The Key of LoveSierra Combs“These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” John 15:17This morning as I was looking through my jewelry box, I came upon a bracelet that I bought several years ago at a vintage market. Between two sets of dainty chains lies a small aged brass key with the word “love” stamped on the metal. While I completely forgot about the bracelet (it had found a pl...  Read More

Greater LoveCaroline Roark“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13Gift-giving is often a source of stress for me. I love giving people gifts but I always want to give people a great gift. You know that great gift. It is the gift that makes you smile and feel loved. A gift that was exactly what you needed at that moment from someone that genuin...  Read More

Word and DeedDavid Hudgens“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” John 14:24All throughout my elementary and secondary education, I experienced a relatively high level of success and command over all the subjects matters, except for one class, English. Each year, and with every progressive degree of difficulty, I strug...  Read More

If You Love MePatrick Bicknell“Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” John 14:23Continuing this Easter series of looking at what took place in the upper room with Jesus and His disciples on the night of His betrayal, we get some of the best teachings of Jesus during His earthly ministry. Up t...  Read More

Unfathomable LoveJosh Thayer“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34Being a father to a 1-year-old little girl, I finally understand what it means to really love. Not to say that the love I have for my wife, family, and friends was not real, but when you helped create something from nothing, it really puts ...  Read More

New CommandmentFerdinand Sanders“When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandmen...  Read More

DelightPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryIf you were to pull out (or pull up if it is on your phone) your weekly or monthly schedule, how often is time specifically set aside to spend with your spouse? So often our days and schedules get filled quickly with work, sports, exercise, driving, and a whole list of additional tasks, but one area that often gets neglected is our marriages. While we may delight ...  Read More

Public and PrivatePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryCan people tell you delight in your spouse? Can your spouse tell you delight in them? The beauty of the covenantal relationship of marriage is that it is more than lovemaking. Inside the marriage, there is service, sacrifice, commitment, loyalty, and friendship. A husband must understand that while privately he shows his wife tenderness, devotion, and f...  Read More

Vertical DelightPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryIt would be hard to imagine when two people choose to get married their desire is to have a marriage that is full of tension and strife. Sadly, almost every couple goes through a moment or a season where their marriage is not how God intended it to be. Gentle answers are replaced with snips and quips. Moments of admiring the beauty and uniqueness of our s...  Read More

Delight in ProtectionPastor Ryan and Cathy StorySong of Solomon chapter 3 is about the time many believe that the wedding between the bride and the bride groom is about to take place. In an amazing show of pomp the bridegroom, Solomon, sends a carriage and his personal guard to pick up his bride. Song of Solomon 3:7-8 reads, “Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, som...  Read More

Who You ArePastor Ryan and Cathy StorySong of Solomon leaves its readers with many questions. While there are thoughts and ideas about this book in Scripture, many answers just are not known. One aspect that is abundantly clear would be that the bride and bridegroom genuinely delight in the one they love. It seems pretty safe to say, you cannot read through these eight chapters and deny that fact!...  Read More

Remind ThemPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryPeople love to be told how well they are doing. You may like hearing how beautiful and clean your home is, how nice your outfit looks, how much great work you put into that task, or how amazing your children are turning out! We all love compliments! I have this habit of when I cook, I like to ask my family just how much they enjoyed the meal. I can ask multipl...  Read More