It seems that tragedy after tragedy has been occurring so far this summer. We've heard of police shooting people, a sniper shooting police, terrorist attacks, and the terrible event where a truck ran into a crowd of people in France. Injustice seems to be running rampant. In the wake of these events, people are quick to take sides and voice their opinions. Everyone has a solution, but no one agrees on which is right. As believers, we know that justice is very important. We know that God is just and we are called to love justice. How can we respond to these awful situations? David went through a similar circumstance. He was wronged by a corrupt man and could not let the injustice slide. However, a woman named Abigail makes him ask himself the same question we need to ask ourselves: Am I trying to seek justice or revenge?

There is a great story in the Bible of a man from Ethiopia who was reading a scroll from the Old Testament book of Isaiah when God sent Philip, a man from the early church, to go and explain the words of Isaiah to him. By God's grace the man trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord! He then sees some water on the side of the road and says, "Look here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And that day and in that moment he was. Next week a handful of kids, teens, and adults are getting baptized as part of the 10am service. Is God asking you, "Look there is water. Why shouldn't you be baptized?" If He is, talk to me today!As we spend time in the Word today, we will ask, "What's your next move?" as we look at three major decisions from 1 Samuel 21-24.

I was reading the latest issue from The Voice of the Martyrs, a magazine published to communicate to the western world the persecution that our brother and sisters in Christ are facing around the globe. Remote places in Nepal (where God has done amazing things through Awana), to large scale smuggling operations getting bibles into restricted areas in India, Sudan, and the Middle East. The stories are not just captivating, the are real. This weekend we celebrate America's birthday. America the free. There are millions of believers worldwide who do not have those same freedoms we so easily take for granted every day. As you get together with friends or family this weekend, take a moment to pray for those who risk their lives every day to worship God and share Jesus with others.

We've all felt it before. Maybe it was when a coworker got the promotion you were counting on. Maybe it was when your neighbor walked by with that expensive new purse that you wish you could afford. Maybe it still happens when you see that certain friend on Facebook that gets everything (or so it seems). You know what I'm talking about. That Green-Eyed Monster. That stomach-knotting, anger-inducing feeling called jealousy. What can be done about a deadly disease of the heart like jealousy? As we continue through I Samuel, we'll find out that Saul and David both had the opportunity to be jealous. One conquered it and the other was conquered by it. We can learn from them what to watch out for when jealousy seeps in and what the cure is for it.

Happy Father's Day! As the old sang goes, "A good friend will be there to calm you down when you are mad, but a best friend will be holding a shovel asking, 'Do you think this hole is deep enough?'" That of course is referencing a pig roast... I don't know what you were thinking! I read someone that said the average person likely has just 1-3 really good friends throughout their entire life. Close friendships are rare but something to appreciate. That is true today even in this social media world that we live in. David had a close friend in Jonathan. As we look to 1 Samuel 18, we'll that Jonathan is not just a model friend but also a man of God!

The sun rose that morning just like any other morning for both David and Goliath. That's the way it often happens in life -- no warning. But reality is this 41st morning of the standoff between the Israe lites and Philistines would be the last day of Goliath's life, and the first day of David's heroic life. David and Goliath is a well-known and well-loved story. Even people who aren't familiar with the Bible know this story. I heard a popular lawyer even use it lately in his TV add. This story is referenced for any story line where there is an underdog whether that is a small school playing a large university in sports or a individual fighting against a big insurance company. But what is the real lesson from David and Goliath? Is it one of those 'how to slay a giant' like 'how to train a dragon'? Not even close... we'll find out today!

Remember the famous line from Snow White? “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the ….” I’ve heard a few other mirror lines as well: Mirror, mirror on the wall, Do you have to tell it all? Where do you get the glaring right, To make my clothes look to darn tight. I warn you now, O mirrored wall, Since we are not on speaking terms at all, If I look like this in my new jeans You’ll find yourself in smithereens! Today we start our summer series on King David with the backstory! What was happening immediately before King David came on the scene? There was a national conversation taking place in the days immediately before King David came on to the scene? What was it? It had everything to do with who they were to reflect!

I heard about a "revival" that was taking place in West Virginia recently. To be honest when I hear that word, more times than not I am skeptical. There have always been groups of people in the "Christian world" that are claiming or proclaiming that God is about to sweep the nation into revival, bring about the end times, or claim special knowledge on when Jesus will return. Consequently, I am skeptical - sometimes even cynical. Should I be? While some claims made by these small factions of people are flat out false and contradict Scripture ("But about that day or hour no one knows..." Matt 24:36), should I immediately dismiss everything else I hear. Should I dismiss that God is doing something amazing and unique right now in a West Virginia county? While 1 John 4:1 tells us to be cautious... far be it that I would not want to celebrate what the Holy Spirit may genuinely be doing! As we close this series of messages on the Holy Spirit today, we are going to talk about revival. I'm not claiming one will break out (no one can manufacturer the Holy Spirit) - but I most definitely want to prepare the soil!

Psalm 10 starts, "Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" While these words are included in the Bible, they are included not because God somehow hides himself in our times of trouble (that is not true), but that they are words and emotions that we have all felt - including the Psalmist. We simply have desert seasons in our spiritual life where we just don't sense the Holy Spirit. Is this a cause for panic? What should we do? We'll talk about this and more by looking at the life of Joseph in Genesis today.

I read online a while back that someone decided to read the Bible to determine if it's reliable or not. They got to the part in Genesis 3 where God curses the serpent to have to slither on his belly and eat dust all the days of its life. The person said simply, "Snakes do not eat dust," and concluded that the Bible was totally unreliable. While that might seem like a pretty silly example, many people--Christians included--have that very same question about the Bible: Is it reliable? Is it possible to know that what it says is historically accurate? Are we sure people didn't alter the text over the years? If they did, how would we know? Is the Bible any different than the Qu'ran, the Book of Mormon, or other supposed holy books? Since the answers to these questions have strong implications for our faith and way we live our lives, we will explore the discoveries scholars have made after centuries of investigation and study.