If we want to flourish, we must make a habit of giving thanks. More specifically, we must make a habit of giving thanks to God. That's how God has wired every human being. Bad things happen when we deny God the thanks that He is due. We lose perspective. We naturally turn inward, and we forget the big picture. Long-term, neglecting thanksgiving leads down a perilous path ...

Whenever we do something wrong, our natural tendency is to minimize, cover up, or ignore the wrongdoing. This is foolish and unwise. Why? It's because you cannot prosper without confessing your sins. Does that sound a bit extreme? If so, listen to what God says in Proverbs 28:13: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes the...

When we typically talk about adoring someone (or something), it means we hold whatever it is in high esteem. We adore newborn babies. We adore our favorite pets. We adore our special friends and loved ones. However, the word "adore" means much more. According to Webster's Dictionary, to "adore" primarily means, "to worship or honor as a deity or as divine." That means that...

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name." What is your relationship to the Lord's prayer? If you've been in any Christian context throughout your life, you have almost certainly been exposed to it. Some of you recited this prayer each week, without much thought about the actual words. Others of you know the prayer, but it hasn't affected your life. Still others of yo...

If you are like many Christians, there's a good chance that talking about your personal prayer life fills you with guilt and/or shame. You have a sense that you "should" be praying more, butyou aren't. You wish you had more of a desire to pray, butyou don't. What is the way forward? A good place to start is Jesus' teaching on prayer from the Sermon on the Mount. This Sund...

If we want to function as a Christ-centered community, we need His Word dwelling within us and we need to pray. These God-given means of grace help us worship Him, and God uses them to grow, sustain, and protect us, and to transform us into His likeness. So I ask you today: are you regularly using these means of the Bible and prayer in your personal walk with Jesus? Often...

John Calvin once called the Psalms an anatomy of the soul. All aspects of our human experience are, in some way, mirrored in what we see in the psalms. Last week we heard how God's Word offers the only path to the great blessing of knowing God himself. This week, we'll be in Psalm 119:81-96, where we'll see God's Word play a different role in the psalmist's life as he gra...

Have you ever started out a new year with the goal of reading, or memorizing, or studying God's Word in a more intentional way (Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statues!Ps 119:5), and then found it difficult to maintain your pace throughout the year? Life inevitably grows more full, or a long genealogy comes round in your plan again. That difficulty to stay...

As we are nearing Christmas, I hope your excitement is building. We get to celebrate the coming of our King! It is fitting for those of us who believe in Jesus to pull out all the stops for him. He is worthy of all the honor and attention that we will give Him this Christmas. That's because theOne who was born in Bethlehem thousands of years ago is the light of the world. ...

How does Jesus' resurrection affect you each day? May it never become "normal" or routine information for those of us who follow Christ. Because the resurrection changes everything. It proves that there is hope beyond the grave, and it gives us incredible power to live as God intends. Without the resurrection, our faith is futile and we are people to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:1...