in God's help, God's power, prayers
God helps those who… ask for help
You’ve most likely heard it before: “God helps those who help themselves.” Did you know that’s not actually in the Bible? It makes it sound like God only helps those who are already strong, and...
Doing what’s right with the time you have left
“Life is short.” “Seize the day.” For thousands of years people have known that their lives have an end date. But knowing your priorities and living by them are two different things. When Harry Chapin...
The Lord does battle for you
It’s a psalm for approaching danger, fear, pestilence, and battle. Soldiers are known to keep it in their pockets. Others have kept the words in lockets around their necks to ward off evil. Psalm 91...
When you feel like God has let you down
Afflicted. Alone. Despairing. Disappointed. That’s what Heman felt. He was the author of Psalm 88, sometimes called the darkest of the psalms. Other psalms end on a upswing, but not this one. Not only does...
Be still and know that I am God
It’s easy to lose perspective when facing uncertainty, fear or dread. Our brains can zero-in exclusively on our problems. That’s why regaining perspective is so important. Perspective is about seeing the bigger picture and right-sizing...
in faith, fear, God's power, hope, Jesus Christ, mercy, The Psalms
The Lord is my Shepherd. What does Psalm 23 mean for us today?
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want…” These words begin the world’s most famous psalm. It is said at funerals. It is memorized, tattooed on arms, and underlined in Bibles. Drawing from his...
The Two Ways
Every day we are faced with choices. Lots of choices. I’ve heard that the total number of variations in just the first 10 moves of a chess game are 169,518,829,100,544,000,000,000,000,000. Wow! Life can seem like...
Failure doesn’t disqualify you
You’ve made mistakes. Some small, some big. If so, you’re like the apostle Peter. But Jesus didn’t write him off. He certainly had reason to. Peter denied knowing him three times at his time of...
Live like royalty
Jesus says his kingdom is not of this world. First, we should note that he is the king. Second, that we are his royal subjects. Third, that this kingdom is other-worldly. This sermon on John...
Integrity Under Pressure
A well-known definition of integrity is “doing the right thing when no one is looking.” When decisions are easy and when there is no pressure, it’s easy to have integrity. It’s harder when you are...