College Church in Wheaton

06/18/2026

06/18/2026

Praise God! Several Christian prisoners were recently released from Eritrea’s notorious prison system. Continue to pray for the release of seven prominent church leaders. Join us on Friday at noon in the board room of College Church as we pray and praise the God who hears and answers our prayers.

06/18/2026

Righteous Are You
Psalm 119:137-144
Delight in God and His Word—in today’s Bible readings and devotional from Pastor Josh Moody
https://bit.ly/43yGG3f
It is almost a truism to say that what God does is right—but we nonetheless often question whether that truism is true in actual fact. Some of the parts of the Bible may seem to us harsh or difficult to understand. Some of what happens in this world (all of which we believe is somehow or other under God’s sovereign control) is undeniably harsh, painful, and difficult to understand.
And yet, in the words of the psalm, “Righteous are you, O LORD, and right are your rules” (119:137).
In fact, this issue of God’s “right-ness” or his “righteousness” is the key thread throughout this section of the psalm. It occurs twice in verse 137 to set the tone for the following verses. It occurs twice in verse 138 (“You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.”) Similarly, he says in verse 140, “Your promise is well tried.” It is reliable. Again in verse 142, “Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.” This has the word “righteous” appearing twice, and a similar idea has been expressed in different words when it says, “your law is true.” And then again in the concluding verse 144, “Your testimonies are righteous forever.”
Because of this, the psalmist has a certain attitude to the Bible:
He is passionate about the Bible. “My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words” (119:139).
He loves the Bible. “Your servant loves [the Bible]” (119:140).
He remembers the Bible. “I do not forget your precepts” (119:141).
He delights in the Bible. “Your commandments are my delight” (119:143).
When you trust the Bible, you are placing your life on a solid foundation. God’s Word is righteous because God is righteous. Therefore, be passionate and delight in the Bible! Love the Bible and remember the Bible! Take God at his Word and act upon what he says!

06/17/2026

If you call College Church home, our fall Foundation classes are designed to help us all to Discover Jesus, Grow in our faith and Impact the world. Foundation classes begin August 16. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4aWQVCi

06/17/2026

Your Testimonies Are Wonderful
Psalm 119:129-136
Reading the Bible—why bother?—in the Bible readings and Pastor Josh Moody’s devotional for today

Sometimes perhaps you ask yourself if it is worth getting up early or staying up late to read the Bible. When there are so many other things going on in your life, so many pressures, and such business and demands, is it really worth using your precious time to read the Bible?
Or, what makes the Bible so “wonderful” (119:129)? This section of the psalm interweaves two answers to that question, and then because of those answers, the psalmist is passionately committed to the Bible.
The two answers he interweaves are:
#1 It gives us understanding. “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (119:130). If we want to understand life, then we will read and study the Bible.
#2 It shapes our character. “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me” (119:133).
And because the Bible has this wonderful impact, the psalmist greatly desires God’s Word.
“Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them” (119:129).
“I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments” (119:131).
“Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes” (119:135).
Indeed, he is also desperate that others would also long for God’s Word as he does:
“My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law” (119:136).
Let the truth of this psalm persuade you that the Bible is indeed “wonderful,” and therefore to take the time to ask God to help you understand the Bible and to read it and have your life impacted by it.

06/16/2026

June 16:
When the Going Gets Tough
Psalm 119:121-128

It is hard when you believe that you have done what is right to still be surrounded by opposition or difficulty. And yet that is the experience of many of us at least from time to time. Why do bad things happen to good people? Part of the answer to that is that we are not really good at all. But there still seems to be a non-linear relationship between difficulty and trouble and whether someone is deserving of such difficulty and trouble.
This part of the psalm does not answer that problem, but it does show a person wrestling with the conundrum that such a non-linear association generates.
“I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors” (119:121).
So the psalmist asks for help. Have you done that about the situation you are facing? Sat on the edge of your bed, and asked God to intervene? He is real, and he does act in answer to his people’s prayers. Ask him.
“Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me” (119:122).
The psalmist then asks for some “pledge” or sign or indicator that God is for him for good. When the days are dark, it is good to ask for a light to show us the way. And when trouble comes, it is comforting when God gives us a pledge of his love through the kindness of another or a circumstance in our lives that points to his continuing and ongoing care for us despite such difficulty.
He also prays for understanding: “I am your servant; give me understanding” (119:125). He wants to grasp what is happening and why it is happening. If you are confused, why not ask God to explain to you what is going on?
He is also bold in his prayers. “It is time for the LORD to act” (119:126). Now is the time, LORD, now is the time. Do something.
And despite these difficulties, he remains confident of the truth of God’s Word. “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold” (119:127). When the going gets tough, the faithful get their Bibles out.
If you are facing some difficulty that seems incommensurate with your own personal relationship with God, then consider the words of this psalm. And ask him what this psalmist asks.
“Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me.”

06/15/2026

My Flesh Trembles for Fear of You
Psalm 119:113-120
One of the hardest things for people today to get their minds around is the negative side. We tend to appreciate the positive, the affirmation, the association with what is uplifting—and rightly so. We should emphasize hope and joy and peace and love. No doubt. But, in order to do that, we also need to resist the negative. That is, the evil, the nasty, the vicious, the anti-God and the anti-Christ, the unworthy, the vile—all the forces of darkness. In this part of the psalm, you find both the psalmist’s pursuit of God’s law, in all its beauty, but also his resistance to that which is anti-God, sinful, and likely to push him away from his relationship with God. The truth is that we need to resist the devil for him to flee from us, and we need to put to death the deeds of the sinful nature. There is a natural downgrade tendency to turn from what is right to what is not right, and the man and woman of God need to not only turn to God’s way, but also to turn away from that which stops them turning to God’s Word.
The psalmist turns away from “the double-minded” (119:113). He does not so closely associate himself with those who are not truly committed to God, those who say they are committed to God but are not (hypocrites), that it could even be said that he did “hate” that. Not in the sense of personal animosity, but in the sense of putting a clear distance between one and the other.
He wants the “evildoers” to “depart” from him (119:115).
At the same time, he “loves” God’s Word. God is his “hiding place” and his “shield” (119:114). He asks to be “upheld” according to God’s promise (119:116). He asks God to “hold me up, that I may be safe” (119:117). There is this clear commitment to the positive value and association of God’s Word.
What drives his fleeing from evil and his joint pursuit of God and his Word is one thing: the fear of God. That much undervalued core value of all the wise and godly.
“My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments” (119:120).
Fear is not a virtue that we understand. We think of fear as something like “being a wimp” or (worse) “a right response to that which is horrible.” How could we possibly be meant to “fear God”? But fear is defined by its object. In this sense, you could be said to “fear” a Van Gogh painting. You fear its artistic brilliance. You have a certain kind of trembling before it. Similarly, you might say that you “fear” the beauty of a mountain range. There is a certain awe combined to the vision of the alps. The fear of God, therefore, is the right range of awe response to the awesomeness of God.
And with such fear of God, two things will accrue: the pursuit of God’s Word and the ongoing fight against the tendency towards sin and evil.
Do you fear God?

06/14/2026

Light to Your Feet
Psalm 119:105-112
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). Perhaps the most important, and summary, verse in this whole psalm—and for your life too!
Let its truth sink deep into your mind and bring integrity and integration to your life.
Where do you go when you are looking for guidance?
The latest blog. The latest political insight from a talking head. The oldest teaching from some dead Puritan or father of the church.
The first and foundational and fullest source for all guidance is not your personal intuition or the wisdom and expertise of authority.
The first and foundational and fullest source for all guidance is THE BIBLE.
Read it. Think biblically. Use biblical categories to find answers to current problems. Don’t cede the ground to other categories or assumptions. Start with the Bible.
Shine the Bible on your path, and you will find it will give light to your feet!

06/13/2026

Walk through our doors this Sunday and discover Jesus. Summer services are at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

06/13/2026

What Makes the Bible So Special
Psalm 119:97-104

What is it that makes the Bible so special? Many different answers could be given to that. One of the clearest is found in the Coronation Oath sworn by the Queen of England in 1953:
“We present you with this Book, the most valuable thing this world affords
Here is Wisdom
Here is the royal Law
These are the lively Oracles of God.”
But as profound as those statements are, the Bible itself has words that surpass them when it describes itself. Famously, 2 Timothy 3:16 says:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
The psalm in front of us this morning, though, takes the subject from a different tack again. Here, the psalmist gives three practical reasons why he “loves God’s law.”
1. Wisdom: “Your commandment makes me wiser…” (119:98)
God’s Word is able to make you wiser than your enemies. The study of God’s Word is the way to become wise. Surely then the Bible is worth studying!
2. Holiness: “I hold back my feet from every evil way…” (119:101)
God’s Word, when combined with faith and the power of the Spirit, is able to motivate us and inspire us to become more like Christ. Surely then the Bible is worth reading!
3. Delight: “How sweet are your words to my taste…” (119:103)
God’s Word is experientially, affectionally sweet! Surely the Bible is worth meditating upon!
Therefore, read the Bible!