Sermon Notes

Sermon notes help retain key points.

Pastor Dan Waters November 16, 2025
Shared a message with us from Romans 11:11-32. We started out reading Revelation 3:10, Because
you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the
whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. There will be a time of testing, but the church will not go
through it. The tribulation will be a focused persecution of the Jews. Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like
it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. ~ Jeremiah 30:7 “That day” refers to a seven-
year picture, and Jacob refers to the father of the Jews. The tribulation will be terrible for the Jews, lots of persecution,
even worse than what Hitler did. Satan hates the Jews because God loves them. Nations of the world will gather
against Jerusalem. “Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; my determination
is to gather the nations to my assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all my fierce anger; all
the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. ~ Zephaniah 3:8 No one wants to have to go through this!
We looked at Revelation 19:15-20, which is talking about Jesus. In verse 15, God is angry. Jesus will now set up His
kingdom. And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you
shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. ~ Ezekiel 20:43 The
Jews are finally going to realize what they did by killing Jesus. We looked at Romans 11:26, which is an important verse.
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away
ungodliness from Jacob” After this the Jews will be a blessing to the whole world! Read Zechariah 8:22-23. “In those
days” is referring to future days. If you are not saved, you are not going to heaven. Talk to someone today if you have
questions about being saved, it is not too late!

Eric Becker October 26, 2025
Eric spoke on the Beatitudes, from Matthew 4:23 – 5:12. The beatitudes are also in Luke, starting in 5:17. If you only read Luke, you get the feeling Jesus will bless you if something bad happens to you. In Luke we think of the blessings in earthly realms, but it says blessed in the “poor in spirit”, a heavenly realm, not earthly. Spiritually poor means needing, not lacking, a closer relationship with Christ. Each beatitude is calling each of us. Poor means constantly striving, wanting to grow closer, see Psalm 84:2. We are never as close as we need to be, we should also strive to be closer. All the beatitudes are attributes that we should always be wanting more of. The first beatitude sets the basis for the next seven. We should forever mourn the death of Christ, look at John 16:22. The meek beatitude means not outgoing or having to be noticed, or humble. We looked at Matthew6:5 – 8. Hungering and thirsting for
righteousness is about how we should always be hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Regarding the merciful beatitude, we need to think about if we show grace, compassion and forgiveness. Read Romans 12:6 – 9. The beatitude on being pure of heart is talking about seeing God. Pure of heart is because of our relationship with Christ, and what He does for us. We looked at 1 Timothy 1. Peacemakers. We are called to be peacemakers, in our families or whoever we deal with. See James 3:18. Being persecuted is not only talking about death. Do you profess your faith even if you will lose a relationship, or lose something earthly? Do you have enough faith to put yourself out there? The beatitudes are like a recipe for what we are called to be. What should I look like if I have a relationship with Christ? The beatitudes canbe our recipe.

Pastor Dan Waters October 19, 2025
Shared with us from Romans 10:14-21, God, the Jews, the Gentiles, the Future. There is so much stress in the world, and people are turning to yoga, meditation or other ways they think will help, but we need to turn to the Bible. We need to have our feet planted firmly, so we can stand. But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ~ John 20:21 We have already been sent, if we are a Christian. Ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities around us. 
Pastor Dan gave us an assignment, which is to give someone the Gospel this week. We are told to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, in Mark 16:15. Why do people need to hear the Gospel? Because there is a heaven and hell, and everyone is going to one of those two places, forever!
Philippians 1:21 is the purpose in life. If we really believe, we will obey. We need to be faithful to God, whether others
listen or not. Isaiah and Jeremiah are examples of men who were faithful, amongst people who were not. John 17:17
tells us the word is truth, and that is why it is important to read the Bible. If we read our Bibles, we will grow up,
spiritually. We must diligently seek Him, see Hebrews 11:6. People are without excuse, God has shown Himself to all in some way, read Romans 1:20. God made the first move, by reaching out to the Gentiles. God demands that we get
saved, love Him with all our heart, and obey Him. Romans 9:3 is hard for us to understand, yet Jesus did that for us!
Read Romans 11 for Pastor Dan’s next message in his series on Romans, which will be on November 16th. Have you
received Jesus as your savior? If so, will you serve Him? Will you tell others about Him?

Mike Prom September 7, 2025
shared with us from Ephesians 4:29 – 5:2. We need to appreciate people and thank them for what they have done for us, or how they impacted us, before they die. Today’s Scripture mentions unwholesome talk. What is “unwholesome”? It is foul talk, sarcasm, racial slurs, making fools out of people, and other unkind things we sometimes say. Are we building people up or tearing them down with our words? Use talk that is good and helpful to others. Edify means to build up. Our words must improve a person. When I am talking to someone about someone else, my speech should build up the person being talked about, or do not say it! We need to ask ourselves if whatever we say is completely truthful and honest, do not exaggerate things. We looked at James 3:3-6, which also talks about the tongue. Everything we say to someone should draw them closer to Jesus. People, especially young people, need to know we believe in them. We are all leaders because we all have influence over others. Be truthful though, do not use “fluff” to build someone up. We can impact others with our words. As leaders, we need to be known more for what we stand for rather than what we are against. We should be standing for Jesus. We need to be compassionate and sympathetic to others, which is following Jesus’s example. Have you told someone, before they died, that they made an impact on you? Are your words building up or tearing others down? If you build up someone, you will open the door and be able to share Jesus with them.

Pastor Dan Waters August 17, 2025
It’s Getting Closer...There are two kinds of people in the world, saved and unsaved. Stop trusting in yourself to be saved, you are not good enough. You need Jesus and His sacrifice. If you are saved, then truly live for Him. There are many who do not think they need God, read Job 21:14-15 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8 for more examples of those types of people. Once you become a Christian though, you need to grow, to become more and more like Christ. We will all be judged on what we do as an individual. Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that God is seeking people, but they ignore Him. Pastor Dan gave us five motivating factors to serve God, business motivation, love motivation, obligation motivation, fear motivation and future rewards motivation. If we are obligated by business, we will minister to the saints and God is “obligated” to remember what we have done, read Hebrews 6:10. Love motivation goes with obedience, and our actions speak louder than words. See John 14:15, 1 John 5:2 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1. The obligation motivation means you pay your debts, and we are in debt to Jesus, look at Romans 13:8. The fear motivation can keep us from doing evil and can keep us doing the right thing, look up Ecclesiastes 12:13. The final motivation is huge, future rewards. In the future, on judgement day, it will be obvious who served God. Read Malachi 3:16-18 for an explanation on that. Pray and ask God how you can serve Him, or ask your church elders. Satan likes to remind you of your past and make you feel guilty, do not go there. It hinders you in the present and in the future. Do the things which will gain you eternal rewards, God deserves our best.

Pastor Kevin Korb August 10,2025
A few months ago, Kevin shared a message with us and he used an acronym of PIES. This week he went more in depth about the I, intercession. Intercession means to petition for someone, to intercede, to go to bat for them, or to advocate for them. This is hard to do because we are naturally self-centered. Interceding for someone is a part of love, you are choosing to do something that benefits someone else. When reading Ephesians 6:10 – 18, we realize we are not living in a blissful world of peace, this is spiritual warfare. We have an enemy that wants to trip us up, and the closer we get to God the more the enemy works. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. ~ Ephesians 6:18 Do we take this verse seriously? We are ready to pray for people’s health or when there is a death in the family, which we should be praying for those situations. But do we pray for others that are doing fine? Paul tells us to pray for all the saints. We need to take the ministry of intercession seriously. In John 17, Jesus intercedes for His disciples and future believers. Ephesians 1:15 – 17 wants us to see life the way God intended. Are we encouraged in hope or sinking in our circumstances? God wants us to live in
hope! We should pray for ourselves, but also for others. Jesus is our greatest role model in prayer, and we learn in Romans 8:34 that He is going to bat for us. Look at Paul’s and Jesus’s prayers, and pray for someone else that way. God is listening, He tells us, “Come to me.” He wants to hear from us! You do not even have to know someone well to pray for them, we are all facing some of the same issues. We all need to be made holier, pray for that!

Pastor Dan Waters August 3, 2025
The message shared with us was called It’s Coming... We looked at several passages, but he came back to 2 Corinthians 5:10 multiple times. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. We need to be looking at the Word, and actually “seeing” the Word. There is a difference between looking and seeing, we all look, but do you really see? Meditation and prayer have no power. It depends on what you meditate on and who you pray to, that is where the power is. Spend some time in your Bible, look at it and see it. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved ~ Acts 2:21 This is a good verse to spend some time meditating on. Part of meditating on a verse involves chewing on it, questioning it, and doing it! Read 2 Kings 4. While meditating on that, some things you could think about are: Did she wish she had borrowed more vessels? Did she wish she had worked harder earlier? What were the consequences? What are our consequences for serving or not serving the Lord? Look at Mark 4:19, riches promise more than they fulfill. What do we spend our time thinking about? Do we think about the fun things we want to do or do we think about how we can serve God? Go back to our opening verse in 2 Corinthians and “chew on that for a while”! Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get started. Will our rewards be worth our sacrifice? Will
our rewards be temporary or permanent? If this is true, how zealously should we live? Why are some of Jesus’ last words about the rewards He is bringing with Him? (Rev 22:12) If our only motive is to get rewards, what does that say about the object of our love? What do we really believe about 2 Corinthians 5:10 based on how we have lived so far in 2025? We will continue with these thoughts in two weeks, August 17th, which also happens to be our church picnic!.

Pastor Kurt Witzig. July 27,2025
Lost and Not Found – The Rich Young Ruler, from Luke 18:18 -27, was our message on Sunday, from Luke
18:15 – 17 is the context for today’s message. Rabbis had no time for children, but Jesus had a different view point. Their thought process was about to be turned upside down, as can ours sometimes! It is hard when we realize we were wrong. The kingdom of God is made up of people like children. Three characteristics of children is they have humility, they are trusting, and they accept authority. Our humility is needing to see ourselves as an undeserving sinner, we need to put our faith or trust in Christ as our savior, and our acceptance of authority is recognizing the Word of God as being true. We do not want to hang onto false doctrine or baggage; we need to keep faith simple. Ephesians 2:8 – 9 and Romans 11:6a goes against the false belief of works getting us to heaven. The Pharisees believed that being rich was a sign of being spiritual. Being on the wrong side of an issue can hinder our faith. In Luke 18:18, they knew they were lacking something, and lacking assurance of salvation. The rich young ruler is not missing anything, he already knows
the commandments. Romans 13:9 – 10 is important to remember, and the rich young ruler had trouble with this. If we have one lapse in the ten commandments, we have broken the whole law, according to James 2:10. Self-deception is not pretty, and the young ruler is deceiving himself. Luke 18:22 tells us that Jesus still loved him, though! Jesus loves the sinner, and it is never too late for us! The young ruler still thinks that his wealth will get him to heaven. He needs to see God for who He really is. The ruler is lacking love, he does not want to love his neighbor as himself, he loves his wealth. Wealth is no basis for spiritual acceptance, though. The young ruler has no child like faith, he is an outwardly good ruler, but not inwardly. It is impossible to get into heaven trusting in yourself or your riches. You have to have a mindset of children to be saved. Let the Lord sweep away your baggage if you are holding onto a false view.

Pastor Dan Waters. July 20, 2025
All for One and One for All?  We hope for great unity in the body of Christ, but we also know that
unity is elusive. Read John 17, and think about the things Jesus did not pray for. He prays for those that would believe
and be saved, that they would all be one (unity), we would be one with the Father and the Son, He wants us to
experience rich unity, He prayed for us to be with Him in heaven, and He prays that we would experience the
consequences of unity. Zephaniah 3:9 is speaking of a future time, but mentions that we would serve Him shoulder to
shoulder. That is unity! Why don’t we always have unity? The answer can be found in Philippians 2:2-3 and in James
4:1. Our own selfishness is why we do not always have unity. The problem does not always come from someone else,
the problem may come from you! You may have to leave a church over a real doctrinal issue, but do not let the color of
the carpeting or where you eat lunch at cause problems. Hebrews 13:17 tells us to obey those who rule over you, so
play follow the leader. Paul did not wait around for a vision, he made a decision and went with it, until the Holy Spirit
said, “Nope”. We need to follow Paul’s example. We will be rewarded for our works, according to Revelation 22:12 and
Isaiah 3:10. Jeremiah 17:10 says that the Lord searches the heart and tests the mind. Our hearts and minds are
important. We know from Romans 12:5 that we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
Do not let yourself be a hangnail in the body of Christ! The issue is not about how a church, or the body of Christ,
conducts themselves, the issue is how you conduct yourself and still be like minded! We want to be His pleasure today!

Pastor Kurt Witzig July 13, 2025
Shared a mesage of Lost and Found: The Story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1 – 10, was shared with us by . Three years of public
ministry is coming to an end for Jesus, and very few people realized that He is the Messiah. Whenever we see the word,
“Behold”, we need to sit up and take a look! The name Zacchaeus means pure or innocent. Zacchaeus was a wealthy
chief tax collector, and probably had other tax collectors under him. Because of this, he would not have been allowed in
a synagogue or to feast in a fellow Jew’s home. Despite these things, Zacchaeus wanted to know more about Jesus, he
was motivated and determined in his desire to know Jesus. We need to keep our eyes and ears open to our
determination to know Jesus. Zacchaeus was hiding in a sycamore tree; he was used to being ignored and unnoticed.
Jesus knew he was there though, he stopped, looked up, and called out to Zacchaeus by name! No one is invisible to the
Lord, He sees us and knows our names! Jesus is going after someone that everyone else ignores. The crowd is very
critical of tax collectors and sinners; we also categorize people. Jesus did not tell Zacchaeus to clean up his act and then
I will come to your house for dinner. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus accepted as he was, he was extending grace. In Luke
19:8, Zacchaeus is willing to pay full restoration, as they were told to do in Numbers 5:7. Zacchaeus is probably giving
away most of his money, he has a new perspective and is full of joy. This is a response of the heart, on Zacchaeus’s part,
he has a connection with his creator! All Christians should be full of joy! It states in Luke 19:9 that today salvation
comes...that means there was a yesterday when he was not saved. We all have a today and a yesterday. You may not
remember the exact date and time of your “today”, but you need to know you are saved! We are all sinners and need a
day of salvation. Zacchaeus was lost, and now he is found! We can learn from Zacchaeus. Today is a good day to be
saved. Why wait? If you are saved, today is a great day to learn more about Jesus! Read Ephesians 2:8 – 9 and Titus
3:8. Let’s all get into the house of God, let’s be learning, we all have a reason to live! In two weeks, Kurt will share Lost
and Not Found with us.

Pastor Dan Waters July 6, 2025
shared a message called, “The God of Peace”. John 14:27 talks about peace in our heart, the part of
us that only God and we know. John 16:33 talks about inner peace, not salvation peace. He promised us we would have
tribulation; we have to have that to experience His peace. We have peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ.
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7 The peace spoke about in Luke 7:50 is in past tense. If you were in church last
Sunday, that is already done, it is in the past, just like our peace in Luke 7:50. Peace also comes from the Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,... Galatians 5:22 There are a few different kinds of peace, saving peace,
sanctifying peace, and chastening peace. You can read about saving peace in Romans 5:1. Sanctifying peace is written
about in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. This is also a verse we can pray, but not many do. Chastening peace is mentioned in
Hebrews 12:11. No chastening is enjoyable in the present, but when you look back at it, you may understand it! The
Peace Process is believing, asking, meditating, accepting, and pursuing. Isaiah 26:3 is a good verse to meditate on. You
do not need a devotion, make your own! The accepting part of the peace process is accepting our circumstances, but
not your sin. See Mark 13:7. All Christians should be peace makers, or pursuing peace, read Matthew 5:9. Think to
yourself what did I give to church, not what did you get out of church. Some examples of people who experienced
peace, despite their circumstances, are Joseph, David, Mary and Stephen. Our peace depends on God, not our
circumstances. Joseph learned peace over many injustices. God does not always deliver His people from pain and
suffering, but as a Christian, we will live with Christ forever and ever. Our message ended with a few words from It Is
Well with My Soul, by Horatio Spafford.
“When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll...
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Kevin Korb June 29, 2025
Shared a message with us, via Zoom. A few months ago, Kevin’s message used an acronym, PIES. This week
he went deeper into the “encourage” part of his PIES. 1 Peter tells us that we are all royal priests, we can all represent
Christ, and we should all be proclaiming His excellence. We are called out to encourage and urge one another to
faithfulness, to comfort, console and exhort one another. To exhort means to urge a person to act and think in a godly
way, this may sometimes involve correction. The book of Hebrews was written to people who were discouraged, and
they were encouraged to remain steadfast in their faith to Christ. Our job is to encourage one another. In order to
encourage each other, we have to be rubbing shoulders, or meeting together. You will be encouraged if you go to
church or attend a Bible study. The writer of Hebrews is encouraging us and the Hebrews to not turn away from Christ.
How do we encourage one another? By using God’s truth! Kevin challenged us to ask God how we can be a comforter,
or an encourager, to someone.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us
consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as
is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~
Hebrews 10:23 - 25
“Do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me.” ~ John 14:1.

Eric Becker June 22, 2025
shared a message with us about five barriers that keep us from feeling God’s love. Admiration goes one way with celebrities, we know who they are, but they have no idea who we are. For some people, it is the same way with Christ. They love Christ, but do not feel or recognize God’s love coming back to them. There is a barrier there, they do not feel they are special enough or that they deserve God’s reciprocal love. Some wonder who am I that I should be loved by God. Barrier #1 could be caused by you failing at something over and over and over, and feeling you are not worth the effort for Him to love you. Read Luke 12:1 – 7, God will not forget the sparrows and He will not forget you.You are worth the effort!

Barrier #2 could be that you feel as if you do not belong in the family of believers, you feel out of place in a community of believers. Read Ephesians 2:14 – 18, we all belong in His family!

Barrier #3 could be that you feel your sin is too great, or that you are too far gone, with too many things in your past. Read Mark 2:13 – 17, Jesus hung out and shared meals with sinners!

Barrier #4 could be that you just do not feel close enough to God, or feel that His love has fallen away and your relationship with Him has eroded. Read John 14:18 – 23, your love for Jesus is enough. He will reciprocate that love!

Barrier #5 could be that you feel defeated and do not think that God hears you. Read Psalm 34:1 – 18, the defeated need to hear this promise from God. You are not the first to be defeated. God’s power is greater than our feelings, God’s power is the reality! If you are not feeling communal with God, you are the barrier, notGod. Read 1 John 3:18 – 20 and Romans 8:38 for more proof of God’s love for us. It does not matter how we feel, He isalways with us, always has been, and always will be.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can
separate us from God’s love". ~ Romans 8:38

Pastor Dan Waters June 1, 2025
shared with us on Sunday, Warning! Perilous Times! Do not drift in your life with Christ. Do not become someone who used to be active in church. Do not become self-centered, or like a Burger King Christian – have it your way. Luke 6:35 tells us But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return... Ephesians 2:3 teaches us that our thought life counts. Authority is missing in our society today, but we need to honor people in authority. Read 2 peter 2:10. Jesus has forgiven us, so press forward, do not listen to Satan, see 2 Corinthians 5:15. 1 John 1:9 let’s us know that He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. Read Colossians 3:1-2 to see what you should do when you find yourself focusing on your past faults. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Christ did that for us, and we need to do that for others. What a great verse to remind us how to act in our relationships with others. We looked at the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12. Do not be always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:7 Do not replace religious curiosity for a relationship reality with Christ. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:16 That may sound gross, but God said it! When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Will He find you living the faith? Will you be ready when He comes? Sample text. Click to select the Text Element.

Pastor Kurt Witzig May 11, 2025
 He shared with us from Psalm 131, Humble and Hopeful. Mom is the name of God on the lips of small children.
Home is the place where relationships are taught. We learn to build character, we find stability in the home, we shapeour identity, we learn to provide mutual care in the home, we create good memories and prepare for eternity. Family is about relationships, and we are all created for that. Our roots in relationships began in Genesis 1 and 2. In Psalm 131:1-2a we talked about humility of the mind, or accepting ourselves are we are, the simplicity of the heart, and that faith is an effort. We have to choose to set our mind on things above. Verse 2b is an illustration of contentment. There is a mother-child comparison in this verse. David is a king, yet relates, or compares, himself to a weaned child. How did David calm and quiet his soul? Look at Philippians 4:11-13. We need to keep our focus on God to have a relationship with Him, not on everything else, like an unruly child. Verse 3 is a model of hope. Hope springs now and eternal. We were created to have a relationship with God and know His love. Many other verses you can look up about how David quieted his soul, or how you can quiet your soul: Psalm 43:5, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 63:3-5, Psalm 94:17-19, Psalm 103:1-5, Psalm 138:3, Mark 14:34 and 1 Samuel 30:6.

Andy Soto May 4, 2025
He finished up his sermon series in Romans, covering Romans 9:30 – 10:21. If we do not deal with the tough
issues in a relationship, we will miss out on the fruit at the other end. We need to deal with the tough issues in Romans, in order to get to the fruit! Paul had a heart for his people, the Jews. They are not understanding, or think the Word of God has failed. Paul is trying to tell them that God has not failed. God’s people are rejecting the Messiah, but His Word has not failed. God also does not base His favor on us because of our blood line, it is strictly by our faith. We know from Romans 9:24 that both Jews and Gentiles have been chosen. We learn from Romans 10:2 – 3 that if you have zeal, but no knowledge, it can be a dangerous thing. Paul talks about this again in Galatians 1:13 – 14. If we want righteousness, we need Christ, and God has made us righteous by faith. That should be a very freeing feeling for us. We looked at Galatians 6:13 – 16, Romans 2:28, Colossians 2:11, Ephesians 2:11 and Ephesians 3:6, all referring to a spiritual act or cleansing. The gospel is not about you; it never has been and never will be! It is about God revealing Himself to His creation, declaring Himself to all of us.

Andy Soto April 27, 2025
He  continued sharing with us from Romans, finishing up the end of chapter 8 and going through chapter 9. Verse 8:31 is all God , we do not do anything for ourselves. In verse 33 we learn that no one can condemn us, the believers! That is a beautiful blessing for us! Look at verse 35, no one can separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus, this is our eternal security. Colossians 2:12 – 14 tells us that He cancelled the record of death, and forgave us of our sins. Luke 11:4 and Matthew 6:12 both speak on forgiveness, also. We learn a little about Paul in the beginning of Romans 9 when he says he would rather be cursed than have his people be cursed. Romans 9:6 is a key verse, just because you are a Jew does not make you a child of God. Our God is a sovereign God, and He can make choices. Reading further on in Romans 9, it states that God hated Esau before he was even born. How is that fair? How can He choose when to love and when to hate? The answer can be found in verse 16. Do not focus on the hatred of Esau, focus on the love of Jacob. We are all sinners and deserve hatred. He chooses who He will show mercy and compassion on. It does not depend on us but on God’s mercy. God will have mercy on who He wants and harden the hearts of those He wants. See Exodus 4 for more on that. We find more answers in Romans 9:20. Who are we to argue with God? Can a lump of clay argue with the potter? The potter has every right to do or make what he wants out of the clay. God has that same right with us! God is God, and we are not. He has the freedom to do what He wants, and He does not care what we think. We might not understand this, but we can understand that He is sovereign and in complete control. The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He guides it wherever He pleases. ~ Proverbs 21:1 Isaiah 63:17, Daniel 4:35, and several other verses all tell us that God does what He wants. His answers may not be sufficient to us, but they need to be accepted. We need to trust that God knows what He is doing. That faith is what enters us into eternity with God. Even if we do not have all the answers, we need to trust God, and give Him the place that He deserves.