When you come to a chapter of the Bible containing a genealogy, your first reaction may be to skip forward, or maybe just skim over till the next “relevant” verse shows up. As Pastor Bill will explain in today’s message, these lists matter. God inspired and directed the writing of this book, and there’s life and meaning behind every word it contains. The people listed in these genealogies are part of God’s story. With the help of the Holy Spirit, your eyes can be opened to their relevance in your own life.

Today you’ll learn with Pastor Bill that the heart of Jesus was to love His enemies. Why? So they too could turn to the Lord. Even while He hung dying on the cross, Jesus asked that they be forgiven. “They don’t what they’re doing, Father forgives them.” How different would you treat those you considered your enemy if you saw them in the same light as Jesus does? If you saw as people who don’t know what they’re doing? If you saw them as God’s children who are still lost and wandering in the darkness?

At times your life is going to seem chaotic…like you are surrounded by an army that is not on your side. In those moments, what do you do? Where do you go? Do you fight the battle, or do you run away? Do you trust in your own strength, or do you trust the strength of one who is greater? Today Pastor Bill will teach about a moment when an army surrounded the good guys. But rather than run, they chose to trust in the Lord. How do you respond to what ‘surrounds’ you? Do you run or do you trust in the Lord?

A child’s faith is an incredible thing to witness. They don’t question the ‘how’ as much as an adult does. Today you’ll learn with Pastor Bill, that Naaman had his faith tested when he sought to heal his leprosy. He was told to go wash in the River Jordon to be healed. Now a great commander like him questioned the insignificance of it all. Really, bathing in a river was going to heal leprosy. Faith like a child is what was required of him. Don’t question why or how, just go wash.

All you need is Jesus. It really is as simple as that. You don’t need all the lights and glamour. You just need Him. As you listen to today’s message with Pastor Bill, you’ll learn about Naaman, a favored commander in Syria who brought victory and great hope. Naaman, however, eventually found himself with leprosy…a disease that was both isolating and humiliating. But the Lord provided a way for healing. It wasn’t flashy and it certainly wasn’t what Naaman expected. But it was real.

Think back to when you were a child, completely dependent on the adults around you to keep you alive. Think back on when you were dependent on them to teach you not only how to speak, but how to walk and eat. Without even thinking, you trusted that those adults were working everything together for your good. In today’s message, Pastor Bill will encourage you to trust in God the same way. Without question and with complete faith, trust that He is working everything together for your good. And He is.

Losing someone you love is devastating. It doesn’t matter if it happened quickly or was a process that took years. It’s a heart-shattering separation. Today, you’ll see Elisha’s grief as he prepares to let his friend and mentor go. He knows that Elijah, a man who was like a father to him, is going to be taken up to heaven soon. And his heart is broken. So, while he knows that it's a blessing for Elijah, he doesn’t want to let him go. Pastor Bill walks you through Elisha’s heartbreak and his closeness with Elijah.

Who do you go to when the storms of life come? Where do you turn when your circumstances are taking you down? Your first instinct might be to turn to other people. And while you should get help and support from others, God should always be your starting point. In today’s message, Pastor Bill encourages you to turn to the Lord first when hard times come. Jesus wants to be your first line of defense and encouragement. He sees what’s happening and will help you walk through everything that comes your way.

God is sovereign. Basically, this means that He’s in control. Nothing happens without His knowledge and His OK. But this reality can be hard to reconcile with how our culture defines kindness and love. You see, God doesn’t promise that hard things won’t happen. But He does say that He will harness everything you experience for your good and His glory. Today, Pastor Bill walks you through the last part of Elijah’s story. You’ll see how Elijah’s trust in God’s sovereignty carries him through hard times.

Have you ever thought that no one else gets it? That they just don’t understand what you’re going through? If you’ve had these thoughts then you’re just like everybody else, including the prophet Elijah. Today, Pastor Bill walks you through Elijah’s story of despair and depression. You’ll be reminded that feelings are real but they’re not always reflective of reality. Elijah thought he was alone, but that wasn’t true. Jesus saw him and came. He needed an encounter with the Lord to right His perspective and move forward.