When times are tough, I find myself wanting to give up. This stems from my inability to see what God is doing behind the scenes of what is happening. When John the Baptist was in prison, he started to second guess what he’d believed and preached. He questioned whether Jesus was really the One he'd waited for, in spite of God’s clear revelation at Christ’s baptism. But Jesus’s response to John’s doubt was to show compassion toward John and to provide information for us. Jesus explained that John’s greatness in God’s eyes and the greatness of the opposition to the Messiah were facts that John had missed. While knowing what high regard God had for John doesn’t explain God’s view of me, it does remind me that my perception of the way God and others think of me might be skewed. Perhaps everyone isn’t against me; perhaps God sees me as greater than anyone else does. The greatness of the opposition also changes my perspective on this world. Things will get worse before they get better. As I wait for the justice and peace of the kingdom to arrive, I must not let wickedness or opposition to the gospel discourage me. Instead, I must remember that it’s always darkest just before the day dawns, and things will continue to get darker in this world until Christ appears to set things right. Read More

We all have times when we fear. My fears reveal my values: what I view as most important and real. This is evident most clearly in my fear of people. Because I inordinately value my physical safety, property, and social standing, I believe that the harm people can inflict is the worst harm that can happen to me. Then I shrink in fear instead of standing for God’s truth. My misplaced values cause me to fear people who can hurt my body, but can’t destroy my soul. And then I ignore God Whose hurt is far more extensive, threatening the loss of both my soul and my body in hell. I value too much this life and the things it offers to see that real life is available through following Christ to God. The only thing that can change me is a change of my heart. I must follow Jesus, not with this life in mind, but with my death before me. I must be willing to take up my cross and follow Him to my death, if necessary. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” May I be willing to come and die to this world and my flesh so that I might live for God. - Pastor Rory Martin Read More

We often think of adoption as a plan B when it comes to raising a family. Though this perception is often the case, it does not have to imply lessor or secondary implications for the child in terms of status. However, with adoption comes the challenge for parents to assure their adopted children of the reality of their legal standing, and to affirm their inclusion into the family as true and legitimate children. Human adoption is a beautiful reflection of the gospel. As believers adopted into the family of God, we can rest assured that adoption was not an afterthought in God’s mind (Gal. 4:4). He predestined us for adoption before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:5). You see, “plan B” was His plan A. Just as an adopted son can experience legal and relational bonds that confirm his genuine sonship, so the believer can rejoice in the legal bond as well as the spiritual bond realized by the indwelling Spirit of God. The affections that God awakens within us carry far more implications than legal outcomes. The Spirit pervades our relationship which bears witness of this reality as we will see in the sermon text this week (Gal. 4:1-7). Praise God that He gives us both legal and spiritual standing so that we can live with hearts transformed and voices raised, saying with deep conviction, “Abba, Father.” - Pastor Nate Wagner Read More