David faced a lot of tough times in his life. But even when it felt like his life was falling apart, David didn’t crumble under the stress. He prayed and asked God for help, and in doing so, he set a great example for all believers about the power of prayer when life gets tough.

Peter is proof that if you’re a true disciple of Jesus, you can do whatever Jesus asks you to do. Even when you’re afraid or unsure, you can trust Jesus’ plan for you, because when Jesus calls you, it’s because He believes in you.

As we read today’s text, we’ll see that God called the messenger, but when God called the messenger, the messenger refused the call. Jonah rejected the call of God on his life. But as messed up as that may be, Jonah did something even worse. You see, Jonah didn’t just reject the incoming call from God and send it to voicemail. No. He answered the phone. He heard God’s voice on the other line. He received clear instructions from God on what He was supposed to do next, and yet, because of his selfishness, his bias, and his personal rebellion, he chose to hang up the phone and run in the opposite direction of where God was instructing him to go. Thankfully, Jonah eventually came to repentance, and we can learn from his life story as we dive deeper into it.

In John 17, Jesus gives us access to one of the most intimate moments He had with the Father while He was on earth. As we read about this encounter, we’ve been given an all-access pass to the Son of God’s situation room at one of His life's most pressure- packed moments. He’s looking to the sky and talking to God the Father just moments before He would be beaten and crucified and killed, and in that moment, what was on His heart? What did the Son of God pray? That’s exactly what we’re going to look at in today’s message.

Inside each of us, I believe there are 3 people: The person you are right now, the person you could become—if you allowed Satan to rule your life, and the person you could become if you allowed God to rule your life. Today, we’re going to talk about a man in the Bible, who I believe demonstrates for us the person we could be if we’d just surrender and let God be God in our lives. His name was Jabez. And while we don’t know a ton about time, we know enough to learn from him.

I love mulligans in the game of golf. But you know what’s even better than that? It’s when you get a mulligan in life. It’s an amazing thing when God says, “Hey, you shanked that first shot, but tee it up and hit another one.” And believe it or not, there are many places in Scripture where God, in His grace and His mercy, does just that. There’s one thing I’ve learned about the Lord that I believe many times we tend to overlook—and that is: Our God is a God of second chances. If you’re a man who wants to get it right, this message is for you. We’re going to open God’s Word and see what I like to call “Building Blocks to Being a Godly F.A.T.H.E.R.”

Unfortunately, I don’t think you and I will ever really understand on this side of heaven why bad things happen. In 1 Cor. 13:12, Paul says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” He’s talking about our perspective and our perception of the world, and he tells us that today we’re trying to see clearly and understand the big picture, but we can’t because right now, it’s like we’re living in a fog. Today is a foggy day, and we can’t see anything clearly. But there’s coming a day when our questions will be answered…a day when we’ll be able to clearly see why. But for now, we’ve got to keep moving forward by faith and learn how to navigate the fog. So in the meantime, there are a few truths that God gives us in His Word that can help us move forward in the fog.

Good mothers are homemakers. That’s not a derogatory term, rather it’s a biblical term. When you hear about a “homemaker,” that isn’t exclusively referring to stay-at-home moms, and it doesn’t mean a woman can’t work outside of the home. But what it does mean is that according to God’s design, you, as a woman and as a mother, have responsibilities in your home and to your family. The Lord tells us that how you live your life today (with wisdom or with a lack of wisdom) will determine the future of your house tomorrow. In other words, you can be a home-breaker, or you can be a home-maker, and the Lord shows us in His word how a woman can walk in wisdom and build her house.

The story of Easter is not just about what happened to Jesus—it’s about what His resurrection means for us today. Think about the disciples on Friday. They had placed all their hope in Jesus, believing He was the Messiah who would redeem Israel. But then, they watched Him die. They were devastated, confused, and afraid. Saturday was silent—God seemed absent. But Sunday changed everything. In just three days, their sorrow turned to joy, their fear to courage, and their despair to hope. The same is true for us. No matter how dark things seem, the resurrection proves that Jesus is who He says He is, and that changes everything.

The mission of the church will never be accomplished if we don’t first love God. Loving God is the foundation of our mission. And not only is it the foundation of our mission, but it’s also the first step in accomplishing our mission. Until we get THIS right, we as the church will never BE right. So what does it look like to love God? Let’s find out together.