presence we are called to be.

#AnEthicalMatrix

FOR YOUR SKEPTIC FRIEND - John 1:45-51

 For our friends that are skeptics of the faith, Nathanael is a refreshing testimony of willing and thoughtful inquiry.

#LookBeforeYouLeap

Take Heed - 1 Corinthians 11:27-32

 March 12, 2023

DOES JESUS BEING MESSIAH MATTER? - Luke 20:1-8

 Does it even matter that Jesus is the Messiah? Does it matter to you?

#AsAMatterOfFact

A NEVER-ENDING GOSPEL WORK -Romans 16

 When is an ending never-ending? When it comes to the work of the gospel.

#ToBeContinued

A HEART THAT DRIVES MISSIONAL FEET - Romans 15:14-33

 By examining the heart of, arguably, the greatest missionary to have every lived, we discover heart necessary to being a missional people.

#HeartDrive

A SALVATION BIGGER THAN YOURS - Romans 14:1-15-13

 Scripture challenges us to envision a salvation so much larger than how you have chosen to define it. We don’t dictate to God how his salvation is to be defined.

#UnityIsn'tUniformity

SAINTS IN THE POLITICAL CROSSHAIRS - Romans 13

 Whether it is a full engagement of the political processes that govern a nation, or a fearful withdrawal from the established structures of society, either is a departure from the biblical and strategic intent for the people of God.

#SubversiveIntent

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY - Luke 13:10 -21

 #GoesALongWay

ON YOUR WAY TO NOT KNOWING - Hebrews 11:8-11; Joshua 4:20-24

 Comfortable, manageable, predictable; these are words that most frighten me in the life of faith, because it’s only in the discomforting, unfamiliar situations, and unpredictable ends, that we grow in life and faith.

#OnTheWayToNotKnowing

GETTING COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE - Luke 10:1-12

 Don’t get comfortable! Being a commissioned people means we have been sent out from a place from which we were never intended to stay.

#GoInDiscomfort

RESOLVING WHAT MATTERS - Philippians 3:4-17

It defines you, it determines everything you do, it is how everyone sees you and perceives you to be, it is the one thing that must be resolved in your life.

#ResolvingIt