When it comes to seeking God first, how can we surrender our families to God without sacrificing them along the way? We start by establishing priorities ahead of time and practicing faith together.

Our world offers us the false choice of living for today or living for tomorrow. Jesus gives us another option--to live for his Kingdom and his righteousness.

Jesus' final word from the cross was all about surrender. Instead of trying to get the last word himself, he gave the last word to his Father, who raised him from the dead on Easter morning. When we surrender to God and let him have the last word, his last word is always resurrection, redemption, reconciliation, or restoration!

Jesus' fifth word from the cross--"I thirst"--tells us of the physical suffering he endured for us. But even more than that, it's a reminder of our own thirst that points us toward the Living Water and the blood of the Lamb.

In his fourth word from the cross, Jesus tells us about the spiritual cost he paid to save us. Jesus fully identified with us by taking our sins on himself. Only when he had become fully like us in this way could he complete his rescue mission.

Jesus speaks seven final words from the cross that teach us the meaning and the measure of the cross. His first word is about forgiveness: there is no sin that cannot be forgiven by God, and we are to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.

David was a great king, but he wasn't always a great leader in his own home. The most important discipleship in the life of a child happens in the home. Children will accept what parents do as normal, and so we must pay extra careful attention to what we model for them.

With our God, sin is never the whole story. With sin comes both consequences and the opportunity for redemption. That's because our God excels at bringing good and beautiful things out of evil and death.

We rarely 'fall' into sin. Often, the decisions you make leading up to sin will enable it. This was the case with David's affair with Bathsheba. Even though David's initial reaction was to cover up his sin, he learned that confession was the only way to be set free.

David is a man after God's own heart because he has the love of God in him: love that is inconvenient, faithful, and willing to take on risk.