Expectations are everything. Though not a Bible verse (I’m pretty sure), this maxim is very wise and widely used. Expectations are everything. It seems with the right expectations everything goes smoother, becomes more enjoyable or more endurable, and we stick to our goals better. We all have our own expectations, but there is one expectation …
Continue reading Why Planting A Church Is Challenging… And Why that Is A Good Thing
Have you looked around your house lately and saw an appliance that just made you wonder… who thought this thing up and how come I can’t live without it? I’m thinking about our TVs, microwaves, vacuums, electric handmixers, convertible heat pumps and more. These are the sort of things that the first few people who …
Continue reading What Is an Interest Meeting… and What Is It Good for?
We know the story well: David vs. Goliath. A true underdog classic. Against all odds, the newly anointed shepherd-boy-king bravely faces the evil warrior-giant in battle when no one else would. With a holy and public zeal, he defends the name of his God from disgrace and his countryman from Philistine slavery or worse. Rejecting …
Continue reading You Are Not Your Own Knight in Shining Armor
Jeremiah 17:8 - He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit. Anxiety may be king in our day. Its influence is inescapable, …
Continue reading God’s Faithfulness in the Midst of Unknowns
“It is the presence of God that makes all things sweet and comfortable.” - Richard Sibbes The Puritans wrote a lot about comfort. But their idea of comfort is not the American ideal of “ease of life” or “freedom from pain”, rather they were describing the solely Christian experience of assurance. Christian assurance is the …
Winter Retreat is one of the youth ministry’s highlights of the year. Jam packed with fun, fellowship, and food. The apex of the weekend is our time in God’s Word together and the discussion groups that follow. We pray that each student would not just know what is being taught but respond in faith to …
Church is a blessing. It nourishes the Christian through fellowship; a community devoted to loving God and loving others. The activity of the church’s loving fellowship is compelling. This is just as true for adults as it is for teens (and younger). As families and a church body, one of our goals in raising up …
Continue reading Raising Teens into Church Life pt. 1: Sunday Worship
Resources for family discipleship can extremely useful in the making and maturing of your children into disciples of Jesus Christ. It is tough to find reliable and engaging resources that remain, above all, Christ and Bible centered. In an effort to help us all disciple our own family well (or prepare to disciple your future …
Continue reading An Ongoing List of Resources for Family Discipleship
In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah describes how God’s holiness interacts with Israel’s unfaithfulness. For God, judging Israel is the perfect exercise of His covenant faithfulness. For Israel, receiving God’s judgment for their unfaithfulness is devastating. Jeremiah tries to capture this holy devastation from God in his writings. His hope is to alert Israel to …
Continue reading God’s Arrows, Your Kidneys (A Devotional on Lamentations 3:13)
God’s Created Order God has designed relationships with order and purpose for his glory. God has created marriage and sovereignly ordains marriage. God sovereignly blesses some with the gift of singleness. No status is more important than the other and one’s value is not tied to their relationship status. God calls us to be faithful …
Continue reading Designed for Purity 3 – Marriage and Singleness (Notes)
Familyhood 