When we are overwhelmed by a particular challenge or even just by life itself, feelings of insecurity can threaten to take over. In today’s message from Exodus 3 and 4, Pastor J.D. walks us through Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Though Moses felt completely unprepared for the assignment in front of him, God provided reassurance that was rooted in his unchanging nature. This reassurance addressed what Moses needed the most, and what we need the most in the face of life’s challenges and trials: the very presence of God himself.

Rescue. Salvation. Deliverance. These words characterize the story of the book of Exodus, as God frees his people from slavery in Egypt in an amazing display of power and might. As we begin a new series through the first half of Exodus, Pastor J.D. shows us from the first two chapters what we can learn about God’s work of salvation on a broad scale, as well as in our individual lives. And often, the very aspects of our lives that we consider weak, broken, or useless are what God uses to write a beautiful story of redemption.

In this message from Genesis 32, Pastor J.D. tells the story of Jacob, a man who began his life as a deceiver and ended his life with a limp—but who, right in the middle, wrestled with God and received an unimaginable blessing. Jacob provides a model for all of us who have ever waited on God to answer us, unsure if he hears, he cares, or he will ever act. Through Jacob, we learn that many of the blessings of God are released into our lives only through persistent, unrelenting prayer.