The church exists for a reason, and that reason is not ours to invent. Rooted in Scripture, the mission of the local church is built on three foundations: glorifying God, proclaiming the gospel, and making disciples. The gospel is not just the starting point of the Christian life. It is the fuel that sustains every step of the journey. Identity in Christ always comes before activity for Christ, and His power and presence back every believer who steps into that mission.

True wisdom has nothing to do with intelligence or education. According to the Book of Proverbs, wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, which is not terror but awe, reverence, and worship toward God. Every other fear leads to bondage, but the fear of God is the only fear that sets you free because it puts everything in its proper place. Foolishness, by contrast, is not an intellectual problem but a spiritual one rooted in refusing to let God be God. Because our hearts are broken by sin, we cannot produce the fear of God on our own. Jesus, the only person who ever perfectly feared God, lived that perfect life on our behalf and imputes His wisdom to all who trust in Him. The cross is not just the starting point of salvation. It is the ongoing source of our sanctification and growth in wisdom.

Most people open the Book of Proverbs looking for good advice, but there is far more gospel woven into its pages than most of us have ever been taught. Wisdom, as Proverbs defines it, begins not in the mind but in the heart, rooted in the fear of the Lord. The Hebrew word for wisdom, chokma, carries the idea of skill and mastery, meaning that true wisdom is not a single good decision but a lifelong direction of growth across every area of life. Proverbs also dismantles the false divide between the sacred and the secular, reminding us that God has an opinion on every part of our lives. The book ultimately points us beyond principles and toward a person. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God, the greater Solomon that Proverbs was anticipating all along. At the cross, the only truly wise person died the death of a fool so that fools, by faith in Him, might be treated as wise. The more we behold Jesus, the more His wisdom becomes ours.

The Psalms contain roughly 30 to 31 praise psalms, and they reveal that praise is far more than a feeling. It is a joyfully reverent, outward expression of adoration that exalts God for who He is and stirs others to do the same. Scripture gives a clear pattern for praise, including shouting, singing, lifting hands, dancing, and playing instruments, all rooted in a heart genuinely moved by God. Nearly every praise psalm follows three movements: a call to praise, reasons rooted in who God is and what He has done, and a return to active worship. The praise psalms also point to deep gospel truths, including God as both Creator and Redeemer, His sovereign kingship, and the tension between His perfect holiness and His steadfast, covenant love. Private worship and public worship are deeply connected, each feeding and strengthening the other. The goal is not a performance but an overflow of a heart that has been captured by the gospel.

Follow along as Pastor Drew unpacks the Royal Psalms.

Follow along as Pastor Drew unpacks the Royal Psalms.

In this sermon, we explore the biblical pattern of lament found throughout the Psalms. Rather than seeing lament as a lack of faith, Scripture teaches that it is an act of faith. The lament psalms invite us to approach God honestly, teach us how to lament together as the people of God, and remind us that sorrow is never the final destination for those who trust in Him.

The Book of Psalms is far more than an ancient collection of songs and prayers. It is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament, and Jesus Himself declared in Luke 24:44 that the Psalms must be fulfilled in Him. Across 150 chapters, four categories of Psalms point directly to Christ: the Royal Psalms, the Suffering Psalms, Psalms about humanity's deepest longings, and Psalms about the perfectly righteous One. None of the psalmists could meet the standard they described, but Jesus fulfilled every one of them. The Psalms also give God's people permission to bring every emotion honestly before the Lord, without suppressing or being ruled by those feelings. Every prayer, every longing, and every desire finds its ultimate answer in Jesus Christ.

The books of 1st and 2nd Kings are not simply a record of failure and exile. They are filled with threads of the gospel pointing forward to Jesus Christ. Three of those threads stand out: syncretistic idolatry, the limits of religious reformation, and the lamp of David. Like Israel, we are not tempted to replace Jesus but to add to Him, trusting good gifts more than the Giver. External behavior change can never produce the internal transformation that only God can bring. And just as God preserved the line of David through exile and devastation, He has kept every promise He made, fulfilling them completely in Jesus Christ.

The books of First and Second Kings reveal three powerful gospel threads that point directly to Jesus Christ. Solomon's magnificent temple, despite its grandeur, ultimately failed because the people remained sinful and the covenant was conditional. Jesus fulfills the temple by becoming the true meeting place between God and humanity, and believers now serve as living temples where God's presence dwells 24/7. These books also demonstrate God's heart for all nations, as Gentiles are repeatedly welcomed into His family, foreshadowing how Jesus would tear down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. The mighty prophets Elijah and Elisha performed great miracles, but they pointed to Jesus as the greater Prophet whom the Father commands us to hear directly through His Word.