Pastor Adam spoke from the Psalms this week. There we find a rhythm that life itself often brings in its natural rhtyhm: orientation, disorientation and reorientation. Needless to say, we are all experiencing some disorientation right now with the Covid-19 situation. Pastor Adam spoke of how comforting and honest Scripture as a whole, but particularly the Psalms can be right now.

We still serve the God of the loaves and fishes and trust in him and not ourselves. May God use this unusual time in history for HIS kingdom.

Today’s roundtable discussion and the the resulting Bible study, address the unique opportunities we have during this time to trust in God and His character and for the church to shine as a “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14). We also discussed finding peace in turmoil, facing the unknown and general encouragement during this unusual time in history.

Haggai was an Old Testament prophet who encouraged his listeners to believe that the rebuilding of the temple would set in motion a chain of events that would reveal God’s powerful presence.

This short book of the Old Testament is a mirror for us to hold up and then try to be honest about what we see. Though it was not written specifically TO us, it was written FOR us.

This powerful book is short, sharp and salutary. It’s primary message is warning against false teachers. Even though some of the examples used in the writing seem odd for our time and culture, caution against false teachers is every bit as applicable now as it was then. Perhaps even more applicable.

This very short book presents a startling contrast between Gaius and Diotrephes. Chances are you have not heard of these Bible characters. They certainly are not often discussed, but this week’s teaching and study presents a powerful contrast of personal character traits that can show up within the church and on the Christian journey.

True love - expressed in obedience - produces the richness of delight in God (vs. 6). But walking in error and heresy yields the emptiness of deception and danger (vs. 7-11). John serves to alert us to the these same potential pitfalls in our lives today. 

Welcoming people who have a change of heart can be a problem for all of us. If we have been hurt in the past, we may want to offer only a cold heart and a closed fist of judgment.  This can be particularly hard when we have the “right” to pass judgment, and maybe even the law on our side. 

This is the last in the “uphill habits” series. We have discussed and studied four areas where it is easy to have uphill hopes, but downhill habits. Without the right habits in place, we will never attain our hopes.  Have you identified some hopes—and the corresponding habits you need to put into place in order to achieve them?