Overcoming Worry | 2 Peter 1:3-11

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Not only are worry and anxiety symptoms of assuming somebody else’s responsibilities, they are also evidence of a deep problem. What problem? Not knowing God. You may think that the propensity to worry is connected to DNA inherited from previous generations. However, worry is actually the result of not knowing God well enough. Anxieties and insecurities about life come under control when we possess an adequate understanding of who God is and how God cares for us. Don’t miss this opportunity to wipe worry from your life. Learn how now.

Celebration Station & Shootout at OK Corral | Genesis 21:1-14

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God has given us a treasure house of promises, and on each of those promises is a name. What name? Your name and mine, and precisely when the time is right He brings those promises to fruition. Consequently, life is often a celebration for the believer, but once in a while life for the believer can seem more like a shootout at the OK Corral. It happened to Abraham and it can happen to us.

The Incredible Power of Biblical Knowledge | 2 Peter 1:3-11

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Show me someone who is effective as a Christian, and I’ll show you someone who knows his or her Bible. Possessing an intimate knowledge of the Bible is paramount for the person who, as Peter says it: wants to have his entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ abundantly supplied. However, why is biblical knowledge so important? Why does biblical knowledge precede self-control? How does a person draw knowledge out of the Bible and into his head and heart? The answers to these questions hold the key not only to personal healing but to the healing of our society and the world.

Champ or Chump? | Genesis 20:1-18

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In Genesis 17 and 18, we saw Abraham as a champion of the Lord. He had risen to a spiritual height from which it seemed he would never descend. Yet, in Genesis 20, our high-flying champion comes crashing to the ground. We will see in these 18 verses that the power of evil still lurks within the heart of even the most consecrated men and women of God. We are ever to remain aware of the possibility to fall short of the mark set for us in Jesus Christ. If we follow Abraham to the altitudes of loftiness, be careful to avoid following him to the depths of despair

The Sex Talk | 2 Peter 1:3-11

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Part of our creational make-up is the sexual. When God created the bodies of Adam and Eve, He didn’t say: Oops, I didn’t mean to put that there. However, the sexual is to be viewed within the parameters of moral excellence, and moral excellence means channeling the sexual in a way that honors God, edifies others, and satisfies self. Of those three, the first is the most important and the third is the least important, but how are those three applied in practical, enjoyable ways?

Fading at the Finish | Genesis 19:30-38

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If I say, God is good, you would likely respond with the words, all the time. And then if the chant is reversed and I say, All the time, you would likely respond with the words, God is good. Here at Countryside we sing uplifting songs like: God is good all the time. He put a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time. Through the darkest night, His light will shine. God is good; God is good all the time. Most likely, there is not a person reading this blurb who would disagree with those lyrics as penned by Don Moen. Yet, is that the whole story? Lot and his family may have had a different view. Perhaps, you do as well.

You’ve Got to Be Joking! | Genesis 19:15-29

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Do you believe in catastrophic judgment on cities and/or nations? No, really? Have you ever believed that utter destruction is imminent? My guess is that the society in which we reside does not. Neither did the society in which Lot resided. Check out verse 14 in Genesis 19: Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law . . . and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is destroying the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be joking. Would you have quickly lined-up behind Lot, or would you have joined his sons-in-law in a raucous belly-laugh? Here’s the reality: This is no joke!

Move Over Pompeii | Genesis 19:1-14

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Could anything be of such importance to a father that he would actually surrender his daughters to men bent on sexual violence? I just can’t get my head wrapped around Lot’s course of action. Can you? How can Lot’s life philosophy be defended? It can’t, can it? And even if could be defended, what can it possibly mean for twenty-first century man? Maybe, we should simply apologize for the inclusion of this text in the Old Testament canon and move on as quickly as possible