Year of the Bible (FBG)
Preaching from Ezekiel 34, Pastor Mike highlights God’s strong rebuke of Israel’s selfish, negligent leaders who exploited rather than cared for His flock. In contrast to these failed shepherds, God promises to personally seek, heal, and rescue His scattered sheep, a redemptive covenant ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ as the true Good Shepherd. Consequently, believers are urged to emulate Christ by faithfully, selflessly shepherding and serving those entrusted to their care.
In the middle of deep grief, Jeremiah calls to mind the mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and steadfast love of God. His circumstances have not changed, but remembering who God is gives him hope.
Pastor Mike calls us to rest our hope in God’s unchanging faithfulness, make the Lord our portion, and continue seeking Him through every season. His mercies are new every morning, and in Christ we have every reason to trust Him.
Jeremiah 29 reminds us that even in dark and difficult seasons, God has not abandoned His people. His promises are not guarantees of an easy life, but assurances that He is sovereign, faithful, and working out His purposes.
The hope of Jeremiah 29:11 ultimately points beyond personal success to something far greater: Christ and the better promises of the New Covenant. Because our hope is anchored in Him, we can seek the Lord wholeheartedly and remain faithful wherever He has placed us.
Jeremiah 17 sets before us two paths: trusting in man and the flesh, which leads to barrenness, or trusting in the Lord, which leads to blessing and fruitfulness.
Ben calls us to recognize the deceitfulness of our own hearts, turn to Christ in repentance, and continue trusting Him through every trial. True life, peace, and blessing are found in rooting ourselves deeply in the Lord.
In Daniel 6, Pastor Mike illustrates how Daniel’s consistent, proven devotion led him to openly obey and pray to God despite immense cultural pressure and the deadly decree of the lions' den. God miraculously shut the lions' mouths to preserve Daniel, turning his steadfast witness into an occasion for King Darius and the empire to give glory to the living God. Ultimately, the sermon connects Daniel's deliverance to the greater victory of Jesus Christ, calling believers to remain boldly faithful and anchored in God's unchanging truth, regardless of the cost.