If you missed Men’s Retreat this year, you missed something special. Over the course of the weekend, we dug deep into Psalm 139 through four powerful sessions filled with testimonies, interviews, and preaching. Each session gave men the chance to ask honest questions, interact with the message, and spend meaningful time in small groups praying and reflecting together.
Psalm 139 closes with a bold prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Praying this kind of prayer can feel intimidating at first. It means inviting God to shine light into the deepest corners of our hearts. But as many of our testimonies reminded us, when we surrender to God and allow Him to lead, what follows is a joy and peace that truly surpasses understanding.
Another key theme of the retreat was the importance of community. We heard story after story of men who faced trials but found strength, encouragement, and accountability by walking with their brothers in Christ. This retreat reminded us that we were never meant to do life alone. God designed us to grow together, to sharpen one another, and to keep each other focused on the path He has set before us.
We are already looking forward to next year’s retreat, and we’d love to see you there!
Psalm 139
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 I have hatred for them, for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.