Are you facing a crisis that feels like you’re losing your mind? In this moving and practical sermon, I share a raw, personal testimony of overcoming a "panic crisis" by saturating my mind with the promises of Psalm 34. When life becomes overwhelming, we are reminded that God’s Word must act as a filter to protect us from our own thoughts.What does it truly mean to "fear the Lord"? This message dives deep into the scriptures to show that fearing God isn't about terror, but about keeping His covenants and remembering His commandments to do them. You will learn that the angel of the Lord encamps specifically around those who live in this faithful relationship.This sermon also tackles the challenging topic of stewardship and regular and systematic benevolence. Hear the story of how my wife and I decided to double our Promise Offering percentage from 5% to 10% during a time of extreme financial shortage—and how God miraculously provided for every need, from school jackets to family vacations. Key Highlights include:* The Power of Psalm 34: How to use scripture as a mental shield during a crisis.* Treasures and the Heart: Why giving to God, not just "the church," anchors your heart in heaven.* Faith vs. Sight: Understanding that faith is a decision, not a feeling, and that God honors those who trust Him when the math doesn't add up.* The Necessity of the Son: Why tithing, Sabbath-keeping, and even a vegetarian diet cannot replace the need to have the Son for eternal life.If you are struggling with decisions regarding baptism, tithing, or lifestyle changes, let this be your encouragement to seek the Lord and confess your sins, knowing His ears are attentive to the prayers of the righteous. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).

Growing in a Relationship with God — Reality Check — Further Thought:

Join us as we study the Bible Study Guide for the second quarter of 2026 called Growing in a Relationship with God. We are studying the lesson for week 1 called Reality Check.    

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We're starting a new season on the topic of growing in a relationship with God. 

There's a lot of great questions in the lesson this week, but we notice an interesting emphasis on us as "Christian individuals". The lesson takes Revelation 3 as a context, which is a passage full of messages to churches - so we look for any additional value in asking these questions more broadly.

Have you ever been overlooked and wondered if it was unfair—or part of a bigger plan you couldn’t yet see? What if being passed over is sometimes preparation, not rejection?

Further Thought: Before we were born, God loved us; He had a plan to know us and for us to know Him. He seeks us out, like a good Shepherd, and invites us to abide in Him every day. We merely need to choose to respond to Him, and then to exchange our wretchedness and our Laodicean condition for His good gifts (see Rev. 3:18-19).

Like the slow growth of a grapevine’s branches, our relationship with God might grow slowly, or it might come in bursts as a result of much-needed rain. Regardless of the pace at which we grow and the abundance of fruit that is produced in our lives, we need daily “sap,” or the Holy Spirit, to ensure that we’re remaining connected to Jesus. “Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service. The channel of communication must be open continually between man and his God. As the vine branch constantly draws the sap from the living vine, so are we to cling to Jesus, and receive from Him by faith the strength and perfection of His own character.”--Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 676. “How is the dry disconnected sapling to become one with the parent vine stock? How is it to be made a partaker of the life and nourishment of the living vine? Only by being grafted into the vine, by being brought into the closest relationship possible. Fiber by fiber, vein by vein, the twig holds fast to the life giving vine until the life of the vine becomes one with the branch, and the branch produces fruit like that of the vine.”--Ellen G. White, manuscript 67, 1897.

Discussion Questions:

1. Reflect back over your life. Can you identify any life events that have lulled you into a Laodicean spiritual condition? What events have drawn you closer to God?
2. Ellen G. White talks about “a constant receiving of His Spirit.” How often do you pray for the Holy Spirit? What might change if you received the Holy Spirit every day?
3. What might change if we, as a church, were to pray for the Holy Spirit more earnestly and more regularly?
4. Be brutally, even painfully, frank with yourself over your relationship with God. What conscious choices do you need to make in order to have the closeness with Him that He wants but that you hinder?

Summary: Before we can start growing in a relationship with God, we first have to pause to consider what our current relationship with Him is like. If it’s Laodicean or if our branches are not flourishing, Jesus has the perfect solution for our spiritual condition: to abide in Him.