Doable Discipleship

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey - riding on a donkey’s colt.” - Zechariah 9:9 In my opinion, Zechariah is a diamond of a book. It has so many facets, so many ways to approach it and points of emphasis and things to teach. Last week we talked about Haggai and Z...

“Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ‘Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were pu...

What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime! No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God. Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey. Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their...

“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation - a god that can’t even talk! What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. But the Lord is in...

“The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies! The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.” - Nahum 1:2-3 The book of Nahum, the 34th book of the Old Testament, is somewhat a companion to Jonah. When we read Jonah, we saw God send Jonah to Nineveh to...

“Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.” Micah 7:18 The book of Micah may not be the most well-known of the Old Testament, but it has some of the most well-known verses and passages. Micah takes on the same challenge as many of th...

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, ‘I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, “O Lord, you have driven me...

“The Lord says to Edom, ‘I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. “Who can ever reach us way up here?” you ask boastfully. But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,’ says the Lord...

“Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.” - Amos 5:14-15 The book of Amos has a bit of a reputation. It’s not known for being t...

We’ve been walking through this series on Navigating the Bible we're currently neck deep in talking about the Prophets. These books can be extraordinarily beautiful, but they can also be confusing and hard to read. As a brief pause in our series, I thought today might be good to rewind a conversation I had last year with Dr. John Walton about the prophets as a whole. Dr. Walton is professor of Old...

“The church is a multiethnic and multicultural assembly of believers spanning history that God has called into fellowship with Christ and with one another. We gather regularly to consider the teachings of the Bible and to orient our lives around God’s coming kingdom. Together we wait for God to make all things new, and we bear witness to the world of what God has already done.” - Becoming God’s Fa...

“The act of confessing our sins to one another is a graced invitation to practice the way of faith, hope, and love. The soul tempted to despair will be particularly allergic to ecclesial confession, but it is here that they will find great remedy for their agonizing condition. For in confessing their sins to one another, they are heard with the faith of fellow saints, they are encouraged by the ho...

“That is why the Lord says, ‘Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.’ Return to the Lord for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”  Joel 2:12-13 The book of Joel, the second of the minor prophets, is such a beautiful book....

“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces - to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my cove...

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” - Danie...

“The next generation will live into the words we speak over them, so we should consider what words we are speaking over Gen Z. We, older generations, are responsible for raising, stewarding, and discipling the next generation, and right now, they are hearing from us, “We don’t like you.” - An excerpt from What Gen Z Really Wants to Know About God.  We’re in a bit of a tale as old as time moment. T...

“As Scripture reveals, the kind of wisdom we drink in ultimately guides our choices. It conditions our thoughts and molds our character and habits to become who we are. It influences the longings and desires of our heart and the ways we seek to find meaning. The right question then becomes, what kind of wisdom are we currently being guided by?” - An excerpt from The Man You’re Meant to Be.  There’...

“So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my hold reputation! They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness...

“Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned. Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears. For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals. But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation.” Lamentations 5: 15-19 The book of Lame...

“Why do some of us experience Christianity as a burden and others as a refuge? The answer, I am convinced, has to do with grace. Grace is the Big Relief at the heart of Christianity. When grace is down-played or qualified, faith turns into a project and then a burden. Project religion - the ancient human enterprise of proving ourselves morally and spiritually worthy of God’s love - is everywhere....

“But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all...

“Marriage is hard, but there is hope. Knowing that we can win and have a fulfilling marriage gives us the hope and determination to fight for what we desire every day. A successful marriage is not easy and requires working hard and giving 100 percent as individuals and as a couple. For two people ready and willing to put in the hard work and effort, having a game plan could change everything.” - T...

I think we’d probably all agree that digital distraction is at an all time high. News from around the world is at our fingertips at a moment's notice. We get real-time updates on, well, everything. We can play any sort of game imaginable anywhere in the world and we can post our own thoughts and musings for anybody to see. Smartphones are truly an incredible innovation, but they come with a cost....

“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlas...

Originally Released July 4 2023 Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by author, teacher, and spoken word artist Hosanna Wong for a conversation around identity in Christ and how to adopt the rhythms of Jesus. One of the most fundamental questions of life is Who Am I? and, in Christian circles, we are often rushed to answer that our identity is in Christ. But how do...