God desires for us to live in community, where every generation is connected and every person is valued. Intergenerational relationships, like a well-structured family, are essential for our growth and for the flourishing of the church

Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 2 remind us that the church is called to be more than a gathering place; we are God’s outpost for holistic restoration in our cities. Following the model of Christ’s ministry, we see that love for neighbor must involve the whole person, and true discipleship must engage the whole community. 

God’s favor is not the absence of suffering, but the promise of His presence and purpose within it. This sermon uses the image of an immovable tree, and a patient gardener to show how trials build our faith and produce spiritual fruit.

Housed in the center of the 3rd chapter of the book of proverbs, is this interesting detail about how God used wisdom like a building material for the construction of our world. It is from this place where the reader is told you need it to be successful in a world founded by wisdom. 

The book of Proverbs is more than a list of do’s and do not’s. Yet, it can be easy to look at it that way. Proverbs 3 lays a good ground work for making application of the entirety of the book. Applying the wisdom the book offers starts by first knowing God in all our ways. If we begin with that in mind, we may find walking in wisdom more freeing. 

In Proverbs 9, we find two dinner invitations; one leads to wisdom and life and the other folly and death. The path we chose has little to do with what we know and everything to do with who we know.

In the final chapters of Acts, we find Paul being questioned for his faith and his ministry activity. Paul has learned to find the blessing in a situation he is confronted with.

As we near the end of the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul has found himself on trial for things that he did not do. Part of the Christian life is dealing with this persecution from the world, but how do we handle it well? Paul’s answer is that he has hope in Jesus, The world may bring false charges against us, but let us be found guilty of one thing: our hope in Jesus.

Paul is now sharing his faith on trial before the Sanhedrin. We too may find ourselves standing on trial one day under the microscope for the faith we hold. We should always remember that Jesus stands with us.  

Paul demonstrates for us what it looks like to live a life fixed in on God's call for our lives. Today, many just simply drift from place to place, relationship to relationship and job to job. Let’s discover the power of a life hidden in Jesus.