Providence Church

One of the most important questions for you to answer in this life is: What do you believe? What do you trust in? Your answer to that question will steer and direct your life. Most of us waver between multiple beliefs, but this passage confronts our divided hearts. The prophet Elijah confronts ancient Israel to see who is truly God, and follow him.

In the midst of failing kings and a divided kingdom, there is a faithful God at work to accomplish his plans. There will be a true king who heals what has been broken and unites what has been divided. 

Solomon's downfall is one of the greatest tragedies in all of scripture. It's a sobering look at someone who didn't finish well, and it gives us the anatomy of a spiritual downfall.

After David dies, Solomon takes the throne. And even though he gets off to a good start, there are hints of a divided heart.

Jesus promises that everyone who asks receives, but life doesn't seem to work out that way. Through a model prayer and a parable, Jesus reveals to us that God's greatest gift is his presence.

The power of God prevails over evil spirits and idol empires. He changes people so radically that they begin to change the city.

Seeing the idols of Athens, Paul was provoked to preach about Jesus and the resurrection. Gospel-centered ministry requires that we understand the culture so we can speak into it with the truth of the gospel.

The gospel speaks to all kinds of people and brings them together in the most unlikely of communities. It can go anywhere and change anyone.

The risen Jesus continues his mission through the church. His commission to the disciples contains the how, who, what, and where of the mission.

The resurrection story speaks to the whole person. It has the power to bring our head, heart, and hands in alignment with the glory of God and his kingdom.

This passage is a contrast of two witnesses under trial, Jesus and Peter. One proves faithful and the other proves false. What do we need to be a faithful witness under trial?

In the Garden of Gethsemane we see the full humanity of Jesus as he is overwhelmed by sorrow, let down by friends, and betrayed. The good news is not only that Jesus identifies with your sorrow in his life, but that he willingly surrenders his life to end all sorrow and save the world.

Into the treachery of the plot to kill Jesus, Mark inserts a story about a woman who anoints Jesus. Her devotion and worship show us what it looks like when someone has experienced the love of God personally.

We have been invited into God's story – his people & his mission. Everything we have is from his hand. And yet,we want to think we belong to ourselves. Jesus tells this parable to remind us that we are stewards, not owners.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, it was picture of his humility and gentleness. The next day, he demonstrated his righteous anger, cursing a fig tree and cleansing the temple. The question is: Why was he so angry?

Bartimaeus is an example ofwhat it looks like to come to Jesus and follow him.

Here in Mark 10, Jesus invites us to consider his answer to an all-important question: What must we do to inherit eternal life? Through Jesus' interactions with this rich young man (and then with his disciples afterwards), we gain insight into both the path and the promise of eternal life.

As Jesus and his disciples get closer to Jerusalem, he continues to teach them about discipleship and life in the kingdom, this time through the lens of marriage and children.

Following Jesus means taking a radical stance toward sin. The stakes could not be higher, so we do whatever it takes to stay on the path of discipleship to Jesus. 

The disciples continue to be blind to how the kingdom of God works. So, Jesus has to correct their vision: how they see themselves and how they see others.

To follow Jesus and do his work requires spiritual power. So, how do we access and experience his power in our lives?

The disciples want to be associated with the glory of the Christ, but they don't understand what true glory is. So Jesus gives a glimpse of his glory; to show more clearly who he is and to give every disciple assurance in following him.

Jesus says he must suffer and die, but the disciples can't see it. When we focus on the things of man, we can't see what God is doing. According to Mark 8, seeing Jesus clearly means seeing why he had to die, and seeing why we must die as well.

The life of faith is a life of waiting for the Lord. That involves being immersed in God's story, living with expectancy, and committing to practices that keep us attentive to God.

What happens when God comes to the bad guy in the story, the person controlled by sin? If we want to understand the astonishing reality of Christmas, then we've got to understand someone like Herod.

We often hear about God coming to the spiritual seekers and to the down and out. Joseph's story shows us what happens when God comes to the good guy. He has to choose: life on his terms or life on God's terms.

When Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman in need, he responds in a way that feels harsh. But looking deeper into this interaction, it teaches us how to come to Jesus and about his unique mission.

In Mark 7, we see two very different approaches to religion. The scribes and Pharisees are focused on the externals of religious devotion. Jesus, meanwhile, pushes beneath appearances to the source of true defilement: the human heart.

Our problem runs deeper than having busy lives. We need a rest that only God can give. In this famous story, Jesus reveals himself as the true shepherd who gives us true rest. 

In this little passage, Jesus came to his own and his own people did not receive him. Why is this account in the Bible and what is God trying to teach us through it?

This is the most detailed account of an exorcism in the Bible. It gives us insight into the reality of demonic power, the superior power of Jesus, and the choice we have between the two. The choice is always before us: Is God your life, or is your life your god?

In this familiar story, Jesus calms a storm. But the main point of the story might not be what you think.

The kingdom of God comes into the world through the word of God, and bears fruit in those who receive it. Life in the kingdom begins with hearing. Does God's word stay on the surface of your life or does it take hold of you and change you?

In these two scenes in Mark 3, we see a contrast between the crowds that had gathered around Jesus and the twelve apostles. As we compare these two groups of people, some defining marks of a follower of Jesus emerge.

There has been increasing tension in Mark 2 between Jesus and the religious leaders. By the end of this passage, they are plotting to kill him. What pushes them over the edge is two incidents related to the Sabbath, specifically what Jesus says about the Sabbath and does on the Sabbath.

No one liked tax collectors, but Jesus befriended them and dined with them. It raised questions about who was in and out, and what it means to be close to God. The story teaches us that Jesus draws near to those who know they need him. Whoever thinks he is doing fine will keep him at a distance.

Four men bring their friend to Jesus, presumably to fix their friend's biggest problem, his paralysis. But Jesus has an even deeper healing in mind.

We generally resist any authority but our own. So, what does it take for people with “authority issues” to come under the Lordship of Jesus? We must see that he has authority over everything, and that he uses his authority for our good.

As Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee, Mark immediately shows us the message of Jesus and the method of Jesus. And both of those things are more radical than they seem on the surface.

Mark begins the story of Jesus in the wilderness. He is preparing us for a new exodus and a new covenant. If you want to see the real Jesus, you gotta go into the wilderness. It is a place of redemption, repentance, and renewed sonship.

We all desire to change. And yet, true and lasting change can be quite difficult to achieve. What we need is a biblical understanding of how change works, which is exactly what we find in Philippians 2.

The Songs of Ascent have taken us on a journey upwards toward Christ. And here at the end, Psalm 134 tells us the point of the whole journey. It tells us what we're made for. We're made to bless God and be blessed by God.

We were made for community. It seems hard to come by, but this psalm assures us that it is possible because of God's blessing and grace through Jesus.

Many of us journey through life at full speed, trying to accomplish big things, setting our sights on achievement and success. David says genuine rest can't be had that way. It comes, instead, as we embrace our limits, rest like a child, and hope in the Lord.

The first half of this psalm is a prayer of the people based on David's oath to God. The second half is filled with promises from God based on God's oath to David. And as expected, God's promises are greater than our prayers.

What do we do with our guilt? Psalm 130 teaches us to cry out to, trust in, and wait for the Lord. With him there is forgiveness, steadfast love, and plentiful redemption.

During uncertain and unstable times, the thing we need most is to be reminded of God. This psalm is thoroughly God-centered and each stanza points us to something particular about him. When it feels like the world is falling apart, we can trust him.

This psalm addresses two aspects of human life that people have always cared about: work and family. It shows us that, without God, those things end up being pointless and fruitless.

Psalm 126 speaks to us in the desolate places and invites us to sing a song of hope that God will turn our desolate place into a harvest. We can lean into that truth as we remember God's restoration, request it now, and sow in hope God's coming restoration.

If we trust in ourselves and our resources, we will eventually falter, but those who trust in the Lord cannot be moved. They can rest secure in his sovereign love.

What do we do when we feel like the world we're living in is not our home? When we feel like exiles in a land that's hostile toward the things of God? Psalm 120 expresses distress over the way of the world and cries out to God for help.