Everyone seems to be trying to find rest today. Our busy schedules and the stress that comes with them has us longing for a break. We look to vacations, hobbies, and days off to bring relief, but ultimately they don't solve our problem. How can we find the rest God intended us to find, and what would change about our lives if we could find it?

Few stories play a more important role in the Bible than the exodus. Not only is it the story of God delivering his people from slavery in Egypt, but it also becomes the primary way God's people speak of their future salvation. What does the exodus have to teach us about our relationship with Jesus?

The story of the Bible is the story of God working to bring sinful humanity back into a relationship with Him. One of the key characters in that story is Abraham. As we're told in Genesis 12, God will work through Abraham and his family to eventually bring blessing to the entire world. How does he do that? Ultimately, one of Abraham's descendants, Jesus, comes to rescue us and save us from our sins.

It's easy to feel like God is distant from us. Often, we think he's playing a game of spiritual hide and seek with humanity. Why doesn't God show himself to us? Why doesn't he speak to us? If he's real and he wants us to know him, why does he make it so hard? The reality is, God has revealed himself, and he's been doing this for thousands of years. The perfect picture we have of what God is like is Jesus, and for believers today, we discover Jesus within the pages of the Bible. As we begin our new series, God's Big Picture, we're encouraged to give ourselves to the study of God's word, not because of what we discover in its pages, but because of who we discover in its pages.

When life is going well, it's easy to think we have a good understanding of who we are. However, it's usually when life gets difficult that our faith and character are really revealed. God allows his people to experience testing throughout scripture to strengthen and solidify their faith. In those moments, we can be tempted to run from God, but those are the exact moments when our trust in God is able to grow.

Song of Solomon gives us a picture of what marriage can be. In this chapter, our couple has reached old age and they are still in love. How did they cultivate friendship and intimacy over a life time? What empowered them to pursue one another even when things were difficult? Most importantly, what does God's love for us teach us about how we can love our spouses well?

Sexual intimacy with a spouse is a good God-given thing meant to promote oneness. This oneness is God's desire for all marriages. However, there are plenty of things that can work against that unity and connection for a husband and wife. What should we be on the look out for, and how can we work toward experiencing the kind of relationship God wants us to have?