Knowing the heart of God begins with knowing the Word of God. As we begin our new series, Rooted, we'll take a look at Matthew 4:1-11 as Jesus is tempted in the garden. He's temped, as we are to bite the apple of self-gratification, self-protection, and self-exaltation. How does He, and how can we overcome it?

You plug in a destination on your phone. Your app tells you how many miles and hours it will take. Then, you notice there are toll roads…you wonder if you can save money by choosing a differing route. How we spend our money is similar to how we think about toll roads on the highway. How can money help us get where we want to go?

The carpool (or HOV) lane can transform a slow grind through traffic into a fun cruise. As long as you have someone else in the car you can take advantage of this lane. In life, we also want others to go with us. Life is better together. How can we find friends and form friendships?

Work. Most people hate Mondays as evidenced by the slogan and many self-help books dedicated to making your job more enjoyable. What if we have work all wrong? How can we see work as a gift instead of a trap?

We live in a world full of words. Everyone has something to say and wants to say it immediately. This mostly leads to outrage as everyone fights to be heard. Wise people don’t follow the same rules of speech that everyone else does. How can we talk so we are heard?

Wisdom calls out on highways, in the middle of shopping malls, and through your social feed, yet we don’t hear her. She’s asking us to get off the highway fools take and follow her. Wisdom is an exit only because we have to choose it. Why should we choose wisdom?

Peace is an elusive thing. That is, unless the source of your peace comes not from human effort but from the Prince of Peace. We celebrate the first Advent as we await the final fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy at the second Advent, the second coming of Christ.

Isaiah 91-7

Thinking of God as our father can bring us joy or pain. We all have experiences with our earthly fathers that translates to how we see God. Regardless of how good or bad your dad was, your bar is set too low. Turn off your cynicism for a few minutes to hear what God wants to give to you this year.

Isaiah 9:1-7

Isaiah 9:1-7

We all need a good human counselor because we all face challenges in life. A good counselor can give us perspective, patience, and a plan. But, at some point we need the Wonderful Counselor because we need hope. Our plans get in the way of His plans and cause us to miss what He’s doing in and through us.