Posts with the category “daily-faith-challenges”

  Scripture: Luke 10:33-34The Good Samaritan saw a need and responded. He crossed social barriers, interrupted his plans, and spent his own resources to help someone who could offer nothing in return. Biblical kindness is more than sympathy; it is compassion in action. Ask God to open your eyes today. Someone around you may need encouragement, assistance, or simply a listening ear. Don’t walk past...  Read More

  Scripture: Colossians 3:12There is a difference between being nice and being kind. Niceness often seeks comfort and approval. Biblical kindness seeks the good of others, even when it requires effort, sacrifice, or difficult conversations. Real kindness helps people grow, serves practical needs, and is rooted in truth. Today, consider your recent interactions. Were you simply being nice, or were ...  Read More

  Day 1: Get Dressed for the DayScripture: Colossians 3:12Every morning we make a choice about what to wear. Paul reminds us that believers also have a spiritual wardrobe. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are not automatic; they are attitudes we intentionally put on each day. Before rushing into your schedule, ask God to clothe you with His character. The way you are dresse...  Read More

  I love this summary of how Jesus extends grace to us and what it means for today and eternity. Eugene Peterson shares it in Romans 5:17-21- If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, absolute life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus C...  Read More

  Ok, let’s finish the chapter. Genesis 3:22-24- 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the ...  Read More

  Let’s finish the chapter and see more of how God responds to a broken and lost world. We’ll pick up in Genesis 3:21- 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Do you notice the care and compassion God shows them? They were naked, tried to solve it on their own by sewing fig leaves together. God, knowing that they were going to be exiled out of Eden into the wi...  Read More

  Reflect back on Genesis 3:14-15- 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”God spoke to the...  Read More

  We are back in our Genesis series- creation, failure, redemption, repeat. We are just finishing up with chapter three, and I realized the last time we were together in this series; I left you on a cliff hanger, literally.For those of you who were with us, I shared about how I was camping, hiking, exploring the backcountry of SD with some college friends and as I was climbing the face of this str...  Read More

  17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)What do you notice about the simplicity of this passage? How do you become a new creation?Much like Jesus’ death, old life buried, sin buried, new life rises again, rises from the depths of the grave. Jesus does the same thing in our life when we surrender and trust him. Our old...  Read More

  The next passage I want us to look at is from the Message version and it is Romans 6:3-5- That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old countryof sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the bu...  Read More

  The next passage I want us to look at is from the Message version and it is Romans 6:3-5- That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old countryof sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the bu...  Read More

  We are going to take another passage today and look at it not only through the lens of baptism, but the lens of faith.The words we are looking at in Matthew 28 are the last words of the gospel of Matthew. According to Matthew these are the last words of Jesus to his disciples. What do you notice?Matthew 28:19-20- 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of th...  Read More

  This past Sunday we had the opportunity to celebrate people’s choice to obediently declare their faith through baptism. My desire this week is to share some reflection pieces around baptism, but the encouragement isn’t reflecting on this faith practice, as much as it is, reflecting and challenging the steps of our faith journey.The reason I share it that way is because baptism is a declaration o...  Read More

  Yesterday we looked at the power of pain, grief, loss, anxiety, worry in conceiving to raising children and all points between. Ultimately naming the fact that those things happen, but how do we trust God in the midst of those things, because the world is broken and God didn’t do this to you. Building trust is inviting God into your grief and unfulfilled dreams.Let me fast forward briefly to how...  Read More

  Let’s keep going. Notice God’s interaction with Eve. Genesis 3:15- 16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.I’ve always understood this passage to mean, guess what ladies, giving birth was going to hurt. I got it easy with our two kids, besides not having to do anything, both of our kiddos came as C-section, ...  Read More

  Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”What else do you notice about the offspring?Point of reference, some translations also have seed for offspring. For the sake of the rest of our discussion, we are going to look at this passage as seed.The seed will crush the hea...  Read More

  Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”What else do you notice about the offspring?Point of reference, some translations also have seed for offspring. For the sake of the rest of our discussion, we are going to look at this passage as seed.The seed will crush the hea...  Read More

  This week we are unpacking Genesis 3:14-24, if you listened to the message from Sunday, you will know that we only got so far. There is much within this entire passage. It was also cool to hear of people taking time to unpack portions of this passage for themselves, not just unpacking during the message. That’s the value of giving you these faith challenges, to take what is shared on a Sunday an...  Read More

  If you missed last week, I strongly recommend going back and watching it because it sets us up for this week. Let me give you a quick recap.We talked about how the serpent confronted Eve with misleading questions and statements, Eve responded with some truth, but also some fallacies, Adam was an observer, not a protector. Eve took the fruit and gave it to Adam and sin broke into the world, which...  Read More

  This week we’ve been unpacking the first 13 verses of Genesis 3. My desire has been to help you “unsee” all the ways you have perceived Genesis 3 and begin to see the chaos of disorder that came through the serpent, the satan, sin. But to also see how God pursue us despite our choosing chaos over trust.I do want to draw our attention to hope. I do want to draw our attention to the significance o...  Read More

  Yesterday I shared this quote from Tremper Longmen from his commentary . “The story of Adam, though does expose the nature of sin. What is sin at its heart? Sin is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept him as Lord. Sin places oneself in the position of God, and like Adam and Eve, humans substitute their own ideas of right and wrong in the place of God’s definition. Sin rejects God… The acco...  Read More

  Read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, ...  Read More

  Notice how the serpent creates chaos for Eve and Adam. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, go back to yesterday’s Daily Faith Challenge for a review.If it does make sense, then read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the ...  Read More

  I don’t know about you, but once you’ve seen something one way, it can be really hard to see it another way or shall I say, “unsee” it? For instance, the classic optical illusions you would see in Psychology class. What stands out to you? Do you see a duck or a rabbit? Can you go back and forth between the two or are you stuck seeing one versus the other? My desire is to help you with that toda...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock...  Read More

  Again, thank you to the elders last week for sharing in the service, as well as the daily faith challenges.We’re picking our series back up of Genesis- creation, failure, redemption, repeat and our mini-series of Genesis chapter 2 which is our last part of a four-part series, creation’s Divine intention, formation, and invitation. We saw that the creation story told by the ancients wasn’t simply...  Read More

  Think about a worship song that you really like; one that causes you to turn up the volume or start singing. Why do you connect with that song? Is it the melody? Is it the words? Does it reach your heart, your mind, your body? How does God work within you through that song? ...  Read More

  Communion Reflection: A Table of Grace and Gratitude Dear Church Family, When we come to the Lord’s Table, we are reminded that it is not just bread and cup - it is an invitation to remember, to receive, and to rejoice. In the breaking of the bread, we remember the sacrifice that opened the way for our salvation. In the sharing of the cup, we receive the promise of new life. And in both, we rejo...  Read More

  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4On Sunday, Sarah talked about Jesus’ invitation to his disciples to abide in Him.  To stay.  To dwell in Him.  To make Him my home.Yet, we struggle as we spend a majority of our lives abiding in other things.  BusynessExpectations of self and othersTechnol...  Read More

  Gail shared a story of a painful secret her family held for many years. She stated that unwanted things are going to happen in our lives. She also posed several questions and challenges.Reflect on your own life, what unwanted things have happened to you or those around you? How did you and those around you handle them? Was God present during all that occurred?“When you pass through the waters, I...  Read More

  Today, replace one "Lord, if only..." and choose to trust God with the outcome. Allow the Lord to be the Captain of your heart. Pray: "Lord, rescue me from myself. Not my will, but Yours be done." ...  Read More

  Let me finish with this thought that will lead us from Moses to Jesus to you.Moses is sharing this with the people of Israel before they go into the Promised Land.Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20- 11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we ...  Read More

  We have been looking at the Tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.The two trees are about trusting or taking. That’s why, even going back to the beginning of the passage, God gives us grace by inviting us to eat, eat all that he has given us. But if we believe God is holding out on us, we are going to take. Take what I think I deserve, take what hasn’t been given to me, tak...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:16-17- 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”Here is a little play on both commands and God getting attention on what he is inviting us into. The phrase, free to eat, some translations have surely or certainly ...  Read More

  Read Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17- 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil... 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free...  Read More

  If you haven’t been with us for the last few weeks let me catch you up. If you have been with us, let me refresh you. We are in the middle of our Genesis series, and we have taken the last few weeks to unpack Genesis 2. It was intended to be a two-part series but quickly turned into a 4-part mini-series. Here’s the recap. Creation is about a who, not just a how.Genesis 2 is about Creation’s divi...  Read More

  If we look back to Genesis 2:15 notice what God says. “15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”He gave us a command, it’s actually the second command he gave us, we’ll talk about the first one next week. But he gave us the command to work and take care of the garden. If we look deeper at the meaning of those phrases it relates to serving and...  Read More