As Jacob and his wives flee from Laban, they dishonor him by hiding the truth and breaking communication. When Laban catches up with them, the form a covenant that clearly defines their relationship. Honesty is necessary for any healthy relationship with our parents.

The story of Jacob’s immediate family kicks off with his marriages to Rachel and Leah. Things were rocky right from the start, Gen. 30 contains the story of Jacob’s wives bargaining for his attention. Our marriages today can fall into a similar trap of keeping score and bartering for what we want. Instead of being transactional, marriage should be collaborative. You+ your spouse is better than you alone.

Today was Frank Weller's final Sunday with us as our Senior Minister. We are praying for him as he writes the next chapter in his faith story as President of Great Lakes Christian College.

It's Easter Sunday! We reflect on God moving stones.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were four men taken into Babylonian exile when Nebuchadnezzar’s army routed the combined forces of Judah, Egypt and Assyria. Once admired as the heirs to Judean aristocracy, the four were suddenly relegated to slave status. Given new names, the four experienced twists and turns, temptations and trials. Yet through it all, they remained faithful to God.

Even when God seems absent he is working. Even when ungodly people are in authority, God is still sovereign. Even when events take a dark turn and hopes seems lost, God is still in control. Esther shows us that God is always at work, behind the scenes, to engineer “all things for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.”

The account of Nehemiah rebuilding the Jerusalem wall provides an important example of how to pray when through big projects. Nehemiah was a man of action, a leader, a doer. But he was also a man of prayer – thoroughly so. Often, we equate prayer with a passive approach to getting things done. Nehemiah demonstrates that, to the contrary, prayer is the key to getting things done.

The turn from Chronicles to the book of Ezra makes it clear that God swayed the hearts of the rulers and used world powers to accomplish his purposes. When we consider the movements of world powers today, we affirm that God continues to have sovereignty over them. When confronted with a crisis like that in Ukraine, our response should be lament, perspective shift, and prayer.

Chronicles details a succession of faithful and faithless kings. Those who were faithful experienced God’s favor. Those who were faithless experienced judgment. We can learn from the good and bad examples of these kings as they demonstrate how to experience God’s favor. And how to lose it.

David desperately wanted to build a Temple for God, but God told him, “no.” So David did everything he could to prepare his son, Solomon, to achieve that goal. He established Solomon as his heir, and produced blueprints and a materials list. He also prepared Solomon spiritually by teaching him what mattered most.