Lord, thank You for this opportunity to be with You and one another.  We have hearts that love You – help us to have hearts this morning to dwell on the good – true and noble and good – that our hearts would dwell on those things.  It is so easy to dwell on the negative, but You want us to dwell on the praiseworthy and noble and good, especially in these times.  Speak to ...

We are going back to Proverbs -

Wisdom related to Spiritual Formation and Character Development

When we talk about Character Development – it is an ASPECT of spiritual formation, but it is not the same thing.  Character development is an outcome of having our souls transformed.

Prov. 4:20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst ...

Lord, thank You for placing this into Your Bible – every human suffers loss and grief – and we need to learn to receive comfort from You.  As we look back on this series, may that comfort come to us – how deeply You love us in every circumstance and situation. In Your Name we pray.Then Job answered the LORD and said, 2 "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of ...

In Christianity today, I think we tend to focus on the cross – and that is a good thing - if you think of the way we communicate, the songs that we sing, etc. – even Paul wrote, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus and Him crucified, but I think we DON’T emphasize the resurrection as much as we ought to.  I think this is because it is easier to get a handle ...

Matthew 21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. " 4 This ...

Lord, You are seen throughout creation, and often, we don’t take the time to see all You’ve done around us.  Help us to experience Your presence, and part of that can be experienced through what You’ve created – like in Romans 1 – we should be aware because we can see what You’ve done.  Help us not fail to take advantage of all You’ve done.We are winding down Job ...

Job 3:23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? 24 "For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water. 25 "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. 26 "I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes."Lord, we thank You ...

Lord, thank You for this time to hear Your word – and for the worship to turn our attention on You – to put things aside that we might worship and tell You that we love You and we need You.  It is easy to forget how much we need You – we try to do it on our own – and help us to try not to do it on our own, but in dependence on You ...

Lord, we thank You for Sally’s testimony of the working of God and the Holy Spirit, that You are a divine God who rules over and is acting in this world through Your people – thank you for doing that for Sally through those brothers at Cleveland Clinic.  We ask for Greg, her brother, that you would help him to recover – to go home, back to a healthy life.  We ask for grace ...

Today is the first day of Lent – it is a time of repentance, preparation, and testing.  It is based on Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and being tempted by the devil.  And Sundays don’t count in the 40 days – just a little background.  People talk about Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, but I thought that Job would be a good section – as a time of testing.  So many things ...