If you were standing in the middle of a violent thunderstorm, you wouldn't try to dodge the raindrops or yell at the clouds. You would look for shelter. You would look for something strong enough to take the hit for you. Yesterday, we faced the storm of God's justice, the reality that, as "pests" in His garden, we owe a debt we cannot pay. But today, we are going to discover the Shelter. We are going to look at the single greatest miracle in history: a moment where the Gardener didn't just forgive the pest, but actually took the pest's place.

We live in a culture that loves the idea of a loving God but hates the idea of a judging God. We often ask, "If God is so good, why doesn't He just forgive everyone? Why all this talk of wrath and judgment?" But think about that for a moment. If you hired a gardener to care for your prize roses, and he watched a swarm of pests eating them leaf by leaf, would you call him a "good" gardener if he just smiled and let it happen? No. You would fire him. A good gardener protects his garden. And that brings us to a terrifying realization: If God is truly good, He must deal with the pests. And if we are the pests... what does that mean for us?

We have a tendency to categorize people, don't we? We divide the world into "good" people and "bad" people. We look at the person who pays their taxes, volunteers, and speaks politely, and we say, "That is a good person." Then we look at the person whose life is a mess, maybe they are battling addiction, or they’ve made terrible choices, and we think, "That is a bad person." But what if I told you that in the eyes of the Gardener, that distinction doesn't exist? What if the "good" person and the "bad" person are exactly the same distance from the miracle they need? Today, we are going to look at two powerful words that level the playing field for every single one of us.

Here is a hard question to start your day: When you look at the world around you, do you see yourself as the victim of its brokenness, or a contributor to it? We all like to think of ourselves as the flowers in the garden of life: adding beauty, color, and value. But what if the true reality is something far less flattering? What if, in the eyes of the One who owns the garden, we aren’t the flowers at all? What if we are the pests? Today, we are going to confront a desperate reality about our nature that we usually try to ignore, and we’ll discover why "trying harder" to be good is a strategy doomed to fail.

Have you ever felt the deep frustration of trying to connect with your spouse, but it feels like you are speaking completely different languages? As a wife, do you crave a word of affirmation, but you get silence. As a husband you crave physical closeness, but you feel emotional distance. You start to wonder, Why is this so hard? Is something wrong with us? But what if I told you that this friction isn't a mistake? What if the secret to the deepest, most satisfying intimacy isn't finding someone just like you, but learning a completely new way to love: one that requires sacrifice? Today, we’re going to find out how to break the stalemate of selfishness and enter the joy of sacrificial service.

"What's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours." We hear that a lot lately, don't we? In a world of prenups and separate bank accounts, we’ve turned the marriage ceremony into a business contract where we keep our resources close to our chest, just in case things don't work out. It’s a strategy born out of fear: the fear that if we give everything, we’ll end up with nothing. But today we’re looking at a different kind of economy. We’re moving beyond the "transactional, contract" marriage to discover God’s design of a covenant marriage. We’re going to see how God designed marriage not as a way to protect your own assets, but as a sacred pledge to bring your very best to the table so that your spouse never has to wonder if their needs will be met.

We live in a world where marriage and relationships are treated like transactions. We sign contracts with our spouse with an eye on the exit. We treat marriage ceremonies like transactions where we protect ourselves. Today’s culture of non-protection marriage leaves us incredibly vulnerable; where we end up standing next to someone but still feeling like we have to look over our own shoulder. It’s an exhausting way to live. But today, we’re exploring how God designed marriage not as a fragile agreement, but as a fortress. We’re moving beyond the idea of a "legal trap" to discover a sanctuary built to shield us from the "terrors of the night."

Have you ever heard the saying, "Marriage just a piece of paper." "Why do I need a certificate to prove I love someone?" In our culture, marriage is often viewed as a restriction: a legal trap that limits your freedom. But over the next five days, we’re embarking on a series called "A Sacred Wedding" to challenge that narrative. We’ll be exploring how marriage, in its divine design, isn't a cage, but a rescue that offers safety, provision, and a glimpse into the very heart of God. Today, we're looking at why a public ceremonial declaration and a "piece of paper" is actually a passport out of an isolated wilderness and into a promised land of blessing.