CTK Blog
Esther 2: God who works through brokenness
In Esther 2, we meet the title character and learn that she’s not the heroine we’d expect. She’s a compromised character who’s broken God’s Law and who’s been broken by the world. Yet, even when she cannot perceive it, God is at work in and through to rescue her people.
Esther 1: Where is God?
How can you live by faith when you feel far from God? What about he seems entirely absent from you life? The Book of Esther encourages us that God is at work even when he feels hidden from us. By his providence, God works to keep his promises even when his people feel far from him.
Prayer for People Pleasers
As people pleasers it is hard enough to recover when the worst is untrue. How much harder is it to walk with our heads up when it’s undeniable?
Hope in the Gospel
As Paul rounds out this section of his letter in Romans 15, he prays that God would fill his fellow believers in the Roman church with all joy and peace in believing so that through the Holy Spirit they would abound in hope. Much in our lives pushes against joy, peace, and hope. Often, we find ourselves filled more with bitterness, anxiety, and fear. We sense our need for the hope that comes at Christmas—the hope of Jesus Christ—to fill our lives. Yet, this hope can seem elusive. As Paul prays, he reminds us that this hope comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hope Overflows in Worship
Our advent series has us considering the hope of the gospel as Paul unpacks it in Romans 15. The hope of the gospel is for our good and for the glory of God. When we come to share in the hope of Christ, this hope overflows from our lives in worship and honor to God.
Hope for All
Romans 15 reminds us that the hope of the gospel is for all people. As gospel people, this hope should overflow from us into serving those around us in Jesus’s name.
Hope & Community
Not only does the hope of the gospel unite us as a community of believers, it is precisely this community that causes such hope to flourish. We learn the Scriptures that bring encouragement in the community of the church. Together, we work to spur one another toward endurance in our faith. The God of endurance and encouragement has given us one another to remind each other of shared gospel hope. Often, it is through our lives together in the church that he grants the endurance and encouragement we need.