There's More to a Great S'more // Pastor Amelia Houdek

You’d think making a s’more is simple. Graham cracker. Marshmallow. Chocolate. Done. But any seasoned camper—or chocolate connoisseur—knows: not all s’mores are created equal. A truly great s’more isn’t just tossed together. It takes intention. The right ingredients. The right timing. And especially—the right chocolate. Now, I’ll be honest. My favorite part is always the chocolate. But not just any chocolate. Not waxy, tasteless chocolate that disappears before you even notice it. I’m talking about something rich. Something deep. Something worth savoring. So let’s do that—let’s savor a piece together. (Pause to taste.) A great piece of chocolate—like great faith—asks us to slow down, to pay attention, to train our senses to notice what we might otherwise overlook. What if we approached our faith like that? Too often, we settle for spiritual candy bars—quick fixes, feel-good slogans, a verse pulled out of context. But God invites us into something deeper. Hebrews 5:14 reminds us: Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.”Faith isn’t meant to be mindless consumption. It’s meant to be cultivated—to grow into a discerning palate that can “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).And perhaps the sweetest part of that faith is what Psalm 19 offers us: “The decrees of the Lord are… sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.”So what does it look like to develop a faith that’s not just sweet—but substantial?How do we live out of the sweet promises of God, with the care and intention of someone crafting the perfect s’more?  We trust in the sweet promises of God.