From the Pastors at Joy

We are distracted. We are so distracted, and so accustomed to it, that after a while we almost become distraction. We lose the ability to be still. We fear the quiet. We are intimidated by the moments where there is nothing to look at, nothing to do....

As we saw in yesterday's sermon on Rahab, the New Testament looks back on her life as an example of faith. Yet as we read her story in Joshua 2, it's perplexing to see this notable woman of faith breaking one of the Ten Commandments. God clearly forbids lying, yet it's obvious in Joshua 2 that Rahab lies to the king's men who come to her home, questioning her about the Jew...

I closed last Sunday’s sermon with a personal illustration of how I attempted to bring the two principles from Psalm 103 that we considered (David’s determination to worship, and the ground of his determination) to bear on my own life. Let me give another illustration, which will lead right into the third point of my sermon, which I omitted and said I would r...

For many believers, the Psalms are one of the most beloved books in the Bible, because of the way it captures such a wide range of human experiences, emotions and circumstances. You may be reading one Psalm, and observing the Psalmist’s delight in God’s intimacy. Then you turn the page and the next Psalm finds the Psalmist lamenting God’s apparent abse...

On the side of the refrigerator in my house, there are two pictures of Michelle and me. The first was taken in the summer of 2003, just a month or two after Michelle and I began dating. Next to it is a picture of us that was taken two summers ago, at a wedding that I had the privilege of officiating. ...

Last week I was challenged by these words from John Piper: “What would your ministry be like, if it were led by folks who memorized whole books of the Bible?” With the question, there was a link to an article written by Jon Bloom titled, Ten Reasons to Memorize Big Chunks of the Bible....

One of the most challenging aspects of living a life of faith in Jesus is how to make sense of the innumerable pains and heartaches we experience in this fallen world. No matter how many times we quote Romans 8:28, it’s just hard to believe sometimes that an infinitely good, all-powerful God is governing even the tiniest details of our lives. ...

In fourteen years as a Christian, nothing has been more instrumental in my walk with God than hearing Him speak to me in the pages of Scripture. It breaks my heart that so many people who bear the name “Christian” give so little attention to feeding on the rich nourishment of God’s Word, especially when Jesus said that those who are truly His disciples ...

I don’t have to tell you that it’s been a long winter, so as the weather warmed up last week, I was eager to get back to my regular walks to my office in the Hope House, and back. It’s a 10-15 minute walk, and I’ve come to really enjoy those few minutes: I’ll pray, or listen to music, or recite a passage of Scripture that I’ve mem...

Life Groups are where the life of Joy Community Fellowship takes place. They're how we experience what it means to be the Church in the midst of ordinary, everyday life. While we treasure our weekly gathering on Sunday mornings, the vision for church life and discipleship depicted in the Scriptures seems far more intimate and frequent than could be experienced by simply at...