Podcasts about him jesus

This Christmas, many of us are carrying more than joy—stress, loss, unanswered questions, or a sense of distance from God.The heart of Christmas reminds us of this truth: God didn't wait for us to find Him—Jesus came to find us.In this message, we'll step into the Christmas story and see why worship is more than a song—it's a response to who Jesus is and what He's done. Through the stories of Mary and the Wise Men,we'll discover how worship turns chaos into calm, striving into trust, and emptiness into deep, lasting joy.You'll hear:Why Jesus is Immanuel—God with us, even in hard seasonsHow worship brings peace when life doesn't get easierWhy bowing our hearts before Jesus leads to freedom and restThis message is for anyone feeling tired, distant, or searching for something more this Christmas.Come and see. Come as you are. Come ready to bow your heart and worship Jesus.

St. Matthew 1:1-25 Why was the Son of God commanded to be named Jesus—the New Joshua? In this Advent reflection, Fr. Anthony shows how Christ fulfills Israel's story by conquering sin and death, and calls us to repentance so that we may enter the victory He has already won. --- Homily on the Name of Jesus Sunday before the Nativity In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. "They named Him Jesus, because He would deliver His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Names matter in Scripture. They are never accidental. A name reveals identity, vocation, and mission. And so when the angel commands that the Child be named Jesus, we are being told something essential about who He is and what He has come to do. The name Jesus is simply the Greek form of Joshua. And that is not incidental. So we should ask: Who was Joshua? And why did the angel of the Lord insist on that name? Joshua was the successor of Moses, the one chosen by God to lead His people when Moses could not. Long before Joshua's time, God had made a covenant with His people and promised them a land—a place of rest, inheritance, and blessing. But that promise had been obscured by centuries of slavery in Egypt, under pagan gods who claimed power but offered only bondage. God sent Moses to remind the people who they truly were: not slaves, but God's own people. Through signs and wonders, God revealed His power over Pharaoh and over the false gods of Egypt. The people were delivered. They were free. They were heading toward the Promised Land. And yet, because of their disobedience and unbelief, that generation—including Moses himself—was not worthy to enter the land. And so God appointed Joshua to do what Moses could not: to lead the next generation into the inheritance God had promised. Joshua defeated the enemies of God—not by his own strength, but by God's supernatural power—and led the people into the Promised Land. All of this matters, because it prepares us to understand the name of Jesus and the mission it announces. "They named Him Jesus, because He would deliver His people from their sins." Now consider the situation at the time of Christ's birth. In many ways, it looked very much like the time of Pharaoh. God's people were again under foreign rule, again surrounded by pagan power, again longing for deliverance. The prophets had promised a Messiah, and the people waited for one who would set them free. But here is the crucial difference: this Joshua would not come to conquer territory.  This Joshua would come to conquer the true enemy. Not Rome. Not armies. Not borders. But sin itself. In his homily on this Gospel reading, St. John Chrysostom says: "He did not say, 'He shall save His people from their enemies,' but 'from their sins,' showing that this is a greater and more fearful tyranny than any foreign power." (Homily on Matthew 2) And this is precisely why the Son of God had to be born as a child. In his homily on the Nativity, which, Lord willing, you will hear on Thursday, Chrysostom draws the connection between the Nativity and our salvation with striking clarity: "He became Son of Man, that He might make us sons of God. He took what was ours, that He might give us what was His." (Homily on the Nativity) Jesus is the New Joshua—not leading one people into one land, but opening the Kingdom of God to all who would receive Him. He conquers not by the sword, but by the Cross. He defeats not nations, but death itself. And we know how He did it. By obedience where Adam fell. By humility where pride ruled. By offering Himself fully to the Father, even unto death. As the Fathers remind us, the victory was not loud or coercive, but hidden and faithful—won through righteousness rather than force. So what, then, is our situation? It is tempting to compare our world to Egypt, or to the time of pagan occupation, and to imagine that we are still waiting for deliverance. After all, many of us know what it is like to feel tired, burdened, or trapped in patterns we cannot seem to break, even while outwardly everything appears fine. We live in a culture that constantly distracts us, that teaches us to manage our desires rather than heal them, and that quietly encourages us to accept forms of bondage as normal. Like God's people of old, we forget who we are and whom we belong to, and so we begin to live as though freedom were still far away. But the truth is far more sobering—and far more hopeful. We are not waiting for the Messiah. He has already come. If we live as slaves, it is not because Pharaoh rules us. It is because we have refused the Deliverer. Christ has already opened the doors of freedom. Advent is the season in which the Church calls us to turn back, to repent, and to remember who we are—so that we may step again into the life He has already given us. Christ lives within the heart of every believer. He comes into the midst of all who gather in His name. He is present here, now, in the Holy Liturgy—offering the same grace, the same power, the same deliverance. He delivers us from the death of sin and leads us into the true Promised Land: the life of the Kingdom, the inheritance of the saints, communion with God Himself. So let us give thanks for the Deliverer—Jesus, the New Joshua. Let us praise Him, trust Him, repent, and return to Him, so that we may join Him in His victory. And let us receive His supernatural grace and power here and now, as we prepare to welcome Him anew at His Nativity. [For in the end, all of us must decide: Am I a sinner – of whatever type; a fornicator, a gossip, a glutton, a miser, a coward, a bully – (are we a sinner) who occasionally does Christian things but repents and reverts to my chosen sinful form. -OR- Am I a Christian who occasionally falls into sin, repents, and reverts to his chosen path of holiness? If we truly are sinners who only play at being Christians - if we only play at being holy – then when the Lord comes looking for a place to be born and dwell, there will be no room in the worldly varmint-infested inn our heart for him to lay and He will leave us to wallow and drown in the bondage of our sin. -BUT- If we are Christians who fall into sin but truly repent, the cave of our hearts is swept clean and He will be pleased to be born in our hearts and His glory will shine within and even from us. Christ has come into the world to deliver us – how have we responded?] To Him be glory, together with His Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.  

In this message, Pastor Omar Ellison concludes a ten-week journey through the "Fear Not" series, offering a deep dive into how believers can resist the spirit of fear. He defines fear as an uneasy feeling or dread of "future evil" that may never happen, noting that anxiety is simply worry about a future that God has already secured. Using the story of Peter walking on water, Pastor Omar illustrates that fear's primary goal is to hijack your focus. When we look at the "boisterous winds" of our circumstances—finances, health, or relationships—we begin to sink. However, when we attend to the Word of God, we align our faith with His power. The teaching emphasizes that we must be proactive in building our faith during the "sunny days" so that we are prepared when the storms of life inevitably come. By setting our affections on things above and "considering Him" (Jesus) who endured the ultimate suffering, our earthly trials begin to lose their power over us. Key Points of the Teaching: -- Fear is a spirit, not just a feeling, and it does not come from God. According to 2 Timothy 1:7, God has given us power, love, and a sound mind instead. -- Anxiety is the fear of the future. We can overcome it by realizing that God has already gone before us and our future in Him is bright. -- Trust is a choice. When fear presents itself, we have the opportunity to either walk with that fear or make a conscious decision to trust in the Lord. -- Fear is after your focus. Just as Peter sank when he looked at the wind, we "sink" when we focus on our problems rather than on Jesus. -- Your "spiritual thermostat" must be set. We are called to set our affections on things above. When the "temperature" of our life drops due to trial, we must kick on our praise to bring our focus back to God. -- Consideration of Christ eliminates excuses. When we compare our trials to the suffering of Jesus, our problems lose their weight, allowing us to let go of bitterness and fear. Scriptures for Further Study: -- Psalms 27:1 -- Psalms 56:3-4 -- 2 Timothy 1:7 -- Matthew 14:27-31 -- Proverbs 4:20 -- Colossians 3:2 -- Hebrews 12:3 ******* Find more information on our website: https://www.saltandlightcovenant.com/

To those who trust in Him Jesus will say ‘come blessed of My Father receive the kingdom which is prepared for you.'

Delivered by Melissa Heidy from the Parish of Christ the King in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Rs psalm 72: 1-2.12-13.18-19; Matthew 1: 18-24.JOSEPH,AN EXPERT OF CRHRISTMAS Ourmeditation today is entitled Joseph, an Expert of Christmas. In theGospel of Matthew that we have just heard, an angel speaks to Joseph in a dreamand says: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.She is pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The child to be born through Mary—youmust name Him Jesus.” Josephwas surely disappointed and embarrassed when he learned that Mary was pregnant.To help him understand, God had a plan. He sent an angel who could explainGod's will wisely. From the very beginning, the angel gained Joseph's attentionby calling him a descendant of David. By reminding Joseph of his connection tothe great King David, the angel showed him that he had a specialresponsibility. Joseph understood that he must obey and follow God's plan. Wehuman beings are often like this as well. When the name of a respected or holyperson is mentioned, we are more willing to listen and change our minds. We aretaught to follow the examples of great, noble, and holy people. When we aretempted to do something wrong, their example helps us reconsider our decisions. Inthis way, Joseph is truly an expert of Christmas. He teaches us how to evaluateourselves and remain faithful. A few days ago, we celebrated Gaudete Sunday.May the joy of Christmas not distract us from what the most important thing is—thatour hearts and spirits need to be purified. Our joy must be accompanied byobedience to God, so that we are not led into temptation. Josephis a true guide for Christmas. He teaches us to take risks for what is rightand to remain faithful to the right decisions. As individuals, families, andcommunities, we will make choices as we celebrate Christmas and the New Year.May our decisions strengthen our faith. Even if there are risks, may theyalways lead us closer to God. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Amen. Let uspray. In the name of the Father…O Lord,help us imitate Saint Joseph as we prepare for Christmas. Help us remainfaithful and obedient to You.Glory be tothe Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…In the name of theFather…

The angel Gabriel appeared to young Mary with a surprise announcement; (loose translation), “You're going to have a baby, it's a boy, you are to name Him Jesus, and this will happen without you knowing a man.” Can you imagine? Why the name Jesus? Because Jesus means “Savior” or “He saves.” Jesus lived up to his assigned name in the fullest way on Good Friday, and today, the Name above all other names continues His reign for all eternity. Jesus. Our dear Savior. Title: “Baby Names”

Today’s Topics: Joshua Charles joins Terry for Friday with the Fathers 1) Gospel – Luke 1:26-38 – The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2, 3, 4) Terry and Joshua discuss miracle stories of Early Father of the Church,  Saint Augustine

These days, having a child out of wedlock is pretty much a valid lifestyle choice in many cultures. I'm not saying that it's right, just that that's how it's perceived. But back in Jesus' day … man it was a huge scandal. Seriously.   A MISCONCEPTION Well, here we are hurtling towards Christmas. You know, it's interesting when you look at the candy cane – you know that simple little cane with the white and then the three small stripes and then the big stripe – and we think of it as a candy cane, but the confectioner who first created it, didn't create it as a candy cane. He created it as a "J" for Jesus and the white was there to symbolise the holiness of God and the three small stripes were there to symbolise the stripes on His back when He was beaten and the one thick stripe, the red stripe was there to symbolise the blood of Jesus. Isn't it funny how we take symbols to do with Christmas and a whole bunch of other things and we change their meaning – we re-interpret them – and I think it's really true of this thing that we call Christmas. You know, as I look at my four years studying at Bible College, the most profound thing that I learned was this – that theologians, and I can class myself as one of those – we love to take the stories of God in the Bible and snip them up and put them in little piles which we call doctrines. You know, the doctrine of the Trinity; the doctrine of original sin; the doctrine of the incarnation and so we think, "WOW, you know, I've sorted out God; I've got Him is little piles; I have a systematic theology and now I understand God." Well, in a sense that's good, because it's good to know what we believe and why we believe it and look at the whole council of God in His Word. But you know something, if that's all we do, I think maybe, we missed the point because God's chosen way of revealing Himself to us is mostly through stories. Stories throughout history of His engagement with His chosen people, Israel, and then in the New Testament, stories of His new promise; stories of His grace as the church grew out of a revelation of God through Jesus Christ. God speaks to us through His story in history and to me that's the most profound insight that I got after four years of Bible College. And no where is that more true than in Jesus. John in his Gospel calls Jesus the Word, "In the beginning was the Word." Jesus is God talking to us saying, "This is what I'm like." Jesus is a message in a bottle. And Jesus is unique – He is the only person in history, as the Son of God, who could have chosen the place, the time and the circumstances of His birth. Let's just think about that for a minute. It's true isn't it? If Jesus is who He says He is – the Son of God – He is the only person in history that could have chosen the circumstances of His birth. Well, if that's true; if it was a deliberate choice, what is God saying to us about Himself through the manner in which Jesus came into the world, through this story that we now call Christmas. See, it's not some neat doctrine; it's not some neat theology of the incarnation. We learn about Christmas through the stories in Matthew and Mark and Luke and John and I guess, in a sense, many of us know them backwards. But Matthew begins, after the great, long genealogy that we looked at the other week – Matthew now begins with this story – if you've got a Bible, grab it, open it – we are going to Matthew, chapter 1, beginning at verse 18. It says this: "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way." So in other words, here's the story. "When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he decided to do that, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child conceived in her is from God the Holy Spirit. She will bear you a son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "look the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us". When Joseph awoke from the sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son and he named Him Jesus." So here's Mary, pregnant from the Holy Spirit. How? Well, Luke tells us the angel appeared to her and said, "Fear not!" Have you ever seen a Christmas card with "Fear not!" plastered across the front? Not really! So how to you think Mary felt? She gets spoken to by an angel; she gets told not to be afraid, "you're going to be pregnant because God the Holy Spirit is going to make you pregnant." Now how do you think it went when Mary told Joseph? Here's this single teenage girl from this place called Nazareth; Nowheresville and she wanders in with her belly swollen and she says to her fiancee, "Well, Joe, it's like this – I didn't sleep with anyone – God did this!" WOW! Would you believe her? Joseph didn't – he planned to dismiss her quietly because this was a society where getting pregnant out of wedlock was a disgraceful thing. I mean, the Hebrew law commanded the women who were caught in adultery be stoned to death so the social context was that it wasn't a life style choice; it was something that you stoned someone to death for. But Joseph has a dream. Remember he doesn't have a New Testament; he doesn't know how it's going to turn out. He has this subjective thing called a dream and even if it were true, what incredible pain. How many times would Mary have gone over the angel's words? How many times do you think Joseph would be second guessing his dream? How breathtakingly reckless was God to allow the whole future of humanity to hang on the responses of these two poorly educated, hapless, rural teenagers? I mean, we know Him as Lord, the Christ, the Son of God but His parents and family friends; Mary's little illegitimate baby; the bastard; the stigma. Yet that's what Jesus chose for Himself. That's why I've called this message, "The Illegitimate God". You and I, we read this story of Christmas with a sense of wander and awe and we know how it ended. Then, back then and there? Well, for them it was a scandal; it was a fantasy; it was, "Is God really doing this?"   SOME VISITORS So here we are looking at this story of Christmas – firstly, the way that this baby was conceived – the sense of scandal that would have followed Him around when He was a little child – but then He was born into this brutal, political climate. Let's read on the story; this space and time and situation that God chose for His Son to be born into. We are going to pick it up in Matthew, chapter 2, beginning at verse 1: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, "Where is this child that has been born the King of the Jews, because we observed His star at it's rising and we have come to pay homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened and all Jerusalem with him. And calling together all the chief priests and the scribes and the people, he enquired of them, 'where the Messiah was to be born?' And they told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, "And you Bethlehem in the land of Judea, are by no means the least amongst the rulers of Judea, for from you shall come a ruler who is to be the Shepherd of His people, Israel." And the story goes on that Herod secretly called for the wise men and he told them, "Go and find this Jesus and come and tell me", because he wanted to kill Jesus. We look at the politics of Palestine and Israel today – the mess – there seems to be no solution – they just keep shooting each other and blowing each other up. Back then it wasn't much different! You had a brutal Roman empire and the Roman Emperor ruled over a whole bunch of countries including this little country called Israel. And under him you had a despot; an Herodian King. And then this Herodian dynasty – we know about Herod – they were sort of half breeds and they were illegitimate and they were in cahoots with the Romans – together they oppressed the people. The religious leaders were part of all that and there was this sense of hopelessness amongst the people. It was every bit as messy then as it is today. And into this malaise is born Jesus, the Son of God and then these wise men – these Magi (a Magi was an astrologer; a sooth sayer). All of this was forbidden in the Old Testament – people who worshipped the stars were to be stoned to death. And they came from where? From the East; from Babylon – eighty kilometres south of what today is Baghdad. And remember, Babylon was a place of horror and evil for first century Israelites because that's where in 587 and 586 BC they were exiled into slavery. So God invites the Magi; these astrologers from hell to come to the birth of His Son and to worship Him. If you and I were God would we have invited them? I don't think so. And yet God doesn't just invite them but how does He go and get them from Babylon to Bethlehem? Does He send them a prophet? Does He send them John the Baptist? Does He send them a letter? Does He send them the Scriptures? He doesn't do any of those, He sends them a star. You see, God chooses a symbol that they can understand and follow and brings them to worship this child. Babylon who once destroyed the temple and exiled the chosen people is now worshipping the true God. God may well have hated their sin but He loved them much more that He hated their sin. And then one night in a dream – if you flick over the page to Matthew, chapter 2, beginning at verse 13 – Joseph has another dream, it says this: Now after the Magi had left, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and says: "Get up and take this child and His mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child and destroy Him. So Joseph got up, took the child and His mother by night and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord, through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I have called My Son." See, here we go again – Joseph is having another dream – this subjective thing. It's not like he sits down and he reads the New Testament; he reads the Old Testament and God speaks to him through His Word. No, God spoke to Joseph through a dream and so Joseph and Mary and Jesus all became refugees. They had no rights; they had no land; they had no possessions; they were fleeing for their lives. There are thirty two point nine million refugees in the world today. That's grown by almost fifty percent in just twelve months. Jesus, the Son of God becomes a refugee. How long? What would they live on? Where would they live? Where would they go? Would they be safe? They had to endure hardship for the first few years of His little life. Would you or I, if we were God, have put our son through this? And you read on in Matthew, chapter 2, verses 16 to 18. "When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. This massacre of the infants – have you ever seen a Christmas card about the massacre of the infants? See, we turn Christmas into this little pantomime, but the birth of Jesus into this world; the time when God stepped into this world and became man was a brutal time; it was a tough time and it was the time God chose for His Son. I mean, today we see suicide bombers in the Middle East and the shelling of targets and the shooting by snipers – imagine if you added to that the slaughter of all the children under two in and around Bethlehem – you don't see that on a Christmas card do you? What was God thinking by sending His Son into such a mess?   SO WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT GOD? And then of course, after they returned from Egypt, Jesus and His family moved to Nazareth – you can read it in Matthew, chapter 2, beginning at verse 19. When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up and take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel for those who are seeking the child's life are now dead. So Joseph got up, took the child and His mother and he went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea, in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and after being warned in a dream, he went to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: "He will be called a Nazarene." God allowed, indeed, constructed the circumstances so that the Son of God would grow up in the backblocks of nowhere – in Nazareth. Does anything good come out of Nazareth? And He became a carpenter; not the King; not the head of theology at Jerusalem seminary; not the chief grand whatever in the synagogue or the temple – a lowly carpenter. So what do we learn about God? If God chose the circumstances into which Jesus would be born; if He chose these two young teenagers; if He chose the stable in Bethlehem; if He chose Herod and the persecution and the flight, what does that tells us about God? If Jesus came to reveal God to us, what do we learn about God from the first Christmas? When you read through the Old Testament about God you see His sovereignty; His power; His hugeness; His transcendence. Isaiah says: To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal," says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see who created all these stars. See, God is great. Here at Christmas we see this greatness reduced to the size of the single fertilised egg – not even visible to the human eye. Born in the stable with the stench of cow dung and urine on the floor, hunted down, a refugee, the massacre of these infants around Him and then slinking back to Nazareth to eek out an ignominious existence as a carpenter, relying on two uneducated teenage bumpkins for safety and nurture – with always the hint of scandal – Mary's little illegitimate child. Well may God be great but hang on a minute, when you look at Christmas, my God is also small. My God is also humble. If you look at this theological doctrine of incarnation, Jesus the Son of God and the Son of Man – He's different to us yet He's the same as us. But if we really ask ourselves the question, we would mostly conclude that Jesus was fundamentally different from you and me. But like Luther, I believe that if we are even to begin to understand what God is saying in Jesus, we have to draw the conclusion that Jesus is God, deep graven into the flesh. Like the candy cane – on the one hand, white and pure and blameless and different, but with a red stripe; with the blood, suffering like us, He lived, He suffered, He cried, He struggled, like us. That's the point of Christmas; that's the point of Jesus being born into these brutal circumstances, in such humble surrounds. This is God saying, "Jesus is like us". We can have the best doctrine of the incarnation and completely miss the point. God is humble. He shows us that in a profound way at Christmas. He chose the time. He chose the circumstances. He chose the stable and the animals in it. He connects with us. That's why Jesus says later in Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28: Come to Me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest in your souls." And later in John, chapter 16, verse 33: "I've said these things to you that in Me you might have peace for in this world you will have tribulations but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." What a contradiction! God, the sovereign God who created all the universe through Jesus, all things that were created were, in fact, created. And yet He calls Himself humble; He makes Himself low at Christmas time. But then everything about Jesus is a contradiction. On the one hand He's the Lion of Judah; on the other hand He's the Lamb of God. When I look at the Christmas story – just the way it is, just plain and simple – look at the circumstances that Jesus was born into, you know what I see? I see something that rings true; I see an authenticity; I see a Jesus who comes humbly into this world and then says, "Come to Me because I'm gentle, I'm humble of heart." I see a Jesus who was prepared to be a refugee; who is prepared to be under threat of death. It's an amazing thing, Christmas and you know, if we just look at it as a pantomime; if we just sing the wonderful little songs and still look at it as children, I think we miss the point. God chose an amazing time for Jesus to be born and we look at Christmas by knowing how it all ended up. We've read the whole New Testament; we have the benefit of knowing that He died and rose again and the church grew up out of that and two thousand years on, you know, we are living the life. So we look back at Christmas through a whole bunch of history and stuff that those people, at that time, simply didn't have. Philip Yancey sums it up this way – I love what he says. This is what he writes: "He is the image of the invisible God; the first born over all creation," an apostle would later write, "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together," But the few eye witnesses on Christmas night saw none of those things. They saw an infant struggling to work never before used lungs. It's the story of a God who steps out of heaven, powerful, transcendent, able to choose anything He wants – He chooses Mary and Joseph; He chooses a stable; He chooses for His Son to become a refugee; He chooses for His Son to grow up in Nazareth as a carpenter. God speaks to us through this Christmas story. God went to extraordinary lengths to say this: "I am humble of heart. I have come to be one of you. I have come to walk in your shoes, in your skin, to experience all the things that you experience." It's the message of Christmas. A God who reaches out in the most amazing way; in the most startling way; in a way that we would never have done if we were God – and speaks to us His love and His desire to have a relationship with us. That is what Christmas is about.

Sermon Summary Title: Fall on Your Knees Speaker: Nick Lugg Context: A Christmas message exploring the true cost and response required by the coming of Jesus. Overview: In this message, Nick Lugg challenges the congregation to move past the sentimental traditions of Christmas and confront the reality of who Jesus is. Referencing the line "Fall on your knees" from O Holy Night, the sermon asks a central question: "What is Jesus worth to you?" Key Themes: Response is Mandatory: Just like the Shepherds, Wise Men, and King Herod, no one can remain neutral to Jesus. His presence demands a response—either worship or resistance. Worship as Surrender: True worship isn't just singing songs; it is a life posture of "falling on your knees." Nick uses the imagery of the 24 Elders in Revelation casting down their crowns to illustrate surrendering our status, identity, and security to God. Jesus is Central, Not an Add-on: The sermon warns against treating Jesus like an "interior decorator" who just enhances our existing lives. Instead, He often comes as a "wrecking ball," dismantling our wrong priorities to rebuild us on a better foundation. The Call to Re-evaluate: Listeners are urged to identify what "crowns" they are holding onto—career, reputation, comfort, or sin—and to determine if those things are worth more to them than Jesus. Audio Transcript [00:00] Nick Lugg: Good morning. Congregation: Good morning. Nick Lugg: Happy Christmas. Not quite there. We, um... Oh look, it's there. Because it's Christmas we are going to do PowerPoint. Now, this is not my primary skill set, so it's a bit like rubbing your stomach, patting your head, and standing on a beach ball all at the same time. So I'm hoping to remember to press the button at the right time. [00:26] Our prayer and our desire all the time—and always has been every Christmas—is to enjoy the Christmas season, to enjoy the atmosphere, to enjoy all that Christmas is to us. But at the same time, by God's grace, crack it open and get to the reality of what God is wanting to say to us each and every time. We can't be reduced to people that just do traditions. That just do, um, repeat—you know, we just get on rinse and repeat every year. Same thing: bring out the same songs, do the same things, go through the same motions. Because God has always got something fresh to say to us. [01:05] And that's why we've had this mini-series over Christmas where we've, uh... the eagle-eyed amongst you will know that it's been related to the carol O Holy Night. The first one—I think they were slightly in the wrong order, but it doesn't matter because we've got grace—but the first one Johnny spoke was "A weary world rejoices." And then I think Andy, uh, last week was speaking on "The thrill of hope." [01:32] And it's just those... just those lines have so much relevance and so much resonance for us in the world that we live in and the lives that we are leading. A weary world rejoices. But yet, and behind everything that we seek to do as a church, and everything we seek to begin, is to bring that thrill of hope. But as the curtains open, and as heaven is drawn back, and as we begin to see all that is going on behind Christmas, there is also the response, which is: Fall on your knees. [02:07] And the question this morning: What is Jesus worth to you? What is Jesus worth to me? That if we don't come out of Christmas with a greater sense... You know, we've sung these majestic carols—Adore, come let us adore, let's worship Him, and all the other lines that I've forgotten. You know, they—but they are majestic, honestly. But... you know, we adore Him. But if we don't actually adore Him, if we don't actually wrestle with the question: What does, therefore, it mean that He's worth to me? How does His coming—Christmas, the coming of Christ—how does His coming impact my life? How does it change the shape and the way that I think and the way that I act and the way that I live this life that He's given me? [02:54] What is Jesus worth to me? Oh look... [clicks clicker]. So the real story of Christmas, we say it every year, it's not sentimental, is it? But it's one of humility. Anonymity. Struggle. And the telling and the retelling of the story of Mary and Joseph and all that they went through doesn't really ever quite connect and communicate what it must have been like for them to experience what they experienced. [03:22] There was pain. Discomfort. Fear. Anxiety, no doubt. Stress. Uncertainty. Tears. Maybe there were short tempers. There were... there were all sorts of things going on that we would instantly relate to, and yet we don't see on the Christmas cards. But it's into that world, not the Christmas card world, that Jesus came. Jesus came to our world. We might think, "Well, it was all right, you know, Christmas was just so lovely and everything was just so beautiful and there was like shining tinsel and angels and shepherds and it's all so peaceful and everything else on the Christmas cards." But what about us? What about Sheffield? What about Jordanthorpe, Batemoor? What about where I live? What about my background? What about my world? Jesus came into that world. [04:15] And everyone who encountered Jesus had to respond. And the question for us today is the same. As we ask "What is Jesus worth to me?", how do I respond to Him? How do I respond to the fact that He has come? Not just come to the world, not just come to all people—He's come into my life. How do I respond, therefore, to this majestic appearance? [04:42] He's the Son of God. [Struggles with clicker] Is that the one? This is where it all goes wrong, you see. Anyway, it don't matter... [Adjusts slides]. He comes on the margins of society. He's ignored by society. He's unnoticed by society. He's born away from comfort and privilege. The Bible tells us in Philippians that He, though being in very nature God, He didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped, but He came down, took on the very nature of a servant. He took the opposite of what we would think somebody of His power and authority had. [05:22] I was... saw an article or a video report about Air Force One—the President of the United States' plane. You know how when it flies around, all the preparations and all the protection that it has, you know, fighter jet escorts and all of that. None of that for Jesus. But even as a baby, before He ever taught anything, before He said anything—He just cried like babies do—before He healed anyone, before He performed a miracle, He provoked profound responses. [05:54] You know, the first miracle we read about was when He turned water into wine at a wedding. He was an adult. But before all of that, the story of Christmas is about the responses that people made to who He was. Not what He did. Who He is is what makes a difference in our lives and causes us to respond. [06:14] And so we have the Shepherds. Ordinary people. Caught in their routines. But shaken awake by God to say: "Good news of great joy for all the earth, a Savior is born." Pointing the way to Him. And so they got up from their routine, they got up from their humdrum existence, and they left everything to go and see Him, to go and worship Him. [06:37] The Wise Men. Men of influence and education. They were willing to travel hundreds of miles and bring costly gifts because He was worth it. That's not an easy thing to do. It's not easy to travel. You might think it's easy... you know, even traveling these days, going to Zambia or going to Nepal, it's a... it's a consideration. Even just sitting still doing nothing on a plane. Let alone getting on a camel and going hundreds and hundreds of miles. But they considered that they needed to respond to what they had heard and what they had seen. [07:11] There was King Herod. He was a king with wealth and power and influence and all the things that the world could give him. And yet he saw Jesus as a threat and said He's worth eliminating. He wanted... he responded to Jesus. There's no neutrality. One baby, three responses, but everyone responds. There is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus. When He comes into our world, there is no neutrality for us today. When He comes into... we have to respond. We have to ask: What does His coming demand of me? What is He worth to me? What do I do... what do I do about His coming? [07:51] Jesus demands a response. His very presence draws a response from our hearts. Or it should do. Because there is no neutral. No matter how much we want to live in neutral gear. No matter how much we want to be observers and spectators of all of this and just say, "Oh well, you know, we'll see how it goes." Jesus demands a response. And His very presence forces a collision with our priorities. He comes into our hearts. [08:19] I remember that experience. I've given my testimony before, but I remember how I was like a spectator. I was somebody who was beginning to think, when I was 17 years old, and thinking, "Oh yeah, I think I believe in Jesus. I think He's real. I think..." and I went through all of that process for a year. But at that moment that I asked Him to come into my life—BANG—there was that explosion. Things happened. Everything changed shape in my life, in my priorities, in my understanding, in the values. All of that had to be reassessed. [08:50] When Jesus comes into our world, everything has to be reassessed. When He steps into someone's world... when He steps into your world... you cannot carry on as before. I cannot carry on just as before. Everything that we hold dear. Everything that we love. Everything that shapes our identity, that makes us say, "Well this is who I am." Jesus confronts it. He collides with it. Causes it to change shape permanently and forever. [09:20] Not just an emotional moment where we just say, "Oh I think I believe in Jesus now." But actually He physically comes... and He comes into our hearts, He changes the shape of everything from the inside out. Everything that commands our time, our energy, our attention has to be reassessed in the light of Jesus coming. All of it challenged by that one question: Is it worth more to me than Jesus? [09:44] I remember when I was on a mission trip one time in Russia—in the old Soviet Union actually, I can say it now, we had to keep it secret in those days. But, um, we went and there was somebody that was really taken with the Gospel message and they were listening to it all. And they were saying to the person who was sharing with them, they said, "But if I become a Christian though, do I have to... do I have to stop smoking?" And the person was like getting into a bit of a twist, you know, "Oh well, you know, God understands us and God doesn't judge..." and trying to explain it all. [10:14] And then there was this evangelist guy that was with us who was much more to the point. He just came in and said, "Yes. You do." He said, "And if you ask me if I believe in Jesus, do I have to stop wearing blue jeans? I tell you: Yes, you do." He said, "Because it's not about the smoking, it's not about the blue jeans, it's not about the whatever. But the very fact that you're asking that question means that there is a confrontation with what you want. With what you hold dear. Is it worth more to you than Jesus? Give it up! Change it! Change shape!" That's what happened at Christmas. Jesus came into our lives. And so those little questions that come in the light of Jesus... they should become irrelevant. "Can I still do this? Can I still do that?" Why are you asking those questions? Jesus is worth more than all of it. [10:59] And so we have to reassess our priorities. That's what happened at Christmas. So the Shepherds left their livelihood. They left... presumably they left the sheep... couldn't have taken all the sheep to see Jesus, could they? The Wise Men gave their treasure. Herod protected his throne. And we do the same. When Jesus comes, we have to respond. Either we worship, or we resist. There is no neutrality. [11:27] Worship is more than a song. "For a song in itself is not what you have required." And the rest of it. It's not just what happens on a Sunday, is it? We enjoy it. We enjoy the worship. We enjoy our singing. But we call it "worship," we label it "worship," and yet there is so much more to worship. Worship is not an event. Worship is not 30 minutes. Worship is a life posture. It's a life position. It's a life decision that says: "Come what may, Jesus, you are worth it. You are worth my life. You are worth everything I have, everything I can give you." [12:02] I remember a friend of mine who was on mission in India, and he took a team to India. And these sort of young, enthusiastic people that were there, and they encountered a church that was quite different to the type of lively, charismatic church they were involved in. And yet this church was full of people that had been imprisoned for their faith, had been beaten up for their faith, had been through all sorts of struggle. And this bright-eyed young evangelist person said to the guy who was leading the team, he said, "They don't seem to know much about worship, do they?" [12:35] And he said, "Well, it depends what you mean by worship. If you mean music and singing and songs, then maybe they don't know... you know, all of that. But there's an awful lot that they do know about giving their entire life for Jesus and saying: You are worth everything that I can give you." Worship says you are more than anything else in my life. The old carol says: "What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet what can I give Him? Give Him my heart." [13:12] So there isn't anything we can give that impresses Jesus. There isn't anything that He says, "Oh, I think I quite like..."—whether it's our blue jeans or our cigarettes or whatever. It's not about what we give up in that sense. But what we give Him. We give Him our trust. We give Him our obedience. We give Him our love. We give Him our hearts. And that is a whole life thing. That's something that brings a change from the start, and it goes through year after year after year. It's where Christianity is not a flash in the pan. It's not something that we do for a season and then we move on to something else. It's that if truly Jesus has come into our hearts, things have changed. Our priorities have changed. Our vision has changed. Our values have changed. Everything changes and it can't change back. [13:58] But our hearts are shaped, aren't they, by our culture. By comfort. By self-protection. And so we're tempted to use Jesus as an add-on. As a "life enhancer." Someone who fits in with our lives. Instead of someone who rearranges our lives. We treat Him a bit like an interior decorator. Comes in and, you know, tells us what color curtains to have and how to enhance the arrangement of our furniture to give us the best energy and all of that sort of thing. And yet, when He turns up with His hard hat on and a crane with a wrecking ball to come and knock the whole thing down, we don't like that. [14:38] His arrival demands more. And so the only response that we can give Him is to fall on our knees. One day in eternity, scripture says, the 24 Elders fall down and worship. They lay their crowns before the throne. They lay their crowns. In many translations, they take their crowns and they cast them. They throw them. They throw them down at the feet of Jesus. Why do they do that? Why the crowns? Because the crown is a symbol. The crown is a symbol of their identity. Their status. Their achievements. Their authority. Whatever gives their life value in the eyes of others. [15:20] We love it, don't we? Medals and gongs and crowns and uniforms and achievements and things that we can say about who we are and what we've done and what we've achieved. All of that constitutes our crown. And yet when they were in the presence of Jesus, they fell down and worshipped and they lay their crowns before the throne. Say: "Everything that I am, Lord God... have it. Whatever I think I am, You take it, Lord. Because it's... YOU are worth more than that." [15:52] Fall down on your knees. Nothing I have. Nothing I achieve. Nothing that defines me comes close to the value of Jesus. And that's what falling on our knees means. So we let Him question what we hold onto. We let Him reorder what we value. Rather than let's have a discussion about it—"Lord, I think, you know, do a trade, do a deal. Maybe I can keep some of this... you can have this, but I'll have that." It's a complete, radical reorganization, reordering of everything that is valuable to us. [16:26] There are things that define our lives wrongly. Things that we would say about ourselves if somebody asked us, "Well this is what I am. This is why I am like I am. This is what has made me to be like I am." And we settle into that because we think, "Well, this is me. This is just how I am made. This is how I am wired." What if Jesus comes in and dismantles the things that wrongly define us? What if He wants to reshape and rebuild and change our outlook and change our vision of ourselves and change our vision of others and change our vision of the world? He can do that. And He does that as He comes into our hearts. [17:03] Let Him replace our plans with His purposes. What is it that You want, Lord, in my life? What is it that You want in our life? What is it that You want for us as a church? Jesus. Because You are worth it. Whatever we think that we might be or we might achieve or we might... what status we might have... we lay it all before Jesus and say we fall on our knees before You, Lord. Have Your way among us. Fill us, God, with Your Spirit. Not only just to give us an experience that blesses us, but an experience that changes us from the inside out. That reshapes us. That demolishes us and rebuilds us. [17:42] Let Him confront our comforts. The things that give us security. The things that we hold onto. All of those things. Like I said, He's not an interior decorator. Someone making suggestions to make life better. But our worship says: "Do whatever You need to do, Lord, because I am Yours." [18:02] And so, as we fall on our knees, we re-evaluate what we treasure. Ask yourself a question: What in my life currently holds a higher value than Jesus? It's a tough question. And it's not coming from the pulpit saying "Ask yourself!"—pointing back at me—ask yourself. There's so much that takes place in our lives, so much that is established in our lives that is... takes the place of Jesus. So re-evaluate what we treasure. Our comfort. Our time. Our reputation. Our resources. A career. Relationship. Control. A painful identity I don't want to let go of. A sin that I cling to. [18:50] All of that can form a crown. That Jesus demands a response. That we know that we are holding onto those things, but when we come into His presence, we know there has to be a response. There is no neutrality. There's no "Oh, well I think I'll take it or leave it" or "I think I'll wait until next month and see how I feel then." No. When we meet Jesus, there has to be that change. There has to be that response. There has to be that worship. [19:14] And so, take one thing today that has become a crown you hold tightly and consciously place it before Jesus. What is it in your life this morning that you know... Ask God to reveal to you, to show you, what is it that you hold that you can actually... that you need to throw before Him? You need to surrender it. And tell Him: "Jesus, You are worth more than this. All my life I've held onto this thing. All my life this has defined me. All my life this has been the one thing that I don't want to let go of. But Jesus, You are worth more than all of that. And I lay it before You today." There's an opportunity today to lay these things before the feet of Jesus. [19:54] Secondly, reorient our priorities around Him. What are our priorities in life? Does our lifestyle reflect the value of Jesus? The one we adore? The one we sing about? What about the application of that worship? Do we adore Him so much so that our decisions honor Him? Our schedule and our priorities reflect His importance? Our giving, our serving, our obedience demonstrate that He is worth it? Not only to Him, but to anybody that looks at our lives, they say, "No, this person values Jesus more than anything." [20:30] Does our worship cost us anything? Or is it just convenient? Those who responded to Jesus right back at the beginning, in the beginning of the Christmas story—their worship cost them. It took something out of them. It tired them. It stressed them. It pained them. But it was worth it because they were coming to Jesus. [20:53] And so think about an area of life where Jesus has been an add-on. Where we've just invited Him and said, "I like the fact that You're in my life, Jesus, and perhaps You can help me. Give me a little bit of power here and there just to help me through a few things, over a few humps. But don't get too much involved. Don't get too nosey into what's going on. Because I think... I think You know Your place, Jesus." Is He an add-on? Or is He central? [21:18] That's the challenge as we go forward. Not about "Can we raise enough money for 146?" or "Can we, you know, what do we do about this or that?" What's the practical things to do with the growth of a church? It's about as we grow as a community, will we actually have Him in the center of everything that we are and everything that we do? Will He be our first and our last thought in every decision that we make? How does this honor Him? How does this reflect His worth? How does this reflect His value? Because then the church will grow with people that will also know that Jesus is the priority. Jesus is the center. Jesus is the focus. [21:55] And thirdly, reopen our heart to encounter Him. Some of these questions can be at the first stage of our faith... you know, "What's Jesus worth?" But in actual fact, you can have that radical encounter with Jesus, you can have that moment where you know that you've given your all to Him... but five years, ten years, fifteen years down the line, things can look different. You can get jaded. You can get settled into "routine Christianity." Familiar. Predictable. Safe. Christmas is familiar, predictable, safe. But Jesus is coming. Jesus comes into our lives and challenges our priorities. [22:38] And so He's calling us to meet Him again. And for those of us that have become dulled and routine and predictable and safe, there is still that call from Jesus to say: Will you actually reorient? Will you actually re-evaluate? Will you actually reopen your heart to encounter me again? Not emotionally or artificially, but deeply. Pray: "Lord, show me Your worth again. Disrupt me if You must. Call me out of my routine and lead me back to worship." [23:09] And so there's a challenge. Will you worship Him now—today, this morning—and will you worship Him forever? Because it's not sentiment, it's transformation. Christmas is sentimental. It pulls at our emotions. It pulls at our nostalgia. If you ever spend any time on Instagram, these videos come up of what it used to be like in the 80s... I know some of you are thinking "What's the 80s?" But they were good. Christmas was good. It was sentimental and it was emotional and you've got all sorts of childhood memories from there. Probably go a little bit back before the 80s as well, but we won't go there. [23:49] But Christmas is sentimental. But Jesus is transformational. The coming of Jesus transforms. He didn't come to give us sentiment. He didn't come to give us emotion. He's not Father Christmas. But He did come to change everything. And so when the Shepherds saw Him, they ran to Him. When the Wise Men saw His worth, they knelt before Him. When the Elders see His worth, they throw their crowns down in front of Him. And when we see Him, what do we do? Fall on our knees. [24:26] And so today the question isn't simply "Do you believe in Jesus?", but "What is He worth to you?" Will you worship Him not just now, but forever? Will you lay your crown before Him? Will you allow His presence to rearrange your life? Reshape you. Not just now, but forever. For the rest of your life. And into eternity. That Jesus will be worth it. What a terrible thing to just touch the surface of what it means to know Jesus and then arrive in eternity and think, "Oh, that's what it was all about." That we would know Jesus now. This Christmas, may we truly see Him. And when we see Him, fall on our knees. Amen. [25:12] Nick Lugg: Jonathan, are you there? Oh, you're there. The worship team can come back, please.

Send us a text“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' … When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her for his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son; and he named Him Jesus” (Matthew 1:20-25).Freshly written and sent out immediately "morning by morning" from the morning prayer time of Tommy Hays each day.God bless you and you have a great day!—Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministrieshttp://messiah-ministries.org

Today’s Topics: Father Raymond of the Blessed Sacrament joins Terry 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel – Luke 1:26-38 – The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David his father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Memorial of Saint Saint , pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day

BIBLE STUDY| MIRACLES OF JESUS SERIES.|THE FIFTH MIRACLE OF JESUS pt.11| WALKING BEFORE GOD, COVENANT, IDENTITY & ETERNAL WITNESS|JESUS WALKING ON WATER| CHIMDI OHAHUNA Mark 4: 38 This power-packed session from Go Forward Conference 2025 goes further in revealing divine secrets from the clause, "AND THEY AWAKE HIM" . Time doesn't change tomorrow, change in decision does. Mistakes are very terrible bosses, if you allow them make you, it will make you to it's own taste. Unmake mistakes so it doesn't make you; don't let mistakes make you. Most of the time the questions that help us make the right decision in life are always very simple not complicated. We have the Holy Spirit to give us the right question, inform our hearts and empower us to do the right thing. To “awake Jesus” basically means you are deciding not to allow your mistakes make you. The prodigal son became poor while his father remained rich until he returned to his senses; when we go the route of mistakes we make it look as though Jesus is sleeping whereas He isn't sleeping we are the ones that need to make the right decision turning to Jesus. Sometimes, mistakes are unintended but don't let arrogance deny you the opportunity to be humble to receive mercy from God so the mistake doesn't make you. The disciples jogged Jesus when they awake Him…Jesus responded because He knew their hearts and the complexity of their hearts so he didn't respond based on their presentation. He responded to them in love because perfect love cast out fear. When you get to the point of being overwhelmed, Our Shepherd responds to our heart intention to ensure “though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, we fear no evil. Call on Jesus! Fear buffets, pressing a man on all sides. One 'fear not' from God's word each day keeps the devil away all year round (366 fear nots are in my the Bible) To awake is to stir up. Ps 35:23 Fear gives a wrong understanding of God.  Isa 42:13 God can stir up His jealousy. The disciples “awake Jesus” jogged Jesus with their hands to get His attention and action. Blind Bartimaeus jogged Jesus with his voice crying out to Him in desperation (Mark 10:46-52). We must jog Jesus Christ with our lives as New Creations by obtaining mercy. HEB 4: 16 ACTION POINTS 1.Disturb God with your prayer because you are not disturbing Him but do this in faith. 2.Always pray before, during and after you plan. Engage the hand of God before you engage your head, it will argument your head and work perfectly. 3.Do not allow your mistake make you rather unmake and correct them. 4.Obtain mercy and get the attention and action of God to help you and all that concerns you. Listen to this life transforming teaching now. Any questions arising from this study can be submitted to chimdiohahunaministry@gmail.com. Check our bio to know how to give your love offerings to the ministry. Grace to you! Jesus is Lord.

Luke 20:27-40 - There came to Him [Jesus] some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked Him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask Him any question.

“God sent His Son; they called Him Jesus…” The first few words of a beloved hymn. How thankful this world should be that God did so—His will and His plan through His Son for us.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 10th of October, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to 1 Peter 5:7: ”Casting your care upon Him (Jesus) for He cares for you.” Why? Because we cannot carry it on our own. I'm talking to somebody who is very tired at the moment, who is very weary, heading up a large organisation, maybe a farming business or a merchandise business, or a position in an organisation that takes all of your time, and it is wearing you out. The Lord says, ”Stop it. I never meant it to be like that.” We cannot carry this responsibility completely on our own. “You've done well, you started well”, the Lord says. “You've built a huge organisation but now that same organisation is busy crushing you.”We see the illustration in Exodus 18, where Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses saw that Moses was literally wearing himself out, and the people. They were standing in large queues all day long for some help for answers to difficult situations. Jethro said, ”You must delegate to others.” I'm saying to you too madam. You cannot do it on your own. You have to get people to help you. Hand it over. You say, ”But they'll ruin it. My children will ruin it.” No they won't, you'll be surprised. How old were you when you started? Yes, you will have to pay school fees. That's how you learn. Did you not pay school fees? Did you not make mistakes? Of course you did. So did I, too many actually! Give your children a chance. Give that young aspiring executive a chance to take over. For the Mighty Men Conference in 2010, I had to make a very big decision when we had 450 thousand men on this farm, and the Lord clearly told me, through His word, ”It's time to hand over the baton.” I was very concerned, but I'm so pleased I did. There's over 20 Mighty Men Conferences happening all over the world as I talk to you, and I haven't been to one of them. Hand it over so that the Lord can develop it. If you keep it to yourself, it will crush you and the vision. Today, cast your cares and responsibilities onto the Lord, and He will develop them.Jesus bless you and goodbye.

Hosts Pastor Robert Baltodano and Pastor Lloyd Pulley Question Timestamps: Mark, MA (2:48) - Matthew 27:9 contains a quote from Zechariah but says it is from Jeremiah, why is that? Enoch, NY (4:46) - What does the passage "cast your bread upon the waters" mean? Matthew, GA (6:24) - Is fasting to build our strength in prayer? Would fasting help give us control over emotions, thoughts, or ADHD? Chris, email (9:09) - How have anyone's sins been atoned for since the destruction of the temple and loss of the Ark of the Covenant? Didn't God prescribe very specific processes to receive atonement for sins? What did Jericho's walls look like? Did they sink down, flat into the ground, and preserve Rahab's house on top? Cameron, MI (13:51) - If not all descended from Israel are of Israel based on Romans 9:6-7, how does that apply with Romans 11, that all Israel will be saved and grafted in? Tony, FL (16:23) - Are the two witnesses in Revelation Enoch and Elijah? Camile, NJ (18:00) - Is my friend still a Christian if she doesn't believe in the doctrine of hell? Chris, CA (23:21) - How did the Jewish priests fulfill the law of Moses after the Babylonian exile but before Jesus was crucified? They didn't have the Ark of the Covenant to use in the sacrifices, so how did they do it? John, NJ (33:12) - If Christ was crucified on a Friday, what happened to the third night? Why do they leave the word "the" out of Jesus's name, since Christ was not his last name?  Vincent, NY (36:44) - What was Jesus talking about when he said "anyone who believes in me will do the same works I've done and even greater things?" Who has done anything "greater" than Jesus? Why did Mary name Him "Jesus" and not "Immanuel?" Michael, AL (41:03) - How should I speak to my grandmother who believes Jesus came to deconstruct the God of the Old Testament? Robert, email (47:10) - I've been struggling with addiction. Do you believe people can change? If we can, can we change for our betterment? Edwin, NJ (50:20) - Is it acceptable to be cremated as a follower of Jesus Christ? Kate, email (51:53) - As a new believer, do I need to find everyone I ever lied to and tell them the truth in order to be truly forgiven by God? Ask Your Question: 888-712-7434 Answers@bbtlive.org

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

Send us a textJohn 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"             After Jesus finishes praying, He goes with His disciples to the garden. John leaves out the fact that Jesus prays again and sweats great drops of blood and His disciples sleep when they should have been praying also. John does this because he is focusing us on the greatness and supremacy of Jesus as the God Man. He wants to show us that the Jews have brought anywhere from 200 to 1200 plus people to get one MAN. The MAN that they could not get no matter how hard they have tried in the past to kill him or capture Him. Jesus shows His authority and power by stepping forward and confronting them with the question who do you seek instead of drawing back and running when they come for Him. They tell Him Jesus of Nazareth and He says I AM; I AM God, the self-existent one, YAWEH. They all are knocked down due to the power in that name. He surrenders Himself so that His disciples will not be killed and to fulfill that scripture that He lost none who were given to Him by the Father. Lastly Peter draws a small sword and whacks off Malchus's ear and Jesus says put up your sword, Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me? In other words shall I not go to the cross and take all humanity's sin by taking their place and suffering their hell while on the cross. That is why Jesus came and that is why He had to go to the cross. John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Do you believe and trust in that alone? Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?             John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32           Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com

Basic Bible Study | Matthew, Mark, Luke & John (Part 2) This is part 2 of 7 In today's podcast, join Amy and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - Jesus was not accepted as a prophet in his hometown - be prepared for God to use you to show another person the way to Him - Jesus gave the 12 disciples authority to cast out evil spirits & to heal every kind of disease & illness - Jesus called people from all walks of life - Jesus has already begun his kingdom on earth in the hearts of his followers “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us via e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Matthew 28:18-20; John 13:12-17; John 14:21; Acts 14:21-23 Jesus' early followers learned from Him Jesus' early followers lived like Him Jesus' early followers led others to learn from Him and live like Him Speaker: Pastor Joel Evrist You can also listen to the Walking Through The Word Podcast and Walking Through The Word Podcast 4 Kids at https://www.lifereachresources.com/podcasts. You can get your CORE4 and CORE4Kids discipleship resources at https://www.lifereachresources.com/core4. Find out more about becoming a Disciple-Maker at https://www.lifereachresources.com/disciplemakingteam.  

Luke 14:25-28, 31-35 - Now great crowds accompanied Him [Jesus], and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? … Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

In this faith-building episode, Pastor Mike teaches on the power and meaning of the name of Jesus. John 14:12–14 calls us to ask in His name, Matthew 1:21–23 names Him Jesus and Emmanuel, Luke 1 shows His supernatural conception, John 1 reveals the Word made flesh, and Philippians 2 exalts His lordship over all. We consider how His name declares His identity, His saving purpose, His humility, and His uniqueness. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, Luke 19:10, and to give His life as a ransom for many, Mark 10:45. He lifts us from the pit and sets our feet on the rock, Psalm 40:1–3. As you listen, speak His name over your home, your health, and your future, then share this episode with someone who needs hope today. May your faith rise as you pray, worship, and live in the power of His name.

The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven was the effect of the way that she lived her life and, particularly, three moments of her life: the moment of Our Lady's conception, the moment she became Mother of God, and the moment of her Son's death.Immaculate ConceptionThe moment of her conception is important because it is the first moment of her existence, the time of the creation of her soul and the making of her body. It was the first moment of the existence of the body that would one day rise from the dead and be taken up to Heaven.We know that the most important aspect of this moment is that God preserved her entire person from sin. Her body was taken from two souls afflicted by original sin, Joachim and Anna, but God prevented her soul from contracting any sin. As a result, we can speak of her body as being sinless as well, as having no contact with sin.You know that sin is the thing that causes death. And death is the thing that causes the corruption and destruction of our body. But God prevented this cause of death from touching Our Lady, at the first moment of her existence.Mother of GodThis blessed creature, who was conceived without any sin, began to grow up. She maintained the purity of body and soul that God had given to her. She was perfectly faithful to her gifts. She did not commit any sin. She lived in humble submission to God.This behavior, this holiness prepared her to become God's mother. It prepared her to receive into her body God Himself. And of course, that was what happened on the day of the Annunciation. Her body changed. God both came inside of her and gave her the power to form His body from her body.Her pure body became the source of the body of God.Co-RedemptrixOur Lord was born and she named Him Jesus or Savior, because He was to save the world from its sins by an act of Redemption.

June 24, 2025Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:19-31“And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.” (Luke 1:64)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Zechariah's troubling visitation has been resolved. A birth of Abrahamic proportions has occurred. Elizabeth, who was once barren, has now given birth to John. Zechariah obeys the words preached to Him by the angel, and with his mouth opened, he praises God.John isn't your typical child. I mean, he was born like any other child and raised like the other children around him. John was different, though; Zechariah tells us as much. God has made Elizabeth's barrenness bear the forerunner of Christ. God has visited His people. John's birth and the opening of Luke's Gospel are grand, but they are about to be overshadowed.The song of Zechariah gives thanks for his son, John the Baptist, and tells us how God will use John. More to the point of John's life, though, it tells us who John the Baptist is setting up.John is the voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, calling God's people to repentance, and unmasking the vipers of the religious elite. Zechariah boldly proclaims that God has visited His people. The one who will follow His son, John, is the one who will redeem them. He is of the house of His servant David, who will bring salvation and show God's mercy, which was promised to their fathers. John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Most High, prepared the way for His Lord, calling sinners to repent and believe in the one who comes after Him: Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.John the Baptist wasn't just a miracle child or just a wild man in the wilderness. He was God's prophet, pointing God's people to where their sins would be forgiven, where their salvation would be secure, and where God's mercy would be revealed.God is still doing this work for you through His preachers so that you might know that God has visited His people and redeemed them through the One John the Baptist points to and the One of whom Zechariah sings. Thanks be to God for John the Baptist, the forerunner, who prepared the way for our Lord to be the Lamb of God who brings salvation and righteousness to all who believe in Him.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus' farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ's promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

Basic Bible Study | Matthew, Mark, Luke & John (Part 7) This is part 7 of 7 In today's podcast, join Amy and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - Satan is constantly working against God & those who obey Him - Jesus turned water into wine - Jesus' ministry involved (1) helping others (2) speaking with authority (3) being in personal touch with people - what to read for next time “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us via e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

rwh26april Ep.361 – Run With Horses Podcast – Resilient Faith Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Author pages with links to all books on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BCSDDVLB – James Norman Smith https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BMGW51FW – Susan Jane Smith   Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is simple in many ways, but potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to grow, to live intentionally and to join in His mission. It's very cool that we can do that together! Thank you for joining me today! “If you're new here, you can check out past episodes at runwithhorses.net. As always, I appreciate your feedback, questions, and reviews!” Resilience is the ability to withstand, recover and even thrive in the midst of life's challenges while trusting God to accomplish His work. Resilience is really about our Faith. It is the strength and endurance to keep pressing forward in the face of adversity, maintaining faith in God's sovereignty and goodness. Resilience is not simply about surviving difficulty, but about growing spiritually and becoming more Christ-like in the process. Biblical Understanding of Resilience Patience Matures Our Faith: James 1:2-4 See trials as opportunities for spiritual growth: Resilience is tied to patience developed through trials. Instead of letting trials break us, we allow them to refine and mature our faith, making us more like Jesus. God's Strength in Our Weakness: The Apostle Paul exemplifies resilience in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: Resilience in the Christian life is not about our own strength, but about relying on God's strength. Our weakness becomes the vehicle for God's power to work through us, glorifying God and accomplishing His Will. Imitate Christ's Example: Hebrews 12:1-2, Follow Jesus' example of enduring the cross, all for the joy set before Him: Jesus endured because He had an eternal perspective. Resilience, for the follower of Christ, involves fixing our eyes on the hope and reward that await us in eternity. Tis life is the journey that God uses to prepare us for eternity with Him. Trusting God's Promises Leads to Hope: Romans 5:3-5 : Hope is really important when we face challenges. And there is always Hope in Jesus! Trials refine our character and deepen our relationship with God. Knowing Him and His purposes, ultimately makes us more resilient in our Journey of Faith. Resilience and Discipleship In the life of a believer, resilience is directly connected to discipleship and spiritual growth. Discipleship is not just about learning doctrine or performing religious duties; it is about becoming more like Jesus. As we endure trials with faith and patience, we grow in spiritual maturity and learn to depend on God more fully. Resilience Shapes Character: As we persevere through challenges, our character is refined, and we learn to love, trust, and obey God more fully. Romans 5:3-5 shows that tribulation produces perseverance, which leads to stronger character and unshakable hope. Resilience Cultivates Faithfulness: Discipleship is about the journey of following God daily in every circumstances. 1 Peter 1:6-7 reminds us that our faith is tested, and once proven, brings glory to God: As we remain faithful under trial, we demonstrate the genuineness of our faith. This faith, Real, tested and proven, will bring glory to God. Spiritual Growth Through Trials: The process of growing as a disciple requires us to be resilient. Trials are the training ground for spiritual maturity if you are a disciple of Jesus. He never promised an easy path! But He promises that it would be worth it in the end. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Resilience The Holy Spirit is integral to developing resilience. Romans 8:11 speaks of the power of the Holy Spirit to give life and strength to believers: The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead enables believers to live with endurance, overcoming obstacles and remaining faithful in trials. Prayer and trusting God to work when our strength is gone are both Key for developing the abiity to get up every time life knocks you down. Resilience Keeps You On The Path To Christ-likeness As we endure hardship, we grow in patience, character, and hope, which ultimately leads to greater spiritual maturity. This process is central to ongoing discipleship, as it shapes us into the image of Christ. A disciple of Jesus is on a continual journey of growing in faith, learning to rely on God's strength daily, and persevering through life's trials. Both disciples and disciple makers have a role to play in this journey of Faith. Spiritual strength is nurtured through the spiritual disciplines as we deepen our relationship with God, and learn to trust in His faithfulness. How To Develop Resilience See the Big Picture: God is at work in the world and trials are normal and natural. The goal is not to avoid them but to grow through them. Let God accomplish His work in your life. God opens doors for ministry through our personal trials, look for them! Do everything that you can to grow and mature your Faith! Be intentional about life, particularly your spiritual life. Embrace God's Word: One of the foundational ways a disciple develops resilience is through a deeper understanding of and trust in God's Word. The Bible gives an eternal perspective for enduring trials. By studying Scripture, disciples learn what God is doing and learn to trust His promises, which gives them the strength to persevere. Psalm 119:50: A Deeper Relationship with God: Resilience is nurtured through a close relationship with God. Everything that we do to draw closer to Him helps prepare us for the next challenge. Prayer, meditation and memorizaton of the Bible and time with God's family all strengthen our trust in God's provision, wisdom, and presence. Jesus modeled these in His own life, we should do no less. Philippians 4:6-7: Through Reliance on God's Strength (Not Our Own): Resilience is not about self-sufficiency, but about relying on God's strength. The Apostle Paul was a model of this truth, understanding that his weakness allowed God's strength to be more clearly displayed. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: A disciple develops resilience by recognizing that through their weakness that God's power is most evident. This humility and dependence on God's grace is key to enduring trials with perseverance. Through Practicing Obedience and Faithfulness in Small Things: Resilience is developed when a disciple learns to be faithful in the small things, trusting God in everyday life. Obedience, even in seemingly insignificant matters, builds the foundation for enduring greater trials. Luke 16:10: By being faithful in small matters, a disciple strengthens their ability to endure more significant trials and challenges. Through Fellowship with Other Believers: Resilience is also cultivated in the context of community. Believers encourage one another, pray for one another, and share in each other's struggles. Being part of a supportive Christian community strengthens a disciple's ability to persevere. Hebrews 10:24-25: Fellowship provides encouragement and accountability, helping disciples remain resilient as they navigate life's challenges. How a Disciple Maker Helps Others Develop Resilience A disciple maker has a unique role in helping others grow in resilience by walking alongside them, providing guidance, and encouraging them to press on in their faith. Here's how a disciple maker can help others develop resilience: Modeling Resilience through Personal Example: One of the most powerful ways a disciple maker can encourage resilience is by modeling it in their own life. When a disciple maker faces trials and shows how they rely on God's strength, it serves as a powerful testimony for others to follow. 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7: Teaching the Importance of Perspective: Disciple makers can help others develop resilience by teaching them to have an eternal perspective on their trials. They can point others to the hope of eternal life and the ultimate victory that awaits, even in the midst of hardship. Romans 8:18: By helping others keep an eternal perspective, disciple makers teach them to view their trials in light of God's promises and the hope of future glory. Encouraging the Practice of Spiritual Disciplines: Disciple makers should encourage the regular practice of spiritual disciplines—prayer, Bible study, worship, and fasting—as these practices strengthen the disciple's spiritual resilience. Colossians 2:6-7: Spiritual disciplines help to deepen a disciple's relationship with God, which builds the foundation for resilience. Providing Encouragement and Accountability: A disciple maker should be a source of encouragement and accountability, especially in difficult times. They can remind the disciple of God's faithfulness, pray for them, and offer counsel that points them back to Christ. Galatians 6:2: Helping others bear their burdens is an essential part of developing resilience. A disciple maker should walk alongside their disciples, offering support, encouragement, and wisdom during trials. Helping Disciplines Focus on God's Promises: Disciple makers can help others develop resilience by pointing them back to God's promises in times of hardship. The promises of God's presence, provision, and protection provide a firm foundation for resilience. Isaiah 41:10: A disciple maker can continually remind those they are discipling of the faithfulness of God, helping them to trust in His promises during difficult times. Conclusion A disciple of Jesus develops resilience by deeply engaging with God's Word, prayer, dependence on God's strength, obedience, and fellowship with other believers. A disciple maker helps others develop resilience by modeling it, teaching the importance of perspective, encouraging spiritual disciplines, providing support, and focusing on God's promises. Together, these practices foster a strong, enduring faith that enables believers to press on through trials and grow more like Christ in the process. Doctrine Today Spiritual Warfare   It's not easy to keep going when the journey is long and tough. The good news is that Jesus understands and takes the journey with us. You never have to face the trials alone. Stand tall and lean on Jesus in the middle of Life's storms, trusting that He is growing you into the person you need to be.   – “Thank you for listening today! -If you enjoyed the show you can listen to all the past shows wherever you listen to podcasts. A good place to start is at runwithhorses.net. You can also write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Don't be discouraged by the challenges you face. Keep your eyes on Jesus and embrace the opportunity to grow through the trial. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and never stop running."

Basic Bible Study | Matthew, Mark, Luke & John (Part 5) This is part 5 of 7 In today's podcast, join Amy and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - John the Baptist paved the way for Jesus by preparing others to welcome Him - Jesus was asking questions of religious leaders at age 12 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us via e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week, we will look at five different encounters that people have with Jesus after the Resurrection. Today, we'll start by looking at the Walk to Emmaus. In this story, two disciples are walking, and Jesus walks alongside them. They tell Him (Jesus) all that has happened in Jerusalem, and Jesus then unpacks all the Bible, and shows them how it is all pointing to Him. Shameless plug: here's a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our new, hopefully entertaining podcast about church history. - https://methodisttothemadness.buzzsprout.com/Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up. You can read today's passage here - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A%2013-35&version=NRSVUEYou can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Hi, I'm John Sorensen, President of Evangelism Explosion International, and you're listening to Share Life Today. You may have heard Jesus described before as the Good Shepherd, but did you know in the same passage that He says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” So while Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the gate, The Bible describes us as sheep. And it's honestly a good metaphor. Sheep will wander off without much thought as to the danger of being away from the shepherd. And the truth is we all do that kind of wandering away from God in our sin. But the Good Shepherd is chasing after us. You know, the Bible has a beautiful picture…it says, “All we like sheep have gone astray, each to our own way, but the Lord has laid upon Him—Jesus—the sin—or iniquity—of us all.” You know, Jesus waits for us to respond to His offer of salvation. The question is for us...what are we waiting for? For more, visit our website at sharelife.today.

SUMMARY    “After the departure of some “disciples” of Jesus (not the “Twelve”) because of the offensive nature of Jesus's message (6:60), the Gospel continues to show the kind of responses the message and ministry of Jesus yields. Since the beginning of the Gospel, the narrative has been depicting the dramatic interaction between light and darkness, God and the world (1:5). In this section of Scripture, conflict is not far away but right at home, with the very people with whom Jesus should have found the most connection and support—his own family.” - Edward W. Klink KEY TAKEAWAYS    Main Idea: Jesus' faithful obedience to the Father is seen as He prioritizes God's mission and agenda over man's. Jesus embraces His true identity (1–5) He rejects the idea of being a religious celebrity  He does not want superficial faith, but faith in Him  Jesus prioritizes His Father's will, not ours (6–13) He fulfills the Father's divine appointments  He came to reveal truth and shine the light on the cynicism and fear of men

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Luke 1:26-38 - The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2) Gregorian Chant benefits the body and soul https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2025/02/gregorian-chant-benefits-body-soul-john-horvat.html 3) The importance of exposing conspiracies and their architects  https://www.knightsrepublic.com/single-post/the-importance-of-exposing-conspiracies-and-their-architects 4) They want to make proclaiming that Jesus is King illegal https://gatewayhispanic.com/video/they-want-to-make-proclaiming-that-jesus-is-king-illegal/

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a - Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with Child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this Child has been conceived in her. She will bear a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saint Joseph, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2) Why are over 1000 Catholics going to Mar-a-Lago this evening? 3) Pro-life speech before entering courtroom by Fathers Dave Nix and Fidelis Moscinski Pro-Life Heroes Convicted:The Cost of Defending the Unborn 4) President Trump, it is time to stop abortion in America https://www.knightsrepublic.com/single-post/to-the-president-it-is-time-to-stop-abortion-in-america

As we look at this passage in Luke 11:37-54, we need to rememberthe setting Jesus was in where He is declaring judgment, the six “woes”, uponthe Pharisees and religious lawyers, who are also called scribes. In verse 35, Jesushad just made the public statement, “Therefore take heed that the lightwhich is in you is not darkness.” It was then that a Pharisee invited Jesusto come into his house and dine with him. He was hoping to catch Jesus sayingor doing something so that he could accuse Him of breaking the Law of Moses andthen he could expose Jesus as a false prophet or teacher.  This morning, I couldn't help but think how that Jesus notonly accepted the invitation, but when He is in this Pharisee's house sittingat this meal with him that Jesus pronounces these stinging words of judgmentupon all the Pharisees. When Jesus didn't wash His hands before He ate, thePharisee immediately was thinking that if Jesus was a true prophet he would nothave broken the Law of Moses and traditional teaching of the lawyers.  It is then that the Lord gives this message exposing the hypocrisyof the religious leaders of His day. The religious Pharisees and lawyers claimedto have the truth and the light of God because of their “knowledge” of the OldTestament Scriptures. But they needed to “take heed” that the light they haveis not darkness”. In Jesus first recorded message in Matthew 6:23, He said, “Butif your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore thelight that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”  We should take heed also! The greatest darkness is a “religious”darkness. To be deceived into thinking and believing that our religion of gooddeeds of “righteousness” that we can do, will save us. Remember what Paul wrotein Romans 10:1-4: “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israelis that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal forGod, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God'srighteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have notsubmitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law forrighteousness to everyone who believes.” Religion and Bible knowledge without Jesus Christ is what thePharisees of both Jesus' and Paul's day had as they sought “to establish theirown righteousness”.  What a powerfulmessage for us today! We can know the Bible forward and backward and attempt tokeep it in our own way and strength, and think we are “right” with God. Paulwould also write in 2 Corinthians 3:6: “Who also made us sufficient asministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for theletter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Yes, trying to keep “letter ofthe Law” in our own strength brings both deception and death.  There is no greater deception than religious and self-deception!In James 1, we are warned about this kind of deception in several verses. Jamessays this kind of religion is empty, vain, useless! This is basically a warningto believers who have the Bible but are not practicing the love of God in caringfor the poor, helpless, widows and orphans. We look into the mirror of God's Word,but we refuse to clean up the inside and we become hypocrites and at the sametime think that we are “right” with God.  A good verse to end with today is found in 2 Corinthians5:21: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, thatwe might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Let's make sure we aretrusting in a personal relationship with Jesus and His salvation and His imputedrighteousness and not an outward religion of “right” deeds and good works! God bless!

The Sword or the Cross? (audio) David Eells 2/23/25 Please be patient with me and I will share something that just may save your physical and eternal life. If you are not willing to believe only what the scriptures say concerning your relationship to this evil world and its God-ordained plan in your life, you don't need to waste your time with this revelation. When Peter used the sword to keep Jesus from going to the cross, He said, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”. Even though the true saints will not agree with much that is about to happen in this world, they will not take “the sword” of man and break their covenant with God as the apostates and their leadership will. God's plan for His people is demonstrated by Jesus. (Joh.12:23) And Jesus answereth them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit. (25) He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. (Loseing our life is mostly losing our carnal self life to partake of the life of Christ.) (26) If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will the Father honor. As Jesus was a seed sown in the dirt of this earth, so must we be. The wicked of this world are the dirt that puts to death the fleshly husk of the seed so that the inner life may come forth and bear fruit. As a lamb does not struggle with a wolf, the seed does not struggle with the dirt but permits it to fulfill its purpose. (Luk.10:3)...I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. In God's plan wolves devour the flesh of the lambs. He uses the wicked to chasten His children. (2Sam.7:14) I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. (2Cor.4:11) For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. The glory of God will be manifested in those who will “resist not him that is evil” but will “turn the other cheek” and permit the dirt to do its job. No one else can drive the nails, friend. You are unable to do it and other Christians shouldn't do it. It is God's plan to use the harlot and the beast to crucify our old man. (Act.2:23) Him (Jesus), being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay. (4:27) For of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, (28) to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass. Through death to self at their hands, the world will see Jesus in us and we will be enabled to fulfill the great commission. (1Pet.4:1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; (2) that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. In the days when God's people were ruled over by the Roman beast it was written: (Rom.13:1) Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the [powers] that be are ordained of God. (2) Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. Though Christians are forbidden to take the mark and image of the beast, they are also forbidden to take up arms against secular nations over them. This puts the people of God in a position of weakness like Jesus when He submitted to His cross instead of fighting. (Note: Some falsely say that the U.S. is not typed in the Scriptures. In Revelation, we see that Babylon is the Queen of the world, an end-time world superpower, a very rich nation that trades with the whole world. Both Revelation and Daniel say it is the head of all the nations and was called the “great eagle” in Ezekiel 17. Jeremiah 25 shows that it will bring destruction to the Middle East and then fall in what appears to be a nuclear attack from the nations. Revelation 18 says this will be in one hour of one day. Who, with common sense, would not see that this ancient eagle lives again in our day and has been secretly ruled by a satanic, corrupt, and perverted deep state? Most recently Babylon is being conquered by our modern day Cyrus who ruled in ancient times as Media-Persia. Using Babylon and her king as a type of the U.S. and her President, God warned his people to submit to her as far as secular matters go. (Jer.27:5) I have made the earth, the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me. (6) And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant.... (7) And all the nations shall serve him.... (8) And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. This has happened. (9) But as for you (Christians), hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: (10) for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.... (12) And I spake to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. (13) Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? The modern day apostate leadership has served Babylon turning against the Word of the Lord. And the rebels have been chastened by their “sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence”. (14) And hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you. (15) For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that ye may perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. And these depopulationists have murdered the apostates who trust in man's vaccines rather than the clear Word. Also we will see that true Christians are not to take up arms in the worlds wars. Our kingdom is not of this world as Jesus said. That is not to say that God doesn't have mercy on ignorance. In this way God will cleanse His body of those that refuse to obey and go to their cross. We are now close to the beginning of the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation in Revelation 12 where the dragon/serpent chases the woman Church into their wilderness refuge to be taught of the Man-child. What brings us to our cross? Jesus said, “Love your enemies”, not shoot them, and “turn the other cheek”, not make war on them. God will chasten the Christians who “take the sword”. Our Lord said, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”. I am certainly not excusing the government's actions in any of this but if David Koresh, the leader of the Davidians' stronghold in Waco, Texas, in early 1993 had not broken God's covenant and stored up that arsenal with the intent to use it against the government, he and his followers would still be alive. Bear witness that God did not defend them. God will bring the U.S. against His people and their apostate leaders because they have ignored His covenant. (Hos.8:1) [Set] the trumpet to thy mouth. As an eagle [he cometh] against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. (2) They shall cry unto me, My God, we Israel know thee. (3) Israel hath cast off that which is good: the enemy shall pursue him. (4) They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. In the days of Jesus, the apostate people of God were in bondage to the Roman beast for their rebellion against the Word. These stiff-necked people of God were in constant revolution against the Romans and paying a great penalty for it. (Mar.15:6) Now at the feast he used to release unto them one prisoner, whom they asked of him. (7) And there was one called Barabbas, [lying] bound with them that had made insurrection (revolution), men who in the insurrection had committed murder. (8) And the multitude went up and began to ask him [to do] as he was wont to do unto them. (9) And Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? (10) For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. (11) But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. (Jn.18:40) They cried out therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Notice that Barabbas and many with him were in prison for making a revolution against the Romans. Jesus suffered in the place of this Jewish patriot. In like manner, the true body of Christ will suffer innocently because of “Christian” patriots who will revolt against the beast. In another type, Barabbas was chosen out of all the Jews that were in prison with him to be released. Barabbas means “son of the father”. Because Jesus went to the cross, a remnant of these people who truly are “sons of the Father” will be forgiven and saved. Militant patriots do not understand what the Holy Spirit showed in this text, that killing Romans or Americans is “murder” and that those who steal from them are “robbers”. Remember, God did not defend almost 1000 very religious patriots whom the Romans destroyed. In 66 A.D. when the Jews rebelled against the Romans, they captured this mountain 1000 meters above the Judean wilderness. In a well-supplied, seemingly impregnable fortress, the Jews attempted for seven years to hold out against the Roman beast. In a clear type, all but a remnant of seven committed suicide and brought an end to the worldly state of Israel. “Christian” rebels in our day will, in effect, commit suicide by fighting against the beast and bringing an end to the worldly state of the Church. The Timothy McVeigh's of this world are not patriots in God's kingdom. The real heroes are those who leave worldly governments up to God and choose their cross over rebelling against His Word. Like Jesus, Paul gives us a type of how innocent Christians in our day will be falsely accused as rebels and imprisoned or killed. In Acts 21:38, a chief captain said to him, “Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?” Notice once again that an Egyptian, representing the old carnal man, was leading Jews to kill Romans. The “Christians” who are led of the old man today will fight against the beast. God will not tolerate those who call themselves patriots in order to rebel against governments and God's Word. (Rom.13:1) Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God.... (2) Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. Let our Cyrus do his job to take down Babylon while we preach the gospel to all, which is our job. Jesus gave us permission to “flee” like sheep before the wolves, but not to fight in the flesh as wolves. (Mat.10:16) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (23) But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. Notice that this persecution will spread the Word through the cities of God's people and He will come. Praise His Name! While the carnal people of God were having their revolution against the government, Jesus and the disciples were having a spiritual revolution against their flesh. Jesus said, “Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword (the Word). For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household” (Mat.10:34-36). Notice when you get saved they are often on the other side until they get saved. Tertullus, speaking against Paul's spiritual revolution, said, “For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections (revolutions) among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). They always call us a sect or cult for obeying the Word. Jesus and Paul's revolution was to use the Word to separate the chosen from the carnal church of his day. Neither of them had anything to do with wrestling with a flesh and blood beast system. That was the harlot's revolution. We are to be patriots of the Lord's kingdom, not the U.S. Like Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world”. Because they would not obey Jesus, the Jews were led by their deceiving leadership to their own destruction and that of their city in 70 A.D. This was also the cause of its destruction in other times. (Ezr.4:19) And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. (5:12) But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. Every beast kingdom was raised up by God to chasten and bring into bondage and crucifixion His rebellious people and so it is with the Babylon of our day. Our warfare is not with flesh and blood men but with the demon principalities and powers that rule them (Eph.6:12). (Mat.5:38) Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: (39) but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Jas.4:7)...resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Many will fight to keep from going into captivity but only God determines if one needs this for their maturing. (Rev.13:9) If any man hath an ear, let him hear. (10) If any man [is] for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Only God gives authority to the beast to bring His people into bondage or death. M. Cox relates a dream he had concerning these principles. I had a dream so real that every time I think about it, it becomes more vivid just as if I was there. I was sleeping in our small farmhouse with a few other people one night. Sometime in the dead of the night all of a sudden I heard the thunderous boom of these military helicopters and airplanes. Then this helicopter landed right beside our house. All the occupants of our house were rounded up and taken away by the helicopter, probably to prison work farms. I was just standing there amazed, thinking these people never resisted, or tried to run away. And they all acted like I wasn't there. I thought that they had forgotten me. Soon after they left, another helicopter came. They were probably told that they had forgotten one of the occupants. I was naturally scared so I hid under the bed, shaking like a leaf with my legs sticking out. The soldiers didn't have any U.N. symbol but were probably a makeshift multi-national army. A black and a white soldier had yellow torches and machine guns with them. They were looking and thrashing everywhere trying to look for me. The black soldier was looking under the bed I was under. The funny thing was I was right in front of him with my feet sticking out but it appeared he couldn't see me. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was invisible to the soldiers. They couldn't see me. After a while, the soldiers left frustrated at not being able to find me. I must say that the fear and terror of the situation was unbelievable. A few days later this helicopter came and sprayed this chemical and the surrounding place turned all brown. They probably had been given orders to let no survivors that they couldn't find live. Anyway, even before they sprayed I noticed that the surrounding vegetation looked brownish, maybe from nuclear fallout. Miraculously, with all this happening I was still alive and the dream ended there. Notice that God's people did not resist and only those who needed captivity were taken. We should not put it beyond God's ability to supernaturally hide those who do not need more crucifixion. If He could translate me halfway around the world to preach, He can certainly make us invisible to the enemy. Bob Aicardi also had a dream like this. I found myself cautiously walking the floors of a very large government building, which was occupied by foreign troops, and I knew that as an American I was not supposed to be there. I was noticed by a worker, who set off an intruder alert. Down the corridor, the entrance doors slammed shut and locked. As I walked up to the doors they opened and I passed through to escape. Once outside, perimeter guards were alerted and were all about. I walked through them as invisible and saw another man doing the same thing. I said to him, “Isn't the blood of Jesus wonderful?” We see that not only can God protect those who are mature but He can also give rest to those who need to submit to their cross. (Joh.19:11) Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above. Like our Lord, we are to receive everything as from God and leave retaliation up to Him. (Rom.12:17) Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. (18) If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. (19) Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath [of God]: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. (20) But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. (21) Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Our old man wants to live by defending self and retaliating, but our obedience to these commands crucifies that carnal nature in us. Satan seeks through well-meaning people to keep us from this cross. (Mat.16:21) From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. (22) And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. (23) But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. Notice that Peter, by the spirit of Satan was a stumbling block by trying to dissuade Jesus from going to His cross. Peter later took the sword, to try to enforce his way and again met with rebuke. (24) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (25) For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. Even when we are at our best, the hidden carnal nature must be crucified. (1Pet.2:20) For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted [for it], ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it], ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. (21) For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: (22) who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (23) who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously. What could be clearer? We are to follow in Jesus' steps by cooperating with God's process of using the harlot religious system and the beast kingdom to bring us to the cross. We are not to resist them by force. The laws of our kingdom do not permit us to fight in the flesh to escape captivity. (Joh.18:36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. In the days leading up to a civil war in the midst of the One World Order, many will stand up against the U.S. as the king of the South. Included among these are some of God's people who will try to impose their vision of the kingdom of God in the U.S. by violent methods, but they will be killed. (Dan.11:14) And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall. God will not permit fleshly methods to have any success so that His people learn to walk in the Spirit. (12:7)...It shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of (self in) the holy people, all these things shall be finished. Notice that our temptation to use our own power must be crucified. (Zec.4:6)...Not by (our) might, nor by (our) power, but by my Spirit, saith Lord of hosts. War is of the world and is motivated by lust, not God. (Jas.4:1) Whence [come] wars and whence [come] fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your pleasures that war in your members? (2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. Those who join with the world to make war on their enemies are enemies of the cross and of God. (4) Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. Those who preach peace and safety and refuse to cooperate with God in this process of falling to the earth to die will be cut off. (Amo.9:8) Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. (9) For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as [grain] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. (10) All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us. We are coming to the same tribulation days of sifting as it was with Peter. (Luk.22:31) Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: (32) but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not. Even though Peter initially denied the Lord, he got back up and became a strong leader who gave up his old life. Satan is ordained of the Lord to sift the disciples to get the husk that is his, so that God may have the pure fruit of Christ. Here is a prophecy through Thomas S. Gibson that relates the persecution the U.S. will bring against Christianity to separate the true saints from the tares. Thus says the Lord, repent and listen to the Word of God. Note that there shall be persecutions arising in all places, throughout the U.S. and Canada, and through Europe. These nations shall rise up in persecutions against My people. It shall purge the Church. Those of Mine, that are truly Mine, who walk in power and are committed to Me, they shall stand in this persecution no matter what it brings. But listen to Me, and heed Me. For thus saith the Lord, I am God, and I am allowing this, for it shall purge My Church. For there are many that shall quickly deny Me, shall quickly deny the truth, quickly revert to a world religion, shall quickly deny the power of the Word; they deny the truth of the Word. They shall quickly deny many things, and they shall become politically correct for the day and the age that they live. For they do not want to be in persecutions and they do not want to stand against the world. They love the world, and they are part of the world, and they were never part of Me. But they have a form of Godliness in the Church, and they were in the Church, shining as Christians and looking as Christians in outward appearance, but in their heart they were not of Me. This shall purge the Church and bring to pass what I have said; I will separate the sheep from the goats; that is, My people from the world. God is sovereign in the happenings of history in order to show us what will happen in the latter days, for, “That which hath been is that which shall be”. In the time of the tribulation of Christ's day, Rome had swallowed up the people of God. Through Babylon's type we see that the U.S. would swallow up the people of God before her fall. (Jer.51:34) Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out. (35) The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Because Babylonish U.S. tried to save herself by sacrificing God's lambs on the altar of religious unity and political correctness, God will take vengeance on her. (36) Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry. (37) And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. ... (41) How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! (42) The sea (of men) is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. (43) Her cities are become a desolation. by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence Please also listen to the audio series Honor the king? and How Shall We Die? and read Torment to Those Who Fight Back.   The Militant Apostates Rebel God is raising up the beast kingdom of the tribulation to crucify us as their forefathers crucified our Master. At the same time, the beast will purge Christianity of those who refuse to go to their cross of death to self. At first you may think I am wrong about this but if you will bear with me you will be overwhelmed with proof from God's Word. This is God's M.O. Because Christians do not stick to their command of spreading the Great Commission a competition has raised up which is unhealthy for us. When God is fighting against our enemies with His angels we are seen as guiltless and there is no competition between us and the world, which ruins our witness. The devil is being permitted by God to stir up competition so that paranoid, disobedient Christians will fight this government in the flesh and be destroyed. The Lord said to me once that “Spirits of paranoia will stir up Christians to fight against this country. In this way I will cleanse my Church of those that refuse to obey and go to their cross.” Conspiracy addicts are the prime spreaders of this paranoia. But we are to fear nothing but God who “works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Isa.8:11) For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, (12) Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread [thereof]. (13) The Lord of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. You ask, “But David, what about the Deep State Illuminati conspiracy that has taken over our government to bring war and their New World Order?” Fear “him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph.1:11). The Deep State Illuminati are nothing without God's permission. They and many others like them are sent by God to deceive those who do not love truth and to judge those who need it. Therefore, we are not to wrestle with flesh and blood but principalities and powers. Physically we are to permit them to cleanse the body.  (2Th.2:9) [even he,] whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: (12) that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. “The lowest of men” are raised up to lead the beast to crucify rebellious Christians. We need them. (Pro.16:4) The Lord hath made everything for its own end (Hebrew: His own purpose); Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Some say, “But I know some of these conspiracies are real”. I do, too, but the flesh is stirred up to fight when we think on the conspiracies, rather than the promises and the way of the cross. We are taught to study Truth rather than the evil in conspiracies because Truth has power unto Godliness, which delivers from evil. (Rom.16:19)....I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil. Those who are taught to recognize counterfeit bills don't study counterfeits because there are too many possibilities. They study the real bills. That way they can recognize all counterfeits. The Word gives us eyes to see all errors. Some waste all their time studying evil governments and have no faith. But what we bind on earth is bound in heaven and He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy. All secular governments are evil just as the one in Jesus' day but He stuck to the business of the Father, taught the Word, and let patriots like Barabbas fight with flesh and blood to their own destruction. I also know that the beast government will persecute and crucify the saints when the time comes. I say along with Jesus, “Not my will, but thine be done”. If we are not willing to give up our carnal life in order to be obedient to the Word, then we will not be counted worthy of a heavenly life. Any who stir up God's people to take the sword will be guilty of their blood when they die by the sword, as the Word says will surely happen. Antichristian militant “Christians” will not stand for their rights being taken away and will fight against their governments. What do you think they will do when world law is imposed and the mark of the beast is inevitable? Civil war. States are seeing their Constitutional authority undermined by the socialistic moves of the past Obama and Biden administrations and the Deep State shadow government. Also, a litany of leftist, global U.N. treaties that were resisted by more conservative administrations are waiting in the wings to give sovereignty to the U.N. beast over families, women, and children, opposing free trade, opposing democracy and Christian freedom, bringing intrusive emissions laws, etc. The last three leftist presidents were just the men to open the flood gates. But God through the saints confession has and will cast down the dominion of Satan. Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;  8  and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9  And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. 10  And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. 11  And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death. Militia's of conservatives, including many of God's people, have already trained and armed to fight against the U.S. government but look what God can do! Satan, who starts wars is cast down. Presidential voting fraud fiascos revealed the underlying dangerous polarization between conservatives and liberals. Ammunition sales rose significantly as did talk of civil insurrection and state secession. Much of this was by conservatives. Congressmen were openly warning of civil violence. Ammunition and gun sales began to get worse when the Obama and Biden administrations took the country in a sharp left turn. Clearly, the fear of where we are going and the conspiracies are corrupting people's minds and taking away their peace. Whether you agree with their militant thinking or not, all Christians will be blamed for these excesses. The liberal news media, although wounded now, will gladly continue to sway popular opinion against their historic enemy, the conservative Christians. Left-wing harlot “Christianity” will, of course, join in this attack proclaiming to be the true heirs of Christ, while they sleep with the beast in their politically correct tolerance of other faiths. What happened to the Jews in WWII will happen to the Christians and, ultimately, what happened to Germany will happen in the world. The world will become more antichrist and increasingly hate, persecute, kill, and bring God's carnal people into bondage. Oh, because of the recent successes you don't believe this? Read Revelation 12 and 13, which speaks of persecution and leads to the mark of the beast, without which many will be put to death and go to heaven. Ezekiel, as a type of the Man-child, prophesied that the apostate leadership of God's people would be brought into bondage by the “great eagle”, as a type of the U.S. He also saw and warned that part of that leadership would lead part of God's people to rebel against the “great eagle” to their own destruction. (Eze.17:2) Son of man...speak a parable unto the house of Israel; (3)...A great eagle with great wings...came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: (God's people were likened in Scripture to the tall cedar evergreens of Lebanon because of their properties of eternal life.) (4) he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof (the immature leadership of Christianity), and carried it unto a land of traffic (Babylon); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon). The top apostate leadership of Christianity, typed by Zedekiah, was taken into bondage in Babylon and his sons were killed and his eyes were put out, and he was put to death. (5) He took also of the seed of the land (God's people), and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters.... God's people will be put “beside many waters”, which are the peoples of the world depicted by the “many waters” that the harlot sits upon in Revelation 17:1,15. Therefore the people of God, righteous or apostate, were taken into bondage and put under the authority of the religious harlot, as it was in Jesus' day. (6) And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature (the harlot cannot overcome to lift herself from the earthly), whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine. The false prophet leadership of the harlot will rule with the ten kings as the little horn among the ten horns in the U.N. beast under the “great eagle”. The Lord confirms this interpretation in the text. (12) Say now to the rebellious house... Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon. The nations with the “great eagle” at the head will confirm a covenant with this false prophet leadership of God's New Testament people, uniting them with the false religions in the U.N.. (13) And he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land. Notice in these verses that the king and all of the princes of Israel were called “him” meaning they are a corporate False Prophet. This covenant will be hidden from the apostates and their leaders. They will fulfill the type of the Jews in Jesus' day, who didn't realize that they had made a covenant with the beast to crucify the saints. To keep the peace, the Roman beast gave the apostates authority over the saints. History repeats. The strong delusion of the letter of the Word has already convinced the false leadership of Christianity of a fairytale covenant between a man called the antichrist and the letter Jews. Meanwhile, the real covenant will be fulfilled in the spirit under their noses. To them this could not be the covenant because they have not yet been raptured and their antichrist hasn't shown up. This covenant with the beast will make God's apostate people preach an even more impotent gospel because it is a covenant of tolerance for all false religions and all sinners in a vain effort to bring peace to the world. (14) That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. The apostates will be permitted to stand in the world as the base kingdom of the religious harlot. We just saw the word “covenant” mentioned in verses thirteen and fourteen. It was at this point in my revelation that the Spirit said to me, “From the first mention of the word “covenant” in verse thirteen count. How many verses does the word “covenant” cover?” Thirteen is the number in Scripture that stands for apostasy and rebellion. Including verse thirteen, the word “covenant” covers seven verses (13-19). I was impressed that this represents the seven years of the covenant of the beast in the Tribulation. Then I heard, “How many times is the word “covenant” spoken in those verses?” “Covenant” is mentioned six times in these seven verses. Six is the number of man and of the beast. As we saw, the sixth book, sixth chapter, sixth verse and sixth word of the New Testament is “man” (Rom.6:6). It was at this point the Spirit directed me to count, “How many verses before the “covenant” is broken?” In the “midst” of the fourth verse the words “covenant he brake” are spoken. That makes 3 ½ verses or years before the break and 3 ½ verses or years after the break. The covenant is broken “in the midst of the seven” years. (16) As I live, saith the Lord, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he (the apostate leadership) brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. This also is in the “midst of the seven” verses, which is a quote from the Hebrew in Daniel 9:27. “And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one seven: and in the midst of the seven (Hebrew) he (beast) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease”. Notice in these two verses that the apostate rebel leadership of God's people will break the covenant so the beast will cause the “sacrifice” to cease. At the time when the crowns of authority will be taken from the seven heads and given to the ten horns, the beast will make the mark compulsive. This will be a vain attempt to enforce peace by identifying those who are in covenant with the beast and those who are enemies and/or commit crimes. This will cause both true Christians and militants to be enemies of the state. The U.S. already has created the literal mark and is exporting it to the world. The U.S. will use its persuasion over the beast kingdom to make the mark compulsive in the midst of the Tribulation. Many apostate Christians will take it and become reprobated. What is left of their life of submitting their “bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” will cease as an “abomination that maketh desolate”. In this same text we see the nature of this rebellion which breaks the covenant of peace. (15) But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape? This covenant is broken when the rebellious people of God, who were told by God to submit to Babylon, as we shall see, instead went to another “great eagle with great wings”, Egypt, for strength to fight with arms against her. (Eze.17:7) There was also another great eagle with great wings and...this vine did bend its roots toward him. Notice that the same terminology is given to describe a second eagle. This is because both of these great eagles represent the U.S. Foolish Christians in the U.S. will go down to Egypt to fight with her when they see their rights being taken away or, for some when they see the mark coming. What does Egypt represent? God's people came out of Egypt and were baptized in the Red Sea where the Egyptians, representing the old man, died. To go back to Egypt spiritually is to trust in the strength of the old man, the arm of the flesh. (Isa.30:1) Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, (2) that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! (3) Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. Some of God's foolish people with a conservative patriotic faction of this nation will take up arms to fight against it. This pits the “great eagle” against the “great eagle”, or civil war. God asked the question in our seven verse text: “shall he break the covenant, and yet escape” (Eze.17:15)? God's answer to this question is that these rebels will be crushed: (17) Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war.... (18) For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet hath done all these things; he shall not escape.... (21) And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it. When Peter used the sword to keep Jesus from going to the cross, He said, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Mat.26:52). Even though the true saints will not obey the religious aspects of this peace covenant, they will not take “the sword” of man and break their covenant with God as the apostates and their leadership will. The last of the seven verses says this. (19) Therefore thus saith the Lord: As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head. The righteous will keep God's covenant even if it costs them their physical life but the self-willed will rebel. Some religious people say the mark of God trumps the mark of the beast, and that because they believe in once saved always saved. After bringing apostate Israel as a type of the Christians under his dominion in the beginning of what we would call the tribulation, Nebuchadnezzar appointed the Zedekiah administration to rule over them. This is the “he” above who rebelled with a large portion of Israel. Jeremiah, who represented the Man-child, prophesied against these apostate rebels in the parable of the two baskets of figs. (Jer.24:8) And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt, (9) I will even give them up to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. (10) And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. On the other, hand those who submitted to the Word of the Lord through the Man-child Jeremiah were the blessed of the Lord. (24:4) And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (5) Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. (Notice that this captivity is going to be “for good” to the “good figs” who obey the Word and refuse to rebel.) (6) For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land (Notice Father will bring them to the New Jerusalem and land because Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the former apostate Jerusalem and land.): and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. (7) And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. All we have to do is replace the church in the Ezekiel 17 parable of civil rebellion above with natural Israel and we see another more natural interpretation, which is being attempted now. The U.S., which is at the head of the nations, is pushing Israel hard to give up land and make a covenant with the nations around them. Israel's natural ally in the United States is the apostate Christians and Jews who militantly support her. Since this ultimately will be a political and religious covenant both of these interpretations are coming to pass at the same time. It is certainly true that the beast is forcing both Israel and the Christians to give up their land now. Beastly laws are forcing Christians out of the moral ground that they have held on to issues such as abortion, sexuality, schooling, displays of Christian heritage, etc. In the U.S., this holy ground has been held since the more Christian times of the founding fathers. Eventually Israel and the apostate Christians will rebel against this covenant and turn to the militant arm of flesh represented by the great eagle of Egypt. Then they will both find themselves a burdensome stone that have something in common; the ire of the nations. Perhaps this is God's plan to infuse more Christian influence into Israel so that the elect among them will be saved and come out. Now I would like to share a few revelations that warn of these things.   Survivalism Coming in Evil Times G.W. - 08/22/2012 (David's notes in red) I had a dream where David and I were sitting and talking in what I believe represented the world. As we talked, there was complete and utter chaos going on all around us. It appeared that the whole world was turned upside down and was shaking. Several major catastrophic events had occurred. (Eve saw seven major earthquakes go around the world. The shakings are coming now to prove what is not to be trusted in: governments, nationalism, personal strength, religion, money, people, etc. Heb.12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned [them] on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape] who turn away from him that [warneth] from heaven: (If we don't obey God's voice, we will be shaken and judged.) 26 whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. 27 And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: 29 for our God is a consuming fire. The people who were around us started to act completely insane. They were worse than animals because animals have some sense of control. These people were consumed by fear of the shaking that they were experiencing. It was almost like everything was falling apart all around and nothing was holding together. (Shakings like natural disasters, failed economy and incomes, loss of food and basic services, no health care, crime, martial law, war, terrorism, no fixes in sight, etc., will cause men's hearts to fail them. Luk.21:25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. David said, “I told you they would act like this”. As he said this, a hysterical young girl started to try and grab me (persecution from immature Christianity). It was apparent that she had no sense of sanity left. (She acted like a drowning person who would pull someone under to save herself.) (They will fall for the beast promises of a worldly fix, like a covenant with many.) It was apparent to me that the girl possessed no inward thoughts; her whole focus had become grabbing and groping (with the intent to destroy) everything around her. As the unfolding happened, I began to think about relationships I had when people would lose control when the pressure was too much, but it was nothing compared to this. Everywhere I went there was disorder. It was the basic breakdown of every fundamental element of society. I saw people on the floor shaking for excessive drunkenness and cliques forming that were full of evil and worldly behavior. (When domestic dogs lose the moral compass of a master, they revert back to the pack mentality to survive. It's us against them, guns and crime for survivalism.) One of the people looked like an old Popeye (I can't remember in the dream what he was doing). (Popeye was the worldly hero who was endowed with worldly strength to solve every problem.) I could discern before ever knowing the guy that things were not right with him. But I wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt and a chance. In the end, he proved just as corrupt as everyone else. (Those who are strong and righteous in the world's eyes will fail for not having the spiritual answer to their problems.) I thought to myself, I knew I shouldn't have been hanging out with that guy. What was I thinking? I knew he would do this. (Let us not be influenced by their ways of seeking help or solutions.) At the end of the dream, I remember tasting blood in my mouth and it was very painful. I took my hand to wipe my mouth of the blood and when I looked down on my hand, there were little white meat particles on my hand, instead of blood. (A warning to not devour one another, as the strong in the world will do to save themselves. Gal.5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.) These coming times are to separate the wheat from the tares. The wheat will not compromise their convictions and will endure the trial trusting in the Lord and holding to His Word. Mat.13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things (not numeric) that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. Don't be bribed by your need to break God's Word. He has given all authority to you to receive your needs by His Word. Php.4:19 And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Inflation and the War on the Saints Jerod Thomas - 10/22/2010 (David's notes in red) There was this dollar bill that was about the size of a small computer monitor, like a 17-inch screen. (Strangely enough I have an enlarged hundred dollar bill and I just measured it at 17 inches long.) And, interestingly enough, it had what looked like a screen because I could see images forming out of it. Words were forming out of it. I saw one of the words was “punishment”. I also saw this country (the U.S.) and the face of Benjamin Franklin. (Benjamin's face is on the $100 bill. Will the punishment of the U.S. be that what a dollar would buy would soon cost $100, as the value drops and they print more and more creating inflation?) Then I saw Cain, Abel's brother. Cain's eyes were bloodshot and he looked like a character from a western movie. He had shot his gun. (Cain, who “was of the evil one” [1Jn.3:12], slew the chosen seed, as it will be in these days.) He had a very strong spirit on his face. It was the spirit of murder and then his eyeballs disappeared and I was able to see inside of his eye sockets; it was as if I was staring into the very depths of his soul. It was pure darkness, literally. It was pitch black. Mat 6:22-23 The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! And then I saw an image of Satan as that darkness. He was in an elevator, as in that “Devil” movie (2010) that just came out in theaters. (The seven-headed, ten-horned body of the dragon in Revelation 12 represents a corporate Cain, the body of all lost mankind inhabited by Satan. These will attempt to devour the woman Church.) It was the most awful, defiling presence I had ever felt from demons. Satan was trying to scare and consume me with that spirit of murder and through my fear I would have given in, but I didn't want to wake up out of my sleep and run because I felt the LORD was with me and I wanted to fight that devil. (Through murder, Satan will attempt to intimidate the saints into obedience to him, which is the spiritual mark of the beast.) My voice was different because I was in the middle of a war and that war was resisting the devil, and I spoke with a very aggressive and raspy voice, and I said to that devil, “God is greater!” Then that devil left. Jas.4:7 ... Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Luk.10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Praise God Almighty that I was able to experience this and triumph through Him. To Him be the glory and honor, dominion and power now and forevermore, in Jesus' name, Amen. What Is Inflation? A simple commonly used definition of the word inflation is simply “an increase in the price you pay for goods”. In other words, a decline in the purchasing power of your money”. But there is more to inflation than that. There is “Price Inflation” and “Monetary Inflation”. Technically, Price Inflation is when prices get higher or it takes more money to buy the same item. Monetary Inflation is an increase in the money supply which generally results in price inflation. This acts as a “hidden tax” on the consumers in that country. Monetary inflation is commonly referred to as the government “printing money” although the actual process is a bit more complex than just cranking up the printing presses the effects are essentially the same. As the money supply increases, the currency loses its purchasing power and the price of goods and services increases. This process usually takes 18 months to two years, so the government is able to spend the newly minted dollars at the old value before consumers realize that they have been cheated into accepting something that will purchase less than they originally thought it would. Summary: When inflation skyrockets and poverty is everywhere, men become desperate and crimes against humanity become rampant. Governments who are looking for scapegoats and want to cut someone out of their meager benefits will find that the god of this world, who has taken them over, will anoint them with reasons to blame and persecute the Christians. The dragon/beast is coming to make war on the saints. Make sure you have your armor on.

Hello Friends! I love to hear from you! Please send me a text message by clicking on this link! Blessings to You!In this episode, Jori discusses with her listeners what the angel told Joseph about Mary, that she would bear a Son, and they he should name Him Jesus for He would save his people from their sins. Scripture References:Matthew 1:212 Timothy 3:16-172 Peter 1:21Matthew 9:9Matthew 5-7Matthew 1:1-7Luke 3:23-38Matthew 1:18-25John 3:16 Scripture translation used is the Legacy Standard Bible.  “Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.comFIND DR. JORI ON OTHER PLATFORMS https://linktr.ee/drjorishafferCHECK OUT THE DWELL AUDIO BIBLE APP:Click this link for my unique referral code.  I use this frequently. Such a wonderful audio bible app. https://dwellapp.io/aff?ref=jorishafferBIBLE STUDY TOOLS DR. JORI USES:Note: These contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links.LSB Single Column Biblehttps://amzn.to/4g9C47oESV MacArthur Study Biblehttps://amzn.to/3C1cpQwInk Joy Penshttps://amzn.to/3EaZ8oRMr. Pen HighLightershttps://amzn.to/3PE20x8Mr. Pen Bible Journaling Kithttps://amzn.to/40pib6o  JOIN DR. JORI IN DEVOTIONAL JOURNALING IN 2025Check out this 9 min YouTube Video outlining her journaling strategy! Don't Forget to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! https://youtu.be/lqe9TO7RSz4 BOOKS OF BIBLE COLOR CHARTI made this chart as a helpful tool for grouping the collections of books or letters  in the Holy Bible.  The colors in the different sections are the ones that I use in my journals.  Books of Bible Chart (color) (4).pdf - Google Drive   LOOKING TO RETAIN MORE OF WHAT YOUR PASTOR IS TEACHING?              CHECK OUT DR. JORI'S SERMON REFLECTION JOURNALS! Sermon Notes, Reflections and Applications Journal/Notebooks by Dr. Jori. Click the links below to be directed to amazon.com for purchase. Or search “Dr. Jori Shaffer” on Amazon to bring these up.  https://a.co/d/9B5krQlhttps://a.co/d/iycFlnNHere is a brief YouTube video that tells about the Journal/Notebooks as well:https://youtu.be/aXpQNYUEzdsEmail: awordforthisday@gmail.comPodcast website:  https://awordforthisday.buzzsprout.com  Support the show

“But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.” (John 5:36 NLT) Jesus returned to Jerusalem to observe the holy days at the temple. While He was there, He passed the pool of Bethesda, a place of hope and despair. The waters of the pool seem to have had a healing effect. Many people believed that an angel occasionally came down to stir the waters. And the first person who entered the pool after the waters had been stirred would be cured of their ailment. That explains why crowds of sick, blind, disabled, and paralyzed people gathered on the five porches that surrounded the pool. They each hoped for a miraculous healing. One man had been disabled for 38 years. But since he had no one to help him into the water, he had no hope for healing. Or so he thought. With one sentence in verse 8—“Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (NLT)—Jesus changed his life forever. The man was healed instantly. He picked up his mat and walked away. Only to be busted moments later by the Jewish religious leaders. It turns out that the healing had taken place on the Sabbath. And in Jewish culture, there were all kinds of rules about what people could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath. So when the religious leaders saw this man who had been disabled for four decades suddenly walking, the first thing they wanted to know was . . . why he was carrying a mat on the Sabbath. And when the man identified Jesus as the One who had healed him, the Sabbath police went after Him. They didn’t express awe over Jesus’ healing power. They didn’t praise Him for His compassion and concern. Instead, they harassed Him for breaking their Sabbath rules. These hypocritical religious leaders, with their misplaced priorities, were so concerned about Jesus’ growing influence that they started looking for reasons to have Him put to death. Jesus gave them everything they needed and more. He referred to God as “My Father,” which was the same as calling Himself equal with God. He pointed out that everything He said and did had God’s blessing. That meant His words were God’s truth. He claimed the power of judgment over everyone. He made it clear that anyone who didn’t honor Him—including the Sabbath-obsessed religious leaders—didn’t honor God, who sent Him. Jesus told them that the power of eternal life rested with Him. And that He was carrying out the will of His Father. So anyone who opposed Him opposed God’s will. He reminded the religious leaders that they had taken John the Baptist seriously—and John the Baptist’s entire ministry was built on testifying that Jesus was the Son of God. And then He pointed out that the religious leaders revered Moses and his —and Moses had written about Him (Jesus) centuries before. The truth that Jesus’ enemies couldn’t wrap their heads around still gives us assurance and confidence today: Every reliable witness testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior. — Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest Partner Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord celebrates the 8th day of our Lord's life. On that day He is obedient to the Law of Moses in being circumcised. It is also on that day that the father was to give the child a name. Joseph gives Him the Name that is above all other names. He names Him Jesus in obedience to God through the message of an angel. Circumcision is fulfilled by Baptism in the new and eternal covenant. When we are Baptized, we are both washed clean and given a new name. Our new name is an adopted child of God.

There's no greater gift our daughter and son-in-law could have given us than the little guy that was our first grandchild and the ones that have come since. From the night he was born, our hearts were all wrapped around that precious new life and they still are for all our grandchildren even though they're grown up. We would jump at the chance to babysit, and believe me; our rates were well below the market. But eventually, we took him home, and it was our turn to relax. That's the cycle of life. I had my chance to be the father of a child when my children were born. A grandchild is grand, but he's really not your child. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Got No Grandchildren!" Now, I love being a grandfather. God doesn't. Well, He loves being a Father, but the Bible reveals the startling, unsettling truth that God has no grandchildren. Lots of children, but no grandchildren. There really is no more critical, life-or-death issue in our lives than whether or not we belong to God. Not whether we believe in Him; whether we belong to Him; whether or not we have a personal relationship with Him. So much in this life and everything after this life depends on whether we are in God's family. Our word for today from the Word of God can really help us determine if we are or we're not. It's found in John 1:12. God says, speaking of Jesus, "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Now, notice we're not automatically born a child of God. We're all His creation, but we're not all His children. There's got to be a spiritual birth for that to take place. And apparently a lot of people who know a lot about Jesus, who have been around Jesus a lot, who are in a religion about Jesus can miss Jesus. These verses tell us that Jesus "came to that which was His own, but His own did not recognize Him." God makes it clear that you don't belong to Him unless you have personally been born into a relationship with Him as His child. He has no second-generation people in His family. You won't go to heaven because your mom or dad belongs to Jesus, or because your son or daughter does or your husband or wife. You're not God's child just because you've been around God's children your whole life, even if you've been acting like one of God's children. My daughter is my daughter by one simple fact: there was a day she was born into my family. Without that birth, there's no relationship. Without a personal spiritual rebirth, there is no relationship between you and God, no forgiveness, no heaven. And God tells us exactly how and when you can be spiritually born. His children are those who it says, "received Him (Jesus)...those who believed." That means the day you reach out to Jesus in total trust and say, "Lord, You are my only hope of having my sins forgiven, of belonging to God, because You are the only One who died to pay for my sins, to pay the awful death penalty; to take my hell to go to Your heaven." In short, "Jesus, I'm Yours." You may be surrounded by Christianity, but missing Christ. Well, today could be your day to change that. It could be your spiritual birthday forever. If you want to begin this incredible relationship with Jesus Christ and know that you have, then let's have a definite beginning. Let Him know that. Tell Him that right now, "Jesus, knowing about You is not enough for me. I want to know You. Having a religion about You is not enough. I know that it will never be enough to get me into heaven or You would have never died on that cross. But, Jesus, I see now how personal that was and I embrace You, I grab You like a drowning person grabbing a lifeguard. You are my only hope, Jesus. And beginning today, I'm yours." To help you know you belong to Him, would you please go to our website today? You'll find some things there that will really help you be sure. That website is ANewStory.com. All these years beneath all the Christian words and Christian activities and maybe masks you've known in your heart that someone was missing, and it's been Jesus all along. But that's about to end if you'll give yourself to Him. Then when God opens His family album on Judgment Day - the one with no grandchildren - there you'll be: a child of God, born this very day.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."   Merry Christmas! On this Christmas day, I thought it would be appropriate to go back to Luke 2 and once again read the real Christmas story and make a few comments about it. Everyone loves the story of a Baby in a manger! But the sad thing is that most of the world would like to keep this Baby there. It is there you can cuddle Him and tell Him how sweet He is. And if you can keep Him there you can control Him because He is only a Baby. But my friend, Jesus is far more than a Baby in a manger.   The angel declared to the shepherds that this Baby was the Savior, Who is Christ the Lord! It was only through a human birth that Jesus, the eternal, preexistent Son of God, the second Person of the Godhead Trinity, could robe Himself in human flesh so that He could be our Savior. Joseph was told by an angel in a dream that he was “to take Mary as his wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).   In order to die in our place for our sins Jesus had to become flesh. Hebrews 2:14-15 puts it this way: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” “We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The payment for our sin is death (Romans 6:23). Someone has to pay the penalty and Jesus as the perfect, sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, voluntarily was willing to lay down His life for us!   The story of Jesus is, from the cradle, to the cross and death, to the grave, to a glorious resurrection, and then to the right hand of the Father on the throne in heaven! Jesus came to be our Savior! And He qualified because He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One! At the time Jesus was born the name Jesus was a very common name given to boys. So, Jesus was distinguished from all other men with His title: Jesus, the Christ! And there is only one Jesus, the Christ! He alone is the fulfilment of the Old Testament Prophecies who came to redeem us from death. (Ephesians 2:4-10).   But not only is Jesus the Savior and Messiah, He is “the Lord”.  Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.”   Jesus is the Sovereign God and has the right to rule as Lord over our lives! Have you submitted to His authority over your life?   God bless!

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:John 2-4 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey.. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome, dear ones, to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is December 18th, and it's day 353 of our journey through the Scriptures. I'm your host, Hunter, your Bible reading coach and brother. As we explore the Gospel of John, chapters 2 through 4, we will witness Jesus' miraculous transformation of water to wine at Cana, His passionate cleansing of the temple, and His deep conversations with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Our focus today is on recognizing that all signs point to Him—Jesus, our source of life, joy, and transformation. We'll conclude with heartfelt prayers and reflections, anchoring ourselves in the love of God. Join me, let's dive in and experience the Word together. TODAY'S DEVOTION: All the signs are pointing to him. There's the sign at the wedding feast. He turns water into wine. And here we see the sign of the healed boy simply at the word of Jesus. A boy is healed. The fever is gone. The prayer is answered. Christ is what all the signs are pointing to. And even at this season when we celebrate the advent of Jesus, may these days before the Christmas week remind us that all the signs are pointing to him. He is our wedding feast. He's the one who gives wine for our water. He's the one that answers our deepest heart's cry. All of it points to him. There are many more signs in this gospel. May our hearts be open to all of them. May we have eyes to see through this Advent season who He is, that He is Emmanuel. He's come to identify with all of humanity by becoming a human. That he is going to offer himself on behalf of all the world to free us, to rescue us, and liberate us, that we might experience the life that he shares with the father and the anointing of the spirit, that he has embraced us and included us into that very life and joy. The incarnation shows us the depth of his love and it also shows us the depths of your own value, how God values you, that you are deeply loved. And the prayer of my own heart today is that I will see that well, that I'll see the signs. They're all pointing to him, to what he's done and who we are in him. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, and my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Mt 1:18-25 - This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with Child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this Child has been conceived in her. She will bear a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with Child and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a Son, and he named Him Jesus. Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2, 3, 4) Cardinal Müller: “A Church that no longer believes in Jesus the Christ is no longer the Church of Jesus Christ” https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/cardinal-muller-a-church-that-no-longer-believes-in-jesus-the-christ-is-no-longer-his-church/

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Mt 1:18-25 - This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with Child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this Child has been conceived in her. She will bear a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with Child and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a Son, and he named Him Jesus.

Hi, I'm John Sorensen, President of Evangelism Explosion International, and you're listening to Share Life Today. While the people of Bethlehem slept, there was a young woman, ten months pregnant, resting in a stable. She had arrived earlier that day with her husband and found that there was no room in any of the inns for them to stay. They'd come to be part of an ordered census from the Roman governor. And while the little town slumbered away that night, Mary labored and had her son, and she named Him Jesus, just as the angel had told her. He was born to save His people from their sins. And today, over two thousand years later, He's still working a miracle in those who place their trust in His death on the cross. Jesus lived the perfect life we that couldn't and died the death we should have to save us from our sins. And the Bible tells us “to all who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” For more on hope of the Gospel, visit our website at www.sharelife.today. That's www.sharelife.today.

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Father Charles Murr joins Terry Gospel - Lk 1:26-38 - The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Most Blessed Mother, pray for us, who have recourse to thee! Bishop Sheen quote of the day

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 7:14, 1 Samuel 16:7 In today's Scripture, we look at an incredible and great announcement from the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God, Jesus. In this season of Advent we also look with anticipation to the incredible and great announcement of Christ's return.  This will not be a quiet visit to just one person, this will be an announcement the whole world will see and hear! As we look at today's reading, the question for us is how will we react to the announcement of the Savior's birth? We can learn from Mary… The angel Gabriel came to Mary, saying, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” (Hold onto that word favored - we're coming back to that!) She was pretty shocked, but the angel said to not be afraid and he announces to her that she will conceive (even though she is a virgin) and have a son.  She is to name Him Jesus and he will be the Son of the Most High - His kingdom will never end. This child being announced is the long awaited Messiah! He is the fulfillment of the prophetic word all through the Old Testament. Call Him Jesus     1. Jesus = God Saves     2. Son of the Most High - God with us     3. Reign on David's throne     4. Kingdom will never end!! As the story continues, Mary asks how this could be as she is a virgin. The angel tells her that the Holy Spirit will come on her and the power of the Most High will over come her and that the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.  The angel concludes with, “No word from God will ever fail!!” What a great line! Sometimes that seems hard to believe, especially if we are going through a difficult time, but we have a clear word from God that His word never fails, that in the end all who trust in Jesus will share in His victory!  In the end WE WIN!  GOD KEEPS HIS WORD - no word from God will ever fail! But there's a word here that speaks directly to us today as we walk by faith in our Savior - “Why was Mary CHOSEN (favored) to be the Mother of Jesus?  Highly Favored     1. 1 Samuel 16:7 we learn that “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the HEART.”  God is concerned about the heart and that's the heart of the reason He chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus.  We want to have her heart. People look from the outside in, God looks from the inside out.     2. Devout (see Luke 1:46-47) - She knew God and His faithfulness     3. Humble (see Luke 1:48) The Lord noticed her humble state - she understood she deserved nothing from God, but she also knew God is good and everything good comes from Him.     4. Obedient (see Luke 1:38) Her reply to the announcement was, “I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” She was willing to go along with the divine plan. She takes this Great Announcement as God's truth!  Our Savior is coming to earth!  We want the Lord to look at our hearts and we want Him to see hearts that are faithful before Him: devout, humble and obedient. Our reaction to this Great Announcement is to respond in joy and thanksgiving and praise to the goodness and grace of God in Christ.  This is a “WOW” gift!  What an incredible announcement and living in response to it is an incredible way to live!! https://www.awakeusnow.com Check out the video on our website https://www.awakeusnow.com/the-greats Check out the video on Youtube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOwOsas957DiSUd6oyPPusju&si=aF1BhWGvhZyBvUVi Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

The Perplexed Prophet - Matthew 11:1-19 Today we will see Jesus explain His calling to John the Baptist; we will also see Jesus explain John the Baptist's calling to the crowds; and finally Jesus' call for everyone to walk in the wisdom of faith. Matthew 11:1-19 Jesus sent out the first ones, and began training the next ones – just like we do to this day! The next ones probably included men like Justus and Matthias, who later would be the finalists to replace Judas Iscariot. Jesus explains John the Baptist's calling to the crowds - V. 7-15 JTB was more than a prophet because he served as the Messiah's forerunner – His prophetic ministry stood at the end of the age of Mosaic Law and at the beginning of the offer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of sins. - Luke 1:76-77 And many came to Him (Jesus). And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this Man was true. And many believed in Him (Jesus) there. - John 10:41-42 In Old Covenant days believers went to the Temple; In these New Covenant days believers are each Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Thus every believer living in New Covenant days is ‘greater' than the greatest saint living under Old Covenant days. “You brood of vipers – who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our Father.” - Matthew 3:7-9 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. - 2 Tim. 3:12 JTB was the fulfilment of Malachi 4:5-6. John himself denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21), yet he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Jesus explains His calling to John the Baptist - V. 2-6 John was probably both perplexed and perturbed! Perplexed because he had spoken of the Christ as bringing judgment to evildoers and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matt. 3:12). Perturbed because he was also related to Jesus (Luke 1:36), yet rotting in evil King Herod's prison while ‘cousin' Jesus was healing, not judging! Jesus answered JTB by citing the miracles He was doing, all in fulfilment of prophecies (see for instance Isa. 29:18-19; 35:5-10; 61:1). In his zeal for what we would call Christ's Second Advent (Coming) as Conquering King to bring absolute righteousness to Israel and judgment of God's enemies, JTB had minimized what we would call Christ's First Advent (Coming) to deal with both Israel and the world's bigger problem of spiritual lostness. No one will experience the physical external rule of the King who doesn't first experience the spiritual internal reign of King Jesus. What chokes every prayer and every hope is the memory of all the prayers H.and I offered and all the false hopes we had. Not hopes raised merely by our own wishful thinking, hopes encouraged, even forced upon us, by false diagnoses, by X-ray photographs, by strange remissions, by one temporary recovery that might have ranked as a miracle. Step by step we were ‘led up the garden path.' Time after time, when He seemed most gracious He was really preparing the next torture. - C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, page 30 What are you going to do when your expectations of God's work in your life don't match up with the way He actually works? Will you still worship and follow Jesus? Or will you choose to be offended at Him because of your unrealistic expectations. Some of you may be perplexed and even perturbed at Jesus right now. I hope you will go to Him in prayer and get back to a place of surrender to God and His actual calling for you rather than your unmet expectations. Jesus' call for everyone to walk in the wisdom of faith - V. 16-19

On the first Christmas, an angel appeared to some shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks at night. We are told that at the angels appearing, the shepherds were terribly frightened. The angel announced to the shepherds: And so the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 2:1012). The Christmas story does not begin with the shepherds, or with the angels visit to Mary with the words: Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:31-33). The story of Christmas began long before the promise made to Marys fianc, Joseph: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:20b-21). The story of Christmas begins in Genesis 1:1 with the words: In the beginning. It involves an antagonist (the devil), it is all about a hero (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), and it is about our need to be rescued (we have a sin problem). The story of Christmas is a story that transforms unlike any other story; it is a story identified by one word in the Bible, and that word is, Gospel which means, good news. Of this good news, the apostle Paul wrote: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). The Christmas story is about the promised savior born to be kingthe Lion of the Tribe of Judah from whom, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet (Gen. 29:10). Christmas is the ancient promise that the Son of David would be unlike any other king in that God would, establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:13). The coming King who would save His people from their sins would be Immanuel (Isa. 7:14)God with us. What is the Helmet of Salvation? Like the soldiers shield, the helmet could be taken of and put back on. The helmet of the Roman soldier was made of bronze and had cheek pieces to provide protection to his head. Like the breastplate of righteousness, Paul draws his language from Isaiah 59:17, He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a cloak. If you recall from my sermon on the breastplate of righteousness, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who was, pierced for our offences, and was crushed for our wrongdoings is the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, which begins with these words: Behold, the Lords hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear (v. 1). The One who is able to save is the One to Whom righteousness and salvation truly belongs. When redemption and righteousness was beyond the reach of sinful humanity, Immanuel put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head and was born of a virgin to save us from our sins. But what does it mean to be saved from our sins, and is salvation something that can be taken up and put off like a helmet? To answer those questions we must answer what salvation is. Salvation literally means, preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. In the strictest and most biblical sense, salvation is something that has happened in the past, but it is also happening in the present, and yes... it is also something that will happen in the future. In other words, Jesus came to save his people from their sins so that they can be saved from the past, the present, and in the future, from the full curse of sin. How so? Well, think about what was announced: Jesus came to save His people from their sins. When Adam and Eve sinned, all of creation was brought under a curse, and that curse includes not only our propensity to sin against God, but also death and the vandalizing of a peace with God all of humanity was intended to enjoy. Here is what the Bible says: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned... (Rom. 5:12). So, when it comes to our salvation, Timothy Keller said, The Bible says every Christian stands in the middle of three tenses of their salvation. You cant understand the glory and the beauty of it unless you see it. In fact, you wont be able to understand the Scripture and you wont be able to understand whats happening to you if you dont understand.[1] We stand in the past tense of our salvation: You have been saved from the penalty of sin and pardoned from your guilt and now have been covered under the righteousness of Christ and are justified before a holy God (1 Pet. 3:18). We stand in the reality that we have been saved from the penalty of sin! We stand in the present tense of our salvation: You are being saved in the sense that God is changing you through the power of His Holy Spirit. The evidence of your nature to sin is still there and the struggle against your own sin is very real, but each moment that you move closer to death on this side of eternity is one step closer to Christlikeness. This is the fight I was talking about last week. In this present life you, Christian, fight the good fight of the faith and by doing so, we take hold of the eternal life to which you have been called (1 Tim. 6:12). We stand in the reality that we are being saved from the power of sin! We stand in the future tense of our salvation: Because we have been saved from the penalty of sin and we are being saved from the power of sin because Jesus, as the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, is able and will indeed rescue us from all sin. The third verse in the carol, Joy to the Word, rightly states: No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground;He comes to make his blessings flowFar as the curse is found. Jesus came to save us from our sins in the sense that He will make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found, and on that day: Death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54), what is mortal will be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4), sorrow and singing will flee away (Isa. 51:11), every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:1-4), and all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5). We stand in the reality that we will be saved from the presence of sin... forever and will receive a better and more glorious Eden! The salvation that Jesus came to deliver is not something we take off and put on again, so what then is the helmet of salvation? According to 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation: But since we are of the day, lets be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.Because we are saved, being saved, and will be saved... we live in the hope of our salvation no matter what the enemy launches at us or does to us, the night is almost gone, and the day is near (Rom. 13:12). How Do You Take Up the Helmet of Salvation? To take up the helmet of salvation is to live in the reality that this mortal life is not the end and that you are now, and forever will, remain a child of the living God! The helmet of salvation protects your head, it protects your mind, it protects your line of sight so that you can see the hope that is yours in Christ. When things in life seem to go south, when this life is shortened by disease, when this worlds resources are stripped away, when the proverbial rug is pulled from underneath, and when it seems that all in this world is lost... you can respond with gospel-centered hope: For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison... (2 Cor. 4:17). The helmet of salvation is the assurance of our salvation! Listen, there are two dangers that every person faces if they are a part of any Bible teaching and gospel centered church. The first danger is to believe that you are a Christian when you are not. If you believe that you can believe in Jesus with your mind for the salvation of your soul with little consequence to the way you are living your life today, then you may not be a genuine Christian. True saving faith is to believe and trust that Jesus life, death, and resurrection is enough for the salvation of your soul; the evidence that you genuinely believe and trust in Jesus as your savior will be evidenced in your standing in your past salvation, present salvation, and hope in your future salvation. Do not forget Ephesians 2:8-10! You were saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and the purpose for your salvation is stated in verse 10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Genuine saving faith in Jesus will be evidenced by a changing life that looks more and more like Jesus life over the years. The second danger you face in the local church is that the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation. If the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation successfully, he will have a better chance of tempting you to live closer to your sin rather than closer to Jesus as your savior. When you take up the helmet of salvation, you stand in the shoes of the gospel of peace, with your identity in Christ firmly belted around your waist, the righteousness of Christ securely fastened over your chest, so that you can take up your biblically saturated faith. When the devil attempts to undermine your salvation, you can take up your helmet of salvation knowing that only because of Jesus, there is no condemnation for you (Rom. 8:1)! When you take up your helmet of salvation in the enemys presence, you do so with confidence, knowing: ...that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). When the attacks come and the devil or your flesh is all up in your face to tempt you to doubt the sufficiency of Christ, you take up your helmet of salvation with the assurance of 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed... (2 Cor. 4:79). How do you know that the salvation Jesus provided is enough? The One born to save His people from their sins is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace promised long ago (Isa. 9:6-7). He is the promised King whose, times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2). The One born King of the Jews is He who was declared long before His birth through the virgin Mary: I am the first and the last, and there is no God besides Me (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:17-18). Jesus can save because He is the righteous Branch of David who is called, Yahweh Our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6). He is Him who is, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation... by Whom all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers, or authoritiesall things have been created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:15-16). The salvation Jesus provided is enough because, while He existed in the form of God as the Divine Son, He humbled Himself, by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross (see Phil. 2:1-11). This is why we can have every confidence that Ephesians 1:7-8 is all that we need for the hope of our salvation: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. So, in light of all that Jesus is and all that he did to secure your salvation, who are you, Chistian? You are chosen by God before the foundation of the world (1:4-6)! Who are you Christian? You are redeemed as a child of God by the blood of His own Son... namely Jesus (1:7-12)! Who are you Christian? You are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of the living God until the day when redemption is finally complete (1:13-14). You can have all the confidence that Jesus is enough because He alone is the Divine Warrior qualified to live the life you could not live for the purpose of dying a death you deserved! Jesus is your righteousness, and He is your salvation! On December 4th, I read something Thomas Watson wrote that Jonathan Gibsons O Come, O Come, Emmanuel included in his devotional. When it comes to what our salvation means, Watsons words seem to capture the beauty and magnitude of the Jesus who came to save his people from their sins: He was poor that he might make us rich. He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his Spirit. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven... that the Ancient of Days should be born,--that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle,--that he who rules the stars should suck the breast,--that a virgin should conceive,--that Christ should be made of a woman which himself made,--that the branch should bear the vine,--that the mother should be younger than the child she bore, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother,--that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God: this was not only amazing but miraculous. If you a Christian, Jesus is the hope of your salvation for He is the helmet of your salvation. If you are not a Christian, you can receive Him as the Hope of your salvation by surrendering your life to Him as your Savior. [1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

On the first Christmas, an angel appeared to some shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks at night. We are told that at the angels appearing, the shepherds were terribly frightened. The angel announced to the shepherds: And so the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 2:1012). The Christmas story does not begin with the shepherds, or with the angels visit to Mary with the words: Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:31-33). The story of Christmas began long before the promise made to Marys fianc, Joseph: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:20b-21). The story of Christmas begins in Genesis 1:1 with the words: In the beginning. It involves an antagonist (the devil), it is all about a hero (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), and it is about our need to be rescued (we have a sin problem). The story of Christmas is a story that transforms unlike any other story; it is a story identified by one word in the Bible, and that word is, Gospel which means, good news. Of this good news, the apostle Paul wrote: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). The Christmas story is about the promised savior born to be kingthe Lion of the Tribe of Judah from whom, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet (Gen. 29:10). Christmas is the ancient promise that the Son of David would be unlike any other king in that God would, establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:13). The coming King who would save His people from their sins would be Immanuel (Isa. 7:14)God with us. What is the Helmet of Salvation? Like the soldiers shield, the helmet could be taken of and put back on. The helmet of the Roman soldier was made of bronze and had cheek pieces to provide protection to his head. Like the breastplate of righteousness, Paul draws his language from Isaiah 59:17, He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a cloak. If you recall from my sermon on the breastplate of righteousness, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who was, pierced for our offences, and was crushed for our wrongdoings is the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, which begins with these words: Behold, the Lords hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear (v. 1). The One who is able to save is the One to Whom righteousness and salvation truly belongs. When redemption and righteousness was beyond the reach of sinful humanity, Immanuel put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head and was born of a virgin to save us from our sins. But what does it mean to be saved from our sins, and is salvation something that can be taken up and put off like a helmet? To answer those questions we must answer what salvation is. Salvation literally means, preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. In the strictest and most biblical sense, salvation is something that has happened in the past, but it is also happening in the present, and yes... it is also something that will happen in the future. In other words, Jesus came to save his people from their sins so that they can be saved from the past, the present, and in the future, from the full curse of sin. How so? Well, think about what was announced: Jesus came to save His people from their sins. When Adam and Eve sinned, all of creation was brought under a curse, and that curse includes not only our propensity to sin against God, but also death and the vandalizing of a peace with God all of humanity was intended to enjoy. Here is what the Bible says: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned... (Rom. 5:12). So, when it comes to our salvation, Timothy Keller said, The Bible says every Christian stands in the middle of three tenses of their salvation. You cant understand the glory and the beauty of it unless you see it. In fact, you wont be able to understand the Scripture and you wont be able to understand whats happening to you if you dont understand.[1] We stand in the past tense of our salvation: You have been saved from the penalty of sin and pardoned from your guilt and now have been covered under the righteousness of Christ and are justified before a holy God (1 Pet. 3:18). We stand in the reality that we have been saved from the penalty of sin! We stand in the present tense of our salvation: You are being saved in the sense that God is changing you through the power of His Holy Spirit. The evidence of your nature to sin is still there and the struggle against your own sin is very real, but each moment that you move closer to death on this side of eternity is one step closer to Christlikeness. This is the fight I was talking about last week. In this present life you, Christian, fight the good fight of the faith and by doing so, we take hold of the eternal life to which you have been called (1 Tim. 6:12). We stand in the reality that we are being saved from the power of sin! We stand in the future tense of our salvation: Because we have been saved from the penalty of sin and we are being saved from the power of sin because Jesus, as the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, is able and will indeed rescue us from all sin. The third verse in the carol, Joy to the Word, rightly states: No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground;He comes to make his blessings flowFar as the curse is found. Jesus came to save us from our sins in the sense that He will make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found, and on that day: Death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54), what is mortal will be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4), sorrow and singing will flee away (Isa. 51:11), every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:1-4), and all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5). We stand in the reality that we will be saved from the presence of sin... forever and will receive a better and more glorious Eden! The salvation that Jesus came to deliver is not something we take off and put on again, so what then is the helmet of salvation? According to 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation: But since we are of the day, lets be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.Because we are saved, being saved, and will be saved... we live in the hope of our salvation no matter what the enemy launches at us or does to us, the night is almost gone, and the day is near (Rom. 13:12). How Do You Take Up the Helmet of Salvation? To take up the helmet of salvation is to live in the reality that this mortal life is not the end and that you are now, and forever will, remain a child of the living God! The helmet of salvation protects your head, it protects your mind, it protects your line of sight so that you can see the hope that is yours in Christ. When things in life seem to go south, when this life is shortened by disease, when this worlds resources are stripped away, when the proverbial rug is pulled from underneath, and when it seems that all in this world is lost... you can respond with gospel-centered hope: For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison... (2 Cor. 4:17). The helmet of salvation is the assurance of our salvation! Listen, there are two dangers that every person faces if they are a part of any Bible teaching and gospel centered church. The first danger is to believe that you are a Christian when you are not. If you believe that you can believe in Jesus with your mind for the salvation of your soul with little consequence to the way you are living your life today, then you may not be a genuine Christian. True saving faith is to believe and trust that Jesus life, death, and resurrection is enough for the salvation of your soul; the evidence that you genuinely believe and trust in Jesus as your savior will be evidenced in your standing in your past salvation, present salvation, and hope in your future salvation. Do not forget Ephesians 2:8-10! You were saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and the purpose for your salvation is stated in verse 10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Genuine saving faith in Jesus will be evidenced by a changing life that looks more and more like Jesus life over the years. The second danger you face in the local church is that the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation. If the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation successfully, he will have a better chance of tempting you to live closer to your sin rather than closer to Jesus as your savior. When you take up the helmet of salvation, you stand in the shoes of the gospel of peace, with your identity in Christ firmly belted around your waist, the righteousness of Christ securely fastened over your chest, so that you can take up your biblically saturated faith. When the devil attempts to undermine your salvation, you can take up your helmet of salvation knowing that only because of Jesus, there is no condemnation for you (Rom. 8:1)! When you take up your helmet of salvation in the enemys presence, you do so with confidence, knowing: ...that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). When the attacks come and the devil or your flesh is all up in your face to tempt you to doubt the sufficiency of Christ, you take up your helmet of salvation with the assurance of 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed... (2 Cor. 4:79). How do you know that the salvation Jesus provided is enough? The One born to save His people from their sins is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace promised long ago (Isa. 9:6-7). He is the promised King whose, times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2). The One born King of the Jews is He who was declared long before His birth through the virgin Mary: I am the first and the last, and there is no God besides Me (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:17-18). Jesus can save because He is the righteous Branch of David who is called, Yahweh Our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6). He is Him who is, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation... by Whom all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers, or authoritiesall things have been created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:15-16). The salvation Jesus provided is enough because, while He existed in the form of God as the Divine Son, He humbled Himself, by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross (see Phil. 2:1-11). This is why we can have every confidence that Ephesians 1:7-8 is all that we need for the hope of our salvation: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. So, in light of all that Jesus is and all that he did to secure your salvation, who are you, Chistian? You are chosen by God before the foundation of the world (1:4-6)! Who are you Christian? You are redeemed as a child of God by the blood of His own Son... namely Jesus (1:7-12)! Who are you Christian? You are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of the living God until the day when redemption is finally complete (1:13-14). You can have all the confidence that Jesus is enough because He alone is the Divine Warrior qualified to live the life you could not live for the purpose of dying a death you deserved! Jesus is your righteousness, and He is your salvation! On December 4th, I read something Thomas Watson wrote that Jonathan Gibsons O Come, O Come, Emmanuel included in his devotional. When it comes to what our salvation means, Watsons words seem to capture the beauty and magnitude of the Jesus who came to save his people from their sins: He was poor that he might make us rich. He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his Spirit. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven... that the Ancient of Days should be born,--that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle,--that he who rules the stars should suck the breast,--that a virgin should conceive,--that Christ should be made of a woman which himself made,--that the branch should bear the vine,--that the mother should be younger than the child she bore, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother,--that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God: this was not only amazing but miraculous. If you a Christian, Jesus is the hope of your salvation for He is the helmet of your salvation. If you are not a Christian, you can receive Him as the Hope of your salvation by surrendering your life to Him as your Savior. [1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

Luke 1:26-38; “Mary's Story”  The Christmas story is familiar to most of us, but Pastor Dodge gives us a fresh view of this well know story over the next few weeks beginning today with the story of Mary, Jesus' mother. Mary's name means bitter.  She was born in an obscure village, raised in a difficult time when the children of Israel were in bondage to Roman master. BUT her Son would not only redeem Israel - He would redeem the world. Very little is know about Mary. What we know is that she was a virgin born in the town of Nazareth, a town not even mentioned in the Old Testament. However, God chose an obscure little town and an unknown young woman to be the carriers of His promised Savior. Though Mary's name means bitter, God changes things! He turns bitterness into joy! A unique birth, a unique mother and a unique child!   Today, Christmas is under attack. Yet perhaps it's more than that. The battle is larger than the attack on Christmas, it's a battle that goes back to the garden of Eden. It's not a war on Christmas, it's a war on God. The human race, since our fall, has been hostile to the things of God. But! The magnitude of God's love is that He breaks into our world even when we are His enemies. Let us pray that God would move in the lives of people to reveal His incredible goodness. This well-known story shows us many things:     ⁃    God breaks into the life of Mary and He still breaks into our lives today.     ⁃    Mary willingly listened to God's message to her through the angel Gabriel and His Word is still active and alive today!     ⁃    Gabriel tells her what to name her son. She is to name Him Jesus, meaning “God saves” and God continues to save His people today through faith in Christ Jesus.     ⁃    Mary asked “I am a virgin, how will this be?” Gabriel responded through the Holy Spirit and the angel goes on to say in Luke 1:37 “For no word from God will ever fail.” God's promises are assured. He does the impossible!  He does what no human being can accomplish - our redemption! Jesus alone redeems and saves.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit using the Virgin Mary to conceive and bear a Son - God's one and only Son - Jesus breaks into our world with His saving grace! Today's reading ends with Mary saying, “I am the Lord's servant, may your word to me be fulfilled” and then the angel left her. Such a powerful example of trust - she hears the word of God, receives it, believes it and rejoices in it. So much to learn from Mary. She's not just our Savior's mother, she is an amazing role model for any who desire to be servants of the Lord.  Things that stand out about Mary that we can apply in our own lives as well:     1.    Devout Faith - trusted God even when what Gabriel told her seemed impossible.  We too are called to devout faith in God today.     2.    Humility - humble individual who knew it wasn't about her, but about God. A truth for us to internalize too.     3.    Obedience - she listened, obeyed and followed God. Faith saves and when we have faith we will obey!  Faith shows itself in obedience.     4.    Worship - sing praises- thank God for what He has done. As we celebrate Christmas we're not simply looking back to what happened long ago at Jesus' first coming. We're also looking forward to His final coming when He returns - when He reigns and rules forevermore! Check out our website –   https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 St. Luke's Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke takes a look at the life of Jesus, beginning with the well-known Christmas stories. Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus' life. This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Feels Like Home-pt 3 The Power of Mission Jesus said, “…GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19, 20 NLT “Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News…”  Matthew 9:35 NLT “…the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus.” Acts 8:4 NLT “But how can they call on Him (Jesus) to save them unless they believe in Him?  And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him?  And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?  That is what the scriptures mean when they say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news.'”   Romans 10:14, 15 NLT STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN Luke 10: 30-35 NLT HOW TO BE MISSIONARY Your Mission Begins in Your Heart “he felt deep pity”  Luke 10:33 NLT   “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes…” Romans 1:16 NLT “So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ.” Colossians 1:28 NLT Your Mission is to Do What You Can “Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.”  Luke 10:34 NLT THREE PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE: The robber's: What's yours is mine and I'll take it The traveler's: What's mine is mine and I'll keep it The Samaritan's: What's mine is yours and I'll give it Your Mission Outcome Multiplies With Partners