On Sunday night, we discussed Luke 18:31-34 in Jesus’ travel narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Our key concept was, “I am part of a larger plan, one that has been unfolding since the beginning of time and one that is guaranteed to prevail.”For those of us living in places like the United States where we enjoy many amenities and religious freedom on top of that, we often forget that Jesus still calls us...  Read More

On Sunday night, we looked at Luke 17:11-19 in Jesus’ travel narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Our key concept was, “As I journey to Jerusalem, practicing gratitude and thankfulness are necessary for my soul’s well-being.”We hope this devotional from David Jeremiah will lead to gratitude and thankfulness in your soul as you reflect on the faithfulness of God. Dr. David JeremiahThe word “always” is freq...  Read More

On Sunday Night, we discussed Luke 13:31-35 in Jesus’ travel narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Our key concept was, “Because of my connection to Jesus, I can stand firm against opposition.  Even if I am persecuted or killed, I am still protected under Jesus’ wing.”We hope you’ll find this devotional from Desiring God Ministries helpful in remaining steadfast in Jesus Christ. By David Mathis, March 28, ...  Read More

One Sunday night, we read from Luke 13:22-30 in Jesus’ travel narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Our key concept was, “As I journey toward the cross, I am encouraged, strengthened and motivated to be a part of a multi-ethnic, ever expanding, global movement of Christ-followers.  I am not alone in the journey.”We hope you’ll find this devotional from Focus on the Family helpful in reflecting more on how ...  Read More

On Sunday night, we talked about Luke 10:38-42 in Jesus’ travel narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Our key concept was, “If I am going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly to the cross, I will need an inner depth to my spirituality that will empower me to face the various obstacles along the way.”We hope you’ll find this devotional helpful in reflecting more on the topic. By Christel Humfrey, May 29, 2018Mart...  Read More

Dads and DaughtersMother’s Day was last month, and now this month is Father’s Day! Let’s celebrate the wonderful men in our lives! I hope you are planning on doing something special for the dads in your life, and dads, I hope your family is planning something great for you! Fingers crossed for a great new tie!!?I just wanted to say, right off the top, thank you dads! Those of you who are receiving...  Read More

The People Kept SinningJudges 2In the Book of Judges, we see a cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, rescue, obedience, and then back to sin. The condition of man's heart when left to himself will "do what is right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Our own hearts lead us to sinful behavior that leads to enslavement to sin. Judges reveal who we are apart from God's grace.The Book of Judges also unco...  Read More

Joshua Challenged the PeopleJoshua 23-24Joshua was getting along in years, so he gathered the people at the place where God had made a promise to Abraham. (See Gen. 12:6-7.) Joshua wanted the people to remember and to live based on what they knew to be true about God: God can be trusted. He is good, and He is faithful.Joshua issued a challenge: “Be very strong and continue obeying all that is writ...  Read More

God Gave the People the LandJoshua 7-11In today's story, we see that God fights for His people and gives them peace and rest. We live in a world filled with conflict and pain. We desperately want peace. The reality is that true peace doesn’t come from any amount of solitude or self-confidence; we need true peace that comes from being forgiven. Peace comes as we trust in the finished work of Jesus....  Read More

God Gave the People the LandJoshua 7-11In our Bible story today, we see not just mercy, but courageous mercy. Rahab by faith, courageously trusted God and hid the Hebrew spies. Mercy is not courageous until being merciful costs us something. Rahab's mercy was pushed to the testing point. She had compassion and, in doing so, risked her life. She showed mercy; as a result, she received mercy.Mercy i...  Read More

The Bible Helps Us Live For God2 Timothy 3In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul points out that Scripture is enough for us. It is our source for godliness and our final authority in matters pertaining to doctrine. The confessions of every Protestant denomination affirm the sufficiency of Scripture.Why does this matter for kids? We need to teach our kids that even though the Bible may not mention everything i...  Read More

Playing the Comparison GameHave you ever had one of those days when you just barely make it out the door?  House is a wreck, you haven’t had a shower today and the kids are already fighting.  Your parenting self-esteem has already taken a hit when you run into that family.  You know the one:  they look like they just stepped out of the pages of a magazine, kids are behaving perfectly and mom has b...  Read More

God Stopped the Jordan RiverJoshua 3–4The children of Israel often gave in to worry and bitterness. Their attitude revealed deeper heart issues: their belief that God had failed to take care of them and would fail in the future. It was in the 40 years of wandering in the desert that God showed them over and over that He was worthy of their trust. Yet they still did not trust Him.When God provided ...  Read More

God's Miracles Prove Who He IsMark 16This week on Palm Sunday, our kids learned about the Easter story.The Bible is a supernatural book filled with accounts of supernatural events. Dozens of miracles are recorded in the Bible. Each miracle points to a greater reality and reveals to us what God is like.In the story of Israel’s crossing the Jordan, we see how God hears our cries and provides for us ...  Read More

God Encouraged JoshuaJoshua 1We often think that fear is the absence of courage, and to some degree, it is. However, true courage is not someone who is free of fear. Courage comes to us most often, and especially when we are young, from the presence of another. In C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lucy, the young heroine of Lewis' stories, was on a boat that went into the dark night of ...  Read More

Body Image: 3 Ways To Set A Solid FoundationEven as adults, waking up and looking in the mirror can be a struggle. Sometimes we can be our own worst critics when it comes to body image and how we feel about how we look. If that’s a challenge for us as adults, imagine what must be going through your older child’s mind.  As children receive messages about body image from endless sources, we want to ...  Read More

God Healed the PeopleNumbers 21If there was one thing the Israelites were good at, it was grumbling. They weren’t just good; they were experts: “We have no food. We have no water. Why are we in the wilderness left to die? The land has big people in it.” And on and on and on. We have to wonder how Moses put up with it all.In Numbers 21, we encounter another time when the people grumbled—once again ...  Read More

No One Is Like Our God1 Peter 1Peter began his first epistle by reminding believers that we are not of this world; our true citizenship is found in God’s kingdom. As such, we live in the present world as exiles and ambassadors—representatives of our true King.With this reminder established, Peter explained how Christ’s ambassadors are to live, which can be summed up in God’s words recorded at the ...  Read More

Moses Disobeyed GodNumbers 20Many of us categorize sins, whether we intend to or not. There are the major sins—the really bad ones like murder that are clearly wrong. Thankfully, few of us are prone to commit these sins, so we are pretty safe from them.Then there are the significant sins, like getting angry or lying. We know these are harmful, but we don’t see them on the same level as the major o...  Read More

The People Didn't Go into the LandNumbers 13-14If you’ve ever bought a house, you likely know that even the “most perfect” house really isn’t perfect. There seems to always be some compromise that must be made: location, yard size, location of a bathroom, school district, price, and so forth. The choice is then ours to make: do we live with the compromises we need to make, or do we pass on the hou...  Read More

Hello, Hello Moms, Dads, and Amazing Adults in the Lives of Kids!We are back with another great online parenting topic, to inspire and inform you! It is a quick couple minutes of your month to give you the tools you need to continue to do what God has blessed you to be able to do, raise Godly kids!This month is another great video, that I am sure you will love. It is about “Parenting from a United...  Read More

God Deserves Our WorshipLeviticus 1-4Think back to Eden. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, their eyes were opened and they realized their nakedness. What was once no problem in their innocence had become shameful in their sinfulness. So the couple took leaves to try to cover their bodies and their shame. But what did God do just before expelling the couple from Eden to face a fallen world on...  Read More

The People Built the TabernacleExodus 35-40One of the key themes of the Bible is God’s desire to live with the people He created. We see this first in God's creating the garden of Eden, placing Adam and Eve into this paradise, and then presumably coming down regularly to be with them.But when Adam and Eve rebelled against Creator God, one consequence of their sin was expulsion from the garden. No ...  Read More

The People Worshiped a Golden CalfExodus 32-34After all God had done for the Israelites, the story of the Israelites’ worshiping a golden calf may seem surprising. How could God’s people turn so quickly from God, who delivered them from slavery and provided for them, even after they explicitly agreed to do everything He had commanded? (See Ex. 24:3.) When we think about the reasons why Israel fell...  Read More