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This week has been a very difficult and very significant week. It’s been a week of much pain, sorrow, heartache, confusion, bewilderment. It’s been challenging. I can’t help but think how much I hate times like these, how much I detest these gut wrenching feelings. Words certainly cannot describe all…

Anguish & Art van Gogh Asylum distressed state of mind anguish recognised in Jesus a pain that refelected his own reality Painting draws us into the scene barrenness first hint of spring dark tree in the centre under the eaves - a view onto sunlit hills of green figure in the shadows van Gogh? Jesus?…

Grief in a Festive Season Needful and timely topic Hoover Dam: hold back the waters to build the structure, make the inevitable useful Message for many who struggle with not knowing what to do with negative emotions. kids playing with play-dough: all the bits get incorporated into the pure lump Biblical…

Intro; Last week I told you that after all the blessings we receive in the Person of the Holy Spirit, that the last two messages we would look at would be warnings concerning Him. We spoke last Sunday morning about “Quench Not the Holy Spirit”. Paul warned the church at Thessalonica not to “quench” stifle,…

Introduction Audience: Written to Judah, but the conversation is between the prophet and God. Date: 626-590 BC. It was most likely written after the destruction of the northern kingdom, but before the Judaen exile. This was a period of decline and rebellion in Judah before they were judged. Author: Nothing…

Have you ever had or known someone who has had, that gut punch of grief? It can be brought on by something like a daunting diagnosis, the loss of a family member, the loss of a job, and even the loss of a beloved pet. When in the midst of grief sometimes it’s difficult to tell what direction is what.…

Introduction: Do you know one of the things that I love about us? The show doesn’t have to go on. We are not a seller of religious goods or of a religious show. We are a family! And right now our family is grieving. We don’t grieve as those without hope because we know that Chuck Palmer is in the presence…

Temporary tears accomplish suprising glory.

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Mourning Myself When looking throughout my life and sharing my testimony, it begins for me to recognize that I was separated from God first. This separation for me allows me to understand what caused that separation in the first place.…

God’s faithfulness is still great.” This is where biblical lament is transformative. It not only gives voice to the pain you feel but also anchors your heart to truths you believe— or are trying to believe when dark clouds linger. Something bad may have happened in your life, which is why you are reading…

Sin is Real, and Jesus is the Solution

Let us pray…Gracious and ever-loving God, as we come to the end of our Lenten season, we come before you this afternoon looking for your guidance and comfort. We come with hearts heavy by the load we have carried for the last year and laden with the burdens that we have carried all this time. In this…

Reminder: Life is unfair . I don’t like. You don’t like it but it is true. This is one of the fundamental realities of the world we live in. What do we do when our expectations are not met? This is a key question we must ask ourselves often. What role does suffering play in our faithfulness? This is…

What comes to mind when you hear the word Lament? Lament as a noun is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow or an expression of regret or disappointment; a complaint. Lament as a verb is the action of expressing ones regret or disappointment over something considered unsatisfactory, unreasonable,…

1 Why, O Lord , do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord…

What is Biblical prayer? Have you ever thought long and hard about this question? Most of us, and for many years I have been similar, the answer is probably not. We know some of the great “prayers” of the Bible but it is the unknown prayers we may want to consider. Having faith when God is silent. It…

This Week’s Theme: Praise God for His Blessings Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” This Week’s Word is Blessings : Spiritual and material benefits given by God to be enjoyed. Blessing the name of God is…

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 1 How long, O Lord ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light…

Trust is only proven in suffering. To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 1 How long, O Lord ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider…

Grief & Mourning “Grief is the painful emotion of sorrow caused by the loss or impending loss of anyone or anything that has deep meaning to you.” Biblical Counseling Keys on Grief Recovery, June Hunt. Be gracious to me, O Lord , for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body…

Let us pray…Gracious and always loving God, as we enter this season of Lent, we come before you this day/night asking that you would join our hearts with yours, help us to remember that your love for us knows no boundaries, and that this season, a season that has lasted for over a year now, will come…

I took God my Grief 3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. The psalmist declared that the pains of death surrounded him. The word “pains” refers to chords that can be used for a trap, like trapping animals. He expressed that the situation…

Mark 16:9-14 Some Bible scholars do not believe that these verses were not actually written by Mark. They believe they were added at a later date by some other author. The reason they believe this is because the language used in these verses is different from the language used in the rest of the Gospel…

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the…

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their…