Prayer is difficult. This is commonly known among all followers of Jesus. Even Peter, James, and John could not stay awake... in prayer at Gethsemane, though Jesus asked them twice. When writing Romans, the apostle Paul assumes that prayer is difficult for the believer, that we are weak, that we need help. The good news is that God has given us help. Listen as Pastor Ethan Brown preaches from Romans 8:15–17, 22–23, 26–27, showing that God has not left us alone in our prayers––he has given us the Holy Spirit, and whenever we pray, whenever we truly pray, we pray with the Holy Spirit.

“Groundbreaking,” “the foot of a mountain,” and “flying off the handle” are all dead metaphors, once vivid and fresh, but now... separated from their original imagery and impact. According to Pastor Luke Herche, much of Biblical language has become like dead metaphors to us. We have become dull to the power and punch of Scriptural language. In this sermon on 2 Samuel 7:12–13, 2 Chronicles 36:22–23, and Matthew 28:16–20, Pastor Luke revitalizes some of our dead metaphors for the mission of the church as he tells the story of God’s house, beginning with creation and ending in Revelation.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

How do you understand your role in God’s temple-building mission?

What most hinders you from filling that role?

How does Christ model our role as well as free, empower, and motivate us to fulfill our role in God’s work?

What is the next step you can take to fulfill God’s call in your life? Take some time to pray for wisdom and strength to move forward and be faithful in God’s temple-building work.