Category: Uncategorized
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A Weary World Rejoices-Part 1 “Finding Rest in Jesus” (Matthew 11:28-30) In our increasingly fast-paced world, it’s no surprise that many people are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Recent trends like quiet quitting and the Great Resignation highlight a growing sense of weariness among individuals. Pastor Phil offered a message of hope and renewal, drawing inspiration…
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The Book of Matthew: Matthew 10:5-42 A Mission of Love and Sacrifice Last week, we dove into Matthew 10:5-42, where Jesus sends out His twelve disciples on a pretty intense mission. It’s like He’s equipping them for a real-life adventure, but with a twist: it’s not about treasure or fame, it’s about sharing God’s love…
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The Book of Matthew: Matthew 9:35–10:4 “Living on Mission with Jesus” In this sermon, Pastor Phil unpacks the mission of Jesus as seen in Matthew 9:35–10:4. It begins with Jesus’ ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing, and highlights His deep compassion for people who were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. From this,…
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The Book of Matthew: A Call to Mercy and Transformation (Matthew 9:9-34) A true love for Jesus means a desire to know Him deeply, to understand His teachings, and to let them transform our lives. In our study of Matthew’s Gospel, we see that knowing Jesus means more than just admiration; it’s about allowing His…
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The True Foundation of Faith Last Sunday, we delved into the powerful narrative of Matthew 8:22-34, a passage that unveils the multifaceted nature of faith and the transformative power of Jesus Christ. While awe-inspiring miracles often captivate our attention, it’s crucial to recognize that true faith is rooted in something deeper. The Illusion of Awe…
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How to: Portable Church Rolling Storage Carts (part 1) When Clarity Church launched, we were very scarce on capital for some of the things that some church plants have. We were definitely scarce in capital compared to multi sites and extended campuses. Despite this reality we knew we needed to create a mobile church system…
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The Wise Men About This Bible Story: At the time of this story, Jesus was likely one or two years old and living with his family in a house in Bethlehem. This contradicts accounts of the Christmas story that place the wise men in the stable with the shepherds, the manger, and newborn Jesus. With…
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The Christmas Story Summary About These Bible Stories: In the Frolic Preschool Bible, the story of Christmas begins with Mary’s story. She received amazing news from the angel Gabriel, who greeted her, assured her of the Lord’s presence, and told her, “Do not be afraid.” When Mary learned she would have a child, she was…
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Family Devotional: Elisha and the Army Dear Parents, After Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, his successor Elisha continued Elijah’s work as a prophet to Israel. God used him, like Elijah, to perform miracles—multiplying the oil of a poor widow, raising a Shunammite woman’s son from the dead, purifying a poisoned pot of…
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Bible Story of Jonah About This Bible Story: The story of Jonah may be one of the most exciting and dramatic stories in the Bible. Jonah knew the right thing to do, but rejected God’s request to go to Nineveh. To run away, he boarded a boat and fell asleep as a mighty storm created…
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Elijah and Elisha Devotional Following God’s great display of power at Mount Carmel, Elijah fled for his life and traveled to Mount Horeb where he encountered God in a soft whisper. God instructed Elijah to anoint a man named Elisha as his successor. Elijah found Elisha plowing a field. Elijah put his cloak over Elisha…
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Elijah at Mt. Carmel Devotional King Ahab was an evil king. In fact, “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). God wanted His people to be faithful to Him, but King Ahab led them away from God. God chose…
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Daniel in the Den of Lions Bible Story The book of Daniel describes a time when the Jewish people were captives in Babylon. The story of Daniel, like that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego a few chapters earlier, is about a faithful Israelite who defied the rules of Babylon. Instead of worshipping idols or King…
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Family Devotional: Elijah and the Widow Dear Parents, After King Solomon died, the tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms—the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam was the king of Israel, and Solomon’s son Rehoboam was the king of Judah. These two kingdoms were frequently at war with each other,…
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Family Devotional: The Kingdom Divided Dear Parents, King Solomon loved God. He received wisdom from the Lord and was dedicated to building His temple. But early on, we see hints that Solomon’s heart was not completely devoted to God. He married foreign wives who turned Solomon’s heart away from God. (1 Kings 11:4) Solomon gradually…
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The Fiery Furnace This story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego This story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego happens a few chapters earlier than the well- known story of Daniel in the lions’ den. It provides another dramatic example of God’s protection. The people of Judah had been taken captive in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of…
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Deborah – About This Bible Story As a judge, military commander, and prophet, Deborah was a formidable person. As a woman living in the ancient world, she was a game changer with a brilliant mind. This story tells of decisive and deadly military action that comes from Deborah’s command to Barak that they battle the…
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David Sinned And Was Restored Devotional The Ammonites were no strangers to the Israelites. They often fought over the region of Gilead, which stretched east of the Jordan River. David had tried showing kindness to the Ammonites, but they humiliated the Israelite ambassadors. (See 2 Sam. 10:1-5.) Thus began a war between the Israelites and…
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David’s Kindness Devotional Though King Saul was an adversary to David, Saul’s son Jonathan loved him as much as he loved himself. (See 1 Sam. 18:1.) Before David fled from King Saul and journeyed toward Moab, Jonathan appealed to his friend David, “If I continue to live, show me kindness from the Lord, but if…
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Joseph & His Brothers Joseph’s life began in a favored position. He was the first son of Jacob’s second (and favorite) wife, Rachel, and his favorite child. But Joseph’s ten older brothers felt differently about him. They saw the robe their father gave to him, and they heard him tell about his dreams. Their jealousy…
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Family Devotional: God’s Covenant with David The path to Israel’s throne was not easy for David. Saul had tried multiple times to kill him, and David had to flee for his life, leaving behind his good friend Jonathan. But God had appointed David to be king, and God was faithful. Leading up to 2 Samuel…
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Family Devotional: David Showed Mercy David’s relationship with King Saul was complicated. Early on, David served the king by playing the lyre for him whenever he felt unwell. After David killed Goliath, he became good friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. But David’s success made Saul jealous. Saul could see that David was rising in popularity.…
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The Ark Was Captured Family Devotional The ark of God (also called “the ark of the covenant”) was an important symbol in the lives of God’s people. Not only was the ark the original container for the Ten Commandments, it symbolized God’s presence with His people. In Exodus 25, God gave Moses instructions for creating…
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Hannah and Samuel Family Devotional The time of the judges was turbulent for God’s people. The Israelites had conquered the promised land of Canaan, but after Joshua’s death, they fell into a cycle of sin. This was the culture in which Hannah and her husband Elkanah lived. They were ordinary Israelites—Elkanah, a devoted worshiper of…
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Ruth and Boaz Family Devotional Only two books in the Old Testament bear the name of a woman: Ruth and Esther. Ruth’s story occurs at the time when judges ruled over Israel. God’s people were characterized by rebellion and immorality. At a time when the Israelites desperately needed a king to lead them back to…
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Gideon Devotional Last week, your kids learned about Deborah and Barak. This week, Judges 6 starts out in a familiar way: “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” The period of Judges was not a good time for the Israelites. Their cycle of sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace clearly showed…
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Crossing the Jordan Family Devotional Thank you for choosing to use the Gospel Project for Kids. You and your children have been learning about the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness. Forty years later, it was time for the next generation to enter the land. Only one geographical barrier separated the Israelites from the promised land…
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The Bronze Snake Family Devotionals Last week, kids learned that the Israelites believed the discouraging report of the land of Canaan instead of Joshua and Caleb’s good report. As a result, God punished the Israelites for their lack of faith. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness when they complained to Moses and to…
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Rules for Sacrifice Family Devotionals The tabernacle was complete. God now had a place where His glory could dwell without causing the Israelites to fear death. God had given His people laws from the mountain, and He gave them more rules for living and worshiping Him in the tabernacle. These rules are recorded in the…
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The Tabernacle Was Built Family Devotionals Thirteen of the last sixteen chapters of the Book of Exodus contain instructions for building the tabernacle. The word tabernacle means “dwelling place.” The tabernacle was a portable tent where God met with His people. God wanted to dwell among them. (See Ex. 29:45-46.) Moses had been on the…
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The Golden Calf Family Devotional God led His people into the wilderness, but He did not leave them there alone. The Lord was with His people. He provided meat, bread, and water. He guided them to Mount Sinai, where He met with their leader, Moses. The Lord came down on the mountain in fire, and…
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The Ten Commandments Family Devotional As the rescued people of Israel traveled toward the promised land, God gave them laws to guide them in how to live and to help them understand God’s perfect holiness. God’s laws covered every part of their lives and were summed up in the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments can…
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Jethro Helped Moses Family Devotional Moses and the Israelites had experienced a harrowing journey from Egypt into the wilderness. They made their way toward Midian, a land familiar to Moses. As a young man, Moses had fled from Egypt to Midian after he killed an Egyptian. (See Ex. 2:11-15.) Exodus 2 describes Moses’ first interaction…
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Family Devotional: Bread from Heaven The Israelites’ future looked bright. The Lord, through Moses, had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He fought for them, displaying His power by parting the Red Sea and subsequently destroying Egypt’s army. God was working out His plan to bring the Israelites to the promised land, the land God…
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The Red Sea Crossing Family Devotional The crossing of the Red Sea is an event in history that displays God’s grace, remembered for generations as God’s mighty redemptive act. God had clearly shown His power in Egypt through the plagues; now He was about to do something even greater. Instead of leading the Israelites into…
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Moses Was Born and Called Family Devotional Moses was born into a culture that hated his people. If you remember, the Israelites—descendants of Israel (Jacob)—had set up their home in Egypt when a famine forced them to seek out food. They became so numerous that Pharaoh felt threatened and forced them into slavery. But their…
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Joseph Saved His Family Family Devotional Last week, kids learned that God had a plan for Joseph’s suffering. The land of Egypt enjoyed seven years of plenty before a famine struck, just as Pharaoh had dreamed. During that time, Joseph gathered all the excess food and stored it in the cities. The famine was severe…
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Another church within our network of churches has this in their description of their mission and vision – and I think it’s the perfect intro for what I want to communicate in this email. In Jeremiah 29:7, God commands His people who have been exiled in Babylon to “work for the peace and prosperity of…
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A Realistic Approach to Video for Church Plant and Church Planters This week I was contacted by a good friend who is starting a new church about how we do video. After spending several hours compiling a list of options and then writing a long email explaining the options, I realized that this is information…
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A “No-So-Much Book Review: Emotional Intelligence 2.0 I was told very early on in ministry that “Leaders are readers”. Since that day I have been trying to be the kind of reader that lives up to the leadership I have been gracefully afforded. Most of the time I read books on theology or leadership. Today…