This week we meet a woman named Rahab.  Rahab is the the definition of an ‘outsider’ from a biblical perspective but the Lord’s power knows no boundaries when it comes to gathering His people to Himself. Rahab teaches us some important lessons regarding our own walk of faith.  First, she teaches us that faith often […]

The next real person we meet in this series is Hagar.  Hagar was the Egyptian servant of Abraham’s wife, Sarah.  Since Sarah was unable to conceive a child, she implemented a plan for Hagar to bear a child for her and Abraham; the child they thought would fulfill God’s promise to give them an heir. […]

The Bible is full of real-life people who encountered God and responded to His power, work, and salvation.  The first real-life person we’ll meet in this series is Noah. Noah is one of the more famous names in the Bible because of his role in the story of the flood.  Since he lived so long […]

God’s gift of unity brings with it the prospect that as we live together in faith, the Lord will mature us.  The Lord’s plan for our lives goes far beyond making certain life situations ‘work out’.  His plan is that each of us will be brought to maturity in Christ.  The word ‘mature’ in the […]

Unity brings responsibility.  The wonderful gift of unity that the Lord has given us means that each of us bear a responsibility to help maintain it.  In Ephesians 4.1-6, we discover three things we must do to maintain unity. First, we must honor our calling.  The Lord has called each of us to salvation, sanctification, […]

Reconciliation is a major component of the unity which the Lord has given to us.  In the early Church, the Gospel did what no one else could do (or even thought possible): it brought Jews & Gentiles together into one community.  Paul says that Jesus broke down the wall of separation between the two groups […]

The Lord has placed His people in the midst of a world that is divided and growing more divisive by the day.  Because of this, our unity is more important than ever.  But what is unity?  What role does it play in the Christian life and the life of the Church? In Ephesians 1, Paul […]

We need the Lord’s wisdom now more than ever.  In a culture as divided as ours, it’s critical that followers of Christ remember to walk in the way that the Lord intends.  We must live life in the way it is meant to be.  Proverbs 3.1-12 offers us six ways to be that not only […]

In Romans 8.22-30, Paul gives us three encouragements to never give up on prayer.  The first is that we always pray in hope.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit causes us to look forward to the age to come when there is no longer any sin, sickness, pain, toil, or strife.  The Spirit reminds us […]

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  With these words, Jesus instructs us to pray that the testing of our faith would not tip over into temptation for us to fall into sin.  Also, he directly teaches us to pray for protection from the evil one. ‘Test’ and ‘tempt’ […]