It may be a bit simplistic, maybe a little cliche, but isn't it true to say that life is messy? Where we like things clear, neat, tidy, smooth, so much of everyday life is confusing, disorganized, missing expectations. None of us like the mess, but we especially don't like it when it's our fault. Is there much worse than when you do something foolish or boneheaded and make a mess of things. Not just like you lost your car keys, but something with serious consequences – life-altering and unwanted. From this passage, we'll explore the good news of why we can have hope in the midst of our mistakes, even the big ones: no mistake is too big for God's grace to redeem.

Sometimes the most difficult stories can lead us to the most powerful truths. This account of a man named Achan is one of those stories. Achan was a man who carried something we all can understand: a mistake, a failure, that he kept hidden. Psychologists tell us that shameful secrets and unspoken guilt do incredible damage to our whole person. But how could we ever bring what is in the dark, bring what is hidden, out into the open? Through Achan's story, we will see how our gracious and redeeming God can turn our deepest troubles into a door of hope.

A word in our cultural moment that describes a goal or desire we all share is success. It's a word that captures so many things: accomplishment, victory, fruitfulness. When we plan out our lives, we envision success. When we come up against challenges, we long for success. But what is true success? And how can we attain it? Even though the word itself doesn't appear much in the Bible, the theme of, the essence of it is everywhere. In this well-known story of the Israelites and the city of Jericho, at the center of it is a struggle, a campaign, and the hope for victory or success. Through this story, God wants to show us that He wants to give us true success in our lives. The catch? We have to keep in step with Him.