Bridging the Gap With Pastor Lloyd Pulley

Today on Bridging the Gap, pastor Lloyd Pulley will help us get a better understanding of who we are in Christ through a study of Second Corinthians five. Where do you find your identity these days?

When we come to Christ we're made into a new creation. The old has passed away, and those things we are not proud of have been forgotten about by God, as if they never happened!  We'll take some time to unpack that wonderful truth as we get back into Second Corinthians five with pastor Lloyd Pulley

Pastor Lloyd Pulley, has been taking us through the Book of Second Corinthians and we invite you to open your Bible or your bible App, to chapter five. Today Pastor Lloyd will discuss, among other things, what our attitudes as believers should be concerning life, death, and ultimately, eternity.

In Christ we have a glorious future to look forward to.  Pastor Lloyd Pulley believes keeping an eternal mindset is a key to living victoriously and making it through the suffering we're bound to face.  We join him today in Second Corinthians five.

Today on Bridging the Gap we take you to Second Corinthians four.  Perhaps the timing couldn't be better as you're in the middle of a trial as we speak.  Allow the Lord to minister to you and help you see God's great purpose.

Today on Bridging the Gap, pastor Lloyd Pulley will share from his own experience, and the experiences of others, and relate it to what Second Corinthians four has to say. Whether you're on the verge of quitting too soon, feeling discouraged, or are quite happy about the way things are going… I think you'll benefit a great deal from today's message.

One of the major points of Paul's teachings in Second Corinthians is that the law isn't a "how to" guide on getting to heaven - rather it shows us how impossible it is to get there on our own, and why we so desperately need a Savior. That being said, we're not to disregard the law altogether - it still serves a very important purpose in the life of every believer. We're about to see what that is today on Bridging the Gap.

In the world as we know it, we tend to measure a person's success by their credentials and what they've achieved.  But when it comes to ministry and the Christian life it's really more about what we've received - grace!  We need to realize sooner rather than later that our sufficiency comes from God.  We're in Second Corinthians chapter three today.

As believers in Christ, people should notice a fragrance coming from our lives.  And that spiritual perfume is the gospel of Christ.  It too can be well received, or rejected.  Today on Bridging the Gap we'll see how the Lord can use that fragrance in powerful ways if we're open and ready.

Today on Bridging the Gap, we begin a look at Second Corinthians chapter two, and the topic will be challenging - trying to live a life like Jesus Christ led. Practically speaking, we cannot approach the perfect life He led, but we can strive to get as close as possible, right? Forgiveness is one of the aspects of a Christian life that we really ought to emphasize. 

We're back in Second Corinthians and pastor Lloyd Pulley aims to complete chapter one today.  Fewer and fewer people these days truly believe that Jesus and the Word of God are sufficient to meet our every need.  They seem to gravitate toward secular wisdom rather than to Jesus and the Bible.

We'll be looking at chapter one of Second Corinthians, where Paul explains to his brothers and sisters in the Lord that God is our navigator and sometimes He changes our course for very good reason.  The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. 

 Today we continue a new series in Second Corinthians. There are those who think life as a Christian should be trouble free. That's certainly not the case. We're to expect suffering as we go through life, and as we'll discover today God wants to be our comforter through it all.

The life of a Christian is sure exciting! But that doesn't mean there won't be suffering. But, even in the suffering, God is faithful to provide comfort and to use the Christian's experience to be a blessing to others. And today on Bridging the Gap we'll see this shining through as we begin a brand new series in Second Corinthians.

Samuel was a prophet who saw many things take place, most notably, the up and down life of King Saul, and the adventures of a young man names David. As we end the series today, we see the final days of the life of Saul, and we can't help but reflect on a life that could have been so much more than it turned out to be.

In First Samuel chapter thirty, we see David do that very thing. This is Bridging the Gap with pastor Lloyd Pulley. If you find yourself in a precarious position, will you seek God's wisdom, or will you go it alone? 

We've been studying First Samuel. Today we come to chapter twenty-nine.  It's a low time in the life of David. When you would think things couldn't get any worse - they get worse. That's not only David's story, it is everyone's story at some point. And what David did at that time will prove to be very instructive for us - in getting through hard times.

Today, as we continue our series in First Samuel, we see a desperate Saul consulting with a medium, despite the fact he had effectively banned them from the land. It's a great example of the hole we can dig ourselves in when we turn away from God and His wisdom.

Right on the heels of success, came a season where David gave up trusting in God and took matters into his own hands.  We'll read about it in First Samuel twenty-seven today on Bridging the Gap. Pastor Lloyd Pulley will show us today where David went wrong, so we can avoid this sort of faith crisis ourselves

Today on Bridging the Gap, Pastor Lloyd Pulley continues his study of First Samuel, where we find a King in training.  David  was no stranger to suffering, and how he handles his suffering serves as an example for us on how to handle the ups and downs of life. 

If you've been with us recently, you may recall how David beautifully handled his conflict with Saul.  He had the perfect opportunity to retaliate against the man who was trying to kill him, but David chose the higher road. Now today, we find him in a similar circumstance, but this time he tries to take matters into his own hands. Rather than getting all worked up, and seek vengeance, there's a much better course of action to take.

We are studying First Samuel right now and today David encounters a foolish man named Nabal. Ironically, the name Nabal means, "Fool".   We will see how David deals with a fool, and how we should too.

As we continue to study the life of David today on Bridging the Gap, pastor Lloyd Pulley will contrast David with the man stalking him - Saul. Both men were sinners, to be sure, just as all of us are. But David had something Saul didn't have - a repentant heart.

We're currently studying the book of First Samuel, and as we pick things up in chapter twenty-four, David is on the run from Saul.  Imagine having three thousand hunters determined to find and kill you!  David and his six hundred men are facing that terror, but all of a sudden the tables turn, and an opportunity presents itself for David to kill Saul.

Pastor Lloyd Pulley is currently leading us through the Old Testament book of First Samuel, and today we continue in chapters twenty-two and twenty three.  I'm sure you've heard this statement many times: "Without faith it is impossible to please God".  We all acknowledge the truth of that statement, but how often do we face adversity and forget to call on our faith in God to get us through? Living by faith is what it's all about! 

As you may recall, David knows he's going to be the next King of Israel, and he's running for his life. But all the way through this trial, God is reminding David that He's going to keep His promises and that He's with him and for him.  Here on this edition of Bridging the Gap we will take a look at the suffering David experienced in his life, and Pastor Lloyd will relate this to what we are bound to experience as well.

 David was a man after God's own heart - but we'll see that there was a time in his life where he had a heart of deception. Just goes to show even the greatest of God's servants are still sinners on the inside, but God can use any sinner to accomplish His will.

Whether we see it or not, God protects His children and restrains evil. We'll see a good example of that today on Bridging the Gap as we open First Samuel nineteen. If you'll recall, Saul is envious of David and wants to kill him.  But the Lord restrains Saul from harming David.  Just as He protected David, He can protect you too.

Today on Bridging the Gap - Pastor Lloyd Pulley  will  show us what God considers a true friend to be .  Good to be with you today.  Lloyd is about to continue his verse by verse study in the book of First Samuel and we'll consider the value of godly friends.  If asked to name one of the all time great friendships in the Bible, what names come to mind?  Many of us would say Jonathan and David, and rightly so.   Let's take a closer look at these friends in First Samuel chapter eighteen.

 In thinking back to our Sunday School days, there were certain biblical stories our teachers would key in on... Jonah being swallowed by the Great Fish, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Noah and the flood, and certainly David and Goliath top the list.  Here on our Thursday broadcast, Lloyd will highlight this timeless story which underscores the greatness and faithfulness of God.  Each of us will face giants in our lives, and we're in a fierce battle!  It's important to know how to handle it with faith.

Today on Bridging the Gap pastor Lloyd Pulley will take a look at the familiar story of David and Goliath. Lloyd will show us that this story is not about building up our courage, but rather it is a story about honoring God whom we love and serve -- even in the face of trouble. And there are some noteworthy aspects of spiritual warfare to observe too.  Let's head over to First Samuel seventeen and get started.

Today we'll return to a story probably familiar to most of you.  When God was looking for the second king of Israel, a 16 year old shepherd boy caught His eye.   Most in that day I'm sure thought this was a poor choice, but God saw a young man who was after His own heart.

Today on Bridging the Gap, Pastor Lloyd Pulley  will show us how to do that and maintain our sanity in the Christian life, even during those periods when it's easy to become frustrated.  We are traveling through First Samuel at the present time, and here on our Monday edition we'll be looking at chapter sixteen.  It's here that the Lord anoints David to be King over Israel. 

This is a very special day for Christians. It's the day we remember the painful death Jesus suffered on the cross of Calvary; a death He willing accepted in order to save us from an eternity separated from Him. It truly was the greatest act of love ever performed in all of human history. 

Compromise can be a wonderful thing in certain contexts. For instance, when two nations have differences that are miles apart, compromise is often needed. And of course, we all know that compromise is often times  important in family matters. There is one case however where compromise is simply worthless and unacceptable. That is in our relationship to God. In every case we're to obey Him.  Today on Bridging the Gap, we'll meet a man who failed to do that.

You might have heard this expression before -  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.   When a person suddenly assumes power or position - it can easily lead them to do things they would never dream of. That was the case with the first King of Israel, Saul. After some time in power he soon began to feel as though he was in control, and not God. 

For the last few weeks we've been looking at First Samuel and today, we return to chapter fourteen. In this passage, we see that King Saul displayed an outward expression of religion, but his heart was totally consumed with self. The same can happen to us if we're not careful.  We'd do well to see where Saul went wrong, so that we don't go down a similar path.

Today on Bridging the Gap, we'll introduce you to a man named Saul, and his story is recorded for us in First Samuel thirteen. As King, Saul should have been looking to God for guidance and seeking to give Him the glory. But instead, he was more concerned with himself and being recognized.

Saul was the first King of Israel, and God provided Him everything that was necessary to be a great King.  But he ended up a terrible failure. He allowed insecurities and bad decision-making to govern his life, and that's a recipe for disaster. God has a calling for us too, but will we try to hide from it, or allow something to keep us from that?

Pastor Lloyd Pulley has framed today's study around chapters eleven and twelve.  Let's say someone lashes out in anger against you, and for no good reason. Or, someone falsely accuses you of something at work, and you end up losing your job as a result! When we're hurt like this, the world would say we have good reason to exact a little revenge.  But pastor Lloyd is going to suggest a much different approach.

The people Israel wanted to make a change. They wanted a king. We might have a reaction to that like, "huh? You already have God as your King"! God was their king for sure, but now they wanted a man to fill those shoes! A big difference and a big mistake to be sure. And as we know, in today's world, people are looking in all the wrong places for a King as well.

You've no doubt heard the timeless truth, "Don't judge a book by its cover."  Judging things by their outside appearance is something we often do, instead of learning what's on the inside.  But to judge a book - you have to read it - and that takes time.  The same is true with a person. It takes more than a first impression. Today on Bridging the Gap, we take a second look at Israel's first king.

To agree with God we must know what He thinks about things.  We're in First Samuel chapter seven, and a message titled, "Steps to Revival and Victory".

On Today's broadcast, we'll see God's people waiting twenty years before repenting.  Now that's a long time! If we're wise we won't wait and waste the years God has given us!

Spiritually speaking, if the symptoms of our condition persist, It has to be God's mercy, designed to push us toward treatment and healing.  Find your place in First Samuel six as we bring you Bridging the Gap.

When the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant - God did something about it – and there are quite a few takeaway lessons we don't want you to miss. Join us in First Samuel chapter five.

Pastor Lloyd has an eye on First Samuel four today.  God is about to remove His presence from the nation of Israel.  Sounds severe doesn't it, and it is!  But what would lead the Lord to do this?  We'll look into that together and learn that it comes down to misguided faith.

When God makes a promise, you can be sure He'll keep His Word.  And in First Samuel four, God is about to come through on a promise He made in chapter three.  He's going to judge Eli and deal with his two sons. 

These are difficult days, there's no doubt about it.  Evil is on the rise, and those who stand for the truth are routinely ridiculed.  But in the midst of the mess, God has an important mission and calling for us.  And today you'll be encouraged to embrace it with open arms.

While some things don't last that long on this earth, there are other things that do last.  We'll consider that today, here on Bridging the Gap with pastor Lloyd Pulley. Welcome to the broadcast today as we continue pastor Lloyd's new series through First Samuel. Yesterday, pastor Lloyd reviewed chapter one, and got started in chapter two. Let's join him now as our series continues.

You know there are many wonderful people to learn about in God's word. Great men of faith and action that God used like David and the Apostle Paul. Men who gave their lives for the gospel like Steven. Today we'll again look at the life and times of a woman of God named Hannah. She had some serious trials in her life, not the least of which was her inability to have a child. But her faith in God never wavered.