Preaching from 2 Kings 7, Brother Jesse contrasts the starving city of Samaria with the four lepers who finally asked, “Why sit we here until we die?” to show how many believers today are spiritually stuck — seeing God’s promises but never partaking of them. He warns that lost people often look into the church and see only dead religion, and he calls Christians to live in such a way that Christ shines through them with real life, not hypocrisy. Using the lepers’ decision to rise up and move toward God’s provision, and Peter’s midnight deliverance from chains, he urges the church to stop settling into comfortable nests of routine, stop making excuses about chains and obstacles, and rise up in obedience before spiritual death sets in. We can sit still and die, or we can rise up and live — but only one choice leads to the feast God has prepared.  

Whitwell, Tennessee — Fairview Union Church