When the season feels heavy and hope seems far away, this prayer helps you lift your eyes and find steady peace in the God who never lets go.

When the season feels heavy and hope seems far away, this prayer helps you lift your eyes and find steady peace in the God who never lets go.

Discover the vital role of community in faith, as biblical teachings and personal experiences reveal its purpose: to strengthen our reliance on God, not create dependence on people. Explore how true biblical community sharpens us and prepares us to stand firm in faith, even when relationships shift or disappear, by anchoring us in the unchanging truth of God.

Read Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. (Isa. 40:1–2) Reflect Most of us live relatively comfortable lives. Our houses are climate controlled; our pantries are full; we aren’t overwhelmingly concerned about foreign invasions. It can be easy to forget what real physical discomfort feels like. Yet many of us experience spiritual and psychological discomfort from the pains of the world. Whatever the source of our suffering, Isaiah has good news for us—a Comforter has come and is coming again. Whatever the source of our suffering, Isaiah has good news for us—a Comforter has come and is coming again. Today’s verses from Isaiah are a reminder of God’s goodness toward his people. God had promised Hezekiah in the previous chapter that they’d have a few more years of freedom but then God’s people would be overwhelmed by the Babylonians. God provided a glimpse of hope amid the agony and dread. He wouldn’t stop the invasion. He would, however, ensure all would be well. It was an incomplete comfort that anticipated a greater comfort to come. In our moments of greatest distress, we need someone to remind us things are going to be OK. When we don’t get the job we were hoping for, we need a friend to remind us there will be other opportunities. When medical bills pile up, we need someone to remind us we have time to work out a plan. It doesn’t take away all the distress, but it does help us endure. More significantly, when we look beyond our temporary discomforts toward our spiritual freedom in Christ, it can help us bear up under a mountain of bad news. God is for us, our sin has been pardoned, and it’s going to be alright. That is God’s message to his people in this passage. But even when words of comfort feel like a blanket that doesn’t quite cover our toes, the incomplete comfort is a blessing because it reminds us of the greater comfort to come. Isaiah predicted judgment was coming, but he also reminded God’s people that relief from judgment would come. God doesn’t promise us an easy life, but he does promise complete renewal one day. We celebrate the King’s birth to remind us we still wait for the King’s final coming. In Christ, our sins have been pardoned, and one day, the difficulties of this life will pass away. Even when words of comfort feel like a blanket that doesn’t quite cover our toes, they remind us of the greater comfort to come. When the night is darkest and our toes are coldest, we need a reminder that this isn’t the way life is supposed to be. Christmas is that reminder. The Advent season testifies that our sins have been paid for and the best days are ahead. We already know salvation is coming, yet we won’t get the full measure of comfort until we see Christ face to face. There’s comfort in that knowledge, even as we wait for the promise’s fulfillment. Respond What burdens are you carrying this Advent season? How does it encourage you to remember that God’s complete comfort is yet to come?

When I was growing up, my family rarely ate out. Going to a restaurant was an occasional treat, but our daily diet was filled with my mom’s home-cooked meals. We were healthier for it. As Christians, God’s Word is our spiritual food, and our spiritual health is affected by how we’re fed. In Acts 2, we see that the early church flourished as believers were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, broke bread and prayed together, and attended the temple together day by day. This was how the church grew in knowledge, unity, and size. And it’s still how believers and local churches can flourish today. However, I’ve observed a concerning trend in recent years: Christians going to their local church on Sunday but devoting much more time and attention to online resources—podcasts, YouTube videos, sermons from other churches—for their spiritual nourishment. Nothing is inherently wrong with using other resources to help grow your knowledge and love for God and his people, but online resources are best used as a supplement rather than a primary source of nourishment. Our primary discipleship, through preaching and teaching, should come from the pastor and saints of the local church where we’re covenant members—our home church. Why We Need to Eat at Home Let me offer three reasons why eating at home is good for the church and the saint. 1. Gathering promotes growth. Hearing a great sermon online is just that—hearing a great sermon. Perhaps you glean some new knowledge or personal application, but you miss the communal blessing of receiving God’s Word alongside God’s people. When you sit under your pastor’s teaching while gathered with the saints at your local church, you have the opportunity to discuss, apply, and collectively use the preached Word as a tool for discipling one another. Online resources are best used as a supplement rather than a primary source of nourishment. As Hebrews 10:24–25 exhorts us, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Growth happens most profoundly when saints gather regularly, sitting under teaching from the man of God assigned to their local flock, serving together, waging war against sin together, and praying together. Where this is lacking, spiritual malnutrition is often present. 2. Comparison can breed discontent. The online community is full of pastors and Bible teachers with all manner of personalities and teaching styles. Some are charming, enthusiastic, and relatable—perhaps all the things you wish your pastor was. Or maybe that describes your pastor, but you prefer teachers who are academic, calm, and steady. I’m not saying we should never listen to other teachers. But when we spend a lot of time listening to a curated selection of pastors online, we can begin to compare our pastor to them and grow discontent with our overseer—the one God has given spiritual authority over us (1 Pet. 5:1–3) and the one who must give account for our souls (Heb. 13:17). Discontentment among church members can make our pastor’s shepherding of us a burden, not a joy as it’s meant to be. And as Hebrews 13:17 points out, “that would be of no advantage to [us].” 3. Unity is easily lost. Ephesians 4:3 calls us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (NIV). This verse implies unity can be lost without intentional effort. Imagine I’m heavily influenced by a particular pastor on YouTube, other members are seeking discipleship from a popular Instagram influencer, and still others are relying on a heavy diet of podcasts. We could come to identify more with an online community united around a particular personality or aspect of doctrine and practice than with the embodied community in our local church. We may be in danger of becoming like the quarreling Corinthian church that Paul admonished because some identified as followers of Paul, others of Apollos, and still others of Cephas (1 Cor. 1:12–13). Ultimately, we follow Christ and are united with other believers under his lordship. But one way we can guard the unity of our local body is by devoting our time and attention to following our pastor as he follows Christ, rather than spending a lot of time following online teachers. How We Can Eat at Home We’re free to enjoy the teaching gifts of others, but wisdom calls for discretion and moderation. Here are a few practical ways we can make our local churches our primary place of spiritual development. 1. Listen attentively to your pastor’s teaching on Sunday and again during the week. Replay your pastor’s sermon, asking the Holy Spirit to help you understand and apply it at a deeper level. Talk about it with fellow church members and perhaps even reach out to your pastor with questions and encouragement. 2. Take advantage of other opportunities to sit under teaching in your local church outside the weekly worship service. For example, many churches gather for Sunday school classes, a midweek Bible study or prayer meeting, and small groups. 3. If you listen to online sermons or podcasts, make sure the teacher is theologically sound so the teaching will supplement your church’s discipleship rather than detract from it. If you need help identifying likeminded pastors and teachers to stream, ask your pastor or elders for recommendations. We’re free to enjoy the teaching gifts of others, but wisdom calls for discretion and moderation. Saints, the local church is the most important institution on the planet. Technology has given us access to vast resources that can be a blessing. But let’s not forget that God’s primary provision for our spiritual growth is found in our local church. Commit to a church—worship there, serve there, give there, and grow there. After all, there’s no place like home.