We are all always being discipled by someone or something. If we are not deliberately following Jesus, we will follow someone else by default. We must choose: what framework, what ways of thinking, what paradigm, will I build my life upon? Jesus and the apostles said the true Way is a communal lifestyle in which we are learning to live in the reality of our new identity in Christ.

In order to follow Jesus, you have to take the first step. He has provided a clear way into relationship and apprenticeship – and there is no other way than his. Being a Christian is not simply believing in God, going to church, or doing good deeds. It's a lifestyle of repentance and faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. To put it differently, being a Christian means turning from sin, learning to think rightly about God, and fully depending on him for life and godliness.

This is perhaps the best-known and most-beloved Psalm in the psalter. It speaks familiar words of comfort and hope to every generation. But there's even more encouragement here when the ancient/pastoral context is better understood.

This Psalm is about the experience of a humble, righteous man who is abandoned by God and abused by men. In the midst of adversity, he continues to cry out to God in faith. Eventually the Lord delivers him, leading generations to praise God for his salvation. Discover why this is called "The Psalm of the Cross."

A companion to Psalm 20, Psalm 21 looks back on the victory that God has given his Anointed. The people asked God for salvation and trusted in the name of the LORD, and the LORD has answered their cry and exalted their King.

This Psalm is a prayer for the king on the eve of battle. The people of God understand that he is their representative -- and that their fate is tied to his. If the Lord rescues and prospers the king, they will be rescued and will prosper. Discover how this Psalm points to our ultimate hope that the Father would accept the sacrifice of his Son, our Messiah, and that we would be blessed in him.

God reveals himself in a general sense in the created world, which makes his glory conspicuous. God also reveals himself in a more particular sense in the pages of Scripture, which tell his story of redemption. We treasure God's Word because it tells us this true story of creation, sin, and rescue, and makes us wise unto salvation.

In this third-longest Psalm of the psalter, David recounts God's protection and deliverance from his enemies. He links his own rescue to the rescue of the Exodus, and he makes an astonishing claim: God rescued me because I was blameless before him. How? How can a former adulterer and murderer be counted blameless before God? This message unpacks how David ultimately points to Jesus and the grace of our salvation.

Message from James Kamb on July 9, 2023

Everyone wants happiness and everyone wants to be satisfied. But people take very different paths to achieve those goals. In the end, all idolatry leads to pain and ruin. But putting God at the center of our lives leads to fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.