God’s wholehearted desire for us Satisfied: “pleased or content with what has been experienced or received.” At Peace: “freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions” Dissatisfaction and Anxieties of Life Last week after getting some things done at Caribou I walked into the parking lot to find another car…
After my first post for this year, “Known. Loved. Empowered,” I wanted to continue the theme of adjectives that define us as we follow Christ. This serves as a reminder of what God’s vision and desire is for each of us. Not as a perfect measure to compare ourselves to…
The following is a fictional story written by Mike Anderson. I wasn’t there when Jesus was born; he was my older brother—I came along almost two years later. Growing up, I heard the story of his birth over and over again—and then was told not to tell anyone. When I…
One person sneezes and another says, “God bless you.” Someone is diagnosed with a serious illness and we quietly pray, “God, please bless them.” An Olympic athlete from the USA wins gold and during the national anthem we proudly think, “God bless America.” We seem to naturally link God and…
Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our…
We all know Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Elijah, King David, Paul, Simon Peter. The list continues of people we want to meet in Heaven. Some people in the Bible are mentioned only once, and we never hear about them again. Some of them don’t even have a name…
Why memorize? At First Free Maplewood, our fall sermon series comes with a special challenge: memorize 1 Peter 2:9–10 and Matthew 28:18–20 as a community. Church memorization may seem unfamiliar to many outside of children’s ministries, but it isn’t just for kids. It’s an important part of walking with…
Though this is based on a story in the book of Judges, it is fiction. What I found in my study of this Biblical account in history made me want to imagine what it might actually look like. This is the image that came to my mind. There was a…
With His back against the wall, He sat watching the crowd deposit their coins at the temple. In the midst of the hubbub and commotion of people hawking their wares and scurrying along the street, Jesus was watching the treasury with precision focus. Weary of the wealthy’s loud and…
