Podcasts about god his father

Jesus is the Truth Who will take you in to live like He lives, planted in God His Father's love.

Second Sunday of Easter Bible Readings Acts 5:12,17–32, John 20:19-31 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Revelation 1:4–18 4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood 6and made us a kingdom and priests to God His Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever. Amen. 7 Look, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the nations of the earth will mourn because of Him. Yes. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, the One who is, and who was, and who is com-ing, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingship and patient endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. 10 I was in spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write what you see on a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was clothed with a robe that reached to his feet, and around his chest he wore a gold sash. 14 His head and His hair were white, like white wool or like snow. His eyes were like blazing flames. 15 His feet were like polished bronze being refined in a furnace. His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand. A sharp two-edged sword was coming out of His mouth. His face was shining as the sun shines in all its brightness. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last— 18 the Living One. I was dead and, see, I am alive forever and ever! I also hold the keys of death and hell.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today's message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

A Christmas Message MESSAGE SUMMARY: The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus' birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially n terms of the time and location of Jesus' birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and life saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus' Resurrection, which validated Jesus' claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus' birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God's Grace and Jesus' birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God's Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God's love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind's consideration of God's Grace, love, and Jesus' birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God's service? Until we yield to God's lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don't need your love”. Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God's Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “When Jesus Asked You: “Whom do you say that I am?”, Did You Answer Jesus: “You are my God and the Lord of my Life!”?”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

A Christmas Message MESSAGE SUMMARY: The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus' birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially n terms of the time and location of Jesus' birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and life saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus' Resurrection, which validated Jesus' claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus' birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God's Grace and Jesus' birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God's Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God's love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind's consideration of God's Grace, love, and Jesus' birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God's service? Until we yield to God's lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don't need your love”. Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God's Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Do You Struggle with Your “Prayer Life”? Find a Quiet Place for Your Personal Relationship with God and Pray to the Universe's Creator”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORDFROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

A Christmas Message MESSAGE SUMMARY: The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus' birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially n terms of the time and location of Jesus' birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and life saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus' Resurrection, which validated Jesus' claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus' birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God's Grace and Jesus' birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God's Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God's love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind's consideration of God's Grace, love, and Jesus' birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God's service? Until we yield to God's lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don't need your love”.   Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God's Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “When Jesus Asked You: “Whom do you say that I am?”, Did You Answer Jesus: “You are my God and the Lord of my Life!”?”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORDFROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Our study continues in 1st Peter 4 verses 1 thru 6. Dr. Mitchell deals with the conduct of the believer in his walk with the Lord in doing the will of God. Dr. Mitchell brings out that Christ's whole life was about doing the will of God. The believer is to have this same mind as Christ. In Philippians 2:5 we are exhorted to have this mind which was in Christ Jesus who did the will of God by humbling Himself. Dr. Mitchell shares John 8:29 where Jesus says, "I always do the things that please Him" that is, God His Father. In these verses, the one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. What does that mean? Dr. Mitchell explains. Let's open our Bibles and turn to 1st Peter 4 verse 1 with Dr. Mitchell, here on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast.

Have you ever wondered – how to live an extraordinary life? I mean no one wants to live a boring ordinary life. We all want to have some impact in this world. But … how?   The Theory is not Enough When I finished high school almost 40 years ago now, my grades were good enough to mean I was selected to study medicine at Sydney University. And so I applied for a range of courses at different universities – that's how it worked back then. You applied for several things that interested you and then, depending on your grades, you had several offers on the table from which you could choose. One of the things I was accepted for was medicine, but something inside me – well, I just didn't want to do it, even though my parents wanted me to do it. I mean, what do you really know at aged 17 about what you'd be good at and what you'd enjoy – what you want to spend the rest of your life doing? Nothing! Fortunately though, they left it up to me and being a young lad with a sense of adventure – that desire to spread my wings and fly, I chose a career in the military instead. Now I can't tell you how many times I've looked back on that decision in the years since, and thanked God I didn't become a doctor. See, I hate the sight of blood, and well, I just couldn't imagine it! It's just not me. I chuckle to myself, and every time we talk about the idea of me becoming a doctor, my wife Jacky ends up shrieking with laughter, or rolling her eyes into the back of her head. She knows me better than anyone on the planet, and saying that I would make a good doctor would be like telling me that I could fly to the moon by flapping my arms. Now, given that I'm a bit of an academic, I wouldn't have any problem at all with the theory. I'm sure I could cope with all the study and the exams – no problem, but my problem would be when I had to come to stick a needle into someone, or cut them open with a knife and poke around inside them, and then put all the pieces back in the right place and stitch them up again. My problem with being a doctor isn't the theory; it's the practice, and that's the way it is with many of us when it comes right down to living an extraordinary life. We don't have any problem whatsoever with the theory. There are plenty of us who want to lead an extraordinary life, and we dream about it, but you don't plough a field by turning it over in your mind. People who live extraordinary lives are the ones that realise the theory isn't enough. The people who live extraordinary lives are the ones that get out there in the game, and give it a crack – the ones who are prepared to sacrifice and fail and get up and dust themselves off, and give it another go. And that's exactly what Jesus taught us about living an extraordinary life. Have a listen. Matthew 7:24: He said, ‘Look, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it didn't fall because it had been founded on a rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell, and it was such a great fall.' Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at His teaching, for He taught them as One having authority, and not as the scribes. Well, should they have been amazed? All the religious leaders of their day were teaching waffle and theory and how to follow all these rules and laws that didn't make people's lives any better at all. In fact, it was making their lives worse. But the stuff Jesus was talking about – sure; it was about the very same God that all the religious leaders were teaching about, but He was teaching stuff that seemed to matter – real stuff; real-life things – things that people could take and do and live by, that would make their lives better and other people's lives better. But Jesus was warning them here. He was saying in effect: ‘Sure, you can come along and listen and be wowed by all that you hear, and entertained, and challenged, and that's great. But if all you do is listen, what good is that going to do you? None! Because when push comes to shove, when the going gets tough, it's all going to come crashing down round your ears. But, if you actually do the things that I'm telling you, it'll be like building your life on firm foundations. So don't just sit there and listen to me; do it!' Hey, maybe that's where Nike got their slogan from. And here's the bit that caps it off for me. When Jesus was done teaching them, what did He do? Did He go back to the office and get out His textbooks and get in some more theory so that He could dish out yet another sermon, yet another theory lesson to the masses? Let's have a read here at the very next thing that He did after His sermon on that mount. Matthew 8:1: When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him, and there was a leper who came to Him and knelt before Him, saying: ‘Lord, if You choose, You can make me clean.' So Jesus stretched out His hand and touched the man, saying: ‘I do choose. Be made clean.' Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him: ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go. Show yourself to the priests and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.' See, what was the very next thing Jesus did after His message on doing instead of just listening? He went out and touched the leper. See, it was against the law to touch a leper, but He was so moved by compassion, He reached out and touched the leper, and healed the man. Now I'm not sure if you've heard this saying, but it's a great one. "A shepherd should never lose the smell of sheep from his clothing". In other words, we should always be hands-on when it comes to living out our faith. We should always be prepared to do our faith, not just believe our faith. With all my heart I believe in Jesus, and it would be the easiest thing in the world for me to be a theoretician – sit here in a nice, safe, clean, cloistered, albeit boring little radio-studio and just churn out these programmes – dish out the theory. But if there's one thing that Jesus teaches us, it's that theory isn't enough. The theory has to work its way out in practice in our lives. The easiest thing in the world is to nod wisely as we hear Jesus' words today, but it's much harder to go and do them. Let me leave you with this thought: Theoreticians aren't the ones who end up living extraordinary lives; it's the practitioners who do. Who's the great sportsman – the one who teaches the players, or the one who picks up the ball and runs with it? Who's the great teacher – the one who stays in the classroom, or the one who pulls alongside the student on the journey in his life? At some point, if we want to live extraordinary lives, we have to go and live them. We have to go and do them. For some of us, it's time to stop listening, and it's time to start doing.   Powered by Faith In your life, let me ask you: Where do you get the sort of power that keeps you going, despite some of the difficulties and the obstacles that you face? Do you have that sort of power? Well, no, me neither – well, that's not quite true. Of course, in and of myself I don't have that sort of power, but when from time to time things get beyond me, I do know where to go to get it. Sound interesting? Well, let's take a look. In this razzmatazzy kind of world in which we live, we're supposed to have our own power. We're supposed to be strong and self-sufficient. We're supposed to be quick and smart and clever and all that stuff. That's the theory, and I guess in part, I'd agree with that. We should grow; we should mature; we should use the strengths and the abilities we've been given, but I don't care even if your name is Hercules, there are going to be times when the job before us is way, way, way beyond us. So, then in that place, where do you get that power – the power to live an absolutely extraordinary life? Well, let's take a look. The question is, what are you powered by? Here's what Jesus has to say on the subject because of course in our journey of discovering how to live an extraordinary life over these last few episodes, we've been following Him around through the account of His life in the gospel of Matthew to discover how it was that He lived His extraordinary life, and here's what Jesus has to say about power and where to get it. Matthew 8:5: When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, appealing to Him, saying: ‘Lord, my servant's lying at home paralysed and in terrible distress.' And Jesus said to Him: ‘I'll come and cure him.' But the centurion answered: ‘Lord, I'm not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go' and he goes, and to another ‘Come' and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this', and the slave does it.' When Jesus heard him, He was amazed, and He said to all those who were following Him: ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and they'll eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' And to the centurion, Jesus said: 'Go. Let it be done for you according to your faith', and the servant was healed in that very hour. Now here was this centurion, a Roman soldier of the Italian cohort. He was faced with a problem that was way, way, way beyond him. His servant was sick, and obviously this servant meant a lot to him. What to do? No fancy emergency clinics back in those days; none of the advances in medicine that we take for granted these days as yet existed. Yet he's heard about this miracle-man Jesus, and in his simple mind, he decided that Jesus must have the power. But how to lay hold of that power? Well, get up and go and see Him! With a bit of luck, being a centurion, you'd get through the crowd to ask Jesus if He could help. But how does the centurion ask? Let's take another look (verse 8): The centurion answered: ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go' and he goes. I say to another, ‘Come' and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this' and the slave does it.' The centurion sets out the simple soldier's logic of his faith in Jesus. He explains his reason for putting his trust in Jesus, and Jesus is totally blown away by this man's faith, and the moment this faith is expressed, it releases power. See, the centurion in and of himself didn't have the power to heal the servant, but he knew where to get it, and how to get it – by placing his trust in Jesus. See, is that it? Is that the end of the story? Well, not really. Of course, the centurion received what he asked for by faith, but interestingly, Jesus also received what He asked for by faith. It seems that Jesus actually practised what He preached, which is a pretty refreshing change when you think about it. Matthew 8:23: When Jesus got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great the boat was being swamped by the waves, but Jesus was asleep. So they woke Him and they said: ‘Lord, save us! We're perishing!' And He said to them: ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was dead calm. They were amazed, saying: ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the seas obey Him?' Well I'll tell you what sort of a man He was – He was a man of faith. He rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith, and then in faith He stilled the storm. Remember, Jesus had laid all His power aside to become a man. Yes, Jesus was the Son of God, but also the Son of Man! He had, in and of Himself, the same power as you and I do. What He relied on to do the extraordinary things that He did was God's power by faith, and as a result, He was able to still the storm; to feed the five thousand; to heal the sick; to raise the dead – by faith. Now, I try my hardest in my life. I marshal all my abilities and strengths whenever I'm faced with something I can't manage, because I kind of figure that I should be capable of doing these things, but there are plenty of times I'm called to do things that are actually way beyond me. I was sitting preparing this particular message at the international airport in Dubai, on my way from Delhi in India to Nairobi in Kenya. I'd just been to India to grow the reach and the impact of these very same radio-messages there, and now I was heading off to Africa to do the same on that continent. I can't tell you how often I'm on these trips, and I sit there and I look around and I think to myself: "Who do I think I am? What am I doing here? I mean, Dubai, for crying out loud! I can't make a difference in all these countries. These are all so foreign to me. I don't belong here", and then I remember the centurion – his simple logic. To him it was patently obvious that Jesus could do what he asked of Him, and then I remember Jesus who by faith stilled the storm, through the power of God Himself. See, for Jesus, it wasn't complicated. For the centurion, it wasn't complicated – not for the Christ, not for the soldier. Faith is faith – simple, sweet, pure, and it's that childlike faith that lays hold of the awesome power of God to do the extraordinary things – the things that are way beyond the natural – the supernatural. Looking for the power to do the extraordinary things? Looking for the power to live an extraordinary life? Well, I know exactly where you can get it.   Tough Choices Now, in these last 4 episodes of the programme, we've only managed to get to Matthew chapter 8, out of 28 chapters, so we're going to cheat somewhat by jumping forward to the end of Matthew's account of Jesus' life and times to see, in part, how it ended. A lot of what our lives end up being worth has to do with the decisions that we make. We all make many decisions every day – dozens of them. Sometimes we make really lousy decisions and other times, we make good decisions. So, I'd like to look at perhaps the single-most important decision that's ever been taken in the history of humanity – the decision that Jesus took all alone, late at night, in a dark, lonely, scary place. They're the hardest decisions to take, don't you think – the dark ones, the lonely ones? And this was one of the hardest decisions that anyone will ever take, and also, the most important one. Matthew 26:36: Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples: ‘Sit here while I go over there, and pray.' He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then He said to them: ‘I'm so deeply grieved, even unto death. Remain here, and stay awake with Me.' And going a little farther, He threw Himself on the ground and prayed: ‘My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me, yet not what I want, but what You want.' Then He came to His disciples and He found them sleeping and He said to Peter: ‘So, couldn't you stay awake with Me for just one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into a time of trial. The spirit indeed is willing, but your flesh is weak.' Again, He went away for the second time and prayed. ‘My Father, if this cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.' Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to the disciples and He said to them: ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let's be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.' Now this, of course, was the decision of laying His life down for you and me, so put yourself in His shoes, and imagine being there deciding whether or not you're going to die for someone else, and not just die; suffer – not a quick, painless injection, as awful as that would be – not even the electric chair; certainly some pain there, but over pretty quickly ... Wouldn't that just be awful? But Jesus knew He was going to suffer for hours – the best part of a day, around 17 hours. Trial after trial, 5 of them in all; beating after beating, thorns driven into His skull, nails driven into His hands and feet, hanging there by those nails in excruciating pain for hours, until finally He didn't have the strength to breathe. That's how you died when you were crucified; you're suffocated. He actually lost the strength to breathe, hanging there by those nails, and so you died of lack of oxygen. All the while those nails tore at your wrist and your Achilles tendon – your whole bodyweight being taken on those 4 painful points. And so here Jesus is, hoping that His friends would support Him, but they fall asleep. Can you believe that? They actually fell asleep, and He's sweating blood in His most crucial hour, and He prays and He prays ‘Dad, if only You can take this whole thing away from me!' I'm sure there are a whole bunch of other things that passed between God the Father and God the Son in that dark, lonely, fearful place on that night. He was grieved – deeply grieved – greatly agitated. Why wouldn't He have been, with all that lay ahead? He was dying to pay for my sin and yours, so that we could be forgiven. He threw Himself on the ground and prayed: ‘Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want, but what You want', and that's the key to the most important decision ever made in all of history. No, He didn't want to die; but even in this dark place, He said to His Father in heaven: ‘Yet not what I want, but what You want.' Right there in that yes is where the ordinary becomes absolutely extraordinary. Jesus made a decision to submit His life – literally His very life – to the will of God His Father, and that changed the course of history. There are going to be times in both our lives – in your life and in my life – where we have one of those Gethsemane decisions to make, and they're never easy. They're always huge. I look back on a few in my life and I never, ever want to have to go through them again, but how we decide at that point has everything to do with the sort of life that we end up leading. If we're prepared to lose it all for God, then that's extraordinary! So many people want to hang onto their lives, and when we cling onto the things that we want in life, that makes for an ordinary life. When we're prepared to lay it all on the line, when we're prepared to go with the outcome that God has for us, even when it deeply grieves and agitates us, as was the case with Jesus, that's where true greatness lies. Most of us will never be called physically to lay down our lives for God. Some will, but most won't, and yet Jesus called His followers to take up their cross every day and follow Him, because there are much smaller Gethsemane decisions to be made each and every day in submitting our lives to God, so that we may live. "If any man would save his life, then he'll lose it. But the one who loses it for My sake", said Jesus, "Will save it." Weird – that last bit, but what He's saying is that when we try to hang onto everything for ourselves, that's what makes for an ordinary life, and eventually, an ordinary life comes to an end, but the one who lays down their lives for Jesus will live an extraordinary life, and that's a life that goes on for ever and ever and ever. Amen.

In ⁠Hebrews 12:1-2⁠, the author of Hebrews exhorts us to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. He then says, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. If you are familiar with the Indianapolis 500 car race, you know that the pace car goes out ahead of the racers to start the race. And at the end of the race, the checkered flag is waved for every racer crossing the finish line. Jesus is our pace car who goes out ahead of us. But then He also continues along side of us all the way until we complete our race. Jesus is also the one who waves in every believer across the finish line with the checkered flag of victory. Our race will be finished when He comes from heaven for us. As we run the race of faith, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus. Why? Because He is both the author and perfecter of faith, both of His and ours. Dr. Mitchell states that Jesus' faith was perfected with His suffering at the cross and resurrection and is proof that we also will stand perfect and complete before Him just as He stands before God His Father. Did not God the Father say to Him, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased?" Amen, What a savior! Here is Dr. Mitchell, ⁠Hebrews 12:1-2⁠.

Gospel  Luke 6:12-19 Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. Reflection We see in this passage the humanity of Jesus always turning to God His Father for advice, for direction. He's on a mountain and he prays for the answer to who should become apostles, he receives it, and then we see them doing the work that God is empowering them to do. They come down to the level of humanity. They come down to a level stretch, and there's the great crowd of people longing for something. And what they're longing for is best described as a kind of healing process, where they're given everything that they need in order to build the kingdom of God. That's the work of the apostles, to empower with spirit. That's the work of the church, who empowers with spirit to do the work. Closing Prayer Father, in this story, everyone longed to touch you. To feel the presence of God within you, and it was healing. Awaken us that we too have this power of God dwelling in us. And when our intention is that we want people around us to have the fullness of life that God calls them to, we resonate a healing power. Help us to continue in our intention to be there for others. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is another message from Pastor Rob Hampton and is from the scripture passage found in Luke 5:15-16. Jesus is ministering to people and His ministry is powered by prayer, direct communication to God His Father. We have the same opportunity to have power in our lives through prayer.

And Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor questioned Him, saying, Are You the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say it. And when He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, Do You not hear how many things they testify against You? And He did not answer him, not even to one word, so that the governor greatly marvelled. And at a feast, the governor customarily released one prisoner to the crowd, whom they wished. And they had then a notable prisoner, Barabbas. Then they, having been assembled, Pilate said to them, Whom do you wish I may release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus being called Christ? For he knew they delivered Him up through envy. But as he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Let nothing be to you and that just one. For I have suffered many things today by a dream because of Him. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds, that they should ask for Barabbas, and to destroy Jesus. And answering, the governor said to them, From the two, which do you wish that I release to you? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, What then should I do to Jesus being called Christ? They all say to him, Crucify Him! But the governor said, For what badness did He do? But they the more cried out, saying, Crucify! And seeing that nothing is gained, but rather an uproar occurs, taking water, Pilate washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous one; you will see. And answering, all the people said, His blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them. But having flogged Jesus, he delivered Him up that He might be crucified. (Matthew 27:11-26) The Lord had two purposes in coming into the world, redemption and the glorification of His Human; and by these He saved both men and angels. These two purposes are quite distinct, but still they are combined in effecting salvation. The nature of redemption was shown in the preceding paragraphs to be a battle against the hells, their subjugation and afterwards the ordering of the heavens. Glorification, however, is the uniting of the Lord's Human with His Father's Divine. This took place by stages and was completed by His passion on the cross. For every person ought for his own part to approach God, and the more nearly he does so, the more closely does God on His side enter into him. It is similar to the building of a church: its construction by human hands must come first, and then afterwards it must be consecrated, and finally prayers must be said for God to be present and unite Himself with its congregation. The reason why the actual union was fully achieved by the passion on the cross is that it was the last temptation which the Lord underwent in the world; and temptations create a link. In temptation it looks as if a person is left to himself, but he is not, since God is then most closely present in his inmost, and secretly gives him support. When therefore anyone is victorious over temptation, he is most inwardly linked with God, and in this case the Lord was most inwardly united with God His Father. (True Christian Religion 126) I just wanted to draw on the events around Jesus interactions with Pilate in the Gospel of Matthew with a view to gaining a little more understanding about what these events leading up to the death of the Lord mean in terms of our own interaction with the Word or when we are confronted with truths about ourselves. In the story the Jewish authorities had taken and bound Jesus to be led to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea at that time. The Jewish religious leaders, in particular, had become increasingly uncomfortable with the presence and influence Jesus was having on the masses and saw this as going against their own interests, so much so that they were willing to falsely accuse him, and stage what was effectively a mock trial to condemn him to death.

A Christmas Message MESSAGE SUMMARY: The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus' birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially n terms of the time and location of Jesus' birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and life saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus' Resurrection, which validated Jesus' claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus' birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God's Grace and Jesus' birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God's Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God's love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind's consideration of God's Grace, love, and Jesus' birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God's service? Until we yield to God's lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don't need your love”. Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God's Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Do You Struggle with Your “Prayer Life”? Find a Quiet Place for Your Personal Relationship with God and Pray to the Universe's Creator”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORDFROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

A Christmas Message MESSAGE SUMMARY: The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus' birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially n terms of the time and location of Jesus' birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and life saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus' Resurrection, which validated Jesus' claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus' birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God's Grace and Jesus' birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God's Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God's love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind's consideration of God's Grace, love, and Jesus' birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God's service? Until we yield to God's lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don't need your love”. Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God's Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Do You Struggle with Your “Prayer Life”? Find a Quiet Place for Your Personal Relationship with God and Pray to the Universe's Creator”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORDFROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

When Pilate, the Roman governor, asked the religious leaders clamoring to have Jesus put to to death  , he asked them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But the mob didn't answer him except to cry out all the more, "Let Him be crucified!"John 19:7 gives more information as to the reason the leaders in Jerusalem wanted Jesus dead. They said because Jesus "made himself the Son of GOD."This was an excuse they used because the real reason was Jesus told them earlier in His ministry their religion would not gain them favor with GOD, and that they were the "children of the devil."Yes, that will get religious people riled up. Now, on the cross Jesus had something to say to those witnessing His death. He asked GOD His Father to forgive those men standing there as they mocked Him. And then, just before He died He declared, "It is finished!"This meant HIs death completely atoned, or paid the penalty, for the sins of the human race. All sin, for all time.Why would He do this? Because of His love for us and His desire to see the human race survive. At least for those who chose to believe in Him and show it by taking Him as their Savior. You know, like what it takes to become married.It takes more than intellectual  assent. It takes an action on our part to become married.Now transfer that to salvation and you will have eternal life according to John 3:16 - "For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not preish but have everlasting life."Show notes at HopesHarbor.net

In Hebrews Chapter 1 we saw Jesus the Son, exalted to the highest place by God His Father. Paul is writing to the Jews, trying to reveal who this Jesus – who lived among them in bodily form on earth – really is!  Going back to the previous chapter, v13ff, Paul writes, ‘To which of the angels did God say at any time, “Sit at My Right Hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Angels – who are they? ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to those who will be the heirs of salvation?' Salvation is a heritage, our inheritance; we inherit it through the death of Jesus! You only inherit when someone dies. Jesus died – and we live! Chapter 2.1 continues, ‘Therefore' – because of this amazing truth – ‘we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.' Pauls says quite expressively in Romans 10.17, ‘Faith comes by hearing.' Faith – the greatest gift, the gift that I ask for, the gift that I've lived by all my life – comes by HEARING! Paul is writing to Jews who have HEARD but are now in danger of letting those things they heard – slip!

The Unchanging Word Bible broadcast is in Romans 15:1-7 in our lesson for today. Chapter 15 continues the same theme started in Romans 14 of the relationship of Christians with Christians and the principle of personal liberty that is controlled by love. In verses 1-7, Dr. Mitchell points out the differences between liberty and license, between pleasing oneself only and seeking the good of one's neighbor.   We have the example of Christ who pleased not Himself, for He delighted to do the will of God His Father and bore the reproaches of those who showed contempt for God His Father. The importance and necessity of Scripture as the source of encouragement is stated. Do you notice that when Paul wrote these verses, he was referring to the Old Testament, most likely a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, known as the Septuagint a.k.a. LXX. Paul used a translation which God inspired. So turn in your Bible to Romans 15:1 with Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unchanging-word/message

John's Gospel was written in another time, another place—the ancient Middle East. Consequently, we often miss what's obvious to the original audience. Jesus' ‘apprenticeship analogy' is a case in point. Apprenticeship enabled sons to learn their father's trade; Jesus and Joseph, his (putative) father, were carpenters. Now Jesus applies this metaphor to his ongoing relationship to God, his Father. It's a unique window into the intimate Father-Son relationship of showing/seeing, loving/submitting, hearing/ speaking, doing/imitating. Jesus calls his disciples into apprenticeship to him. This isn't the ‘Great Commission' of discipleship; it's the “Great Invitation' into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Let's all become apprentices to the risen Jesus!

Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people. He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas. Christ made it clear that He hadn't come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father. He didn't give people another “system of beliefs and practices”; instead He said that He Himself was the way, truth, and life. In this public confrontation, we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious.

Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people. He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas. Christ made it clear that He hadn't come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father. He didn't give people another “system of beliefs and practices”; instead He said that He Himself was the way, truth, and life. In this public confrontation, we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious.

Do you have a consistent prayer life? Do you believe that God answers your prayers? Today, May 4, 2023, is the National Day of Prayer. To me, God often seems turtle-slow about answering prayer. I've been praying about some things for years. I've wondered if God even hears me or cares. He loves you and me so much! But God isn't slow. He hears us as Christian believers when we pray and He answers in His perfect timing and in His way. In this podcast, I share about how Jesus prayed as a perfect example for us. He didn't use a religious formula, but prayed in different ways. But one thing He did do consistently was getting away alone with God His Father to a secluded place. Learn more about how to pray in my book mentioned on this episode, Walking With God, available for sale at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Walking-God-Beth-M-Jones-ebook/dp/B004JXVYPO/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bethmjones/support

Do you have a consistent prayer life? Do you believe that God answers your prayers? Today, May 4, 2023, is the National Day of Prayer. To me, God often seems turtle-slow about answering prayer. I've been praying about some things for years. I've wondered if God even hears me or cares. He loves you and me so much! But God isn't slow. He hears us as Christian believers when we pray and He answers in His perfect timing and in His way. In this podcast, I share about how Jesus prayed as a perfect example for us. He didn't use a religious formula, but prayed in different ways. But one thing He did do consistently was getting away alone with God His Father to a secluded place. Learn more about how to pray in my book mentioned on this episode, Walking With God, available for sale at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Walking-God-Beth-M-Jones-ebook/dp/B004JXVYPO/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bethmjones/support

Because Jesus suffered being tempted like us, yet without sin, He is declared to be a suitable man to represent us before our God as our High Priest.--Because Jesus was compassed with infirmities, like His people, He can have compassion upon us when we suffer being tempted.--But our suffering is nothing compared to the temptation and suffering of Christ, when He took our sins upon Himself and was punished in our place by God---Christ was made perfect by that suffering, so that He might lead many sons unto glory.--In Hebrews, the full weight of Christ's suffering for us is finally laid bare in chapter 5. It is presented in sharp contrast with the nobility and honor of Christ to be made our High Priest by God.--That honor was given to Him by His Father from of old. He is declared to be the Father's Son, and by an oath, made a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.--From the beginning, Christ is the King of Peace, the King of Righteousness, and our faithful High Priest---But it all comes crashing into the horror, the terror, ignominy, the shame of being judged guilty in our place for our sins. --In His flesh, Christ cries out unto God with strong tears of supplication and prayers, at the prospect of being made a curse for His people. --In the fear of God, Christ prays to His Father, Who is able to save Him from death, and the Father hears Him.--Even though He is eternally the Son, yet He learns obedience by the things He suffered at Calvary.--Christ's cries were most vehement, for the weight of our sins laid upon Him, and the punishment He bore for us. --God His Father did hear Jesus when He cried, and did save Him from death when He raised Him from the dead-

Because Jesus suffered being tempted like us, yet without sin, He is declared to be a suitable man to represent us before our God as our High Priest.--Because Jesus was compassed with infirmities, like His people, He can have compassion upon us when we suffer being tempted.--But our suffering is nothing compared to the temptation and suffering of Christ, when He took our sins upon Himself and was punished in our place by God---Christ was made perfect by that suffering, so that He might lead many sons unto glory.--In Hebrews, the full weight of Christ's suffering for us is finally laid bare in chapter 5. It is presented in sharp contrast with the nobility and honor of Christ to be made our High Priest by God.--That honor was given to Him by His Father from of old. He is declared to be the Father's Son, and by an oath, made a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.--From the beginning, Christ is the King of Peace, the King of Righteousness, and our faithful High Priest---But it all comes crashing into the horror, the terror, ignominy, the shame of being judged guilty in our place for our sins. --In His flesh, Christ cries out unto God with strong tears of supplication and prayers, at the prospect of being made a curse for His people. --In the fear of God, Christ prays to His Father, Who is able to save Him from death, and the Father hears Him.--Even though He is eternally the Son, yet He learns obedience by the things He suffered at Calvary.--Christ's cries were most vehement, for the weight of our sins laid upon Him, and the punishment He bore for us. --God His Father did hear Jesus when He cried, and did save Him from death when He raised Him from the dead-

Because Jesus suffered being tempted like us, yet without sin, He is declared to be a suitable man to represent us before our God as our High Priest.Because Jesus was compassed with infirmities, like His people, He can have compassion upon us when we suffer being tempted.But our suffering is nothing compared to the temptation and suffering of Christ, when He took our sins upon Himself and was punished in our place by God!Christ was made perfect by that suffering, so that He might lead many sons unto glory.In Hebrews, the full weight of Christ's suffering for us is finally laid bare in chapter 5. It is presented in sharp contrast with the nobility and honor of Christ to be made our High Priest by God.That honor was given to Him by His Father from of old. He is declared to be the Father's Son, and by an oath, made a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.From the beginning, Christ is the King of Peace, the King of Righteousness, and our faithful High Priest!But it all comes crashing into the horror, the terror, ignominy, the shame of being judged guilty in our place for our sins. In His flesh, Christ cries out unto God with strong tears of supplication and prayers, at the prospect of being made a curse for His people. In the fear of God, Christ prays to His Father, Who is able to save Him from death, and the Father hears Him.Even though He is eternally the Son, yet He learns obedience by the things He suffered at Calvary.Christ's cries were most vehement, for the weight of our sins laid upon Him, and the punishment He bore for us. God His Father did hear Jesus when He cried, and did save Him from death when He raised Him from the dead!

Thank you for joining us here on the Unchanging Word Bible study. In the Gospel of John, our study is in chapter 15 verses 18 through Chapter 16 verse 4. Jesus having spoken to His disciples to love one another, He now turns to instruct them about the world and its opposite attitude to Christ and His disciples. 31 times the Lord uses the word world in this context. Dr. Mitchell gives us the Biblical meaning for the word "world" which in this context is a religious system opposed to our sinless Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh. Although they have no basis or cause, or any valid reason for hating the Lord Jesus and God His Father, and His disciples they still do. Such is the unreasonable persistence of unbelief and sin. Open your Bible with us to John 15 verse 15 as we study along with our teacher, Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

In our study of the Gospel of John, the Unchanging Word Bible study begins today's study in John 12:41-50. Some of the Pharisees believed in Jesus but were afraid to make it known. Jesus responds by saying that the one truly believes in Him is also believing in the one who sent Him, that is, God His Father. And seeing Jesus is seeing God in action. Jesus also makes it clear that He does not judge the one who hears His words but does not keep them, but this very same word will be the judge at the last day. It is good to know that we can trust what our Lord Jesus has spoken and said, for His words are spirit and they are life. The Word of God tells us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be saved. Turn in Bible to John 12:41 with Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

Our study in the Gospel of John chapter 7 continues in verse 25. This is the Unchanging Word Bible study. The Apostle John continues to write about Jesus, here in the midst of the temple in Jerusalem. The result is opposition and division as He continues to teach about His relationship to God His Father and how He is going to the Father where none who do not believe in Christ would be able to come. So, Dr. Mitchell then draws our attention to Jesus' teaching on the last day of the feast concerning their coming to Jesus to drink of Him. Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit. At that time, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given by Jesus, because Jesus had not yet died and been raised and ascended back to heaven in order that He might send the Holy Spirit. That is, Jesus had not yet, at that time, been glorified. But He would be. Turn with us to John 7:25 with Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

What does it mean to have Spiritual Vision? Join us for the study of John 8:48-59 as we seek to understand Jesus' teachings His way instead of the world's way. ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins and I am honored to walk with you as we open God's Word and continue our study of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you are new to Women World Leaders, I want to take a moment to welcome you to our podcast and invite you to step into this ministry. I first encountered Women World Leaders over three years ago when I attended a monthly meeting, which at that time, was held in person in South Florida. As I sat in the back, I clearly heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling me to help with an upcoming event. So I very carefully dipped my toe in the water – and I found out that the water was more than fine! I want to encourage you today that no matter where you are in your walk with Christ or how you foresee your involvement with Women World Leaders – you are welcome here! We have women around the world who simply listen to our podcast or soak in the teaching from our magazine, Voice of Truth, and we have others who have followed God's call to dive in. Our goal is to simply to meet you where you are and empower you to walk in your God-given calling and purpose – no matter what that is!! To find out more about the ministry, please visit us on Facebook or our website – www.womenworldleaders.com. As for our podcasts, we have three offerings for you each week. Besides this, our Wednesday walk through the Bible, on Mondays, founder Kimberly Hobbs hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose – a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who shares her story of God's empowerment in her life. And on Fridays, we have a team of our women who host Celebrating God's Grace – a short, joyful opportunity to celebrate all that God is doing in this world. Before we begin with today's teaching from John 8:48-59, let's pray… Dear most holy and gracious God – We give you all the praise and honor from all the ends of the earth as we gather together around your Holy Scripture. God, we thank you for teaching us and leading us every minute of every day, but we especially thank you for the Bible – your love letter and book of instruction and wisdom written specifically to us. God, it is simply impossible for us to understand that you hold us each in your hand and that you had us each individually on your mind even as these words were inspired and penned. I humbly ask that you go before us in this teaching today – let my words be your words and allow our thoughts to be infused in us from you, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As we have been walking through Jesus' teaching on the temple grounds during the Festival of the Tabernacles over the last couple of weeks as recorded in John chapter 8, we have witnessed the temperature rise a bit. The Pharisees and the teachers of the religious law challenged Jesus, and He continued to unapologetically lay out the truth.  In sharing His true identity, Jesus didn't shy away from giving his listeners “tough love” – that is – explaining exactly why many of them didn't believe in Him. He didn't mince words when he told them they were sinners, unable to understand His teachings because they were children of the devil who wished to carry out their father's desires. You can imagine that that was tough pill to swallow. We finished last week with John 8, verse 47 with Jesus' words:  Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don't listen because you don't belong to God.” The unbelievers were clearly taken aback and even personally offended by these statements. Today we pick up in verse 48 from the New Living Translation… 48 The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn't we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?” This statement could have been meant as a theological dig, or as a name-calling lash out. “Samaritan” in some senses meant someone who knew scripture but didn't study under a Rabbi. But more likely, the use of the word Samaritan was meant in this case as a racist insult.  Regardless of the motive behind the slander, we see Jesus' grace as He totally ignores the comment, and instead, refutes the more significant claim that He is possessed by a demon. Verse 49… 49 “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. 50 And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. This is an amazing statement, and one that we should each take to heart. “I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me.” This world teaches us, above all else, to glorify ourselves. We are lured by wealth, fame, and prestige. As we climb the ladder of success, it is tempting to look down on others, even thinking, “I used to be there.” We see with our physical vision well-dressed, perfectly groomed individuals, and sometimes become envious. We dye our hair and wear make-up and the best clothes. I am certainly not immune to this allure, and we could have quite an interesting discussion about whether some of these things are sinful in God's eyes, but that is not the point. The point is that God wants us to obediently do what HE calls us to do, and then to let HIM do the glorifying, rather than seek to be glorified through our own efforts. This can be a paradigm shift, but trust me, God can glorify us better than we could EVER glorify ourselves! Jesus' next statement is a testament to this…  51 I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” I can't imagine how difficult a concept this was for the people to hear. I have been a Christian all my life. When I go to funerals, though I am sad for those left behind, I am filled with JOY for the one whose life is being celebrated, because, if he or she was a believer in Christ, the struggle is over and their true reward has begun! On the surface, and with our human vision, we all die. What's the old saying? The only thing sure in life is death and taxes, right? But what is death? Death is a separation. When we physically die, which yes, we all will – even Jesus did – our spirit is separated from our body. But in spiritual death – what I would call “real” death – our spirit is separated from GOD. We will ALL be separated from our bodies. As I get older and my body gets achier and more cantankerous, being separated from my body looks better and better! But to be separated from GOD? That is a darkness and a pain that we can't even begin to imagine. Jesus Himself, upon His death on a cross, was separated from God His Father for a time. That's a fact we can't really wrap our head around. But what is an even more daunting thought is that Jesus WILLINGLY CHOSE to be separated from God so that you and I would not have to be! Separation from God is THE TRUE death that Jesus overcame FOR us by His death on the cross. We will not live on this earth forever, attached to our failing bodies – we WILL die, experiencing a separation of body and spirit. But Jesus promises that if we obey Him, we will NEVER experience true death – that is, we will never experience a separation from God. I don't know about you, but that thought brings relief and joy to me. The fact that I NEVER have to be apart from God? That gives me the courage and strength to get through ANYTHING this world can throw at me! THAT is the point Jesus is trying to get across to His listeners. But they had to choose to see through spiritual eyes rather than trusting their limited human vision to understand this. And their response shows that they clearly weren't seeing through spiritual eyes…verse 52… 52 The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn't count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,'[a] 55 but you don't even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” Now THAT confused the people! How did Abraham SEE Jesus? They said… “You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?[b]” We may ask the same questions – if we are still intent on seeing with our earthly vision instead of with our spiritual vision. It would have been impossible, with eyes of flesh, for Abraham to “see” Jesus, who died long before Jesus was born. But Abraham saw with spiritual eyes. Abraham believed that God was calling him and he left his home without physically being able to see the land he was promised. Then Abraham saw his future family with spiritual eyes despite his physical body being simply too old to father children. And then in the ultimate test of faith, Abraham committed to the physical sacrifice of his own son even while seeing spiritually that God was doing something greater. Throughout his lifetime, Abraham developed his spiritual vision – he stopped seeing with his limited human vision and, instead, began to see and understand through God's eyes. Have we developed our spiritual vision? If you are a believer in Christ, your eyes have been opened, and you only have God to thank for that! Still, we must continue to pray that God will sharpen our vision so that we can see from His perspective even more clearly. When we see clearly spiritually, we can begin to understand Jesus' next statement…verse 58… 58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am![c]”  I tell you the truth – also translated “verily, verily” – means hear and understand me! Or, to follow our analogy - look with your spiritual eyes rather than your physical eyes, and rely on me to see that which you can't see in your own flesh. Jesus told his listeners that in His being, He predated Abraham. But then He dropped the bombshell – Jesus claimed the name “I am.” I am is actually the name Jehovah in Hebrew. ‘I am,' or Jehovah, was the divine name that God called himself when Moses, who was beckoned by God to lead the Israelites out of captivity, said to the burning bush that God spoke from… “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they will ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what should I tell them?” God instructed Moses that he should respond, “'I am' has sent me to you.” Jehovah had released the Israelites from the chains of slavery in Egypt, and now Jehovah – Jesus – was there to set all of humanity free from the chains of death. This was too much for the listeners who could only see with their limited human vision. Verse 59… 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. You see, the law stated that if anyone should claim to be God, he should be stoned. And through their human vision, Jesus claimed to be God. But had the people filtered Jesus' statement through a spiritual lens, they would have realized that Jesus' statement was not a claim, but a statement of fact. A statement of truth. When we ask God to allow us to see from His perspective, we can be assured that He will. When we ask for His wisdom, we can trust He will grant it. That's not a Christian-trick. It's a blessing and a power that we can claim in EVERY area of our lives. But it requires our humility. It requires us to NOT strive to glorify ourselves, but to walk in obedience as we aim to glorify God alone. Verse 59 goes on to state that after the people reached down to pick up stones to throw at Jesus, they were simply left holding the stones, dismayed…as  Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. Yet again we see God's protection, as the time for Jesus' death had not yet come. Reminding us that we can always trust that God IS in control! Let's pray… Dear Most Holy God – We thank you for claiming us as your children. God, we ask you to sharpen our spiritual vision – allowing us to see every circumstance from your perspective. We know that our physical vision does not always give us the whole story, and when we come to you, we know you will always reveal the truth to us. God, we commit to walking in faith, trusting your vision and perspective, as we seek to glorify you alone. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Key Bible Verse: "...so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me." John 14:29

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord… For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. … Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness… (Psalm 95:1a, 3, 6-8)   In these days of pondering and playing witness to what it has been and will be to have a monarch over the nation of Canada, we perhaps have some footing on which to reckon with these psalms that speak of God as King.  The Israelites lived in a land where the nations each had their own gods that they believed to be sovereign over the land or the sea.  But Israel's claim was unique.  Whereas for other nations, their gods' power tended to end at their own national borders, the Israelites claimed that their God was God over the whole of creation.  It's true that the Israelites were monotheists.  The Lord was God and there was no other—but there were different ways of saying so amidst the nations and this was one of them.  In the assembly of deities, for Israel only one ruled supreme: the great King above all gods: The Lord.  The psalm goes on to declare how the Lord is God over not just the other gods but all of creation.  How then should God's people respond—this flock under his own care?  By coming to bow their own knees before his majestic throne, that's how.  “Come, let us bow down in worship,” declares the psalmist, “let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God.” But God is not a withdrawn, benevolent servant in cahoots with the national interest or the people's parliament as it is in Canada.  We do not merely genuflect or nod to his majesty and comment to one another how cool it is that our God is the best of them all.  No: this sovereign is the living God, and in every today in history that ever has or ever will be known as “today,” he has something new to say to his people.  Always, even today he is speaking, if only you would hear his voice.  As the people assemble, God's voice all of a sudden speaks out in this psalm: “do not harden your hearts like you did that day in the wilderness…”  As God's people we are not merely invited to participate in the pageantry of worship or submission.  We are not merely to go through the motions.  When we come to worship and bow the knee to our God, Lord of all the Universe, we are also to bow our hearts and lives, submitting and bending our wills and living to the voice and call of our God. No further command comes in the psalm.  Simply the command to keep not just our knees, but also our hearts, lives, and obedience supple and at the ready to hear and respond to God's call.  It was just such a situation that Jesus found himself in when tempted in the wilderness by another spiritual being who would've sought to usurp the throne of the God of gods.  But Jesus' heart was not hard, and his ears remained attentive and responsive to the voice and calling of God His Father.  Where we failed, he prevailed, enabling our willing obedience in his steps, even as he continues to soften our hearts.  Take heart: we remain the flock under his care. For a fun, minor, acoustic musical setting of this Psalm, you can find a cover of the Sons of Korah's version of Psalm 95 by the group Half a Mile on Spotify by clicking here.

It seems right that I meet Tyler Lee at a Freedom Convoy in rural North Carolina. Tyler is a young man from Virginia, the home of many of our nation's statesman. He was born in Virginia, raised in a Biblically sound family of four brothers. He always wanted to be businessman, not a politician, but God led him to run for political office as a US Congressman from the 12th District in North Carolina. Come listen to Tyler's story. Come listen to how God His Father led him in is life to this current calling. Where is the Lord leading him now in his calling and destiny? We need people like Tyler who has a Father's Heart and listens to the voice of His Father as He leads him to do several things that did not seem to make sense; yet they were exactly what was needed. You will be encouraged in this day and age in which we are in a pitched battle between good and evil to have one of God's sons stepping into Government to support “We The People” of the USA! Remember no matter what you may hear through the fake news media. God is moving and He is about to break out in unexpected places in our nation. Is North Carolina one of those places? Listen and find out for yourself. Come and listen, enjoy and connect again with God Your Father!   Show Notes: All our media: podcasts, articles, blogs and Children's Books can be found at www.thefathersheartmedia.com website. Come visit our website. We appreciate your interest and support. Products are available on our website as well. The Second Book in the Papa Tom's Tales series “Luke the Light-bearer defeats the Spirit of Confusion” is now available at our website. Our third book: “The Birthday Present” has been completed in text form and is in the process of being illustrated. The Father's Heart Media is producing media in the form of Papa Tom's Tales children's books and The Father's Heart Podcasts. We welcome your support to help us distribute the media we are producing. If you want to help us propagate this cultural change you can donate to TFHM at www.patreon.com/thefathersheart.  In the same way, we would be blessed if you would be so kind as to pass on to your friends our website. Further developments: The Fathers Heart Talk Show with Papa Tom will air every Thursday morning at 8:00 am on WSIC from Statesville NC on channels 105.9 FM, 100.7 FM, 1400 AM. You can also find us on www.wsicnews.com/thefathersheart wherein recorded shows will be saved for you to visit and listen to the recordings. Blessings: Papa Tom   The Father's Heart Talk Show www.wsicnews.com/thefathersheart The Father's Heart Podcasts www.thefathersheartmedia.com www.patreon.com/thefathersheart Papa Tom's Tales A Grandfather's Bedtime Stories www.papatomstales.com

Noah is the subject of our Great Bible Characters study on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast. The Character of Noah was affirmed by the Lord Himself in Genesis chapter 7 verse 1. The LORD said to Noah Himself, “Enter the ark, you and all your household; for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.” Jesus, in speaking of Himself, says in John 7:18: "…He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." Jesus Christ is righteous. God His Father says of Him, Mt.17:5: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him". Jesus is the believer's ark of righteousness and salvation. Believe in this risen and living Savior, Jesus Christ today. Here is Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

How much impact is your life having on other people? Not bad impact, good impact? How much is the miracle of your life, creating miracles in the lives of others? Because if the answer is “not much”, then Houston, we have a problem. NO BLESSING, NO RESULTS I remember one of the saddest times in my life, I'm going to share it with you. It happened, ooh about twenty years ago now. Everything that mattered to me, everything in my personal life and family life had fallen apart – completely. I'd been working so hard on growing my business that I hadn't had the time or the energy to work on the things that really mattered in life. The people who really mattered – or should have mattered anyway. It was deeply distressing. The business that I was a partner in, was an IT consulting firm, you know I guess, in its early stages of success. We were in the process of moving to a larger, better office and one of the things that we had to do was to go through all our stuff and clean out before we packed and moved. I was sitting on an old, carpeted floor by a number of those grey metal four-drawer filing cabinets, going through all the consulting reports that we'd written for many, many of our clients, sorting out those that we'd keep and those that we'd throw away. We kept probably twenty-five percent and we threw seventy-five percent away. And I remember looking at that pile of the seventy-five percent of consulting papers there on the floor, thinking … is that what I poured my life into? These reports that we're about to throw away – is that what I sacrificed everything for? Is that what my life amounts to? Is that the legacy I want to leave behind? A whole bunch of trash! It was a tragic wakeup call for me, and it was all about the impact that my life had had to date. How much impact? Despite all the hard work, answer: Not very much real impact at all. I remember deciding then and there, that I wanted my life to have an impact in other people's lives. I'd made a whole bunch of mistakes to that point in my life. I'd worked hard, I'd been part of a successful business, but in real terms, in life impact terms, in terms of what really mattered – it hadn't amounted to much. That was one of those experiences that God used to usher me into what I'm doing right now. And while it pays a whole bunch less, it's a whole bunch more satisfying because it has a whole bunch more impact. Just last night, I had a Facebook message from someone who said that they were listening to this program each day and it had literally transformed his life. That's what gets me out of bed each morning – being part of something that God is doing with a real impact in people's lives. By the way (he wrote), what he wrote made me realise that he didn't quite have things right. This is literally what he said, ‘You have changed my life'. Well, no actually, I haven't. I wrote back, ‘God has. Yes, He's used our small team here at Christianityworks to do that, but it's His work and not mine.' I know that absolutely because there is nothing that I possess, and there is nothing that I, in and of my own self can say or do, that can have an eternal impact on your life or anyone else's life. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, only He can make that happen. And it happens, when God's blessing flows down into me in such huge volumes, that I just can't contain it; that it overflows out of me into the lives of other people, like that man who wrote to me on Facebook last night. We've been talking a lot over the last few weeks about God's blessing and the fact that it's right and proper to ask Him to bless us. I ask for God's blessing each and every morning in prayer. I pray that He will bless me so that I can bless you. That's how it works in God's economy. And if I don't have God's blessing flowing into me and out through me, then frankly, I have nothing of value to give you. Listen to how Jesus talked about this very thing, John 15: 1-11, He said: I am the true vine and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. The fruit only happens on a branch, like you and me, when we're connected to the vine. When the Spirit of God flows from the trunk to the branch – when the blessing of God flows from the trunk to the branch; when the Word of God flows from the trunk to the branch – then and only then, does the branch grow the sort of fruit that God wants it to grow. The sort of fruit that other people can come along then and pick off the branch and enjoy, and be blessed by, and be nourished by. And do you notice what Jesus says about how much you and I can achieve without Him? Apart from me you can do NOTHING! The point I'm making right here is that you and I need God's blessing. We can't operate without God's blessing. When we step onto the battlefield of life, if we don't have God's blessing and His Presence and His power and His joy and His peace, we have nothing to offer the rest of the world. It's a tragedy to me that so many Christ–followers don't connect with the vine each and every day by quietly, gently starting off their day resting in Him, praying, chatting, asking for His blessing. Why don't we do that? Why don't we absolutely covet the blessing of God and make it the greatest priority to get connected into that blessing through Jesus each and every day? Come on, what's the matter with us? Can I ask you this? Do you want to be filled with God's blessing or not? Do you want to experience every blessing that God has for you or not? The answer is obvious, isn't it? Of course, we all want to be blessed. Well, why don't we connect with the vine? The answer is kind of obvious and yet it's easy not to make the blessing of God an absolute priority. I know that the idea of God's abundant blessing seems incongruous in difficult circumstances. It seems that it's simply not possible when you're going though the middle of a testing time, a wilderness experience, a dungeon experience. It's simply not possible to imagine that in that place you could receive the blessing of God. But it's precisely in that place that you and I need the abundant blessing of God. Think of Paul and Silas in prison. They healed a girl, and delivered her from a demon. For that the crowd attacked them, the magistrates had them stripped and beaten to within an inch of their lives with rods. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all of the doors were opened and everybody's chains were unfastened. (Acts 16: 25-26) See, right there in the middle of their impossible circumstances, their painful and uncertain circumstances, they received the blessing of God. Why? Well, it wasn't because they were cowering in fear and licking their wounds and grumbling about their plight, it was because they were praying and singing hymns to God. That's how you get connected to the vine. That's how you get the blessing of God flowing through you. That's how the prison doors swing open and the chains fall off. And then, they went on to bless everyone around them. Hello! Are we getting this? You and I need the blessing of God in our lives. And God is a God who wants to bless us abundantly. Let me say it to you again, so that this time it'll sink in once and for all. God is a God who wants to bless you abundantly! For it is to His glory, that you get out there and you bear much fruit. NO BLESSING, NO FRUIT Before the break, we were talking about the impact of your life on other people. And that's a theme I want to continue to explore some more right now, because when we talk about the blessing of God in our lives, the whole point of that blessing isn't just that it should be a blessing to us. But that it should flow out through us and be an abundant blessing to the people around us. I am here with you today because some people who had experienced God's blessing in their lives, shared that blessing with me amidst of some of the most difficult circumstances I'd ever experienced. God's blessing to them overflowed into my life. I think of an elderly woman, well into her seventies she was at the time, with whom I boarded for several months (this is about 20 years ago now), when I was going through a tough time and I was in the throes of giving my life to Jesus. Her name was Norma. And she gave me a place to stay when I didn't have anywhere to live. Each night after dinner, Norma and I would sit down over a cup of our favourite Twinings Russian Caravan tea. And she would share with me the abundant joy that she had in her relationship with Jesus. Her husband had died eighteen years before from a massive heart attack walking back from the letterbox on their front lawn. So here she was a widow, lonely often. And yet when she told me about Jesus and her relationship with Him, and what that meant, and how He blessed her (on and on, night after night) I could see it in her eyes and I could hear it in her voice. It was infectious. And that ‘it' (I now look back and), I can give that ‘it' a name. It was the blessing of God in her life. It was so real. And so the blessing of God in Norma, overflowed into my life. And since then; as I do what I do now, sharing the love of Jesus with you and many other people through this program; the blessing of God that first came to me through Norma and a handful of other people (just like her) now overflows into so many more lives. That's God's plan. That's how it works in God's economy. His blessing fills us to overflowing and then multiplies to feed countless more people. Have a listen to this beautiful, powerful story of the multiplication of God's blessing: After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they had seen the signs that he was doing on the sick. So Jesus went up on a mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?' He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.' One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?' Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, when he had blessed them, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.' So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew to the mountain by himself. (John 6: 1-15) The disciples thought they had nothing with which to feed the thousands. But Jesus knew that He had more than enough, more than enough! So He took the little that they did have, and what did He do? He blessed it! He gave thanks for it! And when He'd done that, there was more than enough blessing to go around for five thousand. Watchman Nee was a Chinese Evangelist who was martyred for his faith and Gospel work in the 1970s. This is what he wrote about this perspective, this expectation issue, in relation to this sign – the feeding of the five thousand. In a little booklet that he published called Twelve Baskets Full, here is what he said: What do we mean when we talk of God's blessing? We mean divine activity that is not based on human activity. We mean a working of God that is not based on our work. The blessing of God is not something that we can earn by our efforts. It is not something that we can buy with our money. One penny should always procure one penny's worth; but if with our one penny God gives us ten thousand penny's worth, that is His blessing. His blessing makes our calculations futile because it leaves us without any basis on which to calculate. When five small loaves provide nourishment for five thousand people and leave a surplus that fills twelve baskets, that is God's blessing. So many of us, instead of looking to our Lord to bless the loaves, are looking at the loaves in our hands. Our one hope in the face of today's immense need is that He will perform a miracle and that He will do it by taking the bread into His hands and blessing it. When the Lord in His goodness brings us to a totally new position where we recognise the paramount importance of His blessing, then the way will be open for Him to work. I've shared this story on the program before. But I'm sharing it again as we come to the close of this series about God's amazing blessings because I deliberately want to blow your mind with the power of expecting God to bless you. I want my calculations and your calculations to be absolutely futile when it comes to sharing the blessing of God around, because I want God to bless more people through you and me than we can possibly ever imagine. Now, in my case, I don't say that arrogantly because what God does through me and what He does through you is completely up to Him. But when we desire His blessing, when we expect His blessing and we see it happening through us, it's just the most amazing thing that we can ever experience. It's like being there and having a small part to play. But really, at the end of the day, you feel like a privileged spectator. Let's say in your life, that you impact just ten people, ten, with the amazing blessing of God. And those ten people impact another ten, and those ten, another ten. That's not an unreasonable expectation. Then, in just those three generations of blessing (if I can call them that), a thousand people will have been blessed by God, because you were God's entry point of blessing into this world, in your little corner of the vineyard. And those thousand people are going to go on and have children, and their children will have children, and their children will have more children – and the blessing of God as it came into this world can ripple down through countless generations – the blessing of God that came through you. There are people in this world that need you to be the entry point of God's blessing into their lives. Just like Norma was into my life. There's something about you that's absolutely unique. And I know, you kind of look at yourself and think, ‘Well, I'm nothing special and I don't have a lot to give'. Welcome to the club! When I was sitting around that Laminex kitchen table with Norma all those years ago, I knew absolutely that I was nothing special, I had way less than you to give. But as Norma's blessing flowed into my life, something happened to me. I can't put it into words, I just knew that I had to take the little I had, and start sharing it with other people, using the abilities that God had given to me And here we are today (twenty years on), you and I, and I'm privileged to share the blessing of God with you. I can tell you beyond any shadow of doubt that God wants to bless you and it's time for you to get out there and for you to multiply that blessing. A DAILY PRAYER FOR BLESSING Well, as we come to the close of another series of messages (don't the weeks fly by?), I'd like to take us back to where we began, with the prayer of Jabez. It was such an audacious prayer of a Mister Nobody, buried deep in the Bible amidst nine chapters of genealogy of all things, that prayer that audaciously asked God for His blessings. Let's listen to it again because there's something that I'm going to challenge you with as our time together in this series God Wants to Bless You draws to a close. 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10: Jabez was honoured more than his brothers; and his mother named him Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.' Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my borders, and that your hand would be upon me, and that you would keep me from evil that I may cause no pain.' And God granted what he asked. If there's one thing that we've discovered throughout this series, it's that God wants to bless us and that He wants us to ask for and depend on His blessing just as Jabez did. As you know, I'm not into prosperity doctrine at all and I'm not into name it and claim it style of faith. That's not what the Bible teaches. But what the Bible does teach, as the very living Word of the one true living God, is that God wants us to ask for and rely on His blessing. Jesus commanded His disciples to ask for God's blessing. Jesus taught His disciples how to live in the power of God's blessing to feed the thousands with just a few fishes and loaves. And so my challenge to you over the next thirty days, every morning, is to faithfully spend just a few minutes praying this prayer of Jabez. Not a meaningless rote type of prayer. But from the depths of your heart, believing what God's Word says, taking God at His Word that He does want to bless you and that He wants you to ask for His blessing. If, at the end of thirty days of this faithful (simple way of praying), God hasn't shown up with such power and might that you will want to keep on praying this way for the rest of your life, I will be completely and totally gob-smacked. Don't expect every wrinkle in your life to be ironed out in thirty days. Don't expect your coffers to be full at the end of thirty days. But please, do expect that you will be filled to the brim, to overflowing, with the blessings from God that you couldn't have dreamed of or imagined. Because God wants to bless you! There are many times when we hear someone talk about God's blessing and we kind of relate to it but from a distance, or in small doses, or as a theory lesson. Well I'm not here to entertain you or to tickle your ears with stuff you want to hear. I'm not here to give you a theory lesson. I'm here to challenge you to believe that God wants to bless you beyond measure and challenge you to take the steps that the Bible teaches us to take hold of His mighty blessing. And be prepared for such great blessing to flow into your life that you simply won't be able to contain it. I believe that if you start praying this prayer with me each day, you'll be imploring God to fill you with blessing, to expand your territory, because you have so much blessing to pour out and share around. And you'll be imploring God for His mighty hand to be upon you, because you will know that you will be in desperate need of His help to share that much blessing around. Will you step up to the plate and take the challenge or not? Are you ready to be overwhelmed by God's blessing or not? Are you ready to get out there and start sharing His abundant blessing around with others or not? Look at Jesus' life on this earth. Despite the difficulties – the persecutions, the afflictions, the lack of a steady income, the lack of even a place to rest His head on a regular basis – He spent His whole time sharing the amazing blessings of God His Father flowing out through Him. Will you do the same? Will you be Christ to a lost and hurting world? Will you?

We have a desperate need for Father's in the home. We have a drought in California and our leaders are taking hard steps to conserve water. But there is a worse drought in America: Fatherless homes. This is maybe our biggest root of societal problems, yet we don't seem to factor this in as a huge cultural dilemma. This father's day I want to take us into the life of the prodigal son's father. I want us to see a father in the home in action and why he is so important. Why children need a dad around them everyday. What a father brings to the table. And it only makes sense that Fathers are important because Jesus called God “His Father.” ---------------------------------------- Connect with us on Social Media: Website: nbcc.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/nbccnorco Instagram: instagram.com/nbccnorco YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6S-3n9PVnXm8zSPHAYVyGw ---------------------------------------- If you have any prayer requests or questions, please message us on our social media or send us an email at hello@nbcc.com. Don't forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast! ---------------------------------------- Join us in person, Sunday's at 9am & 10:30am https://goo.gl/maps/PEe1rzXWKBv

This podcast is personal presentation of discussions Papa Tom was having with God His Father. He invites you to listen to what God was saying to him and how their discussions played out in real life. We hope you will not only enjoy the stories being told but will be encouraged to try to hear from God yourself. This podcast provides a platform from which you can enjoy Papa Tom's experiences vicariously, however, we want you to have similar experiences yourself. The first eBook we offered to our audience “How to talk with God as Dad” will be available for free again on our website under the “Shop” button. We are moving forward to celebrate “Father's Day” in June and we hope and pray grace and energy will be activated in your life to connect with God your Father and to do whatever you can to help boys grow up to be fathers, too. After all this is part of our mission statement “bringing the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers”. Come and listen, enjoy and connect again with God Your Father!

Grace and peace to youGod has stirred up in me, what does it look like to Live A Resurrected Life ...God The Father, Jesus His Son and The Holy Spirit  is the preeminent creator of everything... They created us for relationship, in which chose sin over relationship with God.Jesus came, fully man and fully God, and  showed us how to live this life, He died for al sin and transgression, He defeated Satan and Death...Jesus was resurrected by God His Father and lives a resurrected life seated at the right hand of His Father...Today, we discuss what Living a Resurrected Life looks like for us, All for The Glory of God !In The Name of Jesus Amen Big LoveJeff Support the show

John Farley Pastor Teacher Sunday, March 6, 2022 "Before Abraham was born - I AM" Joh 8:48-59 They were not Abraham's real children. Therefore, they were not God's children either. They accused Jesus of the very things that were in fact true about them. Joh 8:48-51 In their minds, no Jew would tell another Jew that he was not a child of Abraham. Jesus said that their father was the devil. He spoke the words which God His Father gave Him to say. By calling Jesus a Samaritan and demon-possessed, they robbed Him of His rightful glory and honor. Joh 5:21-24 Each and every believer has passed out of death into life. John 8:51 Now, as usual, the Jews are earth-bound in their thinking. If anyone keeps His word, he will never experience the second... for full notes: http://www.lbible.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1505

In verse 35 of Mark 1, Mark shows us the Savior rising very early in the morning. He went to a desolate place and there He prayed. The Lord spent time with God His Father before the busy day began. Do you know that Jesus is even now praying for each and every believer? He prays for those who draw near to God through Him in order to keep each believer saved forever. Read Hebrews 7:25. Mark next presents Christ having authority over leprosy. Dr. Mitchell observes that Jesus didn't heal lepers, He cleansed them. Here our Lord reached out and touched the leper. Jesus can cleanse you, my friend, from all sin. And He is willing to do so completely and forever. Let's turn to Mark 1:35 with our teacher, Dr. Mitchell, who shows us the Savior's compassion. Your listening to the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

Christ has infinite power over all things, and yet He veiled it during His ministry. It was only seen briefly in the miracles He wrought.----Although Joseph is often described as a type of the Lord Jesus, there are some striking differences between Joseph and Christ.----There is a difference between Joseph's relationship with Jacob his father, and Jesus' relationship with God His Father.----Joseph and his father were alienated from each other by the wickedness of his brothers, so that Joseph's great work of rescue was carried out in isolation from and ignorance by Jacob.----Not so our Lord Jesus, Who was obedient in all things unto His Father, and carried out our salvation by accomplishing the eternal plan determined by the Trinity.----Another striking difference is seen in Joseph's early life. When he was a teenager, his brothers hated him because he was Jacob's favorite son.----Jacob's sinful favoritism started when he mistreated Leah because he favored Rachel over her. Now Jacob is favoring Rachel's oldest son Joseph.----Joseph's brothers had to live their lives in the knowledge that they were the sons of unloved mothers.----To make matters worse, Joseph had dreams of future exaltation above his brothers and his parents, and he improvidently told them all about it.----This made his brothers hate him all the more. Joseph unnecessarily antagonized his brothers, and didn't seem to learn not to repeat the error.----Even Jacob rebuked Joseph for telling his dreams, and disrespecting his own parents.----Praise God, our Lord Jesus never behaved in such a manner, and God His Father never rebuked Him for anything-----Rather, God declared He is well pleased with His Own Son-

Christ has infinite power over all things, and yet He veiled it during His ministry. It was only seen briefly in the miracles He wrought.----Although Joseph is often described as a type of the Lord Jesus, there are some striking differences between Joseph and Christ.----There is a difference between Joseph's relationship with Jacob his father, and Jesus' relationship with God His Father.----Joseph and his father were alienated from each other by the wickedness of his brothers, so that Joseph's great work of rescue was carried out in isolation from and ignorance by Jacob.----Not so our Lord Jesus, Who was obedient in all things unto His Father, and carried out our salvation by accomplishing the eternal plan determined by the Trinity.----Another striking difference is seen in Joseph's early life. When he was a teenager, his brothers hated him because he was Jacob's favorite son.----Jacob's sinful favoritism started when he mistreated Leah because he favored Rachel over her. Now Jacob is favoring Rachel's oldest son Joseph.----Joseph's brothers had to live their lives in the knowledge that they were the sons of unloved mothers.----To make matters worse, Joseph had dreams of future exaltation above his brothers and his parents, and he improvidently told them all about it.----This made his brothers hate him all the more. Joseph unnecessarily antagonized his brothers, and didn't seem to learn not to repeat the error.----Even Jacob rebuked Joseph for telling his dreams, and disrespecting his own parents.----Praise God, our Lord Jesus never behaved in such a manner, and God His Father never rebuked Him for anything-----Rather, God declared He is well pleased with His Own Son-

The Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has infinite power to create, uphold, and sustain the entire universe.----Yet He was meek and lowly, and only occasionally did He disclose his absolute power, when He healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the stormy sea.----He is the mighty Savior of all His poor people who trust in Him, and His power is deployed so that He will not lose a single one of us-----But Christ identifies with His people, and is not ashamed to call us His brethren-----This is in sharp contrast with other great and powerful persons. They are quick to display their power to the world, even when they prove ineffective to save their people.----Often, Joseph is compared to the Lord Jesus. Like Christ, he was beloved by his father, hated by His brethren, betrayed to the pagan hosts, cruelly degraded and mistreated. Like Christ, Joseph wrought a great rescue and saved many lives. In the end, Joseph was revealed to his brethren and they were reconciled.----The martyr Stephen cited Joseph as an example of how Israel repeatedly mistreated and rejected the men God sent to rescue His people.----But there are also profound differences between Christ and Joseph.----Joseph's saving work was only temporary, but Christ's is everlasting-----Joseph never died to save his people, but our Lord Jesus went to the cross and died to save us-----Many fail to notice the difference in the relationships of Joseph and his father Jacob, and of Christ and God His Father.----Jacob had no idea of Joseph's great saving work, and did not plan it, and never sent Joseph to perform it.----But God the Father planned Christ's saving work, and sent Him to this world to carry it out-

The Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has infinite power to create, uphold, and sustain the entire universe.----Yet He was meek and lowly, and only occasionally did He disclose his absolute power, when He healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the stormy sea.----He is the mighty Savior of all His poor people who trust in Him, and His power is deployed so that He will not lose a single one of us-----But Christ identifies with His people, and is not ashamed to call us His brethren-----This is in sharp contrast with other great and powerful persons. They are quick to display their power to the world, even when they prove ineffective to save their people.----Often, Joseph is compared to the Lord Jesus. Like Christ, he was beloved by his father, hated by His brethren, betrayed to the pagan hosts, cruelly degraded and mistreated. Like Christ, Joseph wrought a great rescue and saved many lives. In the end, Joseph was revealed to his brethren and they were reconciled.----The martyr Stephen cited Joseph as an example of how Israel repeatedly mistreated and rejected the men God sent to rescue His people.----But there are also profound differences between Christ and Joseph.----Joseph's saving work was only temporary, but Christ's is everlasting-----Joseph never died to save his people, but our Lord Jesus went to the cross and died to save us-----Many fail to notice the difference in the relationships of Joseph and his father Jacob, and of Christ and God His Father.----Jacob had no idea of Joseph's great saving work, and did not plan it, and never sent Joseph to perform it.----But God the Father planned Christ's saving work, and sent Him to this world to carry it out-

When Jesus went around calling God His Father, well, that really threw the cat amongst the pigeons. The religious leaders called it heresy! And still today, this idea of God being a Father, can jar with us ? because not everyone has fantastic memories of their dad! ... Join Berni Dymet ? as he takes a look at God's incredible Father heart, from a different perspective. Support the show: https://christianityworks.com/channels/adp/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this teaching we'll see how the Corinthians continued to sin despite Paul's repeated warnings and how they had taken his patience for weakness?  Read 2 Corinthians 13:1-4Message Notes2 Corinthians 13:1-4 (NLT) 1This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”). 2I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them. 3I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. 4Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God's power.Misunderstanding Weakness and Power in Jesus' Kingdom1.        Jesus' crucifixion was not a sign of weakness, but of LOVE2 Corinthians 13:3b-4a (NLT) 3bChrist is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. 4Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God.Ephesians 2:14-18 (NLT) 14For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.2.        Our weakness in Jesus leads to our DEPENDENCE on Him2 Corinthians 13:4b (NLT) 4bWe, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God's power.John 14:10 (NLT) 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.3.        Paul is not focused on his POSITION, but seeing Christ's power change them2 Corinthians 13:4 (Amp) 4For even though He was crucified in weakness [yielding Himself], yet He lives [resurrected] by the power of God [His Father]. For we too are weak in Him [as He was humanly weak], yet we are alive and well [in fellowship] with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

Peter teaches us that, because Jesus in His Own self bore our sins in His Own body on the tree, we are dead to sin, and alive to righteousness.----This is a statement of fact- in Christ, all who trust in Him died, and rose again in new life in Christ. Sin no longer has dominion over the saints. Paul puts it this way- -Being made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness,- and now -you have your fruit unto holiness.-----So Peter's teaching is not only about the fact, but also the future of sanctification and conformity to the image of Christ finally at the resurrection.----But there is another, more fundamental way in which believers are alive unto righteousness- Christ's perfect righteousness has already been imputed to us by faith-----It is important to remember that Jesus' death no only took away our sins, and quieted God's wrath and judgment against our crimes, because He was judged for our sins placed upon Him at Calvary.----But the perfect obedience of Jesus has been counted unto us for righteousness-----Jesus fulfilled all the law for us as our federal head, just like Adam broke God's law when he represented all mankind in the Garden of Eden at the Fall.----At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus identified Himself with His people at His baptism unto repentance at the Jordan River. He told John the Baptist that His baptism was necessary -to fulfill all righteousness.-----Jesus had no sin of His Own to repent of, but He identified Himself with our sins, and showed a proper righteous acknowledgment of our sins, and the requirement of repentance.----God His Father was well pleased with the Son's entrance into His great work of redemption as God's Lamb.

We have come to the end of Christ's example of suffering for believers, and now Peter moves on to explain how what Jesus did at Calvary makes possible our obedience in all these matters.----Christ did not suffer primarily to leave us an example. There was a far greater purpose for His sufferings, and now Peter announces that greater purpose.----Recall that Christ did no sin as He suffered, as Isaiah had foretold, and neither ought we. He uttered no falsehoods, and neither should we. He didn't revile or threaten when His persecutors reviled Him and did Him harm, and neither should we.----Instead, Christ committed Himself to the One Who judges righteously, and so must we-----God His Father would set all things right for His Son. The Father would vindicate Jesus for the cross. The Father would do justice to Christ for dying for His people's sin.----We trust in God's righteous judgment also. He will avenge all the wrongs against His loved ones-----And God will be just in justifying those who trust in Jesus, because Jesus has satisfied all the demands of divine justice in our place, and for our crimes.----But now, Peter explicitly states the grand purpose of Christ's sufferings- Jesus His Own self bore our sins in His Own body on the tree-----The prior mentioned sufferings of Jesus were undertaken in such a manner as to provide a perfect Lamb of Sacrifice to bear our sins at Calvary-----Peter's text is Isaiah 53, and Isaiah had promised by the Spirit of Christ that Jesus would behave in precisely these ways as He suffered, so that He might be punished by God for our sins laid upon Him.----It pleased God to crush Jesus for our sins on the cross. He bore them in His Own body.

The book of Acts was written by Luke, the beloved physician and accurate historian to his friend, the most excellent, Theophilus. We will find his own words and his presence in this book as he journeys with the Apostle Paul. The Gospel of Matthew is the transitional book from the Old Testament to the New giving the reader a divine perspective of the movement of God to a new divine reality, the person of Jesus Christ, His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Christ. Such is Acts. It is a transition as it introduces God's church built on the person and work Christ. The book of Acts notes the divine changes from a focus on Israel and the kingdom of God to the church being built by Christ. This church was first spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 16:18 where our Lord said to Peter and all the disciples, “upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hades will not overpower it.” Jesus spoke of the rock of the divine revelation to the disciples from God His Father as to the identity of His person as Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God. In this lesson, Dr. Mitchell give us an overview of the book of Acts in his introduction, Acts. 1:1 on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

In this message, Trevor Lowden-Stoole talks about the wonder and greatness of Jesus and His selfless love for both God His Father and for us His people, and what this all means to us. You will be enlightened, encouraged and challenged by this message. God bless.

In this message, Trevor Lowden-Stoole talks about the wonder and greatness of Jesus and His selfless love for both God His Father and for us His people, and what this all means to us. You will be enlightened, encouraged and challenged by this message. God bless.

Do you ever wish there was someone you could talk to? Someone who would understand the challenges you face at any given moment? But maybe, as you think of all your friends and family, and perhaps even your church pastor, sometimes it seems that there is no such person. I was reading in the New Testament book of Hebrews and came across this fascinating verse of scripture.Hebrews 5:8 says, “Jesus…learned obedience from what he suffered.”What an interesting verse. Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered. He learned obedience by actually obeying. Jesus did not learn how to obey; He learned what is involved in obedience. Jesus learned the experience of obedience, and part of that learning was enduring suffering.One thing that God, enthroned in heaven does not know is the experience of obedience. Enthroned in the heavens, God obeys no one – all obey Him.· Jesus obeyed in the spectacular challenges of his life.· Jesus obeyed in ordinary aspects of life.· Jesus obeyed as a child, as a teen, as a young man.· Jesus obeyed privately and He obeyed secretly.· Jesus obeyed God His Father, and He obeyed rightful human authority.· Jesus obeyed in all things, even to the end.Here's the point from this verse in the Book of Hebrews. I want you to see this. Jesus experienced what we experience. Jesus was tested like are. Jesus suffered like we do. Though it all he experienced what it was like to be obedient.Today we serve a God who understands our lives. He understands our joy and our happiness. He understands our pain and our sorrow. Jesus understand when we go through trials, temptations, and even suffering because he has been there.Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”That High Priest is Jesus Christ. And in Him, I realize that I am not alone. There is someone I can talk to, who will understand exactly what I'm going through and what I need at any given moment… because He's been there! The same is true for you!I love it that this verse tells us that Jesus can empathize with our weaknesses. Jesus feels empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and to share the feelings of another.To the ancient Greeks, the primary attribute of God was the essential inability to feel anything at all. Jesus isn't like that. He knows and He feels what we go through. The ancient Greek word translated sympathize literally means “to suffer along with.”What makes the difference is that Jesus added humanity to His deity, and lived among us. When you have been there, it makes all the difference. John 1:14 speaking of Jesus says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”I hope you'll be encouraged by the knowledge that whatever you are going through, Jesus understands. He understands weariness. He understands grief and sorrow. He understands frustration. He understands the constant demands of life. He even understands your temptations. Today's Challenge: It's so easy for us to feel alone and to believe that no one understands what we are going through. Stand on the Word of God today that tells us that Jesus understands. He is with you and will provide whatever you need.

Jesus calls God His Father, Jesus invites his followers to call God Father, Jesus balances God's nearness with God's greatness.

Psalm 22-27 We are in the Wisdom Stream today as we read from the Lexham English Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | #7Streams | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis.com Melissa Disney's CDs - Sweet Faith & Love Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Today is some of, if not, the most famous literature and prayers EVER written.  Be blessed and keep reading these all your lives. My husband and I read this again and again.  And we are glad to read it with you today. Ps 22 -   You heard Jesus quote this on the Cross.  God had not forsaken the Son. But to hang on a Cross is to feel forsaken, no matter what the Truth is.  Here is a Psalm that can only be attributed to the Crucifixion of our Lord.  And Jesus; The Truth, is on the Cross feeling forsaken, sneered at, pierced (bit by lions accd'g to this translation), his clothing getting illustratively "auctioned off".  He's in a bad way and calling out on God His Father.  That means that when we are in the worst of duress, we are to do that same - for God is listening.  Also it asserts that Jesus understands our plight, regardless.  That means we are never alone. 23 - When the Lord is your Shepherd, you have what you need; there is rest and peace and beauty, restoration, peace in all settings, comfort (strengthening), we are fed regardless of the surroundings.  We have anointing, plenty, goodness, love and mercy along with eternal security.  That should answer all our questions, oy mate? In all seriousness, David likely wrote this when he was a boy in Bethlehem, tending sheep. Just over 1000 years later, angels announce to shepherds that the Good Shepherd has arrived. It wouldn't surprise me if it all happened in the same field. Ponder that amazement. 24 -  A series of writers and biblical commentators muse that Ps.24 was what David wrote when the ark was brought back into Jerusalem as told in II Sam. 6:12-15.  The sentiment of the Psalm certainly matches the festivity of the occasion. God IS a celebration of love and remember that our entry and the beginning of heaven for us starts with worship and celebration. 25 - David is looking for rescue, guidance, mercy, a right-standing in God's Presence,  protection, and redemption.  It's a Psalm written and recited by a man in anguish who knows where to turn when life has taken a turn such as this.  It's the same David of whom we see cheering and praising in other places. This is what made David a man after God's own heart. He wanted to know and have the heart of God - so he did. Such a wonderful model David is for us. 26 - whereas 25 if 'David lamenting, "God, I've messed it up here. Help me", 26 is David nearly protesting, "God, I've been good about it all, don't "diss' me out now.  You said you were good ... "    It's similar to us if we prayed, "uh, God, you told me to call on you and that you would answer me.  I'm calling on you now, and I need you to answer me.  I don't want to listen to a recording, I want you to 'pick up'."   'Ever feel this way?  So did David - and it kept him in prayer. 27 - We all know what it's like to arrive at a favorite place, be it a meadow, or a vista on the trail, or a beach, or a relatives' house.  We pause and sigh, "wow, I love it here!!"  David says that when he sits with God.  He loves to sit with God and sing and listen and bask and rest.  Let's let this urge us accordingly.  Don't drift when we pray. Don't check your watch during a sermon. Turn off your phone when in a worship service. Pull away from the screen when family is telling you something vital and impassioned. Don't read the news or popups when your spouse is dining with you.  Come on, now.  God calls us into his courtyard.  Get there.  Psalm 27 helps us all get there. God thank you.  Thank you and thank you again.  You ARE everything we need.  Fill us with gratitude and may it spill over back into your house as we worship with you.  Amen.

We are in Luke 12:49-59 with Dr. John G. Mitchell on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast. Luke is writing to confirm to his friend, the most excellent Theophilus, the words he had heard and been taught concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Now, Jesus let's the people know of His distress concerning His upcoming crucifixion and resurrection which He will accomplish in a few more months. His distress is shown in Heb.5:7-8 where our Lord prayed to be delivered out of death, and was heard by God His Father. Jesus then calls out the people for their lack of discernment concerning the current realities surrounding them, that is, discernment of the spiritual realities. These realities were relationships in the home and family and the reality of His own personal presence as their Messiah, which they were not acknowledging. Download the Luke Study Notes on our website unchangingword.LIFE and follow along in Luke 12:4. Here is Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

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Scripture Reading: John 5:13-24 When Jesus said, "My Father is working until now, and I am working," it sounded like a trumpet on the ears of the Jewish leaders who heard it.  God is sometimes referred to as the Father of Israel collectively and, on rare occasions, of an individual.  But in direct address, individuals did not call on God by using the term 'father.'  When Jesus called God His Father, the Jews thought it was blasphemy and they wanted to kill Him for it. In John 5:19-47 Jesus gives a wonderful defense of His divinity and His unity with God the Father.  J. C. Ryle says, "Nowhere else in the gospels do we find our Lord making such a formal, systematic, orderly, regular statement of his own unity with the Father, his divine commission and authority, and the proofs of his Messiahship, as we find in this discourse" (Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John, 1:199). Jesus' defense of His relationship to God the Father can be seen in His statement, "Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (Jn 5:19).  The Son does all that the Father does.  No one could make that statement unless he could also claim divinity. Further, the Father loves the Son in a special way, showing Him "all that he himself is doing" (Jn 5:20).  Out of love the Father shows the Son all He is doing.  Out of obedience the Son does all that the Father does.  The Son, in His earthly life, is revealing the Father to humanity. Such is the unity between God the Father and God the Son that to dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father (Jn 5:23).  To hear the words of Jesus and to believe God are two ways to describe the same reality of saving faith (Jn 5:24).  Let us bow down and marvel at the Son, in all His glory.

Welcome to the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast as we commence a journey through the Gospel of Luke with our teacher, Dr. John G. Mitchell who is finishing up his overview of this gospel. His aim is for us to fall in love with the savior, Jesus Christ. Our Lord is presented in this gospel as the lovely one who is precious and chosen in the sight of God His Father. Dr. Mitchell brings out the fact that from all four Gospels we see Jesus raising 3 people from the dead. Two of the three are found here in Luke. The other is in John. Jesus demonstrates His power over death even before His own resurrection from the dead. Let's join our teacher, Dr. John G. Mitchell, on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast to finish up this overview of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

Should prayer just be a free for all, or does God want us to pray a certain way?Should we pray about our concerns, God’s concerns, or both? In this episode of Christian Life Issues for Today, Dr. Wayne Mack discusses the outline of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew Chapter 6 and answers some common question regarding prayer. Was the Lord’s prayer given to just be repeated? What is the preface, body, and conclusion of the Lord’s prayer? Does only Jesus have the right to call God His Father? Can Christians call Him their Father? Can anyone call Him their Father? The content of this episode comes from chapter 3 of Dr. Mack’s book, Reaching the Ear of God: Praying More . . . and More Like Jesus. Reaching the Ear of God can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Ear-God-Praying-Jesus/dp/0875526136 To get into contact with us or to ask us to add you to the mailing list, email us at the following address:christianlifeissuesfortoday@gmail.com

As Jesus continues His earthly ministry things begin to heat up. His opponents see Jesus’ acts of mercy conducted on the Sabbath as Sabbath breaking and His calling God His Father as blasphemy. In verses 19 and following, Jesus responds to these charges and in doing so He gives us some of the most remarkable passages in the New Testament concerning His divine nature and acts.

Lesson Description:The Holy Spirit through the Word exhorts us to grow and mature in Christ, yet He reminds us that we are also children of God. While on the earth, even Jesus called God His Father. The fatherhood of God precedes human fatherhood as He created us in His image and brought us into existence. How does our heavenly Father care for His children? Are you a child of God?

Jesus continued to submit Himself to the will and word of God His Father. He never stepped out of bounds, He never rebelled, He never sinned. The depth of His commitment was seen in His suffering. In this message, we will learn from Him as both our Savior and example.

Wrapping up the Gospel of Matthew, we are in chapter 28, vss. 16-18. In these verses, we see the post resurrection relationship of Jesus with his disciples. The disciples worshipped the Lord, but as Matthew records, some doubted. In spite of this, Jesus reveals that from now on, all authority has been given to Him, both Authority in heaven and upon earth. His authority was given to Him because of His suffering, death and resurrection for you and me and for the vindication of the righteousness of God His Father. The 11 disciples also obeyed the Lord and met Him at the mountain in Galilee as He instructed them. The Lord now commissions His disciples to make disciples of all nations, including Jews in Israel. Here is Dr. Mitchell with Matt.28:16-20 on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

By the time we arrive at Isaiah 53, Christ's abuse, torture, rejection, reproach, mutilation and death have been established in Scripture, as Peter reminded his readers.----But Jesus would not be ashamed, because He knew His bodily obedience would be accepted by God His Father, and righteousness would prevail victorious.----The question to be answered was, why should all this happen to Messiah, the strong Arm of the Lord- What was the reason for His suffering and death-----Isaiah freely admits, that what happened to Messiah would be the reason why his prophecies would not be believed. Indeed, it is this startling treatment of Jesus that would prompt His dismissal by the people.----The strong Arm of the Lord's salvation is revealed as the suffering, dying Messiah, but who can believe it-----Christ would seem to come from nowhere- his family came from the defunct house of David, and had sunk to a very lowly estate.----There was nothing to commend Jesus to the people as a King or Savior. He had no political power, or military backing. He is meek and lowly of heart. He comes riding upon a lowly colt. His kingdom, He admitted, was not now of this world. He wasn't a threat to Rome or the local government officials.----And so, it is said, there was no beauty that Israel should desire Him. He was not esteemed, but rather despised and rejected.----What Christ offered - righteousness, forgiveness of sin, peace with God - was not what the people wanted in a Messiah. They wanted a political savior who would restore the kingdom and overthrow the Roman tyrants.----And since Jesus didn't give Israel what it longed for, what it valued most, there was nothing to commend Him to the people.

Jesus understood everything that happened was for the glory of God (His Father). Life is not without uncertainty, but Jesus is always a certainty. Jesus feels and cares deeply (for us). Jesus died and rose from the dead. Some get it and some don’t; some want it and some pass on it!

“Lord, teach us to pray.” The men who urged Jesus to educate them about prayer weren’t immature or novices.  Each of them had prayed—in penitence; for safety; for a good night’s catch—as part of a life story that led them to careers in fishing, tax collecting, and even political activism. But they had heard from Jesus—from time in close with Jesus—a whole new way of praying, one that began with an entirely new view of God.  Gone was the angry, frowning deity of their imaginations, the God who was always disappointed with them.  For they had heard their Master call this God His “Father”—even “Daddy.”  The grace they found in Jesus opened up a whole new way to pray.  And they were hungry to know more, learn more, pray more.  Grace made them passionate about prayer. So it will be with us.  When we discover what has always been true—that we are loved and held as closely as a parent holds us; that we were truly, eagerly embraced before we had a righteous thought—we unclench our bodies and our minds.  Our prayer becomes an easy, reverent conversation warmed by love, and all our fears diminish.  The Father who loved this world so much that He gave Jesus to us (John 3:16) rejoices when we trust Him, welcome Him, and tell Him everything. Grace leads us first to gratitude, and gratitude to prayer. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” The men who urged Jesus to educate them about prayer weren’t immature or novices.  Each of them had prayed—in penitence; for safety; for a good night’s catch—as part of a life story that led them to careers in fishing, tax collecting, and even political activism. But they had heard from Jesus—from time in close with Jesus—a whole new way of praying, one that began with an entirely new view of God.  Gone was the angry, frowning deity of their imaginations, the God who was always disappointed with them.  For they had heard their Master call this God His “Father”—even “Daddy.”  The grace they found in Jesus opened up a whole new way to pray.  And they were hungry to know more, learn more, pray more.  Grace made them passionate about prayer. So it will be with us.  When we discover what has always been true—that we are loved and held as closely as a parent holds us; that we were truly, eagerly embraced before we had a righteous thought—we unclench our bodies and our minds.  Our prayer becomes an easy, reverent conversation warmed by love, and all our fears diminish.  The Father who loved this world so much that He gave Jesus to us (John 3:16) rejoices when we trust Him, welcome Him, and tell Him everything. Grace leads us first to gratitude, and gratitude to prayer. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” The men who urged Jesus to educate them about prayer weren’t immature or novices.  Each of them had prayed—in penitence; for safety; for a good night’s catch—as part of a life story that led them to careers in fishing, tax collecting, and even political activism. But they had heard from Jesus—from time in close with Jesus—a whole new way of praying, one that began with an entirely new view of God.  Gone was the angry, frowning deity of their imaginations, the God who was always disappointed with them.  For they had heard their Master call this God His “Father”—even “Daddy.”  The grace they found in Jesus opened up a whole new way to pray.  And they were hungry to know more, learn more, pray more.  Grace made them passionate about prayer. So it will be with us.  When we discover what has always been true—that we are loved and held as closely as a parent holds us; that we were truly, eagerly embraced before we had a righteous thought—we unclench our bodies and our minds.  Our prayer becomes an easy, reverent conversation warmed by love, and all our fears diminish.  The Father who loved this world so much that He gave Jesus to us (John 3:16) rejoices when we trust Him, welcome Him, and tell Him everything. Grace leads us first to gratitude, and gratitude to prayer. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Guest: Apostle Arthur Timberlakes of Deridder LA. Coming to break the bread of life and encourage in testifying of the goodness of Jesus. Glory Bound Travel Agency Owner/CEO · June 6, 2018 to present · DeRidder, Louisiana Travel business Testify of his goodness to the world. The Believer is to tell of his wonderous works, the things he (Almighty God) has done in their life. How he change their lives from bad to good. Share his word so others can  receive his blessings. God is faithful to his people and because he has taught his to love the believer shows love by sharing how good God is to his own. Everywhere the Believer goes he wants to share this good news and witness to others all te benefits of Believing in God and that he sent his son to set free everyone who can believer.

MESSAGE SUMMARY:    The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ – the Messiah, who is the Savior of the World. Christians emphasize Christmas and Jesus’ birth because His birth: 1) fulfills many Biblical prophesies, especially in terms of the time and location of Jesus’ birth; 2) points the fact that Jesus was more than just a man; 3) and in His life. we saw Jesus claim the right to forgive sins; 4) led Jesus to call God His “Father”, which indicated that Jesus was God; 5) resulted in Jesus’ Resurrection”, which validated Jesus’ claims and made Him different; and 6) was God, through Jesus’ birth, still trying to get our attention. God, through His Grace and through the birth of Jesus, did for us what we could not do for ourselves – save ourselves from our sins and our death that would result from our sins. God, through the birth of Jesus -- the God-Man, entered into our earthly mess to save us because, after God’s Grace and Jesus’ birth, all our sin now resides on Jesus. God’s Grace through the birth of Jesus, demonstrates God’s love for us. God wants us to know that Jesus was born for us out of His love for us. Therefore, we need to consider that God, the Creator of the Universe, entered the world, through the baby Jesus for us so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Have you yielded to God so that your mind’s consideration of God’s Grace, love, and Jesus’ birth can move from your mind into a commitment of both your mind and your heart to your faith in Jesus as your Savior and into God’s service? Until we yield to God’s lordship over our lives, we are saying to God that “we don’t need your love”. Is Jesus your Lord and, therefore, your Savior? God has given you the greatest Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Have you accepted His Gift and opened His gift into your life? If not, then why not? With your hands open, you can accept God’s Christmas gift by saying: “I am sorry; thank you; and please”!   TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).   SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Luke 2:9-11; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1-3; John 1:4; John10:30; John 14:8-11; John 3:16-17; Psalms 70a:1-12.   WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Today, the World Needs to be Renewed With an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit - a Global Spiritual Awakening”: www.AWFTL.org/watch.   A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.   DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

- Thanks to Hallow for sponsoring this episode. To get started, click here: https://hallow.app/portal/#/PrayerPlan/?referrer=mattfradd - Hey, be cool and support us on Patreon. You'll become immediately more attractive to the opposite sex. Okay, I can't prove that ... but it's possible. Right? Support us here: https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd - Here is the text from Aquinas we read today: “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” It is not only necessary for Christians to believe in one God who is the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things; but also they must believe that God is the Father and that Christ is the true Son of God. This, as St. Peter says, is not mere fable, but is certain and proved by the word of God on the Mount of Transfiguration. “For we have not by following artificial fables made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eyewitnesses of His greatness. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, this voice coming down to Him from the excellent glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.’ And this voice, we heard brought from heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mount” [2 Pet 1:16]. Christ Jesus Himself in many places called God His Father, and Himself the Son of God. Both the Apostles and the Fathers placed in the articles of faith that Christ is the Son of God by saying: “And (I believe) in Jesus Christ, His (i.e., God’s) only Son”. Errors There were, however, certain heretics who erred in this belief. Photinus, for instance, believed that Christ is not the Son of God but a good man who, by a good life and by doing the will of God, merited to be called the son of God by adoption; and so Christ who lived a good life and did the will of God merited to be called the son of God. Moreover, this error would not have Christ living before the Blessed Virgin, but would have Him begin to exist only at His conception. Accordingly, there are here two errors: the first, that Christ is not the true Son of God according to His nature; and the second, that Christ in His entire being began to exist in time. Our faith, however, holds that He is the Son of God in His nature, and that he is from all eternity. Now, we have definite authority against these errors in the Holy Scriptures, Against the first error it is said that Christ is not only the Son, but also the only-begotten Son of the Father: “The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him:” [Jn 1:18]. And again the second error it is said: “Before Abraham was made, I AM” [Jn 8:58]. It is evident that Abraham lived before the Blessed Virgin. And what the Fathers added to the other [Nicene] Creed, namely, “the only-begotten Son of God,” is against the first error; and “born of the Father before all ages” is against the second error. Sabellius said that Christ indeed was before the Blessed Virgin, but he held that the Father Himself became incarnate and, therefore, the Father and the Son is the same Person. This is an error because it takes away the Trinity of Persons in God, and against it is this authority: “I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me” [Jn 8:16]. It is clear that one cannot be sent from himself. Sabellius errs therefore, and in the [Nicene] Creed of the Fathers it is said: “God of God; Light of Light,” that is, we are to believe in God the Son from God the Father, and the Son who is Light from the Father who is Light. Arius, although he would say that Christ was before the Blessed Virgin and that the Person of the Father is other than the Person of the Son, nevertheless made a three-fold attribution to Christ: (1) that the Son of God was a creature; (2) that He is not from eternity, but was formed the noblest of all creatures in time by God; (3) that God the Son is not of one nature with God the Father, and therefore that He was not true God. But this too is erroneous and contrary to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. It is written: “I and the Father are one” [Jn 10:30]. That is, in nature; and therefore, just as the Father always existed, so also the Son; and just as the Father is true God, so also is the Son. That Christ is a creature, as said by Arius, is contradicted in the “Symbol” by the Fathers: “True God of true God;” and the assertion that Christ is not from eternity but in time is also contrary to the [Nicene] Creed: “Begotten not made;” and finally, that Christ is not of the same substance as the Father is denied by the [Nicene] Creed: “Consubstantial with the Father.” The truth It is, therefore, clear we must believe that Christ is the Only-begotten of God, and the true Son of God, who always was with the Father, and that there is one Person of the Son and another of the Father who have the same divine nature. All this we believe now through faith, but we shall know it with a perfect vision in the life eternal. Hence, we shall now speak somewhat of this for our own edification. It must be known that different things have different modes of generation. The generation of God is different from that of other things. Hence, we cannot arrive at a notion of divine generation except through the generation of that created thing which more closely approaches to a likeness to God. We have seen that nothing approaches in likeness to God more than the human soul. The manner of generation in the soul is effected in the thinking process in the soul of man, which is called a conceiving of the intellect. This conception takes its rise in the soul as from a father, and its effect is called the word of the intellect or of man. In brief, the soul by its act of thinking begets the word. So also the Son of God is the Word of God, not like a word that is uttered exteriorly (for this is transitory), but as a word is interiorly conceived; and this Word of God is of the one nature as God and equal to God. The testimony of St. John concerning the Word of God destroys these three heresies, viz., that of Photinus in the words: “In the beginning was the Word;” that of Sabellius in saying: “And the Word was with God;” and that of Arius when it says: “And the Word was God” [Jn 1:1]. But a word in us is not the same as the Word in God. In us the word is an accident; whereas in God the Word is the same as God, since there is nothing in God that is not of the essence of God. No one would say God has not a Word, because such would make God wholly without knowledge; and therefore, as God always existed, so also did His Word ever exist. Just as a sculptor works from a form which he has previously thought out, which is his word; so also God makes all things by His Word, as it were through His art: “All things were made by Him” [Jn 1:3]. Now, if the Word of God is the Son of God and all the words of God bear a certain likeness of this Word, then we ought to hear the Word of God gladly; for such is a sign that we love God. We ought also believe the word of God whereby the Word of God dwells in us, who is Christ: “That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts” [Eph 3:17]. “And you have not His word abiding in you” [Jn 5:38]. But we ought not only to believe that the Word of God dwells in us, but also we should meditate often upon this; for otherwise we will not be benefitted to the extent that such meditation is a great help against sin: your words have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against You” [Ps 108:11]. Again it is said of the just man: “On His law he shall meditate day and night” [Ps 1:2]. And it is said of the Blessed Virgin that she “kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” [Lk 2:19]. Then also, one should communicate the word of God to others by advising, preaching and inflaming their hearts: “Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth; but that which is good, to the edification of faith” [Eph 4:29]. Likewise, “let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another” [Col 3:16]. So also: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine” [2 Tim 4:2]. Finally, we ought to put the word of God into practice: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” [James 1:22]. The Blessed Virgin observed these five points when she gave birth to the Word of God. First, she heard what was said to her: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you” [Lk 1:35]. Then she gave her consent through faith: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord” [Lk 1:38]. And she also received and carried the Word in her womb. Then she brought forth the Word of God and, finally, she nourished and cared for Him. And so the Church sings: “Only a Virgin nourished Him who is King of the Angels” [Fourth Responsory, Office of the Circumcision, Dominican Breviary.].

Scripture Reading: John 5:31-45 This week Pastor Josh Scherer talks about how Jesus identity was on trial before the Jewish Leaders. Jesus calls his witnesses to defend him, the witnesses were John The Baptist, The Man Jesus Healed at the Pool on the Sabbath, God His Father and The Scriptures. The Question I Have For You Is This, What is your identity?    

The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem (John 5) He healed an invalid of 38 years on the Sabbath and called God His Father. The result? The Jews were seeking to kill him. In chapter 7, Jesus will head back to Jerusalem during the Feast of the Booths and not much has changed. In fact, it seems as if the opposition to Jesus is continuing to increase.

Reading John 5:18 where Jesus' critics seek to kill Him because He heals on the Sabbath and calls God His Father. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

Guest Speaker, Dr. Jeremy Sin In this sermon we explore Jesus’ ALL IN LOVE for ALL PEOPLE from ALL PLACES. As a preschooler my mom taught me a song that had a verse that said: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the World…” In Revelation 7, God’s Word gives us a glimpse of our eternal future gathered with people “from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb” celebrating in worship. Jesus taught us that it is God’s will that none should perish but that all should come to believing faith. When Jesus walked among us He celebrated the great faith of people who were very different from His nationality and culture. Jesus even stated that the greatest faith He had seen was not from among His own people, but from a foreign soldier (Matt. 8). When Jesus walked this earth He lived and taught that God His Father, who created all men and women in His Image, loves and desires to bless all peoples of all races from all places and He commanded His Disciples to do the same. That command continues for all Disciples of Jesus today. Jesus calls us to demonstrate and declare the Gospel of God’s love to people among us from different cultures and nations who are “the same kind of different” as we. This morning I pray we all hear the Heart of our Good & Beautiful God for PEOPLE FROM ALL NATIONS LIVING AMONG US. Music courtesy of hooksounds.com.

Audio Length: 1:06:18 The Holy Bible ministers the facts about witnesses. For instance, in Jesus Christ’s birth, there were three wise witnesses who testified who He is through their gifts. They testified that He is King, our High Priest, and the Sacrificial Lamb of God, sent by God His Father for the atonement and remission […]

Psalms 110 Watch Video Listen to MP3 Download Handout Download Manuscript → Click to view the Sermon Outline Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king. Davidic Pattern #2: When exalted as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Samuel 5:9-12). Jesus Christ, Pattern #3: God’s chosen King suffered, was delivered from the grave and then was exalted “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:44-50). Psalm 110 - The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head. Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later 1. God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand” (v. 1) a. “At God’s right hand”—Matthew 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 12:2-3, 1 Peter 3:22, Revelation 3:21 b. “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as His death and resurrection is to His role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior! c. But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matthew 22:41-45) 2. God Has Promised Christ Alone a Kingdom (v. 2) 3. God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom (v. 3) a. Willing volunteers b. Dressed in righteousness (holy majesty/womb of dawn, cf. Revelation 19:11-16) 4. God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King but a Priest! (v. 4, cf. Genesis 14, Hebrews 5-9) 5. God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5-6)  Outlined Manuscript Have you ever experienced something that you never thought you would experience in your life?  Maybe it was a sudden sorrowful thing that happened to you or someone near to you.  Maybe it was something that you waited for your whole life to happen and you just were not sure if it would ever happen (I imagine there are some parents of soon to be graduates that may be feeling that way about now).  Maybe it was something that you spent plenty of time dreaming about in your life. Wednesday night November 2, I finished up a night of youth group in the LOFT and immediately ran out to my Jeep.  I turned on the ignition and before the engine had even finished cranking over I had the radio tuned into the Cubs versus the Indians playing in Game 7 of the World Series. As I turned on to State Road 26 to begin my journey home I listened as Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run to deep right center field. Maybe tonight would be the night that I had played out countless times in my backyard as kid in Northern Illinois.  Maybe tonight the Cubs would be the world champions. It had been 108 years since the last time the Cubs had won the World Series.  For years they had been mocked as the “loveable losers”, but tonight could be a different night. Well that game did not go exactly the way that was the least amount of stress, but early on that Thursday morning the Cubs were finally the World Series Champ.  As my 91 year old grandma that was sitting next to me said as the final out was recorded, “Well they finally did it.” Everything changed in the mind of the lifetime Cub fan.  The blues and reds of the world were just brighter and more beautiful.  They no longer were fans of the “Loveable Losers”, but now were fans of the Champs. Even in something as silly as winning a World Series there was a new realization that would make life never the same again. These realization moments can come from any changes that revolutionize our lives.  We go about our lives and for the most part we get into routines But then something in our environment changes—something either that we want to change or something that we don’t want to change. And when it changes we may take a while to believe what has happened. Here is a question for you… What is the greatest reality shock of your life? Here is what I believe it is…. We by our nature grow up in a state of selfishness that causes us to seek our own good.  We exalt ourselves to the roll of king over our own life. Think about it. From birth whenever I was hungry, I would just cry, and suddenly a bottle would appear. Whenever, I had a dirty diaper I would just cry a little bit more and suddenly my diaper would be changed. As a toddler, I want a toy, I grab it from my friend that was playing with it. As a teen, I want my own pleasure, so I experiment with sex and drugs As  a highschooler, I learn how to get attention by using my body for athletics or beauty. As a college student, I want to live the party life and sow my wild oats…. As an adult, I learn to make money to spend on toys for me. The routine of living for self is our reality What happens when you come face to face with the reality of you are not KING!! What happens when you begin to see for the first time, this world doesn’t revolve around you! My friends that is a reality for all of us, that must be faced. With those thoughts in mind please turn in your Bibles to Psalms 110. That is on page 443 in the front section of the bible in the chair in front of you. I have also printed the text of Psalm 110 in your bulletin notes if you would rather look there. This year’s annual theme at Faith is In Christ Alone And after Easter we have turned our attention to a five part series on Seeing Christ in the Psalms Much of Jesus’ life and work is said in the New Testament to be a fulfillment of the Psalms. Let me say an explanatory word about my understanding of the messianic Psalms. Many of the Psalms/Songs in the OT were written by a man called David, King of Israel. David was God’s chosen king to rule over God’s people. David, was an example or type of a man who, although a sinner and having some great sins, strived to be faithful to God. He was faithful to God in His youth. He was marked by meekness and humility and trust in the Lord. He is known for His slaying of the giant menace of Israel, Goliath, by relying on Lord—not any kind of military strength. Because of his humility, God chose him as an earthly king over his people However, the path to kingship was one marked by suffering. His enemies opposed him and often sought his life… Pastor Green at FE and Pastor Wright at FW spoke about his sufferings last week. Please notice the pattern… Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king. When David actually became King, God gradually brought all the fighting factions and opposing nations into submission to David’s reign. Davidic Pattern #2: When established as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Sam 5:9–12). Notice this passage 2 Sam 5:10David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.11Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.12And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. David as a musician recorded songs about these experiences in the Psalms And Then Jesus says in Luke 24:44 Luke 24:44  44Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem…50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. There are two observations about this passage that I want to make. First, Notice how Jesus said all that is written in the Psalms must be fulfilled—Hence we have these “messianic psalms Second, Notice this pattern Jesus Christ, Pattern#3: God’s Chosen King suffered and then was delivered from the grave and then was “carried up into heaven.” In the comparison to David what does this pattern correspond to? ANSWER: David’s exaltation as King and God working to bring all face to face with the reality of Christ’s kingship. God working to subject all people to his kingship. With that back ground let’s read now Psalm 110 Psalm 110 (Notes only)       1    The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”       2    The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”       3    Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.       4    The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”       5    The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.       6    He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.       7    He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head. Today from Psalm 110 we are discussing Facing the Reality of God’s Choice of Christ Alone Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later. The first reality is this… God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand.” Friends the NT recognizes Psalms 110 as one of the most significant chapters in the OT. Every human author of the NT quotes some portion of Psalm 110 except James and Jude. I have listed several of these references for you…. “At God’s right hand”—Matt 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Rom 8:34, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3, 8:1, 12:2–3, 1 Pet 3:22, Rev 3:21 Here is just one example: Eph 1:20 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. We focus a lot on the resurrection of Jesus Chris and rightly so. The resurrection represents so much Victory over Death The first fruits of the promise of eternal life—a resurrected body God’s stamp of approval on His Son for His life and His Sacrifice However, the entire NT is not only structured around the resurrection but the truth from this PSALM—sit at my right hand--the ascension of Christ into heaven! That is amazing. Until I studied this Psalm and the numerous quotes of this Psalm in the NT I had no idea of how much this concept of Christ being translated from earth to heaven informed the theology of the NT. Read the cross references I gave you and see how significant this is!!!.  But what is so significant about “the Right Hand of God” What does this mean? The right hand of God means “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership Earthly Kings invited a cherished and faithful servant to be their right hand man to execute their rule. As an example, those of you who know the Bible remember the Joseph story and how Joseph after suffering was exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. Joseph in all practical senses was ruler over Egypt— equal to Pharaoh! David after suffering was exalted to the earthly kingdom of Israel and could be said to be “God’s right hand man on earth.” But David did not ascend bodily to heaven In Christ you have something entirely greater The Man Jesus ascended bodily to heaven not just a throne on earth…God’s heavenly throne. What does this mean…God has place Jesus Christ at the place of authority over all including you. The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as is His death and resurrection is to His Role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior! My friends that is the reality…Christ simply is King. You simply are not the king. This is the reality. This is the reality that you must face either now or when God His Father, makes you a footstool for King Jesus’ feet. But Here is a question for you… But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matt 22:41–45) I think God has a sense of humor. He planted riddles and mysteries in the OT that would perplex people only to be revealed at the right time. I have had the privilege of attending Faith Bible Seminary and Pastor Aucoin was always so excited to point out these mysteries and riddles.  As I was discussing this passage with him in preparation for this sermon, I was reminded of that excitement he has for these Old Testament mysteries, as we talked about this phrase. David wrote the beginning line of the Psalm, “The Lord said to my Lord…dwell at my right hand.” What does, “The Lord said to my Lord” mean? Is David calling himself “my lord”—that would be a strange way for David to speak about Himself. So for years the Jewish folks interpret this phrase as applying to a descendent of David….rightfully so….the coming Messiah…. But the Jewish folks completely missed something…If this applies to David’s descendent…David call’s his descendent “MY LORD”  MY MASTER///MY KING…  How could the Messiah both be David’s Son and David’s master? How? Jesus stumped the Pharisees with this question… Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’? 45“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. How is a man sitting at the right Hand of God? Because Jesus Christ is not simply a man…He is God incarnate. In order to ascend to be at the right hand of God he had to first descend to become human. This man is King.  This Man is God Himself.  Christ is King.  Christ is God Himself. Is he your King? The second reality we must face is that God Has Promised Christ Alone A Kingdom Ps. 110:2The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Folks is this the reality we live in… God does not say he will stretch forth Johnny’s kingdom saying “rule”? God does not say he will stretch forth (Pastor Garner, Folden, Green)’s kingdom saying “rule”? God will stretch forth Christ strong scepter ALONE saying rule. My friends do you remember a time in your life where you began to recognize this life is simply not about building your kingdom.       What are you doing with your life?       As I said the most routine aspect of our life is building             our kingdoms Our kingdoms of people who adore us Our kingdoms of accomplishments Our kingdoms of wealth Our kingdoms of influence       Psalm 110 brings us face to face that God has promised Christ Alone a Kingdom. Let that reality sink in a bit as you evaluate your life’s efforts…what are you working for….? Think about the summer that is coming up.  What are you going to do this summer?  Is it going to be all about you and your kingdom?  Is it about the number of hours you get to spend the pool? Is it about the number of lemonades you can consume on your back porch? Is it about the number of dandelions you eliminate from your yard? Is it about how many levels you can advance in the newest video game or the number of Netflix binges you can consume?       Why not make this summer about advancing the King that has already been exalted? Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by helping to share the Gospel to kids from our community by serving in VBS. Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by showing up to the Community Picnic and intentionally engaging with people from our community. Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by getting involved in any of the number of serving opportunities in our community this summer. God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom       Ps. 110:3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The King has a Kingdom And, And What else does the King have?   an Army In the Hebrew there are simply two Hebrew words “Your people” is one Hebrew word, and then the second word is the Hebrew word for “freewill offering” Your people, a free will offering The people of this Kingdom are Willing Volunteers Why would you sign up to be a subject in anyone’s Kingdom? In the OT God warned Israel about wanting a king like the other nations in that they would force the people to become slaves.  The king would force the people to serve in the army. But this is remarkable…there is something about this king and his kingdom that people say….”Sign me up…” Why would that be? Because there is something good about this King and His Kingdom. Service for this King is not like slavery to my previous masters Service for this king is freeing… Friends have you come face to face with the reality of the tyranny of the kingdom of self and sin…and how there is a much better king and kingdom that you can join? The slavery to sin and self is never fully satisfying.  – You will always be searching for just a bit more happiness.  You will always find yourself to be a horrible king in your life. You will always find your kingdom to be lacking. The mark of the armies of Christ is that they are willfully following Him. You will find no other Master you will love to serve.   The King’s people are also…. Dressed in Righteousness (Holy Majesty/womb of dawn. Cf Rev 19:11–16) Your people are in “holy array” and “from the womb of dawn” Now, remember one thing about Hebrew poetry… Hebrew poetry uses a lot of metaphors and you have got to attempt to picture what the author is trying to communicate. Womb of dawn? What does that mean? Obviously, a womb is something that gives birth (we really do not have time to expand on that concept any more than that) In this case it is the womb of Dawn So what comes out of the “birthing canal” of dawn? Light! “Holy Array” also communicates that the King’s People are Brilliant in appearance. And the term “Your Youth like dew”—may also communicate the concept of purity Folks I believe also that Revelation 19 about the coming of the King and His People refers to this passage as well with very similar imagery. Notice God’s people are clothed in Brilliance…They are not cowering in the shame of nakedness. Notice the similarity here in Rev 19. Rev 19:11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” The King’s People are viewed as pure!!! In the revelation passage the people of the king are in white brilliant clothing But what is the King clothed in?  Robe dipped in blood! In God’s eyes the King’s people are viewed as pure…..But the King is soaked in blood…What’s going on here? Furthermore, the King is at the right hand of God and the people are with the king So, 1. How could any person with all of our impurities be there with the King and 2. viewed as pure? How is that possible? Because of this fourth reality… God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King But a Priest! (cf. Gen 14, Hebrews 5-9)       Psalm 110:4The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” Well now, isn’t this an obscure statement Order of Melchizedek?  What is this?  J It sounds like something you would order at a fast food restaurant….”I will take the Melchizedek meal with a large Coke Zero.” Melchizedek was the King of Jerusalem 1000 years before David became King of Jerusalem. You can briefly read about Melchizedek in Genesis 14. The significance of Melchizedek was that he is described in Gen 14 as both a priest and a king. Now, God had not allowed any of his earthly rulers to be both priests and kings. Do you know why? What does power do? Corrupt. And what does absolute power do—corrupt absolutely. Can you imagine a monarch with absolute power that controlled all aspects of the nation including down to what all the subjects had to believe and access to God. So, God made the first separation of powers long before the American government.  In Israel, God separated the King’s power of rulership from the priests’ role of providing access to God. Those kings in Israel who crossed the line into priestly duties—men like Saul and Uzziah—were severely judged by God. But here when God says of Jesus YOU ARE THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK….that means that the Messiah would be the only King who is both King and Priest. And Praise the Lord for you because that means this King and only this King gets you access to God Not because he sacrificed some animals for you but he sacrificed His body for you He is wearing the blood soak robes so that you can stand with him with God in white garments. Hebrews 7:21 but He (God) with an oath through the One who said to Him,“The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’ ”);22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;         27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Jesus Christ is sitting right now at the right hand of the Father as 1. king but not just king….as a 2. priest. And notice that there is a time frame on this….in verse 1—until the God makes the enemies of the King/priest His footstool. Since Christ ascended until this very moment, you have the opportunity to come face to face with the reality of this King as your Savior because of his priestly work. And   And you have the opportunity to learn now how to grow into the pure white clothing All of this is until—God brings everything in subjection to him and face to face with what happens if we do not subject our self to this king… God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5–6)       5    The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.       6    He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. The king will return to earth as He ascended from it and God the father will be at his right hand executing the wrath of God. And judge those who did not come face to face with the King, His Kingdom, and His priesthood for them. Here is the reality today…. You will either be part of the army of the king dressed in brilliant clothing (the righteousness of Christ). Or you will be facing the wrath of the Father My friends, this is inescapable. This is the reality But right now the King is sitting until that time when he gets on the war horse. You today, may say I don’t want anything to do with that kind of a violent king. Let me end today with the last phrase of the Psalm…       7    He will drink from the brook (river/torrent/flood) by (on) the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head. The phrase “He will drink from the brook by the wayside… Has perplexed the commentators. There is not agreement about what that phrase means. However, some believe it is a reference to the cup that Christ drank at the cross. Do you remember the night before Christ was to experience the violent judgement that we deserved Christ compared it to a drink. He said, “Lord, if it be your will let me not drink this cup (of wrath) but not my will but yours be done.” Thus, the phrase might be better translated and could be translated, He will drink from the torrent on the way. My friend, if you never face reality of Christ being King, with a Kingdom and a People and one day you come face to face with the reality of violent judgment of the Warrior King it will only be because you did not accept the reality today that the priestly king took the violent judgment upon Himself that you deserved. So whose Kingdom will you pursue? Your own empty kingdom? Or the Kingdom of Christ alone? Let’s Pray.

Jesus Called God His Father by Pastor Don Boldt. From January 1, 2017.

Join us as Pastor Samuel delivers the message entitled, "Ephesians 2 Part III B: Paul's Message to Jews and Gentile Believers."By Holy Spirit, Paul emphasized that LORD Jesus destroyed the hatred that was between Jews and Gentile through His death on the cross. Jesus made the two one in Himself and will present them as one body, His Church to God His Father.For more information visit us on facebook.com/wocmhighsprings or at wocmhighsprings.com Audio courtesy of bensound.com entitled "Happiness"

Pastor Mike wraps up the series by presenting a solid scriptural basis as "compelling evidence" that the Baptism of the Holy SPirit is a valid experience. That He was prophetically foretold and was poured out on the early Church as a "gift" of God. That Jesus taught his followers the importance of receiving all that God His Father would give them in the form of the Holy Spirit. They received the gifts with ease. And today, scripture tells us these same gifts are available and we are encouraged to receive and apply them just as the early church did. It is the prayer of this pastor that all would read God's Word and ask Jesus to give them all the "good gifts" to them as they allow the Holy Spirit complete access to their hearts. Come with us as we journey in the Holy Spirit...

Pastor Mike wraps up the series by presenting a solid scriptural basis as "compelling evidence" that the Baptism of the Holy SPirit is a valid experience. That He was prophetically foretold and was poured out on the early Church as a "gift" of God. That Jesus taught his followers the importance of receiving all that God His Father would give them in the form of the Holy Spirit. They received the gifts with ease. And today, scripture tells us these same gifts are available and we are encouraged to receive and apply them just as the early church did. It is the prayer of this pastor that all would read God's Word and ask Jesus to give them all the "good gifts" to them as they allow the Holy Spirit complete access to their hearts. Come with us as we journey in the Holy Spirit...

Pastor Mike wraps up the series by presenting a solid scriptural basis as "compelling evidence" that the Baptism of the Holy SPirit is a valid experience. That He was prophetically foretold and was poured out on the early Church as a "gift" of God. That Jesus taught his followers the importance of receiving all that God His Father would give them in the form of the Holy Spirit. They received the gifts with ease. And today, scripture tells us these same gifts are available and we are encouraged to receive and apply them just as the early church did. It is the prayer of this pastor that all would read God's Word and ask Jesus to give them all the "good gifts" to them as they allow the Holy Spirit complete access to their hearts. Come with us as we journey in the Holy Spirit...

Pastor Mike wraps up the series by presenting a solid scriptural basis as "compelling evidence" that the Baptism of the Holy SPirit is a valid experience. That He was prophetically foretold and was poured out on the early Church as a "gift" of God. That Jesus taught his followers the importance of receiving all that God His Father would give them in the form of the Holy Spirit. They received the gifts with ease. And today, scripture tells us these same gifts are available and we are encouraged to receive and apply them just as the early church did. It is the prayer of this pastor that all would read God's Word and ask Jesus to give them all the "good gifts" to them as they allow the Holy Spirit complete access to their hearts. Come with us as we journey in the Holy Spirit...

Student Ministries Pastor Grant Bruscoe teaches on Matthew 26 and the last days of Jesus' life here on earth. The prayer we focus on in this message is Jesus talking with God His Father as Jesus faces death. Jesus is the perfect example for us to follow in how to pray, He withdrew from His followers often to pray - that shows us to pick a place, get away, and pray often. Grant leads us though the passion Jesus has for prayer, and how vital it is in our every day lives.

Speaker or Performer: Pr. Mark D. Lovett Scripture Passage(s): Mark 7:31-37 Date of Delivery: August 18, 2013 In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.It seems as though some faithful friends brought the deaf-mute to Jesus to be healed. Who knows if they knew who Jesus was, probably not since shortly after this the Lord asks His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” and they came back with a variety of answers. But whoever He might be, they do know that He can heal. He can heal their friend whose ears don’t hear and whose tongue doesn’t speak. So they bring him to Jesus, the Healer; that He might touch the man and heal him.And so He does. Rather oddly, to be sure, sticking His fingers in His ears and touching His spit to His tongue. But He heals the man just the same. Those ears that could not hear the voices of his friends or the voice of his mother or children if he had any, could now hear perfectly well. And that tongue that could not ask for a drink of water or read a poem or tell those same children that their father loved them, now spoke plainly. The Lord does all things well, that is, He does them perfectly.And the crowds pressed in on Him for it. They often gathered so closely and so intensely that neither the Lord nor His disciples could even eat or get a few hours rest. They often had to get into boats and sail away or sneak away at night. But the crowds chased Him down. They chased Him down over mountains, across seas and lakes, even into the wilderness where there was no bread for them to eat. They followed Him from town to town, from village to village just to touch the fringe of His garment that they might be healed. And as many as touched it were made well. They brought their sick friends, their sick children, the demon-possessed, and begged Him to come and save their near-death family members.Mary and Martha begged Him to come see Lazarus who was deathly ill. The Centurion begged Him to come heal his servant who was near death. A father of a twelve-year-old girl begged the Healer to come and heal his daughter before she died. And even when they died, even when their mortal bodies succumbed to the disease and fever, still He came and had compassion on them, and often raised the dead.For nothing stops this Healer sent from God. Nothing stands in His way as He goes about given the blind their sight, or opening deaf ears, or loosing mute tongues, cleansing lepers, casting out demons, and even raising the dead. For this Man is on a mission; a mission from His Father: sent to undo the works of the evil one; to bind up the strong man – not with rope and chain, but with divine authority. And He does all things well. No one could do such things if He were not from God, they said. So what if He calls God His Father, maybe He is! After all, such things as He has done had never been done in all of Israel, even in the world! Who ever heard of a man’s eyes being opened, having been blind from birth?And they praised Him for it. They sang His praises in the streets and in the marketplace. They told of His power in the Jerusalem and in the temple. They enthusiastically went out spreading the news of this Healer and His miraculous touch so that His fame spread far and wide so that even kings wanted to see Him and even the rich and powerful made provisions to come and see this man that could make water into wine, calm storms, raise the dead, and cast out demons.They wanted to make Him king. They welcomed Him into the holy city with palm branches, the symbol of peace and victory. They eagerly waited for Him to take His place as their long awaited king and leader who would heal their diseases and cast out their demons, who would satisfy their hunger from only a few loaves of bread and some fish. Who else but this man, He that could do and did so much for so many so that, as John puts it, if everything He did were written down in a book, the world itself would not be big enough to contain it all.Whether He was sent from God or the Son of God or one of the prophets, or John the Baptist back from the dead, they often didn’t know and their opinions on the matter went back and forth. Even the chief priests and scribes – those who knew the Bible better than any –weren’t certain of who He was. But none could deny that His touch was divine, that His power was seemingly infinite, that His look was piercing, and that His heart was full of compassion even for the children, the sinners, and the outcasts. Even those that hated Him for His words against them often sought Him. They came to Him at night; they came to Him in crowds. They begged Him for healing, too. Even as they often thought to trap Him or catch Him in some compromising position, still they wanted to see this Man work and with baited breath waited for Him to speak.But how often He did not heal and did not speak. He ignored Mary and Martha so that Lazarus died. He ignored the mother who came for her demon-possessed daughter, so that she was forced to beg and became a nuisance even to His disciples. He often sought to escape the crowds, wanting to be alone. He did not always heal or always wake the dead or always open the ears and mouths of deaf-mutes. Even if it was only because they were not all in Judea where He stayed, but in other parts of the world, still the one that claimed to be sent to the whole world did not see the whole world or divine miracles in the far reaches of the globe.And almost as often as He healed their sick or raised their dead, He commanded them to say nothing. Oh, they ignored Him, as many do today. They sinned against Him and His word and went out and told everyone that would listen. Yes, it was a sin. For when is it okay, when is it not a sin to not do what Jesus has told you to do?It seems this Man who was so sought after and so loved and so desired by so many, was Himself only desirous of being alone, being quiet, and being unknown. He did not come to be made king by the hands or by the will of men. He did not come only to heal mortal bodies and restore health, to right wrongs and bring about some manner of social justice. He came to do His Father’s will. But these are the things people love Him for the most. Jesus gets more praise and attention over a good report from a doctor or a good turn of luck with money than He does for forgiving sinners. So that sinners even to act as though that since He forgives them, He has some obligation to make their lives a little better. Else why would we say, “He forgives me my sins, but He won’t heal my body? My relationships? My government?” These are the things people sing His praises for. So He says to those who would praise Him for being a great healer or a great leader or a political activist to be quiet and to say nothing.He came to do the Father’s will. And the will of the Father is that the world be reconciled to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So the Son set His face toward Jerusalem and became man. He became for us the curse on the cross that He might also be the cure. Not to conquer kings and establish earthly thrones, but to conquer the king of hell and establish the rule of God among men so that just as it is done in heaven, so His will is done on earth.Behold! He does all things well! Here is the rule of God among men – the rule of mercy for sinners. Here is the cure, O sinful man, for your sins. Here is the cure, O mortal men, for your mortality. Here the divine Man touches mortal men and heals you body and soul, preparing you for eternal life. For this He looses our tongues to speak plainly. For this, we sing His praises. Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above ye heavenly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.+ In Nomine Iesu +

Subject: Pillar 4: The Prayers Speaker or Performer: Pr. Lovett Scripture Passage(s): Luke 11:1-13 Date of Delivery: December 21, 2011 + On The Prayers +In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ doctrine, and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers.”There you have the four pillars of the Christian community: the apostolic doctrine, the offering, the Lord’s Supper, and the prayers. This evening we will take a look at the Prayers of the community of Jesus, the Christian Church.A lot could be said about prayer. What it is; why it is, and so forth. The psalms are prayers; good prayers that you would do well to pray daily and hourly and learn by heart. Just as Jesus prayed them. Prayers are certainly more than wishes, but they are also more than simple askance, too. They are not “our conversation with God” but are more pointedly are listening to God. For when we pray for whatever it is we pray for, the prayer is not pleasing to God if we do not listen for His voice in answer. But when we read that those who devoted themselves to the apostolic doctrine, the fellowship, and the breaking of bread also were together for the Prayers, we know that these prayers are more than individual prayers of the saints, but is the single voice of the community of Jesus, those baptized and taught by the apostles.The first and chief prayer of the community of Jesus, the Church, is the very prayer our Lord teaches us to pray, the Our Father. When we pray this prayer we are praying Jesus’ prayer. We are praying to Jesus’ heavenly Father who, by our adoption through Baptism and the work of the Spirit, becomes our Father. He is our true Father and we are His true children. And the petitions we ask of Him we ask asHis children, trusting in His mercy and love for us through Jesus, our brother and the head of the Church.The Our Father is not vain repetition, any more than saying thank you to mom and dad every time they feed or clothe or comfort you is vain repetition. The Our Father is our chief prayer, the highest prayer, prayed from the lips of God Himself and given to us to pray.The 1st century Christian document, the Didache, which means “the teachings,” probably written by Clement of Rome who St. Paul references in several of his epistles, shows us that very early on the Our Father was tied to the Lord’s Supper. The way we have it in our liturgy is the way it’s been since the 1st century. It is prayed as part of the Verba, the Words of Institution, which are not narrative as much as they themselves are a prayer. They are a prayer of remembrance. Not remembrance akin to remembering the date of your wife’s birthday or your anniversary, but a remembrance more akin to participating in the memories of Thanksgiving or Christmas festivities by participating in them year after year.Every time you participate in your family’s rituals and customs on Thanksgiving or at family reunions, you are remembering all the previous ones. By participating, you are engaging in the first family reunion as well as the last. This is the type of remembrance in our Lord’s Supper when He says, “Do this in remembrance of me.”The Verba, then, the Words of Institution are not just narrative, saying again and again some formula that magically makes the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. The words are a prayer, a remembrance, an engaging in the Holy Meal and prayers of Jesus Himself who gave thanks to His heavenly Father. That’s why we call this holy meal the Eucharist. It is a thanksgiving. Not our thanksgiving, but Jesus’ thanksgiving. On the night when He was betrayed, Jesus gave thanks to the Father when He gave His disciples His body to eat and blood to drink. His thanksgiving is not lost to the pages of history, it is known. His thanksgiving was that God His Father was not going to let Him stay dead, but would raise Him up as He promised, “I will not let my Holy One see decay.”Jesus gave thanks that the bread and wine He distributes, which is His body and blood, are not dead and decaying, but are alive and life-giving. This is something to be thankful for! So that the Prayers in which the community of Jesus engages in are not simply the many prayers offered up by the saints for their varies needs and necessities, but the Prayers are the prayers offered to the Father by the Son in thanksgiving for the life bestowed, the glory given, and the kingdom gained.All of your prayers, from your table prayers to your bedtime prayers, to the prayers you shout in exclamation when trouble has landed in your lap or good has come your way – all your prayers flow from and to this great prayer, the prayer of thanksgiving offered by Jesus for all the Father’s benefits and mercy and love. The Prayers we join together in find their birth and their fulfillment in the Our Father, prayed in thanksgiving with the Words of Institution, to be for us a participation in the Feast that never ends.In Nomine Iesu+ Amen +

Christ was forsaken by men and especially by God His Father. The amazing truth of redemption is breathtaking. Although our view is severely limited this message grants a perspective from David's famous psalm.

Christ was forsaken by men and especially by God His Father. The amazing truth of redemption is breathtaking. Although our view is severely limited this message grants a perspective from David's famous psalm.