It’s hard for us to grasp at times…the God of the universe…the One who created everything that we see and know…is RIGHT amid the gatherings of His people. This means that when you attend church on a Sunday morning…God…YES, GOD HIMSELF is right there with you and your brothers and sisters.

May we have the same heart as Moses. If God isn’t with us, we aren’t going. The heart that speaks this way has a right understanding of man’s place and God’s place. You see, God must be preeminent. He must be the center. Today, you’ll learn from Pastor Dave that putting God first…must be FIRST in your life.

Those words Pastor Dave just spoke are some of the most sobering words in all of the Bible. Imagine…living your whole life believing that you were in the right relationship with God, only to find out that you didn’t even know Him. It’s important that you stay in close connection to God so that you can KNOW your eternal future.

It’s easy to overlook the significance of events unfolding in the physical world in terms of their spiritual importance. We can be so blind sometimes. As you’ll learn today from Pastor Dave, we need to have our eyes and ears open to the things happening around us and how God might be trying to speak to us through them.

I once heard a pastor share that a few weeks after losing one of his sons tragically, a congregant approached him and said, “I know how you feel, I lost my dog a couple of weeks ago.” Now, losing a pet is awful…but it’s NOT THE SAME as losing a child. We need to be careful about smearing Christian platitudes about people’s tragedies.

There are all sorts of different things that we can and should believe about God. It’s easy to get bogged down by all those things. But, what is the MOST important thing you should believe as a follower of Christ? As you just heard from Pastor Dave, you MUST believe that Jesus died and was raised from the dead.

Believing in Jesus through faith means trusting in His sacrifice for salvation, not relying on our own actions. And as Pastor Dave will remind you, good works are important, but they cannot save us. Faith in Jesus' grace, love, and resurrection alone grants forgiveness and eternal life, transforming you to live according to His will.

Believers can be held back from Christ by sin and the distractions of the world. Doubts, unresolved hurts, or misplaced priorities can also create barriers. And as Pastor Dave will remind you, unforgiveness and attachment to earthly comforts often hinder spiritual growth, keeping you as a believer from fully embracing Christ's call and walking in His freedom.

Have you ever been to the ocean?  Have you experienced how vast it is?  It’s deep and wide, and it’s unfathomable how it functions with gravity and the tide that goes in and out.  Pastor Dave teaches today on God’s love being immeasurable – like the ocean, but it’s even more amazing and perplexing than the beautiful things He’s created.    

When people question Jesus’ love or say things like, “Why would a loving God allow such and such to happen?”  There’s a misguided idea of God and His love for mankind.  Pastor Dave details today how Jesus went above and beyond to show His love – dying on the cross for sinners, and loving people uniquely.