Year: 2019
Sign Language

Sign Language

Have you ever lost your voice? Maybe you lost your voice after scream-singing at a Dave Matthews Band concert. Maybe you got so sick it was too painful to speak. If something like that has ever happened to you, you may have noticed it’s difficult to communicate...

Keep Calm and Carry On

Keep Calm and Carry On

What if you knew, without a doubt, that your team would win the Super Bowl this season, or who the next president will be, or what features the next iPhone would have? Who would you tell? Would they believe you? The angel Gabriel has a tough job. He has to tell people...

Out of Obscurity

Out of Obscurity

Every four years, the Summer Olympics are held in one major city around the world. They’ve been held in London, Atlanta, and, in 2020, people from all over the globe will watch the Olympics in Tokyo. The impressiveness and beauty of these cities makes the games...

The Story of Your Life

The Story of Your Life

Your life is a story. Its chapters are filled with joys and sorrows, successes and failures, good people and hurtful people. Maybe you’ve found it difficult to follow the plotline at times. But there are no wasted experiences in your life. That’s because the main...

Darkness to Light

Darkness to Light

The people who walked in darknesshave seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.Isaiah 9:2 My daughter wakes up in the middle of the night. A lot. She’s just doing what little kids do. But it hurts me. Not getting up to...

God is with Us

God is with Us

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel ~ Isaiah 7:14 Have you ever felt like God wasn’t with you? Have the circumstances of your life ever made it seem that God couldn’t...

Retirement Planning

Retirement Planning

Some people can’t wait to retire. They have visions of a condo on the beach and sleep uninterrupted by alarm clocks. In this dream, retirement is where the business of work ends and the business of life begins. That’s not the case for King David. Retirement isn’t an...

Thankful in all Seasons

Thankful in all Seasons

Thankful in All Seasons But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 hen I went home for Thanksgiving last week, I was...

How Bizarre

How Bizarre

Have you ever noticed that sometimes nature is really weird? Maybe you’ve seen the viral video of turkeys walking in a creepy circle around a cat (look it up if you haven’t – it’s pretty wacky!). Animals do some pretty bizarre things. The Bible has some strange animal...

Upgrade

Upgrade

If you don’t know it already, you will need to upgrade your cell phone. It may not be today, or even this year, but an upgrade is in your future. Your phone might shut itself off for no good reason, the battery will drain quickly, or the apps will begin to glitch...

No Pressure

No Pressure

You and a friend sit down at your favorite coffee shop. You get your latte, she’s sipping her coffee. You catch up about your families, work, and she asks how that book you’re writing is going. There’s a brief, thoughtful silence in your conversation. She leans in...

Who’s Going to Clean Up This Mess?

Who’s Going to Clean Up This Mess?

As a child, I was a slob. I’m sure there was carpet in my room, but it was unseen for all the clothes, old candy wrappers, and used dishes I kept on top of it. As you might imagine, this was a breeding ground for all sorts of creepy crawly things: ants and spiders to...

O Come Emmanuel

O Come Emmanuel

The Origin StoryOriginally an ancient Latin text, O Come O Come Emmanuel celebrates the promise of a Savior that is foretold in the book of Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will...

Thankful Now

Thankful Now

Around this time of year, it may be easier for us to have thankfulness on our minds. But do we regularly give thanks throughout the year? What about when things don’t go our way? It seems like we wait to really give thanks until certain things happen the way we want...

The Big Picture

The Big Picture

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ~ John 1:14 The apostle John lived with Jesus for more than three years. He walked, talked, ate, slept and followed Rabbi Jesus. When God’s Spirit moved John to tell his story about Jesus, he went all the way back...

Even in Betrayal

Even in Betrayal

Even in Betrayal Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:31-32 esus spoke the...

Game Ready

Game Ready

The results on the playing field are largely determined off of it. In sports, in work, on the battlefield, even in our relationships, much of our success in the moment of engagement is determined by the work we did or didn't do preparing ourselves for it. In short,...

The Best Possible Time in History

The Best Possible Time in History

The Best Possible Time in History Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of...

Dispersion and Descent

Dispersion and Descent

Last week, we watched Noah, the preacher of righteousness, become the participant in a God-initiated, God-sustained covenant. We also watched as the second Adam descended into sin, resulting in a curse on his son's son. This week we will examine the curse of Ham's...

Your Part to Play

Your Part to Play

One eager to please God is determined to get out of the bleachers and into the game. But our involvement in serving doesn’t have to be random or chaotic. God has given each believer a spiritual gift—a specific, supernatural ability for building up the body of Christ....

Praying in Community

Praying in Community

Praying in Community All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 1:14 e sat, huddled, with our heads bowed. I could hear the shallow breathing of the...