Often, after hearing a powerful sermon, we’ll get excited and make all kinds of promises to God about how we’re going to change and be more like Jesus. But over time, we lose our focus and our excitement begins to wane. If you’ve ever been there, you’re not alone! As we continue our study in the book of Malachi, we’re looking at a time when the nation of Israel had drifted away from God. Pastor J.D. is describing the only cure for our wandering hearts as he wraps up our study of the Minor Prophets titled, Come Back to Me. 

A lot of people consider themselves religious. They go to church on Sunday, tithe, and even read their Bible during the week. But that’s not necessarily the same thing as having a relationship with God! As Pastor J.D. continues our study of the Minor Prophets called, Come Back to Me, he challenges us to look at our hearts to see what’s motivating our religious activity.

There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite book of the Bible. But we have to be careful that we don’t miss out on the rest of God’s word! As Pastor J.D. continues our series called, Come Back to Me, he’s turning our attention to a book you might not be as familiar with: Habakkuk. The book was written during a time when the people of Judah were in spiritual, economic, and political decline. Yet, through it all, Habakkuk gives us a picture of gospel-powered hope. 

At some point or another, we’ve all asked the question, “Where was God when my life went wrong?” You might have even been angry with God. But as Pastor J.D. continues our series called, Come Back to Me, he’s helping us wrestle with those doubts and find the hope to carry us through the painful seasons.

As we continue our series called, Come Back to Me, we’re talking about a prophet named Amos. He was an ordinary guy who was given an uncomfortable task: to call Israel out on their sin. No one likes being the bearer of bad news, and we like hearing bad news even less! But sin isn’t something we can just ignore.

No one likes being corrected. It’s always painful, especially when we know that they’re right! And even though it doesn’t feel good, being called out on our sin is often the most loving thing someone can do for us! As we continue our series called, Come Back to Me, Pastor J.D. describes a period in Israel’s history when God confronted his people about their sin and called them to repentance. 

In our series called, Come Back to Me, we’re looking at a part of the Bible you probably haven’t thought much about: the Minor Prophets. In this message, we’re diving into the book of Joel and a time in Israel’s history when the Israelites were facing God’s judgment over their sin. But as we’re going to see, even God’s judgment is an expression of his love!

Why would a loving God let so many bad things happen in the world? That’s a question nearly everyone wrestles with from time to time, even solid, Bible-believing Christians! But Pastor J.D. is flipping the question on its head. He’s asking us to consider the possibility that the trials we face might actually be proof of God’s love. It’s part of our study in the Minor Prophets titled, Come Back to Me.

Sometimes, when we’re struggling with sin, it’s tempting to just pull away from God for a little bit. We feel like we need to clean ourselves up before we go back to him, so we stop going to church for a while and try to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. But that’s not how salvation works! As Pastor J.D. continues our series called, Come Back to Me, he reminds us of God’s never-ending grace and Scandalous Love. 

As we kick off a series called, Come Back to Me, we’re looking at a part of the Bible that most of us probably don’t pay much attention to: the Minor Prophets. As we’re going to see, there’s a lot to learn from these short Old Testament books! We’re starting off in the book of Hosea, discovering a beautiful and surprising picture of the gospel in the story of an unusual marriage.