The Cross and the Crown

Psalm 42 and 43 teach us how to fight through difficult seasons of life, and how (and what) to preach to ourselves amidst trials and depression. 

Life is short. Our opinions are not. How does a right understanding of God temper our tongues, draw us into honest prayer, and help us learn to count our days and smile again as sojourners in search of a forever home? 

Psalm 31 paints a picture of urgency, honesty, and trust in distress. The Lord quotes this Psalm upon the cross. As David proclaimed the love of the Lord while extending a call to be strong and take courage as we wait upon the Lord. 

How is the will of God done in Heaven? How does Jesus exemplify the Father's will done on earth as it is in Heaven? How does the Lord's prayer align our will to the will of the Father? 

How does Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God shape how we pray "your kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in Heaven?"

When the Lord challenges us to pray "Your Kingdom come... on earth as it is in heaven," how would his immediate audience have understood this concept? 

The Lord's Prayer aligns us with God's own heart. Its first declaration is for the hallowing of God's name. How does this drive us deeper into the heart of God's desire and our chief purpose in life?

Before leading his disciples how to pray, Jesus spends significant time explaining how not to pray. This helps us understand the Lord's Prayer with greater depth. 

Psalm 25 paints for us picture of a believer after God's own heart. We see the beauty of the God we stand in awe of... the God of our salvation who calls us friend. 

What are the implications of the ascension and exaltation of Jesus? How does this lead us to place of humility and confidence in our daily walk? How does this spur us into an unflinchable pursuit of the Great Commission?

Why does the acsension and exaltation of Christ after the resurrection matter? What prominence did the early church place on it in their preaching and teaching? 

How does the book of Hebrews as a whole, and chapter eleven specifically, call us to rest and run by faith in the supremacy of the person and work of Christ amidst our sufferings? What is faith? What is it not? 

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about giving, prayer, and fasting. How can we guard against hypocrisy in our giving? Why is it so crucial to align our hearts to the Giver of life as we seek to glorify God through our giving? How can we practically grow into givers that glorify the Giver?

In Matthew 6:1, Jesus introduces the next section of His Sermon on the Mount by calling us to guard against hypocrisy. He paints a clear picture of not only the roots of hypocrisy, but how we can actively and practically guard against it as believers. 

What?! Jesus' conclusion to the "You've heard it said... but I say" passages is a gripping statement that we must wrestle with. If we misunderstand it, it has the potential to plunge us into Phariseeism or dispair. If we rightly comprehend it, it has the power to cast us deeper into the glories of Christ's person and work, helping us reorient our lives to His calling. 

The impact of Psalm 24 throughout history has cut through the heart of false thinking within cultures since its origen. It reorients not only how we see the world, but how we see the One who is sovereign over it.  

Psalm 23 may perhaps be the most widely known chapter in all the Bible. It has been a source of comfort to countless believers over the centuries. In this session, we will press into what it means. How does it point us to the beautful reality that the Lord is our Shepherd?

How does Psalm 22 deliver to us an honest reaction to the depths of human suffering, while at the same time offering us a practical means of wrestling with our trials? How does this Psalm specifically point us to Jesus, the suffering servant and risen Lord?

Psalms is a broad and diverse collection of 150 Hebrew poems, songs, prayers, and prophecies that span the history of Israel. Written by various authors over the course of time, what shall they tell us of God, the Messiah, and how ancient authors related to Him and one another? How does this impact how we live today? 

Psalms is a broad and diverse collection of 150 Hebrew poems, songs, prayers, and prophecies that span the history of Israel. Written by various authors over the course of time, what shall they tell us of God, the Messiah, and how ancient authors related to Him and one another? How does this impact how we live today? 

Psalms is a broad and diverse collection of 150 Hebrew poems, songs, prayers, and prophecies that span the history of Israel. Written by various authors over the course of time, what shall they tell us of God, the Messiah, and how ancient authors related to Him and one another? How does this impact how we live today? 

Psalms is a broad and diverse collection of 150 Hebrew poems, songs, prayers, and prophecies that span the history of Israel. Written by various authors over the course of time, what shall they tell us of God, the Messiah, and how ancient authors related to Him and one another? How does this impact how we live today? 

Love your enemies?! Why? How? To what measure? How does the gospel plunge us into the answer to all these questions? 

Turn the other cheek? Give the coat off our back? Go the extra mile? Give to the beggar? How does this passage point us to Christ who came to fulfill the law? How will Christ equip us to respond to his call?

In this fourth example of the "You've heard it said" passages, Jesus takes on the issue of oaths. Why is honesty vital? What does Jesus say in response to oaths? Who will be the perfect oath keeper?