Pastor Eve Mercie

Sunday is the day the resurrection happened, and that fact has never stopped being significant. The early church did not gather on Sunday because it was convenient. They gathered on the first day of the week because that was the morning the tomb was found empty, the morning that changed every other morning that would … Read more

Being stolen from is not only a financial event. It is a violation. Something that was yours, that you worked for, that you trusted would be there, was taken by someone who decided their want was more important than your right. The anger that follows is legitimate. The sense of violation is accurate. What was … Read more

The people closest to you are shaping you in ways you may not be tracking. This is not a warning that requires a dramatic event to be true. It operates quietly, through the accumulation of conversations, through the standards that become normalized in your circle, through the habits that are modeled and imitated, through the … Read more

Before going further, one clarification is essential: this post addresses a specific version of predestination, not the word itself. The word predestination appears in Scripture. Romans 8:29–30 uses it. Ephesians 1:5 uses it. No serious reader of the Bible disputes that. What this post addresses is the Calvinist doctrine of double predestination: the idea that … Read more

Family problems are not a sign that something has gone uniquely wrong in your household. They are evidence that you live with real people. The Bible’s families were not sanitized. Abraham lied about his wife twice. Isaac played favorites between his sons, and the favoritism fractured the family for decades. Jacob deceived his father and … Read more

Betrayal is different from other kinds of pain because of who delivers it. An enemy can wound you. A stranger can harm you. But betrayal requires proximity. It requires trust that was extended, time that was invested, a relationship that was built. The person who betrays you had access that only you gave them. That … Read more

Some of the most painful places a person can be are inside their own family. The expectation attached to family makes the toxicity harder to name and harder to address. You are supposed to love these people. You share history, blood, holidays, and a story that predates your memory. When the people who were supposed … Read more

The idea of sevenfold restoration comes from one of the least flattering contexts in Scripture. Proverbs 6:30–31 describes a thief caught stealing food because he was hungry. Even in that case, Scripture says he must restore sevenfold. The law built radical generosity into the consequence for theft. The one who was caught taking was required … Read more

The sparrow is the least impressive bird in the market. When Jesus chose the sparrow to illustrate God’s care, he picked it precisely because of how little it was worth. Two sparrows sold for a penny. Five for two pennies. The market price was so low that the fifth sparrow was essentially thrown in for … Read more

Emotional exhaustion is not a spiritual failure. It is a human experience that the Bible addresses with more honesty than most people expect. Elijah had just called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, defeated 450 prophets of Baal, and outrun a chariot. Then one threatening message from Jezebel sent him into the wilderness, under … Read more