As the nation of Israel complained about the conditions as they entered the desert, they showed how they would rather be like God than with Him. They wanted to take care of themselves rather than follow God and His promises. As a result, God allowed some of the consequences of their choices. God will not always take away the repercussions of our decisions, but He will always want us to learn from our mistakes. What we do with God on a daily basis may have generational impact, so we need to be sure to allow our Father to love us and provide for us.

God worked through Israel to show His power to the world. The Israelites quickly forgot who the Lord is and what He had done for them. Pastor Doug challenges us to make a new commitment every morning to follow God. If we know His love for us, we will want to run to His presence. The Ten Commandments give us an overview to show us how be closer to God.

Paul was concerned about the church at Thessalonica and sent Timothy to check on it. He was extremely encouraged to find that they had remained faithful. But it is not enough to be faithful - we must establish and build on our faith.

Paul was concerned about the church at Thessalonica and sent Timothy to check on it. He was extremely encouraged to find that they had remained faithful. But it is not enough to be faithful - we must establish and build on our faith.

The story of Moses is the story of God's character in our lives. This week, Pastor Doug teaches us how God seeks to impress His sovereignty upon us and deliver us from a life without Him. From there, He continues to lead us, protect us, and provide for us even as we try to go back to living on our own terms.

Joseph often was in circumstances when he wondered what God's plan was. He was also in situations when he thought he had it figured out. Joseph's story is an example of waiting on God's plan. We may live to see why God has put us through tough times - or we may not. Either way, to be with God is to know that He is in control.

We were designed so that we could make decisions. Our choices often come down to whether we want to be like God in taking control of our lives, or be with God and let Him have control. This week, Pastor Doug discusses the choices that are given to Abraham, and how the consequences of being with God are far greater than the consequences of trying to be like God.

The Bible starts off with an overview of the main characters and their natural tendencies. God, the loving creator, seeks to spend a perfect eternity with his creation. Mankind drifts toward its own decisions outside of God, and ultimately into wickedness. The rest of the story will tell of the path to reconciliation. In the meantime, we have the choice every day to trust God's plan and provision for our lives, or if we think we can do a better job ourselves.

We can often look at the Bible as a collection of stories about God and people. As we start a new series, Pastor Doug tells us that we need to view the Bible as one cohesive story about our need for reconciliation and God's plan to provide it.

God has a master plan for this earth that we cannot understand or even imagine. We can safely get excited about what is in store!