Today we’re going to take a close look at Psalm 139. Bible teachers will tell you that of all the 150 Psalms, this is the one that best describes God’s personal relationship with us: the idea that God is not far off, but is near to each of us.

Sin always stems from wrong thinking about God, about ourselves & about life in general. 1 Corinthians 7 contains some amazingly helpful insights about discontentment even though the word itself is never used.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 teaches us how to love others & how to live intentionally so our lives win the respect of outsiders. We need this message because the church has lost its witness to the world. Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of what we might call being an “everyday Christ-follower.”

Because of Jesus, life has new meaning. Because of Jesus, hope is certain to give way to joy—because he came to give his people life, life to the fullest. So, when you're enduring the seasons of expectation—when you feel like you are in exile in a dry & desert land—you can cling to this promise: For God's people, there's always a greater joy to greet you around the next bend.

If we’re going to live a life of significance, God’s got to make constant course corrections, and one of the things he uses to do that is the circumstances that come into our lives. When we start to listen to God through circumstances, impressions, teachers, or the Bible, sometimes he’s going to lead us in ways that we don’t understand. Hang in there! Following God is not always easy, but it will reap more blessing in our life than We can imagine.

Jesus may be in the Bible & in your church, He may be in the carols we sing, He may even be in your Christmas cards & in a nativity scene on your mantle, but it means nothing unless He is also in your heart.

If you want to live a meaningful, purpose-filled life, you need to understand that words will never be enough & opinions will never take the place of actions. God has called us not only to herald the truth, but to demonstrate in the things we do.

Sin Judgment Grace ... when will it ever end?

To live lives of compassion, we must first be on the receiving end of God's mercy. We must come to the place in our lives where we realize that we’re goats & we’re in need of his transforming grace. We need Jesus to come in to our lives, forgive us of our sins & make sheep out of us—so that we can live like sheep.

Know that you are surrounded by mercy, that God's goodness can be seen at every turn, and the best of his blessings are yet to come.