“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Jerusalem and Samaria.” (Acts 8:1 NIV) We stepped int an Acts series at our new church yesterday. They’ve been working their way through the…
“Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not mine, but it is lived by faith in the son of God.” (Galatians 2:20 MSG) This text makes me think of the seagulls in Finding Nemo. You know the birds: they are aggressively…
“Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. Then he pitched his tent and there his servants dig a well.” (Genesis 26:25) I believe every preacher will give a handful of sermons that prove to be life-altering. And sometimes the…
“But no, I am not finished with you yet.” (Jeremiah 46:28 MSG) Judah has messed up big time. They’d utterly lost their way. They’d abandoned the God who who had rescued them from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness; exchanged Him for deaf mute…
“You’ll walk out of there safe and sound because you trusted Me.” God’s Decree (Jeremiah 39:40 MSG) When God brought judgement in Judah and Jerusalem, He paid attention to people’s true heart condition. We know from earlier chapters in Jeremiah that God was keeping a…
“As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said “I am holy, you be holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 MSG) We don’t speak too much of holiness these days. We’ve…
“All my longings lie open before You, Lord, my sighing is not hidden from You.” (Psalm 38:9 NIV) God can handle our longings. He is not afraid of human desire. In fact, laying our longing before Him might be the very key to containment and…
“But now take a look. I’m going to give this city a renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them a life whole, brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back…
“Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone – as though have never been here.” (Psalm 103:15-16 NLT) The wildflowers in Iowa have been nothing short of epic this year. We’ve lived here…
“I will make my dwelling with you.” (Leviticus 26:11 NASB) It’s a post-garden promise that we can trace through every Old Testament book and straight into the gospel encounters of Jesus. His fully divine, fully man birth and ministry marked the start of a new…