Adventurous Living - The Meadow Springs Community Church Podcast

We’ve been going through each book of the Bible this year, and we land in the book of Esther this Easter Sunday. It might seem odd, but consider a couple of things: Are we willing to trust God’s providence even when we cannot see Him working? Do we believe that God uses the mess and moral ambiguity of people to accomplish His purposes? YES! We know He is ALIVE and always working behind the scenes, no matter how bad things get, committed to redeeming this world.  

“We are Your people, the sheep of your pasture; we will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.” Psalm 79:13 What makes someone worthy of such adoration? Trust, confidence and honesty - tell Him ‘all the things’ …the good and bad. He made you. He loves you. He already knows.  

The Israelites are returning to their homeland after exile to Babylon. They desperately desire to rebuild the temple and set right their relationship with God - their hopes are high, but opposition causes some low morale. Again, they are disobedient and therefore, disappointed. What will God need to do to transform their hearts so they will follow and obey Him?

The people of Israel got their king - several of them, in fact. It’s what they asked for, right? But what did having a king actually achieve? Not much… Sin again rears its destructive head and all of the kings, one right after the other, run Israel into the ground. So, what now? Is there anyone who can get things back on the right path?

When the people of Israel ask for a king, they are asking for someone who would provide a sense of security and safety in a scary world. How do we, today, learn to look to Jesus and trust God in the areas where we feel insecure?

This is our God. This is who He is - He loves us. This is our God. This is what He does - He saves us. As worshippers of Yahweh, there are no truer words!  We come to the LORD in worship and in celebration of what He's done in our lives... HALLELUJAH!

The book of Ruth is a beautiful example of how God works behind the scenes and how His will is so connected to our daily lives. But why? Might He have had a grander purpose for Ruth? How about now? Is God working in the “day to day” of our own lives?

The book of Judges is the tragic story of Israel’s moral corruption and bad leadership - basically, they were a total failure. They had become no different than the Canaanites that had just been destroyed. Here’s an interesting question: What kind of impression would the book of Judges make on someone who was reading it for the first time? Yikes…

The book of Joshua is the story of Yahweh fulfilling His promise to give Isreal the land. We know their journey to get there was, well, an extended one because of their disobedience. But God… He is always faithful to keep His promises.

“Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven and whose sin is put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, and whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Psalm 32:1-2

In the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, the Israelites continue to rebel and only their children will enter the promised land… when will they learn? Will Moses’ final message to his people take root?

Moses is given some pretty specific instructions at the outset of the book of Leviticus. What are they for? Let’s dive in and get some insight to the book, it’s important theme of holiness and how God’s people respond to some uncomfortable truths.

The book of Exodus opens on a depressing note. Jacob and his sons have died. However, the writer tells us there were many decendants. So many, in fact, that they quickly filled the land and caught the eye of the new king… and not in a good way. So begins the long and terrible Egyptian enslavement of the Israelites. But also on display were God’s great signs and wonders and His unmistakable provision and presence among them.

On January 8th, we begin a year-long deep dive into the narrative of the Bible and discover how as a whole, it tells the story of God’s commitment to bring good out of evil. Our big goal for 2023 is to fall more in love with Jesus as we journey through each book of the Bible, discovering how they all contribute to one story of God’s commitment to bless humanity and redeem a fallen world.  

Imagine this scene for a moment... standing in your office during a regular, run-of-the-mill work day. Then, in a sudden flourish, the CEO of your company rushes in and says, '"you've gotta see what's going on outside. You don't want to miss this..." I imagine that's a bit like what happened to those shepherds that night long ago. They were being invited to witness something amazing, some good news of great joy, and for sure, they were not gonna want to miss it.  

Waiting is hard... especially when we're used to insta-everything. Imagine waiting for generations, centuries even, for the fulfillment of a promise - the perfect gift - that would be unto all people for all time. Now that would be something worth waiting for.

Darkness. Gloom. Despair. Those words don't exactly sound like Christmas, do they? 'Merry & Bright' and 'Joy to the World' is where we generally land. Without the gift of that baby so long ago, though, mourning and desperation would be all this world would know. Think of it like this... it would always be winter, but never Christmas.

"Walking in darkness. Groping for light... stumbling along like corpses." A pretty grim picture, right? This is how the book of Isaiah describes us, living apart from God, with no hope and no future. The Christmas story and the birth of Jesus began the most comprehensive rescue mission in all of history - one to save us from eternal darkness. That mission continues today... in this very minute. Join us until December 25th as we discover the wonder and significance of Christmas through the lens of C.S. Lewis' text, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on good things and being thankful, both in our homes in our church family. So many hands, uniquely gifted for service, make our church family what it is. Our expression of thanks is never quite adequate but certainly always sincere.

A fundamental process in the life of a believer is accepting the challenge to be the husband or the wife and the follower of Jesus that God has called you to be. Our actions indicate a choice to either move forward in pursuit of a desired outcome or taking a hard pass and saying 'no' to God's best. Will you accept the challenge?