Tag: David

“More to the Story: David” (July 24, 2016)

from 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Have you ever struggled under the weight of wondering whether or not you measure up?  Have you ever struggled with feeling like you just don’t have what it takes?  Have you given yourself over to people or things in order to try and be seen as worthy, or acceptable?

If any of things are or ever have been true, then know that God does not measure you by the standards the world measures, and God is not looking for the same things in you the world is demanding.

God looks beyond the measurable and looks to the heart…and when you begin to embrace that truth, not only does it change the way you approach God, but it changes the way you approach challenges and the world around you.

w/ Vern Collins

“More to the Story: Ruth” (July 17, 2016)

from Ruth 4:13-22

Almost as an intermission between the story of Israel’s judges and the beginning of the time of her kings is the brief account of a woman named Ruth.

While this may not only seem like a strange placement for such a story, but also a curious addition to what we hold as Scripture, it is one of the most beautiful pictures of faithfulness we have in all of the Bible.

Not only does Ruth paint for us a picture of what undying faithfulness looks like, but challenges in the attention and compassion we give to those around us.

In the midst of your every day coming and going, triumphs and even struggles, are you paying attention to the lives of the hurting around you…and are you willing to enter in to them?

w/ Vern Collins

“Expectations: God Will Act” (November 29, 2015)

from Jeremiah 33:14-16

The season of Advent is about waiting, it is about expectation, it is about hope…the hope that things will change, the hope that this is not all there is, the hope that God will act.

Whether it’s something in your life you’re dealing with, or the state of this world we live in…holding on to such hope can seem foolish…

And yet maybe that’s exactly what is needed…a bit more foolishness…a deeper investment in the hope that God will act…because God has been faithful to act before.

w/ Vern Collins

“Overwhelmed: Money” (October 11, 2015)

from 2 Corinthians 8:1-7

Whether it is the worry associated with not having enough, or the pressure of knowing how to steward if you have it, money continued to be for many one of the greatest causes of stress in many people’s lives.

While it is a necessary part of living in this consumer-driven culture, surely God’s intention was never for it to become the burden that it is.

In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul is telling of a group of believers who though they find themselves in the midst of severe persecution and poverty, are begging for the opportunity to participate in the offering for the Jerusalem church.

How is this possible, when many of us stress over paying bills for the roof over our heads.

Perhaps our problem is less a money issue, and more one of perspective…imagine how you would view the things in your life, money included, if you had a bigger view of God.

w/ Vern Collins