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One of the greatest prayers in the New Testament was actually a cry for help to Jesus. An honest, vulnerable plea from a dad about his son's hopeless dilemma. Listen to the story in Mark 9…One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (NLT)Of course, Jesus healed the boy and he was fully restored in front of the crowd.But think about this dad's prayer. How many times have we all known that we believe God for something yet we also know we have doubts and struggles too? So our belief is in the same heart with our unbelief, somehow all mixed together.What if the very reason this story and this father's plea was included in the Bible is to show us that God knows we battle faith and doubt so we should just be honest about our sense of what we lack.Listen again to the interaction between the dad and Jesus…Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!Today, let's go ahead and join this dad in our confession. Let's get real about our belief and our unbelief. Be honest with God and ask for His help where we are struggling to believe Him. Because Jesus did heal the boy after the man's full confession. And what do you think that did to the dad's faith?Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, I believe You in so many ways, but then, being honest, there are so many places where I struggle. Help me overcome my unbelief today. As above, so below.”
Segment 1: • Peacemaking in Theology: Are the warring camps of continuationists and cessationists closer than they think? • Spirit in Tandem with Jesus: The Spirit's role today isn't independent; it aligns with Jesus' Word. • Holy Spirit and Experience: Can we embrace the Spirit's ongoing work without compromising Scripture? Segment 2: • Luther's Bold Claim: Martin Luther taught that our souls are in bondage to Satan, needing the Spirit for true freedom. • The Will's True State: Even our decision-making leans on the Spirit's intervention. • Monergist vs. Synergist: Do we work with God for salvation, or does God act alone? Segment 3: • New Label, Same Problem: Are some churches “Gospel-Centered” in name only, missing the focus on Jesus? • Gospel vs. Jesus: Have we replaced the name of Jesus with a more comfortable “Gospel” label? • Heaven's Familiarity: Heaven might feel more familiar than we think—keeping focus on the true Gospel is essential. Segment 4: • Why Church Membership Matters: A local church unites people of different backgrounds in a high view of Jesus. • Russell Brand's Journey: For people like Russell Brand, the best growth happens in community. • Christian Institutions Shifting: Even Harvard's Christian roots are fading, with secular influences like “Taylor Swift canon” gaining ground. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!
Welcome to the Practical Church podcast brought to you in partnership with Mission Support. Mission Support This episode was brought to you by Mission Support. Stay focused on your mission and let Mission Support help you with everything you didn't go to seminary for! Get support from experts with decades of experience working with churches who know your unique needs and challenges. Click here to talk with a guide today & love being a pastor again! HERE ARE THE 6 WAYS I SHARE IN THIS EPISODE Consistent time with Jesus Have specific times you'll meet with people Prioritize your mornings Stick to the same sermon prep schedule every week Belong to a tribe Always remember the privilege it is to be a pastor GET MORE CHURCH TIPS AND ADVICE Click here to sign up for the Practical Church newsletter Click here to join the Practical Church Facebook group
Romans 8: 12-17 // Tom NelsonLet me ask you. Are you a child of God? John 1…those who receive Jesus…Have your The cross declares many things. That we are forgiven, we are loved, but it also declares welcome home! We are extravagantly welcome home — not because our sin isn't real, heinous, or deserving of exclusion — but because our older brother, Jesus, paid for our sin on the cross. He took all the judgment you and I deserved so that we might receive all the blessings. A future homecoming…Already not yet… Future in our home– the night before Jesus's crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples that he was going away for a time to prepare a future home for them. There would be a future welcoming home.Jesus words' I go to prepare a place for you…a future homecoming… In Christ, You are dearly loved! You are totally secure! A glorious future awaits you. Thanks be to God.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49247179PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2546/responses/new24. 04. 28
One of the greatest prayers in the New Testament was actually a cry for help to Jesus. An honest, vulnerable plea from a dad about his son's hopeless dilemma. Listen to the story in Mark 9… One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (NLT) Of course, Jesus healed the boy and he was fully restored in front of the crowd. But think about this dad's prayer. How many times have we all known that we believe God for something yet we also know we have doubts and struggles too? So our belief is in the same heart with our unbelief, somehow all mixed together. What if the very reason this story and this father's plea was included in the Bible is to show us that God knows we battle faith and doubt so we should just be honest about our sense of what we lack. Listen again to the interaction between the dad and Jesus… Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! Today, let's go ahead and join this dad in our confession. Let's get real about our belief and our unbelief. Be honest with God and ask for His help where we are struggling to believe Him. Because Jesus did heal the boy after the man's full confession. And what do you think that did to the dad's faith? Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, I believe You in so many ways, but then, being honest, there are so many places where I struggle. Help me overcome my unbelief today. As above, so below.”
Sermon: What Does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Me? Series: EasterScripture: 1 Corinthians 15 (Selected Passages) Teacher: Rev. Paul Lawler"What does the resurrection have to do with you?" What if Jesus's resurrection holds the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of existence? In his Easter Sunday sermon, Rev. Paul Lawler invites you to ponder the profound implications of life beyond the tomb.Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the veil of death? Are you searching for meaning in a world filled with fleeting connections and empty promises? In this sermon, Paul reveals the staggering implications of Christ's victory over death. As he navigates the complexities of faith and mortality, he paints a vivid portrait of a future infused with hope, joy, and everlasting fellowship.Listeners are invited to embrace the gift of eternal life, offering a glimpse into a reality where the sting of death is replaced by the triumph of resurrection. Are you ready to embark on an expedition into the heart of eternity?
With Holy Week approaching, Sauter shares several ways of thinking about Christ and the cross. Did God need their son to die? How to process a brutal death and call it good? The post Why did Jesus Have to Die and Why it Deeply Matters first appeared on Neighborhood Church.
SUPERBOWL DRAMA! Trump: Let Russia Attack Europe; Online Outrage Karel Cast 24-20 Well, Super Bowl in Las Vegas is over and it had its share of drama. But there was as much off field as on, including the commercials. Like…how much money does Jesus Have? And why take out commercials? Trump says let Russia attack NATO nations and GOP is fine with it. When will someone stop this man? And the online outrage of the day: How can we party when the world is in such a state. Are we all Niro, fiddling while Rome burns? Watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe at YouTube.com/reallykarel @ReallyKarel is all social media and website reallykarel.com The Karel Cast is heard three times a week on all your favorite streaming services and the video can be seen on Youtube. Karel is a history-making #LGBTQ talk show host currently living in Las Vegas with his pup Ember. https://youtu.be/V1A6hJ0BLfY
SUPERBOWL DRAMA! Trump: Let Russia Attack Europe; Online Outrage Karel Cast 24-20 Well, Super Bowl in Las Vegas is over and it had its share of drama. But there was as much off field as on, including the commercials. Like…how much money does Jesus Have? And why take out commercials? Trump says let Russia attack NATO nations and GOP is fine with it. When will someone stop this man? And the online outrage of the day: How can we party when the world is in such a state. Are we all Niro, fiddling while Rome burns? Watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe at YouTube.com/reallykarel @ReallyKarel is all social media and website reallykarel.com The Karel Cast is heard three times a week on all your favorite streaming services and the video can be seen on Youtube. Karel is a history-making #LGBTQ talk show host currently living in Las Vegas with his pup Ember.
We must be holy and righteous through Jesus If you do not have it in your heart for the lost then you do not know Jesus Have you given your all to God? Holy Spirit did not come to talk about himself
Jesus Was Crucified and Died Yesterday; Today, We Wait For His Resurrection Tomorrow - Easter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As we wait on this Holy Saturday, what does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity? While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus' death and Resurrection that we are able realize God's Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God's Grace; Jesus' death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us. Jesus was dead. He was crucified on the cross because He claimed to be the Messiah, and the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. The Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be a king. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried and sealed in a tomb under watch by Roman guard unit. On the Sunday of Holy Week, some of the women go to Jesus' tomb; but they find the seal broken; the stone rolled away; and the tomb empty. An Angel in the tomb tells the women that Jesus is no longer dead; He has risen. The women tell Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb to find it empty. After Peter and John leave, the women return to the tomb and find two Angels in the tomb; and then Jesus appears to Mary who, initially, does not recognize Jesus. Jesus tells Mary to go tell the other Apostles that He is alive. Jesus appears to two people traveling the road on Sunday; and then Jesus appears again, after the Resurrection, to the Apostles in a closed room. The Apostle Thomas is not present, but Jesus reappears to the Apostles with Thomas present; Thomas proclaims to Jesus after doubting Jesus' Resurrection: “my Lord and my God!”. Over next forty days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people. Lastly, Jesus appears to the Apostles, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave them the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus appearances to people, after His death and Resurrection, proved to these people that He was who He said He was – the Son of God and the Messiah. With Jesus' Resurrection, He arises from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”. Sometime later and after His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus where Saul was going to continue his retribution against followers of Jesus. Saul is converted to a follower of Jesus and Saul the persecutor becomes the great Apostle Paul, and Paul had several encounters with Jesus over the years. Jesus is alive! While people did not expect Jesus' Resurrection, whenever He spoke of His impending death, Jesus always mentioned His Resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Even after Jesus' three predictions of His death and Resurrection, the Apostles did not understand or accept Jesus predictions – the Resurrection was unexpected. The Resurrection did occur because Jesus was alive, and His life after His Resurrection is well documented. However, if there were no Resurrection of Jesus, there would be no Christianity, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.". What is the point in following Jesus without His Resurrection? However, there was a Resurrection of Jesus, and His Resurrection is the point! Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God's Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus' death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God. Jesus is alive on this Easter and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God's gift of the Holy Spirit who permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. However, these incredible gifts necessitate our sin confessions and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was Resurrected from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”, as the Apostle John tells us in John 1:29-30: “The next day he {John the Baptizer} saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.'". TODAY'S PRAYER Lord, I praise you because your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I have squandered. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Faithfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22; Matthew 20:18; Acts 4:2; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Contemplating the Mighty Acts – Palm Sunday and Holy Week”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
One of the greatest prayers in the New Testament was actually a cry for help to Jesus. An honest, vulnerable plea from a dad about his son's hopeless dilemma. Listen to the story in Mark 9… One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (NLT) Of course, Jesus healed the boy and he was fully restored in front of the crowd. But think about this dad's prayer. How many times have we all known that we believe God for something yet we also know we have doubts and struggles too? So our belief is in the same heart with our unbelief, somehow all mixed together. What if the very reason this story and this father's plea was included in the Bible is to show us that God knows we battle faith and doubt so we should just be honest about our sense of what we lack. Listen again to the interaction between the dad and Jesus… Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! Today, let's go ahead and join this dad in our confession. Let's get real about our belief and our unbelief. Be honest with God and ask for His help where we are struggling to believe Him. Because Jesus did heal the boy after the man's full confession. And what do you think that did to the dad's faith? Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, I believe You in so many ways, but then, being honest, there are so many places where I struggle. Help me overcome my unbelief today. As above, so below.”
Milk & Honey—Trish McCarthy—Mealtimes with Jesus (Have you ever noticed how much Jesus loved food? Back in the good old days, mealtimes were not a chore like they can be today. They were a valuable and powerful times of connexion. Jesus ate with sinners, Pharisees, his disciples, and He often used food in his parables. Feeding ourselves, both physically and spiritually, is a fundamental skill of life. It strengthens us and sustains us and food brings people together.)
Dustin Watts drops a gem on our interview that is worthy of its own clip. He discussed the value of starting the first 15 min of his day with God and even started reading a proverb Monday through Friday with his family. He also talks about culture impacting his kids, protecting what comes in, and teaching the right way to live through the Word. Share this clip with others. Enjoy the full interview - episode 130 "Financial Peace is found in Jesus" Have you subscribed to I Like Birds on Youtube? Have you bought Zach's first book "21 Days in Africa"?
September 20, 2022 Daily Devotion: “Your Faith Has Healed You“ Mark 5:30 New International Version 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” Healed by merely touching Jesus' cloak? Oh, to be able to do that our-Have cancer? Touch Jesus' cloak! Suffering from arthritis? Reach for his cloak! In so brief a space, we can only begin to touch on all the dynamics involved in this incident. For instance, what power-surge did Jesus Feel coursing through his body when the woman's hand touched him? And How but divinely did his body discern that hers was different from all the other hands reaching out to touch the popular prophet? Yet, if divinely, why did Jesus Have to ask who touched him? The great mystery of God-in-flesh remains! Butthead most intriguing question is: Was this humble woman healed by Touching Jesus or by being touched? Jesus' answer was, “Daughter, your faith has healed you." Had she never been touched by Jesus, the woman herself never would have reached out in faith to touch him. Not all of Jesus' healings involved touching, but many did. He touched the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and the cold hands of the dead-as if the source of the miracle. But it is when Jesus touches the heart that his power is most transforming. Through faith in Christ, the spiritually blind can see, the spiritually deaf can hear, and the spiritually dead are raised to new life. Few believers in history have personally touched either Jesus or his clothes but all believers have been touched by Jesus in a way none of us ever could've expected. And, as with Jesus that day, it is in our souls that the power of God's Holy Spirit courses freely to transform, renew, and even heal. The groping-question is: Have I wistfully hoped For God's transforming power in my life, yet never allowed him close enough to truly touch my soul? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gerzon-etino/message
In episode 277, Kestrel welcomes Jesus Herrera — a model, clothing designer, vintage curator, and poet — to the show. Also known by their moniker Donatella because of their Instagram handle @donatellaversanchez, Jesus is the cofounder of the vintage jesus online store and Les Jesus fashion brand. “I've also brought space to my partnerships. I've also brought an understanding that I should not interfere and I should not demand from a culture that has existed for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years in one specific way, just because I have a purpose or just because I have a need or just because I have a goal in mind. My purpose, my need and my goal are my own. But my purpose and my need and my goal should not interfere with somebody else's happiness, with their way of life, with how they think that the best quality of life is lived or led.” -Jesus Have you ever noticed the way that certain garments are valued more than others? Or the way that some craftsmanship styles are aligned with couture or exceptional quality, and others are not held to that same regard? This week's guest reminds us of some of these ways that specific garments are valued differently than others, and how so often these perceptions are based largely around who wears those garments. For example, how does the fashion industry value a piece of clothing, if it's worn by the ladies who lunch? What about if it's worn by an Indigenous person? One theme that recurs throughout our conversation is finding ways to resist this dichotomy between who is valued and who is not. As this week's guest notes – “Not only one set of people who have a certain set of resources matter more than another set of people in the world. This is how we should be looking at community and politics and life.” We also explore the expectations that come with capitalism, and how surrendering to those can hinder the development of meaningful partnerships and relationships. For this week's guest, there are so many limits around partnership, and those limits should be respected. Quotes & links from the conversation: “But when I came to have better resources, I realized that that was not the case — that new things were not made of quality, that new things were not made of wonderful materials, that new things were not warm or didn't keep you always cozy. So, I think that's why I gravitated more toward that idea of sustainability — of using vintage things, of making things in really good quality fabrics, because that's just the experience I grew up with, out of necessity.” -Jesus (9:40) “The hardest person to be is the person that you say you are.” -a quote from Teri Agins that Jesus mentions The End Of Fashion by Teri Agins, book that Jesus mentions “We all live with contradictions — I live with a ton of contradictions and I'm not hiding them, which is something that I'm really proud of.” -Jesus (20:11) “This whole thing about never wanting to be wrong is the problem.” -Jesus (33:28) "Real partnership and good partnership is not someone coming in somewhere and saying, ‘I'm gonna do you a favor'. I don't come into any of my relationships thinking I'm going to do the other person a favor. I come into every relationship thinking — I'm gonna learn something. I come excited and I come ready to be impressed and mesmerized, because most of the times when I've come into anything with that mindset and with that open heart, I have been mesmerized, I have been impressed, I have learned something, I've been humbled by the experience — that's how I come into every experience, and that's partnership to me.” -Jesus (35:02) “I've also brought space to my partnerships. I've also brought an understanding that I should not interfere and I should not demand from a culture that has existed for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years in one specific way, just because I have a purpose or just because I have a need or just because I have a goal in mind.” -Jesus (37:47) “Meet the Designer Duo Marrying Traditional Mexican Craft With Forward-Thinking Fashion” in Vogue, article Kestrel mentions “From Indigenous Textiles to Gender Fluidity, Fashion Designer Jesus Herrera Wants Marginalized People to Be Seen & Respected” in Mexico In My Pocket, article Kestrel mentions The Vintage Jesus on Etsy > Les Jesus Website > Follow Les Jesus on Instagram > Follow The Vintage Jesus on Instagram > Follow Jesus on Instagram >
God's power can indeed move mountains. But He uses it for so much more! As you listen to this podcast, ask God to speak to your heart, and then rest in submission as He guides you deeper into His presence – in His power. (Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43) ****** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. I'm your host, Julie Jenkins, and I'm so glad you have taken time out to spend with God in His Word today. This past week, members of my household have been struck with covid for the first time. Thankfully, no one's symptoms are life-threatening, but it has changed the structure of our days. I have been living and sleeping in my office and sharing my daughter's bathroom, while my husband and son – both infected – are staying in their parts of the house. But life has gone on – I continue to work via the internet, as does my husband – and I have been struck by just how much just the existence of covid in the world has changed how we live over the last couple of years. In Deuteronomy 11:11-12, God promises the Israelites that the land they will enter will be full of hills and valleys, and there will be plenty of rain, but God will care and watch over us in every season of the year. Doesn't that hold so true for us today? Our lives are full of hills and valleys, and there IS plenty of rain – meant to keep us from being parched but sometimes causing distress. But most importantly, it is certain that God DOES watch over us in EVERY season of every year. I hope that you have experienced God's care over the recent years. We at Women World Leaders continue to see God work through the hills and the valleys, opening for us doors of opportunities to serve others and shout His name even as the world continues to be attacked by illness, violence, and hate. In today's Scripture reading, we see the disciples experience the hills and valleys of life, too, and we see Jesus' constant care as He leads and instructs them. Today we will study Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-43. Before we begin, let's pray… Father God, We thank you for always being with us through the hills and the valleys – and for caring for and teaching us along the way. We give you this time as we open your Word and learn from you. Help us be teachable, willing to listen, and excited to walk even closer to you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Last week, we saw Peter, John, and James marvel at seeing the transfigured Jesus in His glory on the mountain top. They were awestruck and didn't know how to react. God then covered them in a cloud, commanding them to listen to Jesus. They then descended to the valley to meet back up with the other nine disciples. As they did, Jesus instructed the trio not to share what they had seen until after His resurrection. Their thoughts of glory and awe were abruptly interrupted when they came upon a large crowd in chaos, including a man begging for help, a child in torment, and the teachers of the religious law arguing with the nine disciples. Mark 9:14, from the New Living Translation begins… 14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. 16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked. 17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.[a] So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.” The other gospels give us some additional details that we shouldn't miss. Matthew tells us that that the man came to Jesus, kneeled before Him, and then begged Jesus to have mercy on his son. What a beautiful picture of humility. We can learn so much from this man who, simply put, was desperate for help. He sought out Jesus. He kneeled before Him. And He begged Jesus for mercy. We serve a merciful God who WANTS us to come to Him – when we are in the valley AND when we are on the mountaintop. No single act is more powerful than our own submission to Jesus. Jesus, remember, had just been talking with Elijah and Moses about what was to come – Jesus' “exodus” as they called it – His upcoming death on a cross followed by the glory of His resurrection. Jesus knew that He was entering into very precarious times, and He knew that the disciples would soon become responsible for spreading the gospel and serving in His name…so we can understand His frustration that their attempts at overcoming the evil in this boy had failed. Mark 9:19 continues… 19 Jesus said to them,[b] “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. Can you picture the scene? Jesus then asked the boy's father.. 21 “How long has this been happening?” to which he replies “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Luke records that the father said that the spirit hardly ever left the boy alone. Can you imagine the heartbreak of this man? His son, Luke tells us his ONLY son, has been demon possessed since birth. The father has spent this boys' WHOLE life caring for him and trying to keep him alive. He must've been exhausted – mentally, physically, and emotionally. Maybe you can relate. Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you are beating your head against a wall and nothing helps? The man, obviously, was able to deal with the repercussions of the issue – he was able to muster the strength he needed to keep the boy alive. But he knew he was powerless against the source of the problem. And I do wonder where the mother was. Had she thrown in the towel? Perhaps you've been through something horribly trying in your life and can kinda, sorta understand if she had indeed given up. Recognizing the extent of the father's torment helps us understand his next words to Jesus… Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” Then Jesus used this distraught man's words to teach us all something that we can hold in our hearts forever. Mark 19:23… 23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” Our God can do ANYTHING! His power is limitless! His reach unending! God, who spoke the world into existence and who knit us together out of nothing can do anything. And He will – if we believe. 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Can I be honest and say that, personally, this is my most often prayed prayer? That's a bit embarrassing to admit. But I breathe this prayer several times a week if not more. You see, I study the Bible regularly. I go to church. I watch and am marveled by the signs of God. I thank Him nearly continuously as He works in my life. But deep within, I recognize that God is SO MUCH BIGGER than the picture of Him I have in my head. I had loving parents who spoke the Word of God to me. My children are growing up strong in the Lord. My husband is faithful both to me and to God. And I live in a sweet little house in a beautiful community. But, still. God is so much bigger than I can imagine! My own view is tainted by the world. I see evil. I see sickness. I see death. I see jealousy and greed and pain. And if I let them, those things can begin to diminish my view of our great big God. So I pray – Help my unbelief! Help me to remember, God, that you are for me and not against me. Help me see your glory in the mundane. Help me feel your power as I serve you. And what I've learned, is that when I pray this prayer, Jesus will NEVER let me down! He opens my heart a little wider, He helps me to see a little clearer, and He puts a spring in my step that can only come from Him. Jesus has always answered that prayer, and He always will. Beginning with the first time it was prayed. Verse 25… 25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil[c] spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” 26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. After YEARS of striving to help his son, the father learned that he didn't need to know the right words to say or the right thing to do, he only needed to know the right place to go. To our Lord and Savior. And then, with the demon released, we see the devastating effects of the boy who had never lived his life as a boy…verse 26… The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He's dead.” 27 BUT JESUS took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. It can look like we have lost, like we are dead – BUT JESUS. Jesus WILL, if you let Him, take you by the hand and give you a new life. No matter how down and out you are. If you ask Him…Help my unbelief. As always, Jesus' power impacted far more people than the recipient of the miracle, more than the boy and his father that day. Luke 9:43 says… 43 Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God's power. When was the last time you allowed the majestic display of God's power to grip you in awe? If that hasn't happened recently, ask God to help your unbelief, and He might just take you from your valley to His mountaintop! Mark 9:28 continues… 28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn't we cast out that evil spirit?” 29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.[d]” In other words…it wasn't about saying the right words or doing the right thing, it was about being connected to the right source. No matter what credentials or experience or background we have, our power is limited. But God's power is endless. This is tricky, even for Christians. After a series of “wins” based in prayer and obedience to God, it can be tempting to start believing in ourselves rather than in God. We must always keep ourselves grounded in Christ. One of my favorite word pictures comes from Psalm 1 – we flourish and grow when we depend on God, just like a tree planted by a river bank. Matthew 17:20 gives a deeper explanation of why the disciples were powerless against the demon… 20 “You don't have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]” For God – NOTHING is impossible. And our God is the same LOVING Father who wants to nurture you, protect you, and bring you and every single one of His children into His Kingdom forever. EVERYTHING He does is with that single purpose in mind. We can trust His goodness, His love, and His power. God's power CAN move mountains, but He has a much better use for His resources. God will always use His power to bring each of us closer to Him. Indeed, helping our unbelief. Dear God…I love you even more at this moment than I did this morning. Thank you for opening our eyes to your care, protection, and power. Thank you for always using your power for our good. Thank you for helping our unbelief. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Jesus Was Crucified and Died Yesterday; Today, We Wait For His Resurrection Tomorrow - Easter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As we wait on this Holy Saturday, what does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity? While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus' death and Resurrection that we are able realize God's Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God's Grace; Jesus' death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us. Jesus was dead. He was crucified on the cross because He claimed to be the Messiah, and the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. The Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be a king. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried and sealed in a tomb under watch by Roman guard unit. On the Sunday of Holy Week, some of the women go to Jesus' tomb; but they find the seal broken; the stone rolled away; and the tomb empty. An Angel in the tomb tells the women that Jesus is no longer dead; He has risen. The women tell Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb to find it empty. After Peter and John leave, the women return to the tomb and find two Angels in the tomb; and then Jesus appears to Mary who, initially, does not recognize Jesus. Jesus tells Mary to go tell the other Apostles that He is alive. Jesus appears to two people traveling the road on Sunday; and then Jesus appears again, after the Resurrection, to the Apostles in a closed room. The Apostle Thomas is not present, but Jesus reappears to the Apostles with Thomas present; Thomas proclaims to Jesus after doubting Jesus' Resurrection: “my Lord and my God!”. Over next forty days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people. Lastly, Jesus appears to the Apostles, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave them the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus appearances to people, after His death and Resurrection, proved to these people that He was who He said He was – the Son of God and the Messiah. With Jesus' Resurrection, He arises from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”. Sometime later and after His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus where Saul was going to continue his retribution against followers of Jesus. Saul is converted to a follower of Jesus and Saul the persecutor becomes the great Apostle Paul, and Paul had several encounters with Jesus over the years. Jesus is alive! While people did not expect Jesus' Resurrection, whenever He spoke of His impending death, Jesus always mentioned His Resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Even after Jesus' three predictions of His death and Resurrection, the Apostles did not understand or accept Jesus predictions – the Resurrection was unexpected. The Resurrection did occur because Jesus was alive, and His life after His Resurrection is well documented. However, if there were no Resurrection of Jesus, there would be no Christianity, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.". What is the point in following Jesus without His Resurrection? However, there was a Resurrection of Jesus, and His Resurrection is the point! Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God's Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus' death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God. Jesus is alive on this Easter and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God's gift of the Holy Spirit who permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. However, these incredible gifts necessitate our sin confessions and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was Resurrected from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”, as the Apostle John tells us in John 1:29-30: “The next day he {John the Baptizer} saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.'". TODAY'S PRAYER Lord, I praise you because your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I have squandered. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Faithfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22; Matthew 20:18; Acts 4:2; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
In this episode I share about the transition I am in as well as my future plans for Resilient as a podcast and a platform. I also open up about my process of obedience to Jesus and walking out surrender and stewarding what I have been entrusted with. My hope is that this episode is informational as well as encouraging for your own walk with Jesus
Big Ideas- Mark 15:16-32- The story of Good Friday is split up into 3 sections, each with its own focus or lens- This lens is humiliation. Mark is focusing on the mockery that Jesus suffered.- The physical pain of the crucifixion is only given one sentence in Mark's account- If Physical suffering was the point of Jesus' crucifixion, it would have gotten more explanation in the story- Crucifixion itself was designed to maximize humiliation and shame, not to maximize pain- Jesus went lower, and lower, until he got to the lowest point that a human could get at this time- This was what Jesus accomplished on the cross- The humiliation IS the glorification of God- This is the image of the invisible God- The clearest picture we've ever seen of God is Jesus suffering humiliation on the cross- The reason? Solidarity with people feeling shame.- Solidarity with you- You have a God who understands you- You have a God who understands what you're feeing, and is sharing the burden you're carrying- When you get to your lowest point, God has gone ahead, and is already waiting for you there. - You never have to be alone. Questions- Read through the story together, talk about what stands out to you in the relentless lowering of Jesus- Have you thought or been told that the point of the crucifixion was the amount of pain that Jesus suffered for you? - What does it change if the crucifixion is about humiliation and shame?- Have you felt like God is too good, too distant to feel what you're feeling when you're in a bad place? - Can you find comfort in God actually understanding what you're feeling no matter how bad things get? - What do you think about a God who would come that far to share your lowest experience with you? - Does this make it easier to think about sharing the burdens of others?
One of the greatest prayers in the New Testament was actually a cry for help to Jesus. An honest, vulnerable plea from a dad about his son's hopeless dilemma. Listen to the story in Mark 9… One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (NLT) Of course, Jesus healed the boy and he was fully restored in front of the crowd. But think about this dad's prayer. How many times have we all known that we believe God for something yet we also know we have doubts and struggles too? So our belief is in the same heart with our unbelief, somehow all mixed together. What if the very reason this story and this father's plea was included in the Bible is to show us that God knows we battle faith and doubt so we should just be honest about our sense of what we lack. Listen again to the interaction between the dad and Jesus… Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can'?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! Today, let's go ahead and join this dad in our confession. Let's get real about our belief and our unbelief. Be honest with God and ask for His help where we are struggling to believe Him. Because Jesus did heal the boy after the man's full confession. And what do you think that did to the dad's faith? Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, I believe You in so many ways, but then, being honest, there are so many places where I struggle. Help me overcome my unbelief today. As above, so below.”
Are you willing to get ready for the coming King (Jesus)? Source Related posts: You Are Invited Into God’s Righteousness Have you gone to the bottom of your wickedness before Jesus??... His Resurrection is My Resurrection Ask yourself the question am I crucified with Christ as you listen.... Indwelt by Jesus Have you been indwelt by Jesus resulting in power to win the lost to Jesus?...
“They Missed My Plan” - People of Religious Mentality Missed the Plan Of God. - Religious people are The Enemies of Kingdom of God. - Religious People always search for God, Religion makes you Busy it will never Satisfy you. “Religion is a Manmade attempt to Pleased God” What Adam Lost ? 1). Garden of Eden (Presence of God) 2). Holy Spirit (Holy Spirit is the Governor on Earth) 3). Kingdom Of God (influence of God) 4). Control (Dominion) 5). Identity or Image Adam Have the Same Authority what Jesus Have. Jesus Disclose three things for us :- 1). Son Of God 2). Salt of The Earth (fellowship) 3). Light of the World What is Kingdom Of God ? Ans. “Heavenly influence on Earth” Always Speak tongues in Personal Room, Don't show others that you have A Gift from God. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
https://youtu.be/AAT2bpUFUQA Praying Like Jesus Part 1 – Luke 22:39-45 Lords Prayer Before we begin today's sermon would you join me in praying the words our Lord taught us to pray? Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be donein earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Amen Introduction Please stand for the reading of God's Word. Luke 22:39-46 ESV And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. (40) And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (41) And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (43) And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. (44) And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, (46) and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” You may be seated Last week we talked about preparing for the coming battle, a battle that would take spiritual preparation and physical preparation.We spent a good deal of time talking about the spiritual preparation of putting on the full Armor of God.And we spent a good deal of time talking about the physical preparation and how Jesus told His disciples they needed to bring physical swords for the coming battle.This week we begin talking about exactly what battle was being prepared for… the coming battle is about to begin, and the stage is set in a garden, with the disciples sleeping and the Savior crying out to God with such passion that He sweats blood!I want to spend two weeks covering this passage, because there is a lot to unpack, and I spent an hour and a half preaching last week and I don't want to do that to you again! Show Title Slide Praying like Jesus… that's what we are going to be talking about for the next two weeks…Because here in this passage we see one of the most powerful examples of what Jesus' prayer life looked like…And there could not be a more pressing, dire, righteous, loving, and passionate prayer to study then that of our Lord's the night of His betrayal. This message has Four Parts: To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom.To Pray Like Jesus: Pray that You May Not Enter Into TemptationTo Pray Like Jesus: Pray the Fathers WillTo Pray Like Jesus: Pray with Passion We are going to go over the first two points this morning, and then the next two points next week. Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Our first point this morning: to pray like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom Part One – To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom Luke 22:39 ESV And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. “As was His custom”… that means this was something that Jesus did a lot!He did it so often that it was described as His custom, more than a habit, more than a plan with good intentions… more than an every once an a while… Not just when needed or when the situation was dire… no, this was a custom of Jesus!Jesus went down to the garden on the Mount of Olives to pray… something He had done many times before… it was His custom.So my first question to you church, as we are talking about praying like Jesus, my first question to you is this: Do you even have a prayer custom?Or do you only pray when you feel like you need to?Or do you only pray when you feel the occasion calls for it?Or do you only pray when the mood to pray strikes you?DO YOU HAVE A PRAYER CUSTOM?
https://youtu.be/AAT2bpUFUQA Praying Like Jesus Part 1 – Luke 22:39-45 Lords Prayer Before we begin today's sermon would you join me in praying the words our Lord taught us to pray? Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be donein earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Amen Introduction Please stand for the reading of God's Word. Luke 22:39-46 ESV And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. (40) And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (41) And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (43) And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. (44) And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, (46) and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” You may be seated Last week we talked about preparing for the coming battle, a battle that would take spiritual preparation and physical preparation.We spent a good deal of time talking about the spiritual preparation of putting on the full Armor of God.And we spent a good deal of time talking about the physical preparation and how Jesus told His disciples they needed to bring physical swords for the coming battle.This week we begin talking about exactly what battle was being prepared for… the coming battle is about to begin, and the stage is set in a garden, with the disciples sleeping and the Savior crying out to God with such passion that He sweats blood!I want to spend two weeks covering this passage, because there is a lot to unpack, and I spent an hour and a half preaching last week and I don't want to do that to you again! Show Title Slide Praying like Jesus… that's what we are going to be talking about for the next two weeks…Because here in this passage we see one of the most powerful examples of what Jesus' prayer life looked like…And there could not be a more pressing, dire, righteous, loving, and passionate prayer to study then that of our Lord's the night of His betrayal. This message has Four Parts: To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom.To Pray Like Jesus: Pray that You May Not Enter Into TemptationTo Pray Like Jesus: Pray the Fathers WillTo Pray Like Jesus: Pray with Passion We are going to go over the first two points this morning, and then the next two points next week. Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Our first point this morning: to pray like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom Part One – To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom Luke 22:39 ESV And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. “As was His custom”… that means this was something that Jesus did a lot!He did it so often that it was described as His custom, more than a habit, more than a plan with good intentions… more than an every once an a while… Not just when needed or when the situation was dire… no, this was a custom of Jesus!Jesus went down to the garden on the Mount of Olives to pray… something He had done many times before… it was His custom.So my first question to you church, as we are talking about praying like Jesus, my first question to you is this: Do you even have a prayer custom?Or do you only pray when you feel like you need to?Or do you only pray when you feel the occasion calls for it?Or do you only pray when the mood to pray strikes you?DO YOU HAVE A PRAYER CUSTOM?
One of the greatest prayers in the New Testament was actually a cry for help to Jesus. An honest, vulnerable plea from a dad about his son’s hopeless dilemma. Listen to the story in Mark 9… One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (NLT) Of course, Jesus healed the boy and he was fully restored in front of the crowd. But think about this dad’s prayer. How many times have we all known that we believe God for something yet we also know we have doubts and struggles too? So our belief is in the same heart with our unbelief, somehow all mixed together. What if the very reason this story and this father’s plea was included in the Bible is to show us that God knows we battle faith and doubt so we should just be honest about our sense of what we lack. Listen again to the interaction between the dad and Jesus… Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! Today, let’s go ahead and join this dad in our confession. Let’s get real about our belief and our unbelief. Be honest with God and ask for His help where we are struggling to believe Him. Because Jesus did heal the boy after the man’s full confession. And what do you think that did to the dad’s faith? Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I believe You in so many ways, but then, being honest, there are so many places where I struggle. Help me overcome my unbelief today. As above, so below.”
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be a disciple of Jesus- Have you ever wondered what you would have learned under His personal instruction- Starting at the end of Matthew 8, Jesus takes His disciples on a journey intended to train and equip them for the mission He had in store for them. What did He teach them- Ryan explains the fourth of the lessons that Jesus taught on this journey in the following message from Matthew 9-9-13, -The King's Mission.-
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be a disciple of Jesus- Have you ever wondered what you would have learned under His personal instruction- Starting at the end of Matthew 8, Jesus takes His disciples on a journey intended to train and equip them for the mission He had in store for them. What did He teach them- Ryan explains the third of the lessons that Jesus taught on this journey in the following message from Matthew 9-1-8, -The King's Authority over Sin.-
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be a disciple of Jesus- Have you ever wondered what you would have learned under His personal instruction- Starting at the end of Matthew 8, Jesus takes His disciples on a journey intended to train and equip them for the mission He had in store for them. What did He teach them- Ryan explains the second of the lessons that Jesus taught on this journey in the following message from Matthew 8-28-34, -The King's Authority over the Supernatural.-
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be a disciple of Jesus- Have you ever wondered what you would have learned under His personal instruction- Starting at the end of Matthew 8, Jesus takes His disciples on a journey intended to train and equip them for the mission He had in store for them. What did He teach them- Ryan explains the first of the lessons that Jesus taught on this journey in the following message from Matthew 8-23-27, -The King's Authority over Nature.-
448 What does Jesus Have to Say About Your Stuff
Followers of Jesus Have the Holy Spirit, Who Is God In Your Life Trying to Make You Like Jesus – The Holy Spirit is God, Creator of Universe, Walking With You! MESSAGE SUMMARY: The third presence of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit -- God Himself. In Acts 1:8-10, Jesus, at His Ascension, reaffirmed the coming of the Holy Spirit to those that follow Him: “’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes . . .". When you are a follower of Jesus and you have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, God, the Creator of the Universe, comes and takes residence in your life – God, in your life through the Holy Spirit, is trying to make you like Jesus. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Resentment. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Grace. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 16:4-11; Acts 1:8-10; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 14:17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:1-4; Psalms 25b:12-22. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Why Do We Not Go to the Lord when We, as Individual Followers of Jesus and We as a Nation, Face Difficult Circumstances, Especially with Jesus as Our Great High Priest?", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “We All Need “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt in Our Faith, and Feelings of “Hopelessness”; and God Is this “Hope””: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
What did worship mean during the days when John wrote Revelation? What does it look like to Christians today? Of all the options our culture presents to us, scripture urges Christians of all ages to always worship Jesus. Why is it worth for Christian of all ages to invest everything to Jesus? Have a listen to this sermon and discover the answers to those questions…
Have you ever wanted more of Jesus? Have you wondered why some people just seem to see Him in everything? Today's podcast is all about equipping you to see Him and practice reminding yourself of His presence. Talking about Jesus can be as natural as breathing and it can change everything.
*YOU HAVE WHAT "JESUS HAVE". THE HOLY GHOST. THAT SAME SPIRIT THAT COME FROM GOD. SO CREATE, RESTORE, AND SUBDUE.* Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/1-holy-praise/donations
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Jesus died for you and your sinful nature. It is only through the death and Resurrection of Jesus that you are OFFERED the forgiveness of your sins and an inner healing in your life. In John 10:27-28, Jesus reiterates His commitment to those who commit their lives to Him and are His followers: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.". Some Christians mess up because Christians, too, are sinners. However, Jesus gave you a pathway out from the burden of your sins that leads to your Eternal Life. In Matthew 26:27-28, Jesus, again, reaffirmed His commitment to His followers through the Holy Eucharist: “And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’". Many non-Christians profess that the reason they choose not to believe and follow Jesus is that they “only see people in churches and those professing to be ‘Christians’ as ‘hypocrites’”. We all have been OFFERED the forgiveness of our sins by God’s Grace, through Jesus, through our faith in Jesus and our confession of sins. However, those refusing to follow Jesus, for whatever reason, have made the personal choice not to accept God’s OFFER of Salvation and Eternal Life. Since we are all sinners, what better place to find sinners than in a church where “Christian sinners” are attempting to live a new life by following Jesus and His Gospel of faith and Salvation. Yes, churches do have “hypocrites” in its total group of sinners. However, unlike those who refuse to follow Jesus because they see Jesus followers as “hypocrites”, “Christian hypocrites”, like other sinners, have a way out through their faith, confessions, and a commitment to trying to live a sinless life. Do you have an excuse not to follow Jesus? Have you found a way out without following Jesus? TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Evil Ways. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Goodness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 1:16-17; Psalms 37:39; Matthew 26:27-28; Psalms 8:1-9. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “America Will Not Survive as a Nation Unless the People of God Stand Up and Plead for Our Survival - Pray for America": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Cultural Turmoil and Health Threats Bring Fear, But Your Fear Is Overcome By Following God’s Call and Seeking His Will”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Our last episode took a philosophical deep dive into proving God exists. So this week…Bishop answers the question “now what?” What’s the process for potentially joining the Church? Then, what are some faithful Catholic news sources? The show wraps up with listener-submitted questions on in-vitro fertilization, the Rapture, and more. Listener-submitted questions: • As Catholics, do we believe we each have a pre-destined purpose? • I’m having a hard time accepting the Church’s teachings against IVF. My good friend was able to conceive a son because of it. So how could it be wrong? • Are there objective historical sources that prove the existence of Jesus? • Have you ever visited the Vatican Apostolic Archives? Can you talk about what is kept there? • A friend of mind believes in the “Rapture.” Can you talk about what it is? I’m assuming it’s not consistent with the Catholic faith? —— Truth in Charity is brought to you in part by Notre Dame Federal Credit Union. —— Live: www.redeemerradio.com Follow us on social media: www.Facebook.com/RedeemerRadio www.Twitter.com/RedeemerRadio www.Instagram.com/Instagram Submit your question(s): Call / Text (Holy Cross College text line) – 260-436-9598 Online – www.RedeemerRadio.com/AskBishop E-mail – AskBishop@RedeemerRadio.com Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloud | RSS
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Sunday Sermon • Doug Dortch 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 • “The Worst Bankrupt of All” New Sermon Series • “Virtues That Keep Us Stable – Love” Years ago, I served a church in a community where the local newspaper had a section in each Sunday’s edition in which they printed public records. You could see who got married and who got divorced. You could see who bought property and who sold property. You could see who got arrested and for what reason they got arrested. And worst of all, at least in my mind, you could also see who had filed for bankruptcy. It was all the laundry hung out to dry, both clean and dirty, and you can imagine how each Sunday morning people went rushing out to their driveways to pick up their newspapers to see, in particular, who taken the bankruptcy route, given its “white collar” shame. I, of course, was among the inquiring minds, especially in light of how I might be called upon to do some extra pastoral care either with the filers or the gossipers, or in most cases, both. Over that period of time I learned more about bankruptcy than I ever wanted to know – from a legal perspective and a business perspective and a tax perspective, but primarily from a personal one. I learned that one size of bankruptcy didn’t fit all. There were some forms that were more embarrassing than others, and that while some were used without blinking an eye, there were other forms of bankruptcy that were to be avoided at all costs. It was, I have to say, quite an education. So, I can sympathize with the Apostle Paul as he looked for the best way to extend pastoral care to a community of faith that, if they were not careful, were on the verge of closing up shop because of how they were overvaluing certain spiritual assets, assets that would not be able to sustain them in the long run, while at the same time they were ignoring more valuable ones that were more firmly rooted in the essence of the gospel. And for Paul, the spiritual asset that was by far and away the most valuable of them all was the asset, or, what he called the gift of agape love. Here is how Paul elevates this particular gift. “Though I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Obviously, the word that jumps off the page of this most famous passage of Scripture to me is the word “nothing.” Unlike so many words in the Bible that we’re not really sure what they mean, this one is clear as crystal. It means exactly what you think it means. It means naught, nada, zero, ziltch. It means that you don’t have a leg to stand on or a pot to cook in. It means that your situation is empty, barren, desolate, and bleak. It means that from a spiritual way of seeing things, you, my brother and sister, are the worst bankrupt of all. We like to think of this passage of Scripture as among the “sweet words” of the Bible, maybe even the sweetest. After all, who could get his or her feelings rubbed raw by such a treatise to love? My soul, it gets read at weddings and emblazoned on coffee cups and printed on posters. But the fact of the matter is that Paul intended for these words not to lull people into a state of rest; he meant them instead to be a wake-up call, one that might arrest them from their spiritual stupor before they found themselves in a position from which they could never recover. One of the reasons we tend to miss that point is because of how, unlike the word “nothing,” which we do understand, we think we know what Paul was talking about when he invoked the word “love,” when the fact of the matter is that we may have the wrong interpretation. Ask most people to define love and they will answer in a way that suggests some kind of emotional response. But that’s not the way Paul intended his teaching on love to be understood, which is why he opted for the Greek word “agape” instead of the Greek word “eros” for romantic love or “philos” for brotherly love. Agape love was a God-ordained type of love. It was a love that expressed itself in unconditional regard for others. It wasn’t a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kind of love. It was a love based on grace, which is why the King James Version translators rightly rendered it as “charity.” You can never pay back this kind of love, certainly not to God. You can only channel it so that God’s love in Jesus Christ flows through you to bring value and worth to the lives of others. Perhaps you can understand now why our world needs such a witness today more than ever. After all, has our world ever been more polarized than it is today? From where I sit it sure doesn’t seems that it has. As someone has said, “The human ego tends to go after two things: it wants to be separate and it wants to be superior” (Richard Rohr, “Just This,” pp. 90-91). It wants to be left to itself and it wants to consider itself better than everyone else. But as Paul reminds us in this most famous passage of Scripture, understanding that your life is not about you is the first step in the journey of discovering the fountain from which abundant life consistently flows. I think about when Paul himself made the discovery. We read the story in the book of Acts. Paul, then known as Saul, had been a part of the mob that had come together to interrogate Stephen, one of the early members of the Jesus community, who had just been selected as one of the seven deacons of the church. It wasn’t so much an interrogation of Stephen as it was a kangaroo court that had degenerated into a bloodthirsty mob, with their sights set on Stephen. As they dragged Stephen out of the city to be stoned, the mob members laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. After Stephen’s death, Paul made his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to see if he could identify any others who were a part of what Jesus followers called “the Way.” Little did he know that just before he would enter Damascus he would run smack dab into the Risen Jesus himself. It was a light from heaven that first got his attention and then the sound of a voice that he would never forget. “Saul, Saul,” said the voice, “why do you persecute me?” Knowing that in fact if it was Jesus, Saul deserved to be sentenced to death himself. But instead of being judged for his bias and his sense of supremacy, the Risen Jesus instead showed Saul an unconditional love, an agape love, so that his life was never again the same. As Paul would later write to the church at Philippi, he came to see what a bankrupt he had been so that he would say, “For whatever gains were to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. And what is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:7-8). Have you made that discovery in your life? Have you come to see how much you are missing when you focus on yourself and how much you stand to gain when you direct your attention to Jesus? Have you been so seized by the power of Jesus’ unconditional affection for you that you now recognize that the best way for you to show your gratitude is by expanding your horizon to see a much broader and wider universe because you are no longer at the center of it – much broader and wider universe that includes scores of other people who are in desperate need of the same sort of love that changed you for the better? Ruby Bridges was a six year old black child who was the first African-American to attend the predominately white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. The year was 1961. As you can imagine, her first day at Frantz Elementary was no walk in the park. There was an angry mob that had turned out to do their best to intimidate her and cause her to back down. But as she showed up for her first day at the new school, reporters couldn’t help but notice that Ruby had the most peaceful expression on her face. There was something else they noticed – that even though she was surrounded by federal marshals, she took the time to stop and face the mob, silently opening and closing her mouth in their direction for about a full minute. Was she mocking them? Was she taunting them? No, as it turned out, Ruby was praying for them. As she explained it, she didn’t have time to pray for them that morning before she left for school, and so she stopped on her way in to say a brief prayer. When asked by the psychologist what in the world was it she prayed for, the psychologist had to admit that her prayer dumbfounded him and in many ways changed him. “She prayed because the people needed praying for,” the psychologist learned. And so Ruby Bridges took the time to pray a prayer that her parents and her pastor had taught her to pray: “Please God, try to forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.” As she explained it, “when Jesus had that mob in front of him, that’s what he said too” (“When Ruby Bridges Prayed for Her Enemies,” The Christian Century, 3/24/17). You may remember that the famous American artist Norman Rockwell immortalized that scene in American history with his painting, titled, “The Problem We All Live With.” It’s been almost 60 years and we’re still living with that problem. Maybe if we had bothered to pray for one another in that way, the same way Jesus prayed for us, our world would be much different today. It wouldn’t be as empty. It wouldn’t be as barren. It wouldn’t be as morally bankrupt. But you can change that. And you can be certain that when you do, it will be front page news in the Book of Life, where all of heaven will see it and rejoice. And on that day when you stand before Jesus, you can be certain that he will have seen it too, so that you can stand before him without shame, because you chose to love others unconditionally, which in the economy of the Kingdom of Heaven is without question the greatest asset of them all. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Introduction from “The Resurrection -- Part 1: What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity? While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus’ death and Resurrection that we are able realize God’s Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God’s Grace; Jesus’ death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us. Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God’s Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus’ death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God. Jesus is alive on this Easter; and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. However, we receive these incredible gifts through our humble confession to God and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior – Jesus who has risen from the dead and is alive today. Today’ Message: The teachings of our New Testament are Resurrection-Based. The implications of the Resurrection for us today include: 1) we are forgiven of our sins; and 2) we are able to have Eternal Life, which Jesus defined in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." – Jesus gives credibility to His many pronouncements regarding God’s Grace and our faith providing us Eternal Life when He arose from the dead, as Jesus tells us in John 11:25-27: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”. In 1 John5:11-13, Jesus makes a powerful commitment to us as followers of Him: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. That You May Know I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.". Do you have Jesus, the Son of God, as the focus of your life today? If so, then you have Eternal Life. If not, then why not? He is Risen, and He is alive today! TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 20:19-29; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; John 11:25-27; 1 John 1:1-3; John 1:1-5; Proverbs 30:3-4; John 17:3; John 10:14-15; Matthew 7:22-23; John 3:16; 1 John5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14.. WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “In Times of Uncertainty, Like Today, We Search for “Answers”; If You Are Filled with the Holy Spirit, You Have the Ultimate “Answer” Source!”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Our country is NOT about “freedom from religion”. Sadly, because of our abandoning God’s Laws, all of us in this country are affected – Christians and non-Christians; atheists; and followers of other religious faiths. As Jesus says in Mathew 5:45: “. . . For He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and send the rain on the just and the unjust.”. What can we do? The first thing we can do is pray and to fast – pray and ask God to turn our country around. We do want God involved, and He is involved. In Daniel 4:24-25, God told King Nebuchadnezzar, through Daniel’s interpretation of the King’s dream, that God is always in control; and that He determines those who govern us: “this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.". God, the Creator of the Universe, responds to our prayers in all issues impacting our lives today – pray for God’s will, especially in these times of uncertainty. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ, I will trust in the Lord with all my heart. I will trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I will seek to know Him, and He will make my pathways straight. (From Proverbs 3:5f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Leviticus 26:3-12; Leviticus 26:14-29; Daniel 4:24-25; Psalms 60:1-12. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Today, we face risks, like health, economic, financial, and political, which cannot be defined, much less managed, by man’s knowledge, experience, and technology. However, God’s Gifts {tools} of the Holy Spirit do provide answers if we respond to God’s call to us. We need to make the Holy Spirit, God’s counselor gift to us, an integral part of our life and calling. Paul, in Ephesians 4:11-13, tells us about God’s focus and reasons for His gifts to us through the Holy Spirit: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints {followers of Jesus} for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .". Again Paul, in Romans 11:29, gives us further information about God’s fantastic gifts {tools for us to serve God} of the Holy Spirit that are the enablers for you as you answer God’s call – as a follower of Jesus, you are called and given gifts; but not all have answered His call: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.". Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-19, has called you along with all Christians to: 1) “make disciples” and 2) “Go”: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,’". Even though you may not be called to be a missionary or a minister, Jesus calls all His followers in His “Great Commission”. However, Jesus does not call you without providing you the tools or gifts, through the Holy Spirit, to be successful. In summary, God, in His call to you, has given you the gifts of the Holy Spirit to perform His call to you. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Heartlessness. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Kindness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:10-14; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 3:7-11; Psalms 111:1-10. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
DEVOTIONAL VIDEO MESSAGE SUMMARY: Am I Ready to Pray? (Bude, Cornwall, UK) Ready to Pray? We often enter our prayers unprepared – there is sin in our lives, or our prayers are all about “us”; and we seek “our will” and not “God’s will”. Therefore, we need to learn to “pray rightly”. To “pray rightly”, we need to consider: “1) Am I “clean” before the Lord – have I confessed the known sins in my life that I have not repented? 2) Am I in “communion with others” – are there people with whom I am not at peace? 3) Am I “confident in God’s Word” – do I believe God’s promises are true? 4) Am I “committed to God’s will” – am I committed to act on and obey God’s answer to my prayers even though His answer is not my desire? 5) Am I “centered in the Holy Spirit” – am I focused and tuned in on the Lord, filtering out the “noise of the world”? and 6) Am I “concerned for God’s Glory” – the ultimate purpose of our prayers is uplifting and glorifying God’s name?”. Additionally, in both our worship and our prayers: “Are we expecting to encounter God?”. Remember, Jesus taught us that: 1) God is more ready to answer prayer than we are ready to pray; and 2) we must be persistent in our prayers until we have an answer. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Resentment. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Compassion. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 John 1:8; Matthew 6:14; Philippians 4:6-7; John 14:23; Psalms 147:1-20. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Joel 2:12-13; Psalms 51:12-15; 1 Thessalonians 3:7-10; Psalms 108:1-13. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: God wants to bring His grace and His peace into your life. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and God’s "New Covenant" with us, He can make you whole again. Jesus can bring His peace and His joy into your life. Why will some, who have separated themselves from the Lord, not seek Him? God tells you that, if some life event led you to turn away from Him, He will return to you when you return to Him. No matter where you are God will return to you, as He promises us in Joel 2:13b, when you return to Him: “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”. Also, the God tells us in Isaiah 44:22: “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.". TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will proclaim Him. (Philippians 1:15f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Joel 2:12-13; Psalms 51:12-15; 1 Thessalonians 3:7-10; Psalms 108:1-13. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Before we blame our problems of today on those we have elected to high office (e.g., President, Congress, Governors), remember God told Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4:17b, that He, God, rules {God is sovereign} the kingdom of men {i.e. Governance} and He gives it {i.e. Governance} to whom He chooses: “the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High {God} rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”. We seem to get those in our Governance that we either need or that we deserve – “the lowliest of men”. In all, God is always Sovereign. Today, especially in these times of the coronavirus, our way of life is slipping quickly away from us, but our way of life is not just about elections and politics. This risk arises from direct threats to both our Christian faith-based institutions and our country’s related founding principles. The news, 24/7, confirms that this risk to our country, our way of life, and Christianity is coming from a constant state of conflict among institutions, cultures, and individuals. The Bible provides examples of similar institutionalized conflicts throughout the ages. However, the conflict today in and among organized religion, over the basic principles of Biblical teachings and Jesus’ Gospel, makes one wonder where and when the path for a way out of this descension and conflict will emerge. From Clergy, Politicians, and the men and women in the street, God is mocked daily along with His institutions. Paul tells us, in Galatians 6:7, that: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Some ask, in a mocking fashion, “Where is Jesus; He is supposed to be the Peacemaker?” or “Where is God in this Pandemic?”. Jesus answers these questions in Matthew 10:34-35, 38-39: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law . . . And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." The risks from this conflict, the mocking of God, and the large numbers of institutions walking away from the principles upon which America was founded will only be addressed by a change in our hearts. The hearts of the people will not change until we have a true spiritual awakening. As Jesus tells us in John 14:1: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”. Additionally, Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 35:4: “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”. A spiritual awakening is needed not only to save souls from eternal damnation but to save our way of life. This “Spiritual Awakening” begins by proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Self-centeredness. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Love. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ezekiel 22:30; Daniel 4:28-32; Matthew 22:19-21; Isaiah 29:8-21; Galatians 6:7; Matthew 10:34-35, 38-39; John 14:1; Isaiah 35:4. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: The Resurrection: Part 1 What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity? While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus’ death and Resurrection that we are able realize God’s Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God’s Grace; Jesus’ death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us. Jesus was dead. He was crucified on the cross because He claimed to be the Messiah – the Christ, and the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. The Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be a king. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried and sealed in a tomb under watch by Roman guard unit. On the Sunday of Holy Week, some of the women go to Jesus’ tomb; but they find the seal broken; the stone rolled away; and the tomb empty. An Angel in the tomb tells the women that Jesus is no longer dead; He has risen. The women tell Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb to find it empty. After Peter and John leave, the women return to the tomb and find two Angels in the tomb; and then Jesus appears to Mary who, initially, does not recognize Jesus. Jesus tells Mary to go tell the other Apostles that He is alive. Jesus appears to two people traveling the road on Sunday; and then Jesus appears again, after the Resurrection, to the Apostles in a closed room. The Apostle Thomas is not present, but Jesus reappears to the Apostles with Thomas present; Thomas proclaims to Jesus after doubting Jesus’ Resurrection: “my Lord and my God!”. Over next forty days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people. Lastly, Jesus appears to the Apostles, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave them the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus appearances to people, after His death and Resurrection, proved to these people that He was who He said He was – the Son of God and the Messiah. With Jesus’ Resurrection, He arises from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”. Sometime later and after His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus where Saul was going to continue his retribution against followers of Jesus. Saul is converted to a follower of Jesus and Saul the persecutor becomes the great Apostle Paul, and Paul had several encounters with Jesus over the years. Jesus is alive! While people did not expect Jesus’ Resurrection, whenever He spoke of His impending death, Jesus always mentioned His Resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Even after Jesus’ three predictions of His death and Resurrection, the Apostles did not understand or accept Jesus predictions – the Resurrection was unexpected. The Resurrection did occur because Jesus was alive and died on the cross, and His life after His Resurrection is well documented. However, if there were no Resurrection of Jesus, there would be no Christianity, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.". What is the point in following Jesus without His Resurrection? However, there was a Resurrection of Jesus, and His Resurrection is the point! Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God’s Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus’ death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God. Jesus is alive on this Easter and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit who permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. However, these incredible gifts necessitate our sin confessions and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was Resurrected from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”, as the Apostle John tells us in John 1:29-30: “The next day he {John the Baptizer} saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’". He is Risen, and He is alive! TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22; Matthew 20:18; Acts 4:2; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19. WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Am I Going To Heaven? (Christ Anglican Church; Cashiers, NC) Can we be sure that we are in a “right relationship” with the Lord? How can we be sure that we are “saved”? As a follower of Jesus and based on Scripture, the answer is a “resounding YES, we can be sure that we are saved”! As followers of Jesus, God has given us assurances of our Salvation in three different ways: 1) the witness of Scripture through the documentation of the work of Christ on the cross from God's Grace as a means of Eternal Life; 2) the witness of the Holy Spirit which, again, is God's gift to those who follow Jesus in faith and confession; and 3) the witness of the Holy Sacraments of our faith (i.e. Holy Communion, Baptism) that assure us of God's work in our lives. Because of your personal relationship with God, the relationship that you have because you are a follower of Jesus, you can say to God: “you died for My sins”. Your personal relationship with God should provide assurance of your Salvation. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, we are given the Comfortable Words of Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.". Also, we have the assurance, again from Scripture, in 1 John 5:11-13: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.". Yes, as a follower of Jesus, you have eternal Life! TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 John 5:11-13; Hebrews 11:1; Romans 8:38; John 3:16; John 5:24; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 1:3-5; Colossians 1:12-14; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 4:13; Romans 8:13-17; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:8; Psalms 33b: 12-22. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
DEVOTIONAL VIDEO MESSAGE SUMMARY: Easter -- I Am the Resurrection – (Holy Cross Anglican Cathedral; Loganville, GA) We are bombarded with news reports, today, about death in all forms and from a multitude of sources -- our earthly culture, today, is a culture of death. This Holy Week and this Easter Day, God gives us the means of Grace and the Hope of Glory for Life. The Resurrection of Jesus contradicts our culture of death, and God's Grace, through Jesus’ Resurrection and life after His death on the cross. Jesus' Resurrection, gives us, today, a culture of life! In fact, Jesus tells us, in John 5:24, that we do not have to wait around for Eternal Life. Rather, from the moment, during our earthly life, that we begin following Jesus that we already have Eternal Life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." Earthly death is a fact which we all must face. On the other hand, Jesus gives us his perspective on human death, earthly life, and Eternal Life (John 11: 25– 26): “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”. However, for those of us that follow Jesus, earthly death is only the predecessor event for our Eternal Life. With your faith in Jesus as the Son of God and through God's Grace, you can live your life, both your earthly life and your eternal life, to their fullest with God as your Lord. Yours will be a culture of life even though the world is a culture of death. He has risen! He has risen indeed!! TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 20:11-18; Romans 6:20-23; John 20:1-10; Luke 24; Acts 10:39; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:16-19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Psalms 103:12; John 17:3; John 3:36; 1 John 5:11; Hebrews 13:8; Hebrews 13:5. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
DEVOTIONAL VIDEO MESSAGE SUMMARY: Steve Jobs was a Billionaire at his death; and he was the founder of Apple. Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and, as God, the Creator of the Universe. Steve Jobs provides a life review model by which he assessed the value of his earthly life from his death bed. From his death bed, Steve Jobs wrote his perspective on his life in comparison to his impending death. Earthly death is a fact which we all must face. On the other hand, Jesus gives us his perspective on human death, earthly life, and Eternal Life (John 11: 25– 26): “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”. Archbishop Beach provides a summary of these two different perspectives on living our earthly lives while always considering that our earthly death is inevitable. However, for those of us that follow Jesus, earthly death is only the predecessor event for our Eternal Life. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mark 16:1-8; John 3:3-17; 1 Peter 3:18; Psalms 90:1-17. THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Do the Issues and Fears of Today Cause You to Ask: “Am I Going To Heaven”?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Message from 05/04/2020 By Dave KrugerLockdown has changed the way we do life and has temporarily become our new normal • What have we done with our time? • Has lockdown intensified our relationship with Jesus? • Have we become the disciple spoken about in John 13:35?Scripture: Mark 10:17-27The Rich Young Ruler• He had all the comforts of life• Didn’t have to do much because he had it all• When ask to lay it all down and follow Jesus, he couldn’t. Fear of the unknown• He didn’t realize that Jesus would take care of him in ways unimaginableQuestions• What did it look like to be a Christian pre-Corona/Lockdown?• What does it look like to be a Christian during Lockdown?• What will it look like being a Christian post Lockdown?The message of All In is simple: if Jesus is not Lord of all then Jesus is not Lord at all. It’s all or nothing.• The Gospel costs nothing. You can’t earn it or buy it. It can only be received as a free gift compliments of God’s grace. It doesn’t cost anything, but it demands everything.• It demands that we go “all in,” a term that simply means placing all that you have into God’s hands.• You’ve never actually sacrificed anything for God, if you always get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all?Lasting thought• Going ALL IN, means dethroning yourself, and enthroning Him.
Unexpected Jesus - What Is Your Stand? Matthew 24 If not the day shortened, even the elect will be deceived (◄ Matthew 24:22 ►) When your faith is tried, will you deny God? Will you turn back from servicing God? When you say God where are you, what will be your next action? Will you deny Jesus? Have your consolation in God In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheers I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) What will Satan make you think? God has deserted you Fact: Even our Lord Jesus has is moment of trials, tribulations, and persecutions. What should you do? Don’t believe your feelings that is the main focus of the devil, and don’t give him that! Keep telling yourself, “This too shall pass.” Christ has stated, “In this world you will have tribulation but I have overcome the world - (John 16:33).” Keep reading the word of God (It transpires inner strength even when you are out of physical strength) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path - (Psalm 119:105) Keep praying and ask your friends to be praying for you. Those who wait on the Lord shall be strong and do exploits - (Daniel 11:32) Download this podcast -> http://bit.ly/theunexpectedjesus Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and other outlets (& rate us). Interest-based suggestions: True Love Rules: Seek The Love of God Persistent Faith and Action Lead to Success Are You A Grateful Child Of God? EVANGELISM; ONE OF THE MANY METHODS TO WIN SOULS GOD YOU’VE GOTTEN ME - Podcast Episode The Lord Is My Shepherd - IMPLICATION OF KEEPING BAD ASSOCIATION Resolute Faith in God Leads to Success SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER By subscribing I accept the privacy rules of this site
Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Have you really accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? This episode breaks down how we can place our faith in Jesus by looking at two crucial passage in Matthew and Luke.
Have you ever felt like you're just wandering through life? What about in your walk with Jesus? Have you ever felt like a wanderer? I definitely have, and chances are you have, too. My guest this week is Robin Dance, author of the new book, For All Who Wander: Why Knowing God is Better Than Knowing It All. I loved her book, mainly because it's so similar to the one I'm writing and Robin and I share very similar stories. But I know her story, and this conversation, will resonate with you. If you've ever struggled with asking God the hard questions, of not understanding everything that happens in life or wondering why it happens, you're not alone. In fact, you're in the majority. The best part is that asking those questions can, and often does, lead you to a much stronger understanding of who God is. I can't wait for you hear this conversation. Links Follow Robin on Instagram @robindance.me and Twitter @robindance Check out Robin's website For more info on her book and how to order it, click here If you need to get in touch with me, give me a follow on Instagram at coleclaybourn or on Twitter @ColeClaybourn. You can also email me at innohurry@coleclaybourn.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/in-no-hurry/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/in-no-hurry/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How do you know when God is saying no, wait, or go bust down the door? Is there a difference between praying, and praying for as long as it takes? ... Brand new? Looking to know more about Jesus? Have questions about God? Plan your visit to one of our campuses at connectionpoint.tv/planyourvisit.
What would it be like to spend a day with Jesus? Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to be one of His disciples and to be with Him day in and day out? Well, in Mark 1 we get a chance to follow Jesus through one complete day. And it’s a day in which His power and His authority on are on full display. Most often when people think and talk about Jesus there is a lot of emphasis on His love and humility and servant lifestyle
Have you ever wondered what those guys in white shirts and ties on bikes do? Have you ever wondered why they are constantly outside, rain or shine, smiling and talking about Jesus? Have you seen the Book of Mormon Musical and wondered if they really sing and do perfect pirouettes while teaching lessons? WE HAVE THE ANSWERS HERE! Kaylee interviews Tracy and special guest, Luke Ewles, about preparing for their missions, what happens when they get to their mission location, and how to survive all the stuff that happens. If you're planning to serve a mission, we have answers to the questions you're hesitant to ask. We also have a little advice for soon to be returned missionaries at the end!
Have you had an ‘ah-ha’ moment with Jesus? Have you decided that Jesus is worth following, and then considered why you are following him? Did you recognise Jesus’ “otherness” and have your perspective changed as a result? To whom shall you go? These are the questions posed by Beck in this sermon.
What surprises you about the birth of Jesus? Have you welcomed the gift of Jesus into your heart and life? Life Application: Try seeing the world with the perspective of a child to be in wonder of God again.
Sunday Morning Sermon Believing Jesus We believe in Jesus instead of believing Jesus. What you believe affects your behavior. We don’t believe we’re saved. You don’t hope you’ll make it to heaven, you know. You have nothing to lose here. How do you know you are saved? Have you accepted salvation? Do you believe Jesus? Have you repented of your sins? Have you confessed your belief in Jesus? Have you been baptized into Christ? Preach the Gospel to yourself every day. Choose to believe Jesus, every day. Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 11:28; Romans 8:1, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9, 3:20-21; Philippians 1:21-23; James 2:19; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:21; 1 John 5:13
We should be so broken for the broken that we should always be sharing how great Jesus is! ... Brand new? Looking to know more about Jesus? Have questions about God? Plan your visit to one of our campuses at connectionpoint.tv/planyourvisit.
Life in our fallen world is full of trials and sorrows but our God is in control. He uses those things for his glory and our good. When we encounter pain and sorrows, we should ask ourselves: Have we taken them to Jesus? Have we been reminded of who he is, of his awesome power and love? Are we willing to trust him that the suffering is for our good and his glory? Are we asking him to lead us in his righteous way as we walk through the hard time?
Church: religion or relationship? What does 2 Timothy 3:1-9 have to say about it? ... Brand new? Looking to know more about Jesus? Have questions about God? Plan your visit to one of our campuses at connectionpoint.tv/planyourvisit.
Mark 7:31-37 The Christian life is filled with twist, turns, and interruptions; that is because Jesus loves to go out of his way for those who are in need. In this sermon Pastor Byron shows us how we can model the ministry of Jesus by going out of our way to show compassion for others. Our prayer is that this message will be a blessing and encouragement to you. SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK: Mark 7:31-37 BEFORE YOU GET STARTED: Take 5 minutes to silently read over the section of scripture to gather insight, questions, or discussion with the group before answering the questions. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Jesus travels almost 100 miles out of his way to visit the Decapolis region. Why do you think Jesus would travel so far out of his way to do ministry in this area? What does this show us about the compassion of Jesus for the lost? 2. What lesson can we learn from the crowd about bringing people to Jesus? Have you ever personally led someone to Jesus? Tell their story. 3. Jesus models ministry in this text by doing three things: meets him where he is, takes him aside, and speaks into his life. How can we use this model in our witness to those around us? 4. Following the miracle Jesus tells them not to tell anyone. Why would Jesus do this? Discuss the Messianic Secret so far in Mark’s Gospel. 5. How has Jesus done “all things well” in your life? Share a story of life-change through Jesus. CHALLENGE: This week you challenge is to write down the name of 3 people that you would like to see following Jesus by the end of this community group. Each week we will be in prayer over these three names. Regularly throughout the study, there will be certain challenges that will involve both evangelism and discipleship. Our prayer is that by the end of this study, they will experience life-change through Jesus.
Faith Talks:1.What are some false gospels that you have come to hear about Jesus? Have you come to believed any of them?2.Can you identify areas in your life where you consider Jesus as an optional resource?3.Do you personally know Jesus? or Do you know about Him only?
Exodus 12.1-14, Psalm 116.1-2, 12-19, 1 Corinthians 11.23-26, John 13.1-17, 31b-35; Should we uncover our feet in worship? How can we see one another through Jesus? Have we lost our sense of Christian intimacy? These questions and more on this episode of Strangely Warmed with guest Teer Hardy.
Exodus 12.1-14, Psalm 116.1-2, 12-19, 1 Corinthians 11.23-26, John 13.1-17, 31b-35; Should we uncover our feet in worship? How can we see one another through Jesus? Have we lost our sense of Christian intimacy? These questions and more on this episode of Strangely Warmed with guest Teer Hardy.
The Spirit not only gives us victory, but He leads us and empowers us for service. The text for Jesus’ message was Isaiah 61:1–2. It describes what Jesus came to do and what He is still doing in lives today. Who are you going to reach for Jesus? Have you thought about a plan of attack? Is there more to Christianity that just church? You are not on your own, the Holy Spirit will anoint you, fill you and empower you to minister. Its not all about you, its also about others. What are you doing to help others get their names in the Lambs Book of Life.
Episode 3 is metaphorically knocking at your door. How many times have Jehova's Witnesses come to your door wanting to talk to you about God (Jehova) and Jesus? Have you ever wished you knew what to say and what Scriptures to reference? We discuss the theology behind the Trinity and why the Jesus of the JW's is not the same Jesus from Scripture. This conversation covers the crux of Christianity and everything you need to know when witnessing to a JW. We challenge you to invite them into your house next time, and show them the hope of Jesus Christ that they have never known.
Have you ever felt disappointed by Jesus? Have you felt let down by him? To address our feelings, Jesus wants to lead us to a paradigm shift where we realize that following Jesus is more than a moment…it’s actually every moment. Ephesians 3:14-21 is a prayer of invasion, a prayer inviting Jesus to invade every moment of our lives. Will we be daring enough to pray this prayer?
Podcast Episode 139 - John 12:17-24 Recorded 11/21/2018 Why did Jesus Have to Die? And why did he die the way that he did? Could he have lived to 100 and passed away in sleep?
Today on the podcast, Sean speaks with Louie from Morningstar Community Church in Oregon about a Q&A Panel he does in his ministry. Once a quarter Louie brings in pastors and leaders from the church to answer serious and silly questions from the 4th and 5th graders. This allows leaders in the church to see how deep the 4th and 5th graders are thinking. It also allowed the preteens to see different leaders and levels of pastors and leadership coming in to invest in them. Louie has done this for the last couple of years once a quarter and the event is always themed. One of the events was pastors, and he brought in pastors like the Senior pastor, youth, worship, college, pastors from all areas of the church. Another event was living out their faith in school and Louie brought in teachers from the church. Two Sundays before the panel Sunday he will have the preteens write down their questions so that he has them ready for the panel, also allowing him to weed through the questions. Most of the time Louie has just sprung the questions on the panel the day of, but this most recent event he sent the questions to them ahead of time because they were deeper, and he wanted scriptural backing for the answers. Louie is the moderator of the questions and he also reminds the students that they brought the panel in to answer the question, so the students don’t attempt to answer. Having this type of event allows the pastors and leaders to become more real to the preteens and it opens the eyes of the pastors and leaders to who the preteens actually are. Here are some of the questions Louie’s preteens asked during the last Panel: Did Jesus have a choice to love us? How long did Adam and Eve live? How do I know other people believe in Jesus? How does God know us all? Why is the cross shaped like that? How do you know if someone is growing in God? When did you accept Jesus? Is it possible to come back alive? How did Jesus come back alive? Will I pick my age in heaven? What's heaven like? Is it true that heaven has golden streets? How do we stay connected to Jesus? Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
"Have you seen Jesus?" Have you been living under the reality that we serve a risen Lord? Listen as Drew Jackson outlines how the disciples reacted to the life changing news of Jesus' resurrection.
Have you ever thought about the possibility of walking away from Jesus? Have you ever thought about Peter and why he denied Jesus 3 times? This week we will look at the details of the Garden of Gethsemane. Check it out
Do you want to be closer to Jesus? Have you ever wondered how Jesus decided who would be part of His world-changing inner circle? In this talk, we'll discover three signs you're moving towards the inner circle of Jesus. Today's text is Mark 3:20-35 // Speaker: Samuel Laws // For more information visit www.brave.church
Do you know what it means to follow Jesus? Have a listen.
Have you ever thought that you had to have all your stuff together in order to worship Jesus? Have you ever told yourself, “If I don’t have all the details right or say or do the right things, God isn’t going to pay attention…” or worse, you tag that with “…so why even try?” In today’s story, we’ll see a woman who worships Jesus in a pretty unorthodox way. She certainly doesn’t follow the script of the religious leaders, and yet Jesus receives her worship more than anyone’s. Check out how you can build the same kind of habits into your week, and recognize blessing every day of your life.
In a poignant way, Jesus invites us into friendship. No longer a Master-servant relationship, but a mutually committed friendship. It is puzzling because while He is perfectly capable to be our friend, He invites us to be His, and to listen to Him as He shares His burdens. But such is Jesus, the Son of Man. Can we handle such vulnerability on the part of Jesus? Have we in our twisted way reduced Him to a Boss figure that is task-oriented, like us? In our heartfelt cry, “use me Lord” have we in our performance oriented culture totally missed the point?” Full episode summary here.
Because no one has ever seen God, the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, must make Him known to us (Joh 1:18). Through the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, Jesus us shows us how to know and relate to God as Abba, Father, through our woundedness. Welcome Christine, Flavia, and Seabelo, Bible Study Evangelista's newest friends of the show! LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. This week’s LOVE the Word™ exercise is according to a Thomistic* personality approach. Listen (Receive the Word.) Observe (Connect the passage to recent events.) Have you entered in your Gethsemane with Jesus? Are you retracing your wounds with Jesus through your predominant fault and other patterns, so that by His stripes, you can be healed? Are you crowning those after you with freedom and healing from generational sin patterns, by seriously making an effort to stop them? Are you carrying the cross of your wounder(s) with Jesus? Have you asked Him where He was in your woundedness? Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) In your journal or on your journal page (get a free page to the right), write down your thoughts and feelings about what you have learned through this series. What's your main takeaway? How has your view of God changed? How has the way you relate to Him changed? What can you say to Him now, that could couldn't before the series began? Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Abba, Father, I commit to growing my relationship to you by... I believe. Help my unbelief! . *LOVE the Word™ exercises vary weekly according to the four personalities, or "prayer forms," explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Ignatian, Augustinian, Franciscan, and Thomistic. These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types. Episode Resources Here's the private Facebook discussion page for the Healing the Father Wound series, if you want to join in the conversation with a little more privacy, as I do. What is the Rosary? JPII's Encyclical Letter, Dives in Misericordia, on God as Father References Romans 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father!" (CCC 2779) The purification of our hearts has to do with paternal or maternal images, stemming from our personal and cultural history, and influencing our relationship with God. God our Father transcends the categories of the created world. To impose our own ideas in this area "upon him" would be to fabricate idols to adore or pull down. To pray to the Father is to enter into his mystery as he is and as the Son has revealed him to us. Read the Transcript You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available (usually within the week) courtesy of Kristie Hynniman, who does our transcriptions for you. This Week's Video Kelly Frick : Connect to essential oils Photo Credit Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
Sunday 5 November 2017----5:00PM---7:00PM ET Join Us for BEREAN BIBLE CHAPEL BLOG TALK RADIO BROADCAST---Join Us As We Gather Together in Jesus Christ Name for Prayer-Praise & Worship Music-Testimony Time and a Message from The Word of God.... Come and Magnify & Glorify Our Lord Jesus Christ As We Worship God The Father In Spirit and in Truth... Bring a Family Member or Friend-in-Jesus---Have a Blessed Time in The Lord...
Is being a Christian just about going to heaven? What does it mean to follow Jesus? Have you read the fine print? Listen to the King as He explains His expectations in Matt 8:18-22. For sure, Jesus desires all to follow Him. Even so, He defines what it means to follow Him. That said, He demands and deserves all of those who follow Him.
Andrew French speaks about coming to find and know Jesus through answering two questions from John 14. We don't know where Heaven is, so how can we know the way? Thomas asks Jesus this question in John 14:5, and what Jesus answers Thomas with an explanation of how to reach our Father in Heaven. 5 Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Don't you know me? How well do we know Jesus? Have we stopped trying to learn more? God continues to reach out to us, and we need to ensure we don't block Him out - everything we do should be through the power of God. 9 Jesus answered: 'Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?' As part of Andrew's talk we listened to 'This Changes Everything' by Lou Fellingham. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YbnU7rBi6s
We who are familiar with the Gospels may suffer, at times, from a certain indifference to the sufferings of Christ. We hear the story read each year, have seen many images of the Passion, and as a result of this familiarity, we can fail to allow it to have the proper effect on our lives. But the Passion is real, it happened, and we should give it our full attention. Though it may not be pleasant, on one level, it is an act of love so mysterious that it requires much grace to enable us to penetrate its meaning and significance in our lives. Every scourge, ridicule, nail and thorn wounded not only our Lord’s body, but it caused excruciating pain to His soul. But every pain that He endured He took into His Heart and redeemed it, offering it to the Father for the salvation of all. We must see this great mystery of our faith and gaze upon it in awe and holy wonder (See Diary #948).Have you gazed upon the suffering Jesus? Have you allowed yourself to see His pain and His suffering? Have you seen Him endure all in silence and acceptance? Reflect upon this incredible mystery of our faith this day and allow yourself to grow in love and compassion for Him who endured so much for you. Know that His suffering destroyed the effects of sin and transformed suffering itself into the instrument of His Divine Mercy.Precious Lord, I thank You for Your suffering. For in this act You took human suffering into Your glorious soul and redeemed it. You endured the effects of my sin and said not a word. Lord, You paid the price for my sins and You did so with perfect love and resolve. Give me the grace, dear Lord, to embrace all that I suffer and to unite it to the redeeming power of Your holy Cross. In that unity, free me from my sins and pour forth Your abundance of Mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Theology For the Rest of Us | Quick Answers to the Questions About God and the Bible
There are many people who claim that they are Christians, but is it possible to determine if they truly are Christians? Can you know if they are genuine followers of Jesus? Have they truly been born again? In this episode, Kenny gives us four clear ways to determine if someone truly has been born again and determine if their faith in Christ in real or fraudulent. 1- Do they claim to have put their faith in Jesus? Do they believe that Jesus is God and that He raised from the dead? (John 3:16-17; Romans 10:9-10) 2- Do they really love God? (Luke 10:27; Matthew 22:37) 3- Are they truly committed to following the commandments of Jesus and living for Him? (John 14) 4- Is it obvious that they are engaging with the Spirit of God and growing in the fruit of the Spirit as a result of their engagement with the Spirit of God? (Galatians 5:22-23)
Have you experienced the healing power of Jesus? Have you experienced the saving power of Jesus? Has Jesus blessed you with material wealth, has He blessed you we special abilities? If so, what are you doing with His gift? Peter's mother In-law gives you an example to follow. Maybe it is time for you to get up and get busy serving the Lord.
Brad Sullivan Christmas Eve, Year A December 24, 2016 Emmanuel, Houston Luke 2:1-14(15-20) Becoming Human On A Lark And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. Every time I hear Luke’s telling of Jesus’ birth, I hear Linus telling the Christmas story to Charlie Brown, letting him know what Christmas is really all about. Christmas is about the joy of God becoming human and how fantastic it is that God thinks highly enough of us, love us enough, that he actually wanted to be one of us. How crazy is that? How great, but is God just totally nuts? Maybe. Now, rumor has it that becoming human: living, dying, being resurrected for our sake, was always part of God’s plan, but what if it started on a lark, kind of just a crazy, whimsical idea? Imagine Jesus, before becoming human, saying to his Father: Jesus: Dad, you know how much we love those humans? Father: Yeah, Son. I do. Jesus: Have you ever thought about how great it would be to actually be one of them? Father: What do you mean, Son? Jesus: Well, we love them so much, I’d really like to be one of them, like how people share their lives and experiences with each other, and they draw nearer to each other through sharing their lives together. You know how you’re always wanting humans to draw nearer to you? Well, how much nearer can you get? We become one of them. Father: (considers for a moment) You know, that’s really not a bad idea. Let’s see what the Spirit says. You’ve been listening, I take it? Holy Spirit: Of course I have, and I think it’s a lovely idea. Connect with them, show them how much we care. You know, it may even be a chance to redeem them. Jesus: Hey. Father: Hmm, you know that’s a heck of an idea, something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Holy Spirit: I know you have. Father: They separated themselves from us in the Garden. Jesus: So we join ourselves back to them by becoming one of them. Father: Hmm…except there’s still that sin problem. Holy Spirit: Oh, there you go again. Father: Well, it’s a big problem. Holy Spirit: I know it is. Father: They keep hurting each other, hurting themselves, putting up barriers between each other, barriers between them and us. Holy Spirit: Uh huh. (kind of patronizing) Father: We are love. We don’t have any barriers between us. It’s not like we can have Jesus go out there and sin. Holy Spirit: I know. Father: (sigh, exasperated) All I ever wanted was for them to love each other like we love our-self, like we love them. It gets very frustrating. Holy Spirit: Well you know, if he becomes human, Jesus could join with all of their sins in his death. Jesus: Wait, what? Father: Oh, now you’re talking. We could somehow pour all of humanity’s sins onto him so even their sins won’t separate them from us. Jesus: Um…guys, I’m not so sure… Holy Spirit: It’d have to be a memorable death, too, something gruesome… Jesus: Ok guys, hold it. I was thinking of something simple, like a little weekend tryst… Father: Oh, no that wouldn’t do. You’d need to do the whole thing, you know, grow up, be born… Jesus: Ewe! You’re joking, right? You’ve seen how that whole birth thing happens? Father: You said you love them. Jesus: Oye! They are awfully cute. Ok, full deal. When do you think I should be born? The 1970s had really good music, Star Wars…no, late 1940s, early 50s England. I‘ll grow up with David Bowie. It’ll be awesome. Father: Oh Son, I’ve got just the place. Ok, so lest I lead us all into heresy forever, I pretty sure that conversation never took place, but I love the idea of God becoming human, of Jesus being born, on a lark, as someone who really loves someone else and simply wants to spend more time with them. That’s what Christmas is all about. God saying to humanity, “I love you, and I’d really like to spend more time with you.” That may seem awfully simple, but I believe nothing in creation has greater healing power than relationship and love. In Eden, we walked with God, naked and unashamed. There were no barriers to our relationships with God and no barriers to our relationships with one another. Over time then, we kept on and keep on putting up more and more barriers to each other. Initially, we decided that we wanted knowledge: Adam and Even ate from the tree of knowledge. There was much unknown in creation and the fear of the unknown began gnawing at us, eroding our trust in God, until we decided that we desired knowledge more that trust, and the first barrier to relationship was raised. Then we felt ashamed for what we had done and so we hid, and we covered ourselves with fig leaves, and the next barrier to relationship went up. Then God came and found us and asked what had happened, and we lied, passing the buck onto the serpent, passing the buck onto Eve, rather than fessing up to our fears and our lack of trust, and so another barrier to relationship went up. We went from naked and unashamed to hidden and full of shame, and ever since then, we’ve continued to put up barriers to relationships, as broken people raising defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from harm. The result of course, is that we end up harming our relationships with God and with each other…wars, murders, fights, broken friendships, all because we choose not to trust but seek instead to protect ourselves from harm, when the risk and trust of relationship is really the only thing that can heal us. So in order to heal us, God gives us the very risk and trust of relationship that we so desperately need. God gives us himself, naked and unashamed, vulnerable as a newborn baby: Jesus, born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, a young couple, faithful and kind. They were not great rulers. They had no great power to offer God any great protection once he became human. God decided to trust us with the vulnerability of his human life, offering us his vulnerable, naked, and unashamed self, trusting in nothing more than the care of two loving and faithful parents. See, God wants us to love and trust him and so God chose to love and trust us. God also knows that life is hard, and knows we’re not always great at trusting anyone, especially someone who hasn’t walked in our shoes. So, God became human to say, “I love you, and I think you humans are pretty fantastic. So I am going to show up in your life, naked and unashamed, so that you can trust me, and if you will allow it, I will take down all of the barriers that you have put up.” That’s what Christmas is all about. That’s a pretty serious deal, God healing humanity by becoming one of us. At the same time, I have to think that for the creator of everything to become human, he’s got to be kind of crazy, whimsical, fun too. Imagine God as a toddler walking around in his creation, living amongst his beloved humans, constantly delighted by what’s around him. Imagine 2 year old Jesus running around constantly thinking, “This place is great! Look at that tree; I love that tree. Ooh, a lake! I think I’ll go swimming or maybe walking.” The very fact of the incarnation, God’s crazy notion to become human and live here with us shows us just how fantastic it is to be living here on this earth and that in God’s eyes, we really are pretty fantastic. We also need to remember of course, that life is also not always fantastic, that life is sometimes rather terrible, that we are sometimes rather terrible, and on Christmas we celebrate that Jesus came to live that part of our life too. God gets the messy parts of our lives, the times in our lives and world when things are far from fantastic. Jesus claimed even those bad times and those bad parts of our lives as his own when he became human. That’s what Christmas is all about. The greatest gift God ever gave us was the gift of God’s-self. God gave us the gift of being naked and unashamed with us, loving and trusting us so that we might once again be naked and unashamed with him and with each other. The greatest gift we can give each other, then, is the gift of ourselves, fully living, loving and trusting one another. Jesus became human so that we could love each other in and through the bad times and the good times, and then see each other and see this world and think, “this is fantastic.” Jesus became human so that we could remove our barriers, trust each other and trust God, and then love fully, love with whimsy, love on a lark. That’s what Christmas is all about. Amen.
God loves the entire world, because He demonstrated it by giving us His only son, Jesus even though we didn’t deserve this gift of grace. Today, billions of people have still not heard about God’s gift of Jesus to all mankind. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you received the best gift ever offered? We pray that your heart is touched this Christmas and you feel, understand, and accept the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Brad Sullivan Christmas Eve, Year A December 24, 2016 Emmanuel, Houston Luke 2:1-14(15-20) Becoming Human On A Lark And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. Every time I hear Luke’s telling of Jesus’ birth, I hear Linus telling the Christmas story to Charlie Brown, letting him know what Christmas is really all about. Christmas is about the joy of God becoming human and how fantastic it is that God thinks highly enough of us, love us enough, that he actually wanted to be one of us. How crazy is that? How great, but is God just totally nuts? Maybe. Now, rumor has it that becoming human: living, dying, being resurrected for our sake, was always part of God’s plan, but what if it started on a lark, kind of just a crazy, whimsical idea? Imagine Jesus, before becoming human, saying to his Father: Jesus: Dad, you know how much we love those humans? Father: Yeah, Son. I do. Jesus: Have you ever thought about how great it would be to actually be one of them? Father: What do you mean, Son? Jesus: Well, we love them so much, I’d really like to be one of them, like how people share their lives and experiences with each other, and they draw nearer to each other through sharing their lives together. You know how you’re always wanting humans to draw nearer to you? Well, how much nearer can you get? We become one of them. Father: (considers for a moment) You know, that’s really not a bad idea. Let’s see what the Spirit says. You’ve been listening, I take it? Holy Spirit: Of course I have, and I think it’s a lovely idea. Connect with them, show them how much we care. You know, it may even be a chance to redeem them. Jesus: Hey. Father: Hmm, you know that’s a heck of an idea, something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Holy Spirit: I know you have. Father: They separated themselves from us in the Garden. Jesus: So we join ourselves back to them by becoming one of them. Father: Hmm…except there’s still that sin problem. Holy Spirit: Oh, there you go again. Father: Well, it’s a big problem. Holy Spirit: I know it is. Father: They keep hurting each other, hurting themselves, putting up barriers between each other, barriers between them and us. Holy Spirit: Uh huh. (kind of patronizing) Father: We are love. We don’t have any barriers between us. It’s not like we can have Jesus go out there and sin. Holy Spirit: I know. Father: (sigh, exasperated) All I ever wanted was for them to love each other like we love our-self, like we love them. It gets very frustrating. Holy Spirit: Well you know, if he becomes human, Jesus could join with all of their sins in his death. Jesus: Wait, what? Father: Oh, now you’re talking. We could somehow pour all of humanity’s sins onto him so even their sins won’t separate them from us. Jesus: Um…guys, I’m not so sure… Holy Spirit: It’d have to be a memorable death, too, something gruesome… Jesus: Ok guys, hold it. I was thinking of something simple, like a little weekend tryst… Father: Oh, no that wouldn’t do. You’d need to do the whole thing, you know, grow up, be born… Jesus: Ewe! You’re joking, right? You’ve seen how that whole birth thing happens? Father: You said you love them. Jesus: Oye! They are awfully cute. Ok, full deal. When do you think I should be born? The 1970s had really good music, Star Wars…no, late 1940s, early 50s England. I‘ll grow up with David Bowie. It’ll be awesome. Father: Oh Son, I’ve got just the place. Ok, so lest I lead us all into heresy forever, I pretty sure that conversation never took place, but I love the idea of God becoming human, of Jesus being born, on a lark, as someone who really loves someone else and simply wants to spend more time with them. That’s what Christmas is all about. God saying to humanity, “I love you, and I’d really like to spend more time with you.” That may seem awfully simple, but I believe nothing in creation has greater healing power than relationship and love. In Eden, we walked with God, naked and unashamed. There were no barriers to our relationships with God and no barriers to our relationships with one another. Over time then, we kept on and keep on putting up more and more barriers to each other. Initially, we decided that we wanted knowledge: Adam and Even ate from the tree of knowledge. There was much unknown in creation and the fear of the unknown began gnawing at us, eroding our trust in God, until we decided that we desired knowledge more that trust, and the first barrier to relationship was raised. Then we felt ashamed for what we had done and so we hid, and we covered ourselves with fig leaves, and the next barrier to relationship went up. Then God came and found us and asked what had happened, and we lied, passing the buck onto the serpent, passing the buck onto Eve, rather than fessing up to our fears and our lack of trust, and so another barrier to relationship went up. We went from naked and unashamed to hidden and full of shame, and ever since then, we’ve continued to put up barriers to relationships, as broken people raising defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from harm. The result of course, is that we end up harming our relationships with God and with each other…wars, murders, fights, broken friendships, all because we choose not to trust but seek instead to protect ourselves from harm, when the risk and trust of relationship is really the only thing that can heal us. So in order to heal us, God gives us the very risk and trust of relationship that we so desperately need. God gives us himself, naked and unashamed, vulnerable as a newborn baby: Jesus, born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, a young couple, faithful and kind. They were not great rulers. They had no great power to offer God any great protection once he became human. God decided to trust us with the vulnerability of his human life, offering us his vulnerable, naked, and unashamed self, trusting in nothing more than the care of two loving and faithful parents. See, God wants us to love and trust him and so God chose to love and trust us. God also knows that life is hard, and knows we’re not always great at trusting anyone, especially someone who hasn’t walked in our shoes. So, God became human to say, “I love you, and I think you humans are pretty fantastic. So I am going to show up in your life, naked and unashamed, so that you can trust me, and if you will allow it, I will take down all of the barriers that you have put up.” That’s what Christmas is all about. That’s a pretty serious deal, God healing humanity by becoming one of us. At the same time, I have to think that for the creator of everything to become human, he’s got to be kind of crazy, whimsical, fun too. Imagine God as a toddler walking around in his creation, living amongst his beloved humans, constantly delighted by what’s around him. Imagine 2 year old Jesus running around constantly thinking, “This place is great! Look at that tree; I love that tree. Ooh, a lake! I think I’ll go swimming or maybe walking.” The very fact of the incarnation, God’s crazy notion to become human and live here with us shows us just how fantastic it is to be living here on this earth and that in God’s eyes, we really are pretty fantastic. We also need to remember of course, that life is also not always fantastic, that life is sometimes rather terrible, that we are sometimes rather terrible, and on Christmas we celebrate that Jesus came to live that part of our life too. God gets the messy parts of our lives, the times in our lives and world when things are far from fantastic. Jesus claimed even those bad times and those bad parts of our lives as his own when he became human. That’s what Christmas is all about. The greatest gift God ever gave us was the gift of God’s-self. God gave us the gift of being naked and unashamed with us, loving and trusting us so that we might once again be naked and unashamed with him and with each other. The greatest gift we can give each other, then, is the gift of ourselves, fully living, loving and trusting one another. Jesus became human so that we could love each other in and through the bad times and the good times, and then see each other and see this world and think, “this is fantastic.” Jesus became human so that we could remove our barriers, trust each other and trust God, and then love fully, love with whimsy, love on a lark. That’s what Christmas is all about. Amen.
Who is Jesus? Have you answered the Jesus question?
How do we respond to Jesus? Have we given ourselves to Him? Our response to and our gift for the Birth of Jesus both then and now are discussed.
How do we respond to Jesus? Have we given ourselves to Him? Our response to and our gift for the Birth of Jesus both then and now are discussed.
What a friend we have in Jesus!Friendship is a remarkable thing. It is a way to show emotions and compassion for one another like none other. It is a way for us to experience love in a manner that only friends know...but, what about the friend that we have in Jesus? Have you given much thought to what His friendship means?Listen along and share this message, and let's all remember "What a Friend We Have in Jesus!"
Luke 9:56-62 - These passages are some of the most radical in the New Testament. How many really desire to follow Jesus? What does it really take to follow Jesus? Have you responded to Jesus by "me first" or is your response Him first?
One of the greatest scientists (vaccinologist to be exact) of the 20th century created numerous vaccines that may have saved your life. He may be the reason you are alive and reading this today. Could you name this obscure individual? Could you claim this mystery man as your savior? How about Jesus? Have you ever heard of him? Did you hear about his death on the cross for the sins of the world? Looking around at the world today where sin is rampant and his name ridiculed, would you say he was a successful savior? In the closing sermon of the Success series, that's the exact question we will tackle.
The February 2011 issue of Success Magazine focuses on sales. As usual, I immediately turned to the Publisher's Letter. The first thing I noticed in the left margin was this statement, “If you are not good at sales, life will be more difficult for you. It's that simple.” For those of you who embrace the art of selling these words are no surprise. You understand that everyone sells and that it is a part of life, not just business. On the other hand, if you are part of the growing population of people entering self-employment, you may not have the fundamental skills required for effective selling. You may also have a negative perception of selling that could hinder your ability to market your product. Recently, I was speaking to a potential coaching client and he said, “Pierce, I just don't want to sound like a salesperson.” This gentleman desperately wants to run his own business and has finally reached an understanding that his business will not succeed without selling. I am constantly looking for different words to help people gain a new perspective on this skill. For me, the act of serving provides a positive mental picture. Darren Hardy was given some advice early in his career. Mark out the word sell and replace it with help. Darren was also reminded that the people we serve and help are real people, real families that deserve to be treated like you would want to be treated. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31 ~ Jesus Have a great week! Pierce P.S. Dale Carnegie tip of the week: Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
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