When was the last time you talked honestly with God about your struggles and misdeeds?

Honest confession to God leads to the abundant grace and forgiveness of God.

The Apostle John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9, ESV).

How close is God to you? Where does God dwell in relationship to you? Do you experience God’s daily presence with you?

God has made his dwelling place with his people. God is near to each of us and has made his home with his children. We are never alone and we are never without God.

God spoke to his people through the Prophet Zechariah, saying, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.” (Zechariah 2:10-11, ESV).

What does God’s peace look like? Where do we need God’s peace? To what extent does the world need God’s peace?

God offers perfect peace for each of us and he offers perfect peace for the world. Our God is a God of peace.

As the Apostle Paul said to the church in Corinth, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” (1 Corinthians 14:33, NIV).

This fallen world is filled with discord and disorder, which is not in congruence with the attributes of our God of peace.

This is why Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, saying, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9, NIV).

What role does your thinking play in your life? How do you think? How does your thinking shape your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well being?

How we think matters. How we think shapes our well being and our health. Most importantly, how we think effects our relationship with God and with others.

The wisdom of the Proverbs says, “As a man thinks, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7).

Our thinking shapes who we are, and our thinking shapes what we do. Our inner and outer lives are cultivated through our thinking.

Where do we go when we die? What do we do when we die? What happens when we die?

The questions surrounding death are not prefaced with “if” but “when”. We will all die—it is just a matter of how and when. And when we die, what happens then?

The Author of Hebrews writes, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV).

Each of us are facing death and judgement. We will be resurrected to eternal life. There, we join all the saints who have died before us and who have finished their course.

What does creation say to us about our glorious creator—God? When we consider the majesty and the power of creation—how much greater is our God who made it all?

God’s creation speaks of the glory of God. All of creation bears witness to the creativity, grandeur, power, and splendor of God.

The Psalmist writes, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2, ESV).

All of creation comes from God who preexisted it and who brought everything into being before the beginning of time.

Why is loving God and loving our neighbor the greatest commandment? How well are we doing with loving God and one another?

Loving God is essential to loving our neighbor well. And we cannot love God without also loving our neighbor. God’s greatest commandment is love. God is love.

When asked by the religious leaders which commandment is the greatest, Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31, ESV).

How do we understand how to apply the Bible to our lives? Is the Bible history to be read, or instructions to be adhered to?

In Sunday School settings, and in some Christian circles, the acrostic B.I.B.L.E. is used to explain the Bible as “basic instructions before leaving earth.”

This is an oversimplified and partially true definition of what the Bible is, and this definition distorts the complexity of God’s word and overgeneralizes the Bible—neglecting to take into consideration the diversity of the literary genres within the Bible’s covers.

The truth is, there are many literary genres found in the Bible, including: law, history, wisdom, poetry, narrative, epistles, prophecy and apocalyptic literature.

How do you move forward without knowing for sure what the outcome might be? How do you make decisions with so many unknowns?

We take leaps of faith into the unknown all the time, sometimes knowingly, and other times unknowingly. Life is filled with the unknown.

Making decisions without a sure—or full understanding of what lays ahead, and taking steps forward when we are uncertain of the outcome—this is acting in faith.

The author of Hebrews defines faith this way, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV).

How present is Jesus with you? How near is Jesus with you when you speak to him?

The name “Immanuel”, means God is with us. Jesus is with us, and draws near to us, when we draw near to him. Jesus is present with us.

The Psalmist writes, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18, ESV).

God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah of his presence, saying, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV).

What kind of fruit does a good person produce? Are you producing good fruit?

Followers of Jesus are to serve God and his church in fruitful ways. We are to bear good fruit for the kingdom of God in this world.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus rebukes the religious leaders for producing the wrong kinds of outcomes. Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33, ESV).

Followers of Jesus should be discernible in how they live their lives, and in how they serve God and others. We should distinguish ourselves as God’s servants through the fruit we produce and we should stand out as “good trees” in a forest of unfruitfulness.

What does the cross of Jesus mean for us? How does Jesus dying on a cross change our lives? What transformation does the cross bring about in our world and in our lives?

The cross of Jesus guarantees that our sin has been dealt with—we are forgiven.

The cross of Jesus draws all people to God as a divine signpost welcoming us into the presence of God.

In the Gospel of John, the Apostle John records his account of Jesus’ teaching about being high and lifted up on the cross.

Have you ever had a crisis of belief? Have you ever doubted God or struggled with you faith?

Doubts are common. It is okay for us to wrestle with our beliefs and to have doubts and questions concerning our faith.

John the Baptist, Jesus’ own cousin and prophet, who also prepared the way for him, had questions and doubts when he was imprisoned for living out his faith and speaking out against Herod Antipas.

Matthew’s Gospel account captures John’s crisis of belief. Matthew tells us, “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” (Matthew 11:2-3, ESV).

How do you know which direction is best? How do you know which way to go? Where do you go for the guidance you need?

We can feel overwhelmed looking for direction in life. The choices can be daunting. The pathway can be unclear. The right way can be darkened.

The Psalmist writes, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV).

We can receive the guidance we need through the illumination of God’s word.

Who do you represent as you live your life, do your work, and conduct yourself in the world? On whose behalf do you live and do business?

We all represent someone and some worldview, purpose, or belief in how we conduct ourselves in this life. We do not live and work and do the business of life in isolation, or without influence.

In Luke’s Gospel account, in chapter nineteen, as Jesus was passing through Jericho on the way up to Jerusalem, Jesus pursued a tax collector named Zacchaeus. Jesus went to his home and Zacchaeus came to know Jesus as the messiah and became a child of God, repenting and giving half of all he had to the poor and restoring anyone he defrauded four fold—twice what was required by the law.

What kinds of people does Jesus call to follow him as his students? Who does Jesus choose to be his followers?

While many teachers wait for the very best and the most eager students to flock to them, to follow them, and to sit under their teaching, Rabbi Jesus goes out to unlikely places and chooses the most unexpected and the most unlikely candidates to follow him.

Rabbi Jesus chooses his followers from the most unexpected pool of people, and from the most unexpected places. Jesus chooses the most unlikely people to follow him—he chooses people like you and me.

What do your works, the things you do, say about what you believe?

Our actions speak louder than our words.

A sermon is better seen and received when it is lived out, rather than simply spoken.

Our works speak volumes about what we believe. Our faith is communicated through our actions and the way we live out our lives.

The Book of James tells us, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18, ESV).

What are you doing with what you have? Are you being faithful with the time, talents, and resources you have been entrusted with?

When we are faithful in what we have been given, God will trust us with greater things.

In the Parable of the minas, Jesus tells the story of a nobleman who goes out to a far country to receive a kingdom. The nobleman entrusted ten servants with one mina each and instructed them to do business in the land and to represent him in the marketplace.

What are you doing to cultivate the place where you live? How are you producing for the welfare of you, your family and the people who live around you?

Since the beginning of creation God placed humanity in a garden and invited us to have dominion over the earth, to cultivate the garden, and to fill the earth and to subdue it.

Everyone benefits from the cultivation of place and the flourishing that comes from working the land and producing the fruit of our labor.

When God’s people were exiled in Babylon, God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah, encouraging them to flourish while in exile.

Does God work? And if God works, does God take a break from his work? What would happen if God ceased to do work?

Work is good. God is always at work in the world. God also rests from his labors, but God is steady at work for his purposes in the world.

John’s Gospel tells us, after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath Day, and asking him to pick up his mat and walk, the man went and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. Because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews were persecuting Jesus. Jesus answered them, saying, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:15-17, ESV).