After Christmas12/29/2020  Christmas is over. The presents have been opened. The wrapping paper cleaned up and the gifts put away. The feast has been consumed and most of the goodies have disappeared. While Christmas is an amazing, awe-filled celebration and time of memory making and remembering, the post-Christmas season can be a bit of a letdown. After all the planning, anticipation, and eager expectation, post-Christmas can feel mundane, anti-climactic, and disappointing. While New Year’s is right around the corner, it does not carry the same joy, celebration, excitement, and magical moments that Christmas does.
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With Grateful Hearts11/26/2020  We have had one strange year; 2020 has not gone as anyone expected or dreamed it would. However, as we gather once again around this familiar holiday, there is still much we can be grateful for. In fact, the Bible encourages us and tells us that in the midst of difficult times is when we must count our blessings and bring to mind the faithfulness of God. Having a grateful heart in the middle of the trials and suffering in life is crucial to our spiritual health and continued growth during seasons of hardship.
 I hope you have enjoyed this mini-series and close look at the life of Deborah! Her story is amazing and her legacy lasting. Not only did the battle she led with Barak against the Canaanites bring peace for forty years, but her spiritual leadership brought spiritual renewal to the people of Israel. Furthermore, Deborah was unafraid of defying the status quo and following her God-given destiny. She was a fearless leader in a male dominant culture, and set an example of spiritual maturity in a spiritually dark and compromising generation.
 Deborah, a prophetess and judge of Israel who was not afraid to lead in spiritual matters and hold the leaders of Israel accountable for what God had called them to do. However, Deborah was also willing to follow God into battle. She not only was willing to lead the people spiritually, but also to step out and physically stand with the people as they faced their battle with the enemy. Today we’re going to see how Deborah went from a prophetess and judge sitting under a palm tree to a warrior and victorious leader of Israel.
 As we began to see last week, Deborah was a special woman with a special relationship with God. However, what made Deborah stand out was not that she had exclusive access to God, but that she took the time in a spiritually dark culture to pursue a relationship with the God of her forefathers. Now, we will see how that relationship with the Lord was used by God to redeem Israel from their oppressors.
 Over the last couple weeks I have been studying the life of Deborah, the prophetess and judge. As one of the few female leaders in the Bible, her story and life is fascinating. And while we don’t have many details, God gives us enough information to make several important observations. So over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to share some of the lessons I’ve gleaned from this mighty woman of God in a little mini-series called “Deborah: A Light in the Darkness.
 It’s been over four months of crazy. Four months since we’ve been able to walk around and see people’s faces. How did what initially started out as two weeks of quarantine morph into four months of chaos? Now we’re on the other side and stepping into a brand new world. A world where everyone tries to maintain a six-foot personal bubble. A strange landscape of masks, face shields, and sanitizing wipes. Gone are the days of hugs and handshakes, and in their place are social bubbles and endless Zoom calls. What is this world coming to?!
Fear God4/3/2020  Fear. It’s everywhere. It’s running wild and unabated in people’s minds and hearts. It’s driving decisions and changing our lives. We’ve already discussed how faith should trump fear during this time of panic and uncertainty. However, there is one thing you should fear: God. I came across this quote by Charles Spurgeon and felt that it was quite fitting for this season. “The fear of God is the death of every other fear."
Faith Trumps Fear3/30/2020  Are you tired of receiving emails with the subject line of “Our Response to COVID-19”? I am! I feel like my inbox has been inundated with the same subject emails from every coperation, retailer, and business I’ve shopped with. It’s gotten rather annoying to say the least. However, it reveals the fact that this virus is on everyone’s minds. And how could it not, since major decisions that affect our everyday lives have been made in light of the current pandemic.
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