Isn’t AI great? Seriously, I use AI for lots of things. It saves me time and sometimes makes me look brilliant. I no longer have to dig around looking for an answer. If I don’t know the answer, my good friends ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini are there to help me. I can get the answer from AI in a few seconds or sooner. At least in that sense, delay is no longer a part of my life. In all of human history, there has never been anything like this. Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. Solomon never met AI. The answer to almost anything is at our fingertips within seconds thanks to AI. I’m beginning to wonder, however, if AI is making us more impatient?

We provide Sermon Recap Questions each week to help you go deeper into Sunday’s message. These questions are designed to guide personal reflection or group discussion, helping you engage more meaningfully with the Scripture and key takeaways from the sermon. Whether you’re spending time with God on your own or connecting with others in a group, this is a simple and practical way to continue growing throughout the week.

Patience can be difficult when we're waiting for ourselves to grow, another person to change, or God to answer a prayer. Biblical patience isn't simply tolerating delays—it means trusting God enough to keep loving, keep obeying, and stop trying to force the outcome. As followers of Jesus, we're called to learn patience with ourselves, extend patience to others, and trust God's timing when we don't understand what He's doing. Instead of becoming discouraged by slow spiritual growth, we can remember that God is patiently transforming us into the people He wants us to become. And when others frustrate us, patience gives us space to ask, “What does love require of me in this situation?” The more we recognize how patient Jesus has been with us, the more His Spirit can produce that same patience in our lives.

Sunday morning feels different. You worship, hear an encouraging message, connect with people, and leave church feeling spiritually refreshed. Then Monday morning comes, the alarm goes off, and you’re back in the “real world.” Before long, Sunday’s message becomes a distant memory as work, responsibilities, and everyday life take over. Sunday feels spiritual, but Monday somehow feels different. What if there’s something wrong with the way we’ve been thinking about the other six days?

We provide Sermon Recap Questions each week to help you go deeper into Sunday’s message. These questions are designed to guide personal reflection or group discussion, helping you engage more meaningfully with the Scripture and key takeaways from the sermon. Whether you’re spending time with God on your own or connecting with others in a group, this is a simple and practical way to continue growing throughout the week.

We all want peace, but worry, relationship conflicts, and the pressures of everyday life can quickly steal it from us. Jesus offers something deeper than the temporary peace that comes when our circumstances are going well—He gives us His peace even in the middle of trouble. We can turn our worries into prayers, courageously pursue peace in our relationships, and surrender the outcomes we cannot control. As we stay connected to Christ through prayer, Scripture, obedience, fellowship, and trust, His peace begins to shape the way we face life's challenges. The goal isn't to work hard enough to earn peace, but to remain close to the One who gives it. Even when there is trouble around us, we can experience the deep shalom of Jesus within us.

What if happiness doesn't have to wait until every problem is solved? As we continue studying the Fruit of the Spirit, Pastor Steve explores how God can grow genuine joy in us even in the middle of difficult circumstances. Lasting joy begins when we stay connected to Jesus instead of expecting relationships, success, or changing circumstances to provide what only God can give. When fear, bitterness, and trials threaten our joy, we can bring them honestly to God and trust Him to use even difficult seasons to strengthen us. The joy of the Lord doesn't mean pretending everything is fine—it gives us strength and renewal as God works in our lives. No matter what season we're facing, we can make room for God's joy today.

Yesterday my two sons, Stevie and Caleb, plus a good friend of Caleb’s, played in a "CAPS" College Area Pregnancy Services golf tournament to raise money for CAPS. We played on one of the best golf courses in the United States. It all sounds dreamy until you factor in that we played on one of the hottest days of the year. It was so hot that several foursomes came in early. I seriously thought I might pass out around mid-afternoon. As a team we did okay, but the important thing is that we raised around 12 to 13 hundred dollars for CAPS, that was from our team alone. I believe life is precious. I am not pro-choice because the Bible is not pro-choice when it comes to the life of a baby.

Love is the first fruit Paul mentions in Galatians 5, and it is foundational to everything that follows. Biblical agape love is more than an emotion—it is unconditional, sacrificial, selfless love that moves us to action. First Corinthians 13 shows us what this love looks like in everyday life: it is patient and kind, celebrates instead of envies, chooses humility, extends grace, forgives, and refuses to give up. We can love this way because God first demonstrated that kind of love toward us through Jesus. As the Holy Spirit transforms our lives, our love for others should become increasingly visible in the way we speak, serve, forgive, and respond to difficult people. Jesus said that our love for one another would be one of the clearest ways the world recognizes us as His disciples.

Do you ever think about the people who have contributed to your life and, to some degree, made you the person you are today? Hebrews 12 begins with these words, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.”  The author of Hebrews is making reference to those who have finished their journey in this world and are now with the Lord. You and I are standing on the shoulders of some of those people, although some of the people whose shoulders we are standing on may still be alive today.

We provide Sermon Recap Questions each week to help you go deeper into Sunday’s message. These questions are designed to guide personal reflection or group discussion, helping you engage more meaningfully with the Scripture and key takeaways from the sermon. Whether you’re spending time with God on your own or connecting with others in a group, this is a simple and practical way to continue growing throughout the week.

What does it really mean to live a Spirit-filled life? In Galatians 5, Paul teaches us that freedom in Christ isn't the freedom to live for ourselves—it's the freedom to love and serve others. Every day, we experience a conflict between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit, which is why we're called to keep walking in the Spirit. As we remain connected to Jesus, the Holy Spirit produces character in us that we could never manufacture on our own. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are not qualities we simply choose from a menu—they are all part of becoming more like Jesus. As the fruit of the Spirit becomes visible in our lives, the world begins to see something different in us.

I love the Bible and I have a lot of favorite verses. At some point in my life, Romans 8:1 became my life verse. Why and how?

One day I was reading through Romans again, and when I say again, I mean maybe the 200th time. Suddenly Romans 8:1, which says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” came alive to me. It was like an epiphany. I realized that although I am far from perfect, meaning I still sin, because I am in Christ I am not condemned. For some people that’s a no-brainer, but for me it was a revelation.

We provide Sermon Recap Questions each week to help you go deeper into Sunday’s message. These questions are designed to guide personal reflection or group discussion, helping you engage more meaningfully with the Scripture and key takeaways from the sermon. Whether you’re spending time with God on your own or connecting with others in a group, this is a simple and practical way to continue growing throughout the week.

Following Jesus isn't something we practice only on Sundays—it should shape every relationship and responsibility in our lives. In Colossians 3 and 4, Paul shows us how Christ transforms the way we live at home, approach our work, pray, and interact with the world around us. Our faith becomes visible through Christlike love, integrity, persistent prayer, and words filled with both truth and grace. Even ordinary work can become worship when we remember that ultimately we are serving Christ. As followers of Jesus, our conduct and conversations are part of our Gospel witness. Wherever God places us, we have an opportunity to let others see Christ through the way we live.

In my devotions this morning I was reading from John 11 where Jesus raises his good friend Lazarus from the dead. If you haven’t read it, Jesus is notified by Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, that their brother is seriously sick. Of course they have seen Jesus heal a lot of people and probably have the utmost confidence that Jesus will come right over and heal their brother.

We provide Sermon Recap Questions each week to help you go deeper into Sunday’s message. These questions are designed to guide personal reflection or group discussion, helping you engage more meaningfully with the Scripture and key takeaways from the sermon. Whether you’re spending time with God on your own or connecting with others in a group, this is a simple and practical way to continue growing throughout the week.

Following Jesus isn't about putting our old life under better management—it's about living from the new identity we've been given in Christ. In Colossians 3, Paul uses the picture of changing clothes to show us what transformation looks like. We're called to take off the old habits and attitudes that no longer belong in our lives and put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. This wardrobe change isn't something we do once; it's a daily decision to live like the new person Christ has made us to be. The Christian life doesn't begin with “Try harder,” but with the truth that we have been raised with Christ. Each new day gives us another opportunity to take off the old and put on the new.

Have you noticed that certain words suddenly become vogue in our vocabulary? When I first began to hear people use the word agency, I wasn’t quite sure I had a handle on the meaning of it. It’s a word that can be used in a corporate sense or government sense in that they have agencies to help people. However, I want to focus on individual agency, which is the capacity of people to act independently, make their own free choices, and shape their own lives despite social structures.

There are so many negative things happening in the world right now that if we are not careful, we can lose our sense of agency. …

Following Jesus isn't about adding more rules to our lives or trying harder to earn God's acceptance. In Colossians 2, Paul warns against empty philosophies, religious traditions, and human standards that can distract us from Christ. Through the cross, Jesus has already canceled our debt, defeated the powers against us, and secured our freedom. Religious practices may appear spiritual, but rules alone cannot transform the human heart. Instead of living in the shadows of empty religion, we're invited to build our lives on the reality of Jesus and grow deeper in our relationship with Him.