Unlocked Archives
August 25, 2021
Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 are some of my favorite verses. It's true that Ecclesiastes can be a complicated book; however, its message has been one of the most helpful truths I have learned in my life. Before we can understand the point of Ecclesiastes, it helps [...]
August 8, 2021
One of my all-time favorite group games is capture the flag. The goal, obviously, is to capture the other team's flag. But, if you get tagged in the other team's territory, you are captured. You must follow the tagger to jail and wait there until someone from your team comes to rescue you. You have [...]
March 13, 2021
Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you? Like no matter how much you pray and ask for His guidance, you never seem to get an answer? If you've experienced this, take comfort. As Christians, even when life seems uncertain, we can always know God is with us (Matthew 28:20)! Consider the sun in [...]
January 28, 2021
Have you ever had a challenging decision to make? In those moments, don't you wish God would just tell you what He wants you to do? If you have ever felt that way, what you really desire is to know God's wisdomto know what God wants you to do so you can live your life [...]
January 11, 2021
Have you ever heard the phrase tunnel vision? When you're driving through a tunnel, you can't see anything around you except for the exit of the tunnel. We use the phrase to describe someone who is so singularly focused on something that they lose sight of everything and everyone around them. It is common for [...]
January 4, 2021
Have you ever skipped to the end of a book to find out what happens? Normally, we would say you shouldn't do that because you would spoil the ending! However, in the book of John, if we skip to the ending, we find out why John wrote the book, which helps us understand the entire [...]
December 28, 2020
Have you ever heard the phrase, Timing is everything? It refers to the importance of saying or doing something when the occasion is right. Asking someone out on a first date? Timing is everything. Hitting a baseball? Timing is everything. Asking for an extension on that homework assignment? Timing is everything. Maybe you have a [...]
November 6, 2020
Have you ever invited a friend to church, or tried to tell them about your faith, only to have them turn you down? Facing rejection can be discouraging, and it's one reason we hesitate to share our faith with others. In 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, Paul points to an important and encouraging truth we should remember [...]
October 30, 2020
Have you ever asked for something for your birthday and not gotten what you asked for? Maybe the gift you asked for was too expensive, or maybe your parents knew the gift you asked for wasn't what was best for you. In 1 John 5:14, John writes that, when you go before God in prayer, [...]
October 27, 2020
How well do you think you would be able to communicate with other people if you weren't allowed to talk or text for a day? It would probably be pretty hard because the spoken and written word are such big parts of human communication! In John 1:14, Jesus is given a title called the Word. [...]