The Well: Sermon Audio

You may not notice it if you aren’t looking for it, but singing is everywhere in the Scriptures. As the people of God, we have a privilege and responsibility to ascribe worth to the Lord through song, and there is a beauty in doing that corporately. When you look at the breadth of work in the text of how we are supposed to respond to the Lord, it’s not just an intellectual exercise. We are to praise Him with joy, with passion and with all of our being. What would it look like to have this kind of worship experience together? [Video File] [Audio File]

The Word of God exhorts and church history demonstrates that one of the unique elements that should define a church's weekly gathering is our commitment to praying the Word together. Whether it be congregational prayers, confessional prayers or intercessory prayers, it is our vertical communion with the Lord that transforms our horizontal communion with one another in our gatherings. In this message we'll explore the purpose, practice and power of prayer in Christ's gathered church. [Video File] [Audio File]

The Word of God drives our gatherings. But when we talk about the importance of the Word of God in community, it’s not just about the Bible being communicated; it’s about coming with a sense of anticipation and the experience we get as we submitting to the Word together. We share the journey of sitting under the authority of the Word of God, and that’s what makes the gathering so special. [Video File] [Audio File]

All that matters to David was taken away in an instant; his power, his position, his popularity and his prosperity have been removed, and he finds himself in the wilderness of Judah. Out of this terrifying and heart-breaking experience, David turns to his God. Instead of letting his circumstances dictate his response, he lets his God overcome the circumstances. He declares with passion and conviction that even though all has been stripped away, God is with him and He is enough. All of us have a wilderness that either draws us toward the loving arms of the Father or leaves us running away in despair and doubt. We are challenged in this Psalm to recognize that God’s steadfast love is better than life, and we can cry out in the midst of our tragic and painful experiences with confidence: “O God, you are my God.” [Video File] [Audio File]

In Psalm 32 David describes the blessings of God's forgiveness of sin, which comes after the pain of conviction and the humility of our confession. God is with us always, even after we sin. [Video File] [Audio File]

When we think of being blessed (or #blessed), we generally think of having stuff. However, Psalm 1 defines what the blessed life really is from a spiritual context, saying it’s more about a life that is right with God – a life that is meaningful, has purpose and is at peace. And we get there by pursuing and delighting in the Word of God, meditating on it day and night, and being mindful of the things that influence us. It’s recognizing that all throughout, Scripture points us to the author. It’s there we find Christ and learn to submit to Him. [Video File] [Audio File]

Psalm 20 is a fascinating pre-battle Psalm of David. As they prepared to go to battle, the troops would recite and sing this Psalm, boasting in the Lord for what they knew He would do. The word boast in the Hebrew is the idea of trusting and bragging and proclaiming something out loud. They don’t brag or boast about the things of this world, but of the Lord, because He is the one who will deliver them. They know God is the one who goes before them and fights their battles, so they brag on Him and celebrate Him. God is so much bigger than we realize. Are you boasting in Him or of the lesser things of this world? [Video File] [Audio File]

In Psalm 121, the psalmist asks and answers the question, “Where does my help come from?” Where do you look for help? Do you lift your eyes up to the Lord? Or do you look toward lesser things? These eight short verses talk about God’s covenantal love for His people, and they’re meant to be a reminder that He is with us and we can find our strength and peace in Him. [Video File] [Audio File]

When pain and fear come crashing into our world, we tend to run in one of three directions: away from God, at God or to God. The power of lament is that it gives us the freedom to run to God with questions in the midst of our confusion, looking for help in the midst of our helplessness. Lament allows us to be real and raw in our pain, ultimately pointing us toward finding our confidence in God by seeing Him as the source of our safety, not the cause of our pain. When we see God as a good Father and mighty warrior, we can be confident in times of trouble and run to Him with arms outstretched, knowing God is with me and for me, even when all else is against me. [Video File] [Audio File]

Life is hard, but God is with us in every circumstance. Praising Him for who He is and what He has done for us doesn't necessarily mean our circumstances will change, but as we trust in Him, He will change us from the inside out for His glory. I can learn to praise God with all that’s happening in my life because He is with me as I go through it. [Video File] [Audio File]

In the midst of difficult times, have you ever asked yourself, “Where is God?” The psalmists have. The author of Psalm 91 begins the journey of understanding circumstances by first getting an understanding of who God is. The psalmist cries out to God, longing for His deliverance, longing for His presence, and finds God is not distant or removed. He is sovereign over all. He is right here with us and bigger than any of our circumstances. And when we recognize that truth, we too can rest in Him, trust in Him and find our peace in Him. [Video File] [Audio File]

As we experience celebrations and moments in life, let’s pause and take intentionality in them, allowing the Holy Spirit to move and work, rather than letting the moments slip by. And may we learn to raise our sights to see opportunities of marked moments, regardless of our circumstances and the season of life we're in. [Video File] [Audio File]

In some ways, 2 Peter ends on a hard note. It’s a picture of what’s to come in the end, and Peter challenges his readers and us today to live with that end in mind. The patience and relenting nature of God should create a sense of urgency, not apathy, and that urgency should create a desire to share Christ with those who don’t know Him, while we still have a chance. Untaught and unstable people distort that truth just like they do the rest of the Scriptures. But we should submit to the Scriptures, not because we understand them, not even necessarily because we agree with them, but because they are the inspired words of God. [Video File] [Audio File]

It is the relentless love God has for people that brings out another of His characteristics: His relentless nature to punish. This may not be talked about often, but the Bible paints a picture over and over again of a God who patiently waits for the ungodly to repent. Perhaps the challenge for us is to share this same characteristic as we deal with the people in the world around us, remembering God gave us a chance to repent and we should do the same for others. [Video File] [Audio File]

The Scriptures are so important that Peter continues to speak on the Word of God by way of reminder. He paints a picture of what the lives of people look like when they are not in His Word, of people who experience salvation but then end up back in their old life, enslaved by their old ways of life, returning, as he says, like a “‘dog returns to its own vomit’” (2 Peter 2:22). He reiterates the importance of the Scriptures and challenges believers to not lose sight of them in a culture that has rejected the Word of God. [Video File] [Audio File]