Allowing yourself and others to lament gives others the opportunity to meet you where you are. When we don’t include the language of lament in our worship or fellowship, we often stay stuck. We stay at arms length with other believers and struggle in darkness alone. Or we numb out and try to be self-reliant. And as a result, we do not properly heal or demonstrate God's glory in the healing process.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 25, In Acts 25, Paul stands trial in front of Governor Festus but no verdict is reached. Paul appeals his case to Caesar in Rome. At the end of the chapter, Agrippa and Berenice arrive in Caesarea and ask to hear Paul's case.

This will be the first post through a 22 week study through Psalm 119!

As we get ready to walk through Psalm 119 I pray that we will ask God to show us what we should believe about His Word and about Himself, and how we are to apply these precious truths to our own lives so that we walk away more in love with God and His Word, more aware of – and brokenhearted over our sins, and more thankful for Christ and His sacrifice.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 24, In Acts 24, Paul stands trial in front of Governor Felix. Felix delays a judgement in the case and keeps Paul in prison for 2 years. After 2 years, Festus replaces Felix and Paul is left in prison.

And you know what I realized? I am like that dust, clinging to the surface. Clinging to the temporal. Clinging to surface level Christianity. You know, the “read my Bible for 10 minutes and then turn on Netflix for 3 hours” type of Christianity. Check mark Christianity.

There will come a day when our tragic losses feels like a distant memory because of the power and promise of the resurrection. This allows us in our most trying moments, our deepest pain, to be able to whisper: this wont last. This wont last.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 23. In chapter 23, Paul starts an argument between the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Jewish council. Paul's nephew discovers a plot to kill Paul and Paul is sent under armed guard to Caesarea, to Governor Felix.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 22. In chapter 22, Paul speaks to the angry mob of Jews that tired to kill him in Jerusalem. He tells them his conversion story and how Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. Later, he avoids a flogging from the tribune and soldiers by revealing he is a Roman citizen.

Don’t you think its time to stop scrounging around trying to find ways to cope with the hardships of life? It’s time to look for root cause solutions so you can live in peace, knowing your future is secure in life and in death. It’s time to go to the Physician so He can prepare you to be a new creation, a product of His restoration, rather than a victim of sin’s decay.

I was reading Acts 14 this morning and found myself captivated by what happened to Paul. He and Barnabas were preaching the word of God and scripture says, Paul was stoned to the point where they supposed him to be dead (Acts 14:19). This stood out to me because Paul ROSE UP from his suffering, stoned to the point of being assumed dead, and then his situation was used as a tool to bring strength and encouragement to those around him.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 21. In chapter 21, Paul travelled from Miletus to Tyre, Tyre to Caesarea, and Caesarea to Jerusalem. He was attacked by a mob while purifying himself in the temple and the roman tribune had to intervene to keep the Jews from killing Him.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 20. In chapter 20, Paul travelled through Macedonia and Greece, raised Eutychus from the dead after he fell from a 3rd story window, and met with the Ephesian elders in Miletus to encourage them in their work.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 19. In chapter 19, Paul travelled to Ephesus and baptized 12 disciples. He taught in the Hall of Tyrannus for 2 years and many Ephesians came to Christ. At the end of the chapter, Demetrius, a silversmith who made "silver shrines" for the temple of Artemis (Diana), stirred up a riot in the city.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 18. In chapter 18, Paul works in Corinth for a year and six months. After planting a church in Corinth, he sailed to Ephesus with Aquilla and Priscilla before continuing on to Antioch in Syria. At the end of the chapter, Paul set out on his 3rd missionary journey.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 17. In chapter 17, Paul, Timothy, and Silas visited Thessalonica and Berea teaching the gospel. After the Jews from Thessalonica ran Paul out of town, he travelled south to Athens. At the Areopagus, he spoke to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers about Jesus and the final resurrection.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 16. In chapter 16, Timothy joined Paul and Silas on their Journey. The trio travelled to Philippi and met Lydia and the Philippian jailer.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 15. In chapter 15, Paul and Barnabas travel to Jerusalem to settle a dispute about circumcision. In Jerusalem the Council of Apostles gathered to decide if the Gentiles needed to be circumcised. At the end of the chapter, Paul takes Silas and begins his second missionary journey.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 14. In chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas go to Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe teaching about Jesus. They were mistaken as Zeus and Hermes, Paul was stoned, they were chased by the Jews, but were successful in their efforts to make disciples. At the end of the chapter the duo returns to Antioch in Syria.

A 5 minute Bible study through Acts 13. In chapter 13, Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark set out on their first missionary journey. They meet Sergius Paulus in Cyprus and preach to the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia.

Solomon had tons of wealth and riches, and throughout the book, we see Solomon put that wealth and wisdom into action. But at the end of the book, something happens, and Solomon turns away from God. And the life of Solomon and Israel is used as a proverb (1 Kings 9:7).