Money matters! But how much? And how much does it matter to you? To God? For generations, people have said, “Money is the root of all evil.” Is that statement true? Does it come from the Bible? Today, we will ask and answer a few questions in order to get at the truth of all this. I think we will discover that money is a lot like fire—it’s an excellent servant, but a terrible master.

I. Where Does it Come From?

II. What Does it Mean?

III. How Should We Live?

Talk with God: Meditate on Matthew 22:37 and ask the Spirit to reveal areas of your life where you’ve allowed the love of money to take root.

Talk with others: Ask a mentor or trusted believer if they’ve noticed any idols in your life recently.

Talk with kids: What should we do if others make fun of us or are mean to us for sharing the gospel?

Is God concerned with our own personal happiness? I’m going to say “Yes!” and “No!” Though the Bible does indeed talk about being happy, it’s not as straightforward as you may think. Allow me to unpack this idea through the lens of one of King David’s psalms, written while he was at war. Here, David explicitly wrote that God’s people are happy people. Let’s find out why.

I. Because of Life's Conflict

II. Because of our Commitment

III. Because of God's Care

IV. Because of God's Character

Talk with God: Meditate on Psalm 144:2 and thank the Lord for His faithfulness as you “take refuge” in Him.

Talk with others: Encourage a fellow believer to intentionally spend time in the Word and in prayer this week.

Talk with kids: How can we be reminded that God loves us and cares for us?

I have spent my entire ministry telling people what the Bible does say. In this series I have been telling you what it doesn’t say—that is, commonly used sayings that many have assumed were from Scripture but are not. Today we look at one that many a parent has quoted to a child, and teachers have quoted to their students. Our story in Mark 7 reveals three categories of cleanliness.

I. Cleanliness Had Become External

II. Cleanliness Was Seen as Eternal

III. Cleanliness is Really Internal

Talk with God: Prayerfully consider your relationship with the Lord. Have religious habits taken the place of an active, intimate connection?

Talk with others: Ask a fellow believer how they stay focused on the Lord when life distracts them.

Talk with kids: How does knowing that God has a plan help you face hard situations?

How many times have you heard about the separation of church and state? I’m guessing a lot! But usually, it’s from Christians who think that it is in the Bible (it is not). It comes from secularists who think that it comes from the US Constitution (it does not). Every election cycle brings with it the dilemma: Should Christians be involved in politics? If so, to what degree?

I. Complexity

II. Policy

III. Responsibility

Talk with God: Pray for our elected leaders and candidates and ask the Lord for wisdom and clarity as you get ready to vote.

Talk with others: Encourage a believer who is anxious about the upcoming election and remind them that “no purpose of [God’s] can be thwarted” (Job 42:2, ESV).

Talk with kids: How does learning about God help us receive courage?

This noble-sounding little statement has been around for a couple of decades but was popularized by Oprah Winfrey at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards. She stated, “Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have.” In all fairness, she was talking about those women who dared to speak up about being sexually harassed; however, the quip rapidly became a modern mantra for those who say absolute truth doesn’t exist, but that all truth is individual and comes from within.

I. We Should Know the Truth

II. We Should Guard the Truth

III. We Should Speak the Truth

Talk with God: Meditate on John 17:14-19 and ask the Lord to sanctify your life by the truth of His Word.

Talk with others: Ask your Connect Group how they stay “ready in season and out of season” (v. 2).

Talk with kids: Who can you share the gospel with?