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“He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.“ (Psalm 115:13-15, NLT)In today's passage the word fear is best thought of as great respect and awe. No matter how great or lowly we might be, or we might feel in the moment, God is worthy of our praise and admiration. We look to him for blessing us and our children. In seasons of good times, we can find it easy to feel blessed.But in the tough seasons of life or in a crisis, when blessings seem far away, that is exactly the best time for us to look towards and ask for God's blessing. All he asks is to acknowledge him for who he is. Creator, Father, God. Today, in this moment can you…will you…receive the rich blessing the Lord has for you and your children? Take in these words that are meant for you, no matter how you might feel today, and let God bless all who fear God. “Bless the small, bless the great. Oh, let God enlarge your families - giving growth to you, growth to your children. May you be blessed by God, by God who made heaven and earth. The heaven of heavens is for God, but he puts us in charge of the earth.” (Psalm 115:13-15, The Message Bible)I want you to believe with all your heart, soul and mind that those words were written for you and for your children. If you have committed the lives of you and your children into His hands, with God as our perfect Father, he desires to bless you all today. And in all the seasons to come. “Father God, I receive and accept your blessing for me, for my children, and our home. I believe you desire to bless me, and right now I ask you to bless (take a moment to name each of your children and ask him to bless each one). Father, please help me to have your heart for my children and to bless them as their parent as you bless us. As above, so below. Amen.”
THE WORD OF GOD: HIS POWERFUL, LIFE-GIVING, SOURCE OF TRUTH AND AUTHORITY è The Word of God • Jesus is the Living Word! (John 1:1, 2, 14) • Jesus is the only Perfect representative of Father God! (John 1:1,2; John 14:9; John 5:19, 20; John 12:49, 50; Hebrews 1:3) (God's ultimate expression) • Therefore, God's character is Full of Grace and Truth (flowing from His Love: 1 John 4:16; John 1:14; John 14:9) • Jesus' opinion of the Word: John 17:17 • We do not worship the Bible, the Scripture, but the Lord is the object of the Word and Scripture is God's written revelation of Who He is, what He is like, what He does, etc. • The Word of God and the Spirit of God are inseparable! (John 6:63; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23-25) è The Scripture: written documents of God's Word: (Holy Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:15) • John 17:17; 2 Peter 3:15, 16; 2 Timothy 3:16) “My assignment is NOT to feed you spiritual “milk and cookies”, but rather to present to you, by the Holy Spirit's enabling, the energizing, nurturing, fortifying “meat of the Word” so that you Grow and are strengthened to take on and succeed in YOUR STORY FOR HIS GLORY!” Pastor Steve Franklin
“He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.“ (Psalm 115:13-15, NLT)In today's passage the word fear is best thought of as great respect and awe. No matter how great or lowly we might be, or we might feel in the moment, God is worthy of our praise and admiration. We look to him for blessing us and our children. In seasons of good times, we can find it easy to feel blessed.But in the tough seasons of life or in a crisis, when blessings seem far away, that is exactly the best time for us to look towards and ask for God's blessing. All he asks is to acknowledge him for who he is. Creator, Father, God. Today, in this moment can you…will you…receive the rich blessing the Lord has for you and your children? Take in these words that are meant for you, no matter how you might feel today, and let God bless all who fear God. “Bless the small, bless the great. Oh, let God enlarge your families - giving growth to you, growth to your children. May you be blessed by God, by God who made heaven and earth. The heaven of heavens is for God, but he puts us in charge of the earth.” (Psalm 115:13-15, The Message Bible)I want you to believe with all your heart, soul and mind that those words were written for you and for your children. If you have committed the lives of you and your children into His hands, with God as our perfect Father, he desires to bless you all today. And in all the seasons to come. “Father God, I receive and accept your blessing for me, for my children, and our home. I believe you desire to bless me, and right now I ask you to bless (take a moment to name each of your children and ask him to bless each one). Father, please help me to have your heart for my children and to bless them as their parent as you bless us. As above, so below. Amen.”
Uncles are adorned because they let you get away with what fathers call you out on. Uncles listen to your story and just flow with it, but fathers know you inside and out, what you are capable of, and they push you, and sometimes it seems harder than it needs to be, but it's part of the shaping, moulding, and pruning that will define your character and your destinyHe's not Uncle God, He is Father God.Closing Song: "I belonged to you" by William McDowellwww.BibleDeliverance.org
THE HEALING OF THE SOUL AND ITS HELPER PARTS Why does the soul need to be healed/saved soterion? We have discussed the fall of Adam and Eve and how the serpent convinced them that they could eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge and they would not die. He sowed the suspicion in them that God forbade them to eat of the tree because he did not want them to become like himself and come into his own likeness by knowing good and evil. The lie of the serpent was that God was withholding something from them that would make them become like God. In their naivety they believed that lie and disobeyed God perceiving that they had been forsaken by God, and they immediately felt separated from God and felt guilt and fear and shame. They had created in their once blameless and innocent souls a mindset of separation and isolation from God. Their souls were filled with fear and guilt and shame for the first time. They acted out from this newfound ‘otherness' and become defensive and self-protective. They covered the shame of their nakedness, and they felt exposed and vulnerable. Father God called out Adam's disobedience and covering up - and Adam put the blame on Eve for offering him the fruit of the tree in the first place. When God called out Eve, she blamed the devil for beguiling her. Their separation mindset had ‘orphaned' their spirit from God. The enormous cosmic consequence of feeling deprived and forsaken by God set in place a mindset of separation from God for all of humanity. Adam and Eve had just created in the soul of humanity two alien parts in their now damaged souls that had never existed before. The first new part was covering up their sin – and the word for sin used by Paul in Romans 5:10 for sin entering the world through Adam is harmartia and that word for sin appears 173 times in the Bible. It means missing the mark. They were the first of the rest of humanity to miss that mark, except for one man Jesus. They had misread the nature of their God – not thinking or believing that they were loved and not able to trust him for their lives. The second new part of their damaged souls was the blame game – the woman You gave me – even God was blamed! The human soul was now on its journey of creating countless self-interested defensive and self-protective strategies that would become activated in every person to be born in the earth. The relationship between the human spirit and the soul became conflicted and disordered concerning what was right and wrong and good and evil - the conscience was damaged. And once the relationship between the human soul and God was damaged the relationships between the souls of people towards one another were also damaged. The once Godly responses of sacrificial love and trust and agreement became a burden and a struggle – it now became ‘what about me?' Jesus was the only human being who did not create one self-protective or defensive or self-promoting part in his soul. Only he could remedy this disaster, so we have just seen the horrible dilemma for the souls of mankind for the rest of time, and we have just seen the magnificent answer for the salvation and healing of the soul of mankind. Jesus would one day become the saviour of the soul - from age to age for all of humanity. I will be calling these self-created soul parts like covering up and the blame game, and other dfence mechanisms ‘helper parts'. Today we will just identify some common helper parts and next time we will look at the process of their formation and identify more specific parts of our soul and see how they become ingrained and lead to us missing the mark of finding God's will in many issues of our lives. We will find that these helper parts turn out to be what I will call ‘unhelpful' helper parts. We all start forming these helper parts in our soul at an early age as we acquire and cultivate the separation mindset that darkness has engineered and weaponised in the soul of mankind. These unhelpful helper parts cause so much unnecessary suffering in our lives - and regretfully in the lives of those in our world that we care for. But just one more spoiler alert – some good news – great news - Jesus told his disciples at the last supper that he would not leave us as orphans but that he would send us ‘Another Helper' - the Holy Spirit, who would lead us into all truth. He said that the holy Spirit would take the things that Jesus would be saying to us and reveal them to us. (John 14:16-18). I will be using the terminology of parts in this course to describe how just as we have three major parts in our being, the spirit and the soul and the body, each of those three parts are also made up of parts. We have just discussed the helper parts of our soul, and we saw in the earlier teaching that our spirit is made of two parts, the mind and the heart (Hebrews 4:12) and we also observe that our body is made up of many many parts. The Bible was describing our parts thousands of years ago in the Old Testament, where David in the Psalms speaks of his outer and inner body parts as well as his inner spirit and soul parts. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Psalm 139:13. David also knew God's heart towards his spirit and soul. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts You will make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:6). We are actually all familiar with the concept of our differing inner parts that would appear to be in conflict with each other. For instance, our spirit and soul is made up of our mind and our heart and if we were deciding whether or not to purchase something like a car, we could find that our heart could be saying yes - that's for me! But our mind could oppose that desire and say ‘What about paying the mortgage?' We live with this subconscious polarity and find ourself saying ‘what part of me made me say (or do) that? When the mind and the heart of our spirit go through hurtful or harmful experiences at an early age our immature and often innocent spiritual self creates defence mechanisms and self-protective or self-advantage mechanisms to cope with the emotional or mental distress. Our immature self then sends an insufficient version of who our true spiritual self is (our genesis self' – James 1:23) into our soul as a tangible part of our reality of who we are and how we behave. I would call that a shadow self that gets bonded in our soul and that shapes an untrue version of the spiritual self that God created us to be. Unfortunately, what we see in real life relationship is that peoples' soul parts are responding and reacting to other peoples' soul parts. But the next good news spoiler alert is that the Bible tells us that our spirit knows every distorted or disordered part of us that has been created in our soul, and even in our body through harm or trauma or mishap. For what man knows the things (ta – the parts that make up the whole -everything) of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? (1Corinthians 2:11). The Bible also says in the Old Testament, The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts. (Proverbs 20:27). In this course we are going to find that the mind and heart of our uniquely and individually designed spirit made in the image of God hold the blueprint of the logos designed Word of God that created us for his designated will and purpose (genesis self). We do not have to lived trapped or stuck in a disordered soul but we can receive an understanding of who we really are and understand why and how we devised our unhelpful helper parts in the first place. The Holy Spirit is yearning to give us the understanding of what Jesus has to say about our orphaned spirit and how we can replace the unhelpful helper with the true Helper of the Holy Spirit. This becomes a journey into freedom. At last we can begin to take responsibility for the soul we have formed and see it sanctified and set free. We can actually become participators in the salvation and healing of our souls with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and identify and replace the unhelpful helpers with the Divine Helper and begin to do the Father's will for our lives. We can begin to live a life of purpose and meaning designed for us before the foundation of the world. To be continued. Paul OSullivan – pauloss@me.com
In this second part of The Restored Series, I'm teaching on who we are restored to and what this means for us and our walk with God. In the first episode, I taught on the how of our salvation, now I'm teaching on the who. It's essential we get this correct if we're to have a healthy and happy relationship with God.Watch here for any episodes in this series you missed:https://bit.ly/the-restored-seriesTRIVITA:Use my TRIVITA link to get started onyour wellness journey: https://bit.ly/restored-healthOR CALL: 800-991-7116 and use giftcard number: RSCBSQRJ PIN: 5398Covenant Eyes:If you want to protect yourself andyour loved ones from the dangers of porn, get Covenant Eyes: https://bit.ly/Restore-Covenant USE CODE RESTORE30 at checkout to get yourfirst 30 days FREE when you use the link Other ways for you to support theministry:
Have you ever paused and thought about how rarely people see you for who you are? Have you ever done something that you feel is almost unforgivable? You need to know that is not the way God wants you to feel. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.”Some of the most famous people in history were very unrighteous at times. King David, described as a man after God's own heart—he was loved that much—did dreadful things. Guess what, though? His life ended well. God had cleaned him up on the inside. Nothing you've done is fatal. It really isn't. Call on God to heal you on the inside and put a spirit of love, hope, and peace in you. He will—and He'll do it sooner rather than later, and you'll be able to breathe again, guaranteed.Let's pray. Lord, your desire to make us clean has been told for centuries. We believe it and we claim it. Thank you, Father God, for the work of renewal you do all day, every day. 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.
It's Thursday, July 10th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Pakistani court acquitted two Christian teens of false blasphemy charges A court in Pakistan acquitted two Christians of false blasphemy charges against Islam on Tuesday. Adil Babar and Simon Nadeem, 18 and 14 years old respectively, were charged and arrested in 2023. A court advocate for the Christian young men told Morning Star News, “There's a dire need to make procedural reforms in cases involving blasphemy to protect the victims, a majority of whom are declared innocent after years of court proceedings and imprisonment.” Sadly, these kind of false blasphemy charges are weaponized against Christians in the Muslim-majority country. Pakistan is ranked eighth on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian. Reformed pastors to call U.K. Parliament to repent over abortion, euthanasia laws A group of Reformed ministers are prepared to call the U.K. parliament to repent next Tuesday, July 15. Christian leaders with UK Gospel Witness plan to proclaim the Gospel and call the government to repentance. In particular, the organizers lament recent legislation on the Assisted Dying Law and New Abortion Law. The event's Facebook page says, “It is our firm conviction that this is a time for God-fearing Christians to unite together and make a public stand and proclamation of Gospel truth in the face of such evil.” Lamentations 3:40-41 says, “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in Heaven.” Samaritan's Purse deploying teams to flood-ravaged Texas In the United States, Christian ministries are deploying relief teams to central Texas in the wake of devastating flooding. Authorities confirmed 119 people have died from the flash floods, and at least 150 people are missing in Kerr County. Samaritan's Purse is sending disaster relief teams to the area. Rev. Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan's Purse, wrote on Facebook, “We need to continue to surround these devastated families and communities in prayer.” You can make an on-line donation through Samaritan's Purse through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. Listen to the prayer for these hurting families from HUD Secretary Scott Turner during a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. TURNER: “Father, we're humbled by Your grace. We're humbled by Your mercy. Lord God, we surrender to You. Jesus, You are the great Redeemer. “Lord God, we lift up the families that are mourning, that are grieving, those families that are hurting. Father God, we pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding and Lord Jesus, those that are still there, that are alive. “Father, we pray you will help us to find them Lord God and bring them back to their families. We love you. We honor you. In Jesus' name Amen.” Planned Parenthood closes Cleveland abortion mill Planned Parenthood is permanently closing one of its locations in Cleveland, Ohio. The abortion mill blamed funding cuts from the Trump administration, ending over a decade of its killing business. Cleveland Right to Life responded to the closure by “thanking God for the legislators who stood up to the most-evil organization of our time, Planned Parenthood.” China owns 265,000 acres of American farmland; Trump says, “No more!” The Trump administration announced its National Farm Security Action Plan on Tuesday. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is banning foreign adversaries, including Chinese nationals, from buying American farmland. An infographic from the White House shows that China already owns over 265,000 acres of U.S. farmland. Much of that land is located near U.S. military bases. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “We feed the world. We lead the world. And we'll never let foreign adversaries control our land, our labs, or our livelihoods.” Church discipline rarely practiced in Protestant churches And finally, new data from Lifeway Research shows church discipline is rarely practiced in Protestant churches. Fifty-four percent of pastors said their church has not formally disciplined a member since they became pastor or prior as far as they know. Nevertheless, about 80% of churches have policies for formal discipline. Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said, “The infrequency of church discipline is not because church members aren't sinning. Church discipline typically occurs when a member is not repentant for a sin or is no longer qualified for a role because of sin.” Ephesians 5:11-13 says, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, July 10th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
John Kralik was in a bad place. The LA attorney was generally miserable…divorced again, broke, and living in a dingy apartment with no air conditioning. He was also struggling to pay his employees because clients wouldn't pay him. Not exactly glamorous, but then John did an amazing thing. He decided he would concentrate on things to be grateful for, and follow that up with writing a thank you note every day for an entire year.Over time, and not too slowly actually, John's life began to improve. Life looked good again. One of the greatest outcomes has been the influence he's had on others. His book, “A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning To Say Thank You Changed My Life” sold like crazy. He said that the year-long thank you notes helped him prioritize good things, and helped him focus on that.John also has noticed a really interesting thing. A person's natural tendency is to focus on nine things that go wrong. Yet what would happen if we focused instead on even a single good thing? He understands that we all can help each other. Rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. Just as we can help others form the discipline of gratitude, they can be our accountability in a very real way.Every day we can text, email, call, or otherwise communicate to friends and family things that we're grateful for. In turn, we can receive their good reports. Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful.”Whether it's a community of believers or simply the wider culture, we can help each other every single day by passing along what we're grateful for. There's power in telling another what they mean to you, or passing along thanks for something as simple as a shared meal. Such a choice doesn't cost anything, but it piles up spiritual treasure for us. Pretty soon you'll be grateful just for being grateful.Let's pray. Father God, your blessings to us are endless. From the perfect distance from the sun for proper warmth and light to the love that you placed in our hearts for family and friends, you're a good God, and you're deserving of our praise. We look forward to a glorious future with you. 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.
As a father in a family is a living example of how to respond to life's challenges, so our Father God, demonstrates a life of faithfulness by keeping His promises to us. In turn, we are to mimic, to learn how to be faithful to Him and to those in our life. It is a bond, God's promise of standing with us that expresses the depth of love and honor that we in turn can do the same to those around us. Daylight Meditations is a daily podcast from CFO North America. Please visit CFONorthAmerica.org to learn more about our retreats, and online courses. If you are encouraged by this podcast, please consider supporting us.Contributors: Michelle DeChant, Adam Maddock, and Phil Reaser
Fruitless labor signals the devil's interference, while fruitfulness reflects God's blessing (Job 9:29, Psalm 1). Hard work alone isn't enough; spiritual anointing empowers success. Bondage, like generational poverty, and demonic taskmasters hinder progress (Exodus 1:9-14). Iniquities and sins block prosperity (Jeremiah 5:25). Repentance and alignment with God's will break these barriers, unleashing divine favor. The sermon urges believers to pray for deliverance from evil marks and curses, ensuring their labor prospers, impacting generations (Judges 6:3-4). Trust in Father God, not worldly systems, transforms lives with lasting fruitfulness.All these questions were answered just as Perry Stone, Jonathan Cahn, John Hagee, Jentezen Franklin, Benny Hinn, Chris Oyaklihome, Steven Furtick, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, Joyce Meyer, Paul Dhinakaran, Samuel Patta, Ezekiah Francis, Johnson Varghese, Paul Thangiah, Mohan C Lazarus, TD Jakes and others01.) What is fruitless labor?02.) What does fruitfulness signify?03.) Why do some people labor in vain?04.) What are taskmasters in the spiritual context?05.) How do sins impact prosperity?06.) What is the difference between sin, transgression, and iniquity?07.) How can one break free from fruitless labor?08.) What role does spiritual anointing play?09.) Why do some communities face persistent limitations?10.) How can believers ensure lasting prosperity?
Do you have a divine destiny? Do you matter to God? Rabbi Schneider shares that your calling is bigger than you can imagine. Your ultimate calling is in God. You are precious to God! The world cannot validate how valuable we really are to God. Learn to pray like the Apostle Paul for wisdom, for God to reveal Himself, and to learn your true value. The same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available is at work in your life. The power of the resurrection is working in you. Because of the love of God you will never be defeated. Father God, grant us wisdom and revelation that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us today. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/7nu Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com
A very warm welcome to BCC! We invite you to join us on Sunday 29th June 2025 for our two morning services in-person at 9am and 11.15am, and also on streamed on our YouTube channel from 11.15am. This Sunday we are taking a break from our summer series to recieve a messge from guest speaker Leah Copsey entitled, 'What About Them?'.You can follow the message along in the YouVersion bible app at https://bible.com/events/49454139 and add your own notes! Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus
The New Covenant was always God's plan to restore us back to sonship. Jesus came to be THE WAY to the Father (John 14:6). He came to bring us back into sonship with Father God. This New Covenant changes everything.
No one is truly alone. Some people have many relatives and friends, others just a few. Occasionally, someone will have no real friends or family, but all of us interact with humans, and that over time has proven to be dicey. The health of our relationships is one of the biggest factors in how we function each day. Turmoil and chaos at home or work, or both, puts us in emotional quicksand. On the other hand, healthy relationships in our lives improve our overall health and make us more productive.In Genesis, God modeled right relationships for humans, and this model continues through the Bible right to the end in Revelation. From this, we see that our first priority in relationships is to be in fellowship with our Creator. Get that one right and everything else flows. Following close behind is finding harmony in our human relationships, and getting this right is crucial to finding peace. Ephesians 4:2–3 says, “Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”Most people are familiar with the well-known Bible verses that deal with relationships, such as Paul's wisdom from Ephesians, but Scripture is loaded with helpful and healing relationship commands. We hesitate to call it advice because God doesn't really give advice. He tells us what is good for us and what may be harmful. For example, a fairly obscure passage in Job speaks to mean in any era having healthy relationships with women. In Job 31:1 the suffering man says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.” Wow. So simple, yet very important and profound.That chapter goes on to say that God sees all that we do. He's watching how we treat people. Job made it clear that a man can decide he's going to treat women with respect. It isn't complicated or beyond our reach. So often, simply deciding to be a decent human being leads to waves of healing and peace of mind for everyone. Lots of books have been written about relationships, from marriage to raising children, but the best book of all has the best wisdom, and if you check that out, your relationships will thank you. Let's pray.Father God, you've given us the gift of interacting with other people. Each is unique and created special. We ask that you send the Holy Spirit to guide our relationships so that they're pleasing to you and to others. 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.
I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 25th of June, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Genesis 12:13: “Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” Then we go straight to 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”Folks, this story I am going to tell you is very sad for me because I love my wife, and I believe by the grace of God, I will die for her if necessary, but Abraham, the father of many, many nations, Abraham, the man that the Lord said, “He is My friend”, what did he do? He was afraid that Pharaoh was going to kill him because Sarah, Abraham's wife, was a very beautiful woman. So in order to save his skin, he said to Sarah, his wife, “When pharaoh asks you who you are, you must tell him that you are my sister and not my wife.” Now look, I am not laughing, this is very serious! So here is a man of God who is prepared to offer up his own wife in order to save his life. To me, that is probably top of the list when it comes to self-centredness, and yet, God still loved Abraham. How are you feeling today? Are you feeling like a failure? Have you done something that you should never have done, in order to save face or to save your reputation, and it has come at the cost of someone else? You might say, “That is exactly what I have done, and I feel wretched about it.” You know, Abraham didn't do that once, he actually did it twice, and yet God still forgave him and still used him to be the father of many nations. Our God is so gracious, He is so loving, but what do we need to do? We need to say sorry. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Please pray this prayer with me:Father God,I feel an absolute failure today. I feel I have let You down. I feel I have “dropped the ball,” as they say and I really don't know what to do.So I am coming to You today to ask that You forgive me and give me the strength to never do it again.In Jesus' name, Amen.God bless you and have a great day,Goodbye.
Welcome back to Yellowstone National Park, as the Animals of the National Park Photography Competition continues! Maverick the Moose wants NOTHING to do with the competition. In fact, he wants nothing to do with ANYTHING or ANYONE besides himself. He's a loner and wants to keep it that way. After a run in with Slinky the Caterpillar, he finds himself face to face with another small creature. Will he run away again? Could anything convince him to join in the competition? Join us to find out and to learn how Jesus created us to be known and know others – to be in community – both with others who know Him AND with Himself and Father God! Learn more about Ms. Adventure's Treehouse at our website, join our Facebook community, or connect with Charity at msadventurestreehouse@gmail.com.
We have a real enemy that uses accusation to try and keep us from trusting in the love of Father God. God will provide discernment to us when we ask so we can distinguish His voice of truth from the lies of our accuser.
Everyone – everyone who believes in Jesus is called to be His ambassador. An Ambassador of Christ. That involves a change of heart, it involves a change in our actions and it involves – well, going. Ambassadors don't stay, they go. That's why being Christ's Ambassadors ain't easy sometimes. Christ on the Inside Now, one of the things that you and I know is that we are what we eat. If what I do is I pig out on chocolates – man, I love chocolate, but we know that too much of it is bad for us; and fatty foods and sweet, sugary drinks and lots of cakes and sweets, all that stuff – if I pig out on that then who I am on the inside is going to change. I'm going to put on weight, my emotions will take a downswing, because that's what happens with too much sugar, I'll become lethargic and tired and I won't be able to cope. My heart will have to work so much harder to get blood around the larger body and my coronary arteries will get all clogged up, my blood sugar will go up ... and on and on the list goes. The impact is that I have less of a life to live now because I'm always tired, not feeling well and my life expectancy will be cut short. On the other hand, if I get a great mix of healthy cereals and grains and those brightly coloured vegetables and lean meat and all that stuff, which actually tastes pretty fantastic, the complete opposite will happen. What happens on the inside has a huge impact on what happens on the outside. Who we are on the inside – whether it be physically or emotionally or spiritually - has a huge impact on who we are on the outside. And the upshot of all that is that we simply can't be one thing on the inside and try to be something else on the outside – it just doesn't work. Last week, again this week on the programme and indeed, over the next couple of weeks we are having a bit of a chat about living our lives here on this earth as ambassadors for Christ, because that is what anyone who believes in Jesus is called to be. We are citizens of heaven, not of this earth and as Paul, the Apostle writes, in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: We are ambassadors for Christ; since God is making his appeal through us, we entreat you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. As I said, you just can't be one thing on the inside and then pretend to be another thing on the outside. You can't be Swedish on the inside and pretend to be the Indian ambassador on the outside. We can't be the devil on the inside and pretend to be an angel of light on the outside. Well, I suppose we can for a while but I suspect it's incredibly hard work, carrying on a deception like that and it doesn't take long for who we are to make its way to the outside. Jesus Himself said – Matthew chapter 15, verse 19: For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander. So, if we are going to be ambassadors of Christ, then we first have to be citizens of heaven on the inside, just as the Indian ambassador has to be Indian and not Swedish on the inside. Interesting how God talked about this through His prophet Ezekiel, to His people. He talked to them about what was going on in their hearts. Have a listen – Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 31: “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me and get yourselves,” listen to this, “a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?" A new heart! I think we know what God means but that's not much of an expression that we would use today. But the expression that we would use is "a change of heart". You and I know what that means: unless something happens deep inside our hearts – on the inside - we can't change on the outside. But you know there have been issues, transgressions, sins in my life that, try as I might, I couldn't change my heart by myself. I'm guessing you have had that experience too – we all have! And that's why God made this promise too, through His prophet Ezekiel, to His people – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26: A new heart I will give you, a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. In fact, perhaps what you want to be is an ambassador of Christ but there's something right now going on in your heart; something you would love to change but you can't for yourself that you need God to do for you. So why don't we pray about that right now: Father God,this Word of yours, You are putting Your finger right on one of the deepest problems in my life. You and I both know what it is and You know that I have struggled to change my heart - I've tried my hardest, but I just can't. And so I come to You in faith and pray for Your will – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26 – for a new heart – a change of heart. Take out the heart of stone, O God, and replace it with a heart of flesh. Take out of me any spirit that is causing me to sin and fill me with Your Spirit. I come to You in faith. I believe that what I have asked You, You will give me because I am asking You in the name of Jesus. Amen. Now, I encourage you, if you have prayed that prayer will me, to believe, simply to believe, that God will give you the good thing that you have asked Him for and He will. That's what He says He will do and He never, ever, ever fails on His Word – ever! When the Apostle Paul was sharing the Good News about Jesus with the folk in Athens, he quoted a poem about a Greek god and applied it to Jesus. This is what he said – Acts chapter 17, verse 28: For in him we live and move and have our being. You know, for me that says it all! It's about being totally immersed in Christ; about being drenched in Jesus – that's actually the literal meaning of the word "baptised or baptism". The original Greek word was "baptidso". So when a boat was lost in a storm and it went under and it sank, it was said to have been "baptidso"d. When a fabric was dyed a new colour and it was plunged into the dye and completely drenched and it came out a new colour, it was said to have been "baptidso"d. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul writes to his friends in Rome. Romans chapter 6, verses 3 and 4: Don't you know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ were baptised into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised again from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. It means death to the old life and the living of a new life; literally, to be "born again" – a whole new heart and filled with a new spirit; the Spirit of God this time; the Holy Spirit. It means that goodness replaces evil – not so much because we work hard at it but because God's given us a change of heart and now what happens is we actually want to honour God; we want to live a life that brings glory to Him – and that's the new life. We are going to talk more about that next. It's the new life that wins people over to Christ. It's the new life that shines like a light and brings flavour to people's lives like salt. But just as a well that is dry can't bring forth water, so a life that is empty of Christ; His very Spirit; His presence within us, so a life like that can't be an ambassador of Christ. If there are things that you have been struggling with on the inside; things that are holding you back from taking up your commission as Christ's ambassador in your little petunia patch, then here's what I encourage you to do – get with God, get in prayer, open His Word, ask Him to fill you to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. Ask Him again and again and again to give you a new heart. And just as we prayed before; just as I said before, He surely will – because He wants to – because when we bear much fruit in our lives it brings Him great glory. A new heart; a change of heart; filled with a new spirit, His Spirit. Christ on the Outside So let me ask you a question: if you are someone who believes in Jesus and you drive a car, do you have a Jesus bumper sticker or one of those fish stickers on your bumper bar? Maybe ... maybe not! I mean, even if you don't, that's okay, I don't either, but if you had to put one on your car, let me ask you, does your behaviour on the road as a driver match up to what the sticker advertises? I mean, are you a courteous driver who obeys all the road rules or do you break the speed limit and honk your horn at people and yell at them from the inside of your car? I guess if you're the former it would be okay to have a fish sticker or a Jesus sticker on your car because your behaviour is a good advertisement for God - in effect, because what you advertise on the sticker and how you behave match up, it works. On the other hand though, can you imagine a rude, impatient driver, who's constantly breaking the road rules, identifying themselves as a Christian, using some sticker they put on their car. It's not a very good ad for God, is it? It turns out that who we say we are; who we hold ourselves out to be and who we actually are in what we say and what we do – if those two don't match up – well, there's a name for that: we call those people "hypocrites". We have been talking about living our lives as ambassadors of Christ – “for we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making his appeal through us.” 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20. In other words, God, just as He used the Apostle Paul, wants to involve us in the business of making His appeal to the rest of the world. Now what we have seen over the course of the last couple of weeks is that we don't all have to be "Pauls" in order to do that. Diplomacy, which is the role of an ambassador, mostly happens in one on one relationships where trust is built so that governments have relationships in place to resolve difficult issues. That's the point of diplomacy and it's the role of an ambassador. See, I think sometimes we are misled into thinking: Aw, WOW, oh – an ambassador for Christ, well, that must be the pastors role not me!' because it sounds like a flashy, up front title. And earlier we saw that in order to be an ambassador of for, say India, we had to be Indian, if we're Swedish no one is going to believe we are the Indian ambassador, right? Who we are on the inside really counts. That's why God promises something new – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26: A new heart I will give you; a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. See, we can't change who we are on the outside until we have a change of heart on the inside. I've tried it, you've tried it – it doesn't work! If something first happens in our hearts though, to change us on the inside, then all of a sudden changing on the outside becomes mush easier. That's what we talked about earlier. Right now we are going to follow on with the natural continuation of that. We are going to take a look at how important it is that who we are on the outside is consistent with who we are on the inside. And that's why I kicked off with that story about the bumper sticker. It's kind of obvious isn't it? Now I'm not suggesting that you or I are ever going to live a perfect life. I pretty much make mistakes every day and probably you do too and no one ... no one expects us to be perfect. But either how we live declares that our heart and our life has been changed by God or it doesn't and if it doesn't, without putting too fine a point on it, we're being hypocrites. That's something that Jesus identified in the religious leaders of His day. They pretended to be ‘oh so holy' on the outside, but on the inside – well have a listen to what Jesus said to them – Matthew chapter 23, verses 25 and 26: Woe to you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may also be clean. Now, I'm kind of comforted by that; I like it that Jesus is concerned both about our hearts – who we are on the inside – and our hands – what we do on the outside. If someone came to me and said, ‘You know Berni, I've heard what you have been saying – I've decided I want to be an ambassador of Christ. What do you think is the most important thing in that role?' Well, this is how I'd answer. The first thing is your heart and your relationship with God' being completely sold out to Jesus and if you don't have that, well, you can't pretend it. And the second thing is: how you behave; how you live it out, because if you say that you are one thing and you do completely the opposite, people will pick you as a phoney in a split second and then, instead of shining God's light into the world, you just turn people off. Let me give you an example. My country, Australia, has a very strong relationship with the United States of America – has had for a good many years. Now, imagine that the U.S. Government, all of a sudden, appoints a brand new ambassador and sends him across the pond to Australia. And within a few months, we discover this ambassador, he's a lecherous drunk, who can't keep his hands off other women – whether or not he happens to be any good at his trade of diplomacy – and scandal after scandal, involving this new ambassador hits the news and the press. How do you imagine such a person would influence the view that Australians have, not only of the U.S. Government but of the American people? It would be devastating wouldn't it? Not only would this so called "ambassador" hurt the people around him but he'd bring his whole Nation; his whole people into ill repute. And that's why the lives we lead as Christians are so important. Come on – let's get real!! Does hypocrisy display the glory of God? No! It brings Him and His people as a whole, into disrepute. "Oh, those Christians – they're just a bunch of hypocrites!" And God ... God doesn't like hypocrites, my friend. Listen again to Jesus – Matthew chapter 23, verse 25: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. People talk about ‘missional living' – living out our lives as missionaries or ambassadors in this world. You know what I think the biggest thing that you and I can do to live "missionally" is to live a holy life. What's a holy life? It's a life where the cup and the plate are clean on the inside as well as the outside. Peter, the Apostle, sums it up like this in his Letter, First Peter, chapter 1, verse 14: Like obedient children, don't be conformed to the desires you formally had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, for it is written “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” My friend, there is something wonderful; utterly sublime, when we roll up our sleeves with God and get to cleaning the inside as well as the outside. And here's the thing: people notice – people sit up and take notice and think to themselves, "There's something different about that person – something good; something I trust; something I want." And there ... right there, we have an ambassador of Christ! Taking His Love to the Sinners When I used to run an I.T. consulting firm with my business partners, we used to joke that life would be so much easier if we didn't have clients. It's true, it's just not very profitable, I guess. And the same is true when it comes to sinners – you know, those people who drink too much, or they swear too much, or they are just rude or belligerent or a pain in the neck - the most natural thing in the world for someone who loves Jesus, is to kind of recoil from them – to retreat into the holy huddle of Christian friends. I would like to finish off today with a short story about Jesus approach to sinners. It comes from Luke chapter 5 – if you have a Bible, come on, open it up with me – let's go there – it's a confronting and edgy story – gets right in your face, just the way Jesus meant it to be. Come on, let's have a listen. Luke chapter 5, verses 27 to 32: After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus. Then Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and the scribes, well, were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” But Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners to repentance. Now, here's the thing: the Romans occupied Israel in the first century – this godless empire occupied God's people; God's Promised Land and ruled over them. And the way they collected taxes was effectively, to tender it out to individuals; people like Levi; people who were Jews! They would bid for the right to collect the taxes on behalf of the Romans and the highest bidder would win. And so in order to make a profit, the tax collector would then find all sorts of ways of extorting additional taxes from the people. Now, Levi was sitting in a tax booth, collecting taxes from people who used the road to ship their goods and so forth – a bit like a modern day toll road. And what made it worse, not only did he extort taxes; not only did he cheat and lie but he was working for the Romans – Levi, a Jew, ripping off his fellow Israelites! So, this was not the sort of guy you would want to talk to or have as a friend or approach for any reason whatsoever. But Jesus ... Jesus approached him; Jesus called him, the way a Rabbi calls disciples. Jesus went to this sinner, Levi, this abhorrent, disgusting traitor – as far as all the other Jews were concerned – and not only did He say to Levi, “Follow me,” He went to dinner; a banquet at Levi's house with a whole bunch of other tax collectors. Now the religious people, the Pharisees, instead of saying, "Man, what a great idea – taking the love of God right into the middle of the sinners – loving them, listening to them, healing them, maybe even bringing them to repentance," instead of that, the Pharisees, they found some theological, religious reasons for criticising Jesus. Now, let me ask you this – brutal; right to your face: when it comes to sinners, are you more like Jesus or more like the scribes and Pharisees? Come on! It's a question we need to ask. The thing about an ambassador is that he doesn't stay at home in his own country where he knows everyone; his friends are and he's comfortable – he gets on a plane, with his family, sets up his home right in the middle of this other foreign country that he has been posted to as an ambassador. Get it! You and I, if we truly are Christ's followers, you and I are called to "go". Not to sit at home in our holy huddles were we are comfortable. Don't get me wrong: having Christian friends is great, going to church is great but we're called to live on the mission field – we are called to go to the sinners the way Jesus did. And while sometimes that means going to another part of the world, true, most times it just means touching the colleague at work, inviting over the neighbours next door for a barbecue because you have heard them screaming at each other and their marriage is falling apart and what they need in their lives is Jesus. What they need to know is that He loves them. What they need to have is a personal encounter with the Saviour who came for them. Not just for us, for them – the Saviour who died for them - the Saviour who rose again to give them a new life and an eternal life. What they need – the "Levis" in our world – they need Jesus. So, I am going to ask you again, when it comes to the ‘Levis' in your world, are you Christ to them or are you a Pharisee? Do you go to them with the love of Jesus or do you sit at home with your friends and complain about them? My friend, these people who are hurting, who are dying, who are going to a Christ-less eternity, my friend, they need an ambassador – they need an ambassador of Christ who looks just like you and just like me.
We are living in times when we are always looking at other peoples attitudes. Because in this season we have to be pointing that finger at ourselves not other people. I went looking for some gold nail polish yesterday and the shop keeper was trying to help me look she also said while looking that is the colour that goes first everyone wants gold and that is true noone wants brass but if we are honest are we looking for gold in others while we are brass we have to check our attitude towards other people no matter the excuse we may have for our attitudeYahweh wants all is children to be pure gold because he will test us to remove everything that stops us from being who he has called us to be. Father God we ask you to help us to come forth has pure gold in Jesus name we pray amenThank you for listening to blessed and free 63 where Jesus is Lord
What does it mean when we say that God is my protector? Does it mean that nothing that we consider as bad will ever happen to me? Does it mean that God is going to put this invisible force field around me that is going to shield me from difficulties and trials? Come along with me on this weeks Hope Healing and Freedom podcast as we look at what the bible says about God's protection. I believe it will bring you greater peace and confidence in the goodness of Father God. To learn more about the ministry of Restoring the Foundations International, please visit www.restoringthefoundations.org.
Pastor BoldinJoshua 1:8Worship through the Ministry of Teaching the Word!Email: prayer.request@strivinghome.org.We will pray with you or for you!Get Involved: www.strivinghome.org
On Trinity Sunday, the Rev. Nick Lannon preaches a sermon detailing how the Father (God above us), the Son (God for us), and the Spirit (God with us) work together to accomplish the salvation of sinners: God creates, redeems, and sustains us.
Biblical Talks When one hears the word suffering, we can agree it is synonymous with illness. Even though people experience suffering in other ways. In this episode Biblical Talks, SD and Lady V discuss perseverance through suffering. Thus, the main passage referenced is Luke 22:39-46 New Living Translation. Specifically, the Apostle Luke takes us to the Mt. of Olives. He describes what took place before Jesus of Nazareth's arrest and crucifixion. Jesus knew He was about to endure tremendous suffering. So much so, that He fervently prayed asking Father God if there was another way to redeem mankind. Jesus ended His prayer with, "Not my will but Your will be done." Now, what can we learn from this? Put very simply, we see that even Jesus cried out to the Father when He was under severe stress and suffering. Let's be clear -- nothing we would ever go through could ever compare to what Jesus went through. By no means does that negate that life sometimes brings unbearable suffering. And we find ourselves crying out to God to take the suffering away. All and all, we've learned that Jesus submitted to God's purpose and plan. With that in mind, here are a couple questions for you. Have you read The Gospel of Luke? If so -- what are your thoughts? If not, no worries, we've got you covered. In any case, join us with your Bible or Bible app. Also, go ahead and use the player at the top of this blog post or subscribe and listen via your preferred podcast platform to follow along. Then get encouraged by joining SD and Lady V in this Biblical Talk — Perseverance Through Suffering. Scriptures Referenced in Episode Discussion Genesis Luke 22:39-46 Isaiah 53:3-10 John 3:16-17 Romans 10:9-10 Numbers 6:24-26 Receive your Free Gift of Salvation – The Gospel of Jesus Christ Explanation If you are reading this, it is not by chance. This is your time to receive the Gift of Salvation through Christ Jesus. Now, you may be wondering, "Why do I need that?" Oh, I'm so glad you asked. The Bible says, that because Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- he released sin into the world. And ultimately, Adam's sin brought death and death spread to everyone. No doubt, you may be thinking, "Of course, everyone is going to die." But, my question to you is "Where will you spend eternity?" Because there is life after death. In fact, when you die you go to one of two places -- heaven or hell. Also, it is important to understand that Adam's sin also brought an eternity in hell. But for those who choose not to receive the free gift of eternal life. Thus, you must make that choice before you take your last breath. Romans 5:17 New Living Translation says, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” To sum it all up, Romans 6:23 New Living Translation says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, if you are reading this, don't let another day go by without receiving this life-changing gift. Scripture Romans 10:8-10 New Living Translation says, “8 …“The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Salvation Prayer Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins. I ask You to forgive me. I want to follow You, Jesus. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith,
Our earthly fathers should be a representation of our heavenly father. However, that is not always the case. Why? There are a thousand different answers. If you and I are going to be the godly fathers that we should be then that means we have to go to our heavenly father and let Him father us, guide us, and love us so we in turn can be that to our children. We need our Father God in order to be a godly father to our sons and daughters.
Our earthly fathers should be a representation of our heavenly father. However, that is not always the case. Why? There are a thousand different answers. If you and I are going to be the godly fathers that we should be then that means we have to go to our heavenly father and let Him father us, guide us, and love us so we in turn can be that to our children. We need our Father God in order to be a godly father to our sons and daughters.
Special guest speaker, -Terry Peretti
George explores friendship as a vital aspect of growth and learning in the spiritual life through the words of Jesus, a Rembrandt painting on the prodigal son's return home, and a poetic spin on the meaning and value of friendship to our everyday lives and relationships.SLIDES GEORGE READ IN OUR GATHERINGThis new kind of Father refuses to own us, demand our submission, or punish our rebellion. Father God is one who respects our freedom, mourns our alienation, waits patiently for our return... Sr. Sandra Schneiders, Jesuit School of TheologyThe dynamic of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in human life. Friendship is the great hidden transmuter of all relationship: it can transform a troubled marriage, make honorable a professional rivalry and become the newly discovered ground for a mature parent-child relationship. David Whyte
A very warm welcome to BCC! We invite you to join us on Sunday 15th June 2025 for our two morning services in-person at 9am and 11.15am, and also on streamed on our YouTube channel from 11.15am.This Sunday we continue our summer series 'Parables Of Jesus' with Pastor Nick bringing us the fourth message: 'The Parable Of The Lost Son'. You can follow the message along in the YouVersion bible app at http://bible.com/events/49447475 and add your own notes! Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus
This week, Becca Jupp continues our 'A New Way with Stories' series, looking at The Prodigal Son. This story shows us what a good Father is and what our Father God is like. Join us as we explore what this really means for us, as we are invited to run ot the Father.Join us on Sundays in-person, 10:30am at The Littlehampton Academy, UKGet in contactVisit our website at arunchurch.com@arunchurch on Facebook, Instagram and YouTubeEmail us on hello@arunchurch.comPlease note, while we aim for clear teaching on the Christian faith, the views, information and opinions expressed by individuals on this podcast do not necessarily represent the views held by Arun Church or its representatives.
Bible Reading: Psalm 103:11-13; Isaiah 64:8; Hosea 11:1-4"Good job!" Dad shouted to Ellery. He was holding on to her by a towel looped under her armpits as she practiced riding her two-wheel bike. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth in deep concentration as she tried to maintain her balance even with Dad's support. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide. She started wobbling, but Dad held her upright as the bike went down to the ground. He hauled Ellery to her feet and smiled down at her. Ellery looked up at Dad and asked, "Again?"Ellery practiced her biking skills for a while longer before they returned to the campsite just in time to grill some burgers over the fire. Meredith, her older sister, and Mom were just finishing up their quiet time when they arrived. Dad helped Ellery assemble her dinner just the way she liked it--two slices of cheese, three squirts of mustard, and four pickles. "I read something interesting in my Bible today," Meredith said as Ellery dove into her food.Ellery made a strange gurgling sound that resembled the words, "What, what?" "Manners," both Mom and Dad said in unison.Meredith looked at her sister and shook her head before continuing. "I read that God is our Father. I think it's cool there are so many different words in the Bible that describe who God is.""Do you know why God calls Himself our Father?" Mom asked."Because He made us!" Ellery jumped in, now having swallowed her delicious bite."You're right," Dad said. "And when we trust in Jesus, we become part of God's family. The Bible also describes what kind of Father God is. He teaches us, encourages us, and is always with us.""Like how you helped me on my bike today!""Or how you helped me with my jump shot in basketball," Meredith added.Dad smiled at them. "Yes, but us human dads aren't perfect. My dad hurt me a lot when I was younger, and I know I'm not perfect and have messed up too. But God never does that. He is the perfect Father.""He's even better than you?" Ellery asked."Even better than you can imagine," Dad responded as Ellery leaned her head against his arm. –Zoe BricknerHow About You?Do you have a loving dad in your life? If so, Father's Day is the perfect time to thank God for that wonderful blessing--and tell your dad you're thankful for him too! If you don't have a dad in your life, or your relationship with him is difficult, know that God sees you and loves you more than you could ever know. Unlike human dads, God is a perfect Father. He cherishes you and will be with you always.Today's Key Verse:See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children. (CSB) (1 John 3:1)Today's Key Thought:God is our Father
Discover a transformative message with Pastor Tommy, who passionately reveals that "it's a time to forgive, it's a time to let go, and it's a time to move forward". This powerful episode unveils the Seven Eternal Truths of the Father's Love, encouraging you to know God not just as God, but as "Father God" who loves you eternally, cares for every aspect of your life, only thinks good thoughts about you, desires to spend time with you, and wants you to trust Him through everything for a "forever life" with Him. Featuring a compelling prophecy from Pastor Hagen about being "caught up into paradise" and being told "Go back. Go back. Go back to the earth. You can't come yet. Your work on earth's not done," this message emphasizes that the supernatural is "just as real as the natural" and calls you to finish your earthly assignment. Learn the power of total surrender to the Father's love, allowing you to be healed, delivered, and set free, renewing your mind as your past has been completely erased by the blood of Jesus. This message will empower you to be strong, faithful at your "post of duty," and move forward into God's blessings.
This Sunday we begin a new section of the Sermon on the Mount, the center point of the Sermon. After showing a re-interpretation of 6 different commandments in the Law, Jesus turned toward personal piety and righteousness by speaking to bring clarity to almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Each of the next few weeks we will spend time working to understand the practices Jesus described, while paying special attention to His repeated warnings that our religious practices be focused on a heavenly reward from our Father God rather than in the recognition and applause of people who see us. This Sunday we will look at the first of those three, almsgiving. teaching about these three religious practices
Welcome! We Are Glad You Are Here!Today we are in Joshua 9:1-27In All Your Ways Acknowledge Father GodFollow along in the following verses in order of presentationJoshua 9:1-7, Exodus 23, 34 & Numbers 33, Deuteronomy 20:11, Joshua 9:8-20, 2 Samuel 21:1-6, Joshua 9:21-27, Joshua 9:14, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 28:26, Joshua 9:15, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, Matthew 5:29, Ephesians 5, Romans 13:7, Colossians 3:13, 1 Timothy 4:7, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Colossians 3:15
We're blessed to hear from our new Campus Pastor, Brant Cole, this morning as he brings us a special Father's Day message. In a world where fatherhood is often overlooked or undervalued, this powerful message from Romans 8:14–17 reminds us that a good father truly makes a great future. Whether your experience with your earthly dad was nurturing, painful, or nonexistent, this sermon points us to the perfect Father—God—who lovingly affirms us, challenges us to grow, heals our wounds, invites us into deep relationship, and entrusts us with meaningful purpose. It's a timely encouragement for dads, families, and anyone longing to understand the life-shaping impact of fatherhood and the faithful heart of God who leads us into a better future. #WalloonChurch #LoveLikeJesus #FathersDay #HeavenlyFather
God is a generous Father. If you are a father, know that as you provide for your family, Father God is providing for you. It brings God great happiness to share His kingdom with His kids, just as it brings joy to an earthly father to share what he has with his kids. Listen/watch this message and learn how your Father in heaven wants show you His generosity. 2 Samuel 6:12-23 NKJ; 2 Samuel 9:1-13 NIV; Romans 8:15-17 NKJ
This week, we celebrate our fathers, and the father of us all, our Father God. The word father has different meanings for us all, depending on our own family experiences, so it is important to see what the bible has to say about God and the qualities of a good father. We will dig into Psalm 103 as we explore the themes of love and compassion. Thanks to Pastor Reed Conley of Artisan Church for being our guest pastor this week.
In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. — Romans 12:5 DeWitt is a beloved part of our church family. He was the first neighborhood kid to meet Rev. Tony Van Zanten, who served at Roseland before me. Seeing nowhere for young people to gather, Rev. Tony threw open the doors of the Roseland Community Center, inviting DeWitt and an entire generation to come in and play basketball and form a community, a family. Over the years, some of those young people moved away, graduated from college, or started businesses. Others died. DeWitt joined the military but returned and settled in next door. For the past 40 years he's been at Roseland nearly every day. He has cooked meals, hosted volunteer groups, played the congas in church, and participated in countless games of dominoes at the Drop-In Center. He has also sung in choirs and contributed to our vibrant community life. If you've been to Roseland Christian Ministries (RCM), you've probably met DeWitt. He's kind, fun-loving, and has a beautiful tenor voice (similar to that of Luther Vandross). I've learned that DeWitt's deepest longing is to be loved and belong—which all of us share. Some people find this in their immediate family or in their marriage. DeWitt found it in Christian community at RCM. I'm grateful that we can belong to God together in this place. Thanks be to God. Father God, thank you for the gift of belonging. In your love we find our true home. Help us to reflect the unity of Christ's body, where all are welcome. Amen.
Welcome back to Yellowstone National Park, as the Animals of the National Park Photography Competition continues! Maverick the Moose wants NOTHING to do with the competition. In fact, he wants nothing to do with ANYTHING or ANYONE besides himself. He's a loner and wants to keep it that way. After a run in with Slinky the Caterpillar, he finds himself face to face with another small creature. Will he run away again? Could anything convince him to join in the competition? Join us to find out and to learn how Jesus created us to be known and know others – to be in community –both with others who know Him AND with Himself and Father God! Learn more about Ms. Adventure's Treehouse by joining our Facebook community, or connect with Charity at msadventurestreehouse@gmail.com.
A very warm welcome to BCC! We invite you to join us on Sunday 8th June 2025 for our two morning services in-person at 9am and 11.15am, and also on streamed on our YouTube channel from 11.15am. This Sunday we continue our summer series 'Parables Of Jesus' with Pastor Nick bringing us the third message: 'The Parable Of The Wise & Foolish Virgins'You can follow the message along in the YouVersion bible app at https://bible.com/events/49444176 and add your own notes! Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed on all of our YouTube videos but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/
Getting to know your Father God not just your mother church.
Andy Cooley begins our series, Judges: This Great Salvation, by giving an overview and introduction to this graphic, adventurous, and helpful book of the Bible. At the beginning of the story we find God's people entering into the Promised Land and entering into a time of transition and a new generation of leadership. As the book progresses, we are faced with the question: "Will God's people trust him and his ways, or will they trust in other gods, other leaders, or themselves?" Time and time again, we find that God's people know ABOUT him, but they don't KNOW him...or his ways. They are ensnared by idolatry, yet each and every time they call on him to save them he still does. This is more than a cautionary tale, it's a book that reminds us of the great, constant, and consistent salvation of Father God - both then and now.
As you listen to these scriptures, contemplate the ways God shows His care for you. No matter where you are, where you go, or what you do, He is always right there with you. His thoughts about each of us, are more than the grains of sand this world holds. Never are we out of His thoughts. How secure, how safe it is to be with Father God, who knows you, and loves you without reserve.Daylight Meditations is a daily podcast from CFO North America. Please visit CFONorthAmerica.org to learn more about our retreats, and online courses. If you are encouraged by this podcast, please consider supporting us.Contributors: Elizabeth Ames, Michelle DeChant, and Adam Maddock
As humans, we compartmentalize things. It's in our nature to make lists, and rank priorities, and really box certain things in. We've got our work-life over here, and our family life over there, and our faith...somewhere else. And this can often lead us to confusion about which direction we're supposed to go.This confusion even extends to our faith. We wonder: when am I supposed to pray, and when am I supposed to take action on my faith?Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”When we get the Word deep in our hearts, we can have an answer to our personal questions. This sweet psalm tells us that we are to always remember the great gifts Father God bestows on us. His greatness is ever before us and in this way, we can worship Him all the time, no matter what we are doing.Learn to bless the Lord and praise Him as you do your job, as you fellowship with others, and even as you engage with people who don't believe what you believe. They need to see the love of Christ shining through you.Let's pray.Lord, we bless you and praise you with our words. Thank you, Father, for never ever forgetting us. 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.
Getting to know your Father God not just your mother church
Faith Food Fellowship | Self-care Strategies for Busy Christian Women
Feeling stretched thin—even in your walk with God? Pouring out in every direction but rarely pausing to be poured into? This episode offers a gentle pause and a fresh perspective, exploring how Jesus practiced spiritual self-care—and why that matters for your daily life right now. These aren't just ancient stories, they're modern invitations to step into rhythms of grace, peace, and restoration. Jesus didn't just serve and heal. He rested, withdrew, and nurtured His relationship with Father God. And that same invitation is open today.Keep listening for three ways Jesus cared for His soul, and how those same rhythms can restore joy, calm, and clarity in a world that constantly pulls on every side. Rest isn't lazy, it's divine. Self-care isn't selfish, it's sacrosanct. And the quiet places? That's where God is already waiting to meet you with open arms.Recipes Mentioned in the EpisodeWatermelon Salad with FetaScriptures ReferencedMark 1:35Luke 22:15Matthew 4:4John 10:302 Corinthians 5:21Want to savor more goodness?I'm so excited you're here! Let's make the most of it with these special opportunities:Join the P31Virtues Community: If you're ready to find balance, peace, and a little extra inspiration each week, come together with women who understand the beauty of living a multifaceted life. Plus, get the weekly recipe delivered straight to your inbox! Find the support you need to thrive at community.p31virtues.com.Rest without guilt: Get Thriving in Grace and unlock the power of rest for your spirit, soul, and body. Take the next step: Apply for Divine Balance Coaching and get your personalized action plan to live and serve from overflow. Let's Connect:Email: hello@p31virtues.comNote: The show notes may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!
In this week's episode, Dennis Jernigan shares the story behind his song, "Live the Adventure", from the album "The Chronicles of Bren: Captured – Songs for the Journey". That mp3 is available at https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ The lyrics can be found below. You can join Dennis and the people of All In All Church for live-stream worship on the first Wednesday evening of each month. Just go to https://www.facebook.com/therealdennisjernigan at 7 PM CST. Mark it in your calendar. Worship with All in All Church - First Wednesday of each month. Daily Devotions for Kingdom Seekers, Vol. 3 is available at https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Kingdom-Seekers-Vol-ebook/dp/B081K8TZLX Check out my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/DennisJernigan and read through the various tiers of support and discover the myriad of benefits you will receive based on the level of support you choose. If you're willing, go ahead and sign up! You will find the show notes and lyrics below: Welcome to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures. Hi. I am your host, Dennis Jernigan. Today's podcast is gonna be a bit different from most of my podcasts. This is the story behind the final installment of the music from my fantasy book series, The Chronicles of Bren: Book One: Captured. The collection of songs is called “Captured: Songs for the Journey.” This week's episode is the story behind the last song in the series. That song is called, “Live the Adventure.” “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller I love that quote. It almost captures my heart for this series of books. Almost. I have adapted a personal version that has influenced the writing of these stories of and from the land of Bren. “Life is either a grand, daring adventure or it is nothing at all.” Dennis Jernigan My love of writing and my love of hearing great stories of people who have overcome impossible circumstances has led me to write…in spite of whether those writings are ever considered great or not. The reason I wrote The Chronicles of Bren series and The Bairns of Bren series is simple. I wanted to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren for generations to come. As a part of that legacy, I endeavored to write stories which depict the realities of life. Life is not easy. Life is full of sorrow. Life brings times of wounding of both body and soul. Life brings times of disappointment and even betrayal. My goal is to leave my family a legacy that explains how life, even with its many hurtful episodes, is meant to be lived with joy. And just how does one do that? I personally believe that if one sees life and its circumstances - both good and bad - from the Lord's point of view, insurmountable mountains become molehills. Impassable rivers become rites of passage. Unbearable grief becomes an opportunity to receive comfort. Fear is replaced with love. Rather than being something to somehow endure, life becomes the most grand adventure because a life lived with the Lord ever-present at one's side sands away the bitterness of life revealing a many-faceted treasure of great worth. Forgiveness and humility replace bitterness with the heroic heart of a benevolent conqueror. My desire, as a dad and granddad, is that my heirs would come to see themselves as overcomers. I believe Almighty God created the human imagination as a means of revealing His nature to mankind and as a means of helping the human mind understand and begin to unravel the wonderful mystery of Who God is. The gift of imagination has helped me see how even things that are meant to hurt me can be seen from a different point of view - and perspective is everything. Why write in the fantasy genre? Simple. God used fantasy to rescue my heart and mind when I was just a young boy. I felt trapped in what I now call stinkin' thinkin' concerning my identity. I felt I was being held captive in my own mind but God did something amazing during my boyhood that carried me through to the day He set me free. From the time I was a little boy and all the way into my marriage and adult life, God has used fantasy, mythology, and imagination to rescue and save me. Just a quick case in point. When I was a boy, I felt constantly bullied and that my father could not possibly love me and that there was no escape and no one to rescue me…but each night as I fell asleep, I was suddenly on the USS Enterprise. My dad was none other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk and my mother was Doris Day. Each dream I was captured by aliens and just as they were about to end me, my dad, Captain Kirk, would materialize and blast them with his phaser, not set to stun but set to destroy. My mom was always there singing Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be…Just a cool memory of how my mother used to comfort me. I believe the Lord used that recurring dream to keep me hanging on…to make me feel someone or something good was pursuing me. When it dawned on me that this was the case, I began to understand the role of imagination in the way I viewed the world and the massive creativity and divine order God set in motion by His own imagination. What does any of that have to do with living the adventure? A simple example from my own life. When I was about 30 years old, I asked myself this question: When you get to the age of 65, what is something that you would look back on and regret not even having tried? For me that was writing and recording music and authoring books. In college I was not allowed to major in song writing because they told me they saw no potential in me. I nearly gave it all up…but something deep inside of me kept nudging me to step out and see life as a grand adventure…so I did. And Father God has seen fit to spread my music literally all over the world. I also wanted a large family, but many told me we needed to wait until we had enough money to start a family before we should even consider it. If I had taken that advice I would not have had the privilege of raising 9 of the most amazing men and women I know of on this planet. I worked hard to provide for my family, but set aside personal time to be with them a lot, and I also carved out time to write each and every day. But had I not dared to believe what the Lord was putting in my heart, I never would have taken one step toward any of my dreams. Even if you're 65, it's not too late to begin living out the adventure of things you have dreamed of doing. If you're breathing, there is hope…and if you take that first step in the journey, your adventure has begun. What is your heart telling you right now? [Pro 13:12 NIV] 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. SONG [Joel 2:28 NIV] 28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” I certainly enjoyed writing the three book series, The Chronicles of Bren. They honestly helped me get a better grip on Father God's point of view of my life. My hope is that you would discover joy and solace within the pages of the books and the melodies of the songs. May they serve as uplifting companions, guiding you to encounter Jesus even amidst life's toughest trials. Thank you for tuning in to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. For more about my journey, music, and more, visit dennisjernigan.com. Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, and explore my music on various streaming platforms. If you're keen on joining my team, consider becoming a Patron at patreon.com/dennisjernigan. Your support means the world to me! The book "Captured" is now available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions. Once you have finished reading captured, I invite you to read the next two books in the series. Book Two is called “Sacrifice” and Book Three is called “Generations”. All are available on Amazon. Soon, I hope to introduce you to the songs from book 2, but that will be at sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I encourage you to delve into "Captured" and then enjoy the songs inspired by its characters, all available for FREE. Simply head to https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ to download the complete collection at no cost. Thank you once more for being a part of today's podcast. Remember, you are deeply loved by God and by me. Dare to see life as a grand adventure - in spite of your circumstances - and dare to live that adventure with fullness of joy. Now go and be who your heavenly Father says you are. Live The Adventure WORDS & MUSIC Dennis Jernigan October 2012 Verse Life is best lived with a sense of adventure! You can wonder what flying is like Or you can take to the sky! Life is the best lived in wonder and splendor! Even when you're knocked down Just get back up and dare to believe! Chorus Live the adventure! Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure! Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure! Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure! Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! Verse Life is best lived with a sense of pure wonder! Even storms that we face can be seen From a new point of view! Life is best lived with a sense of pure wonder! Dare to see far beyond What most human eyes dare to conceive! Chorus Live the adventure! Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure! Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure! Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure! Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! Chorus Live the adventure! Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure! Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure! Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure! Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! You, dare to be!