Confluence Church

Passages of death, destruction, and violence have often been a point of contention for people. What is really happening here at this moment as we are told of thousands who are killed? Where it seemed the Jewish people were destined for destruction now we see them standing tall in triumph. What do we learn from this great reversal?

There are times when the odds seem insurmountable, the mountain in front of us too massive, the current too strong to swim against. The King had made his decree, and that decree would not be undone. So what could be done? Esther was handed the pen of the King and what happens next serves to remind us that transformed hearts transform people.

We have all heard the phrase, pride comes before the fall, and yet we are still surprised when the fall comes. When we become blind to our faults, our faults seem to find us. If we consume the wrong things, they end up consuming us. This is the lesson that Haman would learn too late. The very power he was pursuing, would end up consuming him.

All the plans were coming into place and yet one sleepless night would change everything. It can often seem as though God is absent, quiet, or just missing from the world around us, but He is always there and He is always working. On a night when King Ahasuerus could not settle his mind and sleep, Haman would be humbled.

Three days after her conversation with Mordecai, Queen Esther finds her way into the court of the King. While she had made a decision, action would still be required and this action could lead to death. Esther would eventually share a meal with the King and Haman. But we soon find that a place at the table is not enough for Haman, he wants more. Haman’s pride would be his undoing, and in his life,...

There are defining moments in our lives where we know the decision before us has vast ramifications. This is where we find Esther. All has been culminating to this moment. The girl with two names will have to decide who she really is and in whom she will trust. While our circumstances may not rival Esther’s, we are all faced with a defining moment to decide who we are and in whom we will trust.

History has a funny way of appearing in the present. Past actions have a way of showing up in ways we do not expect. Things that are not dealt with don’t disappear, they only tend to grow. In this section of Esther, we are introduced to Haman, a man who would seek to destroy all the Jewish people in the Persian empire. His bent toward destruction had deep roots of death that were never dealt with....

Compromising our standards, our values, and our faith, is not something we ever intentionally set out to do. Living a life that is uncompromising is especially hard when you seem to be swimming upstream. Mordecai and Esther were exiles raised in a foreign land, with foreign gods, and a foreign faith. To live as people of faith in exile, is to be in the world but not of the world. But how do we liv...

As we enter into the story of Esther we enter into a kingdom of excess. We see a palace pursuing power, pleasure, and opulence. To push against this way of life had significant consequences but to live this way of life was to forfeit true significance. As we set the stage for all that is to come we will discover that this kingdom is not too far removed from the world we are in today.

When trouble comes, where do we turn? When our hearts ache, to whom do we look? When our thoughts betray us, where do we find peace? A divided mind often plagues us in times of distress. In this Psalm, David reminds us to unite our hearts to fear God’s name.

There is a theme throughout Scripture that reminds us that we are not home. So how do we live as sojourners? David who spent a great deal of his life uncertain of where he would sleep but certain of what God had spoken over him, sings our way forward. How do we live well in a land that is not home? How do we live well in a place where evil thrives? We live with our eyes fixed on the Lord, certain...

David was no stranger to enemies, false accusations, and disappointing those around him. But what enabled him to face so many trials and unite his heart to fear God? In this Psalm we see David remember who God is when he is tempted to allow his troubles to make him forget. What does it look like for us to remember God in the midst of our despair and find strength in the silence?

Often our prayer life matches our desperation. But what happens when God answers our prayers? What happens when God proves Himself faithful again? In Psalm 30 we see the habit David had formed throughout his life, in the good and in the bad to praise God, to acknowledge when our mourning is turned to dancing.

David was no stranger to sheep. He knew what it took to guide them, care for them, and keep them safe. So when he sings of the ultimate shepherd we should all take comfort. For leads us, He guides, He protects us, He corrects us, and He blesses us. Through the valley of darkness or in the presence of our enemies, we are not alone.

In a moment where David feels the weight of the world against him, and even God feels absent, David sings to the Lord. Words that would be spoken by Jesus in His own moment of darkness, this Psalm does not just speak to the bleakness of life, it reminds us that the end of all things has already been secured for all has been overcome, for our King has done it.

Jesus once said, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The order of this is so important. What we treasure shapes our hearts. It is not our heart that shapes our treasure. If you want to begin to discover what you treasure there are 3 things that can guide you. Time, talent, and treasure. How we steward our time, talent, and treasure will show us what we truly treasure.

When Jesus took a towel and began washing the feet of his disciples, he wasn’t just making a point, he was modeling what a lifestyle of service looks like. Throughout his ministry, Jesus poured out his life for others and calls us to do the same.

When the Devil was tempting Jesus, he took Jesus to a high place and said “All this I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me.” At the heart of this proposition was the question, “who are you going to worship?” A question we are still being asked to this day. We often see worship as something that takes place only in church, but we are capable of worship everywhere in everything. So,...