As we continue our series on discipleship, we find Peter, along with James and John, on the mountaintop with Jesus. What they experience there is almost hard to imagine. It is an incredible moment where they gain a glimpse of the glory of God, and heaven opened. Understandably, Peter wants this moment to last, but Jesus and his disciples need to head back down from the mountain, and to the work that is before them. As we follow Jesus, there are sometimes incredible and overwhelming moments where we see God's power and presence clearly at work. We might want to stay in these moments forever, but they are meant to fill us for our continued journey of serving and following the Lord.

We continue our Lent series in Judges by considering the story of Gideon. God gives deliverance to his people from the Midianites through Gideon and his small band of soldiers. The story makes it clear that this victory and deliverance have come from the Lord, and yet we see how easily Gideon and the people can begin to credit themselves for this. In our own lives, it is tempting to think that we can do just about anything for ourselves. We can and will win the fight! But this is dangerous when it comes to our relationship with God, because our strength is not sufficient to bring about our deliverance from sin.

The story of Deborah invites us to ask several questions, like “What current situation of mine calls for my courage?” And “Who is the real Deliverer of God’s people? It is God Himself, of course, who uses an unlikely trio of ordinary people to accomplish his purposes. If so, then “What important, but shared role, might God be calling me to join with others in for His purposes today?”

This week we continue our series on discipleship, considering this text where Peter briefly walks on the water of the sea with Jesus. This powerful story reminds us that following Jesus doesn't always lead us through still waters. The journey calls for our continued trust in Christ, and keeping our eyes fixed on him, because in our own strength we will sink. We are also reminded and encouraged again of the power and grace of the one we are called to follow.

This Sunday evening we begin a new series on discipleship, focusing on the Apostle Peter and some of the texts describing his journeying of following Jesus. We begin with this passage in Luke, which describes Jesus' calling of Peter to follow him. In this we are reminded of how Jesus calls us and also of the service following him entails. Above this, we are also reminded of who we are being called to follow - Jesus, the Lord of all.

Judges begins with a pair of introductions, which orient the reader as to what will follow in the rest of the book. This particular passage describes the spiritual situation amongst God's people. It is messy. The people are getting caught up in the influence of the world around them, and forget the God who has saved them. Nevertheless, God continues to be gracious to his people in delivering them, and calling them to a life of faith. Our lives in this world are always a bit messy, and this passage calls us in the midst of this mess to keep turning to the Lord and trusting in him.

It’s the final chapter of our series, and naturally the final chapter of our lives, but one we don’t often like to talk about – dying. But the Bible has several examples of God’s people who did talk about it and model for us at least four ingredients of what it takes to “die well.” And doesn’t ending well have something to say about living well today?

As the conversation between God and the prophet draws to a close, God gives Habakkuk a vision of the fulfillment of his promise in 2:3. God will bring justice to the nations and set all things right. In the light of this conversation and revelation, Habakkuk responds with a profession of faith. As we wrestle with God about things happening in the world and in our lives, we are called to the same response of rejoicing and trusting in the Lord.

God continues to speak to his prophet by confirming the words he spoke just before this. These verses contain many woes for those who oppose God and choose to walk in their own ways. These paths will not end in satisfaction and happiness. God's reminder in these woes is also that this is not the case in following his path. With the Lord is life.

There are always transition points which come up in our lives, but as we age, they seem to come at us with greater speed. How do we handle these transitions, and find continued purpose in our lives when our children are out of the house and we've retired from our work? In these transitions, God reminds us that he is still our God, and he is still present in our lives. He also reminds us that he still has purpose for us, that we might be blessed, and bless others in return.