Problems pile on until life feels more like a grave than renewed life, and we wonder where God is. The Book of Ruth opens with Naomi back from Moab empty and bitter, renaming herself Mara because the Almighty has dealt harshly with her—still certain God is King, yet unable to see whether that King still loves her. Is there hope when we find ourselves feeling the same way?
Pastor Tim takes us to the question “How can we be saved?” from the New City Catechism. This is a challenging but important question.
Sometimes our attempts to fix our situations we need rescue from go as badly as poorly planned April Fool’s jokes.
The disciples at first saw an empty grave, but not a Risen King. We can find ourselves doing the same.
Pastor Tim reflects on the empty tomb’s uncertainty before the disciples encountered the Risen Jesus.
We pray the Lord’s Prayer anticipating God’s work, but a lot of times His glory and power feels quite distant. Is that the bad news that cancels out the good news that He cares?
Sin makes us sick over and over, yet we keep charging right back to the buffet—unlike food poisoning, which at least teaches us to stay away from the contaminated food. That’s the human struggle Jesus faces head-on when He teaches us to pray “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” in Matthew 6:13.
Melanie takes us to the question “What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?” from the New City Catechism. This is a challenging but important question.
Over Lent, we have been studying the Lord’s Prayer in a series entitled “Our Prayer.” During Holy Week, we will look at the closing sections of that prayer and see how they give us insight into God’s work that Jesus accomplished for all of us through His death and resurrection.
Join us for our fourth anniversary of Steadfast, during which we look at how God provides hope even in dark and discouraging times.