Strive to be a church firing on all cylinders seeking to please God by holy living, knowing that God ultimately works among us to produce this.

A large part of life involves waiting. We wait for appointments. We wait for public transport. We wait for text messages and emails. Some of us wait well, for others of us, however, waiting produces anxiety and concern. As God’s people, we wait patiently for the day of the Lord when he will with finality makes all things news as he returns to bring both judgment as well as salvation. But that time hasn’t come yet. We still wait. But how do we wait well? How do we live in light of the future certain coming day of the Lord? 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 helps us to think through how we live now, in light of the not yet.

Death is something that everyone of us will face head on. Since Adam’s fall from grace in the garden of Eden, every person since have felt the pang of death. Even as followers of Jesus we still face the reality that death has sting. Death is an intrusion, a robber, a dark cloud that hovers over life. As followers of Jesus, however, there is hope beyond the grave. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul reveals truth about life beyond the grave. Paul looks forward in history to the return of Jesus and reveals truth that gives us hope, even in the midst of death.

We please the people who matter to us, the people we love. How do we live in a way that pleases the God who gave us everything?

What do you ‘really live’ for? Be challenged that ‘really living’ is to be serving others in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16 presents Paul’s passionate defence of his ministry to the Thessalonians, offering a compelling portrait of faithful and impactful gospel ministry. Facing criticism and accusations, Paul highlights his ministry’s core attributes, showing that true faithfulness comes from playing to an "audience of One.”

For many people the local church has often been perceived as a place of either irrelevance, suspicion, or hypocrisy. Full of imperfect people, the church has always had, and will continue to be a community where people struggle through life together, imperfectly. But under God, the church can actually thrive as it submits to Jesus’s Lordship. But what does a healthy church actually look like? When a church is doing and being what God has called it to do and be, what does it look like? In 1 Thessalonians 1 we get a snapshot of a young yet healthy church that challenges us to think about our own spiritual health.

When it comes to life there are many worries we all face. Not the least of these worries is financial security. Money now, just as in Jesus’s day, can cause us significant stress while at the same time providing great opportunity to see God at work. In his teaching in Luke 12 Jesus offers us a way forward beyond the grip of worry as he reminds us of our heavenly Father’s generosity.

Money is one of those subjects that many Christians feel awkward talking about. Some traditions seem to make too much of money so other traditions respond by saying nothing at all. With this in mind, how should we think about money? In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul addresses the issue of wealth head on by addressing how the disciple of Jesus should think and act in regard to money.

Jesus’s call to mission is an invitation to deep joy and intimacy with God. This deep joy and intimacy comes when we are given eyes to see the invisible, a heart to feel the immeasurable love of God and faith to believe the impossible.

Obedience to God will mean stepping outside of our comfort zone

Whether you’re at work, at home, or out in the world, turn your daily routine into a life filled with purpose and meaning. Discover and redeem your purpose in every waking hour, and see God’s glory in both your life and work.

We dig into what God’s really like and how he feels about us, even when we're at our lowest. Instead of being out to punish us, God’s heart is all about grace and renewal. He’s not into temporary fixes but promises a lasting change through a new covenant fulfilled in Jesus. It’s a powerful reminder of his steadfast love and commitment, giving us confidence in his unshakeable promises and inviting us to live with real assurance of his grace.

“I know the plans I have for you”. In the midst of their despair, God has a promise of hope for His people.

The people of God in Jeremiah were on the precipice of judgment. The Babylonians would soon come and take them into captivity. In the face of difficulty the word of the Lord through Jeremiah once again confronts Israel as to their faith. Will they trust in themselves, or will they submit to the Lord? By contrasting two types of tree, the prophet Jeremiah points to the reality of the choices we make in regard to trust, as well as the outcomes of that choice.

One of Jeremiah’s key themes is that of tearing down and building up. In this passage the prophet Jeremiah seeks to tear down Israel’s inappropriate attraction to idols while building up their vision of God. God, unlike the useless idols of the world, is the unique, living, and eternal king who is worthy of Judah’s worship, as well as ours.

One of the great challenges of every age is understanding how we relate to and enjoy a relationship with the God of the universe. One of the most common responses to this desire is to be religious. Religion is an attempt to engage with and practice devotion to God. But is religion helpful in this pursuit? What is the way to engage with God? In Jeremiah 7 we get a strong warning about the dangers of being religious in pursuit, but being devoid of a relationship with God in practice. In this section of Scripture God gives us a strong warning about the folly of religiosity without a genuine relationship with him.

We live in a world that is full of despair. At a personal, community, and global level our world is full of hardship and difficulty. Our situation, of course, is nothing new. It is in a similar context that God called a prophet named Jeremiah to speak words of judgment and hope. In the opening of the book of Jeremiah we see God’s calling of the prophet and are reminded again, that no matter how difficult our circumstances God’s presence brings us confidence.