Having everything we want can feel like the ultimate blessing, but it can also be a quiet danger. When every desire is met, we start to believe we can sustain ourselves, forgetting the One who gives every good gift. Self-sufficiency can sneak in, replacing dependence on God with trust in our own strength. This is a real problem. Today, Pastor Ken will share with you about how abundance can sometimes dull your need for God, and why true life is found only when you remain fully dependent on Him.

As we conclude our series in the book of Joel today, Pastor Ken will remind us of the overall picture this book paints. It gives us a glimpse of what’s to come when God carries out His plan of redemption. Because of mankind’s rebellion against Him, led by the deception of Satan, there must first be a judgment. In that event, God will bring justice to the earth in a way our hearts long for, but the wicked dread. Once sin has been removed completely, we can experience existence as He intended it to be.

Christ made all of what we know and experience in this world. He holds it altogether. Our hearts are drawn to His existence in an inexplicable way, and even science itself points to the need for an intelligent designer and a force that holds all things together. As Pastor Ken will warn in today’s message, one day this will be made clear to all men. We can choose to trust in Him by faith, submitting ourselves to His Lordship, or we can wait and be subjected to judgment when He establishes His eternal Kingdom.

The image we find portrayed in today’s message is completely contradictory to the Kingdom that God is preparing for us. As we read in Micah, God will direct weapons – tools designed for destruction – to be turned into implements of agriculture. God brings peace and unity, but the enemy fosters a culture that thrives on violence, destructive pleasures, and serving self above all else. As Pastor Ken will warn in today’s message, Armageddon will be the culmination of mankind’s sin in one battle.

Salvation is for everyone. This presented an obstacle for many of the Jews who were confronted by the early Church. They understood God and their faith to be only for the Jews. But as Pastor Ken continues our study in the book of Joel today, we’ll be reminded that Jesus came so that all men, no matter their race, ethnicity, nationality, or religious background, could have the opportunity to come and be saved and enter into a restored relationship with God.

If you think back to the panic of the COVID pandemic, for many, there was a real fear that it was the end. Whether it was because of the virus or because our world ground to a halt in a matter of weeks, we didn’t know what was going to happen next, and there was a collective anxiety. As Pastor Ken examines today’s passage in Joel, we’ll get another glimpse of what the end times will look like. There will be fear and chaos on a scale that will make mankind forget all about the worst we’ve experienced.

There are many people in this world that are aware of Jesus and His saving grace, but they’ve convinced themselves that they can live for themselves now and turn to Jesus before they take their final breath. While Jesus will save you on your deathbed, He desires to save you from more than just eternal suffering, and you don’t know when that time will come. As Pastor Ken will point out in today’s message, the suffering in this world will continue to increase, but Jesus offers hope and peace.

All of Scripture is good and beneficial for the life of every believer. But that doesn’t mean every single promise, prophecy, or curse you read in it directly applies to your life. We need the guidance and discernment provided by the Holy Spirit to discern and understand how Scripture relates to us. As Pastor Ken will point out today, we need to weigh all teaching and prophecy and test if it aligns with Scripture, remembering that only God knows when Jesus will come again.