Man’s nature and purpose are not according to the autonomous will of man but determined, ordained, and commanded by the sovereignty of God. A biblical worldview affirms the sovereignty of God over all of creation, including man, but the world claims that each person has total autonomy, independent of any authority.

Genesis 1:26-31 testifies to the creation of man and man’s nature and purpose.

In the sermon from Genesis 1:26-31, Pastor Ben explains that God’s creation of man demands that you honor every human life as God’s image bearer, be a good steward of God’s creation, and submit to God’s authority to create and command.

Genesis chapter one is the testimony of creation. By God's authority, out of His will, and according to His command, He created all things.

As with all of scripture, Genesis chapter one is a testimony of God that reveals His authority, will, and nature. It is not a story about men but a testimony to who God is and how He is working.

Genesis chapter one does not answer every detail you may wish were included. There are many questions about how God accomplished His work that are left unanswered. Not the least of which is how God created all that is from nothing. In His perfect providence, God has given us His word to declare that He is the author and creator of all things while leaving unanswered the mysteries that the mind of man cannot conceive.

Genesis chapter one is a foundational text for a Christian worldview and many of the most fundamental doctrines. From Genesis chapter one, Pastor Ben Smith preaches on how God's creation forms how Christians understand God and all that He has made.

Pastor Ben Smith preaches expositionally from Psalm 16 on how the power, providence, and salvation of God give hope to Christians in the present and for eternity.

Psalm 16 is a Psalm of David. God would make a way for David to be king, but there would be a long period where he was a fugitive on the run from an enraged and unhinged monarch. Psalm 16 may have been written during this chaotic period of David's life.

On the run, hunted, and under constant threat, David finds real and lasting peace and security in the power, providence, and faithfulness of God.

Everyone is looking for peace and security, but how do you find real and lasting peace and security? How can you find unshakable hope and peace in a world filled with so much trouble? Psalm 16 declares the sureness, goodness, and faithfulness of God and encourages the church to know the sure hope of God, in God's refuge, providence, and eternal salvation.

TXTThe desire of God is not that you would be insulated or isolated from the world but that you would be a living testimony to God’s truth in and to the world.

Every Christian experiences a tension between desiring to be separated from the world and obedience to proclaim the gospel to the world. Throughout history, there have been excesses on both sides of this tension. Sometimes, Christians have overemphasized separation from the world and sought to isolate themselves from the world and restrict contact with non-Christians. At other times, Christians have overemphasized ministry to the world and abandoned holiness and the requirements of faith and obedience in a foolish attempt to make the gospel more worldly appealing.

The Christian who attempts to isolate themselves from the world disobeys God’s command to be a gospel light and witness to the world, and the Christian who seeks at all costs to be appealing to the world disobeys God’s command to live lives of holiness.

Whether you are a recent high school graduate preparing to enter the working world or attend college, or an adult working a secular job, every Christian must wrestle with this tension that comes from living a holy life for Christ while living in an evil world.

This is the very issue that Jesus is praying about in John 17:14-19. He does not pray that God would take Christians out of the world, but while they are in the world, keep them holy and obedient to the faith.

In this sermon, pastor Ben Smith preaches from John 17:14-19 on how you can be in the world without becoming like the world by seeking godly affections, resting in God’s power, and being set apart by God.

The heart desire of Christians must be for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience. This statement seems so obvious and elementary that you may be tempted to assume that it does not need to be stated or given much attention. It is indeed obvious and elementary, but it needs to be said and given attention because it often conflicts with your flesh's natural desires.

 Often, what is celebrated are temporary and fleeting achievements. Often, what is rewarded is what the world loves and not the things of God. Often, what your heart desires are rewards that have only momentary value. As a result, what you pray for is too often from the desires of the flesh rather than the will of God.

How can you train your heart to desire, above all other things, for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience? This passage models two areas that you must give the attention of your heart and mind to in order to train your heart to desire that other Christians grow in faith and obedience.

1. Be encouraged by what God has accomplished. (6-10)

2. Pray for what only God can do. (11-13)

Esther chapter 3 is a very unsettling moment. In practical terms, things have gone from bad to worst. Yet, in this very bleak moment, there is a beautiful testimony to the providence of God. Even while Mordecai and Esther may be unaware, God is providing for the deliverance of His people. In this passage, we see how God is providentially working through His perfect timing, the opportunities to prosper, and preparing for the future.

Often on the 4th of July, to my children’s chagrin, I read the Declaration of Independence to the family. It is a fascinating document on so many levels but what always strikes me is the consequence that each signer understood they were taking on when they signed this document. Addressed to the king of Great Brittan they declared among other things “that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown.” Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton of Georgia, along with 53 others knew that with their signatures they were igniting a conflict that very well may cost them everything.

It is true that many of the founding fathers held religious views that were not faithful to the testimony of scripture. Many of them were deists and universalists but not all. However errant their theology was it is right to say that all livened in an error when even the most secular saw the world through a biblical worldview. This worldview gives understanding to the last line of the declaration. It reads:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Today, it is common to hear people speak of the universe controlling their lives. G. K. Chesterton is credited with saying “When men stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” The Bible does not teach that we are subject to the random whim of an impersonal universe. The Bible teaches that God created the world and is actively involved in the working out of His enteral will in the world and among His creation. This is the idea of divine providence – that is that God is for us.

Paul, in Romans 8:28, declares this amazing truth that God is actively working out all things for good for those called according to His purpose.