Brand New Year and New Ideas

Acts 2:42–47 (NASB 1995) A new year always arrives with a sense of possibility. Fresh calendars, new planners, ambitious goals, and renewed determination seem to fill the air. In many ways, January feels like a reset button. People talk about new habits, new disciplines, and new strategies for life. The …

The New Life That Christ Gives

Baptisms are filled with joy, anticipation, and sacred celebrations. Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and even those watching online gathered to witness something both powerful and deeply personal. When people step into the baptismal waters, they are not doing so to earn heaven, achieve religious status, or attempt to repair their …

The Promised Son

(Isaiah 9:6-7) The Christmas season surrounds us with beauty such as twinkling lights, decorated homes, familiar music and yet many hearts remain unsettled. A bright exterior can mask an interior filled with fear, longing, and uncertainty. It reminds me of a real estate agent and their client standing outside a …

The Kingdom Shall Be the Lord’s

Obadiah 17–21 (NASB 1995) In a world increasingly confused about identity, allegiance, and authority, Scripture forces a far more foundational question: Where does true citizenship lie, and who is truly King? The book of Obadiah, though the shortest of the Minor Prophets, ends by lifting our eyes above every earthly …

The Day of the Lord is Near

Obadiah 15–16 There are certain days in life that we wait for with both eagerness and uneasiness such as a child’s birth, a long-anticipated wedding, or medical test results that carry the weight of our future. We live in the tension between expectation and uncertainty. In many ways, that is …

Standing By When Others Fall

Obadiah 10–14 Main Idea: Indifference to the suffering of others is complicity in their fall. Some moments in life freeze time. They reveal the deepest convictions of a person, not through words, but through action. On Saturday night, November 22, nurse Heather Schubert was driving home from her own wedding …

The Danger of Looking Down

A Warning from Obadiah 1–9 by Pastor Tom Baran Some of the most powerful warnings in Scripture do not come from long narratives or sweeping prophecies, but from small books that speak loudly. The book of Obadiah at only twenty-one verses is just that and delivers one of the clearest …

A Forever King

If we scroll back through recent history, it is amazing how quickly “kingdoms” rise and fall. There was a time when Radio Shack was the place to go for anything electronic. Blockbuster owned Friday nights. MySpace felt like the center of the online world. For a season, Napster seemed unstoppable. …

When Kings Fall

When Kings Fall 2 Samuel 11:1–17; 12:1–13; Psalm 51 Even the most faithful can fall when the drift begins. That’s what happened to David. His story in 2 Samuel 11 isn’t just a historical record, it’s a mirror held up to every heart that slowly drifts from intimacy with God. …