Some parts of the Christian life are obviously impossible to do in our own strength. But other parts feel deceptively doable. We can show up. We can volunteer. We can build routines. We can keep a cal...  Read More

Most of us hear the word stewardship and immediately think: effort. Try harder. Do better. Get more disciplined. Be more consistent. Give more. Serve more. Organize your life.And to be honest, that in...  Read More

Most weeks at Mercy Village, I’m doing the same thing (and I love it): we preach through books of the Bible, verse by verse. That’s our normal rhythm, and we’re going back to Matthew when this series ...  Read More

Some stories stick because they’re funny. Others stick because they’re true. This one is both.Sarah Beth and I used to live on a farm in Milton, West Virginia, and I got roped into a lot of jobs I was...  Read More

In the second week of Advent, we lit the candle of peace. Most of us hear that word and think of a feeling we wish we had more often—calm nerves, quiet hearts, a little less anxiety. But Scripture pai...  Read More

Advent is a season of waiting. Kids count down the days to Christmas. We watch the weather and quietly wish for snow. We smell cookies baking and wait for the moment we finally get to enjoy one.That k...  Read More

On our very first Easter as a church plant, we were still tiny—maybe twenty people meeting in a little space beside the dentist office in downtown Barboursville. We decided to go big: a full outdoor E...  Read More

Some previews are so real they change how you wait for what’s next. Hearing a baby’s heartbeat before the child is born does that. In Matthew 17:1–13, three disciples receive a preview that reshapes t...  Read More

A structure is only as strong as what it rests on. Peter reaches for a construction image we don’t use much anymore—the cornerstone—to say something essential about the church. In the ancient world, t...  Read More

Your family of origin shaped you — but it doesn’t have the final word. In Christ, you’ve been given a new family story: chosen, loved, treasured, and free. This identity is the foundation of who we ar...  Read More

Some of Jesus’ most powerful truths come to us in the form of simple stories — stories like the Parable of the Sower. Found in Matthew 13, this parable invites us to slow down, examine the condition o...  Read More

Have you ever found yourself moved to tears by an animated movie? Or felt your heart stirred by a simple story? Stories have a way of getting past our mental defenses and reaching something deeper wit...  Read More