This sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? After all, to make such a statement seems to help out with the problem of evil that is so prevalent in our fallen world. If there is a God who is good and loving, can’t He throttle back on the pain and suffering, especially in the lives of His children? As we examine this statement today, we need to make four critical adjustments to our thinking.

I. A Misunderstood Verse (1 Corinthians 10:13)

II. A Misguided Statement

III. A Missing Perspective (2 Corinthians 1:9; 4:17)

IV. A Meaningful Example (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Talk with God: Meditate on 2 Corinthians 12:9 and thank the Lord that His grace and strength allow us to “boast in [our] infirmities.”

Talk with others: As a family or Connect Group, pray for the families and members of our community who visited our campus for the Thanksgiving Pickup Party.

Talk with kids: How does it make you feel to know God is always in control and He cares for you?

Money matters! But how much? And how much does it matter to you? To God? For generations, people have said, “Money is the root of all evil.” Is that statement true? Does it come from the Bible? Today, we will ask and answer a few questions in order to get at the truth of all this. I think we will discover that money is a lot like fire—it’s an excellent servant, but a terrible master.

I. Where Does it Come From?

II. What Does it Mean?

III. How Should We Live?

Talk with God: Meditate on Matthew 22:37 and ask the Spirit to reveal areas of your life where you’ve allowed the love of money to take root.

Talk with others: Ask a mentor or trusted believer if they’ve noticed any idols in your life recently.

Talk with kids: What should we do if others make fun of us or are mean to us for sharing the gospel?

Is God concerned with our own personal happiness? I’m going to say “Yes!” and “No!” Though the Bible does indeed talk about being happy, it’s not as straightforward as you may think. Allow me to unpack this idea through the lens of one of King David’s psalms, written while he was at war. Here, David explicitly wrote that God’s people are happy people. Let’s find out why.

I. Because of Life's Conflict

II. Because of our Commitment

III. Because of God's Care

IV. Because of God's Character

Talk with God: Meditate on Psalm 144:2 and thank the Lord for His faithfulness as you “take refuge” in Him.

Talk with others: Encourage a fellow believer to intentionally spend time in the Word and in prayer this week.

Talk with kids: How can we be reminded that God loves us and cares for us?

I have spent my entire ministry telling people what the Bible does say. In this series I have been telling you what it doesn’t say—that is, commonly used sayings that many have assumed were from Scripture but are not. Today we look at one that many a parent has quoted to a child, and teachers have quoted to their students. Our story in Mark 7 reveals three categories of cleanliness.

I. Cleanliness Had Become External

II. Cleanliness Was Seen as Eternal

III. Cleanliness is Really Internal

Talk with God: Prayerfully consider your relationship with the Lord. Have religious habits taken the place of an active, intimate connection?

Talk with others: Ask a fellow believer how they stay focused on the Lord when life distracts them.

Talk with kids: How does knowing that God has a plan help you face hard situations?