Hear the Good News

We have a lot in common with the Corinthian church. They too lived in a relatively well to do area. They had business, jobs, and resources at their disposal, but with all of these blessings from God they lacked something extremely crucial - generosity. What can we learn from Paul’s words to the Corinthians? How can we learn to be generous like Jesus?

When it comes to making decisions with our money, there are thousands of voices in our world telling us what to do. Sometimes, however, it seems like God's voice is the hardest to hear, and when he communicates through the Scriptures, the advice can be confusing. Should I give everything away? Should I sell all my possessions? Should I enjoy them as good gifts? We all tend to want a list of rules to make these things clear, but God has given us something better than rules. He offers us relationship.

Before we can even talk about money, we need to go back to the beginning to remind ourselves who we are, who God is, and how those truths speak to our money and our freedom.

Celebrating God's Grace 2018

20. Kingship and Kingdom in the Bible

As we draw to the end of 1 & 2 Kings, we see a hopeless situation. The Northern Kingdom has been destroyed. The Southern Kingdom is in ruins. The temple is a pile of stones, plundered of all its wealth and glory. But God’s not done yet. God has made promises, and unlike mankind, God is always faithful to keep his word. Does the end of Kings feel like a hopeless situation filled with faithless people? Yes, but our hope is founded on God’s faithfulness, not our own.

18. Read & Reform

At the age of 39, God gives Hezekiah bad news - his days are numbered and he is going to die. After pleading with the Lord for mercy, God extends his years by an additional 15. How will Hezekiah use his time? How will he prepare the next generation to take his place? Will he have the foresight he needs to be a man of wisdom and prudence, or will he be short-sighted and shallow? What would you do if you knew the number of your days?

Hezekiah, the first good king in a long time in Judah finds himself in a bind. The king of Assyria shows up at his door making crazy demands. Assyria has the might, the resources, and the desire to crush Judah. Hezekiah would be a fool not to give in. But sometimes what seems foolish to everyone else is exactly what you're supposed to do.

Israel fell because they worshiped worthless idols, and in so doing became worthless. “They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.” (2 Kings 17:15b) God warned them - for hundreds of years - and they refused to listen. They clung to the worthless rather than the worthy. Now, in Jesus, we can have our idolatries broken. We can be freed from worthless things and become like the glorious Christ. Jesus is beautiful.

14. Be Transformed, Not Conformed

13. God Isn't a Checkbox

Easter 2018 - Jesus is at Work in the Dark

12. Storing Up Wrath

11. Coincidentally Sovereign