Welcome to Calvary Church with Skip Heitzik. We're so glad you joined us today. We've heard

and even repeated catchy band-aid phrases that seem comforting and empowering. Phrases like

God helps those who help themselves. Speak your truth. Follow your heart. But did you know

the Bible doesn't say any of that? In this study, we'll turn to Scripture to expose commonly repeated misconceptions

and find freedom and true power in the life-changing truth of God's Word.

Would you turn in your Bibles, please, to the book of Psalms, Psalm 144, Psalm 144. As you're turning there,

I want to give you a reminder that tomorrow we honor veterans. Tomorrow is Veterans Day.

And if you don't mind, if you served in any of our military armed forces, any of the branches of our military,

if you're a veteran, would you just please stand for a minute so we can acknowledge you?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

If we realize that you signed up for difficult task, but you stood in the gap, thank you

for serving our country and ensuring that we are able to enjoy the freedoms that we do.

We don't take it for granted, and we thank you for your service. We are in Psalm 144,

a less familiar psalm to a lot of us, but something that I think we'll enjoy together. So back in

1776, July 4th, 1776, 13 American colonies, now free from British rule, signed

onto a document called the Declaration of Independence that says, we hold these truths to be

self-evident that all men were created equal.

They are endowed by their creator with

certain inalienable rights among these are life, liberty, and finish it, the pursuit of happiness.

So our fathers understood that there's a God in heaven who enables us to have life, liberty, and to pursue

happiness. So the question is, does God want to make you happy? And I will just say that is a

complicated question. Because there's a lot of answers people give to that, and many of them are

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