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Do you want to prosper in this life? There are few if any that would say no to a question such as this one. Of course we want our lives to thrive! But how…? How can we walk through a world full of sin, death, pain, and suffering? Psalm 1:1-3 provides us a two-step process that leads straight to a blessed and prosperous life. Step #1: Avoid the slippery slope of sin. One of the scary characteristics of sin is…

I have 3 children who are all very different– each one with his own unique personality, equipped with very specific likes and dislikes. But as different as they may be, there are some things they have in common. One, in particular, is a love for playing with bubbles. We’ve spent countless hours in our back yard with wands, machines, and every kind of bubble gadget imaginable watching them laugh and play, chasing bubbles all around the yard. It’s incredible how…

Fear and anxiety… two monsters of the mind that sometimes seem impossible to overcome. These are emotions that we will likely all face at some point in our lives, but how do we deal with them? How do we cope? In Isaiah 41:10, God would say, “Do not fear… Do not anxiously look about you…” These are two simple commands, but how does one obey them? In the same verse, God gives five promises to His people. Keeping this verse…

Change is the only constant in life. Presidents come and go and culture shifts in different directions. Accidents happen, illness comes unexpectedly, children are born, and parents pass away. Elderships change, members move away–preachers too–deaths and births occur, and congregational dynamics shift. As we often sing, “Time is filled with swift transition.” So, how do we navigate those transition? By holding fast to that which does not change. The first chapter of Joshua chronicles a time of change for the…

When one meditates upon who God is, there are many titles, adjectives, and descriptors that may come to mind. According to the pages of Scripture, our God is a God of War (Exodus 15:3), He is a Shepherd (Psalm 23:1), and He is a Refuge (Psalm 46:1). There are many characteristics that could be attributed to God, but did you know He is a gardener? In Genesis 2:8, the Bible says, “The LORD God planted a garden…” (NASB 95). In…

Are you familiar with ear worms? If you have ever found yourself singing or humming a song throughout the day-sometimes even unintentionallythen the answer is “yes.” “Ear worm” is the colloquial term for a catchy tune stuck on repeat in your head. The song you hear on the radio that sounds great and just sticks with you. Not all ear worms should be secular songs. The Psalmist wrote, “Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage”…

A failure to practice the Word of God causes us to forget who we are. While hearing and humbly receiving the Word of God are essential (James 1:19-21), we “delude” ourselves if we do not also believe it necessary to become a “doer of the Word” (James 1:22, NASB 95). If we fail to act upon the Scriptures, we will be like the forgetful man in James 1:23,24. As soon as he looked away from the mirror, he immediately forgot…

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “confidence” as “the quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future.” Spiritually speaking, confidence is one of the Christian’s greatest blessings. John said, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).…

English writer John Heywood is said to have written the proverb “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” The statement perfectly captures the stubborn unreasonableness of one who willingly rejects truth. Sadly, the world is full of such people. Tragically, some can even be found in the church of our Lord. While Heywood perfectly captured the stubbornness of rejection, the Psalmist identifies the antithesis–the desire that should be found in every child of God. Psalm 119:18…

Dear brothers and sisters, words cannot fully express how thrilled Shelby and I are to work with this wonderful congregation. It is our goal to work alongside you as we all strive to imitate our Lord Jesus and diligently follow that great commission He gave His followers all those years ago (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15). When Jesus came to this earth, He came with a divine mission from His Father. When an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, he…

We are blessed to welcome Bryce and Shelby Mayfield to the family of God here at Southwest. They are both 2024 graduates of the Southwest School of Bible Studies and were married in October of 2024. They come to us from the Canyon Lake congregation where Bryce preached for just under a year. Bryce will serve as the associate minister for the Southwest congregation. He will be the primary coordinator of our evangelism program and will work with the youth…

The sins of Judah were numerous. Even a casual glance at the books of the Prophets reveals that truth clearly. But there is a curious, and perhaps overlooked point mentioned in Lamentations 1:2, “…All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.” The list of Judah’s sins included friendship with nations like Egypt and Assyria (Jer. 2:18). When trouble came, God’s people would run to their pagan friends for aid. Only to learn that Egypt and…