1 Timothy 2:1-15 If you were to take over a company, what is the first thing you should do? If you were promoted to boss, what should your first act be? If you are a new parent or entering into a marriage, what is the best first step you should take as a leader? Paul in 2 Timothy 2 is going to help us answer these questions.We might think leadership starts with casting vision or making a loud, ene...  Read More

1 Timothy 1:1-20 Our reading of 1 Timothy begins what are called the Pastoral Epistles. The letters of 1&2 Timothy and Titus provide critical instructions for leadership. Since every one of us is called to make disciples and thereby function as leaders, these letters are critical for our understanding and our lives. So, as you begin reading, consider the people and areas of life which God has plac...  Read More

2 Thessalonians 3:1-18 “The Lord is faithful.” Do you believe this statement to be true? Through the ups and downs of life, have you experienced God’s faithfulness? What did this look like?Understanding God’s faithfulness is one of the key truths for us to embrace about God. Even if everyone else abandons us, God never will. In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul mentions the wicked and evil, the idle, busybo...  Read More

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 Are you able to survey the brokenness of our world and still have a sense of peace, hope, and joy? Paul was concerned the Thessalonians were becoming “unsettled or alarmed,” so he wrote about their ultimate source of peace —Jesus. The truth which should bring hope into our lives is Christ’s return and his making all things right. Regardless of life's challenges, Christ's tri...  Read More

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 How do you feel about God being a judge and Christ returning to judge the world? Podcast interviewees recently claimed if we got rid of the doctrine of hell and God’s judgment, then it would make Christianity a lot more palatable to our culture. Though easier for people to swallow, they would be embracing a lie. The doctrine of hell and God’s judgment is true and brings hope...  Read More

1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 Are you the same person during the day as you are at night? Most of us are probably the worst version of ourselves at night. We get tired, grumpy, angry, and just want to be left alone. This is even more true as we consider crime rates, DUIs, and other illegal activity during the day versus at night. Darkness brings out the worst in everyone, which is why, as believers, we a...  Read More

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3 Our culture and even Christians view many sins as okay if they do not seem to hurt anyone. This is especially true around sex. Behaviors such as pornography, sex outside of marriage, and homosexual sex are viewed as normal, ordinary, and justified behaviors. Yet Paul points out a myriad of problems with this perspective in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.To walk in any sexual sin is ...  Read More

1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13 We can all confuse pleasure and contentment with joy. We can become pleasure addicts seeking the next fix or feeling a loss of pleasure when things don’t go according to plan.There is an experience that is more satisfying than momentary happiness and it is joy. It is not fleeting but a deep state of mind that is obtainable by all believers. Joy is ultimately not to be foun...  Read More

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 When you think of a model you might think of a person walking along a runway wearing unrealistic, extravagant, costly clothing. Someone who is attempting to draw attention to themselves. Paul called the church of Thessalonica models but a completely different type. They were models that embodied a life of following Jesus and, in doing so, showed how life should be lived. So...  Read More

Colossians 3:18-4:18 Jesus said the two greatest commands were to love God and love others. These are not meant to be two distinct realities but rather a love for God that overflows into a love of everyone. Paul’s focus in Colossians 3-4 is on what it looks like to love others well. He wanted the church to understand that their relationship with God should impact all other relationships. How do yo...  Read More

Colossians 3:1-17 Get your mind out of the gutter! This is a phrase you have probably heard many times and potentially even used yourself. Today's passage challenges us not just to get our mind out of the gutter but to get it all the way to heaven. We are to think upon things of God, things which are eternally meaningful and significant. This idea of dwelling upon eternal things may simply seem li...  Read More

Colossians 2:8-23 Would you like a warranty on that? Would you like to supersize your drink or make that a meal? Wherever we go we are bombarded by attempts to sell us a newer, bigger, and better version of what we already have. This is not only true of material things, but Colossians 2 tells us there is a similar spiritual temptation to think that Jesus is not enough.Paul tells the church that Ch...  Read More