The Psalms don’t shy away from the difficult realities of life. Neither do they shy away from our complex emotional responses to them. Psalm 73 is one such psalm; one in which Asaph, the author, looks out on the world and sees more prosperity among the wicked than among the godly. The inequity, this apparent unfairness, drives him to question God’s goodness. Have you ever found yourself questioning God’s goodness toward you because, compared with others, you’re just not getting out of life what you wanted or expected? Then listen to last Sunday’s sermon and be reoriented by Psalm 73 to walk away saying not “poor me”, but confidently declaring “I am rich”.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

FRIENDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AN ORIENTING PRESENCE IN LIFE

Psalm 55 describes the deeply emotional experience of betrayal. David had endured countless trials during his lifetime. He had learned to suffer long under the oppression of his enemy. But when the people he had grown to trust turned their back on him (v. 13), he discovered that it was a pain almost too intense to withstand. Friends are supposed to be an orienting presence in our lives, so when betrayal occurs, the disorientation is magnified. Where do we turn when friends unexpectedly act like enemies? To the always faithful Friend, to the one who gave us grace when we had turned our back on Him, to the One who has shown us that there is hope for restoration even in the most broken friendship. Listen to Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WHEN THE SONG IN YOUR HEART FEELS LIKE THE WRONG SONG

Surprisingly, the most common of all psalms in the Bible are psalms of lament. These are songs expressing despair, sadness, grief, sorrow and hopelessness to God. They face the reality of life in a fallen world head on and give honest expression to what we feel in our hearts, especially during the prolonged trial. Psalm 39, though, is even unique among the psalms of lament - it never turns the corner. It’s sad from beginning to end. Why read and love this psalm? Because you don’t always experience a quick and clean resolution in your deepest suffering. Yet, what Psalm 39 very importantly teaches us is that even when you can’t sing a happy song, you can sing a hopeful one. Listen to this week’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GOD IS MORE PRESENT TO YOU THAN YOUR TROUBLE

There is nothing that disorients our souls quite like trouble. If you’ve lived long enough, you have experienced seasons of life in which it feels like your world is falling apart. Times when everything seems to be giving way. When you are facing your worst case scenario. If you haven’t experienced trouble yet, you will. Jesus told his disciples that, “in the world you will have tribulation” (Jn 16:33) and that, in fact, everyday has “its own trouble” (Mt 6:33). What is God’s reorienting-remedy to our soul-disorienting trouble?

Listen to this last Sunday’s sermon on Psalm 46. How can we have peace in the midst of trouble? Because, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps 46:7, 11). Psalm 46 grabs us by the shoulders and urges us to stop trying to outmaneuver our circumstances and to quit seeking peace apart from God. He is God, we are not, and in our trouble we must rest in him.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WE NEED REVELATION TO BE REORIENTED

God has revealed Himself in all of creation; so much so that “day to day pours out speech”. In other words, the beauty and grandeur and wonder of what He created speaks undeniably of Him. Yet, we suppress that voice in our hearts through sin. When we suppress that voice, we wander aimlessly and lost in the world God created. What, then, can reorient us?

Listen to this last Sunday’s sermon on Psalm 19. If Psalm 1 was the psalm of orientation par excellence, then Psalm 19 is the psalm of reorientation par excellence. It tells us of the efficacy and necessity of God’s Word - His special revelation - alone to reorient our souls back toward God.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

YOUR ORIENTATION TOWARD GOD WRITES THE SONGS YOUR SOUL SINGS

This past Sunday, we began a six-week journey through the Psalms - a book that is too often undervalued in the lives of Christians. Why? Because, as John Calvin said, “the Psalms are an anatomy of all the parts of the soul”. They help us to rightly understand our motional responses and how to rightly express our emotions in response to the various seasons God ordains for our lives. In other words, they’re the playlist for our souls. They resonate to the tune of our hearts. The Psalms give voice to every song of our soul.

As we began our series in Psalm 1, we learned the why behind our emotions; what determines the type of emotions that rise up within us. And it has everything to do with our orientation toward - or away - from God.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT IN OUR CORPORATE WORSHIP

This Sunday, we had the joy of being led in our corporate worship by a rebuilt and revamped worship team, prompting us to ask an important question: what’s the most important instrument in our corporate worship? Psalm 100 answers that question: it’s us, the collective voices of the congregation. Psalm 100 also gives us the distinctions of how to worship God in a way that’s glorifying to Him. This is an important message and one that we hope the Lord will use to create a permanent culture of grateful, joyful and loud singing in our little church.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

At the end of the book of Acts, we’re left with a challenge; one that’s reiterated throughout the pages of Scripture. It’s the challenge of taking action based on what has been seen and heard. Paul’s Jewish audience in Rome heard the preaching of the Gospel from Paul’s own lips, yet they only bickered among themselves about his message, refusing to turn to Christ in faith. In similar fashion, we have heard the message of the Gospel and the timeless traits of the Church over the course of the last 10 months in Acts. While we have experienced the fruit of the Holy Spirit among us in many ways, there are still plenty of ways that we as a church body and as individuals have opportunities to respond.

LISTEN TO THE FINAL SERMON FROM ACTS HERE.

When you look at the possibilities of what your future might hold, do you hope for the absence of trials … or do you hope for the grace of God in the midst of the trials that might come. In the middle of Acts 28, Paul finally arrives in Rome - the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. However, his journey there was fraught with roadblock after roadblock, including a massive storm and a shipwreck. But in the midst of it, he experienced and depended upon the sustaining grace of God, teaching us not to hope for the absence of storms, but for grace to endure the storm.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

CONVICTIONS ARE JUST OPINIONS IF NOT BASED ON REVELATION

How do you form convictions? Which convictions are most essential? Should you ever expect any of your convictions to change? In Acts 26, Paul makes his defense before Herod Agrippa and speaks of what he is convinced about. Further, he seeks to persuade or convince his audience. In short, he’s communicating his convictions and wishes that certain convictions of his become those of his hearers. This brief defense proves to be helpful guidance for Christians and leaves no question about where the source and foundation of what we are most convinced of must lie. To learn more, listen to last Sunday’s sermon.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE.