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.By Providence Church

Christians voluntarily gather for worship every week, all over the world, as they have for 2000 years. Psalm 122 answers the question why: we go because we belong to God, and we belong to God's people.By Providence Church

The Christian life is a pilgrimage, a long obedience in the same direction. And on that journey, the LORD is your keeper. But what does that mean and how is it possible?By Providence Church

In the last of the seven letters to the seven churches, Jesus delivers the harshest rebuke yet. They are lukewarm and in danger of being rejected. But then he makes the most incomparable offer. He invites them into intimate fellowship. This letter shows us what kind of relationship Jesus wants with us, and how that can turn our whole life upside do…

The church in Philadelphia is described as having "but little power." And yet, out of all these seven churches, it is this weak and vulnerable church that is held up as the one that is loved by Christ. This letter to the church in Philadelphia teaches us an important lesson about what God values in the lives of his people.…

The church at Sardis is the first church that Jesus doesn’t praise in any way. Which is surprising, because they have such a good reputation. But Jesus sees into their spiritual reality, and it doesn’t line up with their reputation.By Providence Church

The church in Thyatira was a vibrant and fruitful church, but they had a serious problem of tolerating false teaching that led people into immorality and idolatry. We can be part of a church that is doing so well in so many ways, and yet, perhaps there are things that we have learned to live with that Jesus wants to shine a light on.…

How should the church respond when pressured to compromise its beliefs about what is true to better fit in with the culture? Pergamum was standing firm against pressure from the outside. But they had a problem on the inside.By Providence Church

The church in Smyrna was being persecuted for their faith, and Jesus tells them that things will get worse. In order to conquer fear and doubt, these Christians needed the same thing that we need today: to catch a glimpse of what Jesus is doing in the midst of suffering. Only then will we find the grace to remain faithful.…

Jesus commends the church in Ephesus for their commitment to truth, but he critiques their lack of love. This passage tells us that we can drift to a place where we believe the right things but are far from the heart of God. A healthy church has truth and love, working together to bear witness to Christ.…

In Revelation 1, John has a vision of Jesus. The curtain is pulled back and he sees the risen and exalted Christ in all his splendor. It’s a vision that’s for all of us, because we need to see Jesus as he really is and know what's on his mind.By Providence Church

Peter’s failure resonates because we all fail. And yet, we don’t like talking about it. We want to push our failures to the background, but this story brings them to the front. The point is not to tell us how bad we are, but to show us how good God is and how much we need him. God meets us in our failure to restore us.…

On the first Easter, the resurrected Jesus was met with various forms of unbelief. In John 20, Jesus moves toward different types of people in their particular form of unbelief to graciously give them the gift of belief. The unbelief we see in these people is common to all of us, as is our need for the grace of Jesus to help us believe in him.…

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds gathered, hoping to see kingly glory. Jesus assured them that glory was coming, but in a form they never would have guessed: they would see the glory of God through the cross of Jesus.By Providence Church

The last thing Jesus does for his disciples before he steps out into the night to go to his arrest is pray for them (and us). He prays for everything his disciples will need to continue his work in the world: protection, sanctification, and unity. This prayer from Jesus gives us our most intimate glimpse into his heart for his people.…

The spiritual reality in which sorrow can turn into joy has everything to do with the presence of God. When we know the Father's loving presence, our joy is made full. This text assures us God can meet us in our confusion, distress, need, and even in our failure.By Providence Church

When the disciples heard that Jesus was leaving, and that the world would hate them, their hearts were filled with sorrow. But Jesus said it would be better because the Spirit is coming. How is it better? What would the Spirit do to help them bear witness about Jesus in a hostile world?By Providence Church

If we abide in Christ like branches in a vine, then we will inevitably share some of his experience in the world. Meaning we will face opposition (even hatred) from the world. But he also promises help in the midst of the hatred!By Providence Church

Jesus said the mark of his disciples is that they “bear much fruit.” We want to roll-up our sleeves and make it happen, but the kind of fruit Jesus is talking about comes from being connected to him. If we want to be truly fruitful, we must learn to abide in Christ.By Providence Church

In the Upper Room with Jesus, on their final night with him before his death, the disciples were filled with anxiety and fear. Jesus tells them (and us) that what they need, the comfort for their troubled hearts, is not a prescription but a person—a person who will come to dwell with them.By Providence Church

The disciples are deeply troubled by what is unfolding in the upper room. So, Jesus comforts them with words about the Father. He calls them to trust in the promises of the Father and the presence of the Father that they have in Jesus.By Providence Church

We have plans to build our own little kingdoms, and that makes it hard to understand the way of Jesus and his kingdom. Jesus sets before us a vision for life that is about the glory of God. We see it in the love of Christ, in our love for one another, and even in our weakness.By Providence Church

Betrayal is dark, one of the worst things we can imagine, a deliberate act of disloyalty. But even in the face of that darkness, the light of Jesus shines through.By Providence Church

The disciples often argued about who was the greatest among them. Jesus taught them over and over that true greatness is about humility, sacrifice, and service to others, but they never seemed to understand. It was by a shocking display of humility that shows us why Jesus is truly great, why we are not, and how we can be.…

The Upper Room Discourse has been called “a window into the heart of Jesus.” Here in the first few verses, we get an inside look at the knowledge of Jesus and the love of Jesus. These two things not only establish the context of the upper room, they shape the entire discourse.By Providence Church

Jesus invites us to come and see who He is and what life with God is like. It is also an invitation to be seen and changed, so that we can see even greater things as we follow Him.By Providence Church

In this final Servant Song, Isaiah tells us that the Servant himself is the powerful arm of the LORD come to save. But who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?By Providence Church

The third servant song asks us to behold the obedience of the Servant. His obedience is born out of his intimacy with God, endures in the face of suffering, and is sustained through his trust in God's help. We are invited into that same kind of beautiful trust through Jesus, the Obedient One!By Providence Church

The second servant song is the Servant’s testimony about himself. He makes an announcement about himself to the whole world, because he came to do something for the whole world. And we are the beneficiaries of this good news!By Providence Church

The Servant Songs set before us the real Jesus, who he is and what he came to do. The first song is about the His mission to bring forth justice. What does that mean? And how does he do it?By Providence Church

Paul wraps up Romans 5-8 with the strongest language possible to convince us that we are totally secure in Christ. We’re secure because God is for us, because God justifies us, and because God loves us. These life-changing truths are not only for us to believe in, but to revel in and rest in.By Providence Church

We think we will be happy when we are in control or when we get what we want. Paul lifts our eyes to the joy of knowing that God is in control and trusting that his plans are so much better than ours.By Providence Church

This passage sets present suffering and future glory right alongside each other. We live in the tension between the two: we live in the already, looking forward to the not yet. So even though we groan, we have great hope!By Providence Church

Romans 8 tells us that the Christian life is life in the Spirit. And in verses 12-17, the Apostle Paul points to two aspects of life in the Spirit. Those who are in Christ have been given both a new obligation and a new identity.By Providence Church

The Christian life is life in the Spirit. He sets us free from sin and gives us power to live for God. It is supernatural, but it is also normal for everyone who is in Christ.By Providence Church

Romans 7:12 says the law is holy, righteous, and good. But the law has no power to make me holy, righteous, and good because I have no ability to keep the law and no power over my own sin. The end of Romans 7 is the apostle Paul throwing up his hands and saying, “Why is it so hard to obey God?! If I’ve been made new in Christ, then why does it feel…

If we are "not under law but under grace" (6:14), then what is the purpose of the law? That is the question behind Romans 7. The law leads us to Jesus by showing us the depth of our sin and weakness. Jesus releases us from the law and brings us under grace so that we can truly walk in Gods ways by the power of His Spirit.…

Are we free to sin now that we're no longer under law but under grace? Paul’s answer is, “No way! Because we are freed to serve a better master."By Providence Church

If grace abounds when sin abounds, then shouldn’t we just keep on sinning so we can get more grace? Paul’s answer is, “No way! Because that not who you are anymore."By Providence Church

We live in a world where everyone is trying to find or create an identity. Romans 5 says there are two fundamental identities: in Adam and in Christ. That is breaking news in a culture like ours. The bad news is, by nature, everyone is in Adam. The good news is, by faith, anyone can be in Christ.By Providence Church

How confident are you in your standing with God? And what is your confidence (or lack of confidence) based on? We can have total confidence in where we stand with God, but the basis of that confidence is not what you might think.By Providence Church

We don’t move on from the gospel. We go deeper into it. Romans 1-4 is about the doctrine of justification by faith. In Romans 5, Paul takes us deeper into what it means for us now. We have peace with God. We stand in grace. We rejoice in hope. We know all of this is real because God has poured out his love into our hearts.…

We live in a noisy, anxious, restless world. In spite of that, this psalm tells us that we can be quiet on the inside. But how? David shares the secret.By Providence Church

We have a way of seeing things, a story we are living in, but that story is largely shaped by cultural narratives. Genesis 1-11 introduces us to the true story of the world and invites us to see God, ourselves, and the world in new ways.By Providence Church

Babel is the prototypical city of man: rebellious, prideful, exalting itself against God, and pursuing autonomy and self-sufficiency apart from him. Instead of filling the earth as God commanded, the Babelites settle in one place and try to make a name for themselves. We have capacity to do the exact same thing.…

Noah was an incredible man of faith, a true hero. If ever there was hope for things to go differently after the flood, it would be with Noah. This story in Genesis 9 shows us what happens when humanity gets a fresh start.By Providence Church

After the flood, God's purpose for humanity had not changed— He remained relentlessly committed to establishing His kingdom on earth through human beings made in His own image. God commissioned Noah to fill the earth and through Noah, established a covenant of grace with the new world and new humanity to come. Of course, this covenant points us to …

The story of the flood is a hard story. We want to look away from it. Because it confronts us with the darkness of sin and the awfulness of God’s judgment against sin. But we have to look at this difficult story to help us see God as he really is. And surprisingly, when we look into the flood of God’s judgment, we discover his mercy and grace there…

The conflict at the heart of the biblical plot is enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The line of Cain represents the seed of the serpent: escalating sin and evil. The line of Seth represents the seed of the woman: hope in God’s promise of redemption. And we have the same choice that every generation has had: will we g…

This story of Cain & Abel invites us to think about how anger and sin works at a personal level, especially in our relationships. However we interpret the events in our lives determines how we will respond, and what the consequences will be. Will we listen to God, or will we go the way of Cain?By Providence Church