Often we avoid having the hard discussion about depression because it forces us to face the reality of our weakness and frailty. Instead of just giving thoughts and opinion, we look at four men in the Scriptures that were uniquely used of God and yet suffered from what seems to be personal depression.

As Jesus enters his final few weeks of ministry, he comes across a man that is blind, helpless, outcast...and yet full of faith. Guess what? We are no different! This passage isn't about the persistent cries of Bartimaeus, but rather about the wonderful grace and mercy of our Savior! Praise the Lord for his unmerited favor that is shown to each and every one of us...though we are just as undeserving and hopeless as Bartimaeus!

The problem we come to in this passage is that the disciples were communicating values through their discipleship, they were proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, a devotion and dedication to the Savior...and yet their actions revealed that the motives of their heart did not match the motives of their lips. It is possible for your mouth to say one thing, and your life to say something completely different! What this passage yells out to us today is ...”Hey disciples...hey Christian...don’t tell me what you value...show me what you value.”

Often the things we do to earn God's favor become our greatest hindrances. When sinners come to the point where they realize that salvation is not of their own goodness but is only by God’s grace and mercy...that is when God can do the impossible!

No matter how far you have come in your walk with the Lord, we have to come to Christ every day with helpless dependence...we must come as a child. I know this passage is often used to preach that we are to have the "faith as a child" and yet interestingly this passage has nothing to do with faith at all. In fact, Jesus was talking about babies when he spoke these words. What are babies? They are helpless and dependent. It is only through helpless dependence that we can come into the kingdom!

Often Jesus would be tempted by the pharisees with difficult questions concerning their culture or the legal system. The question they propose in this passage is one that is still asked today....Is divorce allowable? This is an important question for us to ask because our marriages stand as a beautiful picture of Christ and the church. Often the world views Christianity in light of how their Christian neighbors live their everyday life. Jesus answers their question very clearly. He is not ambiguous on the matter. His words help us understand how God view marriage and divorce.

A dependence on God doesn't guarantee that life will be free from difficulty and trial, but a firm trust in his goodness will help calm the fears that come as we walk through that trial. In our passage (Luke 12), Jesus is helping the disciples see that their faith and hope should rest in the all-sufficient supply of our Heavenly Father to meet our needs.

True discipleship demands radical holiness. Jesus uses the illustration of radical removal of a hand and foot to demonstrate that sin is serious....much more serious than we treat it in our lives. When we have lives littered with sin, our salt becomes weak and we lose influence in our culture. True discipleship demands radical holiness!

Anxiety, worry, and fear...these three are at the forefront of the disciples minds in Luke 12. The call to be a disciple of Christ is a call to live without fear and anxiety. How can that happen? Listen in as we discuss three ways (in part one) that anxiety and fear can creep in our lives.

As Jesus and the disciples walked along the way toward Galilee, there was a constant rumbling from the back of the group. What was all the discussion about? They were still arguing as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom! Jesus pulls them aside and reveals a shocking yet revolutionary truth that should guide us as we serve others...God is pleased with those that are last in line because they are serving others. To be first you must be last!