Matthew 12:15-21 New International Version (NIV) God’s Chosen Servant 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out;

Haggai 2: 15 - 19 Have you ever asked questions like this: Is it really worth it to follow God? Why am I still struggling so much when I’m trying to do what’s right? I’m trying to obey but why isn’t God blessing me? After returning from exile in Babylon, God’s people have been tasked with rebuilding God’s Temple. They eagerly laid the foundation but because of opposition and their own selfish priorities, they stopped working for 16 years. Haggai was called on the scene to mob

Matthew 12:1-14 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 12 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” 3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companio

Haggai 2: 10 - 14 “Dear Lord, so far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, over-indulgent, coveted my neighbor’s spouse or taken your name in vain. I’m very thankful for that…but, in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, everyone that I encounter will probably need a lot of help from you. Amen.” The Christian life would be easier if we could sleep all day. It’s all the s

Matthew 11:25-30 New International Version (NIV) The Father Revealed in the Son 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son

Haggai 2: 6 - 9 A kindergarten teacher was observing her class while they were drawing. As she walked around the room, she came to a girl who was working diligently. She stopped and asked what the picture was about. The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a beat, the girl replied, “They will when I’m done.” Haggai had rallied the remnant to get back to work and rebuild the Temple. Undoubtedly, t

1 Corinthians 1: 1 - 11 2 brothers tormented the small town where they lived for decades. They had blown up their families and were dishonest in business. They were loud, boisterous and just plain rude to nearly everyone. One day the younger brother died unexpectedly. The older brother went to the pastor of the local church “Pastor, I’d like you to conduct my brother’s funeral. It’s important to me that during the service, you say my brother was a saint.” The pastor said, “I

Psalm 139 We’ve been learning the importance of our identity in Christ. This morning we celebrated our forgiveness and freedom. Now we’re celebrating that God cherishes what He created. As good as it is to celebrate our identity, I do want to share a caution. In our search to discover who we are we can inadvertently focus too much on our self-image, self-esteem and self-identity. The key is not so much who I am but who God is. “We have misdiagnosed our primary problem. As lon

Colossians 1: 13, 14 No Longer Slaves… I’m no longer a slave to fear. You rescued me so I could stand and sing; I am a child of God. We sing about forgiveness and freedom but some of us struggle to fully experience it. We’re not going to focus on what to do to make “a new you,” but rather on who we are; or more correctly, whose we are. It’s not what we need to do but what’s already been done for us by Christ. We live in an age where it’s becoming increasingly important to saf