Going Deeper

There’s something about home that resonates deeply within all of us. After a long vacation, we find ourselves saying, “There’s no place like home.” After spending time with extended family over the holidays, sitting through a week of work travel, or simply enduring a long day, we long for the comfort of familiar surroundings. Home represents rest, belonging, safety, and peace. But have you ever stopped to wonder where that longing comes from? I don’t think it’s random. I don’

by Pastor Jacob Pull a slingshot's bands back. The pouch moves in exactly the opposite direction it's meant to go. Stretched tight. Moving backward. Then it's released. And the backward movement turns out to be the very thing that gives it momentum. Most of us know what that feels like. A job ends sooner than you expected. A relationship gets harder instead of easier. A plan you built real hope around starts to unravel. It can feel like you're losing ground. Like life is movi

If you've ever flown over a city, you know how different everything looks from 30,000 feet. The streets form neat little grids. The people disappear. The details fade away, and all you see is the big picture. Then you land, get into a car, and drive through the city. Suddenly, you notice things you couldn't see from above. The people become visible. The neighborhoods take shape. The details begin to emerge. But then something changes again when you get out of the car and star

A few years ago, my wife and I were sitting near the bay in Tampa, Florida, watching dozens of people learn how to sail. Some were moving smoothly across the water. Others were struggling to keep their boats upright. The difference wasn't the wind—it was whether they knew how to position their sails. As I reflected on that moment, I couldn't help but think about the Holy Spirit. One of the most common biblical pictures of the Holy Spirit is wind. Throughout Scripture, God is

Summer is almost here in Champaign-Urbana, which means there are pools going up in backyards across the area. Especially if you grew up here, you know there's a trick to those above-ground pools. You get a few people walking the same direction around the perimeter, and at first it's slow — you're pushing against still water, making your own current from nothing. But then someone else jumps in behind you. Then another. And before long you're not really swimming at all. The wa

We live in a world full of blinking lights. Everywhere we turn, there are things competing for our focus—notifications, opinions, temptations, fears, distractions, comparisons, and endless noise. If we’re not careful, the things that grab our attention can slowly begin shaping the direction of our lives. In Hebrews 12, the writer gives us a picture of faith as a race. And in the middle of that picture, he gives us this instruction: “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” Not casually glanc

Carl Bushby made a bet in a pub in 1998. He was 29, at the southern tip of South America, and someone asked whether it was still possible to walk around the world — no planes, no motors, no shortcuts. Carl said yes. So he flew home, then flew back to that same spot, and started walking north. They estimated it would take 12 to 13 years. He's been walking for 27. Here's what stops you when you dig into the story. Of those 27 years, Carl has spent 13 of them actually walking. T

We’re all running a race. Hebrews 12 says, “Let us run with endurance the race set before us.” And if you’re going to run well, you have to deal with what’s holding you back. Hebrews names two things: weights and sin. Both matter. Weights slow you down. But sin does more than slow you down—it entangles you, trips you up, and can stop you in your tracks. That’s the difference. Weights make the race harder. Sin can take you out of the race entirely. So if we’re goi

What if the thing slowing you down isn’t sin… but weight? Not everything that starts with you is meant to finish with you. NASA recently launched Artemis II. It weighed 5.7 million pounds at takeoff. But just minutes into flight, it shed 99% of its weight. The rest of the mission? Accomplished with 1%. That’ll preach! Because if you want to go far, you have to learn how to travel light. Hebrews 12 says it like this: “Lay aside every weight… and the sin that so easily entangle

Healing the Source, Not Just the Symptoms By Pastor Ricky Faith has a rhythm to it. It moves. It stretches. It deepens. It doesn’t stay static, and if you’ve walked with Jesus for any length of time, you’ve probably felt that. There are seasons where God feels especially near, where His word comes alive, where something clicks again in your heart. That’s usually where it starts. A fresh recognition of who God is. Not just knowing facts about Him. Not just agreeing with truth