Weekly teaching and encouragement from the Lantana Community Church of the Nazarene. Where our purpose is to Love like Jesus so lives are changed.
Bring Jesus to work, He's already on the clock. He's already present in your workplace, already at work in the hearts and lives of your coworkers. You simply get to join Him in that work, representing Him well through your hands, your words, and your presence. When we see our workplace as sacred space, our perspective shifts—our desk becomes an altar, our meetings become ministry, and our excellence becomes worship. Every task, no matter how mundane, carries eternal significance when done for Christ.
Here's the question that echoes out of the empty tomb…will Easter still be obvious tomorrow?— The crowds shouted “He is risen!” but it was the fledgling church that sold fields, opened homes, bandaged wounds, and made the resurrection believable to their neighbors.— Corrie ten Boom whispered “Jesus is Lord,” then built a hiding place that proved it.— James tells us, “Show me.” Faith that never makes it past our lips dies in the driveway.
The resurrection is the ultimate good news. Because of it, the cross wasn't a defeat—it was the turning point. The sacrifice wasn't wasted—it was complete. And our future isn't uncertain—it is alive with the promise of Jesus Christ.So today, we cry out not just “He is risen” but “He is Lord.”Because of Easter, death has lost. Sin has been crushed. And we are invited into the life of the risen King.
Palm Sunday is a day of celebration, but also of tension. The crowd hails Jesus as King, but in only a few days He will be crucified. They wanted rescue from Rome; He was offering rescue from sin. This is the Gospel: Jesus saves us in ways deeper than we imagine. Today, let's cry "Hosanna! Lord, save us from the bondage of sin. Be our King." During this Holy Week, will you engage deeply with the events of this week? This week is the culmination of the Good News we share year-round. We need Jesus to give us hearts that truly welcome Him as the King of salvation, not only the fix-it guy. Jesus, will you give us boldness to proclaim "Hosanna" to a world that needs more than superficial help, but to experience the change that only comes from the real rescue you provide from sin and death.
When Jesus calls Levi and feasts with the outsiders, he declares His mission is to save sinners. Jesus' table fellowship with them is a demonstration of the inclusive heart of His Kingdom. He welcomes sinners, not to affirm sin, but to transform lives. The cross is woven into this as he's heading toward the ultimate sacrifice, he's carrying love for every outcast. Lent reminds us to do likewise: embrace others in love and trust God to work. May we be open to forming genuine connections, humility to repent of biases, and boldness to reflect Jesus' hospitality.
Isaiah 53 and the image of Jesus as the Suffering Servant goes straight to the core of our Gospel theme. This prophecy highlights why the Good News is truly "good." The cross is so much more than a historical event, it's the Divine plan in action. Something that was prophesied centuries before, where Jesus takes on our sins and offers us forgiveness and new life. In other words, Jesus is the heart of the Gospel! In Isaiah 53, we see the atoning work of Christ—His willing, sacrificial love—is the Good News we share. Hopefully this will equip us all to more effectively explain the Gospel to others. It was always God's intention to redeem us through Jesus' suffering. As we continue to "bring Jesus to the people," we must pay special attention to His sacrificial role from Isaiah 53 which grounds us in the ultimate message of hope and reconciliation.
This season of Lent calls us to a season of reflection and repentance. It seems this is a continuing theme as we journey through this year of the Gospel. And we can't forget that repentance isn't about shame, it's an invitation to a deeper walk with Christ.As we journey towards the cross, will you take a moment and reflect on something you want or need to surrender? We need hearts for God that turn quickly and fruit that honors Him. Jesus, our prayer is for renewed energy to follow you all the way to Calvary…and beyond, into the joy of resurrection.
Great message about the kingdom of God.
Pastor Angel on a great message.
There is a tension to be maintained. We deny ourselves and carry our crosses, but we gain immeasurable treasure—fellowship with God, eternal life, and a life of purpose. Let's reflect on one area God is asking us for deeper surrender. Then let's embrace that cost and trust in the goodness of our God. God, help us find joy in sacrifices we make for Christ's sake and to rest in your unshakeable promises.
Inviting others into the Kingdom isn't about pushing religion; it's about extending the best invitation anyone can receive…life with Jesus! We do it prayerfully, lovingly, and relationally, trusting the Holy Spirit to draw hearts. My prayer for our church is that the Holy Spirit would fill each one of us with boldness, compassion, and wisdom. I'm also praying for divine appointments and softened hearts among those who hear.
“Life Together,” as Bonhoeffer describes, is both deeply spiritual and profoundly practical. When we devote ourselves to fellowship in Christ, we naturally care for one another, embodying God's heart for justice and mercy. The early church's commitment to God and each other created a culture of selfless mercy and radical unity — a taste of God's Kingdom on earth. As we seek the Kingdom first, let's become a family where no one stands alone, and the world sees God's justice and mercy displayed through our shared life.
Repentance and belief are not heavy burdens; they're invitations into a life freed from guilt and empowered by God's Spirit. The more we practice this turning and trusting, the more we reflect the Kingdom we've been talking about. "The Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe the gospel!" This good news is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. Will you let God reshape your mind and heart? Will you place your trust in Jesus? This is the entry way into true Kingdom Life!
Jesus doesn't simply say "don't worry, be happy…" Jesus redefines our priorities. Quit being torn in two, quite literally. Don't stress about lesser things, which pull your attention away from God's Kingdom. Trust your heavenly Father and He will care for your needs. What we learn on Sunday should be more than hypothetical, it should become our lived reality. Oh Holy Spirit, will you help us to truly seek first God's kingdom as we move through our everyday life.
Today I want to invite you to participate in the freedom, healing, and favor that Jesus proclaimed were available in His Kingdom. Will you co-labor with Him? Throughout this series we're going to look at the Kingdom themes of Justice, mercy, repentance, etc. and how to practically invite others to church. My challenge to you is will you pray about at least one friend, neighbor, etc. who you can invite to church? Begin to pray for that person that God will open their hearts and you will be ready when the right moment comes.
Every year, I like to take a look back at what we have gone through as a church and then turn our sights towards the future. I think it's necessary to do that because as we go through something, we aren't as aware of any changes that might be going on. Today, I want to take a look back over the last year and remember where we have been and how much God has moved us in 2024. I also want to take a peek at what I think God wants to do in 2025. As I look through all that God has done in 2024, I am blessed…and impressed…with all we have accomplished by His help. I am even more excited about our future.
The greatest "new thing" God ever did was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Think about it - when God chose to enter our world in an unprecedented way, He didn't repeat the dramatic signs of Exodus. He didn't part waters or send plagues. Instead, He worked quietly, through an unwed mother, in an unremarkable town, during an inconvenient census. And most people missed it. Today we're standing between Christmas and the new year and here's the beautiful truth: The God of Christmas is still the God of new things. The same God who brought life through a virgin's womb still brings life to dead situations. God's new things often start small — a stream in the desert, a baby in a manger. But they grow to change everything.
Are we willing, as was Mary, to forsake ourselves and join with God in realizing his Kingdom on this earth? She answered God with this song in spite of the hardship she would surely endure. She joined forces with God to bring redemption and salvation to this world. Will we answer that call? Can God count on us? Will we respond so willingly and graciously as did Mary? Let us be reminded of those things this Christmas season and each one that follows as we remember Mary's Magnificat.
The scandal of Christian joy is that it often looks like foolishness to the world. John the Baptist found it in the wilderness. Jesus found it on the cross. The early church found it in persecution. And we find it not through getting, but through giving ourselves away.
When we've repented and been baptized, we will be ready for God's salvation. “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'” Salvation is what the Christmas story is all about. God enters the manger of Bethlehem in order to save God's people from their sins. When we receive that grace, that peace, that love then we are empowered to live new lives. This Advent season we need to reflect on the entire Christ event. Christ came into the world to save us from the power of sin. The Messiah is coming. Repent and be baptized. Then you will surely see God's salvation.
In this Advent season, we are living between Jesus' comings. As we are here, let's live with faith, courage, and patience. When Jesus comes, our desire is to be found faithful, a people who are actively engaged in His Kingdom work. May God give us wisdom to read the signs of the times, and hope to lift our heads in anticipation of His return.
Jesus' example challenges us today to join him in scandalous living. But not the type of scandal we're used to hearing about in today's world. Scandalous Kingdom living is loving radically, serving humbly and crossing boundaries. This becomes the core identity of a Holy Spirit sourced follower of God. It's more than a good idea or a way of life. It's our identity. This type of living transforms both the individual and our community.
Jesus' example still challenges us today. He shows us that true greatness comes through service. We need to follow Jesus' example and serve without recognition, love without limits, and lead by kneeling. We should demonstrate "eis telos" love, love to the end, love to the fullest, and love that holds nothing back. Can our church be one that scandalizes the world through service and love?
There are two paths before us. The path of the priest and Levite, the path of safe and comfortable…keeping the rules, but missing love. And there's the path of the Samaritan, costly and controversial…prioritizing love. Which path are we on? God, forgive us for the times we walk on the other side and put limits on who we'll love or how we will help. We need the eyes of Jesus to see the needs around us, His heart for compassion, and His courage to take action. If we are truly going to love like Jesus, we will love without limits, conditions, our boundaries.
The grace that the woman caught in the act of adultery received is the same grace available to us today. It's available for every kind of brokenness and every person. We've been both characters in the story. Sometimes we've needed grace and other times we're holding the stones. Jesus meets us wherever we are. For us today, we need to be welcoming without condemning…speaking truth without crushing. This is the balance of grace and truth.
The love of Jesus is scandalous. It breaks social norms, crosses boundaries, and transforms lives in ways that shock and surprise us. Jesus' welcome was wide (and radical). He didn't wait for Zacchaeus to change before welcoming him. Our church needs to learn to see beyond the labels and join this wide welcome of Jesus. Jesus' actions scandalized the religious communities of His day and will scandalize our faith if we learn to move beyond our comfort zones and preconceptions. Jesus' love isn't scandalous for the sake of being scandalous, but because it has the power to transform us and our community.
Message from pastor Mark Lail about our resources.
Jesus has radically redefined family. This wasn't only a challenge to the culture in Jesus' day, but also to ours! This teaching has the power to transform our relationships, communities, and church. We need to reevaluate our understanding of family and think about how God might be calling us to create a more inclusive church family. God has adopted us into His family through Jesus and our communities should reflect this inclusive love. Our lives are a testimony to the transformative power of God's love and the beauty of His family.
Holiness is not about perfection, but direction. As we align our hearts with God's, yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, our lives will increasingly reflect His holiness. Jesus radical teaching challenges our understanding of holiness. We need Jesus to search our hearts and show us where we need His transforming touch. We have to look beyond external conformity and focus on the state of our hearts. We must also learn to balance truth and love as we walk through this journey with and support others. The beauty of it is that our lives will increasingly reflect His holiness, not through our own efforts, but through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us!
Jesus shattered social, religious, and cultural norms in a single encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Today we explore Christ's radical love that knows no boundaries, challenging us to move beyond comfortable faith. Learn how drinking deeply from the living water Jesus offers can transform not just our lives, but our entire communities. Are you ready to love scandalously, break barriers, and live out a faith that makes a difference? We will dig deep into this powerful story and its implications for our lives today.
Jesus never said following Him would be easy, but it will be good. It's not meant to be conventional, it's a call to a radically different way of living, loving, and pursuing justice. In the coming weeks, we're going to dive deeper into various episodes of the scandals of Jesus that illustrate how radical His call is. But for now, let me leave you with this question: Are we ready to embrace the scandal? Are we willing to let Jesus challenge our assumptions, disrupt our comfort, and transform us into agents of His scandalous love? Jesus, please forgive us for taming Your radical message. It seems we've made Jesus comfortable when He really came to challenge us. We need to have the courage to love as Jesus loved, to pursue Justice like He did, and to be agents of His Kingdom in this world. Our lives should cause people to ask questions, just as His did!
We have been on a journey from favor to the new covenant. I want to challenge all of us to fully embrace this new reality. This new covenant isn't just about future salvation, but a new way of living now. It's having God's law written on our hearts, being filled with His Spirit, and living as citizens of His Kingdom here and now. What a privilege to be included in the New Covenant through Christ. To have His law written on our hearts, empowered by the Holy Spirit. God, help us demonstrate the reality of Your Kingdom and the power of Your love to our world!
Will we accept the relationship God desires with us living in the New Covenant? Everything we've been talking about seems to find its fulfillment in Jesus. His sacrifice invites us into a new way of living — in covenant relationship with God and sacrificial love toward others. This isn't only about personal salvation, but about being part of God's plan to redeem and restore all things. This is God's favor. It's poured out on us, but doesn't stay with us. It flows through us to others as we participate with Him to be a blessing to all people.
David's journey went from anointed shepherd to persecuted fugitive to covenant king to part of the Messianic covenant. Through it all, God's favor and covenant promises sustained him. Like David, we must learn to trust God's favor, even when it leads to challenges. Hold fast to God's covenant promises, ESPECIALLY in difficult times. Remember, life's hardships can deepen our faith and shape our character if we let them. We're part of a larger covenant story that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ!
Moses example shows us how God's favor and covenant faithfulness work together. We need to trust His plan, even when we feel inadequate. We may very well be channels of His covenant blessings to the world around us!
The story of Joseph reminds us of God's constant favor, even in the darkest moments of life. Your current situation is not the end of your story. Your challenges now might be manifest as God's favor when His plan is revealed. Will we remain faithful and trust God's favor? Oh God, help us to trust you like Joseph did, able to see your hand at work even when all seems lost. We need to live with integrity, be confident in God's favor, and always be ready to be part of God's bigger plan.
What an incredible journey we are on discovering God's favor and covenant promise as revealed through Abraham. Because of God's favor, we are invited to a covenant with Him. But it's a covenant in which God carries all the weight. What He's asking of us is to live in relationship with Him. To allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. To love God and others. When Jesus initiated the new covenant, he invited us in and said we should love others like he loves us. Will we live in His favor today? Will we embrace this covenant with Him?
What lessons can we draw from Abram's journey of faith and God's favor? First, faith requires action. Faith is more than just belief, it is belief in motion. We also see how God's promises sustain us when everything around us seems uncertain. Cling to the promises of God, remember your encounters with Him, tell your story to others. These things help us remember we are favored and living in a promise. Finally we learn that God's favor leads to a covenant relationship. God's favor in your life is an invitation to a deeper relationship. This relationship involves both privileges and responsibilities. We must remember our covenant commitment to Him.
We are living as favored people…a favored church. As we look back to what we learned from Isaiah, we realize we have a choice. We must live in this favor by repenting and turning towards Him, moving deeper in our relationship with God. Accepting the responsibility to be ambassadors of God's kingdom everywhere we go…at home, at work, in our neighborhoods. God's favor isn't about making our lives easier. It's about making our lives count for something greater than ourselves. May we, like Mary, have the courage to say "yes" to God's favor, whatever it may bring.
As we wrap up our journey through Isaiah, we've seen God's incredible vision for a new heaven and a new earth—not just a transformation of the future but a change now. As we embrace this transformation, we step into something beautiful…God's favor amidst a new covenant with Him.
Jesus has tasked us with bringing His kingdom with us everywhere we go. We're not just waiting on Christ's kingdom to come in the future. Through us, empowered by His Spirit, His kingdom can break into our world now! Every act of Justice, every word of peace, and every gesture of love is a sign of Christ's reign taking root here. Let's commit to carrying Isaiah's vision of the Messiah's kingdom with us — a kingdom of justice, peace, and joy. Let's be the ambassadors of love that God's kingdom requires in our homes, workplaces, and community! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
Imagine a courtroom where a judge sentences a guilty person to death. Just as the sentence is about to be carried out, an innocent person steps forward and volunteers to take the punishment in place of the guilty. The guilty person is set free, and justice is served because the punishment was carried out, albeit on an innocent substitute. This is a picture of what Jesus did on the cross—He took the place of sinners, bearing the penalty for sin, so that we could be set free and reconciled to God. Isaiah gives us a clear picture of a King who didn't come to be served, but to serve and give His life for many. His quiet acceptance of suffering and His ultimate sacrifice demonstrate a love that's beyond our understanding. This love invites us into a relationship with Him, where He lifts our burdens and makes our lives new. Knowing what Jesus did for us, we're called to respond. We're invited to lay our burdens at His feet, trust in His strength, and follow His example of humility and service. Let this truth inspire us to live with gratitude, obedience, and compassion. Let's see Christ in those who suffer around us and be moved to act with empathy and love. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
Doctor Larry Morris preaching about following Jesus --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
The Messiah's kingdom is eternal, and while it may have been prophesied thousands of years ago and fulfilled in Jesus 2000 years ago, his kingdom is fulfilled in us today. This isn't some distant dream or something we hope may come someday, but a place where we get to invite people in today. Where the poor and marginalized are welcomed, regardless of status or stature. This is a kingdom of hope. This is a place where the light breaks through the darkness. Isn't it cool to think that the light of his kingdom breaks into this world through us!? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
We need to learn from Paul that not everything God does in our lives is to be shared publicly. The fruits that come out of the experiences we have with the Lord benefit other people way more than the experience itself. Every encounter we have with God doesn't end there; it is to transform us first so we can be used by Him to transform others! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
Pride will never let us be vulnerable. Pride will try to keep this inside, never asking for help. Paul for the first time, open up his heart and share that he has an issue. An issue he is not able to solve! Yes, he is planting churches, yes he is operating in the power of the Holy Spirit but he has an issue, a thorn in his flesh. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
Today we need to learn to turn from our prideful ways. Each step on the path of spiritual formation brings us closer to peace as the image of Christ is renewed in us. We have to get rid of pride, to become humble, to even desire a pursuit of Christ's image in us. Never forget that pride is not only exalting ourselves, as in shouting how great we are, but also when we refuse to do something God has asked us to do because we're scared of failure or what others might say. As we become humble, exalt God, and serve others, we are ushering in God's topsy turvy Kingdom. A place where love and justice reign supreme! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
If our church is to flourish, we must remember what He is asking of us. It goes all the way back to the kind of church He wants us to be. The kind of church that will live and be alive! God can turn dry, empty spots into places full of life and hope, just like he strengthens us when we're feeling down. God heals and guides us along a safe path, where no harm can touch us if we stick with Him. This journey is all about moving from sadness to joy, a kind of joy that sticks around because of what Jesus has done for us. We all need to step up and walk this path of holiness. Let's be there for each other, trust in God's promises to refresh the barren parts of our lives, and make a positive impact on our community. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lantanachurch/message
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