We are all naturally glory thieves, taking for ourselves what belongs only to God. Desperately "needing" credit, people's applause, and for others to thank us for all we’ve done, we center ourselves, even while serving others. Psalm 98 helps to realign us with the intended purpose of all creation: to bring glory and praise to God!

Depression can make us question God’s existence. We wonder if he’s abandoned us, or given up on us, if he's punishing us for something we've done. But there's hope in God’s Word for us this morning. Because into that very real existential confusion, Psalm 42 and 43 promise us that Depression and hope can coexist. In fact, they often do. And that God has not changed his character and his presence is still with us, even while we suffer.

There is a sanctification in suffering. There is a way we get to experience God in times of suffering that we don’t get to experience in seasons of comfort. That’s what David is trying to teach us this morning in Psalm 34. As he sits in the discomfort of his own suffering he has learned that: God is not afraid to let you experience suffering in order to give you a transforming experience of His goodness!

The gospel does not advance through comfort, image, or popularity but through joyful, costly, long-term faithfulness.

Join us this morning as we explore what true commitment to the kingdom of God costs.

Wealth promises security it can’t guarantee. The riches of this world lie to us, and we buy into it. They feel so stable at times, but nothing is promised.

But if you want true riches, something that is a no-brainer investment, that can't be devalued by inflation, that can't be cut in half by a recession, that can't be stolen or cheated out from under you by hackers or thieves and can't be destroyed in a disaster, God's got you. And the answer doesn't even make sense at first because it requires a complete change in our value system. God says true riches are found in sharing our riches.

We have way too much confidence in ourselves. We think we can make it through life on our own. But we will never become all we are meant to be on our own. In every area of life, we need others around us to make us better. And the same is true when it comes to following Jesus. The life of faith is inherently cooperative.

When faced with difficulty and hardship we usually resort to best practices, ingenuity, and inner strength to achieve success and prosperity. But what God shows us repeatedly in the Scriptures is that God’s work is fueled by devotion to God’s Word.

We often resolve to be different because we feel dissatisfied with ourselves. But resolutions--and any change really--should be birthed from a profound sense of identity, not a feeling of dissatisfaction with our lives at the moment. We need to ask bigger questions, like, Who am I? Who has God designed me to be? What was I made to do? What’s my vision for my life?

Sometimes it’s our inner darkness that haunts us the most. Those things that only we know about and hold in our hearts, that reply in our minds and make us feel embarrassed and ashamed all over again. As real as that darkness is, the good news of the incarnation is that God sees us, knows us, and holds us, even in our darkest places.

Sometimes it’s our inner darkness that haunts us the most. Those things that only we know about and hold in our hearts, that reply in our minds and make us feel embarrassed and ashamed all over again. As real as that darkness is, the good news of the incarnation is that God sees us, knows us, and holds us, even in our darkest places.

Oftentimes the darkness of the present seems all-consuming. But the good news of Advent is that no matter how dark the present, Jesus is eternally the Light of the world!

Oftentimes the darkness of the present seems all-consuming. But the good news of Advent is that no matter how dark the present, Jesus is eternally the Light of the world!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Many of us grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament, thinking the main characters were heroes that we were meant to emulate. To have faith like Abraham, to be loyal like Ruth, or to be a man after God’s own heart like David. But this is not how the stories are meant to be read. If you read the OT this way, you'll end up thinking all you need is help instead of a Savior. See, the stories of the Old Testament are really all telling one story, the story of humanity’s failure and God sending his Son as the Savior we all need. Jesus said to the Pharisees, the elite studiers of the OT of his day: John 5:39 [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus and his disciples saw Scripture as the unfolding of the story of God rescuing his people, and therefore that he, Jesus, was the key to interpreting it.

And so, over the next 7 weeks we are going to start part 2 of a series called “Vintage Gospel” in which we’ll be looking at a number of figures and stories from the Old Testament to see how Jesus and the gospel are patterned, promised, and present there. We hope you’ll join us as we learn how to better read our Bibles together!

Genesis 6-9

We believe weakness is bad and strength is good. It is at the very core of human nature. And everything around us tells us the same. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Flaws are diminishing, and perfection is the goal. If we show the cracks that we have, then we’ll be less useful, less revered.

We cannot stand to be seen as weak, so we always play to our strengths.

But with God, this is flipped on its head. God makes beautiful use out of what is broken(God makes beautiful things out of the dust), God specializes in using human weaknesses, even yours! This is what Paul discovered firsthand with God, and that’s the truth he’s sharing with the Corinthians in these verses this morning. He wants them and us to know that our weakness shows Jesus’ greatness.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12