FAILURE. So many of us live with it in the form of broken relationships. Don’t we know better? When we struggle, it isn’t that love failed; it’s that we failed to love. If we are willing to let God teach us how to love, we can get past our failures.

What do you think people in our community ask me to pray for most?  More than health concerns or job opportunities, the overwhelming and often teary-eyed response when I ask to pray for them is for their struggling marriages.  Relationships are where we overwhelmingly need the most help and where the enemy is wounding us most deeply.

Valleys always follow mountaintops. Instead of letting our current problems take away from our past experiences of God’s goodness, Jesus shows how our mountaintops can actually prepare us for the valley below.

Whether separated by geography, disagreements, or even death, being far away from family is tough.  For those who leave everyone and everything for His sake, Jesus offers family “a hundredfold.” To experience this ourselves, we in the church must change how we think, how we speak, and how we act to be that family for one another.

For too many of us, “neighbor” is that nameless person who doesn’t cut his grass or plays her music too loud.  Our interactions are limited to passing “hellos” or angrily airing our grievances, with little in-between. Jesus calls His followers to “love your neighbor as yourself”, so something has gone terribly wrong if the only time we interact is to complain!

A great Bible class teacher can ignite a love for God and His word even in the youngest students. While it is tough work, teaching is a gift Christ gives us to help us grow.

“It’s funny how quickly we go from being thankful to feeling like we deserve it.” It is all too easy to fall into the trap of always wanting more, but it only leaves us frustrated. The Apostle Paul shows us how focusing on Jesus leads to true contentment, thankfulness, and peace.

“Is it a sin to feel fearful about being separated from our loved ones when we die?” As I replied to this thoughtful question in our summer study group, my seven-year old daughter’s small hand shot up to comment.  Her innocent confidence in Jesus - much like the Apostle Paul’s cultivated over a lifetime of faith - demonstrated hope that was real.

The Apostle Paul could always spot the false brothers:  they were the ones only concerned about themselves. To truly follow Jesus, we must focus on what pleases God and helps others.

There is no shortage of people who will talk and who will take. The Apostle Paul had little use for such people: he respected action. Our salvation is not meant for us to simply sit and talk: it is meant for us to receive God’s power and go work with Him!