Podcasts about because god

No matter what tribulations or tragedies come, Christians are victorious over them. How? Because God is for us. In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll teaches on the great truths found in Romans 8:31–39. Discover the magnificence of a God who is for you and with you always. Believe that you are more than a conqueror over any of your circumstances. Stand convinced that nothing can come between God's love for you!

No matter what tribulations or tragedies come, Christians are victorious over them. How? Because God is for us. In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll teaches on the great truths found in Romans 8:31–39. Discover the magnificence of a God who is for you and with you always.Believe that you are more than a conqueror over any of your circumstances. Stand convinced that nothing can come between God's love for you!

No matter what tribulations or tragedies come, Christians are victorious over them. How? Because God is for us. In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll teaches on the great truths found in Romans 8:31–39. Discover the magnificence of a God who is for you and with you always. Believe that you are more than a conqueror over any of your circumstances. Stand convinced that nothing can come between God's love for you!

No matter what tribulations or tragedies come, Christians are victorious over them. How? Because God is for us. In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll teaches on the great truths found in Romans 8:31–39. Discover the magnificence of a God who is for you and with you always.Believe that you are more than a conqueror over any of your circumstances. Stand convinced that nothing can come between God's love for you!

If God loves all people in the greatest way possible, then why doesn't he make his existence and presence more obvious to everyone? Because God desires more than our mental assent to his existence. He wants us to live in a loving relationship with him and to embrace his way of life.

This week Pastor Jesse spoke about finding Joy in the power of repentance.   Main Points & Scripture: Matthew 4:17 2nd Samuel 11:2-5 Psalms 51:1 Mercy is when we do not get what we deserve! Grace is when we get what we do not deserve! Because God's love and mercy run deeper than your greatest failure, you can still repent! Psalm 51:3-4 In Davids confession, he recognizes: I know I have Sinned I know I sinned against God I know God is right to judge me Psalm 51:7-10 I have found JOY in the God of my salvation!   *This episode was recorded on 10/05/25

Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God's Love to Declaring God's Love We're beginning a new sermon series this morning. We'll be in the Book of Malachi for the next couple of months. You can find Malachi chapter 1 on page 953 in the Pew Bibles. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, so if you can find the book of Matthew, turn left a couple of pages. We'll begin with verses 1-5. One note before I read. In these verses, you will hear of a reference to Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. That will be some helpful context. Reading of Malachi 1:1-5 Prayer When I was in high school and college, I spent a few summers working at a Christian camp. Well, one particular summer, one of my fellow counsellors had a very difficult camper. This kid was, I think, only in 1st grade. And he was rambunctious. He was mean to the other campers. He struggled to follow rules. He didn't want to participate in activities. In those moments, his counsellor would get down on one knee to his level, and try gently instruct him. During dangerous activities, like archery, his counsellor would often have to hold his hand, to keep him safe. Of course, the other boys in his cabin would get angry at him. Their counsellor would always intervene and remind them all to speak kind words to one another. Well, one afternoon, things escalated. The counsellor tried to calm his camper down, but the boy lost it and started screaming. Literally, the whole camp could hear it. They were in the middle of a big group activity, so his counsellor had to gently carry him away. As this young boy was being carried away, he kept screaming over and over, “I hate you.” “I hate you.” To which his counsellor calmly responded over and over, “I love you.” “I love you.” Their back and forth slowly faded as they passed out of sight. The camper, of course, didn't understand that his counsellor did love him. He didn't know what love really looked like in that situation. To this boy, it didn't appear to be love at all. Maybe some of you who are parents have experienced something similar. Well, as we get to Malachi chapter 1, God's people, likewise, were questioning God's love. It didn't feel like God loved them. But he did. And in response, God mercifully reminds them of his love. Most of us here today have at one point or another cried out to God. We've questioned whether he was even there or if he was loving. Maybe that is what you are feeling today. My hope and prayer that you will leave here with a renewed or new sense of God's love for you. Introduction As we get into the book of Malachi, let me first mention some background things. Malachi is one of 12 books called minor prophets. They are called “minor” not because they are less important but because they are shorter. We don't actually know much about the prophet Malachi other than that his name means “messenger.” He was a messenger from God. As we will find out next week, he lived in Jerusalem. And based on the themes in the book and its position in the Old Testament cannon, Malachi prophesied sometime during the middle of the 400s BC. He very likely overlapped with Ezra and Nehemiah. At that time, some of the exiles had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and the temple had been rebuilt. The last thing to point out is the word “oracle” right there in verse 1. It's used throughout the Old Testament when a prophets were given a particularly burdensome word from God. Oracle, in fact, means burden – you know, like a heavy load that an animal would carry on its back and the weariness or distress that it would bring. When the word “oracle” is used to describe a prophetic utterance, it is conveying the weight of that prophecy. As we work our way through Malachi, we are going to see the weight of this prophecy. Over and over, God very clearly calls for repentance from grievous sin, and God warns them if they do not return to him. However, before all of that, God begins with a reminder of his love. And that is what verses 2-5 are about. If you turn to page 4 of your bulletin, you can see where we are headed. ·      First, God's Love Doubted. Verse 2. ·      Second, God's Love Defended, the end of verse 2 through verse 4 ·      And third, God's Love Declared, 5 So, God's love doubted, defended, and declared. 1. God's Love Doubted We see right there in verse 2 that the people doubted God's love for them.  “I have loved you,” says the Lord, but you say, “how have you loved us?” By the way, this is the pattern throughout Malachi. God quotes the people questioning him, and then he answers. It's the organizing framework for the book. How have you loved us, Lord? It sure doesn't feel like you do. This was a difficult time in Jerusalem. We don't often think of it that way because, after all, the people were back in Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. However, socially and economically, it was a very unstable time. Yes, the Persian kings had supported the return and rebuild, but that did not mean prosperity. No, the people experienced a lot of trouble and opposition. Taxes were high. Jobs were scarce. They were in the middle of a famine. The people had to mortgage their fields and vineyards and houses just to survive. Some even forced their sons and daughter into slavery. We know those things from Nehemiah 5. All of it weighed heavily on them. And think about their expectations. God had promised through Isaiah and Jeremiah a return from exile back to Jerusalem. The people had in their minds the glory of the former unified kingdom – you know, prosperity and peace. They pictured Solomon's temple restored to its original beauty and splendor. I'm sure some even pictured a return of the national power that Judah and Israel had once had. But their expectations came crashing down with the reality of their situation. They couldn't lift their eyes to see beyond each day… because of the difficulty that each day brought. It was not peace and prosperity, it was survival mode. And in their minds, who was at fault? God. And so, they were asking, how have you loved us, Lord? Where have you been? Have you or are you asking that? Lord, do you love me? It sure doesn't feel like it. I can't find a job or it's hard to financially survive each day. Or I've lost a parent or a spouse or a sibling or a child. Or even harder at times, my relationship with my son or daughter is estranged, or I've endured the pain of divorce. Or my health is deteriorating more each day, Or I struggle with chronic pain or a debilitating disease. Or my loved one is.  I feel all alone. Or I've been a victim of abuse or false accusations. Lord, where are you? Do you really love me? Maybe someone told you this well-known phrases once: “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” Have you heard that before? It is one of the most unhelpful statements in evangelicalism. I'm not saying that it is not partially true. Stay tuned for that. But becoming a Christian does not mean that you will experience peace and prosperity in this life. To be sure, being a Christian does come with many blessings on earth. Blessings in relationship and community with one another in the church. Blessings of worship and prayer, and many others things. But if we expect that our days on earth will be filled with temporal success or health or relational flourishing, we will become deeply disappointed. And it may cause us to question God's love. I want you to note something in verse 2. Before the Lord quotes their questioning of his love, he begins by affirming that he does love them. “I have loved you.” By the way, that word “love” is not the word “hesed.” You know, God covenant lovingkindness. Rather, that word for “love” is the word “ahab.” It is a word for love that focuses on a loving relationship. It's God's love for them as his people whom he chose to be his people. In fact, the verb form indicates that God's love for them has been accomplished and it is definitive. It's like saying, I *did, I do, and I will * love you. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. God has, does, and will love his people. What I want to say to wrap up this first point is that in those times of doubting God's love... in those times when you are burdened by your suffering… or when you are wondering where the Lord is, God calls you to first remember that the Lord does love you. But rather than just leave it there, the Lord goes on to defend his love. He explains the source of his love. 2. God's Love Defended That brings us to #2. God's Love Defended. In the second half of verse 2, the Lord returns their question with a question himself. He asks, “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” And then reminds them of his love for Jacob and his hatred for Esau. The Israelites are Jacob's descendants. Now, the reason that God reminds them about Jacob and Esau is because Jacob and Esau demonstrated both God's unmerited love as well as his just anger. Back in Genesis 25 and following, we learn about Jacob and Esau. They were both sons of Isaac. Twins, in fact. Esau was born first, so Esau was to have the privileges of being the firstborn, authority in the family, the blessing of Isaac, and a large share of the inheritance. But if you remember, Jacob took advantage of Esau. When Esau was famished, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. And then Jacob lied to and tricked their father into blessing him instead of Esau. Even though Jacob did not deserve it, God chose him and chose his descendants to be his people. Esau and his descendants, on the other hand, were rejected. You see, neither deserved God's love, yet God chose Jacob. Jacob and his descendants were the ones who received God's promise. But, back to Malachi, there was the problem. To the people in Jerusalem (you know, the returned exiles), it sure felt like God loved Esau's descendants and not Jacob's. As I mentioned earlier, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau. In fact, in some way, they partnered with or supported Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem a hundred years earlier. We're not told how, but we're told elsewhere that Edom rejoiced in Jerusalem's destruction. The prophet Ezekiel even mentions that Edom took vengeance against Judah. So, it's possible Esau's descendants even participated in Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem. Let me make a side note here. There is some evidence that after the Babylonian exile, another nation overthrew Edom and the Edomites were forced to move. There is also evidence that at this time Edom began rebuilding just south of Judah. If that is true, it certainly explains verses 3 and 4. They were displaced by jackals, as it says, but they began to rebuild. I'm telling you all this because in these verses, God is both affirming his love for his people… and he is letting them know that even though Edom appears to be prospering again, it will be short-lived and their destruction would be eternal. In contrast, the suffering that God people were experiencing would be short-lived but their prosperity would be eternal. Why? Because God chose them to be his people. He loved them with an undeserved and unconditional love. Beloved in Christ. There are or will be times in your life when it seems like the enemies of faith are overcoming you. I'm talking about sin, death, and the devil. You will have moments when you are questioning God's love because you don't see a path forward. Your pain, suffering, grief, loneliness, or disappointments may overwhelm you at times. But if God has given you the gift of faith in Christ, you are one of God's chosen descendants of Jacob – his spiritual descendant. And God loves you. Does God have a wonderful plan for your life? Yes, because all his and your enemies will be defeated and one day, you will be rejoicing for eternity in his presence. Do you see what I am saying. This passage, for them and for us, is ultimately fulfilled in the unmerited love of God in Jesus Christ. God chose all his people to be his people, not because of any self-worthiness. No. Just like with Jacob, despite our sin, God chose us to be his people. He called us in him before the foundation of the world. And God's judgment against Edom is the judgment that Jesus bore on the cross for his people. What I am saying, is that in those moments of despair and doubt. Remember not only that God loves you, but remember that he has called you to be his through Christ. And one day, God will defeat once and for all the very burdens that are weighing you down. Just a week and a half ago, I was at an event where a missionary shared about a very difficult time. He and his wife were serving in Rwanda back during the difficult civil war there. It was tragic. Neighbors turned on neighbors. In a single day, a million people were killed. In one incident, a group or Christians fled to their church building. Their pursuers broke in and slaughtered every single one of them. As you can imagine, seeing all of it overwhelmed this missionary and his wife. But then it became more difficult. Because, soon after that, his wife went into premature labor while there. Their son was delivered but the hospital didn't have the expertise or medical equipment to save him. He died after only 5 days of life. This missionary described the deep struggle that he and his wife went through. They questioned God's love and goodness in all of it. They searched for answers. He then recounted how Job demanded God for answers. And how God answered Job back and asked, “where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” And then this missionary said this: “Job never got answers, but he got presence. And in that presence, he worshipped.” That really struck me. God does not promise that we will not suffer in this life. But he does promise that he loves us and will be with us… and one day he will defeat his and our enemies forever. This missionary closed by sharing how they were drawn back to Jesus and God's love for them in him. 3. God's Love Declared Which brings us to point number 3. God's love declared. For the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem, both their worldview and their perception of God was small. Remember, God had promised them many things. He had promised a Messianic king. He had promised a restoration of a kingdom beyond what could be imagined. He promised to defeat their enemies. And that was part of their struggle. None of it seemed to be coming to pass. In fact, for them, it seemed to be getting worse rather than better. They forgot God's love and his promises, and they lost hope. What they needed was not only a reminder that they were God's chosen people whom he loved. They needed a reminder of his future promises. Verse 5 says “Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!'” Most prophecies in the Bible have a more immediate fulfillment but also a future redemptive fulfillment. For the immediate, there is some historical record that the Edomites were soon overcome by both Greek and then Roman conquests. But I think verse 5 is really meant to draw their attention to the future. To point them to a coming king who will be victorious, not only in Israel, but as verse 5 says, beyond its borders. It's like God was saying to them through Malachi, “Yes, I love you, but I also want you to lift your eyes up from your suffering to see what I will do! It will be far greater than you can imagine. Not only will the enemies of faith be destroyed, but you will see the greatness of my salvation to the world” As you may have figured out, it was still about 450 years before Jesus' birth. God was not saying that those particular people in Jerusalem would see the ultimate fulfillment of this verse. Perhaps they would see Edom overcome. But remember, the Lord was speaking to Israel. It is through them that that Savior would come. This is the last period in their history before Jesus came. And when he came, he would bring salvation not only to Israel, but his electing love would greatly expand beyond the border of Israel to the world. Beloved in Christ, you and I are part of this promise. We are here today worshiping our God who has saved us because God has and is fulfilling this promise to Israel. Christ has come and His Gospel is going forth in mighty ways throughout the earth. This is part of God's reminder to us when we are doubting his love. Yes, we can rest in the fact that we are God's people. We have his love in Christ. But in times of suffering and disappointment and grief and despair, we can lift our eyes up to see what God is doing all around us and around the word. It is truly amazing. And by seeing what God is doing, believing what he will do, we can and should then declare his love to the world. As verse 5 puts it, “you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!'” From doubting God's love to declaring God's love. Conclusion As we close, let me briefly say that these opening verses are the foundation to the rest of Malachi. We're going to see over and over the sin of the people, the sin of the priests, and the Lord's call for them to repent and return to him. Malachi begins where they needed to begin… it begins where we need to begin. Knowing and believing in God's saving and electing love in Christ. So, in our doubt and discouragement and pain, may we know and believe in God's undeserved love for us in Christ – he has chosen us in him. May we lift our eyes to see what he is doing, and may we declare the greatness of our God in all of it. Amen.

Introduction: Know Your Salvation (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) GRACE. (v4) Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. GIFTED. (v5-7a) Ephesians 6:19 – also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel... GUILTLESS. (v7b-9) 2 Corinthians 5:21 – For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 1:1-9What was your big take-away from this passage / message?If the Bible is so clear that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8), why do so many people insist on earning your salvation or hold the idea that good people go to heaven?Explain 1 Cor 1:5 in your own words. How does this apply to your personal walk with Christ?What does 1 Cor 1:8 say about the doctrine of eternal security (once saved, always saved)?Why do you think Paul starts this letter by calling them sanctified (1 Cor 1:2) and reminding them of their salvation (1 Cor 1:4-6)? BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Today is our ministry year kickoff and that also means that today is our anniversary.So today we are celebrating 14 years of Harvest Bible Chapel and we're like alot of 14 year olds. We've come a long way but we have a long way to go.Right? What kind of church is this? We sit on four pillars we have from thebeginning. We've proclaimed the authority of God's Word without apology. That'swhat kind of church this is. We lift high the name of Jesus in worship. That'swhat kind of church this is. We believe firmly in the power of prayer. That's whatkind of church this is. And we share the good news of Jesus with boldness. Thoseare the four pillars this church was resting on when it was planted by God'sgrace. Those are the four pillars today. It may it always be. So I want you to openup your Bibles to 1 Corinthians and we're just going to pause. I want you to justplease pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word and I will prayfor you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach ustoday. Alright? Let's just take a moment.Father in heaven as we get into your Word now I pray that your Spiritwould work with your Word in the hearts of every person here. In the hearts ofevery person that is streaming or going to be listening to this podcast later.Father thanks to the technologies we have in our day. This goes out to somany people all over the planet and we thank you that you've given usopportunity and we want to use that opportunity to exalt your Word, to exaltyour Son. Father has to start right here.Father incline our hearts towards nothing but your glory. We pray in Jesus' name.All of God's people said amen. Amen. A couple of decades ago Aaron and I weredoing foster care and for about a year and a half we had a brother and sister.They were five and seven and it was at the time it was the worst case of childabuse in Butler County. I don't know if that's still the case but it was at thetime. But the five-year-old boy was pretty broken when he came to us. Hecouldn't even talk really and we tried our hardest to give them somesemblance of a normal childhood. You know? Well one of the things that we did tothat end was we signed our five-year-old, his name is Walter. We signed him up forsoccer and I played soccer in high school and in college so I was asked tohelp coach the team. Now anybody ever coach five-year-olds in soccer? It's areal hoot because coaches have to be on the field with the kids. Okay, not on theside shouting instructions. "Will, you're standing on the field with the kids andyou have to run." And did you ever see five-year-olds play soccer? Okay, it's notlike World Cup where they're all like spread out and passing. It's just thiswave of kids chasing the ball. Well we were really trying to get really tryingto get Walter to embrace this, right? It was a big part of my childhood. Justwasn't clicking. The kids would run by with the ball. We're like, "Walter, get theball! Get the ball!" And Walter would run a couple of steps and he'd go, "They're toofast." Like, "Walter, no, come on, come on, get the ball! They're too fast." And then hewould get increasingly frustrated. Walter's big insult for people was tocall them naked. So the kids would run by, I'm like, "Walter, get the ball!" He goes,"They're naked! They're naked! They're naked!" And I'm like, "Actually, they'reclothed, but we need you to hustle, right?" And I don't know if this is greatparenting or not. Probably not. But at one point, Aaron and I offered Walter 25cents for every time he even touched the ball. We paid up zero. Well the othercoach, she was the mom of the goalie. Before the first game, she pulled measide. She goes, "I just want to warn you. I can't remember her son's name. We'll callhim Joey." She goes, "I just want to warn you." She goes, "Joey doesn't like gettingscored on." I'm like, "Well, that makes sense." She goes, "No, he really, reallyoverreacts." Like, well, good to know. Well, sure enough, we got scored on. To saythat the kid lost his mind as an understatement, he started ripping hisclothes like trying to rip his jersey off. And it was this scene. It was likehe was turning into the Hulk. And I'm watching this. I'm like, "Oh, man, what isgoing on here?" And then all of a sudden, I realized, "Wait a minute. Where didWalter go?" All of a sudden, I lost the foster kid. You don't want to tell theagency that. I'm like, "Where did he go? Where is he? Where?" Then I looked down.Walter is celebrating with the other team. Hugs and high fives and...This unity on the soccer team, it was funny. But you know, when there's thisunity in the church, it's not so funny. Let's be honest, we're a lot like thosekids in the soccer team sometimes, aren't we? Irrationally losing our minds overstupid things, calling people names, not wanting to participate. That's the themeof this first stretch in 1 Corinthians. You're gonna be hearing this a lot,because it's important to the heart of God, so it's important to the heart ofthe leaders in this church. Get unified. Church, we need to get unified.1 Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth, and you have tounderstand a little bit about their background. The city of Corinth wascorrupt. Like, how corrupt were they? They were so corrupt that the city's veryname became synonymous with immorality.They were known for their temple to the false goddess Aphrodite, the goddess oflove, and they had about a thousand priestesses who served as prostitutes.So you can imagine what passed for worship in Corinth.Well, it's in that backdrop that the Apostle Paul planted a church. You can readabout this, little homework assignment for you. Acts chapter 18. Go home and read it.Not right now, but go home and read it, and you'll see how the church was planted.So you have this church planted in this horrible city, and the church, the churchitself, was absolutely perfect. They just had two problems. Bad doctrine and badbehavior. Other than that, they were perfect. What the Corinthian church neededwas unity and purity. Look at chapter 1 verse 1. Paul called by the will of Godto be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother Sostenes to the church of Godthat is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saintstogether with all those who in every place call upon the name of our LordJesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. Grace to you in peace from God, ourFather, and the Lord Jesus Christ. This church had a lot of problems, and we'regoing to be getting into that. And if you're familiar with God's word at all,you know. And it's so interesting to me that Paul starts this letter saying, hey,you Christians, those of you in Christ Jesus, you are sanctified. That word meansholy, I mean set apart. And then he goes, he calls them saints. Again, the wordmeans holy. Saint is a name for all true Christians, by the way. And when you lookat this little introduction, you're like, wow, Paul, that's quite a thing to saywhen you consider the rest of the book. And we're going to see as we go throughthis, but these Christians were worldly, and they were divisive, and there wassexual sin, and the list goes on and on and on. They were just, they were somessed up in so many ways. And why in the world would Paul kick this letter up bysaying you sanctified saints you? Like, why would he start that way?What, was it to butter them up? Like, I'm about to lay the hammer down, so I'm justgoing to make you feel good on the front. That wasn't it. Was Paul justignoring all their problems? Like, maybe if I don't mention it, they'll go away.No, that's certainly not it. So why did he start by calling them sanctifiedsaints? Why? Because it was true. Wait, wait, wait. How can they be holy and stillstruggle with being holy? Well, biblically, when we talk about holiness,holiness is two things. There's positional holiness, and there is practicalholiness. Positional holiness is when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord andSavior, when you believe in Him, when you are born again, God pronounces you holy.In God's eyes, He's looking at you through the lens of Jesus Christ, and from God'sperspective, He says you are perfectly holy. We're going to talk more about thatin just a couple of minutes. So while we are positionally holy, practicalholiness, that is the growing, living like Christ, growing in Christ'slikeness, doing the things that honor the Lord, growing in maturity as a Christian.Put it this way, the Christian life is growing to be what God already pronouncedyou to be. That's what the Christian life is. It's growing to be what Godalready pronounced you to be. It's like joining the army. When you enlist in thearmy, as soon as you enlist, you are a soldier. So why go to boot camp? Why doyou go to boot camp? So they make you a soldier. You're like, "Wait, I thought Ialready was." You are. That's what the army does. They're making you what they'vecalled you to be. That's what God does in holiness. He's pronounced you holy andJesus, and your sanctification, your growth, your maturity. He is making you whatHe's already pronounced you to be. So now do you understand why Paul started theletter this way? Paul says, "Granthians, this is who you are. This is your identity.You are holy people." So we're going to get to this down the road. Paul's saying,"If you're holy, why are you acting unholy? Sin is inconsistent with who youare." So if we, Corinthian church, if we harvest Bible chapel, if we are going tobe unified and purified, it has to start here. You have to know your salvation.That's where Paul starts. So on your outline, I want you to draw three wordsdown. Know your salvation. Now this passage we're looking at today says somuch in just a few short verses. It says so much about salvation. The Bibleitself says so much about salvation, but you're going to see here in this passageknowing salvation is really knowing three G's. Your cell phone might needfive G's, God only needs three. Know your salvation. Three G's, it's allstraight from the text. Here's what you have to know about your salvation.If you're going to grow in unity and purity, here's what you have to knowabout your salvation. Number one, write this word down. Grace.Look at verse 4. "I give thanks to my God always for you, because of the grace ofGod that was given you in Christ Jesus." And I get to tell you as a pastor, I lovethat. He says, "I give thanks for you." Again, the church had so many issues thatPaul needed to deal with, but notice he didn't see them for where they are. Hesaw them for who they are. It's like, "I give thanks for you." Why? They were given.Actually, that word in the Greek refers to being given something at a moment oftime in the past. You know, I'm thankful for you because at one point in your past,you were given one of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible. The word isgrace. You were given grace. You know, that's a word that we throw around a lotin church. Sometimes we don't wrestle down what exactly it means.You look up a theology textbook, grace is unmerited favor. It is undeservedkindness. But you know, the best definition of grace I've ever heard isthis, grace is God giving to you what He requires from you. That's grace. Godgiving to you what He requires from you. What does God require from you?Holiness, righteousness, perfection. God requires that. We don't have it. Grace isGod giving that to us in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we mix up grace with otherconcepts in the Bible like long suffering and mercy and things like that. Myfavorite illustration, some of you have heard this before. You're going to hear itagain. It helps me to really understand what grace is, is this. Imagine that youhave a teenage son. Some of you do and some of you did. Some of you will andsome of you can use your imaginations. But imagine you have a teenage son andyour teenage son goes to a party. And at this party there's another boy, same ageas your son, who hates your son. Something stupid probably, a girl andmurders your son. Cold-blooded murder, unprovoked murder. This other kidmurders your son. Now, if you track that kid down that murders your son, if youtrack him down and you kill him, that is called vengeance. But if you track himdown and you help the law, you help the police get him arrested, that's calledjustice. But if you track him down, help the police get him arrested and you showup at his court date and somehow, somehow, you're able to convince the judge tojust let him go. Like just let him go. That's called mercy. But you help thepolice track him down, arrest him and you show up at his court date and somehow,somehow, you convince the judge to allow you to adopt that kid as your own andraise him as your own son. That's called grace. And understand that's what God hasdone for us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have sinned against him and wekilled his son. And what's God's response to that? God's response is, "I want toadopt you." That is grace. The Bible tells us, Ephesians chapter 2, "For by grace youhave been saved through faith." By grace we have been saved, we've been adopted, we'vebeen regenerated, we've been sanctified. It's all grace. Grace isn't withheldbecause of our sin. God is able to be gracious to us because Jesus Christ tookaway our sin. Our part is faith. That's our part. Faith is believing in Jesus.It's believing Jesus is who he said he is. He is God in the flesh. It's believingthat Jesus accomplished what he said he would accomplish. That his death on thecross was to pay the penalty for my sin and for your sin. He rose from the dead togive us eternal life. It's believing that. It's receiving that. Our part is faith.God has done all the work in Christ. That's His grace.Now, this is so fundamental.But at the same time, it's so hard to believe. It's so hard to believe becauseevery single area of our lives are performance-based. Every single one. Right?My boss is happy with me when I perform. My teacher at school is happy with me whenI perform. My family is happy with me when I perform. Every area of life it's justI gotta do stuff to make somebody happy and we bring that thinking into thechurch. Like what do I have to do to make God happy? This is salvation is notbased on your performance. It's based on Jesus Christ's performance.So as we start this stretch, as Paul starts this stretch in 1 Corinthianstelling the Corinthian church, telling Harvest Bible Chapel today, get unified.You have to know your salvation and you have to understand grace because it'sonly when you understand this that you take the first step to unity. What doesthis have to do with unity? Grace puts us all on the same level.We don't have time to do this but I'd sure like to. I'd like to get everyChristian to line up here like we do for communion. We will be doing that. I'dlike to get every Christian line up here. Just have testimony time. How were yousaved? By grace? Not because you were special or you worked for it? Oh that'sawesome, me too. Next. How were you saved? Oh by grace? Not because you were specialor did anything to earn it? Oh me too. Next. Do you see what that does?None of us deserve to be saved. None of us. None of us are any better thananother.We're not going to get unified until we come to grips with that. We're all onthe same level. We all, in Christ, are recipients of grace.It's the first thing you need to know about salvation. The second one, number two,write this word down. Gifted. Gifted.Look at verse 5 through the first part of verse 7.Paul says that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and allknowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so thatyou are not lacking in any spiritual gift.You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. You see grace speaks to the past.That's what was received. Gifted speaks to the present. You are saved to serve.Notice Paul says you are enriched. You are not lacking any gift. Jesus,Paul is telling us here, Jesus has gifted you everything that you need to serve him.You're like, well, can you be more specific? He was more specific actually.Do you notice that? What is that? Verse 5, all speech and all knowledge.These are two of the gifts that he highlights here. First of all, you weregifted with all speech. You were gifted with the ability to speak the truth.All knowledge. You were gifted with all knowledge. That doesn't mean you knoweverything. That means you know everything that you need to know pertaining to the gospel.So here's what Paul is saying. Listen, church, you have been gifted to speak and you have beengifted with knowing what to say. So the question is, how are you using that?You have the gift if you're a Christian. How are you using that?Here at this church, it can be used in teaching and preaching.All speech, all knowledge. It can be used in Harvest Academy,teaching the kids back there while we're teaching in here. It can be used in small group.It can be used in youth group, in conferences, in prayer services, in workshops, in precepts,in our witnessing.You've been given a gift. How are you using it?Because the reality is the biggest problem with most Christians is not that we don't know what to say.Our problem is just opening our mouths and saying.I hear that all the time when it comes to witnessing. Well, I don't really witness becauseI don't know what to say. If you don't know enough to share, then you probably don't know enough to be saved.Look what Paul says in Ephesians 619.He's talking about prayer. He says, "Praying also for me that words may be given to me in openingmy mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel." You see that? Paul didn't say,"Pray that I can't speak or pray that I would know what to say." He says, "I need boldness."Our fourth pillar, sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness. That's what we need to be praying for.Boldness isn't jerkiness. It's not obnoxiousness. It's just confidence in God's calling and God'sgifting. It's just confidence to say, "Look, God gave me a message and he gave me the knowledgeof what I'm supposed to say, so I'm just going to open my mouth and I'm going to say it."And again, if you know enough to be saved, then you know enough to share.Share what you know. Look at verse 6 again. I love as he says, "Even as the testimonyabout Christ was confirmed among you." What's he saying? He's saying the people of Jesus usingthe gifts of Jesus is confirmation that Jesus is at work in the church.When I was little, my dad, for Christmas one year, he wanted magnifying goggles.Because he was going to undertake this hobby of putting boats and bottles. Have you ever seenthese things where you have like a bottle and there's like a boat inside? You know what I'mtalking about? Okay, my dad was going, "I'm going to make those and I need magnifying goggles."Like I said, I was just a little kid. I'm like, "I'm going to get those for dad."Now listen, I can tell already you're not impressed. So I'm going to remind you of something.This was pre-Internet. I know right now you can get on your phone and get on Amazon's orEtsy or whatever. I don't know. But you can eBay, you can get on there and you can probably rightnow find me 500 pairs of magnifying goggles. This was pre-Internet. This was pre-smartphone.This was pre-cell phone.All right? So I'm like, "I'm going to find those for him." And you know, it took me forevermaking phone calls and going to different stores and talking to people and tracking.And do you know, I found a pair of them. I went to a jewelry repair storeand I found them and I saved my money. Those weren't cheap. I saved my money,especially for a little kid. I saved my money and I bought those magnifying goggles.I bought them for dad for Christmas. I got to tell you, I can't think of a gift that I was moreexcited to give in my life. See, one of them, I couldn't get them, but I tracked them down.And I was so, I was so proud to give dad those magnifying goggles for Christmas.Well, my father died in 2003. And you know, when somebody passes away and you start tokind of go through their stuff and figure out what to do with all that,found those magnifying goggles, still in the box, never used.And I wonder, church,when Jesus returns, how many boxes of magnifying goggles is he going to find?I wonder when Jesus returns, how many of his gifts that he gave to his people,is he going to return and find? Oh, we had them. We didn't use them.We didn't use them. You have been gifted so much. And we're going to talk about this later,the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We're going to talk about this later in 1 Corinthians.But have you been using the gifts that God gave you?Listen, if your mindset is this, you know what, Pastor Jeff, I just attend church.My spiritual gift is attendance. My spiritual gift is warming a seat. And you know, I just leavethe ministry to the professionals. I don't really have a gift. That's bad news. Because not havinga gift means you're not saved, because he tells us right here that Jesus' people are enriched in him.Paul is saying, church, you have everything you need. Everything has been gifted to you,to minister to each other, and to reach the world.So look, there's no bench warmers on this team.On this team, listen, if you're saved, you're starting.All right? Don't call the other players naked. All right? If you're saved, you're starting.Get unified. Get unified. You know, the biggest unity killer in the church is selfishness.My wants, my desires, my preferences, especially in this culture where we are right now,right here geographically where we are, this is a horrible place. Because the mindset of mostchurchgoers in this area is church is the place that I go to get. And I'm going to this churchbecause they have better coffee, and I'm going to this church because, you know, they have a zipline for their youth group, and I'm going to this church because they have fog machines and laserlights. And we have this idea that church is the place that I go to get. And that is completelyforeign to the Bible. Church is not the place you go to get. Church is the place you go to get.And anything you receive here is bonus. The mindset has to be church is the place I go to get.You're expected to. It's why you're saved, and it's why you have been gifted.Know your salvation. Three Gs, grace, gifted, one more.Guiltless.Guiltless. Pick up second part of verse seven,where he says, "As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."That Greek word for wait means to wait eagerly. Right? I don't have to tell you on that.There's a big difference between the way a kid is waiting to open his birthday presentsversus the way that kid's dad is waiting at the DMV. Right? This is wait eagerly. It's this idea ofanticipation like, "Oh, he's coming. He's coming. I can't wait. I cannot wait. Jesus is coming, and Icannot wait." Do you see that? What are we waiting for? He tells us the revealing of our Lord JesusChrist. I don't know if you noticed, but Jesus Christ is mocked now. He's about to show up.And he's going to make everything right. And he's going to make everything new.Are you excited for that? I sure am.In the verse eight, he says, "Who will sustain you to the end? Who will sustain you to the end?If you believe that you can lose your salvation, I want you to explain that verse to me.Will sustain you to the end?" Did you ever wonder if you're going to make it?Did you ever wonder,am I going to make it to the end? Loving Jesus, following Jesus, serving Jesus, am I going to make it?Listen, if you are legitimately born again in Christ, you will make it.On the authority of the Word of God, you are going to make it.Because you didn't work to earn your salvation, and you can't work to keep your salvation.And here very plainly, God's Word tells us that Jesus will sustain you to the end.How? That's His responsibility. He's going to get you there.You're like, okay, well maybe He's going to get me there, Pastor Jeff, but I got a lot to answer for.When I stand before God, He's going to tell me how disappointed He is in me.God's going to tell me how upset He is with me. And I've had people tell me, Pastor Jeff,you know what, when we're like in line to get to heaven, don't be standing behind me.Because God is, He's got a lot of stuff that He's going to, He's really going to let me have it.You don't want to stand behind me in line to get to heaven.Well, let's keep reading, shall we? Who will sustain you to the end? Look at this.Guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.Guiltless.In that day, when you stand before Christ, it is not going to be for Himto tell you how badly you messed up. In Christ, what does your Bible say? You have no guilt.2 Corinthians 5.21 says, "For our sake, God He made Him Jesus."God made Jesus to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousnessof God. There's a trade that's going on here. Jesus took our sin on Himself, on the cross,to the point that somehow He is personified sin here.He took our sin. What did He give us in exchange? So that in Him we might become the righteousnessof God. Do you see that this grace, it didn't just take away your sin. God's gracemade you as righteous as God Himself is. And look, you can talk to me about the trinityand creation and predestination, and I've never lost a moment's sleep over any of those things.To me, this is the most baffling doctrine in the entire Bible, the fact that God would takea piece of dirt, sinner like me, and because of Jesus Christ, He would pronounce me as righteousas He is. I don't even have the ability to explain how awesome that is.Guiltless. He's going to sustain you until the day that you stand before Him when Hepronounces you guiltless. You're like, "You sure about that?"Well, look at verse 9, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowshipof His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord." Yeah, I am sure about that, because it's not basedon my ability, and it's not based on my integrity. It's based on God's ability,and it's based on God's integrity. He called you to this, the fellowship of His Son.You've got to know your salvation.And you see, it's past, present, and future, right? It's justification, sanctification,glorification. It's just in this particular passage, it's grace, gifts, and guiltless.And for them then, and for us now, this isn't new information.But these are foundational truths that we seem to forget about over time.Because church harvest Bible chapel like the Corinthians over time, we tend to forget aboutour identity in Jesus Christ. We forget that we were lost, hellbound sinners saved by His grace.We forget that we are here to serve, not to be served. We forget that Jesus Christ is comingsoon, and we forget that this is Jesus' church, not our church.And when we forget these things, unity goes out the window, because we start to thinkthat church is about us. Know your salvation. It's Jesus. It's Jesus. It's His grace. It's His gifts.It's His fellowship. So our worship team makes their way forward in our communion servers.You know, Jesus gave us a way to remind us of all these truths that unite us in Him.That's what I love about the Lord's table. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."This keeps bringing us back when we are tempted to think this is about us, when we are tempted tothink that we are contributing to our salvation. When we are tempted to thinkthat God doesn't love us and we need to figure stuff out, this brings us back to the foundationaltruths of the way God purchased your salvation and what it means for us today.

From Pastor David Peck | From the sermon series Family Discipleship. Because God created and instituted the family to display His glory, we will study His word to see more clearly how the roles He has given us reveal His character to us individually, as families, as a church and to the world around us. 

Welcome back to the podcast! We've all heard them. Little phrases that sound wise, comforting, or even spiritual—but they're not true. In this series, we'll uncover some of the most common believable lies people buy into about God, life, and faith.--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Believable Lie #3: God Won't Give Me More Than I Can HandleIt sounds comforting to say “God won't give you more than you can handle,” but it's not true. In fact, the Bible teaches the opposite. Paul admitted he was “crushed and overwhelmed beyond his ability to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Why? Because God never intended us to handle life on our own. He allows more than we can bear so that we'll finally lean on Him. The promise isn't that we'll never be overwhelmed—the promise is that we'll never be abandoned.The Misunderstood VerseThis lie comes from a misreading of 1 Corinthians 10:13. The verse isn't about suffering—it's about temptation. God promises He won't let temptation be more than we can bear, and He always provides a “way out.” But suffering is different. Sometimes we really do face more than we can handle.The Truth About TemptationTemptations are real but not irresistible. Israel's history proves this: some fell, others stood firm—not because temptation was weaker but because God was stronger. Endurance is possible, not by willpower but by God's faithfulness (Hebrews 2:18, James 1:12, 2 Thessalonians 3:3). God's “way out” can be changing your environment, fighting back with Scripture, or reaching out to others for help.The Truth About SufferingUnlike temptation, suffering may indeed overwhelm us. Paul admitted he faced trials he couldn't endure on his own (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). Yet suffering teaches us to rely on God, not ourselves. It drives us into the arms of Jesus and into the comfort of His people. God comforts us so that we can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:4).The Big PictureGod may give us more than we can handle, but He will never give us more than He can handle. Trials push us to depend on Christ, to lean on our church family, and to prepare the next generation to do the same. Suffering will come. But Christ is enough.

What does true generosity look like? Is it measured by the size of the gift, or is it something deeper?In Luke 21:1–4, Jesus praises a widow who gave only two small coins. At first glance, her offering seems insignificant compared to the wealthy donors around her. Yet, in Jesus' eyes, her gift was greater than them all. Why? Because God doesn't measure generosity by the amount—it's the heart behind it that matters.The Scene at the TemplePicture the temple courts: the wealthy making large, noticeable contributions, drawing admiration for their gifts. Then comes a poor widow. No fanfare. No applause. Just two copper coins—economically worthless. Yet Jesus declares that she has given more than anyone else.The difference? The wealthy gave from their abundance, gifts that cost them little. The widow gave out of her poverty—all she had to live on. Her gift was not just generous; it was sacrificial, risky, and rooted in trust.This theme echoes throughout Scripture. In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord tells Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Paul also affirms this in 2 Corinthians 8:12: “If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”God doesn't call us to give what we don't have. He calls us to give cheerfully, faithfully, and with hearts surrendered to Him.God Wants Your HeartThe widow's gift also points us to the gospel itself. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 we read, “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus gave everything for us—holding nothing back. When we give sacrificially, we reflect His love and generosity.Maybe you've felt your giving is too small to matter. But Scripture shows otherwise. In John 6, a boy offered five loaves and two fish—and Jesus fed thousands. The issue isn't what you have, but what God can do with it.Generosity in God's Kingdom isn't about status or size. It's about surrender. A gift given in faith is never small. Whether two coins or two million dollars, the real question is: Am I giving out of abundance or out of trust?The story of the widow's mite isn't meant to pressure us into giving more. Instead, it frees us to see generosity the way God does—not as an economic equation but as an act of worship. He doesn't need your money; He wants your heart.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I lost money in my 401(k) when I became disabled, and now it's sitting in an IRA that isn't earning anything. Should I transfer it to a savings account, and what taxes would I be liable for? Also, since my house is paid off, I'd like to understand how reverse mortgages work.I have just sold my house and would like to know the most prudent way to invest the proceeds. I'm trying to be a good steward, but I'm not sure if a savings account, an IUL, or something else would be best.I'm on permanent federal workers' comp and wondering if I'll still be eligible to draw Social Security when the time comes.My friend hasn't filed taxes for five years. How could that affect her children if she passes away, and what steps can she take to resolve it?I was told that if I move my mortgage into a home equity line of credit and deposit my paychecks there, I could pay it off in seven years. Is that really true?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Julia D'Agostino preaches for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, inviting us to encounter one another with compassion and reminding us that even the smallest faith can reveal God's Reign breaking into our world: "I pray that we all may turn to our neighbor, encounter them, allow our hearts to break, and let the mercy of God work through us. Have faith, even if it be the size of a mustard seed. Because God's Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven."Julia D'Agostino (she/her) is a theologian drawn to Ignatian spirituality, the stories of women in the church, and the mystery of thin places. After earning a B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross, she followed “the God of surprises” into graduate studies at the Boston College Clough School of Theology & Ministry, where she completed both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10052025 to learn more about Julia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

God chastens whom He loves- There should be a healthy reverence and fear a child has for their father. Because God perfectly loves us, He will always bring chastening for our profit. In contrast, an earthly father will sometimes bring correction in the flesh.

Because God fully knows us and loves us, we are freed to live boldly and share Him with others

Body Image | Created & DesignedSunday, September 28, 2025Geoff WrightGenesis 1, Psalm 139.13-16God has intentionally created and designed your body. The incredible thing is He made you in His image. Every person who has ever lived has been made in His image, which shows that each person has immense value. Because God has designed us, it is Him alone that gets to state how to use the gift of the body.

Because God loved us first, were able to love others like He loves them. What does that look like? The post Our Mission | Love People, Pt 2 appeared first on CrossPoint Modesto.

Because God being made in God's image includes work, rest, and play, we must image him in these ways. Genesis 1:27–2:3 (ESV): 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Because God has eternally dwelled in community, being evermore conformed to Christ's image will mean evermore living in community with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Because God has sovereignly destined His people to be like His Son, we can know that all things are working for the good of those who belong to Him. Think about it: If you know that God’s actions on your behalf are already past tense, while still holding present and future power, then why do you feel defeated, depressed, or condemned?

From Pastor David Peck | From the sermon series, Family Discipleship.  Because God created and instituted the family to display His glory, we will study His word to see more clearly how the roles He has given us reveal His character to us individually, as families, as a church and to the world around us. 

     Concerning the permission of divorce, Jesus said the Pharisees, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way” (Matt 19:8). God's permissive will can be observed on a national level, as Paul said, “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). This explains much of the poor behavior we see among the nations as we study world history. Though God desires righteousness among the nations (Prov 14:34), He allows them to pursue their own values and priorities. Yet He never relinquishes His sovereignty, and in time, He will hold every nation accountable for its actions (Ps 9:17; Rev 20:12-13).      God is always righteous and directs people to righteous living. However, God is no bully, as He does not force people to obey Him. When people turn negative to God, He permits them to pursue their sinful ways, though they are not free to choose the consequences of their actions. One who plays with fire will eventually get burned. Concerning those who “suppress God's truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), three times it is written that He “gave them over” to “the lusts of their hearts” (Rom 1:24), and “to degrading passions” (Rom 1:26), and “to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Rom 1:28). Once God permits a person to operate by his/her sinful passions, they are given a measure of freedom to live as they want. These are described as “being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful” (Rom 1:29-31).      Fourth, there is God's overruling will, which refers to those occasions when He hinders His creatures from acting contrary to His sovereign purposes. Throughout Scripture we observe God intervening in the actions of fallen angels and people. After God permitted Adam and Eve to disobey Him, He then drove them from the Garden of Eden and overruled their ability to go back in and eat from the tree of life (Gen 3:22-24). After Abraham lied to Abimelech and told him that Sarah was his sister, Abimelech took her as his wife. However, in order to protect Sarah, God intervened and told Abimelech, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married” (Gen 20:3). Abimelech pleaded with God and claimed his innocence (Gen 20:4-5). God, being just, told Abimelech, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her” (Gen 20:6). Jacob served his uncle Laban for twenty years, but during that time his uncle had mistreated him, and by the end, he saw his uncle “was not friendly toward him as formerly” (Gen 31:2). Realizing it was time for Jacob to leave his uncle, he told his two wives, Rachel and Leah, “your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me” (Gen 31:7). During the tribulation, there will be hostile unbelievers who will try to flee from God's wrath by seeking death. But God prevents them from this escape, as John writes, “in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them” (Rev 9:6).      When Satan wanted to attack Job, God granted him permission, saying, “Behold, all that he has is in your power” (Job 1:12a). But then God restrained Satan, saying, “do not put forth your hand on him” (Job 1:12b). When Satan came back a second time, God granted him permission to attack Job's body, saying, “he is in your power” (Job 2:6a), but then told him to “spare his life” (Job 2:6b). When Job's wife advised him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9), he responded, saying, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10). During the seven-year tribulation, demons are released from an angelic prison and “power was given them” to hurt unbelievers (Rev 9:3). However, they were restrained, as God told them, “not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months” (Rev 9:4-5a). Satan is currently active in the world (1 Pet 5:8; 1 John 5:19) and will be during the tribulation. However, God intervenes at the end of the tribulation and has Satan arrested and “bound him for a thousand years” (Rev 20:2). God's arresting angel “threw Satan into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time” (Rev 20:3).      Fifth, there is God's providential will, which refers to the outworking of His sovereign will in such a way that He creates circumstances that direct our lives and destiny. Believers who understand this will make their human plans contingent on God's sovereign plans (1 Ch 13:2; Acts 18:21; Jam 4:15). As God's people, we know the Lord and His will for our lives because His written Word informs and guides us. The Bible is our divine pedagogical guide. In addition to Scripture, God directs us providentially as He controls the circumstances of our lives to His desired end. However, only the believer with a thorough knowledge of God's Word can properly interpret his/her circumstances and know what God is doing. Interpreting circumstances, or divine impressions on the heart, is never as clear as knowing God's Word. Charles Clough states: "There is a mystical element to Christianity in how the Lord leads you; and He impresses upon you different things. But you can never elevate that mystical part of your Christian life and make it equal to the revelation of Scripture, because the revelation of Scripture is the measuring stick so you can tell the difference between Christ in the heart and heart burn. How you do that is whether it fits the Scripture."[1] God's providence is His continual care over the creation He brought into existence. God continues to create and control circumstances in order to direct history according to His predetermined plan, all for His glory and the benefit of His people. People live in the flow of history, and are moved by the circumstances God controls. J. I. Packer states: "Providence is normally defined in Christian theology as the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill (Psa 145:9 cf. Mt 5:45–48), he upholds his creatures in ordered existence (Acts 17:28; Col 1:17; Heb 1:3), guides and governs all events, circumstances and free acts of angels and men (cf. Psa 107; Job 1:12; 2:6; Gen 45:5–8), and directs everything to its appointed goal, for his own glory (cf. Eph 1:9–12)."[2]      God is holy and never creates evil, however, He can and does control those who do. Satan, and those who follow him, are ultimately under God's sovereign control, and even their evil plans and actions are used for His good purposes. For example, Joseph was mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery and taken to Egypt where he suffered greatly. Yet, later in his life, Joseph interpreted their behavior from the divine perspective, telling his brothers, “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen 45:5). And Joseph repeated himself a second time, saying, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen 45:7-8a). And later, he told them a third time, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen 50:20). It was God's providence that drove Saul to chase after his father's donkeys, and then be led to the prophet Samuel and anointed king of Israel (1 Sam 9-10). It was God's providence that directed Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, so the baby Jesus would be born at the appointed time and place (Mic 5:2; Luke 2:4-6; Gal 4:4). Later, Joseph and Mary were compelled to go to Egypt, in order to preserve the baby Savior (Matt 2:13-15). It was God's providence that forced Aquila and Priscilla out of Rome by the emperor Claudius' decree, only to meet the apostle Paul in Corinth and join him in Christian ministry (Acts 18:1-3; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19). It was God's providence that put the Lord Jesus on the cross to be crucified by the hands of godless men. Peter, charging Israelites in Jerusalem concerning Jesus's death, said, “This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). And after being persecuted by the leaders in Jerusalem, Peter and John, along with others, said to God, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur” (Acts 4:27-28). In these verses we see people behaving sinfully, whether Joseph's brothers, or human rulers who abuse their power; yet God used their sinful choices to bring about a greater good. Because God is righteous, all His actions are just (Psa 119:137). Because He is loving (1 John 4:8), He directs all things for the benefit of His people. Because He is good (Psa 34:8; 100:5), He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28).      Concerning Christian ministry, God providentially opens and closes doors of service. Throughout the New Testament, an “open door” refers to a divinely orchestrated opportunity for sharing the gospel and engaging in Christian ministry (Acts 14:25-27). On one occasion the Lord closed an opportunity for ministry (Acts 16:6-7), but then opened another (Acts 16:9-10). An “open door” for ministry can have opposition (1 Cor 16:7-9), does not remove everyday concerns about life (2 Cor 2:12-13), should be sought with prayer (Col 4:2-3), and once opened cannot be shut by people (Rev 3:8). As God's people, we do not create occasions for Christian ministry; we simply accept those provided for us by the Lord (Eph 2:10).    In summary, knowing and doing God's will is largely a matter of knowing His Word and walking in it. Those who are positive to God will desire His Word in order to obey it. From Scripture we know about the Lord Himself, His sovereign control over His creation, what He desires of us, His permission of sin, as well as His directing history providentially to the return and reign of Christ. Where Scripture is silent, we may try to ascertain His will through the circumstances of our life, but such understanding must always be subordinate to the clear revelation of Scripture. Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.   [1] Charles Clough, Lesson 21 - Moral Relativism; Justification & Procedures for Holy War, (2010, 17th minute). https://www.bibleframeworkapplied.org/multi-lesson-series/deuteronomy [2] J. I. Packer, “Providence” in New Bible Dictionary, ed. D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, 3rd ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 979-80.

Can you tell what 'Christians' are fakes? ...Because God can. So let's explore a biblical response to carnal Christians while leaving the judgment to the only righteous Judge. The target of his ministry is to clearly communicate the gospel of grace to unbelievers and solid Bible teaching to believers in order to nurture them to grow and walk in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Josiah and his family are supported by people who believe in the gospel and want to see it preached and defended. SUPPORT FEMI: femionline.com/donate INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/focus_pod/ OUR YOUTH CAMP: gracefarmonline.com

God rules all the Earth! That means, anything He says and does is to protect those who live here! He says you are sons and daughters of His. He loves you and wants you to have eternity with Him. Because God's a global God, He wants all peoples to know Him. Today, Pastor Richard says God will judge the whole Earth. It's up to you to share the gospel with those around you so they have the opportunity to receive the love of God into their hearts.

The world is loud. Notifications. Opinions. Distractions. Chaos. And in the middle of all that noise, we're still trying to hear God.   But His voice isn't found in the volume—it's found in the stillness. In this sermon, Pastor Micah Harp teaches how to tune out the world and tune into the voice of the Lord. Because God is speaking… are you still enough to listen?  

Support the Glad Trad PodcastHow can I love a language that I don't speak? Because God used it, and you should too!Thank you to our Patrons / Channel Members:Kate ElminiEldridge YorkshireCarol JBrenda AllorAllan SmithKathryn BurksEmilio PereaJanet WeipertFollow us @gladtradpodcast Video Episodes on Youtube

Because God created us in his image as embodied humans, we must embrace and value our embodiedness Genesis 1:26–27; 2:5–7, 18, 21–25  26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 5 When no bush of the field1 was yet in the land2 and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist3 was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.  18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”  21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

We all have different church attending experiences and images of church. So why should we invest in going to church?We need to all be courageous enough to discover, and know WHY church matters. Because God has huge things He wants to do in your life through a healthy church.Why Does Church Matter?God has so much in store for us, but He also has a system set up in place to help you reach the destiny He has for you, and to attain the promises He has given you. That system is the Church.

From Pastor David Peck | From the sermon series Family Discipleship. Because God created and instituted the family to display His glory, we will study His word to see more clearly how the roles He has given us reveal His character to us individually, as families, as a church and to the world around us. 

In this episode, we examine the short yet tragic reign of Abijam in 1 Kings 15:1–8, exploring how God's enduring faithfulness to the Davidic Covenant shapes His dealings with unrighteous kings in Judah. Despite Abijam's clear failure to walk in the ways of David, the kingdom is not torn from his line. Why? Because of God's promise to David.We explore how this divine loyalty can create the appearance of partiality, especially when compared to the judgment God brings on the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Is God playing favorites—or is something deeper at work?Zooming out, we reflect on how the book of Kings functions like an autopsy report, diagnosing the spiritual and moral decay that led both Israel and Judah into captivity. The civil war between Abijam and Jeroboam becomes a tragic symbol of Israel turning in on itself—God's chosen people, called to be agents of healing, now self-destructing like a cancerous body at war with itself. The irony is profound: the nation meant to heal the world has become a source of its own affliction.But this is not where the story ends.We turn to Luke 1:30–33, where the angel announces that God will give Jesus the throne of His father David. Here we see the beauty of God's faithfulness—God does not break His promises. Instead, He actively advances the Davidic Covenant through Jesus, who will inherit the Davidic throne in Jerusalem not merely to rule, but to redeem. In Jesus - the Son of David and Son of God, God picks up the broken pieces of Israel's failure and continues the project to heal human nature from the inside out.We close by wrestling with the tension this raises: God's covenant faithfulness may sometimes feel like favoritism, but ultimately it is our hope. Because God keeps His word, the mission is still alive. The King has come—and He's finishing what Israel started.Key Passages: 1 Kings 15:1-8Luke 1:30-33⁠⁠⁠Explainer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Video⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on how to use ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.biblehub.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.blueletterbible.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave us a question or comment at our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website podcast page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome, everyone, to the 55th episode of Professor P's Podcast. I am back for the Fall Semester, and I couldn't be more excited to be with you all. I am kicking us off in true Professor Palumbo fashion, and I am coming with a dose of Elixir, that energetic power. Our topic today is The JOURNEY #mastery. Everyone wants the destination—the breakthrough, the answer, the promise fulfilled. But it's the journey that shapes us, heals us, and grows us. The journey is where God teaches us who we really are, and who He really is. Here's the thing, though: sometimes on the journey, we stop moving. We get stuck. We take a campground—something that was meant to be temporary—and try to make it a permanent home. Maybe it's a place of pain. Maybe it's a comfort zone. Maybe it's just familiarity. But the journey isn't about staying—it's about growing. You can't let a season that was meant to shape you turn into a prison that defines you. Don't camp where God called you to pass through. Trust the process of the journey. Even when it's slow, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it feels like everyone else is “further ahead.” Enjoy the journey. Let yourself notice the small victories, the unexpected blessings, the ways God provides strength for each step. You don't have to rush. You don't have to compare. You don't have to camp in yesterday's grief or yesterday's success. Because God's process is perfect. And when you trust His process, you'll realize the journey isn't wasted time—it's the very thing that prepares you for the promise. Questions to ask your listeners while speaking: Where have you been camping that God only meant you to pass through? Are you trusting the process of your journey, or are you fighting it? What would it look like for you to enjoy the season you're in right now, even before the destination? Homework / Call to Action: This week, write down three things about your current journey that you can be grateful for. Not the destination, not what you're waiting on—but right here, right now. Then pray over them and thank God for being with you on the journey. Jump into today's episode to hear more. Remember to connect with me on social media. My handles are below. And I would love for you to subscribe, leave me a review, and share this podcast with everyone you know. Also, if there is a topic you want me to talk about, if you have an empowerment story, or if you are an entrepreneur and would like to be on the show, please send me an email! Thank you in advance!  Contact with Professor P Website www.natashapalumbo.com www.calempowered.com Email natasha@natashapalumbo.com  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/natasha_m_palumbo/   Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LdyBug  LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-m-palumbo-mba-entrepreneurship-empowered/ 

Daily Dose of Hope September 16, 2025   Scripture – Luke 19:28-48   Prayer: Lord, We need you. Our world is unstable and unjust. It is a place where innocent people die and power and control take precedent over mercy and compassion.  While we know that sin and brokenness are everywhere, it is still hard to take it in.  We don't know which way to turn.  So, we need you.  We need your peace, your justice, and your wisdom.  Help us be the people you have called us to be, even when it's hard.  Fill us with your courage to speak truth and grace.  More of you and less of me.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida.  We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we finish up Luke 19.   We start with Jesus entering Jerusalem as King; this is what we call the Palm Sunday passage.  We are so used to this narrative that sometimes we don't see the strangeness of it.  This is an odd scene.  Jesus sends two of his disciples to go on ahead to the village and find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.  If someone asks why you are taking it, then just say the Lord needs it.  What this says to us is that Jesus has taken care of every single detail.  We don't know how he has done it, but Jesus is God and he has made sure everything is right.    So, they get the colt.  They put their cloaks on the colt and Jesus rides on it.  Others spread their cloaks on the road.  As he makes his way down the Mount of Olives, a crowd of his disciples gather and begin praising God.  Now, this isn't just the twelve disciples.  This is probably a fairly large group of believers that have seen his power, the people who have heard his teaching, watched his miracles.  And they shout out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”   A couple things to note here: ·      All of this is very intentional.  This is not a coincidence.  This is a very intentional show of power.  Jesus is being given a royal welcoming.  First, he is riding on a colt.  In the Old Testament, new kings would come riding in on the mule or donkey of the the previous king.  We see in 1 Kings 1 that David puts his son Solomon on his own mule, a trumpet is sounded, and the people rejoice and shout, then the priest and the prophet Nathan anoint him as king of Israel.  The mule is like the presidential limo, a sign of power and prestige that says that this is the new leader. ·      What's interesting here is that Jesus is not riding on the previous king's mule or donkey.  He is riding on a colt that has never been ridden.  Scripture makes a point of telling us this.  Why?  Because God is doing a new thing, Jesus is a different kind of king. ·      Then, there is this whole issue of the cloaks being thrown down on the path for Jesus to pass.  The people are running ahead and shouting his praises.  This is the kind of welcome that a royal official of the Roman government would receive.  Think of it like the red carpet being rolled out.  This is the sign that a very important leader, the new king, has arrived.  All of this has meaning.   And for the Jews in the crowd, and most of them would have been Jewish, they would have known that this was a fulfillment of prophecy.  Zechariah 9:9, Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. All of this is pointing to the fact that Jesus is the king.   This large group of disciples were praising God joyfully and shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord…” What might not be apparent to us is that when they shout this – Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, Peace in heaven and glory on highest” they are expressing that this is the Messiah, this is the anointed one, the one they had been waiting for that God had sent to save them.  These words echo Psalm 118:22-26, The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.   Surely, this is the long-expected Messiah, this is the one that God sent to sit on the throne of David, just as he promised some 600 years before.  You see, its all coming together for them.  And thus, there is much joy and celebration for God has sent King Jesus to save us.    But what happens next is worth noting.  The Pharisees tell Jesus to make his disciples stop.  Stop the praising.  Stop the quoting of Scripture.  In fact, what they say is, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  Seriously, make them stop.  Why was it that the Pharisees wanted the people to stop praising Jesus?  What was behind this rebuke?    Could it be that they know exactly what's going on?  They know that Jesus is declaring himself to be the long-awaited Messiah.  Maybe they are scared, maybe they are angry, we really don't know.  What we know is that they want it to stop quickly.  And Jesus refuses this request.  He says, “...if they keep quiet, then the rocks themselves will cry out.”  Creation itself will cry out and proclaim that Jesus is Lord.  Think about that.    And this narrative ends with Jesus crying over Jerusalem, this city that he loves but he knows will reject him.    I want to focus briefly on the crowd.  What kinds of people were part of this group of disciples, praising Jesus and hailing him as King?    I would imagine that some of them were those who saw his miracles.  They were those people who had life-changing encounters with him.  People like Zacchaeus, Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus (who Jesus raised from the dead), the Roman centurion whose slave was healed, Mary Magdalene, the bleeding woman who Jesus healed…people who experienced the expansive love and miraculous healing power of Jesus.  They received grace in ways they never knew possible.  I'm guessing they were in the crowd, cheering loudly and throwing their cloaks on the ground.  They know Jesus as Lord and King.   But who else?  What about those who so badly wanted a king to overthrow the Romans?  Everything about Jesus screamed revolutionary.  Wasn't the long-expected King going to return the Jews to their rightful place?  Wasn't he going to put an end to this oppression and take care of these stupid Romans for good?  Yes, there were probably some of those in the crowd.   So, let's get this clear:  There were those who wanted something from Jesus, there were those who liked the idea of Jesus, and there were those who truly worshiped Jesus.  What group would you fall into?  Before you quickly make a decision, really think about this.  What kind of king is Jesus to you?  What are your expectations of Jesus?    So often in the Christian life, we give lip service to Jesus being King of Kings and Lord of Lords but we don't really live like it.  What kind of king is Jesus to you?  What are your expectations for King Jesus and what happens when they aren't met?  How often have we expected Jesus to ensure us that nothing bad will happen?  If only we believe and are faithful, maybe my loved ones won't get sick, my job will be protected, my marriage will be secure, you get the idea.  How often have we wanted to lean on Jesus as counselor, as self-help guru, as protector, as doctor, but we aren't really that keen on making him Lord of our Lives.   You see, Jesus as Lord means turning everything over to him.  It means giving him our desires, our relationships, our resources, our thoughts, our time, everything, and saying --- Jesus, your will be done, not mine.  Lately, I've been really wrestling with this whole concept of seeking God's will, not my own.  I've found that my prayers too often are a list of what I want to see happen and I'm not really, truly asking Jesus for his will to be done.  I'm working on this.  Because if Jesus is my King, then it's his will I desire.  It's his solution to the problem.  It's his desire for this church, for my children, for my marriage, for my future.  How often do we want Jesus to be provider, sustainer, protector, and friend BUT not Lord?  What kind of king is Jesus to you?   I don't want to end this devotional without talking, at least a bit, about Jesus in the Temple.  According to Luke's Gospel, he enters Jerusalem as King and goes directly to the Temple.  Things are a mess there.  To put it mildly, there was much unholy commerce in the Court of the Gentiles. There were many merchants selling animals for sacrifice and there were money changers present for foreign Jews to exchange their money to the local currency for the temple tax.    So why was Jesus so upset?  Wasn't this all part of the sacrificial system?  This was the one area of the temple designated for Gentiles (the nations) to pray. They weren't allowed in any other area of the temple. And the Jewish people had taken over the entire area for trade and profit. Lots of money was being made here.  Jesus is beyond angry.  The religious leaders have an interesting reaction to this.  They are scared.  I'm thinking that they know they are in the wrong but they don't want to submit to this Jesus character.  Thus, they begin to plot how to kill him.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki    

Because God called us to an eternal covenant, we can have unshakable faith in the face of life's uncertainties.

Because God is God and we are not, we must accept our finite and bow before him. Genesis 1:1–3, 31 1  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. … 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Because God has heard our cry to live and answered, "Yes," let us live all our lives loving Him. Let Us Love the Lord for Letting Us Live.

I'mso amazed how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I heard thatquote yesterday and how true it is when we look at the situation going on inAmerica today. God can use ordinary people like a Charlie Kirk to doextraordinary things that can impact a generation of young people for the gloryof God. And my friend, God can use you. I remember one of the clips of CharlieKirk when someone asked him who could take his place, he responded, "Youare the answer. Todayas believers, we have access to the great wealth of God that's in Christ Jesus.If we only knew how to tap into it and live in that power of His resurrectionevery day as weak vessels, ordinary people depending on a mighty awesome,extraordinary God to do great and awesome things for His glory. That's whatthese verses in Ephesians chapter 1 are about.  Ordinarypeople like you and me can face an evil generation. We can face it with hope.We can face it with faith. We can face it with grace to do the will of God inthe power of God. Paul begins this letter to the believers by telling them,"I'm praying for you. I'm praying for you to know God." My friend,when you have an intimate relationship, not just a religion, but relationshipwith Jesus Christ, it makes all the difference in the world. This relationshipand knowledge of God lead to knowing the hope in our inheritance in Christ. Wehave been chosen for His glory both for today and for eternity.  Bymaking us His inheritance, God has shown His love. By promising us a wonderfulfuture, He has encouraged our hope. Paul now offers us something to challengeour faith: "the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward whobelieve" (Eph. 1:19). Themoment you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you wereplaced into the body of Christ, you are His body. You are the church. We arethe called-out ones, as we mentioned yesterday, that we might know the hope ofour calling. We have a calling as a church to stand up for Jesus to tell theworld the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wesee this great example in Charlie Kirk in both his life and death. And Aso in hiswife Erika, how even now in a time of tragedy she has proclaimed the gospel ofJesus Christ to anyone that would listen. The grace and strength to do this isavailable only through the “exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.”This is available to every believer and can make a powerful difference ineveryone's life because it's not our reasoning and our logic that changespeople. It's the power of the gospel through the ministry of the Holy Spiritthat opens people's eyes to the truth. Today,let us go on to know the Lord. Let us pursue Him and let us pursue the wealththat He's given us in Christ and the power to live a life that's different. Thespirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But it is when we realize how weak wereally are, that's when we depend on the power of God. Paul tells us that thisis his experience in  2 Corinthians12:9-10: “And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for Mystrength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will ratherboast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore Itake pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, indistresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Weare at a major crossroads in America. We are at the tipping point. You are theanswer! Because God delights in using ordinary people to do extraordinary thingsthrough His strength and resurrection power! This is available to those whowill “believe”. “What is the exceeding greatness of His power towardus who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”. Will youbelieve and trust Him today? Godbless!

Why was Noah favored in God's sight? Because God is full of kindness and compassion.

What fears or ambitions keep you from fully submitting your life to God's will? In his sermon, “Stop Playing God,” Pastor Josiah shows us how James 4:11-17 calls us to humble ourselves in full submission before God. As Christians we need to stop criticizing our brothers and sisters, stop pretending we control tomorrow, and start entrusting every part of our lives to the Lord's will. Our lives are but a vapor, and at the end of the day, only what is done in Christ will last. Because God alone is the final authority, we must quit playing God and joyfully submit our lives to Him.

Because God is all-powerful and has promised ultimate victory over evil, we must remain hopeful when evil tries to discourage us. Genesis 50:15–21 (ESV): 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Because God cares deeply about His people, He gives clear standards for healthy leadership, calling His church to be led by qualified elders who shepherd and deacons who serve.---We desire to see the Gospel saturate a people, awakening them by the glory of God to treasure Jesus as better.For more Gospel-centered teaching and resources, including audio and video downloads of our sermons, please visit our website: http://www.thewellchurchok.com/resourcesInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/thewellchurchokFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewellchurchok

Because God has a plan for His children, connected with all of creation, even suffering cannot destroy our hope. Think about it: If you are connected to the creation around you, does that make you responsible for it in any way?

The Gospel1. God is righteous and perfect.“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” (Romans 1:18)“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)2. Because God is righteous, He must judge sin.“For He will render to each one according to his works.” (Romans 2:6)“The Lord is a God of justice.” (Isaiah 30:18)3. All people have sinned and deserve judgment.“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)4. The payment for sin is death.“For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a)“But as for the cowardly, the faithless… their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)5. Jesus, fully God and fully man, died the death we deserve.“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1, 14)“…and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:24–26)6. Through faith in Jesus, God forgives sin and declares us righteous.“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)“…that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures… that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)7. By faith, we receive eternal life with God.“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)“We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

"Because God said so." Have you ever gotten this answer when asking a question about the Bible? Our entire faith is placed in God's Word, but it can be difficult for us to defend when, how, or even why it was put together. In Week 4 of “TikTok Theology,” we take a broad look at how the Bible was assembled and why we can still trust it thousands of years from the original Scriptures being written.

Because God is eternal, we must be willing to wait for God's story to unfold over however long He chooses. Genesis 48:1–21 (ESV): 48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.' 5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” 8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.' ” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.

Theresa Rosenthal had a rough start in life. She watched her father abuse her mother, and then when she was six, a family friend sexually abused her. Like so many that suffered at the hands of a predator, Theresa pushed the pain down into a secret place, and for decades, she battled with depression and substance abuse. Finally, one day she was sitting in front of her house and just blurted out to God, “What am I supposed to do?”Within 24 hours, she had a Bible from a new friend who reached out to her, and even though some of Theresa's bad choices would land her in jail, her friend and that Bible, were constant sources of healing. Today, she's a member of a loving church, and she tells anyone who will listen about God's grace in her life. Daniel 4:2 says, “I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me.” Too often we are too tribal. We think God only works in our circles, but the fact is, God has always been the definition of inclusive. The Bible makes it very clear that God's grace is available to anyone in all times and places. Matthew 5:45 is a very interesting verse that illustrates this. It says, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” That's fascinating. What might seem unusual or even unjust to us is routine for God. Because God takes the long view. He knows that our lives on Earth are brief. So, if he gives grace to a bad person, he's thinking of that person's eternal place. And let's face it, there are plenty of times in our lives that we didn't deserve grace. But he gave it anyway. In God's economy, a Babylonian brickmaker from 3,000 years ago is as valuable as you are. Theresa Rosenthal was warmed by that grace at a time when she was doing drugs and spiraling into depression, and she had no ability to improve her life. And that's the point of grace. God gives it to a variety of people and circumstances. And life would be unbearable without it. Let's pray. Father God, your grace sustains us, in bad times and in good times, and we might take our focus off you. Sometimes that grace is almost unseen. We might not be aware of it until years later when looking back gives us insight. Thank you for giving us what we don't deserve. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Today's promise: Psalm 37:23-24 Falling and failure are part of life. Most of us have or will have a great fall. It may be a financial fall, it could be a relational fall, or even a moral fall. No matter what your fall looks like, it is common to all of us. For the Christian, there is never a fatal fall. You can survive, get back up, and keep going. Why? Because God has you by the hand. He is there, ready to pull you back up and get you going again.

Pastor Greg Laurie provides his biblical perspective on Israel and the end times in today's message. Notes: Focus verses - Romans 11, 1 Thessalonians 4 God keeps every one of his promises to us. #1 God says we will never be alone in life.Isaiah 41 Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)For Jesus Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." #2 God promises to get us through whatever we’re facing.Isaiah 43:2 Psalm 119:50 (ESV)This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. #3 Jesus promised that He would come again.John 14:1–3 We know God’s future promises are true because He has kept His former promises. Genesis 12:2–3 #1 Because God kept His promises to Israel, we know He will keep His promises to us!Romans 11:17 #2 God uses us to bless the people who have blessed us.Romans 11:14 #3 Israel plays a key role in the last days.Romans 11:25–26 Romans 11:2 (ESV)God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. A sign of the times of the last days is the regathering of the nation Israel to their land. A modern-day miracle occurred when the Jews formed a nation on May 14th, 1948. The Jews are the indigenous people that God himself gave that land to. A checklist of things the Bible predicted about Israel:Israel will be scattered.Israel will be regathered.Israel will regain Jerusalem.Israel will be isolated.Israel will be attacked. God will intervene on behalf of Israel.Ezekiel 38:18 God promises to pour His spirit out on Israel.Ezekiel 39:29 Romans 11:25 Every soul matters to God. When the rapture happens, we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.1 Thessalonians 4:16 #4 What is the rapture? 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 Jesus spoke of the rapture.John 14:3 Believing in and teaching about the rapture brings much needed hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who have died, so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope. Revelation promises a blessing too. Believing in and teaching about the rapture motivates godliness.1 John 3:3 One of the signs of the last days will be a renewed interest in bible prophecy. Daniel 12:4 (NLT)But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase." The rapture must take place first before the Antichrist will be revealed.2 Thessalonians 2:7–8 If antichrist is close, then the coming of Jesus Christ is even closer! #5 When is the Rapture?Matthew 24:36 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 When Christ returns for us in the rapture, first up is the resurrection of the dead.Then we who are alive will meet them in the air.1 Thessalonians 4:16 –17 THE RAPTURE WILL BE A STEALTH EVENT.THE SECOND COMING WILL BE A VERY PUBLIC ONE. IN THE RAPTURE, JESUS COMES IN THE AIR.​​​​IN THE SECOND COMING, HE COMES TO THE EARTH. DURING THE RAPTURE, CHRIST COMES FOR HIS BRIDE.DURING THE SECOND COMING, HE COMES WITH HIS BRIDE. IN THE RAPTURE, CHRIST COMES LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT.​IN THE SECOND COMING, THE WHOLE EARTH SEES HIM.​IN THE RAPTURE, JESUS COMES BEFORE JUDGMENT.IN THE SECOND COMING, JESUS COMES WITH JUDGMENT. If we are a believer, we should be awake and spiritually alert.Romans 13:11 #2 if you are not yet a Christian, you should get right with God. --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie provides his biblical perspective on Israel and the end times in today's message. Notes: Focus verses - Romans 11, 1 Thessalonians 4 God keeps every one of his promises to us. #1 God says we will never be alone in life.Isaiah 41 Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)For Jesus Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." #2 God promises to get us through whatever we’re facing.Isaiah 43:2 Psalm 119:50 (ESV)This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. #3 Jesus promised that He would come again.John 14:1–3 We know God’s future promises are true because He has kept His former promises. Genesis 12:2–3 #1 Because God kept His promises to Israel, we know He will keep His promises to us!Romans 11:17 #2 God uses us to bless the people who have blessed us.Romans 11:14 #3 Israel plays a key role in the last days.Romans 11:25–26 Romans 11:2 (ESV)God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. A sign of the times of the last days is the regathering of the nation Israel to their land. A modern-day miracle occurred when the Jews formed a nation on May 14th, 1948. The Jews are the indigenous people that God himself gave that land to. A checklist of things the Bible predicted about Israel:Israel will be scattered.Israel will be regathered.Israel will regain Jerusalem.Israel will be isolated.Israel will be attacked. God will intervene on behalf of Israel.Ezekiel 38:18 God promises to pour His spirit out on Israel.Ezekiel 39:29 Romans 11:25 Every soul matters to God. When the rapture happens, we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.1 Thessalonians 4:16 #4 What is the rapture? 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 Jesus spoke of the rapture.John 14:3 Believing in and teaching about the rapture brings much needed hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who have died, so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope. Revelation promises a blessing too. Believing in and teaching about the rapture motivates godliness.1 John 3:3 One of the signs of the last days will be a renewed interest in bible prophecy. Daniel 12:4 (NLT)But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase." The rapture must take place first before the Antichrist will be revealed.2 Thessalonians 2:7–8 If antichrist is close, then the coming of Jesus Christ is even closer! #5 When is the Rapture?Matthew 24:36 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 When Christ returns for us in the rapture, first up is the resurrection of the dead.Then we who are alive will meet them in the air.1 Thessalonians 4:16 –17 THE RAPTURE WILL BE A STEALTH EVENT.THE SECOND COMING WILL BE A VERY PUBLIC ONE. IN THE RAPTURE, JESUS COMES IN THE AIR.​​​​IN THE SECOND COMING, HE COMES TO THE EARTH. DURING THE RAPTURE, CHRIST COMES FOR HIS BRIDE.DURING THE SECOND COMING, HE COMES WITH HIS BRIDE. IN THE RAPTURE, CHRIST COMES LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT.​IN THE SECOND COMING, THE WHOLE EARTH SEES HIM.​IN THE RAPTURE, JESUS COMES BEFORE JUDGMENT.IN THE SECOND COMING, JESUS COMES WITH JUDGMENT. If we are a believer, we should be awake and spiritually alert.Romans 13:11 #2 if you are not yet a Christian, you should get right with God. --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The more you get to know God the more you'll love God. The more you love God, the more you'll want to pray. Why is praying important? Because God wants to communicate with you about everything, and your prayers make a difference.

The more you get to know God the more you'll love God. The more you love God, the more you'll want to pray. Why is praying important? Because God wants to communicate with you about everything, and your prayers make a difference.