Can you believe that the God of the universe knows you? He knows your sin and limitations, and yet loves you beyond what we can imagine. He gives us belonging, he gives us his acceptance, he gives us his approval. Which one of those do you need to believe is true? As we approach Easter, we’re getting back to the basics of Jesus' life, the movements of his earthly ministry that lead to his death and resurrection. He has moved in this world and is moving in our lives as well. This week, we’re looking at Matthew 3 and the story of Jesus’ baptism. You can find the full show notes at https://www.li ..read more

What does it look like to live wisely? When you don’t know what to do, go find a commandment of God, and say to yourself, “I can work on this in my life today.” We never outgrow God’s Word. At the end of the day, we are all to “fear God, and keep his commands.” You can find the full show notes at https://www.lifeaudio.com/how-to-study-the-bible/ WHAT DOES IT MEAN? If you just read these words as they are, you’re going to read them literally or it’s all going to go over your head. So, in order to unlock meaning, we need context. We need basic hermeneutic skills – that’s a fancy word that just m ..read more

You and I were made for righteousness. But sin entered in and created brokenness beyond repair, and it has caused us to seek out many different schemes to make ourselves feel okay. Today, we return to what we are focusing on throughout the book: How do we make sense of a dark and broken, and complicated world in light of God’s promises and goodness? You can find the full show notes at https://www.lifeaudio.com/how-to-study-the-bible/ The preacher addresses three different concepts in Ecclesiastes 7: First - The Role of Sadness in Our Lives (7:2-5) What really brings wisdom? What helps us grow ..read more

Have you ever struggled with being content? Have you ever had that little thought in your mind, “if only I had more, if I only had that thing, then I would be at peace.” Today, we’re talking about the superpower of contentment for your lives. This ancient Scripture is incredibly relevant for our age, as we wrestle with our own contentment and the American Dream culture in which we live. Truly, our whole lives are absolutely bombarded with the message that there is just one more thing around the corner. That if you experience contentment, you will get peace and experience contentment. But is th ..read more

Ecclesiastes is a book designed to provoke emotion and get us thinking. The preacher – probably Solomon – wrote this to make sense of a good God in a broken and dark world. In this section, he ponders what it means to number our days wisely. You can find the full show notes at https://www.lifeaudio.com/how-to-study-the-bible/ Bible Reading Tip: When we read the bible, we should look for the tone and emotion of the author, as well as the words and structure. In wisdom literature, like Ecclesiastes, we need to see the poetic, literary form that the wisdom is held in. Part 1: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ..read more

Ecclesiastes is a complicated book. It’s meant to be provocative. It’s meant to be emotional, to create emotion in you. It’s meant to raise questions. Ecclesiastes means assembly. Most people think it’s written by Solomon. You can think of it as a preacher’s manifesto. The opening line is “vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Vanity of vanities is repeated 38 times in this book! The meaning of which becomes clearer as we go along. The literal meaning is’ vapor.’ Something that dissipates. It’s okay if you can’t immediately interpret everything in Ecclesiastes. Right now, we want to hear it, Ste ..read more

Today we’re exploring the highest call we have in following Jesus: what it means to crucify the self. Why does the call to Christ have to seem so wholesale, so violent, so destructive to ourselves? Why does following Christ have to feel like a death? How do we reconcile being made in the image of God with this sense that we are worthless? Let’s explore all of that together today. You can find the full show notes at https://www.lifeaudio.com/how-to-study-the-bible/ Secrets of the Good Life Series: Week 1: The First Secret of the Good Life: Consider GodWeek 2: Confess and Receive: The Second Sec ..read more

Your life is meant to change when you begin to follow Jesus. But for so many of us, that doesn’t happen. Why the disconnect? This series is all about unlocking the good life in Christ, and what it really means to be changed by him. Secrets of the Good Life Series: Week 1: The First Secret of the Good Life: Consider GodWeek 2: Confess and Receive: The Second Secret of the Good Life (Psalm 51)Week 3: How to Fight Fear: The Third Secret of the Good Life This week (week 4), we’re looking at what it means to really choose joy. WHAT DOES IT SAY? Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoi ..read more

Have you ever wondered how your fear overlaps with other people’s fears? I think we’d find we are far more fearful that we realize. There is healthy fear, and unhealthy fear. One of the roles of Christianity is a new way to understand what fear is and how God helps us be confident even in the most trying circumstances. Today, we’re going to look at what God has given us to fight the fear in our lives. In a 2022 survey of Americans, almost 9 out of 10 reported daily anxiety about inflation, with over 60% reporting daily anxiety over everything from health to relationships to global events.  ..read more

Today, we’re going to be working through Psalm 51, and we’re going to work through it as a devotional using the Alive Method. I encourage you to get out your bible and journal as you listen. WHAT DOES IT SAY? Notice what you notice. Write down what stands out to you – that is God speaking to you through his Word. That alone is a beginning of a conversation with the Spirit. In Psalm 51: David acknowledges specific sin He longs for restoration, asking for it (“grant me a willing spirit”) A willingness to talk about your sin to testify to the grace of God WHAT IS THE BACKSTORY? This is the psalm ..read more