Do you have a story of when things went from bad to worse? The book of Genesis relates the story of how quickly God's idyllic creation went downhill after the fall ... until we meet Noah. Imagine the ridicule, the loneliness, and the enormity of the task as he spends 120 years building the ark! Yet it is such daring faith that God calls each of us to today - a faith that perseveres at all costs.

Few of us enjoy stepping out into something where we can't see the path clearly, and yet that's exactly what Jesus calls us to do. In Exodus, God called the Israelites to begin walking through the Red Sea even before the entire path was visible, requiring a Daring Faith in Him that far transcended their fear or comfort zones.

AJ Crocker has a deep passion to see youth and young adults shaped by the Bible so they can live their lives more like Jesus and less like the world. AJ, Cheryl and their three kids have attended COG for three years and worked at Briercrest for 15 years. Cheryl has been a teacher at CHS/BCA and AJ has served in various roles such as Youth Quake Director, High School Chaplain, and Director of Recruitment. AJ currently serves as Vice-president of Marketing and is thrilled to be bringing the Word to us this weekend!

Few of us enjoy waiting. But since God's plans and timetable are higher than ours, we can trust He's working in us in those interim seasons when we're longing for breakthrough, preparing us to better steward the blessing when it comes.

Do you have what it takes to be a soldier? The Apostle Paul uses military imagery frequently in his letters, paralleling the training, focus, and sacrifice required to give our best to God. In these tumultuous times, we must define what we're willing to die for and be ready to do so in order to fully live.

Selfishness is ingrained in us from birth, it's true ... and yet part of loving God deeply is learning how to give generously. By demonstrating our love for God through giving our resources, our praise, our gratitude, our grace, and our forgiveness lavishly, we build daring faith in our lives for His glory.

Can faith grow? If so, how? The Bible says yes, and that it is God who works in us to grow our faith through His grace, through His Word, through community, and through adversity. So let's bear with one another in love, seeing every trial as an opportunity to allow God to grow us and others.

Have you ever encountered a problem as big and scary as an 800-pound gorilla? The Bible contains many stories of small people who had big faith, like David, whose trust in God enabled him to defeat a giant.

Faith is one of the major themes in the Bible, but what is it exactly? It's not about wishful thinking, our feelings, or manipulating God, but about seeing God for who He is and seeing our circumstances from His perspective. So let's pray for our eyes of faith to be opened and to see the unseen - which is true reality.