When God promised a virgin would be with child, Christmas was not the immediate point of the conversation. Something more akin to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would apply to the original context of that prophecy. This all took place eight-centuries before the birth of Jesus!

Accompanying reading:
2 Kings 17-19
Isaiah 3; 6; 13-14; 49; 53
The Story, Chapter 16

What if I told you that a bubble bath would cure cancer? Would you believe me? Of course not! But what if God told you that a bubble bath would cure cancer? Would you believe God?

Accompanying reading:
1 Kings 17-19
2 Kings 2; 4; 6
Hosea 4-5; 8-9; 14
Amos 1; 3-5; 9
The Story, Chapter 15

When you want something really bad, but you suspect it may not be the best recourse, who do you consult? Don’t seek the echo-chamber. Seek dissenting voices to deepen your analysis. Seek contrary advice to make good choices.

Accompanying reading:
1 Kings 12-16
The Story, Chapter 14

Solomon could have asked for great wealth, but instead he asked for wisdom. So God gave him wisdom and wealth. But then he fell into temptation. What can we learn from this?

Accompanying reading:
1 Kings 1-8; 10-11
2 Chronicles 5-7
Proverbs 1-3; 6; 20-21
The Story, Chapter 13

We will be surprised who is in heaven and who is not. Just sayin’! David had his way with a woman, killed her husband, and God didn’t strike him dead. Nope.

Accompanying reading:
2 Samuel 11-12; 18-19
1 Chronicles 22; 29
Psalms 23; 32; 51
The Story, Chapter 12

Is it ok to kill in self defense? Apparently, sometimes not. It appears that faith can lead us to spare a life of someone who doesn’t deserve it. Go figure!

Accompanying reading:
1 Samuel 16-18; 24; 31
2 Samuel 6; 22
1 Chronicles 17
Psalm 59
The Story, Chapter 11

What if God gives you what you want, but what you want isn’t what God knows is best for you? Can that happen? Well, it did. And God’s people paid the price and then some.

Accompanying reading:
1 Samuel 1-4; 8-13; 15
The Story, Chapter 10

Christ is Risen! Hallelujah! The hereafter is here. Eternity has arrived. The ramifications of Easter extend from forever to today. Every day of the rest of our eternal lives is it working out of what God has already worked into all of creation.

There is no Easter without Good Friday. During this service, we will have six eye-witness testimonies to God’s death in Jesus Christ. We were there when they crucified our Lord through the disciples, the soldiers, and the criminals. The mission of Jesus finds culmination in the cross and fulfillment in our hearts.

I’ll say this as often as it takes for everyone to “get it” ─if you want people in your life to experience God’s reality, pray with them! Yes, pray for them, but also with them.