Most of us are afraid of something and that fear influences how we live our lives. We can be afraid of our circumstances, we can be afraid of what other people think, or we can let our fear of God influence our other fears. Proverbs says that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” and the proper fear of God can help us let go of our other improper fears.

If you’ve grown up in the church or been a Christian for a while, it can be really easy to assume you fully know who Jesus is. But in John 7, we see Jesus’ own brothers, the Jews, and even the prominent religious leaders all misunderstanding who the Messiah is and what He came to do. Even Christians can misunderstand Jesus and need to be reminded of the truth of the gospel.

We live in a very divided world and a very divided country. How can we overcome our divisions and display unity as the church when people are more divided than ever? Paul tells us that humility is needed for the church to display the unity the world needs right now. Jesus both showed us what true humility looks like and empowers us to humble ourselves and follow Him.

The world may seem out of control, but in the book of Proverbs God calls us to be people characterized by self-control - in our mind, our mouth, and our body. But this isn’t something we do on our own. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and we need to be constantly connected to God and understand how His grace teaches us (and enables us) to lives marked by self-control.

We live in a time of great uncertainty where people need faith more than ever before. But how do we find that faith? This message from two missionaries shows how we need to look to God through prayer, expect Him to show up, and give Him the glory when He answers prayer. We need to remember that our citizenship is in heaven and look to certainty from Christ alone.

What makes the church so great? As we look at the beginning of the church in the book of Acts, we see four things that are central to the greatness of the church. Those things are a clear sense of purpose, a recognition of the power of the Holy Spirit, maximum participation by those in the church, and a people who are committed to praying without ceasing.

There are a lot of different voices calling out for our attention each day - how do we know how to discern which voice(s) to trust in which voice(s) to ignore? In Proverbs 8-9, we see how wisdom points to Jesus and lookslike following and trusting in Him. Knowing Jesus is a powerful way to learn to recognize the voice(s) of wisdom in our lives through Scripture, prayer, and counsel.

Following Jesus is not always easy (as some people like to suggest). In the end of John chapter 7, we see a few reasons why following Jesus can be hard. But we also see why we should follow Jesus and why following Jesus is always worth it (even when it is hard). There is no other place that we can find words of life other than in the person of Jesus Christ - that is why we follow.

The Bible is full of warnings to stay away from things that will only bring death or destruction rather than life. In Proverbs 6:23-7:27, Solomon warns of the devastation that adultery brings. God says that sex within the proper boundaries (marriage) is “very good” but God warns us of the devastation of adultery because He wants us to know real love and avoid the pain sin brings.