Keystone Church | Paradise Sermons: Recent Episodes
Keystone Church | Paradise Sermons
These are sermons delivered during the Sunday morning worship services of Keystone Church, an Evangelical Free Church in Paradise, PA, USA. Please visit www.keystonechurch.org for more information.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug 2 2026
There are all sorts of things that can make us fearful and anxious. There are internal struggles that make us feel anxious as we wrestle with sin and weakness. There are external struggles that make us anxious as we face all sorts of difficulties and challenges in a world broken by sin. There are real threats that make us anxious – illness, wayward children, financial struggles, wars, things on the news, etc. And then there are also possible threats that make us anxious – fearing rejection, loss of job, the worst-case scenarios, etc. There is no lack of things in this life that may lead us to be fearful and anxious. And those fears and anxieties have been compounded in our internet and social media age where worst case scenarios or our failure to measure up is always simply a swipe away. In the midst of all our fears and anxieties, God invites us to turn to Him. He wants us to come to Him, to trust Him, and to cast our anxieties upon Him. We may be tempted to think that God does not care (especially if the thing that’s causing us anxiety seems small or insignificant). But He does care and He wants us to come to Him with all our cares! When life feels fearful it’s an opportunity to turn to God in trust and experience the peace He can give us.
Keith Rohrer | Jul 26 2026
If you’re 14-22, you’re probably thinking about what you want to do with your life and who you want to become. Many people and experiences will influence what you decide. Does God get a say? Would you consider His plans for you if they differed from yours?
Kyle Kauffman | Jul 19 2026
We do not live in 1st century Corinth like the people Paul was writing to in this letter. We live in 21st century America where there are both surprising similarities and significant differences to the church and culture in 1st century Corinth. We have seen both of those as we’ve walked through this letter. Perhaps one of the greatest and most wonderful similarities is that the church continues today, 2,000 years later, to be an enduring testimony to the grace of God. Whether it is Keystone Church or millions of other biblical churches across the globe, the continued existence and witness of the church is a testimony to the grace of God in the gospel. The gospel gives birth to the church and church exists to display and proclaim the gospel. This is what we find in Paul’s concluding chapter of his letter to the Corinthians and it’s what we continue to be called to live out today as a church.
Kyle Kauffman | Jul 12 2026
1 Corinthians 14 has long been a controversial passage with Christians taking different positions on the gifts described in this passage along with their enduring significance for the church today. While it is important to understand the different positions Christians may take in this area, we can get so caught up in the theological debate that we can forget Paul is calling all of us to use whatever gifts we have been given in a way that builds up the church in dependence on reliance on the Holy Spirit. God gives us spiritual gifts so that we might be equipped to love one another. What does that mean in relation to gifts like prophecy and tongues as well as in relation to all spiritual gifts? How should that shape how we think about and exercise spiritual gifts? Join us this Sunday as we explore these questions in looking together at 1 Corinthians 14.
Brandon Fisher | Jul 5 2026
1 Corinthians 13 may be the most famous chapter in the Bible. It’s all about love. It’s read at many weddings and is familiar to many both inside and outside the church. But what makes this chapter so famous? Why are we so familiar with it? Because deep down this is what we were created for and longing for: perfect love. And we are ultimately meant to find that love in Jesus and then display that love in church. We can often forget that the context of this passage comes in a section where Paul is talking about the church and exercising spiritual gifts in the church. God wants love to be at the center of all we do as a church. Which requires us asking what else can replace love at the center? What does it look like for us to love one another? And how do we continue to grow into the loving people that God desires us to be? 1 Corinthians 13 helps to direct us in all these areas.
Kyle Kauffman | Jun 28 2026
What do you think of when you think of the church? It’s likely that many of us think of Sunday Mornings because that’s what we associate church with. And while the gathering of the church is incredibly important, it can also be dangerous if we only start to view church as an event that we attend. It’s common in our own day to view church as good, but not necessary; as nice, but not essential; as a place I go rather than a people I belong to. Part of what we might need in the 21st century is to recover a biblical vision of the church that tends to focus more on the church being a people I belong to then an event that I attend. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is making this case in responding to the Corinthian tendency to elevate certain spiritual gifts in a way that dismisses the need for everyone who belongs to the church. Paul makes the case that the church is essential for us because everyone in the church is essential for the spiritual good and health of others. He recognizes that the health and well-being of every member of the church depends on the love, care, and service of others in the church. This passage serves to remind us of how good and necessary the church.
Kyle Kauffman | Jun 21 2026
For the past two thousand years churches everywhere have regularly celebrated communion. It is a wonderful gift that Jesus gave to us where we remember the love Jesus has for us and the hope we have in Him. Yet in the midst of regularly celebrating this sacrament we can easily forget, overlook, or become numb to the glory of what we are remembering and celebrating. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 reminds us of both the gravity and goodness of what we are celebrating in communion. It calls us to ask if there are ways we may be celebrating communion (or gathering as a church) that are out of step with the gospel. It invites us to be clear on what we are doing as we take communion. And it calls us to see that the sweetness of what we celebrate in communion is only truly savored when we also know and understand the seriousness of our sin and the holiness of God. This passage can give us fresh understanding, clarity, and serious joy in what we do every time we eat and drink this meal together as a church.
Brandon Fisher | Jun 14 2026
What does it mean to be male and female? Are there other genders besides these two? Where do we look to determine what gender a person is? There may be no greater hot-button topic in our day then gender. Strong feelings and opinions can quickly devolve into arguments, misunderstandings, and name-calling. We need God’s Word to cut through the noise to be able to understand not only his design for gender, but also the goodness and beauty of his design. We face challenges not only in how we speak to and defend the truth of God’s Word in relation to gender, but also in how we seek to personally live out what it means to be male and female in the midst of our homes, churches, and culture. While the specific situation Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 11 may not still apply in our day, the biblical grounding and principles for what he is saying speak directly into this challenging area in our day to help us live as male or female for the glory of God and the good of the world.
Jim Hoffmeier | Jun 7 2026
God loves his people and wants to be in a close relationship with them but he expects pure worship and undivided devotion to Him. These twin themes are the focus of Malachi chapter 1. Malachi was God’s prophet to the returned Judean exiles in Jerusalem and Judah after the seventy years in Babylon. This community had many challenges getting reestablished in their promised land. While some of God’s promises had been fulfilled, others had not. Consequently, the Jews were apparently wondering if God really loved them. Their discouragement resulted in problems in the religious and social life of the community. Into this situation, God spoke through Malachi–the last prophetic voice in the Old Testament–to address these issues and to assure the people of God’s love and faithfulness and to underscore what he expected of them.
Kyle Kauffman | May 31 2026
Worship is not optional. It is something every human being is engaged in on a regular basis whether we realize it or not. Worship is in some sense hard-wired into what it means to be human. The main question we must ask in our lives is not “Will I worship?” but “What will I worship?” And our daily decisions and actions in this life are giving an answer to that question over and over again. Idolatry was not just a temptation for the Corinthian believers living among all sorts of temples dedicated to other gods. It’s a constant temptation to American believers living in a world that seeks to direct our attention and desires to anything other than God. As a result, worship is not just something we do on Sundays, but it is something we are engaged in 24/7 throughout our weeks. It involves all of life and it affects all of life. 1 Corinthians 10 is meant to help us see and experience what it means to find life as we worship God in all of life.
Kyle Kauffman | May 24 2026
When you are running a race there is need for perseverance and endurance in order to make it to the finish line. The same thing is true of the Christian life. In the end of 1 Corinthians 9 Paul compares the Christian life to being like running a race. And as we discover, it is not a race that everyone makes it to the finish line in. We see this both in examples from the Bible and in personal examples we can think of from our own lives. The scriptures teach that perseverance in the Christian life in both faith and pursuing holiness are necessary for salvation. The Bible is full of warnings that we are meant to take seriously if want to make it to the end. And the Bible is full of promises that are meant to help us make it to the end. We see both of these in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 10. And ultimately, we are reminded that the outcome of the race depends not finally on our efforts but on God’s faithfulness. He is the one who enables us to persevere as we take seriously the call to persevere.
Kyle Kauffman | May 17 2026
The Christian life involves sacrifice. It involves being willing to lay down our rights, give up our freedom, and make sacrifices that can prove costly, difficult, uncomfortable, and painful. This can be at odds with a world that tells us to hold onto our rights and freedoms at all costs. We can easily make an idol of our rights and freedoms and forget that rights and freedoms in this world are given to us so that we might use them to glorify God by loving others and advancing the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is calling the Corinthians to lay down their freedom in order to love one another and he is showing how he lays down his rights in order to advance the gospel. As we consider these chapters we are invited into living a life that reflects our Savior. We are called to consider what sacrifices God might want us to make. And we discover that the gospel gives us the power to make those sacrifices.
Keith Rohrer | May 10 2026
Ask 20 people what they think God is looking for in them, and you’d probably hear at least 10 different answers. Things like faithful church attendance, not getting angry, staying married to your spouse, refusing to steal even small things, volunteering at church or places like The Factory Ministries. None of those things are bad—all good actually. But what He’s really looking for is, “Do you have faith?” It’s not just important, the Bible insists it’s impossible to please God without it. During Jesus’ ministry, He only saw “great faith” in two people. Neither was a disciple, neither was a Jew. On Sunday, we’ll look at one of them and try to figure out what Jesus saw in her. And why was He originally so harsh with her?
Kyle Kauffman | May 3 2026
One of the most painful realities in our world is that of broken marriages. Sin runs so deep that it effects every single relationship we have. And because marriage is often the closest human relationship we have, the pain and hurt that sin can cause in marriage can be worse than anywhere else. We know from scripture that God intends and desires for marriage to be a lifelong covenant. This should correct any thinking or impulse in us that may see divorce as a light or small thing and encourage us to love our spouses even during the most difficult seasons of marriage. Yet we also must recognize that divorce is a painfully personal reality for some in the church. And the area of divorce and remarriage is not something all Christians will agree on. This should lead us to approach talking about divorce with grace, humility, and compassion as we explore when and where God may allow for divorce. Above all we need to remember that it is God’s grace alone that sustains any of us in marriage. And God, by his grace, can heal and repair the greatest wounds that may come from marriage or divorce.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 26 2026
We live in a world that can simultaneously make too much or too little of marriage. On the one hand we can see marriage as the supreme goal in life. We can think everyone should aspire to be married and that there is nothing greater than marriage. We either intentionally or unintentionally make marriage the most important thing in this life and by doing so leave those who are unmarried feeling insignificant or like second-class citizens. On the other hand, we can see marriage as unimportant or as a threat to our freedom and joy in this life. Our culture can so easily view marriage as “just a piece of paper.” Paul does neither of these things. He sees both marriage and singleness as being good gifts by God. He sees both being intentionally given by God according to God’s calling in our life. And he sees both providing opportunities to reflect and enjoy God in unique ways. In the end Paul shows us that marriage, and singleness, and every other calling in this life are ultimately means to carry out the supreme goal in this life: living to enjoy and glorify God above all else.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 19 2026
The people living in Corinth tended to have simultaneously too high a view of sex and too low a view of sex. They were prone to see sex as everything (worshiping the act of sex) and as nothing (treating sex like it really doesn’t matter). This is one of the places where Corinth looks very similar to our modern culture. We are simultaneously a hyper-sexualized culture and yet also a culture that tends to say, “What’s the big deal with sex?” As a result, those who hold to a biblical view of sex can simultaneously be seen as prudes and as people who are making a big deal about nothing. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Paul addresses why sex is such a big deal by pointing us to the fact that what we do with our bodies matters to God. This passage gives us theological grounding that enables us to think and live wisely in relation to sex. It ultimately shows us that God cares about sex because God cares about us.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 12 2026
In the events of Easter Jesus has forever secured the future hope for all who trust in him. This hope is that our bodies will be raised from the dead and we will live with Jesus in a perfect kingdom where there is no more trouble, tragedy, division, violence, loneliness, pain, and death. This is a hope that will be realized when Jesus returns to raise our bodies and bring his heavenly kingdom fully to this earth. It’s important for us to be clear on the content and timing of our hope. Hope is most powerful in our lives when it is most clear in our heads and hearts. While there are things about our future hope that remain a mystery, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 gives us details that help us to have more clarity on the hope that Jesus has secured for us. It is a hope that stirs our hearts with longing and expectation. It is a hope that sustains us through the troubles and trials we face in this life. And it is a hope that can help us to live purposefully in the present even as we wait for the return of our Victorious King.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 5 2026
The events of our lives and this world can leave us feeling hopeless. Life can be so full of trouble, tragedy, division, violence, loneliness, pain, and death. In the midst of it all, we can find ourselves desperately longing for something hopeful to cling to. And yet hope itself can feel dangerous because we fear that what we hope for might never happen. To use the words secure hope can seem like an oxymoron. Hope by its very nature seems insecure. Hope is forward-facing and future-oriented. We don’t know or control the future and so we usually don’t know if the things we are hoping for will come to pass. So how can we speak of a secure hope? As Christians we are placing our ultimate hope in something that has already come to pass – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This past reality is the grounds for our future hope. And because of that we are invited to find a secure hope in Jesus. A hope that will come to pass. A hope that nothing in this world can take from us. And a hope that can carry us through all the troubles of this life. Because on Easter Morning our hope was forever secured by Jesus rising from the dead.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 29 2026
We are going to have problems in the church. Hopefully that’s not a surprise to any of us. This is part of what it means to be a church full of sinful people. We are going to offend, wrong, disappoint, and hurt each other at times. Sometimes in small ways and sometimes in big ways. And part of what we are called to is to work through those problems together with one another. Some in the church at Corinth seem to have developed a bad practice in solving their problems: just take the issue to court. We may not have this issue in our own church, but we still have ways that we deal with our problems in unhealthy ways or ways that just reflect the world outside the church. It’s important for us to see how who we are in Christ should work its way out in how we deal with our problems. We are new people in Christ which involves cutting ties with the old ways we may have been marked by.
Brandon Fisher | Mar 22 2026
It’s hard for us to see how terms like judgment and discipline can go hand in hand with love and grace. Part of that is because we our own understanding of love is so easily shaped by the culture that we are a part of. God calls the church to live with a counter-cultural love that is willing to confront and discipline when needed those within our ranks who are living in unrepentant sin. We find in Corinth that the church was tolerated and even celebrating the sin of one of its members, rather than calling this man to repentance. While we may look at this situation and shake our heads over what was taking place, we should also recognize we still live in a world that is prone to tolerate or celebrate sin. The church is called to live differently by loving one another enough to confront and discipline sin when needed. This may not always feel like the most loving thing to do, but it reflects the love of Jesus who gave his life to save us from sin and make us holy.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 15 2026
One of the main problems in the church at Corinth seems to be that they were more shaped by the values and priorities of the culture they lived in then they were by the cross that they confessed to believe in. This is an ever-present danger for the individual Christian and the church as a whole. We can so easily adopt the values and priorities of the culture and simply adopt Christianity to those. But following Jesus is meant to radically change our values and priorities. We see this in the case of Paul and what he says to the Corinthians in chapter 4. He shows us what a cross-shaped life looks like and pushes us to think about where our lives may be more in line with the culture than with the cross. We are challenged to see that following Jesus is not just about adding something to our lives, it’s about a complete reorientation of our lives around the cross.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 8 2026
One of the most universal problems that people face in every culture and in every age is the problem of self. We may be prone to have to high a view of ourselves or too low a view of ourselves, but either way we are prone to think and focus on ourselves way too much. This was a problem in Corinth, and it remains a problem in our own day. So often we try to solve the problem of self by focusing more on ourselves with self-esteem, self-help, and self-care. This never cuts to the root of the issue and deals with the pride that is the source of all the problems with self. While we long to be free of the problem of self, none of our human solutions end up working. Only the gospel is able to liberate us from ourselves so that we can live a life of self-forgetfulness. This is what then frees us to joyfully live to glorify God and love others rather than being so focused on ourselves. This is what Paul found in Christ and this is what he invites us to find as well.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 1 2026
Many of the best gifts we receive in this life also come with responsibilities and challenges. Whether it is friendship, a job, marriage, children, owning a home, or any other gift, we can see how the gifts we are given also bring responsibilities and challenges in our lives. The same is true of ministry in the church. While Paul is mainly referring to himself and Apollos in 1 Corinthians 3:1-17, what he says here applies to every Christian. We are all called to minister to one another in the church. We have been given specific gifts, abilities, and interests that God wants us to use to love and serve one another. This ministry is both a gift and challenge for many reasons. And 1 Corinthians 3 is a great source of encouragement to us as we seek to do the work of ministry God has called us to.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 2026
We live in a day of almost limitless information and knowledge. We can access it all at the hands of our fingertips. And the ability to know and find more information will likely only increase as our technology continues to increase. But is all this information and knowledge making us wise? Or is it making us fools? God tells us in 1 Corinthians 2 that true wisdom is not the same as simply knowing more or being culturally or technologically savvy. Rather true wisdom is found trusting God even when trusting him seems to go against the wisdom of our day. This trust should lead us to seek wisdom in what God has revealed rather than simply in more knowledge and information. And this wisdom is displayed in pursuing a life of living more like Christ. It’s this posture, source, and pursuit that define what true wisdom looks like in an age of limitless information and knowledge.
Keith Rohrer | Feb 15 2026
What if the main reason Jesus saved you was not just to provide an escape plan out of hell? Just before He was arrested and killed, He told His disciples: “I chose and appointed you to bear fruit” (John 15:16). What did He mean by “fruit?” And was He just talking to His original 12 disciples, or speaking to believers today too? To you; to me? If so, does He think we’ll produce this fruit too?
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 8 2026
The church has struggled with unity from it’s very beginning. Anytime a group of people starts to gather together there is going to be the threat of division. Paul sees this as a threat not only to the harmony of the church but also to the truth and witness of the gospel. In a church that is full of different problems and issues, it’s instructive that Paul begins by dealing with the issue of division in the Corinthian church. The things that may cause us to divide at times today look different than they did for the Corinthian church, but division remains a constant threat to the church and our witness to the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-31 Paul shows us what source of our division is often rooted in, and he shows us how the message of the cross unites us together. And the more united we are around the cross of Jesus, the more effective we will be in our witness to the gospel in our world.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 1 2026
God saves us in order to also set us apart. As Christians, we are called to live holy lives as God’s people in the midst of whatever culture or context he has placed us in. We see in Corinth that the temptation to be conformed to the culture rather than transformed by God is an ever present struggle for God’s people. But we also see that the same grace that saves us in the past, present, and future is also the grace that enables us to live holy lives. God does not save us and then leave us on our own. Rather he gives us all we need to live lives of holiness that distinct from the culture and pleasing to him. We are all people who are a work in progress in this area, but we are also people who held fast by God. As a result we can confidently work out our salvation while continuing to be daily dependent on God’s grace to us in Jesus. The more we seek to do this the more we will live as those who are set apart by God’s grace in the midst of a confusing culture.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 25 2026
God’s Word has the power to change our lives. The more we read it, know it, believe it, and obey it, the more our lives our minds, hearts, and lives are transformed by it. The Bible is not simply a book to be studied, it is living and active and is able to save us, changes us, sustain us, and equip us for all of life. The Bible can save us as it points us to our need for Jesus and leads us to put our trust in Him. The Bible can change us as it transforms our minds and hearts, and reshapes our lives. The Bible can sustain us as it enables us to keep going in our faith and holds us fast through the suffering and trials of this life. And the Bible can equip us as God uses it to prepare and train us to live out our faith in everyday life. God’s Word is not meant to stay on the page. Rather it is meant to shape our lives as we daily immerse ourselves in it and seek to live in line with it.
Josh Stalnaker | Jan 18 2026
“Who’s in charge here?” That’s a question we might ask in all sorts of areas of life. But it’s also a question we should each ask of our lives as a whole. God’s word is meant to be the final authority in our lives—He alone has the right to say what is true, good, and right. Since the very beginning we’ve struggled with trusting God’s authority and we are prone to live in all sorts of ways that undermine His authority, But the truth is, God’s Word is final because He is God. But He is also good. And so His authoritative word is always good for us. Like a loving Father who sets boundaries to keep His children safe, God’s commands are meant to help us thrive—not to harm or hurt us. Living under God’s Word brings life and flourishing but denying it or ignoring it leads to destruction and death. And God’s Word isn’t just advice we can choose to follow or ignore—it’s an authoritative word that demands a response. We are invited to trust it fully, believe all it teaches, and obey all it requires, knowing that His Word is for our good.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 11 2026
The Bible is completely true and trustworthy because it comes from the God who cannot lie. Every word is rooted in His character, confirmed through history, eyewitness testimony, fulfilled prophecy, and the unchanging message that points us to Jesus. God has faithfully preserved His Word through countless manuscripts and careful transmission over time, so we can be confident that what we hold today is His truth. In a world filled with confusion, shifting opinions, and overwhelming information, God’s Word is our steady anchor. It protects us from the lies of the enemy, points us to what is real and lasting, and helps us filter everything through the lens of His truth. As we stand on the truth of Scripture we are standing on the solid rock of God’s unchanging Word.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 4 2026
God is not silent. He speaks! From the very beginning, God spoke the world into existence, and creation continues to pour forth His speech and reveal Him. The earth and the heavens preach His majesty, but as glorious as this revelation is, it is not enough to save us. We need more than the stars in the sky and the wonders of the world—we need the Bible, God’s Word. God has spoken through the Scriptures and He continues to speak to us today through His written Word, assuring us it is not just another book but the very Word of God. And ultimately, God has spoken most clearly through His Son, Jesus Christ—the Word made flesh. God is not silent. He speaks! This should lead us to cherish and meditate on His Word so that we might know and enjoy Him.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 28 2025
When you look at Jesus, what do you see? Do you see a King who deserves to be worshipped with everything you have? Or do you see threat to your way of life and your control over things? The journey and response of the wise men who came to meet Jesus after his birth challenge us to see Jesus not only as a baby in a manger, but as the King God promised to rule over all people. Unlike Herod, who saw Jesus as a threat to his throne, the wise men responded with worship—marked by joy, devotion, and costly gifts. Their story is meant to confront our hearts: will we cling to our personal kingdoms, or bow before the one true King? The wise men also discovered that Jesus is unlike any earthly ruler. He comes gently, for the weak and lowly, and reigns with compassion like a shepherd. At Christmas, we’re invited to follow the wise men’s example to see and submit to Jesus as our King and give ourselves fully to Him in joyful worship.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 21 2025
The shepherds experienced the shock of a lifetime on the first Christmas. They saw something glorious: the radiance of God’s glory breaking into their ordinary night, both in the shining heavens and in the face of a newborn baby. This is what we were made for — to see and behold the glory of God — yet sin has blinded us to it. Jesus came to restore our sight. But they didn’t just see; they also heard. The angel brought good news of great joy for all people: that Jesus had come to be our Savior, our Lord, and our peace. And finally, the shepherds believed and saw with their own eyes what God promised. True joy comes not only from seeing and hearing, but from trusting that God’s Word is true. As we, like the shepherds, see the glory of Christ, hear the good news of His coming, and respond in faith, we can experience the joy he came to offer.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 14 2025
At Christmas, we’re invited to slow down and marvel at the greatness of God’s love for us. In Joseph’s quiet decision to stay with Mary, even at great personal cost to his reputation and honor, we catch a glimpse of the costly love that God has shown to us in Jesus. Just as Joseph stepped into Mary’s shame to love her, so God stepped into our brokenness—our sin, sorrow, and suffering—through His Son to love and save us. Jesus didn’t love us from a distance; He drew near, fully identifying with us in every way. And that kind of love changes everything. When we truly grasp the love God has for us in Jesus it transforms how we see ourselves, how we live our lives, and how we relate to others.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 7 2025
Mary received the surprise of a lifetime when God sent the angel to announce that she would give birth to the Messiah. We see through her eyes how God is at work in and through the coming of Jesus at Christmas to bring His peace to people. At the core of every heart is a longing for peace with the God who made us and loves us. Yet because of our sin, that peace has been broken. The good news is that God, in His grace, offers us a peace that is far greater than we could ever imagine. It comes in ways we don’t expect—not something we can earn or achieve, but a gift He gives freely. His peace meets us in our struggles, steadies us in our fears, and one day will fill the whole earth. It’s a peace that does what we could never do for ourselves—restoring us to God and making us whole through the birth of a miraculous child. But it’s a peace only found by the humble—by those who trust His Word, submit to His will, and receive what He so graciously offers.
Brandon Fisher | Nov 30 2025
In a time when everything felt dark and uncertain—when war loomed, morality was crumbling, and hope seemed lost—God offered a promise that still speaks to us today. The people of Judah, led by King Ahaz, were placing their trust in the wrong things, hoping that Assyria could save them. But through Isaiah, God pointed them to the true source of hope: a coming Messiah. Jesus would be the light to break through the darkness, the joy that lifts sorrow, and the Savior who breaks the chains of bondage. He would come not just to rescue, but to reign—restoring us to God, making all things right, and establishing a kingdom of peace that will never end. In our own times of darkness or uncertainty, this same Jesus is our unshakable hope as we trust in him and wait for his return.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 23rd 2025
Ruth 4:13–22 brings the story to a close with a beautiful glimpse of restoration not just for Ruth and Boaz, but especially for Naomi, whose journey moves from emptiness to fullness and from bitterness to blessing. In many ways, Naomi’s story mirrors our own. Life in a broken world brings all kinds of loss—relationships, health, dreams, seasons of life—and in every loss, we’re reminded of a deeper longing: the loss of our perfect relationship with God in Eden. But the good news of Ruth’s ending is that God is a God of restoration. Though we may only taste it in part now, we live with the sure hope that He will one day fully restore all that is broken. Naomi could never have imagined how her pain would be woven into God’s plan to bring David—and eventually Jesus—into the world. And so it is with us: our small, ordinary lives are part of a far bigger story, one that’s moving toward the return of Christ and the full renewal of all things. Whatever we’ve lost in this life, God promises to restore in ways far greater than we can imagine. So we fix our eyes on that future, trusting that even when we can’t see it, God is always working redemption into the details of our story.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov. 16 2025
Ruth 4:13–22 brings the story to a close with a beautiful glimpse of restoration not just for Ruth and Boaz, but especially for Naomi, whose journey moves from emptiness to fullness and from bitterness to blessing. In many ways, Naomi’s story mirrors our own. Life in a broken world brings all kinds of loss—relationships, health, dreams, seasons of life—and in every loss, we’re reminded of a deeper longing: the loss of our perfect relationship with God in Eden. But the good news of Ruth’s ending is that God is a God of restoration. Though we may only taste it in part now, we live with the sure hope that He will one day fully restore all that is broken. Naomi could never have imagined how her pain would be woven into God’s plan to bring David—and eventually Jesus—into the world. And so it is with us: our small, ordinary lives are part of a far bigger story, one that’s moving toward the return of Christ and the full renewal of all things. Whatever we’ve lost in this life, God promises to restore in ways far greater than we can imagine. So we fix our eyes on that future, trusting that even when we can’t see it, God is always working redemption into the details of our story.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 9 2025
Ruth 3:1–18 invites us to consider how faith and love will lead us to take risks with our lives. Ruth takes a bold and vulnerable risk in approaching Boaz, not because she had everything figured out, but because she trusted in Naomi’s wisdom and ultimately in God’s care. Faith is never about having total control—it’s about trusting God when we don’t know how things will unfold. Likewise, love always involves risk. Ruth risks shame and rejection to express her love and loyalty, while Boaz shows his love by acting with integrity, not taking matters into his own hands, but protecting Ruth’s honor. Relationships in this life will always involve risk where we open ourselves up to the possibility of loss, hurt, or heartbreak. But we are freed to take these risks because we know God is sovereign and good. Ruth’s willingness to step forward was shaped by the kindness she had already seen in Boaz—and we, too, have seen the kindness of our Redeemer at the cross. That love gives us the courage to trust God and to step out in bold obedience and love, even when the outcome is uncertain.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 2 2025
Ruth 2:14–23 gives us a glimpse into the heart of God through the kindness of Boaz. Far from treating Ruth as a burden, Boaz delights in doing good to her as he welcomes her to his table, provides generously, and ensures her safety. In Boaz, we see a picture of how God delights in His people—not begrudgingly providing for us, but joyfully pouring out His kindness. The question is: do we truly believe that God delights in us? Or do we quietly live as though we're a burden He merely tolerates? Boaz not only provides food but invites Ruth into fellowship—a small reflection of God's greater desire: to be with us. Throughout Scripture, from Eden to the Lord’s Supper to the coming Kingdom, God’s longing is to dwell with His people so that we might see and be satisfied with His glory. This passage also reminds us that God is not stingy. Boaz’s abundance shows us the heart of a God who blesses richly so we can be a blessing to others. We are recipients of lavish grace, called to reflect that same grace in how we love and serve the people around us.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 26 2025
Ruth 2:1–13 paints a beautiful picture of God's providence woven into the ordinary moments of life. Ruth doesn’t sit back waiting for provision—she steps out in faith, working hard to care for Naomi and herself. Her initiative reminds us that trusting God doesn’t mean becoming passive; rather, it frees us to work diligently, using our gifts and opportunities to meet needs—physical, emotional, and spiritual—while trusting God to provide through it all. As Ruth “happens” into the field of Boaz, we’re reminded that God is always directing our steps, even when we don’t see the full picture. Sometimes His hand is clear; other times, we walk by faith, trusting He’s at work even in our uncertainty. This passage invites us to rest in God’s providence—to believe He sees us, knows our needs, and protects us from harm, even when life feels fragile. Ruth’s awe at Boaz’s kindness invites us to worship with even deeper wonder: that the God of the universe sees us, notices us, and pours out His favor—not because we deserve it, but because of His great love, ultimately shown in the gift of His Son.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 12 2025
Ruth 1:6–22 is a powerful turning point that reminds us we all face a choice in suffering: to turn toward God or away from Him. Naomi chooses to return to the land of Israel—a place tied closely to God’s presence—showing us that no one is ever too far gone, too bitter, or too broken to turn back to Him. Ruth becomes an instrument of God’s love and presence to Naomi, embodying grace, faithfulness, and sacrificial care. Her friendship is a living reminder that we need others to help us experience God’s presence—and others need us, too. That kind of mutual ministry is not always easy, especially in suffering, but it is essential. Finally, Ruth’s bold promise to stay with Naomi echoes something even greater: God’s covenant promise to never leave or forsake us. His presence with us is not based on our feelings or circumstances but on His unshakable faithfulness. In a world that pushes us toward independence, this story gently calls us back to community, to covenant love, and to the grace of walking with God and His people—even in the hardest seasons.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 5 2025
Ruth 1:1–5 introduces us to Naomi’s story—a woman whose life is marked by bitter suffering. She faces famine, becomes a refugee in a foreign land, and then endures the unimaginable grief of losing her husband and both sons. Her pain is real, raw, and relatable. Like Naomi, many of us know what it feels like to walk through seasons of sorrow and loss. And those seasons of suffering are often marked by more questions than answers as we struggle to understand why God is allowing us to face this suffering. This passage also teaches us that our response to suffering is never neat or predictable. Grief is messy. Some wounds linger for a lifetime, and that’s okay. It’s right and good to mourn, to lament, and to be honest about our pain. At the same time, we can cling to hope. We can grieve deeply and still trust in God’s presence and purpose. Naomi’s story, though filled with loss, is not without hope—and neither is ours. Our most bitter chapters are never the final word, because we serve a God who restores, redeems, and walks with us every step of the way.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 28 2025
Our bodies are such an important part of our lives in this world, and yet we don’t often stop to reflect on what God says about our bodies and what our bodies say about God. Our bodies are designed by God, belong to Him, and are central to His redemptive plan. Though deeply affected by sin—our bodies remain good, and for the Christian our bodies have been purchased by Jesus and are now temples where God dwells. We are called to see our bodies as gifts to be honored, cared for, and used for God’s glory and service. Even in suffering, our physical limitations are part of God’s good design and refinement. And as Christians we know that while our bodies play a part in our identity, the most important part of our identity is Christ who now dwells in us.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 21 2025
When evil and tragedy happen in this life it can leave us reeling. We may feel confused, angry, fearful, saddened, or even hopeless. We may have all sorts of questions that aren’t always easily answered. And we are often left with the question of “How should we respond?” As followers of Jesus, we are to answer that question by going back to the scriptures and remembering the truth of the gospel and how it should shape us. As a church we have an opportunity to respond in a way that shows our true citizenship is in heaven and we are placed in this moment to reflect and point to our One True King – Jesus.
Joel Wood | Sept 14 2025
Relationships are a vital gift from God, reflecting His triune nature and design for human connection. In a world increasingly shaped by technology and artificial interaction, God calls us to prioritize real, face-to-face relationships with others created in His image. Relationships enrich our lives, offering sweetness, strength in trials, and the opportunity to grow in grace as we both give and receive it. They are also a means through which we influence others for Christ, carrying a unique responsibility and voice within our circles. Because of their value, relationships are worth the effort, sacrifice, and intentional care.
Kyle Kauffman | Sep 7 2025
Psalm 90 reminds us that the God who exists outside of time lovingly orders every season of our lives. Each stage—whether joyful or challenging—is not accidental but divinely purposed. Yet, we often miss the gift of the present by longing for the past or rushing toward the future. This psalm teaches that our time is limited, both in our life as a whole and in each unique season. Whether we're students, young adults, parents, or retirees, we must ask what God wants us to prioritize now, recognizing that every season comes with both opportunities and limitations. The dangers of laziness and over-busyness threaten every stage of life, so we must seek wisdom to live purposefully. As seasons come and go, God calls us to make the most of each one by worshiping him, serving others, doing our work faithfully, and resting in the finished work of Christ.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug 31 2025
When we think about the idea of stewardship, we often jump immediately to thinking about finances. Money is a big part of our lives and God has a lot to say about money throughout the Bible. Money is a gift from God, given to meet our needs and entrusted to us as a reflection of His generosity. Yet, it is also a test—how we use our money reveals where our hope lies and what we truly worship. The Bible teaches that our financial choices expose the affections of our hearts. But money is more than just a gift or a test; it is also an opportunity—an opportunity to invest temporary resources into eternal purposes. The gospel transforms our view of money, making us a generous people who give not out of obligation, but with joy and sacrifice. In response to God’s grace, we are called to give generously, cheerfully, and sacrificially, using what we have for His glory and the good of others.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug 24 2025
Psalm 127 reminds us that children are not ultimately ours, but God’s—His possession and His gift. They are blessings, not burdens, and the limitations they may bring to our lives are good and purposeful. Parents are called to be the primary shapers of their children's lives, aiming not merely for behavior or success, but for hearts that love and follow Jesus. This shaping involves intentional teaching, consistent modeling, and unconditional love. We are not able to carry out such an important calling apart from God’s grace which we need for strength, for transformation, and for our failures. Ultimately, we are called to trust God with our children, continually entrusting them into His sovereign care.
Brandon Fisher | August 17 2025
God entrusts us with different vocations and callings in our lives so that we might work for His glory and the good of other people. The Bible teaches us that work is a gift from God, not a curse to be avoided. Though sin has distorted our experience of work—bringing frustration, toil, and imbalance—it remains a meaningful part of God’s design for our lives. Vocation is an important way we live out our faith, using our gifts and efforts to love and serve our neighbors, provide for those under our care, and give generously to others. Yet, with this gift comes danger: we can turn our work into an idol, grounding our identity solely in our jobs, overworking, or neglecting rest and relationships. Still, God is present and active in our vocations; He works through us to accomplish His purposes in the world—whether through parenting, teaching, building, caregiving, or leading. Ultimately, whatever season of life we’re in, we are called to see our vocations as sacred opportunities to glorify God and bless others.
Josh Stalnaker | Aug 10 2025
God has uniquely gifted each of us with skills and abilities, not by accident, but through His intentional design and the work of His Spirit. Recognizing and discerning these gifts is part of our calling, yet pride often stands in the way—either by using our gifts for self-glorification or by holding back in fear of failure. True stewardship means using our gifts to serve others, whether in the church, in our vocations, or in everyday life, always in dependence on God and for His glory. We are called not only to know our gifts but to actively and humbly deploy them, trusting that God empowers both the gift and its impact.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug 3 2025
Everything we have ultimately belongs to God, and the abundance we enjoy is a reflection of His goodness and generosity. True stewardship begins with a heart of gratitude, recognizing that all we possess is not ours to own, but God's to entrust for a time. Because we won't have these resources forever, we’re called to use them wisely and faithfully, not wasting what God has given, but investing it in ways that honor Him. In response to His grace, our aim should be to please God with all that we have, living not as owners, but as faithful stewards of His gifts.
Kyle Kauffman | Jul 27 2025
At the end of Acts we finally see Paul making his way to Rome. And what we find Paul doing in Rome is what we find him doing throughout the rest of the book – proclaiming the gospel and trusting in God’s power to save even as some people reject or oppose him. It’s incredible to realize just how much the gospel spread in the span of the 30ish years of the book Acts. That should give us confidence that God will continue to see that the gospel advances throughout history. It’s also convicting to see just how seriously Paul took the call to proclaim the gospel wherever he went. This is a call that we must take seriously as well as followers of Jesus. And it’s encouraging to know that God will continue to save people through the proclamation of the gospel today just as he did throughout the book of Acts. We find ourselves living 2,000 years later with the same mission to proclaim, the same God who works to save, and the same hope that one day Jesus will return. Until that day we know the gospel will advance. But we must also know that God intends for us to be his witnesses through whom the gospel advances.
Joel Wood | July 20 2025
In Acts 27-28 we see death knocking at Paul’s doorstep, first in the form of a storm at sea, then in the form of soldiers that conspire to kill him, and finally in the form of a poisonous snake that bites him! And yet we discover that nothing can separate Paul from God’s love for him and God’s plan for his life. The same reality is true for us as followers of Christ today. Though we know that our lives will involve passing through stormy seas, we find hope in God’s Word, God’s sovereign hand, and God’s healing promises. We can live knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love and plan, not even death. This gives us courage when we feel weak and hope when all feels lost just as it did for Paul.
Kyle Kauffman | July 13 2025
Paul finds himself in the midst of a situation that could easily cause anyone to buckle. He is being accused and put on trial before some of the most powerful political rulers who are able to determine his fate. Yet we see Paul remain faithful to Christ and remain faithful to proclaiming the gospel even in the face of such a stressful situation. We know that as disciples we too will walk through distressing situations and circumstances in this life. What we find in the story of Paul can supply us with encouragement and wisdom for how we can face those situations with confidence that God will carry us through them.
Kyle Kauffman | July 6 2025
Have you ever seen someone before who looks so familiar that you know you’ve seen them before but you can’t quite seem to place where you’ve seen them? A similar reality might happen to us as we read Acts 21-23. On first glance what Paul does in this passage almost appears foolish. This great missionary goes to Jerusalem to offer a gift to the people there knowing that he will be accused, mistreated, and imprisoned by those very people. And yet what we discover is that we have seen this very story played out before in the life of the Savior who Paul has given his life to proclaim. We discover the path Paul walks in Acts 21-23 is familiar because it’s the path Jesus walked to save Paul (and us!). And we find that this is a path that every disciple of Jesus is called to walk down in some way. Though the ways we follow in the footsteps may look different then Paul, we find that every disciple of Jesus is called to follow in his footsteps of love.
Kyle Kauffman | Jun 29 2025
The Poet C.T. Studd once famously said, “Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” No one sets out to waste their lives. And yet there are all sorts of ways we can end up wasting our them. We all want to spend our lives well. But sometimes we never even slow down to ask, What does a life well spent look like? In Acts 20, we get Paul’s farewell speech to leaders of the Ephesian church. As we listen in to these passionate last words of Paul to this small group of men, we get a glimpse of what a life spent well looks like. We see what the greatest passion of Paul’s life was and how that got worked out into the ways he lived. And we find direction for what it means to spend our lives well rather than wasting them.
Joel Wood June 22 2025
In a world filled with confusion, brokenness, and spiritual darkness, how does real transformation happen? In Acts 18–19, the Apostle Paul enters two very different and very diffit cities — Corinth, known for its global commerce, rampant immorality and cultural corruption, and Ephesus, a hub of spiritual idolatry, magic, and political power. What happens next is nothing short of miraculous: people come to faith, lives are changed, and communities are impacted — not through flashy programs or celebrity preachers, but through the simple, powerful, personal method of discipleship. Walking with people. Teaching truth. Clarifying faith, and boldly speaking the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. No matter who you are or what you do, God has placed you where you are for a reason. And as you walk faithfully with Jesus, He will use you to help others do the same and be a part of transforming lives and communities.
Brandon Fisher | Jun 15 2025
How can we seek to be effective in reaching a 21st century world? On a more manageable level, how can we seek to be effective in simply reaching our neighbors, friends, and family members who don’t know Jesus? In Acts 17 we get a glimpse into how the apostle Paul sought to both know and proclaim the scriptures and know and understand the audience he was speaking to. While it may be unlikely that any of us will ever stand in front of a group of philosophers and skeptics to deliver a sermon, we can learn valuable insights into how we can grow in our own effectiveness and ability to communicate the gospel to others through what we discover in Acts 17.
Kyle Kauffman | Jun 8 2025
We’ve all likely come across (or used) the phrase “Jesus saves.” While that can easily become a cliché, those two words seek to communicate a powerful reality: Jesus is the only one who can save people AND he is the one who is still at work in this world saving people. In Acts 16 we get a glimpse into how Jesus continues to work through his disciples to save people. This is one of the only places where Acts gets very specific in describing to us the types of people that Jesus saved and how Jesus saved them. It should be an encouragement to us that Jesus can save all types of people, and he can save them in all sorts of different ways even as he uses us as part of his work to save them.
Kyle Kauffman | June 1 2025
It is often said that defense wins championships. In Acts 15 we also discover that defense preserves the gospel and the mission of the church. In Acts 15 we read about one of the first major threats to the gospel. It is inevitable that the true gospel will be threatened through addition, subtraction, or simply assumption. Often these threats come from within the church rather than outside the church. We must be prepared to recognize threats to the gospel and to defend and preserve the truth gospel of grace. If we lose the message that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, then we no longer have a mission that is worth pursuing. But if we hold fast to this true gospel that has been passed onto us and remain unified around it, then we have every reason to continue in the mission to spread this gospel to others.
Joel Wood | May 25 2025
It’s easy for us to give up on being a part of God’s mission in this world. Perhaps that’s because we feel ill-equipped to be part of God’s mission. Perhaps that’s because we have faced opposition or apathy from others when we have tried to tell them about Jesus. Perhaps it’s because the difficulty and suffering of our lives has left us feeling like we can no longer take part in God’s mission. Whatever it may be, there will always be reasons for us to “give up” on the mission of making disciples. Acts 14 gives us a window into why perseverance is required and how God enables us to persevere in the mission.
Kyle Kauffman | May 18 2025
God intends for all Christians to live with a sense of being sent into the world with the gospel. But God also calls the church to send out those who he specifically calls to go across geographic and cultural boundaries with the gospel. In Acts 13 we get a window into the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. We discover that God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel involves using missionaries to advance the gospel in places where it has not been heard before. In this chapter we see not only what is involved in this missionary endeavor, but also what it looks like for us to live with an awareness of being sent by God in our own individual lives.
Kyle Kauffman | May 11 2025
There are areas in our lives or the lives of others that may look or feel hopeless to us on the surface. We may struggle to believe that change is really possible or that things will ever get better. In Acts 12 we read of a time when things may have looked and felt hopeless to the early Christians in Jerusalem. We find God intervening in a powerful and amazing way to bring change. This story can help us in whatever areas we may struggle with hopelessness today by helping us to see that God hears and answers the prayers of his people. And it can help us to see that even when things may feel hopeless to us, God is still good and he can still be trusted.
Kyle Kauffman | May 4 2025
God’s mission of making disciples is global. We can see this in the book of Acts. The gospel is spreading all across the known world throughout this book. And sometimes we can become so focused on the Big Names in the book of Acts that we forget God’s mission in Acts involved far more people than Peter, Paul, and Philip. Because God’s mission is so BIG, it’s easy for us to lose or forget what role the local church (and every member in the church) plays in this mission. In Acts 11:19-30 we get a good glimpse into how God intends to use the local church (and every member of the church) as part of the plan to make disciples. As we discover how God used the local church in Antioch to make a big difference, we might be encouraged to hope that God will use the local church in Paradise to make a big difference as well.
Keith Rohrer | Apr 27 2025
Jesus is not just for one group of people, one type of people, or one country of people. Jesus is the offered Savior for ALL people. In order to save all kinds of people from everywhere and anywhere, God uses people just like us. Regular people. But regular people all have flaws, some of which can be obstacles to God using us for this great work. If He first needs to do some Holy Spirit surgery in us, will it be welcomed, or refused? How we answer that question may depend on our answer to this one: How important is God’s mission? And maybe also to this one: How important is it that God use me for His mission?
Kyle Kauffman Apr 20 2025
It’s easy to end up with a watered down, domesticated, tame version of Jesus. Whether that is because of our own assumptions about Jesus, all the different things we have heard about him, or the ways we have simply grown accustomed to Jesus over the years. Jesus can quickly just become a background part of our lives. But the actual Jesus, who rose from the dead and is alive today is anything but tame or domesticated. In Acts 9:1-40, we see several glimpses of who Jesus is and what he does in our lives today. And we find that just as Paul’s life was turned upside down by truly coming to know who Jesus is, so too our lives can be transformed by a true understanding of who Jesus is.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 13 2025
It’s easier for us to speak about the advancement of the gospel then to actually steps in advancing the gospel. We can all too easily seek comfort in the truth that God will advance the gospel in this world without being challenged by the truth that God wants you to be a part of advancing the gospel in this world. God sends disciples to go out with the message of the gospel and be a part of the spread of the gospel. In Acts 8 we see God using Philip to advance the gospel to the Samaritans and an Ethiopian. As we look together at the story of this early disciple and how God used him to spread the gospel we should be challenged to ask whether our own lives are also being lived in seeking to spread the gospel in our world today.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr 6th 2025
The history of the church is bloody because the history of the church is full of suffering and persecution. While many people identify Stephen as the first martyr, in many ways he simply displays what was often true throughout the Old Testament: God’s people will be persecuted even to the point of death. Jesus told his disciples to expect that people would treat them the same way they treated him. We should never forget that being a disciple of Jesus throughout history has often meant that you will face persecution. And while the story of Stephen should sober us who live in the West and know very little of this persecution, it should also fill us with hope and fortify us for the day when we may face more severe persecution for our faith. Because in the story of Stephen we find that God rules over the suffering of his saints, uses it to advance the gospel, and reveals the prize that no persecution can ever destroy.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 30 2025
Who we fear will shape how we live, what we say and don’t say, and ultimately who we seek to serve and please. The Bible consistently warns against the fear of man in our lives and calls us instead to fear God. We know that fear of many can lead to all sorts of problems in our lives, but sometimes it can feel impossible to fear God instead of man. Fear of man is one of the greatest things that can get in the way of obeying God as we seek to be a part of his mission and make disciples. And on the flip side, fear of God can be one of the greatest sources of help and strength in obeying god. 5:1-42 gives a very powerful picture into the danger of fearing man and the freedom of fearing God. And along the way it gives us reasons why we should place our fear in God and not in man.
Joel Wood | Mar 23 2025
We all have a desire to be bold and proclaim our faith in Jesus without fear or reservation. And yet we also all likely struggle with fear and can lack boldness many times in our lives. One of the reasons we struggle with fear is because we know that people will reject, resist, or even oppose the gospel as it is preached. This rejection, resistance, and opposition is often aimed at the lives of the disciples who proclaim Jesus and what he’s done. But it is the same Jesus who is opposed by many who is able to fill his disciples with boldness. We get a glimpse into this in Acts 4:1-31 as the disciples face opposition for the first time. We can see not only the boldness they demonstrated but we can also see what might enable us to live with a similar type of boldness today.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 16 2025
We know that Jesus performed miracles when he was here on this earth, but does he still perform miracles today? In the book of Acts we find Jesus performing miracles through his disciples, but should we expect him to do the same thing today? While we may not see or experience the same miracles we see in the book of Acts, we believe Jesus is still at work in this world working wonders in and through his disciples. God continues to supply and use faith in Jesus Christ to accomplish great things through Jesus’ disciples. And it’s not ultimately the faith or the wonders that are meant to occupy our attention, but rather the One who is behind all the wonders, the one who our faith rests in, that should occupy our attention and worship. It’s through faith in Jesus that we not only experience wonders in this world, but also eagerly anticipate a wonderful future no matter what may happen in this world.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar 9 2025
If you ask someone to do something, hopeful you also give them to the tools they need to do it. When Jesus calls his followers to be his witnesses, he gives them the POWER they need to carry out this calling. More specifically he gives them the PERSON they need to carry out this calling. In Acts 2:1-41 we are told the story of the Holy Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost and provided the impact He makes in the lives of the disciples and the 3000 people who came to faith in Jesus that day. That same POWER and PERSON that was given to the disciples 2000 years ago is present and available to every follower of Jesus today to empower our lives, embolden our witness, and transform hearts through the gospel.
Joel Wood | Mar 2 2025
If you ask someone to do something, hopeful you also give them to the tools they need to do it. When Jesus calls his followers to be his witnesses, he gives them the power they need to carry out this calling. More specifically he gives them the person they need to carry out this calling. In Acts 2:1-41 we are told the story of the Holy Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost. In this story we discover the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, the sealing promise of the Holy Spirit, the ordinary working of the Holy Spirit, and the universal offer of the Holy Spirit.
Joel Wood | Feb 23 2025
When a significant event happens, we often look to people who can act as witnesses of that event. Witnesses are those who testify to what they have seen or heard. Jesus calls his disciples to act as his witnesses to tell others of what they have seen and heard Jesus say and do. This is the primary task Jesus calls disciples to. He calls them to be his witnesses in this world especially as it relates to his resurrection. We discover this is one of the very reasons why Jesus called and chose his first twelve disciples: so that they could act as his witnesses. But Jesus does not expect disciples to carry out this task in their own strength or power. He promises to provide his Holy Spirit to empower and equipe them as his witnesses. The same things remain true for us today as Jesus’ followers. We are called to be his witnesses in this world and to look to the Holy Spirit for strength and power to carry out this task.
Brandon Fisher | Feb 16 2025
Introduce the book of Acts by looking back to the events that led up to the beginning of Acts – In particular the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Talk about Luke being the Author of Acts and address Why He wrote the book of Acts. Especially focus in on the idea of being a disciple means we follow a Risen Savior and Ascended/Ruling Lord. The Book of Acts, and the actions of Jesus’ disciples in this book, only make sense in light of those two realities.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 9 2025
Being honest not only means being honest about our own sin, but it also means being honest about the sin of others in the church. The only thing harder than confessing our own sin may be confronting the sin of someone else. This is a hard thing to do, but it’s something we must be willing to do if we truly love each other. The church is meant to be a place that takes sin seriously because we are serious about loving each other and serious about God’s glory. This means we should be prepared to confront the sin of one another when that sin either goes unrecognized or unrepented of. The gospel uniquely prepares us to confront other people with humility, grace, and boldness. And we all need other people who are willing to do that in our lives when it is needed.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 2 2025
Are you someone who other people would want to confess their sins to? Are you prepared to receive someone else’s confession and respond with grace? Is keystone a church where people could confess any sin? It’s a risky thing for someone else to confess their sins and so we should seek to be people who know how to respond well when this happens. If we want to create a gospel culture where people feel it’s okay to confess sin, then we must be people who are safe enough and strong enough to be able to receive and respond to other people as they confess their sin. Galatians 6:1-5 helps us to be prepared to be exactly these type of people as God calls us to bear the burdens of one another.
Joel Wood | Jan 26 2025
There is a danger that we would treat confession as an end in and of itself. This is especially true in our time that prizes “authenticity” above all else. We want to be authentic and honest about our sin, but that is not the end goal for us. Rather, our goal and desire is to grow to be more like Christ and to be authentic in who we are as God’s sons and daughters. This means we are meant to fight against sin and pursue holiness. Confession is part of this war, but we must realize it is only one part of it. Confession should never replace fighting sin in our lives. Rather, it should be the starting point from which we continue to fight sin in our lives. This means that when we confess our sins to other people, we are inviting them into the fight with us and seeking allies in our war against sin.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 19 2026
Sin is like a nocturnal animal. It loves to hide away in the darkness. But the more we hide it away, the more sin tends to thrive and grow. It’s often only as we bring our sin into the light that it starts to lose its power. This is exactly what John is calling us to do in 1 John 1:5-10. It’s why confession to others can actually be a means of God’s grace in our lives. Confession acts to bring what was otherwise hidden into the light. This act loosens some of the power of sin and helps us to find support in our fight against sin. John tells us that confession of sin strengthens our relationships with each other in the church and strengthens our grip on the gospel. As we confess our sins we experience real (not fake) fellowship with one another and we experience the felt forgiveness that is ours in Jesus Christ. These things then give us greater power to fight the sin that is in our lives.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 12 2025
One of the reasons we are prone to fake it and hide away our sin is because we don’t really believe the gospel. If we believe the gospel, then it should free us from having to act like we have it altogether or aren’t really sinners. The gospel is based on the very fact that we really are sinners who need a savior. The gospel assures us that we are accepted by God despite our sin. As those who are united with Christ, we are fully known and completely loved by our God. When we understand that, we are freed to risk being honest with other people because we don’t need their acceptance and approval. And the more honest we are about our sin the more we will have a community that displays what it feels like to be both known and loved by each other.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 5 2025
Before getting honest with each other, we are meant to get honest with God. It’s pointless to start confessing our sins to one another if we have not first confessed our sin to God. Real confession and repentance start with realizing that our sin is first and foremost against God. We also recognize that our sin is not simply bad behavior, but rather a heart that is resistant to God. And we recognize that forgiveness and real change must come from God. So, we approach God with honesty, confessing our sin to him, receiving grace from him, and asking Him to be the one who cleanses us and changes our hearts.
Josh Stalnaker | Dec 29 2024
Everyone craves relationship. the Bible is full of examples of people craving relationship in positive and negative ways. God exists in relationship as the Trinity and has existed like that for all eternity. John 1:35-51 introduces us to some of Jesus' first disciples and how they began following Him. In two instances (Simon Peter and Nathanael) individuals hear about Jesus through relationships they have with others. Not much has changed, people still follow Christ because someone they know introduced them to Jesus. Relationships give us the opportunity to use the craving we have been created with to introduce people to Jesus and to pour into others lives as they grow in the Gospel.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 22 2024
We all have the desire for a life that is full, satisfying, and complete. But so often we look for life in the wrong places thinking that what we long for can be found somewhere other than God. Jesus came so that we might find life in God. Not simply so that we could treat God as an add-on to our already full lives. The more we come to truly know God the more we find our hearts and lives satisfied in him. Jesus came so that we might truly know God. In Jesus we find a God who is full of glory, full of grace, and full of love. It’s as we live to know this this God that we find the fulness of life we are longing for.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 15 2024
Jesus came to this earth, not simply because we need a good example to follow or a good teacher to give us spiritual pep talks. He came to this earth because apart from him we don’t really have life. He did not come to this earth simply so that we can have a day off in December, fun traditions, and a reason to give each other presents. If that’s all Christmas is, it’s just a distraction from reality that makes us forget our terminal condition. Jesus came to this earth to give life to those who are dead. John 1:10-13 exposes our desperate situation, holds out the hope of new life in Christ, and shows us how this new life is received and enjoyed.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 8 2024
John 1:1-3 introduces us to the “Who” behind Christmas. In one of the most precise, powerful statements in the Bible, John tells us the one who came as a baby at Christmas is the God who created life (and all things) and gives meaning to life and our existence. John reveals that behind and at very center of Christmas stands the God who wants to be Known. This is why He created, this is why He took on human flesh, this is why He still speaks to us today. We find that Christmas supplies answers to some of our most important questions in this life like, “Why am I here? How can I find meaning for my life? Does God exist? If He does, how can I know Him and relate to Him? And so we find that Christmas challenges us to orient our lives completely around knowing this God.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 1 2024
Light and life are intricately connected. Light is necessary for life to exist. Light enables us to see things as we should. Light exposes what would otherwise remain hidden. Light gives us hope in the face of darkness. When John declares that Jesus is the light, He is saying the exact same thing about Him. There may be all sorts of other places we look for ‘light’ in this life. But light that truly brings life, joy, and hope is only found in Jesus. We see our lives differently when we see that Jesus is the light. We walk through life differently when we see Jesus is the light. And we find hope in all the darkness of our lives when we see Jesus is the light. Jesus came at Christmas so that our lives might be connected to and illuminated by Him as our light.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 24 2024
Do we believe that God truly loves the world? Do we believe it is God’s desire to save sinners? Do we believe that God does not wish for any to perish? It’s easy for the church to become inward focused and to lose its passion to see the gospel advance and sinners saved. But when this happens, we actually have lost our understanding of God’s heart for the world. Jonah is a book that displays God’s love not just for his people, but also for those who are not yet his people. We, as his people, are called to have the same heart that God has for the world. God is always moving outward in His love for people and he calls the church reflect his heart by moving outward as well.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 17 2024
Jonah’s response to the salvation of Nineveh is one of the most surprising parts of this book. How can Jonah be so upset that God chose to save Nineveh? Why would Jonah, who has been a recipient of God’s amazing love and grace, be so angry when God shows that same love and grace to others? Yet, even as we ask those questions, we are forced to see something of ourselves in Jonah. How often, do we as recipients of God’s grace live with an attitude towards others that is completely out of line with his grace? How often are we who have bene saved, completely comfortable with the through that other will perish? How often does our attitude towards the world (especially whoever we perceive as our enemies) the same as Jonah’s?
Brandon Fisher | Nov 10 2024
Jonah 3:5-10 may be one of the most surprising sections of the Bible. An entire city, along with its King, who were enemies of God and His people believe the message of Jonah and responded in repentance. We find in this section that God’s power is able to save even those who we think are most beyond the reach of saving. We find a picture of what true repentance looks like. And we also see a beautiful picture of how God responds to repentance.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct. 27 2024
God’s saving love experienced is what he uses to commission us to be messengers of His word to others. God saves people so that he might then send them to warn others and speak his message of salvation to others. His love is what qualifies and calls us to be His ambassadors to the world. While not every Christian is called to be a missionary (like Jonah), all Christians are called to take part in God’s mission to spread the gospel by speaking the truth. And yet the story of Jonah tells us that even when we blow it as God’s messengers, there is still hope for us. And even when our message is incomplete or inadequate, God is able to save.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct. 20 2024
God acts in history to save people. This is how God displays his love. This is how we experience God’s love. This is not just the story of Jonah, but it’s also the story of the entire Bible and it’s the story of everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus. Jonah’s powerful prayer/psalm gives us a memorable picture of how God acts to save his people. It leads us to praise, dependence, and trust as we look to the God who saves in our own lives. And it points us to our Savior and what he experienced in order to accomplish our salvation.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 13 2024
Love can be painful because love seeks to do what’s in the best interest of someone else even when it hurts. We often conceive of love in nice and neat categories. But Jonah shows us that God’s love is what will lead him to send storms our way in this life. These storms are often the very means God uses to save us, to expose and destroy our idols, and to draw us back to him when and where we have wandered. God’s love is also what drove him to send his greatest storm upon His very own Son so that we could be saved.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 6 2024
Jonah 1:4 opens with one of the greatest phrases in the bible, “But the LORD.” Left to ourselves we would be completely lost and hopeless. We would remain estranged from God for all eternity. But the LORD shows his love in pursuing us. We see in the story of the sailors on the ship that salvation is a result of God’s intentional pursuit. And we see in the story of Jonah on the ship that our continued hope in the face of hearts that are prone to wander is God’s continual pursuit of us. Just as our love for another person is often displayed in our intentional pursuit of them, so also God’s love is displayed in his intentional pursuit of us. And our salvation, far from simply being a decision we made, is a display of the glory and sovereignty of God.
Jonah 1:4-16
Joel Wood | Sept 29 2024
This sermon is meant to provide an introduction to the book of Jonah by helping us to understand who Jonah was and what was taking place in history at the time of Jonah’s life. This sermon is also meant to show how Jonah’s response to God’s call exposes our own sinful hearts. We all hear God’s call, whether it’s to believe in Him or change how we’re living for Him. However, left to ourselves we all disobey God’s word, seek to escape his presence, and reject his authority over our lives. We are all JONAH and in desperate need of God’s loving and relentless pursuit of us. And like JONAH, we have a message to take to an unbelieving world because God’s heart is for all nations.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 22 2024
God saves us completely by grace. But he expects that His grace will lead us to be active participants in his Kingdom. God entrusts into our care all sorts of things: relationships, opportunities, and resources. And he expects us to steward what he has entrusted into our care for His glory. We are meant to look for the ways God has given us to love and serve others. And we are meant to see all the resources we have been given as resources that can be used to love and serve others. God promises that those who serve and steward well what he has given to them will be rewarded. And he warns that those who waste their lives will actually lose their lives for eternity. We must continually ask the question, “Is my life being lived to serve my King? Or is my life simply being lived to serve myself?”
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 15 2024
If you expect something big and important is going to happen, you naturally watch for it and wait eagerly for it. Those who belong to God’s Kingdom are expecting Jesus to return. We believe that He is coming back again to dwell forever with the church. It can be easy to forget this as Jesus delays his return. But if we truly believe Jesus is returning and that his return will be glorious, then we are meant to watch and wait eagerly for his return. Our watching and waiting shows itself as we prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return and carry out what he has called us to do in the present.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 8 2024
In two short valuables we are told that God’s Kingdom is so valuable it is worth sacrificing everything else in this life for. Which might lead us to ask, “What is it that makes God’s Kingdom so valuable?” And the answer to that question comes in the form of a person. Jesus is the great treasure of God’s Kingdom. This means belonging to and living in God’s Kingdom involves both trusting Jesus as savior and treasuring Jesus above all else in this world. And those who see Jesus as their greatest treasure are then willing to gladly sacrifice and give up everything else for his sake. This means that one of the most important parts of living in God’s Kingdom is to have our hearts and minds happy and satisfied in Jesus. Those who know the worth of Jesus are those who joyfully give up their lives and the things of this life to follow Jesus and make him known.
Kyle Kauffman | September 1 2024
God’s Kingdom is marked by radical forgiveness. Though we owe him a debt we could never pay, He fully and freely forgives us. And he now calls us to do the same with others. Our lives bear testimony to God’s great forgiveness by how we forgive and forbear with the sins of others. And yet so often we are like the servant in the parable who refuses to extend forgiveness as we hold grudges or try to make others ‘pay’ for the wrongs they’ve done to us. Jesus means for this parable to both shock us with the wonder of God’s forgiveness and shock us with how quickly our lives can fail to appreciate and reflect that forgiveness in how we relate to each other.
Kyle Kauffman | August 25 2024
To belong to God’s Kingdom means to see our lives and all we have as belonging to Him. He is the one who created us and is meant to rule over us. And yet often, we try to rule over our lives rather than submitting ourselves to His rule. We hold onto things as if they belong to us, rather than gladly entrusting them to His care. We refuse to do obey Him even after He patiently calls for our obedience. The greatest act of resistance is to reject God’s Son who came to give his life for us so that we might live our lives for Him. If we resist God’s rule and reject His sovereignty over our lives then God will pour out His judgment on us.
Brandon Fisher | August 18 2024
God loves to give people what they don’t deserve in order to display His generosity. His Kingdom is a Kingdom of grace where he gives what he pleases to whom He pleases. We can be prone to believe that we deserve more than what we have been given. But those who live within God’s Kingdom are meant to see all they have been given as undeserved grace. This then enables us to live with joyful gratitude and rejoice in evidences of God’s grace to other people.
Kyle Kauffman | August 11 2024
Our lives in this world are full of mystery. We often cannot understand why God doesn’t always answer our prayers, especially when we perceive the thing we are praying for is a good thing. It’s easy for us to give up praying or to doubt God’s goodness. Jesus knew this would be the case. And so he told a parable that can encourage us to persist in praying. We find that one of the ways we display our faith is by continuing to pray and trusting God to do what is right. We find that God is pleased with us as we pester him in prayer. Because He is a God who loves to be “bothered” by his people.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug 4 2024
We cannot save ourselves or prove ourselves worthy of God’s Kingdom. It’s only when we realize how unworthy we are that we are then prepared to receive God’s Kingdom as a gift. We are prone to think we can save ourselves because we believe our sin is not that bad and that we are actually pretty good. This is only heightened as we look around and compare ourselves to other people. It’s easy for us to start to think God loves us and will save us because we are better at keeping “the rules” then others. But God’s Kingdom is full of people who are “really big sinners,” because only “really big sinners” know how much they need mercy. Meanwhile there are a lot of “really good people” who never enter God’s Kingdom because their “goodness” keeps them from knowing how much they need mercy.
Joel Wood | July 28 2024
God’s Word, and specifically the good news of the gospel, is what God uses to draw people into His Kingdom. But not all those who hear God’s Word respond to it in faith and believe. Jesus reveals the various responses people have to the message of the Kingdom in the story of the sower, or more accurately, the story of the soils. This surprising story calls out those who are hardened to the truth, shallow in their faith, or distracted by their world, leaving only one type of hearer who believes. . .whose heart is fertile and ready soil for the Gospel. The response reveals the heart and ultimately their relationship to God and His Kingdom. This story also presents an encouragement to all who proclaim Gods’ Word. We must remember the results lie outside of our control, but remain in the sovereign hands of the King who rules over the results of His Word, which far outweigh all our expectations.
Joel Wood | July 21, 2024
Jesus was, and still is, the greatest teacher the world has ever known. While Jesus taught in many ways, one of the most specific and impacting was in using parables. Often, we think of Jesus parables as sermon illustrations or stories that merely helped people pay attention. Jesus stories were certainly captivating and they helped to illustrate truth, but there is more happening in Jesus’ parables than that. Jesus spoke in parables to reveal the secrets of God’s kingdom, to help us to understand what that Kingdom is like, what it means to belong to it, and how we are to live our everyday lives in light of it. More than that, Jesus also spoke in parables to reveal who was truly a part of God’s kingdom. In fact, the parables Jesus shared were purposely designed to reveal the condition of His hearers’ hearts and bring the gospel to bear on their lives. Using a simple story to convey a singular and powerful point about the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ parables either draw us in to a closer relationship with Him through repentance and faith, or push us away in confusion and rejection. Our response to them makes all the difference in our lives both for today and for eternity.
Brandon Fisher | July 14 2024
We all long for a “perfect life.” We may have different ideas of what a perfect life looks like, but the longing for a perfect life is universal. Yet, one of the things we are reminded of on a regular basis is that our lives are far from perfect. We don’t always get what we want. We have hopes and dreams that go unfulfilled. Things regularly mess up our best laid plans. We rarely make it through a day without facing some sort of trouble or difficulty. We our reminded often and in various ways that we live in a broken world. But if we are looking for heaven here and now, then our unfulfilled desires, ruined plans, and everyday difficulties leave us constantly discontent. We easily respond in complaining, anger, or envy as the perfect life we want seems to always be just out of our reach. So often our discontent is rooted in expecting heaven here and now. The Bible teaches us to expect troubles in the present and perfection in the future. In other words, the Bible tells us to not look for heaven now, but to expect it in the future. And when we know that the future will be perfect, we can live with contentment in midst of an imperfect life here and now.
Kyle Kauffman | July 7 2024
Suffering. It’s the one thing we all wish that we could avoid. And yet it is the one thing that every single one of us will face in this life. The amount of suffering we face will vary, but no one makes it through this life without suffering. Whether it is loss, physical pain, mental and emotional pain, or a combination of all of them, everyone suffers. The hope of heaven does not alleviate suffering in this world, but it can transform how we think about suffering, how we face suffering, and how we have hope in suffering. Conversely, suffering can change how we think about heaven, increase our longing for heaven, and help us to live our lives focused on heaven. The Bible is a book full of people who suffered just as we suffer, but the Bible also points us to the hope we have that is able to sustain us through our all suffering in this life.
Kyle Kauffman | June 30 2024
What we believe about forever will shape how we use our money (and other resources) in the present. Or to put it another way, how we use our money will reveal what we truly believe about the future. If we believe this life is all there is then we will use our money to get as much as we possibly can out of this life. But if we truly believe that this life is short and heaven and hell are forever, then we will look for ways to use our money to make an eternal difference. Our use of money (how we spend it and save it) will reveal whether we are living for here and now or whether we are living for eternity. The more we set our hopes on the future God has promised to us, the more gladly we will give away our money in the present to invest in that future. Either our money will reveal we are living to gain all we can here and now, or that we are living to gain heaven and all that God promises to us.
Joel Wood | June 23 2024
One of the main things we are called to do as Jesus’ followers is to love other people in this life. We are to love others just as Jesus has loved us. We are to love other people by helping to meet both physical and spiritual needs. And yet to love others in the present will also require making sacrifices in the present. True love always requires a willingness to sacrifice something for the sake of another. This is where we find that Heaven and the future hope we are promised from God guides and empowers us to sacrifice much in the present in order to love others. Forever reminds us that we should care about both physical needs and spiritual needs. Forever reminds us that our acts of love in the present have eternal significance. And forever gives us the motivation to sacrifice much in the present in order to love others, knowing that every sacrifice will prove to be worth it.
Kyle Kauffman | June 16 2024
The future we are promised is meant to shape our lives in the present. One of the ways our future should shape the present is in motivating us to grow in holiness/Christlikeness. When we know that heaven is our true home it means we should be okay with living as foreigners in this world. When we know that one day, we will be perfectly holy, it should lead us to pursue holiness in our lives today. If we are going to spend forever with Christ, then it should lead us to live for Christ right now. Paul was a man who was consumed with thoughts of heaven, and as a result he was a man who was radically transformed in the present. We find in Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-21 four ways that forever impacts how we live in the present.
Kyle Kauffman | June 9 2024
We tend to spend more time focusing on “how” things will end in this life then we spend focusing on what will come afterwards. We often talk about the end times and how it we believe everything will end more than we actually talk about heaven and what comes after the “end.” What do you believe heaven will be like? What types of images and descriptions come to your mind as you think about heaven? While the descriptions of heaven we find in the Bible leave a lot to the imagination, they also give us some really important details that help us to imagine heaven. We find one picture of Heaven in Revelation 21-22. The picture we find is incredible! And the more we both understand and meditate on this future, the more we will find it having an impact on our present.
Kyle Kauffman | Jun 2 2024
You are going to live forever. Let that sink in for a moment. Forever is where you are headed. Your life will not end the moment you stop breathing in on this earth. Rather, you will go on living forever after you die here and now. Many people are vague on whether or not forever exists. They may hope there is some sort of afterlife, and yet they are unsure if there really is. And yet many people are “sure” that if there is an afterlife then it must be good for everyone. Meanwhile many Christians believe they are going to live forever and yet we can spend so little time thinking about forever and what difference it makes for right now. The Bible is clear that we are going to live forever. It is also clear that there are two eternal destinies: Heaven and Hell. And there is only one person who can change our eternal destiny. As we look to Jesus, we discover that the future is certain and we discover that we can know our future for certain. And we are challenged to live with that future in view.
Kyle Kauffman | May 19 2024
What does a life well-lived look like? That’s a question we all ask in some way. We know we only have one life to live and so we don’t want to waste our lives. In the midst of all the challenges, pressures, and temptations it can become easy to coast, drift, or just fail to consider the direction of our lives. Hebrews 13 puts before our eyes a vision of what a life well-lived looks like. The author of Hebrews has spent 12 chapters laying out what make Jesus better than anything or anyone else in this life. Based on all of this he concludes in Hebrews 13 by telling us a life well-lived is a life that seeks to please God by following Jesus. The author shows us in practical detail what this life looks like while reminding us that this life is only possible through God’s grace.
Brandon Fisher | May 12 2024
Think of a time where you ran a race in your life (or where you set out to do something else that was challenging). Why did you run that race? What did you experience during the race? What kept you going when things got difficulty? What was it like to get to the finish line? The Christian Life can be compared to a race that we run through this life and this world. The race is not easy, but it is worth it. This is what the author of Hebrews is teaching us in Hebrews 12:1-29. He’s like a coach who is on the side cheering us on and yelling, “Keep going!” Endurance in the Christian race can be challenging for all sorts of reasons, but in the end, we will find that if we keep going it will all be worth it.
Kyle Kauffman | May 5 2024
Faith is fueled by the promise of a better reward. As a result, faith is willing to give up all the “rewards” of this world. Faith knows that all this world offers to is only temporary and fading. But all that God promises to us is eternal and imperishable. In other words, faith operates with a whole different value system. It believes that God and all he promises to us is better than this world and all its fleeting praise, pleasure, and comfort. As a result, faith is willing to endure hardship and suffering in life. Faith believes there is something better that is worthy experiencing suffering and hardship to gain.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 28 2024
Christians are called to live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). And yet can also be accused of having blind faith in this life. The reality is that everyone lives by faith in certain areas of their lives. In our own time, the words, “You just need to believe” are a common refrain. And often the object of that belief is simply ourselves. The Christian puts his or her faith in a far greater object then self or any other human. We put our faith in the God who created this world and his Word. As a result, we live our lives seeking to gain what he has promised to us. We are willing to give up things this world values because we value the reward God offers more. In this way faith may look foolish in the eyes of the world, but faith is living for what can never be found in this world.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 21 2024
How can I be sure? That’s a question we might ask in all sorts of areas in our lives. And yet there may be no more important place we ask this then when we ask, “How can I be sure I am saved?” Or “How can I be sure I will remain a Christian?” A lack of assurance can be a terrible thing to endure. A false sense of assurance can lead to terrible consequences. But a true assurance of salvation is a wonderful thing to have. And it’s something God wants us to have. We should not base our assurance on our own feelings, a previous prayer, or a powerful conversion story. Neither should we dissolve into endless self-reflection that may cause us to doubt our salvation. In Hebrews 10:19-39 we find God gives us a better way to find and hold onto an assurance of salvation. He gives us the place to look for assurance, a practice to maintain assurance, a problem that can (and should) undermine our assurance, and proof that can help our assurance.
Joel Wlld | Apr. 7 2024
It’s easy for us to overlook the ascension of Jesus back to Heaven. In fact, it is often the event of Jesus’ life that gets the least amount of focus. We hear Jesus’ words, “It is to your advantage that I go away” and are left dumfounded and confused. Wouldn’t it have been better if He stayed here on this earth and lived among us right now? Wouldn’t most of our personal and global struggles be eliminated if He was still here? In answering those questions and the bigger question of “What if Jesus didn’t ascend back to heaven?” we discover that Jesus’ ascension has life-changing implications for our lives both now and in the future. The truth and reality is, it is good news for us that Jesus ascended back to heaven forty days after He rose from the dead.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 31 2024
Most historians agree that a man named Jesus lived in the first century and died by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman Empire. Yet many believe this was the end of the story of Jesus. What if this really was the end of story? What if Jesus remained in the grave and he was never truly raised back to life like the gospels say he was? We often take for granted that Jesus rose back to life because we’ve heard the Easter Story so frequently. But we can push our hearts and minds to consider just how significant this event was and is by dwelling on the question: “What if Jesus Wasn’t Raised from the Dead?” We find Paul playing out this exact scenario in 1 Corinthians 15 as he details what it would mean for us if Jesus’ death was the end of the story. Thankfully, Paul points to good reasons we have to believe that Jesus really was risen from the dead. And It’s because this event really did happen that our lives can truly be changed by Jesus.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 24 2024
How can someone who has done something wrong be made right again? How can our wrongs be atoned for? We can be prone to both minimize our own sinfulness and presume that we deserve forgiveness for whatever sins we have committed. The sacrifices in the Bible consistently make clear that our sin is a far bigger deal then we realize and that we deserve punishment, not forgiveness. And yet the sacrifices in the Bible also tell us that God makes a way for our sins to be forgiven. Our sins are not forgiven through good deeds, penance, time, or any other means. They are forgiven only through the shedding of blood. Hebrews directs our eyes to Jesus as the greatest sacrifice (and the one that ALL the other sacrifices were pointing to). His one sacrifice is sufficient to forgive all our sins and to fully make right what sin has made wrong.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 17 2024
Relationships can be very fragile. They can easily be fractured and broken in all sorts of ways. And when a relationship is fractured, we often look for a way for the relationship to be fixed/restored. We were created to enjoy a relationship with God. But that relationship has been fractured because of sin. And yet we find there is no way for us to fix or mend this broken relationship. If we are to know and enjoy God, then we need God to act to restore the relationship. We find in Scripture that time and time again God has acted to restore and maintain His relationship with Humans. He does this on the basis of covenant. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is at the center of the final and better covenant that all the other covenants pointed toward. Hebrews tells us we relate to God on the basis of Jesus. Which means that as long as we are trusting in Jesus we cannot be separated from God. And all other ways of seeking to secure or maintain a relationship with God are futile.
Joel Wood | Mar. 10 2024
It’s easy to trust God when the seas of our life are calm. When things are going the way we want them to, circumstances are good, and there’s no really big trials we are facing, trust in God seems to come naturally. But when suffering, temptation, and trials start to blow and rage against us, it can be hard to continue to trust God in the midst of them. It seems much easier in these moments to start to doubt God’s love or to live in constant fear then to trust him. This was a struggle for the Hebrews in the midst of their circumstances, and it’s often our struggle as well. In the midst of all the ‘waves’ that come our way in this life we need an anchor we can look to that will hold us through the storm and enable us to continue trusting God when life is painful, hard, or just doesn’t make sense.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 3 2024
One of the things that we notice as we read Hebrews is that it is not only full of descriptions of how Jesus is Better, but it is also interspersed with serious warnings about turning away from Jesus. While these warnings are contained throughout the book, perhaps nowhere is the warning and what’s at stake clearer then in Hebrews 5:11-6:12. The purpose and effect of this warning can often get lost in the midst of the debate between whether someone can lose their salvation or not. The warning was originally addressed to those who called themselves Christians. This warning makes it clear that apostasy (turning away from and denying the faith) is a real possibility and reality. While the Bible teaches that those who are truly saved will not lose their salvation because God will hold onto them and enable them to persevere, warnings like this also teach that there are some who will appear to be truly saved to us who will turn away and deny the faith. In God’s hands, serious warnings are a means of His grace that are meant to help us persevere in our faith and not turn away from what is Better – Jesus and all he promises to us.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 25 2024
In Hebrews 4:14-5:10 we see Jesus described as a Perfect Priest. While the original readers of Hebrews would have understood their need for a priest, the idea of a priest likely seems foreign to us today. And yet we still look to people to play the role of a priest in our lives. We look to others who will listen to us, understand us, advocate for us, and help to solve our problems. In our day perhaps the people we most often look to as our priests are counselors and therapists. We go to counselors to have them listen to us, offer help to us, and help provide solutions to the problems in our lives. But what we need is not just a counselor or therapist, we need a Priest. Hebrews 4:14-5:10 tells us why we still need a Priest today and why Jesus is the Perfect Priest.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 18 2024
Israel had some great leaders throughout their history, including especially Moses and Joshua. And yet the author of Hebrews wanted both them and us to see how much of a better leader Jesus is. We often choose what leaders we will trust and follow based on who they are, what they’ve done, and the promises/hope they offer for the future. But we find that all of our leaders in this life end up letting us down sooner or later. They turn out to be flawed just like us and they often fail to deliver on their promises. Hebrews shows us that Jesus is a better leader than any other leader we may trust and follow. And as a result, we must take care to listen to him, trust him, and give our lives to follow him.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 11 2024
We were made to worship. It’s impossible for us not to worship. Whatever we give our mind’s attention to and our heart’s affection to is what we worship. And there are all sorts of things in this life that compete for our attention and our affection. We can easily end up worshipping the wrong things. So many of thing things in our lives aren’t worthy of our worship. They only end up letting us down in the long run and distracting us from the one who is truly worthy of our worship. It may seem odd to us, but the Hebrews were tempted to worship angels above Jesus. But usually this is how it works: it’s easier for us to see the folly of what someone else is worshipping then it is to see the folly of the things we are prone to worship. Hebrews 1:5-2:4 wants to shift our attention back to the main attraction in the entire universe: Jesus Christ; and to see that only he is truly worthy of our worship.
Joel Wood | Feb. 4 2024
When presented with different options, we all want to choose what is better. In many ways our lives are one long exercise in trying to choose what is better. Whether it’s what we do with our time, with our money, or with our energy, we are always trying to figure out what is better so that we might give our lives to what pursuing what is better. There are so many voices that give competing ideas of what is better. And these voices can often seek to convince us that there is something better in this life then Jesus. We can start to wonder if trusting Jesus is really worth it…especially when life gets really difficult. We can start to wonder if following Jesus is really worth it… especially when following Him proves costly. Is Jesus really worth putting our trust in and giving our lives to OR is there something better than Jesus? This is a question the people that the book of Hebrews was written to seem to be wrestling with. Life is starting to look and feel like it would be easier if they compromised their belief in Jesus in some way. And so, the author of Hebrews writes them a letter (a sermon) reminding them in all sorts of ways that Jesus is Better! And as he does he encourages and warns followers of Jesus to keep going in their faith and obedience to Jesus because they will find in the end that he really is worth it. The author begins this great sermon by reminding his readers that God’s Voice is more important than anyone else’s and that Jesus is the best Word God has spoken.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 28 2024
It’s easy for the church as a whole and us as individuals to drift in the direction of an inward focus. There are so many needs within the church that we can spend all of our time simply focused on meeting them. But God has given us a mission, and that mission requires us moving out. Moving outward with a welcoming mindset towards those outside the church is uncomfortable and challenging. And yet as we move outward, we do so in the love of Christ, by the power of Christ, with faith in the promises of Christ. As part of God’s family, we can all take steps to move outward and extend welcoming arms toward others in hope that God will use us as a part of welcoming them into his family as well.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan 21 2024
The tendency in our modern world is to either see children as a burden (keeping us from our dreams) or to see children as an idol (having our dreams wrapped up in them). Children can be seen as an inconvenience or distraction getting in the way of what really matters. God shows his value for children in the fact that He himself became a child. Jesus then demonstrated that children are a gift by welcoming them into his life. We have a God who loves children and welcomes children to himself. The church can and should also look for ways to love and welcome children into our lives in an effort to point them to the God who loves them and wants them to be a part of his family.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 14 2024
It is so easy for us to view our homes as our own private refuges and fortresses. They can quickly become the places where we seek to escape the burdens of other people. What would it instead look like if we saw our homes as welcome centers: places where we could invite others in so that we could get to know them and encourage them? What if, ‘Do you want to come over for dinner?’ was a common invitation in our church? What if it was expected that we will regularly sit around a table with others in our church?. What effect might this have on the church? What effect might this have on others looking in on the church? How might God use that?
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 7 2024
The church is meant to be a community that looks and feels different then the world outside of it. The church is meant to be a place where people feel known and seen, loved and valued. We are called to put on display in our culture what we believe in our doctrine. Therefore, if we truly believe God is a welcoming God then we should seek to be a welcoming place and people as the church. However, this does not happen by accident. It happens as God’s grace changes us and motivates us to do the challenging work of welcoming others in. The gospel not only gives us the model for how we are to welcome one another as a church, but it also helps to overcome the fears and desires that would prevent us from being a welcoming people.
Brandon Fisher | Dec. 31 2023
Welcome is a metaphor for the gospel. Hospitality is central to God’s Heart. The Bible is a story of a God who displays his glory and grace by pursuing the people who have spurned Him in order to welcome them back into His family. This is perhaps displayed nowhere more clearly than in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. We see that all of us have spurned God and deserve to be shunned/abandoned by Him. But we find in this story that God welcomes us not on the basis of our merit, but on the basis of His grace and mercy. We find that God goes above and beyond to welcome us back into His family. We find that it brings God pleasure to display His glory by welcoming people into his family. And we find that understanding how great God’s welcome is of us should lead us to be welcoming people.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 24. 2023
Christmas is often a season of great joy. There are all sorts of reasons we make look forward to Christmas, be excited about Christmas, or be happy at Christmas. Yet so much joy at Christmas (and in all of life) is surfacy, shallow, and hollow. This doesn’t mean that it’s bad, it just means that the joy can so easily be taken away. We were not meant for a joy that is simply found in the good things of this world. Rather our hearts were created to find joy in knowing the one who made the world. We find that the real reason for joy at Christmas is because Christmas makes it possible for us to know God. God offers us a type of weighty joy that can only be found in knowing him. So when other sources of joy fade or crumble, our joy in knowing God an remain firm.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec. 17 2023
In our lives the temptation to seek comfort in this world and apart from Gid is great. Our lives can so easily become all about finding and keeping comfort. We end up trying to avoid all that is uncomfortable even when we know God is calling us to give up our comfort. Christmas can so easily just become another season where we look for comfort in what this world offers rather than in God. In Christmas, we find a Savior who choose to give up all his comfort in order to become a man to rescue us and reunite us with God. As a result, we can now find comfort in God that is not temporary or simply circumstantial. Rather it’s actually when our lives become most uncomfortable that Jesus becomes our greatest comfort. And as we find our comfort in him, we are then called to give up the comforts of this life for His cause in this world.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec 10 2023
We all have a tendency to put ourselves first. We our prone to prioritize our own desires, interests, honor, and recognition. We seek to look out for ourselves more than we do for others. We seek to climb the ladder and get ahead of others. We look for ways that we can serve ourselves (or that others can serve us) rather than how we can serve others. At Christmas God shows us that he is a God who came to serve not to be served. He shows us he is a God who prizes and exalts humility. He shows us he is a God who prioritizes going down and giving up for the sake of others. Because this is who God is he calls us to prioritize going down and giving up for the sake of others.
Joel Wood | Dec 3 2023
When it comes to knowing the truth, it is inevitable that we will disagree with others and find ourselves in situations where we feel like we need to speak up about what we believe is true. This may be with fellow Christians where we disagree on some truth or it may be in conversations with those who don’t know Christ where we disagree about what is ultimately true. We are not meant to run from disagreements or to avoid those who we disagree with. Rather healthy disagreement and debate is one of the ways that God uses to help us grow in the truth. We live in a world where we tend to avoid those who think differently than us or seek to shame them and yell them down. But we are meant to engage with one another and not avoid disagreements over the truth while doing it all with love and humility.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 26 2023
Our ability to know and live according to the truth will be greatly affected by the information we take in. Who and what do we listen to the most, watch the most, read the most, etc? We are people who are inevitably shaped by what we give our attention to. Lots of voices (perhaps more than ever before) clamor for our attention. And we should recognize how valuable our attention is more than ever before. We are meant to give our attention to sources that cultivate wisdom in our lives rather than folly. We are meant to spend more time soaking in the truth then sipping on what is trivial. We are meant to see that more information does not necessarily translate to more wisdom and truth. This week is designed to help us evaluate how we are prioritizing our attention and if our habits in life are conducive to forming us into people who are deeply rooted in the truth.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 19 2023
In a world that is full of voices, how do we determine what is true and what isn’t true? In an age where everyone has their own sources, experts, scientists and theories to back something up how do we discern what’s really true and what’s false? How do we determine what is fake news and what’s real news? How do we live wisely in an age of misinformation and disinformation? Christians hold to the belief that if something contradicts the truth of the Bible then it is not true. But how are we to filter all the different information we take in and the voices we listen to? Discernment is an important skill for living in this life and a vital skill for living as a Christian. It’s a skill we are meant to grow in over time. And it’s a skill that helps us to live wisely as we discern what is true and live in accordance with it. The Bible not only highlights the importance of discernment but also teaches us how we can grow in this vital skill.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov 12 2023
Who gets the final say in what is true in your life? Who do you look to tell you what is true? Who are the authorities you submit to? Authority and truth are inevitably connected because we will look to some authority to determine what is true. But we are prone to have a skepticism and cynicism towards authority. As sinful human beings we don’t like to live under the authority of God or other people. We view authority outside of ourselves as being constricting rather than liberating. We can also look at lots of different ways that authority has been abused or wielded in a way that is destructive. As a result, we are prone to set ourselves up as the ultimate authority. This leaves us in a position where the only authorities we listen to are the ones we like. We accept an authority if it reinforces our views and reject an authority if it challenges our views. The Bible presents itself as the ultimate authority. It presents itself as being the very words of God. If we are to know what is true, then we must submit ourselves to the Bible as our authority. This will mean believing what the Bible says is true and living according to what the Bible says is true. Rather than this limiting our freedom, we find it frees us to actually live as we were designed to.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov. 5 2023
What is truth? It’s a question that’s as old as time. And it’s a question that’s as important as life itself. We ask this question because we want to know what is true and what is false. But even more importantly we ask this question because we want to know if truth really exists and if so, how we can come to know the truth. We live in a world where absolute truth is viewed with suspicion. We prefer phrases like this is “my truth” or “your truth” to the idea that something is universally true for all people. We are prone to look inward to our feeling and desires to discover what is true rather than looking outward to some source of truth outside of ourselves. We tend to think the truth can be changed to fit our preferences rather than recognizing truth that my preferences must conform too. In short, we live in a time where we seek to make truth what we want it to be rather than seeking to know what is really true.
Joel Wood | Oct. 29 2023 One of the storylines we can find traced throughout the Bible is that there is a cosmic, unseen, spiritual war that is happening throughout history. It is not simply a war of good vs. evil or of two equally competing powers. Rather it is a war between God and Satan. It is a war that Satan started when he attempted to take God’s place and yet it was a war that was futile from the start. God has decisively won this war at the cross through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We know because of Jesus the war ends with Satan’s defeat. But until that final ending there are still battles that rage on. As a result, we find ourselves in the middle of this war. We find ourselves engaged with an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy our faith and the life we have in Christ. And yet we find ourselves with resources that far outweigh our enemy’s ability to harm us. We are meant to fight together by exercising the weapons God has given us as we rely on him till the day when the war is finally over.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 22 2023 Our relationships with other people can simultaneously be one of the greatest gifts we experience in this life and one of the greatest challenges we face in this life. This is especially true in our closest of relationships with the people that we live with, work with, and see every day. The gospel is the good news of how we can enter back into a relationship with God. But it is also the good news that shapes all of our relationships with other people as well. Paul demonstrates this by bringing the gospel to bear on some of our closest relationships in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. While there is much that can be learned about each one of these relationships, there is also certain gospel principles that we can find in these verses that can impact and shape all of our relationships.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 15 2023 One of God’s resounding commands that travels across the pages of the Bible and across time and history for his people is this: “Be holy for I am holy.” We find in Ephesians that one of the very purposes why God chose to save us and why and why Jesus died on the cross for us is to make us holy. It’s really easy for us to downplay holiness, emphasize love at the expense of holiness, or view holiness as an optional add-on to the Christian life. But it’s clear that if we belong to God, and therefore belong to the church, we are called to imitate God as his children. This will include living a life of holiness in a world where holiness may make us stick out and may be mocked, offensive, or even hated. Yet the ultimate purpose of seeking to live holy lives is not to show how great we are or to shame other people. Rather, in living holy lives we show how satisfying God is and invite others to find satisfaction in him alone.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 8 2023 We often spend so much time thinking about what the gospel means for our past and what it means for our future that we can miss that the gospel is also good news for our present. There tends to be a gap in our gospel where we sometimes struggle to know or understand what difference it should make for the present. In Ephesians 4:17-32 Paul seeks to show the gospel is not just good news for the past or future, but it’s also good news for the present and how we are meant to live today.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 24 2023 If we want to grow and change in some area of our lives, we likely come up with a plan of how we will try to grow in that area. We come up with a strategy, set goals, and hope to see change. God’s goal for all Christians is that that we grow into maturity in Christ. And God’s plan and strategy for how he will accomplish this involves the church. The Church is necessary for us to grow and mature as Christians. And if we don’t prioritize gathering, worshipping, and serving with the church then our growth will be stagnated and we will likely find our faith beginning to shrink. God never meant for us to grow in Christian maturity alone. Rather he has designed and called us to grow together as one.
Brandon Fisher | Sept 17 2023 Our view of the church is so often small and inadequate. We have misconceptions of the church or we misunderstand the true nature of the church. Sometimes we think church is just place we go listen to some music and hear a sermon. Sometimes we see all the flaws of the church and are left wondering if being a part of a church is really worth it. Sometimes we approach church as more of a hobby than anything else. And sometimes we can only see the church from our own vantage point and fail to see it from God’s vantage point. Ephesians 3 tells us the church is at the center of God’s plan for the world and for all of history. It tells us there is so much more going on with the church than meets the eye. And it invites us to see and understand the church from God’s perspective so that our own understanding of the church is greatly elevated.
Joel Wood | Sept 10 2023 The church is designed to be full of people that are different. The church is not meant to be built on the ground that we look the same, talk the same, vote the same, enjoy the same hobbies, have the same culture, or even speak the same language. Rather the church is meant to be built on the ground that we are all united together in Christ. It is our common identity in Christ that is meant to supersede all other identities and preferences we may have. It is Jesus who has torn down all the walls that may have separated us. And because of Jesus we are meant to welcome one another and seek to tear down or remove any walls that may separate us today. The more centered our lives are around Jesus, the more united the church will be with Jesus as the bond that holds us together. And the more the world will see a testimony to how great Jesus is.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept. 3 2023
Although every single Christian has a unique and individual story to their life, we also have an identical and collective story to our lives. The details of how we came to faith in Christ may be different, but the true story that lies behind every one of our conversions is the exact same. As we understand our collective story, we better understand who we were, what God did to save us, and who we are called to be now. We find that God’s grace is the power that saved each of us and it is the engine that now drives our lives forward. As we understand our collective story it also helps us to see each other in the church in the right way. We are led to look at each other and see a miracle of God’s grace rather than looking at each other and seeing all the flaws and imperfections. And we are led to see those outside the church as those who are in need of God’s grace, just as we are.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug. 27 2023 In the longest sentence of the Bible, we find some of the most incredible truths of the Bible! We see what God has done and will do for us and why he has and will do it. And as we see this, we discover more of who we are in Christ and what God has done in saving us. We discover that the church is ultimately not a group of people that is formed by our personal choice and brought together by our efforts. But rather it is a people that is formed by God’s choice and brought together by his work. We also discover that the greatest blessings we can hope for are not found in this material world but rather are given to us now spiritually and are fully enjoyed in the world that is to come. The more we cherish and hold onto these blessings the better we will glorify God with our lives which is the very reason for the church’s existence.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug. 20 2023 This week will begin our series on Ephesians by orienting ourselves to the people and time this book was originally written to and by understanding the main message of the book. We will look at some of the relevant Biblical and cultural background on Ephesus and the church in Ephesus in order to understand who Paul was originally writing. As we do this we will seek to bridge the gap between us and them by making the connections between our life today and their life in Ephesus. We’ll also look at some the structure of Ephesians especially diving into how Ephesians is split up neatly into three chapters of gospel doctrine (1-3) and three chapters of gospel living (4-6). While we will weave these two together throughout the series, it’s helpful to see how Paul always puts gospel indicatives before imperatives. In many ways, Paul’s message is, “This is who you are. Now live like that’s true.” And in this way the Christian life is meant to be an entire orientation around who we are in Christ.
Kyle Kauffman | August 13 2023 How does fearing God overcome our fear of failing at something in this life? We are often terrified to step out and try something new or to step up and lead something because we are scared of failing and not living up to expectations. We are often scared to let either ourselves or others down. Deep down many people tend to feel inadequate, insufficient, and unqualified. We believe that God can do anything, but we are not so sure he can do anything through us. But a proper understanding of who God is and how he works can enable us to take risks with our lives. Because we know that what’s most important is not our success or failure. We know that the results ultimately lie in God’s hands. And we are confident that he will use even (especially) our failures for good.
Joel Wood | August 6 2023 How does fearing God overcome the fear we all tend to have when it comes to suffering and dying? We know that we will suffer at times in this life and that we will all die. But the fear of these things happening in the future can keep us paralyzed in the present. A proper fear of God frees us from fearing what may lie in the future for us. We don’t need to fear suffering and death because we have the presence of God with us and the promise of God to anchor us no matter what happens in our lives. We can know that God will bring good from our suffering and that death will only serve to make us better.
Joel Wood | July 30 2023 How does fearing God overcome the pervasive fear of man in our lives? Whether it’s wanting to please people, fearing rejection and criticism, or just being concerned with what other people think about us, fear of man tends to run deep. A proper fear of God can enable us to overcome our fear of man and obey God even when it may cost us people’s approval and rejection or opposition. A BIG view of God enables us to see man in his proper place and as a result to not be held captive in fear of other people. And a correct view of God can give us the desire to please him alone and not live for the approval of people.
Kyle Kauffman | July 23 2023 There are so many things in this life that are uncertain. It’s easy for our minds to dwell on the uncertainty and try to play out all the ‘what ifs.’ When we do that, we often imagine the worst and anxiously worry about the bad things that could happen to us and to our loved ones. We grasp for ways to control the outcome of the future, but the uncertainty still remains. When we meditate on all that is uncertain, we tend to become fearful and anxious. God instead invites us to meditate on what is certain… by fixing our minds on what is true… his character, his words, his promises.
Kyle Kauffman | July 16 2023 We rarely speak of fearing God today and even when we do, we can still end up easily misunderstanding what it means to fear God. Though we all know what it feels like to fear something the idea of fearing God often remains unclear and fuzzy to us. We wonder if we should still fear God today. And if so, what should that fear look like? Does fear mean that we should be afraid of God? Or is fear only something non-Christians should experience because they have not yet come under God’s grace? Fear of God can feel like something that we read about in our Bibles and yet are unsure about in our lives. But we need to recognize that a right fear of God is actually the doorway into wisdom, hope, joy, and peace.
Kyle Kauffman | July 9 2023 There are all sorts of things we may fear in this life. Sometimes fear can be a minor phobia and at other times it can be a crippling panic. Fears can be obvious and very clear. But fears can also remain hidden and be hard to identify. Fear in and of itself is not a bad thing. There are certain things we are right to be afraid of. But fear is a very powerful emotion and it has the ability to enslave us, control our lives, and guide the decisions we make with our lives. Because what we fear will ultimately affect how we live. It’s important to understand what causes us to fear and what lies behind our fears in order for us to better understand why we fear. Ultimately, we want to see what is happening in our hearts that leads us to fear certain things or people. And then to see that the solution to our fears is not simply to stop fearing, but rather to put our fear in the proper place where it belongs.
Joel Wood | July 2 2023 All nations, cultures, and peoples are meant to worship God. Yet in the Tower of Babel we find the exact opposite. The peoples band together to build a tower that will magnify humans and their efforts rather than God. God responds by coming down to disperse the peoples and confuse their languages. Yet even in God’s judgment we see a plan start to see more of his plan for redemption immerging. God plans to have people from all nation, tribe, and language worshipping Him. In this we find that the differences in culture and language can actually be a really good thing. Each culture and language can worship God in unique ways. We have much that we can learn from each other in the present (rather then being suspicious of one another). We find that God’s plan is to offer salvation to all nations through one man who immerges from one nation. We now have the opportunity to take that message of salvation to all the nations.
Kyle Kauffman | June 25 2023 God makes and keeps promises. That reality alone should amaze us. But here’s the even more amazing part: God makes and keeps promises to sinners. God shows us that a relationship with him is not built, earned, or enabled by our obedience and efforts. Rather the gift of his presence and blessing in our life is rooted in his promises. We see in Genesis 9-10 that the story God writes is one where he binds himself to his people with promises through covenants. God shows that the way he will rescue the world and turn it into paradise again is through making and keeping his promises. His promises call us to respond with grateful trust, love, and obedience. Yet we find that God continues to keep his promises even as we fail to trust, love, and obey him over and over again.
Kyle Kauffman | June 18 2023 God judges sin. This can leave us surprised and shocked. It’s hard for us to read stories like the flood in Genesis without walking away surprised by how seriously God takes sin. Yet if we want to recognize how great God’s mercy is in saving us, we must also come to grips with how great our sin is and the judgment we rightfully deserve. The story of the flood is a story that tells us God acts both with judgment and with mercy. He judges sin and yet shows favor on Noah and makes a way for Noah through the judgment of his sin. This story points us to the cross as the ultimate place where God acts with both judgment and mercy and provides a way for his people to pass through his judgment safely. Now we who have received mercy are called to be people who carry God’s message of mercy to others.
Kyle Kauffman | June 11 2023 We often skip over or cruise past the genealogy lists in the Bible. They have unfamiliar names that are hard to pronounce and seem overly repetitive. We might wonder, “Why in the world is this even in the Bible?” Even these lists have something important to teach us, especially this first list in the Bible. They point us to both the beauty and brokenness of life in this world. Life is a wonderful gift, but because of sin life comes to an end. This genealogy teaches us that we all live under the shadow of death. This genealogy reminds us that we will all both grieve the loss of others in our life and that we to will one day face death. No matter how long we live, we must come to grips with the truth that one day we will die. And this genealogy teaches us that God’s plan and promises continue on even after we are long gone from this world. And that although death looms over us, there is hope for us both in and after this life.
Joel Wood | June 4, 2023 Sometimes things go from bad to worse. That’s the story of Genesis 4. We see how quickly sin spreads and multiplies and creates more pain and hurt in this world. This story shows us how powerful sin is in our lives and in this world. It corrupts, infects, multiplies, and leaves a path of destruction in its wake. This story shows us that all conflict begins in our own sinful hearts. We wage war against other people because a war is already raging in our hearts. As a result, we are called to wage war against the sin within us. And yet we find that the war against sin is not ultimately won by our efforts but by the one who God sends His Son to overcome sin and all its effects.
Kyle Kauffman | May 28th 2023 As one author says, Genesis 3 tells us of the “Second saddest day in history.” This chapter tells us the story of where things went wrong, not just in the initial story of the first humans, but in each of our own stories over and over again. In this story we find the entrance of sin into the world. We find an answer to our question, “What is wrong with the world?” We find a clear picture of what sin is. And we find an explanation to why every single one of us is corrupted by sin and in need of a Savior. This is a heartbreaking and devastating story that we find played out over and over again throughout history. Yet it is a story that is not without hope.
Kyle Kauffman | May 21 2023
Marriage is an incredible gift from God. We see marriage as a institution and relationship designed by God for our good and his glory. Yet there are all sorts of ways that marriage can become twisted and distorted. We can attempt to define marriage on our own terms according to our own desires. We can make marriage all about ourselves and our own fulfillment. We can turn marriage into an idol where we seek ultimate satisfaction and meaning. Or we can see marriage as a negative thing to be avoided because it constrains my own personal freedom. God teaches us a story about marriage that both corrects and at points contradicts our own stories about marriage. God gives marriage as a display of his unity and diversity. He gives marriage as a means to great intimacy and pleasure. He gives marriage as the bond to create, support, and protect a family. Yet our marriages are never meant to be ultimate in God’s story. They are a story within the greater story. They are a parable of God’s covenant love. They are a pointer to the intimacy, love, and glory of Jesus.
Kyle Kauffman | May 14 2023 God gave people specific commands from the start “to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.” And then he puts Adam and Eve in the garden to “Work it and Keep it” God intends for us to be people who cultivate the earth in order to make it better, and who use our gifts and abilities to work as an act of worship to Him and love and service to our neighbors. Work is a good gift from God and not a necessary evil we must do to survive. But since the fall, work has come under a curse. Work is now full of difficulty and fraught with danger. And yet work is still a gift to us where we are able to put the skills and abilities God has given to us to work for a good purpose of worshiping God, serving our neighbor, and providing for our families. God has created us uniquely and gives us individual callings, abilities, and gifts that shape how we do that specifically in each or our lives. And he calls us to work in such a way where we depend on him each day.
Kyle Kauffman | May 7 2023 Part of what it means to be human is have a body. God designed us not simply to be spirits but to have flesh and blood. Our bodies are an integral part of who we are and how God intends us to live. In the 21st century we have a tendency to either overemphasize or deemphasize our bodies. Sometimes we overemphasize our bodies by thinking that what’s on the outside is what gives us value and worth. Therefore, the youngest, most beautiful, and athletic are seen as more valuable than others. But we also tend to deemphasize our bodies. Whether it’s in ignoring the limits we have as embodied creatures or in seeking to change our biology, we try to push back against God’s design for us that is communicated through our bodies. Christians believe that humans are both body and soul and so the body matters, but it’s also not all there is to us. We believe the body is a gift from God that is meant to be stewarded well but not idolized. We also believe that the body is good, but broken by sin. But as we live in our broken bodies in accordance to God’s design we look forward to the day when our bodies will be fully restored.
Ben Armstrong | Apr. 30 2023 One of the most foundational and important parts of each of our stories is that we are made in God’s image. Every single human being who has ever existed is made stamped with God’s image and made to reflect God’s image. This is the foundation and reason for why every single human being regardless of how they look, how they act, or what they believe has equal dignity, value and worth (This is the foundation for and why we should care about human rights). Being made in God’s image also comes with the privilege of being made to enjoy a relationship with him. And it comes with the responsibility of reflecting God’s image throughout this world.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 23 2023
All that we see, touch, smell, hear, and taste (and all that we don’t) was made by God. He spoke everything into existence. God did not create the world because he needed anything, but rather the world was an overflow of the love, joy, and delight the Godhead has within itself. God created the world for his glory to be displayed and enjoyed. God creates the world with limits and order. He first of all forms the universe and then fills it. All that he creates is good. It overflows with beauty and goodness that is meant to be enjoyed as an act of worship to the Creator. The created universe tells us much about God. It displays His goodness, His power, and His wisdom. What we know from God from the very start should shape how we view the world and our lives in it.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 16 2023 The story of the universe starts and ends with God. He is the one who writes and rules over the story. He is the one who is at the center of the story. He is the one who the story is all about. He has existed from all eternity and will exist for all eternity. God’s existence is the foundation of how we make sense of this world and our lives. God’s existence is the fountain from which all other existence springs. God’s existence is fundamental reality we are meant to see, know, and enjoy as we walk through this life. It is because God exists that life is not simply a “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Rather the world, history, and each of our individual lives is a story written by him full of purpose and meaning. It is because of God’s existence that we are not meant to find purpose and meaning by writing our own stories, but in living our lives in line with His story. And it is because of God’s existence that we know this world and life is not all there is. Rather we were created by God to live forever with him. See it’s really good news for us to recognize that the story is not about you and I, but all about Him!
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 9 2023 Trees in many ways are both a source of life for us. They provide oxygen and nourishment for us. If we were to remove all trees, we would quickly die. Trees in the bible are not only a source of life, but they are also a symbol of life and death. We find two trees in the very beginning that were meant to teach us what it meant to truly have life. Life was to be found in loving, trusting and obeying God. But instead of choosing life, we chose death. But another tree tells us of the one who came and chose death so that we could have life. He died the death we deserve to die so that we could find life in him. We know that even as death continues to rage in this world, we can find life in him. And yet we still long for fullness of life forever. We long for death and all the hurt it has caused to be fully removed and for fullness of life to be all that we experience. This is our future in Jesus because he is our tree of life.
Joel Wood | Apr. 2 2023
There’s something within each of us that craves connection... companionship... relationship. Whether that’s in the form of friendship or marriage the feeling and desire is the same. It’s intrinsic within each of us and vividly points to the deepest and greatest need inside each of us. . .connection to and fellowship with God, which is what we were created to have. The Bible describes this relationship with God as a walk where He is calling us to spend time with Him, get to know Him as our Creator, hear His heart, know what He wants for us, and know what His plan is for this world. From the very beginning of the story God walked physically and personally with the people He created and at the end of the story He will once again walk physically and personally with the people He saved. Every moment in between tells the story of that walk: how it began, how we lost it, and what God has done to restore that walk with Him. Ultimately, what you discover along the way is the life-changing truth that there is fullness of joy by walking with God both now and forever!
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 26 2023 Clothes are a daily part of our life. They keep us warm, make us look presentable, and can be a signal of our position/role in life. But clothes also tell a story. They tell a story of honor that was lost, and the shame that replaced it. They tell of story of a savior who bears our shame and clothes us with his honor. They tell a story of clothes we now seek to put on as God renews and changes us. And they tell a story of a day where clothes and bodies will no longer where out because the clothes we are given will last forever.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 19 2023
The gospel is never meant to be a treasure that we simply hang onto. It is meant to be the good news we also offer to the world. The gospel will not advance without people proclaiming the gospel. But we should be just as aware that the gospel will not advance without us praying for the advance of the gospel. (We want to see what God did at Keystone this week in us spill out into our communities. To that end we should pray that God would use us to advance the gospel in our surrounding areas).
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 26 2023
We are constantly accumulating new information. Whether it is in reading, observing, talking, or just simply reflecting, we are people who live according to what we already know and make adjustments in our lives based on new knowledge. Sadly, knowledge has often come to simply be associated with knowing certain facts. Knowledge is meant to be so much more then knowing mere facts. Knowledge is meant to shape and impact the way that we live. Knowledge for the Christian should lead to love, trust, and obedience. How often do we pray for this type of knowledge? Our prayers should be directed to growing in knowledge, not so that we can simply be smarter, but so that we can live a life of worship and a life pleasing to God.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 19 2023
As a parent, one of your great desires is to see your kids grow up and mature. As great as it is to have young kids, no one wants to see their kids remain young forever. We want to see kids grow into mature adults. In the same way, we should want to grow as Christians. We should want to mature and become more and more like Christ in how we think, in how we feel, in how we speak, and in how we live. This is God’s ultimate goal for us – to be conformed to the image of Jesus. How often does this goal show up in and shape both our prayers for ourselves and for others? We should pray for God to complete the work he began in us by helping us to become more like Jesus.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 12 2023
Prayer is an acknowledgment of our weakness and God’s power. It’s a recognition that we are dependent people and a recognition that God is capable of doing anything. While we tend to naturally know that, how often do we pray for God’s power to be at work in us and in others rather than simply for his power to be at work in changing circumstances? God has incredible power to work in our lives. And we should pray for Him to unleash that power in order to strengthen us
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 05 2023
Hope is an incredibly powerful thing in our lives. It has the ability to shape our outlook day-by-day. It can shape how we go through our lives. It can strengthen us to walk through the most difficult times. It can sustain us when we are tempted to give up. In short, hope has the ability to make a massive difference in your life. Yet how often do we pray for hope both for ourselves and for others? If hope is such a powerful thing in our lives, we should pray that God will fill us with hope. We should pray for a hope that is centered on God. We should pray for hope that is clear, powerful, and unwavering for both ourselves and other people.
Joel Wood | Jan. 29 2023
One of the greatest privileges that God gives us is to tell the Next Generation about who He is and what He’s done for us. We get the incredible privilege of being God’s ambassadors and messengers to our kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and anyone else we know in the next generation. This role of passing on the good news of who God is and what he’s done takes time and intentionality, along with flexibility and spontaneity. It takes teaching, modeling, and praying for the next generation. It is an incredibly high calling and an incredibility difficult calling. And yet we carry out this calling believing in a God who can use us as his instruments to create a passion in the Next Generation for God and His Glory.
Brandon Fisher | Jan. 22 2023
The Old Testament primarily tells the story of God’s dealings with the people of Israel. But even in this story we find that God cares about the rest of the nations as well. He never intends his blessing and grace to stop with his people, but rather wants it to overflow in an effort to draw the nations to himself. God is on a mission to see his glory displayed and enjoyed among people from all the nations. He is accomplishing that mission. He will see it through to fulfillment. And we get the joyful privilege of being a part of the mission both globally and locally in our own community.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 15 2023
One of the things we can’t escape as we read through the Psalm is how honest and raw the psalmists are in their worship of God. They lay before God their struggles, doubts, difficulties, pains and more. And they lay these things bare before other people as well. It’s so easy for us to hide what is really happening within us in our hearts either from God (who already knows) or from other people. The Psalmist’s show us that glorifying God is not putting on a nice face and act, but rather it’s found in wrestling with the difficult and painful realities of life in God’s presence. We glorify God by laying our hearts bare before him and walking with him through the painful, discouraging, and overwhelming moments of our lives. We also glorify God as we share our struggles with others and invite them in to support, encourage, and pray for us.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 08 2023
God is an incredibly generous God. He owes us nothing and yet he gives us life, and breath, and all that we have. All that we truly deserve is judgment for our sin, yet God regularly displays his grace in how he generously provides for us. We glorify God not only by acknowledging His generosity, but also in being generous with all that he’s given us. We want to be a people who joyfully worship God by giving freely to meet the needs of others and see the gospel advance. We want to be a people who give generously so that in our generosity people might come to know the generous God who is behind all we have.
Ben Armstrong | Jan. 01 2023
We want to be people of the Book. We believe God has written us a book and speaks through a book and so we want to be people who listen to and hear His voice as we read the Bible. We believe that a heart after God and his glory is a heart that delights in God’s Word and is more and more shaped by God’s Word. We want to have a regular commitment to taking in God’s Word so that we might be people who are shaped and influenced by it.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec. 24 2022
Jesus’ first coming shows us further what type of King he is, the hope he offers us, and what our rightful response should be to him. We honor him by trusting his word, submitting to his rule, and giving our lives in worship to him. In these ways we not only remember and celebrate his arrive but also anticipate and look forward to his return.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec. 18 2022
Where is this story headed? It’s a question we all wonder whether it’s in reading a book or watching a movie, or in thinking about our own lives, or in thinking about the whole world and all of history. Zechariah 14 gives a picture of where the story is headed. It’s headed to the place where our King reigns over his people in a perfect paradise. That’s how the story ends/begins. That doesn’t mean our king isn’t currently reigning, it’s just that we are still waiting for the full results and revealing of his reign as King. In the meantime we are called to live as those who submit our lives to his reign. We do this as we trust and worship him through whatever comes our way, and we do this as we seek to obey him in every area of our lives.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec. 11 2022
Israel struggled with rulers who always seemed to care more about themselves then they did about their people. We struggle with the same reality today. Whether in politics, the church, or other places, we are so often disappointed by our leaders. We get our hopes up, only to realize that leaders far to often care more about themselves then they do about their people. God promises that his coming King will be a shepherd to his people. He will rescue them, care for them, protect them, and lead them in the way they should go. This shepherd will bring God’s people safely home to be live with Him one day. But surprisingly this shepherd is first rejected by his people and then struck down by God himself. Yet the shepherd refuses to abandon his people and shows his love for them by dying in their place.
Kyle Kauffman | Dec. 04 2022
When we think about Jesus, how often do we think of him as a warrior? Yet that’s a picture of Jesus that’s given to us both in Zechariah and in Revelation. That’s really good news for those who feel weak, needy, and oppressed. Which is exactly the case for the Israelites who have returned from Exile. They need to know that God will come to fight against their enemies, strengthen them, and ultimately bring peace. We often feel like we are losing in this world. The world mocks us, sin and Satan tempts us, and death one day comes for us. But we are not called to live with a defeatist mindset. We look back to the king who fought against sin, Satan, and death and won. And we look forward to the King’s return when he will eradicate all evil and bring perfect piece. In the meantime we know our King is advancing his kingdom through the church and so we join him in the fight as we declare his victory and live in light of his victory and remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood
Ben Armstrong | Nov. 27 2022
Nothing says HOLIDAY SEASON more than a picture of people gathered around a table of food. Whether that table is 20 feet long and filled with the best food available or is a meager card table with a McDonalds Happy Meal on it to be shared, the concept of “sharing a meal” together is inseparably connected to the DNA of human life and existence. Something special happens around food. When a meal is shared defenses are lowered, relationship is created, bonds are formed, community is nurtured, and hunger is satisfied. And all this is not only what each of us desperately longs for, but also what God desires to take place among us both in relationship with Him and with others. Through the gift of food and feasts, God invites us all into community! In this second message, Pastor Ben will look at who Jesus chose to eat with and how that challenges us to show mercy and love to those that we may culturally want to avoid.
Joel Wood | Nov. 20 2022
Nothing says HOLIDAY SEASON more than a picture of people gathered around a table of food. Whether that table is 20 feet long and filled with the best food available or is a meager card table with a McDonalds Happy Meal on it to be shared, the concept of “sharing a meal” together is inseparably connected to the DNA of human life and existence. Something special happens around food. When a meal is shared defenses are lowered, relationship is created, bonds are formed, community is nurtured, and hunger is satisfied. And all this is not only what each of us desperately longs for, but also what God desires to take place among us both in relationship with Him and with others. Through the gift of food and feasts, God invites us all into community!
Kyle Kauffman | Nov. 13 2022
The Israelites returned from the Exile, that was caused by their sin, and yet still they were plagued by the problem of sin. The Exile could not remove their sin. It could simply remove sinners from the land for a little while. What were they supposed to do? The same problem remains for us today. We live in a world that is full of sin. We don’t have to look far to see it. We see it in the news, we see it in our neighborhoods, we see it in our homes, and we see it in ourselves. Sin seems to taint everything in this world. And when we come face-to-face with sin we are left wondering – is there hope? There is hope in the face of sin and it’s rooted in God. God sees sin, judges sin, and removes sin. That’s where our hope lies in the face of sin.
Kyle Kauffman | Nov. 06 2022
It’s easy to believe that only those who do great things for God really make a difference in this world. It’s really easy to get discouraged when we are bogged down with all sorts of small things. It’s even easier to feel discouraged when it feels like all those small things are making absolutely no difference. We wonder if it’s worth it. We wonder if we should keep going. Zechariah 4 is a chapter that’s written to encourage us in the midst of all the small acts of ministry that we do here on earth. It’s written to show us that God will accomplish his purposes for the world through the ordinary acts of ordinary people like you and me.
Joel Wood | Oct. 30 2022
It’s all too easy for us to live discouraged in the present because we are haunted by the guilt and condemnation of our sinfulness. We are all too aware of all the ways that we have let God down and failed to obey him or of how we have wronged others. And Satan is all too happy to accuse us and play the record of wrongs over and over in our heads. We respond by beating ourselves up, trying to do better, and feeling discouraged when our best efforts don’t seem to be enough. We have a sneaking suspicion that God is forever disappointed by us at best and angry at us at worst. We desperately need a solution for the condemnation that we rightfully deserve and often live under.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct. 23 2022
Have you ever noticed that when you set out to obey God it’s rarely easy? The people of Israel met all sorts of opposition in their efforts to build the temple. They started the task with enthusiasm, but soon found that it was both far more difficult and far less rewarding than they thought it would be. When we seek to obey God in some area, isn’t it often a similar story. Praying with our families is difficult. Personal Worship doesn’t seem to produce immediate results. The new ministry we started serving in was exciting at first, but now it seems every week presents a new challenge. The neighbors we are trying to reach want nothing to do with us. God does not promise that we will not face opposition in this life as we seek to obey him, but he does promise to overcome all opposition in the end, and in the meantime to let nothing face us that isn’t ordained by him.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct. 16 2022
Has life ever not gone the way you expected or hoped? That’s probably a dumb question to ask, because the obvious answer for everyone is YES! Our lives inevitably look different than what we thought they would. And many times, our lives look different than what we hoped or wanted them to be. The dreams we have for our life collapse around us. The life we find ourselves living seems to be more of a grind then a joy. We find life be far more difficult and discouraging then what we thought it would be. If you’ve ever experienced this, then Zechariah is a book for you! Zechariah’s first vision and last vision is meant to instill hope in people in the face of the difficulties, challenges, and disappointments we face in this life by reminding us that our God rules over everything and everyone.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct. 09 2022
We long for second chances. We all know the feeling of having blown it… whether in the immediate past or distant past. How can we get back on track after our failures? Where do we find hope in the face of screwing up yet again? Can I really get another chance at life after I’ve really messed up? Zechariah is written to a people desperately in need of a restart and a second chance. And his initial charge to them is to repent and seek God’s favor. This is the soil that hope grows in when we are discouraged with our own failures. It’s also the soil that the Christian life grows and thrives from.
Brandon Fisher | Oct. 02 2022
The Sabbath specifically (and rest generally) can so easily become just another duty for us to do. But it was never meant to be this way. The Sabbath is a gift that God gives to us so that we might regularly be restored and renewed. We need to realize that resting will require boundaries, but those boundaries are about restoring health and life (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual). We need to be both carful of making rules where God has made none, and careful of disregarding what God says is good. Resting well will require asking good questions, putting into place good boundaries, and developing good practices and habits. But we also need to remember that none of these things can provide us with the rest we ultimately need. It’s only in Christ that we find true rest for our souls.
Kyle Kauffman | Sep. 25 2022
There is a constant danger in our lives to prioritize things that don’t really matter and deprioritize things that do really matter. Or to prioritize things of less importance of things of greater importance. Part of the danger of being so busy and never (or rarely stopping to rest) is that we never get the chance to ask, “What really matters in this life?” At the top of our list should be relationships. Both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people are meant to be of greatest importance in our lives. This is why God’s greatest commandment is to love Him and love your neighbor. But these relationships get displaced by all sorts of other (often good) things. Pausing both helps us to remember how important relationships are and provides us with the time and space to enjoy the relationships we have.
Kyle Kauffman | Sep. 18 2022
Rest is intricately connected to the gospel. God sets his people free from slavery so that they can rest. Jesus invites his people to come to him so that they can find rest. The future we are promised in Christ is a future of eternal rest. Our failure to rest well is in many ways a failure to believe the gospel. When we don’t believe the gospel we look to other false gods to save us. But these gods just end up enslaving us and robbing us of rest. But when we believe in the gospel we are free to rest today because God has finished the work to save us in Christ. And we are free to rest today because God’s promises to us are secured in Christ. We rest well when we believe the gospel and rejoice in all that God has done and promises to do for us.
Kyle Kauffman | Sep. 11 2022
We have a tendency to view rest with either suspicion or as optional add-on to our lives. We think, “If I rest, won’t I miss out on something important in my life, or even worse, become lazy.” Or we think, “Rest is a good thing, but I just don’t have time to rest. Maybe if I get everything done, I’ll rest. Or maybe in another stag of life, I’ll be able to rest. But for now, there is no time to rest.” But from the start for the world, God gave people rest, commanded people to rest, and has connected rest with our faith in him. While the Sabbath looks different for us then it did for the Israelites, the principle remains the same. Rest is not bad, it is good. Rest is not optional, it is necessary. Rest provides the space for us to remember and worship the God who created and sustains everyone and everything. We are invited and commanded to pause and rest so that we might have time to wonder at God, the world he’s made, and the life he’s given to us.
Kyle Kauffman | Sep. 04 2022
As we go through life our circumstances change from day-to-day. There are moments where it’s easy to have joy because everything is going well. And there are moments where it’s difficult to have joy because nothing seems to be going well. Yet if we believe in the gospel we have reason for joy in any and every circumstance we face. We have a joy in Christ that can both transcend our circumstances and transform how we face our circumstances. This doesn’t mean that joy will not be intermixed with sorrow and sadness. But it means as we fight to have joy in this life we will always have good reasons for joy because of Jesus.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug. 28 2022
Why do we believe what we believe? It’s a question we all tend to ask at times. And there are lots of different answers we may give to that question. The Christian faith is not something we simply believe because we want it to be true. It’s something we believe because it really is true. Our faith is grounded in historical events that testify to the truth of what we believe. And the Holy Spirit confirms within us that what we believe is true. As a result of this, Christians can have a hope for the future that is both secure and certain. We are able to bank on God’s promises because we see what he has already done for us in Jesus. And so we are able to live with a joy in God’s promises knowing that because of Jesus they all come true.
Kyle Kauffman | Aug. 21 2022
The Christian life is a life of faith. We live by faith in God and we live by faith in a God who loved us and gave up his Son for us. This faith should always lead to/produce love for God and love for others. But faith is not ultimately something that we produce. It is the result of God’s regenerating work in us (both past and present). Our faith then is evidenced by love for God and love for others. Love is evidence of faith which is evidence of God’s work in regenerating us. Therefore, our faith and love are not things we boast in, but things that lead us to boast in the God who has saved us and changed us.
Joel Wood | Aug. 14 2022
We do not have the power to live the life God calls us to on our own. The Christian life is not a grit your teeth and try harder to obey what God calls us to obey. The Christian life is finding power in God to do what God calls us to. God gives us the Holy Spirit so that we might both be assured of his love and so that we might be transformed into loving people. The Spirit frees us from the fear of falling short and enables us to truly love God and love each other as God has called us to.
Joel Wood | Aug. 07 2022
Jesus has shown us what God is really like. Jesus as also shown us what love is really like. If we want to know God, we look to Jesus. If we want to know love, we look to Jesus. We live in a time where God is love has been turned into love is God. We assume that we are able to discover love on our own and then our view of love should be universally acceptable. The Christian worldview instead says we look to God to discover what love looks like and to find the love we truly long for. And then we reflect him by demonstrating that same love in our relationships with others. As we see how unlovely we are and yet how great God’s love is for us, we find power to love when loving each other is difficult.
Joel Wood | July 31 2022
We need to be discerning in who we give our ears and or attention to. Just because people sound good does not mean we should listen to them. Just because people are saying what we like does not mean we should listen to them. Discernment on what voices and what content we allow into our lives takes work, but is worth the effort. We find joy in discerning what is true and allowing that to shape our life and discerning what is false and avoiding that.
Kyle Kauffman | July 24 2022
So many of us live with a constant low-level sense of condemnation. We are painfully aware of our sinfulness. We are painfully aware of all the ways that we have failed God or other people. We are painfully aware of the fact that we don’t measure up in some area where we feel like we should measure up. Whether it’s because of what other people have said to us, what Satan has whispered into our ears, or just simply what we tell ourselves over and over again, we live feeling condemned and defeated. The gospel should be the end of all condemnation in our lives. It should crush every voice that leaves us feeling condemned. And the gospel as a result frees us to live a life that is really pleasing to God.
Kyle Kauffman | July 17, 2022
The church is not meant to be a place where we smile at each other, make small talk with one another, but secretly we are indifferent to each other or harbor hateful thoughts and feelings toward each other. Too often this is what we settle for: a smile on the outside with a heart of indifference or hate on the inside. This is no different than Cain. We find the power to really love each other when we are living in confidence of God’s love for us. And we find the pattern for loving each other in the way that Christ has loved us. We are called to real love because real love changes people. After all it was God’s real and costly love for us that has changed us.
Kyle Kauffman | July 10 2022
We all take our freedom very seriously. We don’t want anyone encroaching on our freedom or taking away a part of our freedom. But do we realize that true freedom is not found in living however we want, but rather in living how God designed us and wants us to live? While a life lived for self may seem to be a life of freedom, in reality it’s a life controlled by sin and Satan. The freedom that God grants us in Jesus is the freedom to turn away from the power of sin and live for him. We now have the ability to say no to sin and yes to God. This is the type of freedom we were designed for. And this is the type of freedom we find in Christ.
Kyle Kauffman | July 03 2022
One of the greatest privileges of being a Christian is to be adopted by God. Our adoption into God’s family should be a continual source of joy for us. God has made you his child forever. Which means that we have all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of belonging to God’s family. We can find peace in knowing God is our Father. We can find value in knowing we are his children. We can look with confidence to our future because of what we will be. And we can live with a new purpose right now because of our belonging to God’s family.
Kyle Kauffman | June 26 2022
We are called to endure in our faith and we can live with confidence that we will endure because God is the one who enables our endurance. His grace enables us to resist falling away. His grace enables us to see through lies that undermine our faith. His grace is what gets you through to the finish line. If your faith is currently in Jesus then you can take comfort in the fact that God has got you this far and you can trust that he will continue to enable you to endure.
Kyle Kauffman | June 19 2022
We are called to endure in our faith. Not everyone does this. There are people who seem to have faith that turn away. This is especially tempting in an age where deconstruction of faith is seen as heroic. God calls us to endure in our faith and not give way to the people or pressures that might tempt us to walk away. We should recognize that endurance in our faith is continuing evidence of God’s grace in our lives, just as we should take seriously God’s call to us to endure and not give up.
Ben Armstrong | June 12 2022
We are creatures made to love. But what we love and how we love are eternally consequential decisions. John warns us not to love the world or the things of this world. God, the creator of all things good, is to be our guide as we learn to love others and things with a proper foundation of a love for God. It is when we seek to love things that are not of God or love things in a way that is ungodly that we lose joy. But when we learn to love the way God has intended, we find security and joy that the world cannot provide.
Brandon Fisher | June 05 2022
It’s easy for us to live defeated lives. We see our sin and feel defeated. We see the hurt and suffering in the world and feel defeated. We see the evil in the world and feel helpless in the face of it. A defeated life is not a life that is full of joy. God wants us to live with a faith-fueled confidence in this life. This is a confidence that is not rooted in ourselves, but rooted in God, what he’s done, and what he continues to do through us. This is a confidence that has the boldness to look at our sin in the eyes and say God loves me. This is a confidence that has the boldness to look at a very messed up world and say God is in control. And this is a confidence that looks at overwhelming evil in the world (and in us) and has the boldness to say God can use me to make a difference. This is a confident faith and a joyful faith.
Kyle Kauffman | May 29 2022
Do we love other Christians? That’s the question John wants us to ask as we read 1 John 2:7-11. Love for others serves as the sign that God has saved us and that we are united to Jesus by faith. John gives us two polar opposites: Love for other Christians and Hate for other Christians. And then he wants us to ask, Which direction are we headed in? And in the process John shows us that we need the church in order to grow in a joyful assurance of our faith.
Joel Wood | May 22 2022
To be unsure about something important is stressful and difficult. In a similar way, to be sure of something that is untrue can be very dangerous. God does not want us to be unsure about our salvation. Neither does he want us to have a false sense of security if we aren’t saved. God gives us means by which we can be assured of our salvation because he wants us to experience the joy of knowing that we are saved and loved by him. One of these means is the fruit of keeping God’s commandments and living a life of obedience to him.
Kyle Kauffman | May 15 2022
We often think of Jesus in terms of his past ministry – what he did when he lived, died, and was raised – and his future ministry – what he will do when he returns one day. But what about his present, right now, moment by moment ministry? Jesus is our Savior right now and his present ministry continues to save us. While his past and future ministry on our behalf can bring us great joy, his present ministry on our behalf is also a source of great joy for the believer. One of the ways he presently ministers is to be our advocate who is constantly taking up our cause before the Father. We can live a life of joy now because we have an inside man in heaven who advocates for us constantly.
Kyle Kauffman | May 08 2022
We are prone to put the best version of ourselves forward for others to see. We all want to appear as though we have it together and don’t struggle with sin. We don’t want to appear weak or broken before other people. This leads us to hide and cover up the areas of our lives we don’t want other people to see. It leads us to perform and act as if we are better than we really are. And this leads us to look down on others who we judge are weak and too sinful. But while we may appear joyful on the outside when we do this, we are miserable on the inside. We fear being exposed, we are exhausted by our performance, and we are dominated by cynical and critical attitudes. But when we bring our sin, our struggles, our doubts, and our weakness into the light, we find great joy. We find joy in knowing that we are loved despite our sin. We find support in others who can pray for us and encourage us. We feel less alone in our struggles with sin. We get a fresh taste of God’s grace and forgiveness. And we become transformed into compassionate and gracious people to others around us.
Kyle Kauffman | May 01 2022
Doctrine matters to our faith. Right doctrine is central to our faith. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it. But we can so easily make assent to right doctrine the end of our faith. And if we desire right doctrine simply so that we can say we are right, we are missing out on why doctrine matters in the first place: because it enables us to know a person: Jesus Christ. Joy is not found in simply knowing the right answers, but in knowing a person. Just as the accuracy of our faith is wrapped up with Jesus actually coming as a person, so to the continuing joy of our faith is found in knowing the person of Jesus.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 24 2022
In John’s gospel he records these famous words from Jesus: “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” When we think about what it means to be a Christian, probably some of the first words that jump to mind are faith, repentance, following Jesus, etc. How often are the first words that jump to mind when we think about being a Christian that we may have life and have it abundantly. This abundant life does not mean that we have an abundance of things in this life, but that we have Christ. He is meant to be the source of all our joy in this life.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 17 2022
There are so many things in this life that can cause us to weep. Broken bodies, broken relationships, broken hopes, a broken world, and many more things cause us to suffer under the weight of life in a fallen world and bring tears to our eyes. This is why Jesus first words (question) on the heels of his resurrection are both so shocking and comforting… “Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus shows us his victory over sin, Satan, and death will reverse the curse and undo every effect of sin on our lives. We live in a world where we still weep because of sin’s effects on our lives, but Jesus’ resurrection changes our weeping, promises to restore what is lost by our weeping, and leaves us with a confident hope that though weeping may last throughout this life, joy has the final word.
Kyle Kauffman | Apr. 10 2022
There are moments in life where we must entrust things into the care of other people. Lovers entrust their hearts to one another. Parents entrust their children to others when they go away. We entrust our finances to a financial advisor. Sick people entrust their health to a doctor. Aging parents entrust their kids with their care. What we are doing in those moments is taking something valuable and committing it to someone else to care for. We are telling that other person; I trust you to take care of this. Jesus had committed his whole life to living for the Father. He lived to do the Father’s will and believed the Father would take care of him. And now as his physical body is about to take its last breath, he commits/entrusts his soul to God’s care. He shows that even in death he is committed to doing God’s will and that even death cannot separate him from the loving care of his Father.
Joel Wood | Apr. 03 2022
One of the great feelings we have as humans is to finish something significant. Finishing high school, finishing a big house project, finishing finals after a difficult semester at college, finishing a big project at work, finishing a day full of laundry, running errands, and caring for kids, finishing the work week and coming home on a Friday night. To finish something gives us a sense of accomplishment, enables us to rest, and frees us to simply enjoy life for a little bit. Jesus completed the greatest work on the cross. Jesus achieved the greatest accomplishment on the cross. And because of that we are free to rest and live under the words… “It is finished!”
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 20 2022
One of the ways to speak of unsatisfied longings in our life is to use the language of thirst. Just as our mouths grow dry and our bodies long for water to quench our thirst, so also our hearts and souls thirst for what we believe will satisfy us. As Jesus calls out on the cross of his thirst he reveals that the longing to find satisfaction that quenches our thirst is a universal one for humans. He shows us that his death is opening a way for our thirst to forever be quenched. And he reveals that the only thing that will satisfy us is to drink deeply of God’s love. This well, as evidenced by the cross, has no bottom and never runs dry.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 13 2022
Our biggest problem is that we are sinners and because we are sinners, we deserve to both have God pour out his wrath on us and abandon us. Sin must be dealt with. This is why Jesus had to die. He took on the full weight of God’s punishment and wrath toward sin on the cross. He was our substitute bearing God’s wrath in our place. We either stand underneath the cross, or we still stand underneath God’s wrath. And the beauty of the cross is that because Jesus fully drank the cup of God’s wrath we now drink fully of God’s favor. We no longer live under the fear of wrath, but live under the delight of God’s acceptance of us. As such we freed to enjoy God and to know that he will never leave or forsake us.
Kyle Kauffman | Mar. 06 2022
Jesus views his family in a unique way. He is not controlled by his family and he warns against the idolatry of family. Yet he honors his family and cares for them even in the moments of greatest agony. He expands his family to include all who believe and obey him. In Jesus death, we see him creating a new family at the cross. No longer is family simply defined by our own definitions, but it is defined by Christ. As we look to the cross, we are welcomed into his family. And as part of his family, we are cared for by him and called to care for one another.
Joel Wood | Feb. 27 2022
To say that salvation is found in Christ alone is deeply offensive. It means that all of our “good deeds,” all the things that we look at in ourselves to take pride in or boast about count for nothing. It means that we are no better than a criminal who mocks Jesus as he dies. It means that there is no salvation outside of Christ. But to say that salvation is found in Christ alone is also deeply astonishing. It means that salvation is instant and free. It means salvation is fully dependent on another. It means that what was destroyed through one man’s sin is fully restored through another man’s obedience. So that when we believe in him, we get to enjoy him and all that is his.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 20 2022
Forgiveness is so central to Christianity that we can easily forget what a wonder it is that we are forgiven. Jesus’s first words on the cross open our eyes to see our own sinful depravity and God’s glorious grace. We see humans who gleefully and mercilessly kill the Son of God as they blindly fail to grasp the weight of their deeds. And yet we see the depth of God’s love and mercy on display as he pays the cost for our sin and prays that his enemies might be forgiven. As we grasp the wonder and beauty of this forgiveness, it should lead us to worship and love God, to find freedom from guilt over our sins, to pray for the forgiveness of others, and to be quick to extend grace and forgiveness to others.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb 13 2022
The history of the church is one of God using unlikely people to proclaim an unlikely message that changes lives and the world. What God calls us to will almost always make us feel small and weak. We find God’s power to do and accomplish what we never could by looking to the Holy Spirit he has given to us. The Holy Spirit has been transforming people’s lives and using the most unlikely people to further the gospel throughout all of church history. We find the power we so desperately lack in Him.
Kyle Kauffman | Feb. 6 2022
The Church has always been given a mission because our God is a God on a mission. To live with a mission is to live with a purpose or goal. This is a purpose that can guide our way through life’s transitions. We have been given a mission… make disciples. This is not a mission for pastors only, for missionaries only, or for mature Christians only. This mission is for every single Christian.
Kyle Kauffman | Jan. 30 2022
Have we been transferred into God’s kingdom? This is the one transition that matters more than anything else in our lives. And this is the transition that then shapes every other transition in our lives. The God who saves us by his grace is the God who continues to shape and mold us by his grace. And we look forward to the day when we will see him face-to-face.
Joel Wood | Jan. 23 2022
In moments where we are facing difficult things that happen in our lives, whether that be a certain trial we’re going through, a transition in life we are facing, a devastating loss, a shortage of something, an addiction we can’t seem to kick, or a situation that seems out of control, we are tempted to doubt God's love, power, and provision. What is more, when we try to impose our sense of timing and schedule on God, we will struggle to feel loved by Him. But if we could see things from God's vantage point, we would understand that He is always there, always working, and always has a perfect plan and purpose in store.
In the death of Christ was the hope of the world. Although it was the most bleak, dark, mysterious moment in human history, it was more packed with promise than the discovery of electricity. It got dark, the curtain between the Holy of Holies and...
Rethinking Suffering - How to Suffer Christianly: Embrace It, Escape It, or Endure It? from Keystone Church on Vimeo.
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