RG AUDIO 071120   Acts 17:10-15 There are 168 hours in a week. In those 168 hours, we are inundated with many voices trying to tell us how we ought to be living our life. They tell us how we ought to think, believe, and spend our money. We have 168 hours of being formed […]

RG AUDIO 071020   Mark 11:12-22 Fig trees have one purpose: to produce figs. If a fig tree is not producing figs, it is not doing what it was intended to do. In Mark 11, the story of the fig tree foreshadows what is about to happen in the temple courts. The temple had one […]

RG AUDIO 070920   Nehemiah 13:15-22 We are so busy. Between work and groceries and laundry and our kids’ homework and extra-curricular activities, we hardly ever rest. Many of us think this is okay because we have a two-week vacation planned during the summer. God, I think, intended for us to rest more than just […]

RG AUDIO 070820   Nehemiah 9:1-8 The word “confession” can suggest a couple of different scenarios. We may think of a court case in which someone admits to a crime. Or we may think of the confessional in a Catholic church where one professes his or her latest sin to the priest in order to […]

RG AUDIO 070720   Nehemiah 8:1-9 On the wall of my office, I have a picture of Jesus laughing. Some people have to take a second (or even a third) look at this picture because they see God more like a police officer whose primary interest is simply to keep our behavior in check. Nehemiah […]

RG AUDIO 070620   Nehemiah 8:1-9 Have you ever walked out of a church service and thought, “Wow, I really didn’t get anything out of that today”? Truth be told, all of us have probably walked away from a church service feeling less than satisfied. Maybe we didn’t like the music or maybe the pastor […]

RG AUDIO 070520   Colossians 3:18-25 I once held a job at a local university, helping administer tests to variety of people for a variety of reasons. We would hire several university students. Many of these student employees were stellar. They worked hard, were knowledgeable, and were courteous. One student worker, however, did not fit […]

RG AUDIO 070420   Nehemiah 6:10-19 Many people seek out fame—if not on a world or national level, even the level of a local community. We say of someone who has had success and achieved a level of status, that they have “made a name for themselves.” The men in Nehemiah 6 have made a […]

RG AUDIO 070320   Nehemiah 6:1-9 I have three children in three different stages of life: a preteen, an elementary-aged child, and a preschooler. One thing that changes, and yet never necessarily disappears, is fear. What the preschooler fears, is different from her older brothers. Recently our preschooler has begun to show more awareness of […]

RG AUDIO 070220   Nehemiah 5:11-19 Nehemiah had to confront those among God’s people who were taking advantage of their position and harming those around them. People were sinking in debt, starving, and some were even resorting to selling their children as slaves. Once Nehemiah learned of this, he put a stop to it. He […]