Next in our "History Lessons mini-series, Pastor Tim covers the book of II Samuel. The book begins with the death of Saul and David finally taking the place of King over Israel. Nevertheless, the instability of God's nation continues, as it becomes apparent that a human king will never be the perfect king. Even so, the failures of Israel's kings lay the framework for the coming eternal king: King Jesus. He alone can usher in peace and stability.

Caleb Poirier recounts his story of how he saw God use every encounter in his life to create a need that only He could answer. He recounts how God used all kinds of people -- Christian parents, fellow missionaries, and two high-school teachers who took time to invest -- to demonstrate what a godly life looks like.

But to make this faith and these values his own, it took investing a community, spending two years alone on the road working on turbines, a 2 am custodial shift, and a broken engagement. In all this, God was faithful, and He "can be trusted to work all things out for His glory."

Continuing our "History Lessons" mini-series, Pastor Tim preaches on the book of I Samuel. It tells the story of Israel’s transition from the period of the judges to the beginning of the monarchy. The nation is spiritually and politically unstable, its leadership is weak, and the people eventually demand a king so they can be “like all the nations.” Although God had always intended for Israel to have a king, their request revealed a deeper problem: they were rejecting God’s rule and placing their hope for security, stability, and success in a human leader.

Through the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David, 1 Samuel reminds us that human leaders will always fall short and that our deepest need is not for greater power, security, success, or control, but for God Himself. The book exposes our tendency to look elsewhere for what only God can provide and ultimately points us forward to Jesus, the true and perfect King.

Continuing in our sermon series, "History Lessons," Pastor Steve covers the book of Ruth. It shows God working faithfully through ordinary events, even when He seems silent. The story takes place during the dark days of the judges, and it begins with Naomi losing her husband and sons and returning to Bethlehem bitter and empty.

Nevertheless, God is quietly at work. Ruth, Naomi's daughter-in-law, stays loyal to Naomi and commits herself to Naomi's God. God uses Ruth's ordinary faithfulness to turn Naomi's emptiness to fullness, and all of it works to become a part of God's eternal plan.

The book of Judges presents us with a repeated cycle: Israel sins, God disciplines them, they cry out, and God shows mercy by raising up a judge to deliver them. Joshua's generation didn't fully obey God's command to remove pagan influences from the land. As a result, they turned to idols, suffered under their enemies, and repeatedly needed rescue.

Hope isn't lost, however. In this sermon, Pastor Steve demonstrates that while the judges were flawed deliverers whom God used to show mercy, their weakness points forward to the need for a perfect Deliverer--Jesus--who saves not just from earthly enemies, but from sin and death forever!

We're beginning our next mini-series on our journey through the Bible: History Lessons! In this sermon, Pastor Steve covers the book of Joshua.

Joshua focuses on one central truth: God is a sovereign, promise-keeping God who fights for His people. Therefore, his people should trust Him, obey Him (even when it doesn't seem to make sense), and choose to serve Him--not to earn His favor, but because they already have it!

Abraham is considered one of the forefathers of our faith, and yet in one chapter, he goes from faithful obedience to fearful foolishness. What happened? In this sermon, Pastor Tim explains how all of us are like a coin: one side is faithful and the other is fearful. Nevertheless, God remains the God who will fulfill His promises, regardless of how we react.

Colin Earle concludes the sermon series, "From Creation to Canaan" with a wrap-up of the entire Pentateuch. In this message, he outlines how God knows and sees our longings, and how He fulfills them all through Christ, His Son. While the Pentateuch was written long before Jesus walked on the earth, listen to how Jesus' salvation was foretold even in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.