Ezekiel 36:24-28, 37:1-14 Have you ever gotten stuck in a rut?  Perhaps it’s in a relationship and you’ve done again, the thing you said you wouldn’t do.  Consequences come and you feel hopeless asking, can I ever change?  In the storm, God’s promise comes to us from the prophet Ezekiel, speaking to Israel after hundreds […]

2 Corinthians 11:16-12:10 It’s easy to not feel safe.  With economic threats, job cutbacks, life in a violent society, threats to marriage and more, it seems that life can be spent simply trying to establish and maintain security.  Paul lived in a life filled with more threats than we will probably experience, but God taught […]

2 Chronicles 7:11-14 Challenges and difficulties are a natural part of life.  A difficult boss, a poor choice, stress in marriage, or the death of a loved one can make the typically calm waters of our lives into a turbulent storm.  It is in these times that our live in Christ is tested and it […]

Luke 1:26-38, 46-55 Christmas can be a time of great joy, but it can also be a time which reminds us that we feel alone or inadequate.  It’s easy to feel that the forces of the world go on and leave us behind.  Yet it is precisely to a very simple girl named Mary that […]

John 1:6-8, 19-28 What is the secret to Joy?  Christmas, if ever, shows that the world is hungry for it.  We look again to John in the wilderness.  The people coming to him are seeking it, the religious leaders are curious about it for their own motives.  But John does not play into the lure […]

Mark 1:1-8 Have you ever felt that all the celebration surrounding Christmas doesn’t deeply satisfy?  It’s great and fun, but it comes and goes, and we’re looking for something that lasts. Mark’s gospel begins not with angels, wise men, and stables but rather John in the wilderness saying that the Messiah is coming and to […]

Mark 13:24-37 As we enter the Advent season all around us is the hope of Christmas trees, parties, gifts, and holiday cheer.  However, this often tries to mask and hide the deep brokenness that exists in our lives and in our world.   Jesus tells the truth, sin causes destruction and it will continue that […]

Ezra, Zecheriah (Nehemiah, Haggai) Have you ever woken up in life and wondered how you got to the place you were;  Whether it be driven by stress or anxiety, out of shape, a broken marriage, dysfunctional relationships, or just a sense of apathy, or so far from God? It seems impossible to get out… to […]

Esther 1-10; Daniel 3, 6   We daily make choices and these choices guide our lives into different directions.  Sometimes we wake up and wonder how in the world did we get to the place we are.  Israel probably asked the same question as they had drifted so far from God that he allowed other […]

2 Kings 17-25, 2 Chronicles 28-36, Ezekiel   After Israel’s disobedience and final defeat by Assyria and exile, the nation of Judah continues to live their own way.  Like a stubborn kid who will not obey or respond to a parent who loves them, God let’s Judah live their way and they are defeated by Babylon […]