South Lansing Christian Church

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes encourages us to deal with the meaningless of life by enjoying God’s gifts to us. But God himself intends for us to do much more than merely cope. Godly people move beyond coping into contentment.

The Book of Proverbs can be confusing: are these commandments? Are they promises? We struggle with how to understand proverbs. But, when we carefully consider them, we find that wisdom grows in us when we honor God with what we know and what we do.

We have trouble defining wisdom, but the Bible doesn’t. Scripture is very clear that the foundation of wisdom is fearing the Lord. So if you want to live wisely, you have to start with knowing and obeying God.

Psalm 139 is either incredibly comforting, incredibly challenging, or both! In this poem, we learn that God is always present with us, and knows us fully. If we’re feeling isolated or lonely, this should greatly encourage us. If we’re feeling drawn to sin, this should be a sober reminder that we cannot keep secrets from God.

Psalm 124 encourages God’s people to reflect on their past and see the ways in which God has helped them. In response to God’s active help in our stories, we are called to be grateful people who bring peace.

We’ve all experienced a song so catchy it gets stuck on repeat in our brains. But, what if we were to know Scripture so well that it did the same thing? How might our lives be different if the phrase “The LORD reigns” cycled regularly through our thoughts?

At first glance, Psalm 91 may feel like empty promises of protection from a God who asks his people to be naïve. In contrast, a more considered reading of this passage reveals a God who is with his people in their suffering, and asks them to trust him.

Psalm 77 gives us the opportunity to realize that God is good, even in the low points of life. Asaph allows himself to be lost for a moment in hopelessness but then remembers what the Lord has done.

Psalm 39 is difficult to parse at first glance, but tells the story of a person being disciplined by God because of sin. The tone of this psalm is melancholy, and speaks to the feelings we may encounter when we too experience the discipline of the Lord. Even so, there is hope, because, God’s discipline is for those he loves.

Psalm 19 tells us that God is revealed both through his creation, and through his word. Additionally, God is revealed to us through his son, Jesus Christ. When we are feeling disconnected or uncertain about God, we should look for him in one of those three areas.Psalm 19 tells us that God is revealed both through his creation, and through his word. Additionally, God is revealed to us through his son, Jesus Christ. When we are feeling disconnected or uncertain about God, we should look for him in one of those three areas.

If wisdom is knowing the right thing to do, and then doing it. Folly is knowing the right thing to do, and then not. In Psalm 14, the foolish person has heard of God, but tells themselves there is no God – and then they do whatever they want. Too often God’s people can act in similar foolish ways, compartmentalizing their faith, and ignoring God’s truth in certain areas of their lives.

We give ourselves too much credit. We think we are wiser than we are. We think we are smarter than we are. We think we are more powerful than we are. God is infinitely beyond the best of our best, and he governs the universe by his wisdom, over and above his justice.

Christians sometimes – erroneously – assume that following Jesus will make their lives simple and easy. That’s simply not the case, and the book of Job tells us the story of a man who closely followed God, but suffered immensely. For us today the question is not, “will we suffer”, but “will we do what is right?”

On Labor Day weekend, we pause to talk about rest, Sabbath, and knowing where our rest is to come from.

Judges 2:10 makes one of the most terrifying statements in the entirety of Scripture: “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” The Israelites failed to prepare for the next generation. Will our story be the same, or will South Lansing Christian Church be intentional in raising up and preparing those who will come next?

Jesus flipped the cultural script by treating children, who had no power, no status, and no voice, as the blueprint for Kingdom living. He showed us that kids aren’t just future church members, but vital here and now because they teach us humility, reveal the health of our community, and remind us that we can’t earn our way into God’s Kingdom. We’ve got to be carried, just like them. So maybe instead of just teaching our students, we let them teach us too—about faith, dependence, and what it really means to follow Jesus.

Jesus called 12 guys who were just nobodies from the north shore region of the Sea of Galilee. Then, they changed the world. Their story reminds us to not overlook the next generation in our churches today. Because, today’s misfits may very well be tomorrow’s church leaders.

Moses challenged Israelite parents to use all of life’s moments to remind their kids of God and his commands. In the same way today, parents have a huge responsibility to raise up their children as disciples of Jesus. Likewise, our church has a huge responsibility to support parents in this work.

Our Sr. Saints are people from the Golden Age. They have wisdom and life experience that us younger generations need. We look at Luke 12 to gain perspective of how Jesus calls us to live.

The God we serve is faithful. He keeps his promises to all generations of his people. And – he has people from among all the generations who have ever lived. When church is at its best, it extends a welcome to all living generations.