Over and over again in Scripture, we are told “Do not fear.” I think the Lord knew how often we would need this reminder considering all that we face during our lives on this earth that could cause us to be afraid. However, because we have a relationship with Almighty God, we don’t have to fear, because He has made us more than conquerors. In today’s key text, we are given advice on how to approach life with fearless faith. Let’s dive in together.
If you listen to many Christian preachers, the impression is given that if you can just come up with the right formula in prayer, God will grant you the blessing you want and the health and healing that you need. And while I certainly believe in healing, I do not believe that God’s divine healing ought to be the starting point for thinking about a healthy lifestyle. To optimize good health and to live the abundant life that Christ offers, we must practice what we pray for. After Jesus forgave, freed, or healed the woman caught in adultery, He told her to go and not keep doing what she had been doing. The same is true for us if we want to be healthy, if we want to be well. So how do we get well? That’s what we’re going to dive into today.
Every child of God needs to know and needs to hear that they are forgiven, for when you come into fellowship and communion with Jesus, and begin cultivating and nurturing your relationship with Him, the Lord’s forgiveness means that no matter what you have done, no matter how horrible your past, and regardless of your moral transcript and profile, the good news today is that “you are forgiven.” You are officially pardoned from your past, and the devil and no one else can hold you hostage to what you’ve done. From today’s text, we’re going to see Mary Magdalene show us what it looks like to walk in that assurance.
When Jesus called His followers “salt,” He actually bestowed upon us a badge of honor. He was giving them then and us now a sense of our identity, purpose, and function in the Kingdom. He was saying that when people ask who you are as a believer, you should be able to tell them, “I’m salty.” Being salty is not something bad, it’s something good. When we’re salty, we’re living the way Jesus commanded us to in His Word. But how do you know if you’re living a salty life? Well, that’s what we’re going to look at in this message.
Growing up as a child, I vividly recall hearing gospel music playing in the house while we were getting ready for church. One song that stands out is Shirley Caesar’s “I Remember Mama.” Caesar tells how she and her siblings used to play church in the backyard. One day, while mimicking a preacher, she shouted “Jesus” three times, and on the third time, something happened. She went from just playing church to truly worshipping God. Her mama said, “She ain’t playin’ this time.” She could tell something authentic was happening on the inside. That should be our goal too, because there’s a lot of imitation worship going around the body of Christ. Real worship isn’t performance or hype. It’s authentic, rooted in God’s presence and goodness.
Sadly, for many people today, Sundays have lost their sacredness. Worship has become optional, something we pencil in if it doesn’t conflict with brunch, errands, football, or our to-do list. Some confuse church attendance with true worship. They think coming to church is the same as worship. But worship is not a location; it’s a demonstration. Worship is not a place you go to. It’s a posture you assume. At its heart, worship is to honor, acknowledge, and magnify God for who He is and what He has done. And there’s no greater figure in Scripture who shows us the importance of worship than David.
How can the church create spaces of safety and restoration for those who have been wounded by abuse in religious settings? In what ways can the church do a better job of protecting vulnerable people from spiritual and sexual exploitation? How can we as believers guard ourselves from bias when interpreting Scripture?
They call him the world’s most flexible man. Yogi Daniel is a yoga master and black belt artist who has spent his life perfecting the art of contortion. He can bend and twist his body into seemingly impossible positions, even fitting into a 14x18x18 inch glass box. It's incredible to watch, but it made me realize something. There are contortionists all around us. No, not physical contortionists, but people trying to twist and fold their lives into boxes not designed for them. Some live in career boxes chosen by their parents, others in social boxes designed by culture, political boxes inherited from their communities, or religious boxes forced by their church. All around us, people are trying to live in boxes of unrealistic expectations and predetermined molds for life that don’t fit them. And maybe that’s you. You’re frustrated because you’ve spent so much time doing what others wanted you to do, and now you’re stuck in a box you don’t even like. But here’s the word today: “I’m doing this for me.”
Five years ago, style and image consultant Kevin Samuels became an internet sensation for his advice on relationships, dating, fashion, and success in life. He was controversial—brash, often chiding people for their looks and what he regarded as unrealistic dating expectations, and not hesitant to put people down in the process. One of his most well-known concepts was the “high-value man,” defined by qualities like making at least $10K per month for several years, having group acceptance, belonging to a network of other high-value men, being visible in one’s profession, and being in high demand. Samuels also emphasized appearance— height, build, and dress. Critics have rightly pointed out that his view reduces a man’s worth to his salary and status, ignoring character, integrity, responsibility, and spirituality. The Bible says, “Man looks at the outer appearance, but God looks at the heart.” Being a high-value man is not about cars, clothes, and cash, but about character, consciousness, and conviction. It’s about who has the man, not what the man has. In Judges 3:31, we meet Shamgar, an often overlooked judge of Israel, whose one- verse story shows us what it truly means to be a high-value man.
We live in a world that constantly pressures us to pursue more— more success, more money, more validation, more status. The problem with this relentless chase is that it often leaves us feeling empty, unfulfilled, and never truly satisfied. Like a hamster on a wheel, we keep running, hoping to reach a destination that always seems just beyond our grasp. But what if the secret to peace wasn’t in achieving more, but in learning to be content with what we have? In Philippians 4:8-14, the Apostle Paul shares his secret to contentment, not from a place of comfort, but from the chains of a Roman prison. His words challenge us to rethink our perspective and embrace contentment that isn’t tied to our circumstances. Today, we will explore three key truths from Paul’s journey that can help us find lasting contentment in our own lives.
In today’s key passage in Ephesians, Paul is doing some cognitive restructuring. He is trying to reframe anger in our minds. He’s trying to tell people then and us now that anger is a gift that God has given us. It’s the fuel that God puts in our emotional tank to help us advocate for what matters to us. It’s to prompt us to speak up for ourselves, for the less fortunate, and for our values. And so, Paul says, “Be angry” and learn to have a healthy relationship with this God-given emotion. For this to happen, you need to follow three steps, which is what we’re going to discuss in this message.
It’s time to "level up"—to become better versions of ourselves by not settling for the status quo, but instead, taking intentional steps toward growth and transformation. With this in mind, we are going to explore how we can avoid stagnation and live lives that reflect God’s desire for us to grow, progress, and reach new heights. Just like Jesus’ parable of the fig tree, we are encouraged to examine ourselves, seek improvement, and take action toward becoming all that God has called us to be.
From today’s key passage, we can learn some things about the spirit of contagious generosity in the congregation that made that exact thing possible. By reading about the Israelites, we can glean principles that can help us in our own efforts to further God’s work on the earth.
This message is a celebration of the 21 years that I’ve been the pastor of Mt. Ennon. As we celebrate 21 years of this marriage between pastor and people, I want to borrow from the late ‘80s R&B singer Glenn Jones, who said: “We’ve only just begun, the romance is not over.” That’s the theme today: we’ve only just begun. And though we’ve done great things together, there is still more God has for us to do.
What does it mean to honor God with your body, and how does that influence your decisions around sex and relationships? How can Christians approach sexual desire with both spiritual maturity and personal responsibility, without falling into legalism or permissiveness? How can the church create space for open, honest, and biblical conversations about sex that reflect God’s design without promoting shame or fear?
Just like technology needs upgrades to keep up with the demands of today, so does our faith. Some of us are trying to operate on outdated spiritual bandwidth—there’s more grace, power, and strength God wants to give, but we’re not positioned to receive it. In Matthew 21, Jesus walks into the temple during Passover and sees a space that’s been downgraded by greed and tradition. He flips tables and declares it’s time for a change. It’s time for an upgrade.
What does the Bible teach us about God's heart for people who are hurting in marriage? How can the church better support people in abusive or harmful marriages? What lies or misconceptions have you heard about divorce, and how does Scripture correct them?
What a difference four years makes—not in terms of presidential politics, but in terms of transformation. The Philadelphia Eagles went from mediocrity to Super Bowl champions by doing one crucial thing: they updated their playbook. They went from disorganization to strategy, from reaction to intentionality. Likewise, Exodus 3 reveals how God gave Israel an updated playbook to move from bondage to freedom—a roadmap not just for ancient Israel, but for us today. The call of Moses, the challenge to Pharaoh, and God’s assurance that the people would not leave empty-handed point us to a deeper spiritual, social, and economic freedom. And just like them, we too need to update our playbook.
Many people in church are familiar with God’s call of His servant Moses found in Exodus chapter 3, where He tells Moses to lead the children of Israel up and out of the land of Egypt after 400 years of slavery. At the time of that call, Moses had been keeping watch over the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro on the backside of a mountain, and God appeared to him as a flame of fire out of a burning bush. God tells him that He has seen the affliction of His people and has heard their cry. Despite the Israelites’ desire for liberation, Pharaoh refuses to comply, making their lives even harder. But God, who witnessed their suffering, refused to leave His people vulnerable. After nine plagues, God finally unleashes the tenth and final plague—the death of every firstborn in Egypt— and gives His people a divine plan for protection: apply the blood of a lamb to their doorposts. That night, while there was a cry in every Egyptian house, God's people were saved because of the blood. In this message, we’re going to learn how the blood of the Lamb of God offers us salvation too.
From today’s key passage, we learn that Eli was one of those dads who didn’t have a backbone. He saw his sons doing things he knew were wrong, things that were harmful to them and destructive to the nation, but he could not and would not tell his boys “No.” He preferred to avoid conflict with them and would not discipline them, which seems to have been the reason for their downfall. Eli made his two sons priests even though they lacked their father’s character, and as a consequence, their conduct disgraced the family and shocked the nation. Their behavior did not reflect the values, the virtues, and the vision of men of God. God eventually gets fed up with their foolishness, and we learn that from God’s perspective, He holds their dad responsible. It is from this section of Scripture we learn here how to identify the characteristics of a man who is on daddy duty, whether that man is a biological father, surrogate father, or a spiritual father.