Podcasts about remember jesus

Don't Waste The Struggle James 1:2-4 “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” I love how God works. Sometimes, I just laugh at how he orchestrates everything and how He just knows what we need to hear. It's like He keeps telling you something in a bunch of different ways until we get it. If you have been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you probably know how much I love talking about healing. I love praying for people for healing. I believe with my whole being that God can heal everyone, and I will pray with anyone who will let me for God to heal them. As you can probably imagine, not everyone I pray with for healing is healed. This confuses me as I don't understand why this is. I know that God's ways are higher than our ways and that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. I know that God knows infinitely more than we do and that He sees the whole picture when we only see a tiny part of the picture. I know that He knows the future and that He knows what He is doing. I know all of this, and yet I still don't understand why some people have healed on this side of heaven, and some are not. I don't understand why some people are healed instantly, and some take months or years. God and I chat about this often, and He keeps trying to explain it to me, and I don't seem to be getting it. The theme for mentoring one month was the dark night of the soul. If you are unfamiliar with this, the "Dark Night of the Soul" refers to a spiritual crisis or period of deep inner struggle and desolation, where a person feels distant from God or disconnected from their sense of purpose and meaning. It often involves intense feelings of doubt, confusion, and loss, but is ultimately seen as a necessary stage in spiritual growth or transformation. The term originates from the writings of the 16th-century mystic St. John of the Cross, who described it as a painful yet purifying experience that leads to a closer union with God. I had heard of this before. However, I did not know much about it. However, this is what a few people in mentoring wanted me to cover, so I did some research and learned a lot about it. Then, I decided to get an audiobook by Thomas Moore called “Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals.” In this book, Thomas Moore talks about how we are always trying to end difficult times quickly. If we are sick, we want to be healed immediately. If we are struggling emotionally, we want the struggle to end quickly. If we are uncomfortable in any way, we want to do whatever we need to do to get comfortable as quickly as we can. Thomas said in his book that we are doing ourselves a disservice when we do this. Instead of trying to escape our misery, what if we approached it with curiosity? What if we tried to understand it and what it was trying to teach us? This seemed to stand out to me because I was just talking to a friend the other day about how I just wanted her trouble to end. She was saying that she could see how she would be so much stronger when she was on the other side of this, and I was just thinking, God, can you stop these bad dreams now? Why wait? Why keep struggling? Now, to be clear, although God could stop these bad dreams now, He hasn't chosen to do so. It is not as if she hasn't prayed for them to stop. It's not as if plenty of people haven't prayed for them to stop. So, it got me thinking maybe Thomas Moore is on to something here. Maybe I am just in a rush to have God heal these people because then they will be more comfortable or out of pain or misery, and yet God knows that the uncomfortable feelings that they feel now are nothing compared to the glory they will feel if they just hold out a little longer. I have been talking to the Lord for a long time now to try to understand why He does what He does, especially with regard to healing. When I heard this explanation from Thomas Moore, I felt like the Lord was talking directly to me. Then I went to a meeting at Encounter last night where about 16 of my graduating class got together. We try to do this once a month. The topic for last night was a renewal of the mind. We all asked Jesus to show us one place where He would like to renew our minds. This is what I felt like I heard the Lord say, “I would like to renew your mind around healing. Not every person needs to be healed. Sometimes, I do work within the illness I will highlight those I want to be prayed over.” Next, I asked Jesus how He wanted me to think about this mindset. This is what I thought I heard, “I want you to think like I do, I want you to know I have my own ways of thinking and reasons for healing that have nothing to do with your ability to pray over people. You are not doing anything wrong, and you are not the reason they are not healed. Then, I turned to James in the Bible to look for a verse, as I recently heard someone recommend James as a great place to start if you are new to reading the Bible. I thought I would check it out and see why James was a good place to start. Then, the very first line I read confirmed what God has been telling me lately. I know that was a roundabout way of explaining how I got to this verse and why I thought it was special, but that is what I felt led to share. I think what this verse is telling us and what God has been trying to tell me is that we can learn from the hard times we are going through. God doesn't make us sick. He doesn't hurt us or break our hearts. He doesn't make us lose our jobs or lose our loved ones. God is not the cause of our pain, and yet He can use our pain for our good. He can use this difficult time you are going through to form you into a stronger, more resilient person. I know suffering is uncomfortable. I know life can throw some pretty crappy things at us, and we just want to escape all of it. We want to be comfortable and skate through life with minimal issues. I get this, and it makes sense. What I feel the Lord is trying to teach me is that God knows how long we need to be in something before it has sufficiently changed us. If we leave a situation too early, we may not have reaped the full benefit from it. Do you know what is even worse than having to go through years of agony? Having to go through years of agony and not reaping any benefits from it. God knows what we need. He knows our future, He knows our past, He knows our innermost being. He knows how much we can handle, and He knows the perfect time to take us out of the fire so we are pure gold with no more impurities. He has also made it clear to me that this doesn't mean we need to stop asking for the healing or the relief of the situation. He tells us over and over again in the Bible to be persistent and that He rewards persistence. What He is telling us is that while we are waiting on His perfect timing, we don't have to be frustrated and discouraged. As this verse says, we can “consider it a sheer gift” when life's challenges come upon us. It is giving us a chance to grow more into the person God is calling us to be. Our challenges help us to become more mature in our faith. I pray that the Lord continues to renew my mind in this area. I pray He shows me how to be patient in the wait. I pray He shows me how to approach my struggles with curiosity and allows me to have the strength to sit in my struggles without trying to wish them away before they are done doing good work in me. I pray He gives you a renewal of mind also! Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we find it so hard to understand how you work sometimes. We don't understand why you do the things you do, and so we are asking for a renewal of the mind, Lord. Renew our minds and help us think more like you think. Help us to understand a bit more about how you work and why you do the things you do. Help us to see our struggles as building blocks to becoming the person you made us to be. Give us the strength to hold out when we feel like we can't hold out any longer. Be with us, Lord, every step of the way! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I would like to invite each one of you into my mentoring community. This is a new month, and the topic this month is “Created for a Purpose: Discovering God's Plan for Your Life. Week 1 — You Were Created on Purpose, Week 2 — What Is My Purpose?, Week 3 — What Happens When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan? and Week 4 — Walking in God's Plan One Step at a Time. Is this the month you give mentoring a try? Is this the month where you decide to grow closer to the Lord with a small community of individuals who also want to grow closer to the Lord? There is a link in the show notes. Or you can go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, and click on the mentoring tab. I hope you will join us! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today's Word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “Tomorrow's a new place. A place you've never been or will ever be again. Each carries me. Join me! Feel the joyful vibrations, the holy and the Divine.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Sunday, August 30, 2026 Invitation to the Table Taking the Next Step Scripture: Luke 19:1-10 Pastor Ben Price Jr. What does it look like to move from simply hearing about Jesus to taking the next step in following Him? In this message from the Invitation to the Table series, Pastor Ben Price Jr. challenges us to respond to Jesus' invitation with intentional action. Faith isn't meant to remain on the sidelines—it calls us to take the next step, grow deeper in our relationship with Christ, and live out our faith in everyday life. Key Points to Remember: Jesus is inviting you to take the next step. Following Christ is an ongoing journey of growth, obedience, and trust. Don't stay where you are. Spiritual growth requires a willingness to respond to God and move forward in faith. Your next step can impact someone else. As we grow in Christ and live out our faith, our lives can become an invitation for others to encounter Jesus. If this message encouraged you, follow the podcast, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review to help others discover biblical teaching that leads to deeper faith and Christlike living. Connect with us at www.bcn.org! Need prayer? We would love to pray for you, simply submit your request here. Keywords: Invitation to the Table, Taking the Next Step, Pastor Ben Price Jr., sharing Jesus, Christian podcast, Bible teaching, evangelism, discipleship, following Jesus, spiritual growth, Nazarene, biblical preaching.

What Is Christian Warfare? Jonathan Parnell Download Psalm 109,Be not silent, O God of my praise!2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.3 They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.5 So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.6 Appoint a wicked man againsthim; letan accuser stand at his right hand.7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!8 May his days be few; may another take his office!9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!10 May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!15 Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!21 But you, O God myLord,deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.23 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.24 My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.26 Help me, O Lord my God!Save me according to your steadfast love!27 Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!28 Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.In 1657, an English Puritan named John Arrowsmith wrote a book describing the Christian life as warfare. He says this warfare is not something that happens every now and then, but it's constant: To be a Christian is to be at war, period. Sometimes we can have moments of respite — which are gifts — but the baseline reality of the Christian life is that we actually live behind enemy lines.Arrowsmith writes: [quote] “Christians dwell in enemy territory so long as they [are in this] world.” Everyday we fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil, but he explains the real enemy is Satan himself. The Book of Revelation calls Satan “that ancient serpent” (going back to Genesis Chapter 3)…This means we're in an ancient war, against an ancient enemy, and therefore Christians should understand themselves as spiritual warriors.That's Arrowsmith's main point, and it's a good one. And what I find fascinating about it is that in 17th century Europe nobody heard him explain this and thought he was being too intense. Nobody thought he was forcing the framework. And so if we hear it and we think he's being too extreme, it's probably because we're the ones living in the bubble … Understand most of human history has been marked by suffering and violence …And it's not just that life itself is hard, but it's that for most humans throughout history, they've understood what it means to have enemies— I don't mean metaphorical enemies; not merely ideological enemies. But I'm talking about real, physical enemies who are active threats.That category has been normal for most people historically, and so the concept of the Christian life as warfare makes sense to them. … And I believe it'll make more sense to us the more we are shaped by the Bible. That's what we're gonna see this morning. Looking at Psalm 109, I want to show you four facts about Christian warfare. These facts were true when David wrote this psalm; they were true in the 17th century when Arrowsmith wrote his book; and they're true right now — so we can't afford not to know these things. The first fact is this:1. There are enemies of Christ. Right away we see that Psalm 109 is about enemies. Verse 1 opens: “Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues …”This is obvious opposition. Then in verse 6, there's still plural enemies, but a singular enemy comes into view and verse 8 says:“May his days be few; may another take his office!”“May his days be few; may another take his office!”Now if you've recently read the Book of Acts in the New Testament, that might sound familiar to you. That's because in Acts Chapter 1, one of the first things Peter does after Jesus's resurrection, is he tells the other disciples that they need to replace Judas (remember Jesus had twelve disciples, but Judas betrayed Jesus and hung himself, so they were down to eleven disciples). And the reason Peter gives for replacing Judas is Psalm 109, verse 8. This is Acts 1:15 — there were 120 brand-new Christians altogether, and Peter says:Hey, everyone, we need to replace Judas because the Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of David concerning Judas that another should take his office.Peter quotes Psalm 109:8, which means that Peter (and the other early Christians), who had been trained by Jesus how to read the Old Testament, they interpreted the enemy in Psalm 109 to be Judas. This is amazing! Now I wanna show you how they get there …Psalm 109 is a Psalm of David, and as we've seen many times before, David writes the psalms as a type of Christ. He writes from own situations, but he also looks forward in time, and the Holy Spirit, through David's original voice, speaks as the voice of the Messiah.That's what's happening in Psalm 109. So we should read this psalm as prayed ultimately by Jesus himself.The enemies described here are not just enemies of David, the Anointed One, but they're enemies of David's Son, the ultimate Anointed One. Psalm 109 is about the enemies of the true Messiah. It's about the enemies of Christ. Archetypal Enemy And focus is on Judas as the singular enemy because Judas became the ringleader of those who crucified Jesus. Peter says in Acts 1:16 that Judas was their guide. Judas became the lead human instrument of Satan's schemes — we know from the Gospel accounts! They tell us that Satan entered Judas (Luke 22:3; John 13:2, 27). And so to this day, Judas is an archetype of an enemy of Christ. He's the head representative. Every enemy of Christ ever since has been cut from that same cloth. So, like Judas, enemies of Christ become people in whom Satan has his way. They oppose the message of Christ and the people of Christ, and they distort the truth of Christ. And we see this already throughout the New Testament. The apostle John calls this the “spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:3) — it's the ongoing satanic pattern of hatred for Jesus. There are people in this world who hate Jesus and hate his people. And of course we know this because Jesus has told us this in the Gospel of John.So it's first fact we gotta nail down: there are enemies of Christ.Second fact about our warfare is …2. The enemies of Christ speak evil. Now when you think of the enemies of Christ, you might imagine all kinds of terrible things these enemies do, but it's important to see in Psalm 109 that the main evil of these enemies has to do with what they say. Ten different times we read that the enemies of Christ have: Deceitful mouths, lying tongues, they speak words of hate, they accuse, they curse, they speak evil.We see this actively in the Gospels, in the trial of Jesus; we see this in those who reviled Jesus when he was on the cross; we see this in Judas when he conspired against Jesus — he used words. We also see this today in how the enemies of Christ oppose his people.Now none of this should surprise us because Jesus called Satan “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). That was Satan's way from the start in the Garden of Eden, and it's happening now. The enemies of Christ — those in whom Satan has his way — they most resemble Satan with their words. Their messaging. They are liars.Falsehood. Deception. Half-truths. Spinning truths. Full-out distortions. Blatant contradictions. Or as they say in Australia, bull-DUST — all of that is speaking evil. And there is something especially Satanic about it … And in this country, you're technically free to do it. Just understand that freedom of speech doesn't mean that the words you speak are harmless to your soul. Words have consequences. And every word ever spoken against Jesus Christ will be punished.I remember as a kid something Jesus said really got my attention. It's Matthew 12:36. Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak…”Jesus said that. And if people will be held accountable for their careless words, how much more the enemies of Christ for their words against Christ?That's the third fact.3. God will curse the enemies of Christ.The bulk of Psalm 109 is an imprecatory prayer. An imprecatory prayer is when you ask God to curse someone. I counted 23 curses (or imprecations) in this psalm — that's 23 petitions where David, in the voice of Messiah, is asking God to curse his enemies. Now we'd be sidetracked if all of a sudden we make the topic here about whether or not we can pray imprecatory prayers. (Of course we can. They're in the Bible! And if you want to read more about it, I encourage you to go check out a sermon I preached a few years ago on Psalm 58 titled, “How to Pray Imprecations.”)But for this morning, there's something more important for us to see. Most of the curses are in verses 6–20, but the direct center of the psalm is verse 17. Here's verse 17: He [the enemy of Christ] … He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!So the Messiah is asking God the Father to curse his enemies who tried to curse him. And if you're a reader of Scripture, this makes total sense — Jesus is just asking God to do what God already promised. Because way back in the Book of Genesis, God promised Abraham, Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you [or curses you] I will curse …God said that! And this promise becomes a covenantal thread that runs all the way through the Old Testament and finally reaches its fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus becomes the ultimate dividing line between blessing and curse — are you with him or against him? That's the question. And if you're against him, God will curse you.And then the apostle Paul applies this same logic to the church.Applied to the ChurchPaul tells the church in Thessalonica that “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6). God the Father says it is right to curse those who curse the church. This is a big deal.And I can't help but imagine that when Paul wrote those words, he remembered the very first thing Jesus ever said to him. This in Acts Chapter 9, on the road to Damascus, when the old Paul was on his way to persecute Christians. Remember Jesus appeared to him and said:“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”Paul said, “Who are you?”Jesus said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting?”You get that? Jesus identifies himself so completely with his church that the persecution of them is persecution of him.So for the enemies of Christ who afflict his church, God the Father will afflict them. And Jesus prays for that. Look, the main thing we need to know about these curses in Psalm 109 is that they will happen whether we pray for them or not. Psalm 109 is about what will be.The Father has promised it. The Son has requested it. God will curse the enemies of Christ. That is a fact about Christian warfare. Here's the last one. In this warfare …4. God will magnify his glory by saving his people. In the midst of this opposition, as these enemies are set against him, the Messiah prays for God to deliver him. We read this in verse 21, and this a verse that you gotta see. So y'all help me out. Find Psalm 109, verse 21:But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!Now skip down to verse 26: Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love! Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!I want you to see here that the Messiah's not just asking for God to save him, he's asking for God to be glorified. He's saying: Save me because of who you are! Save me for your name's sake!Save me because of your steadfast love!And save me in such a way that my enemies know it's you!Make it clear that my salvation is from your hand!Now, how might God do that?What kind of salvation would require God to do what nobody else can do?What kind of enemy could God defeat that makes people say … “wow!”?If there's one place where we know for sure “vain is the salvation of man” it's the grave. Death is the enemy that no man can outrun, no army can defeat, no power on earth can reverse. Nobody raises themselves from the dead.But do you know what God can do?On the third day, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. It was only by his hand. God did that! We see this confidence all throughout the Psalms in the voice of the Messiah:O Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. (30:3)You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption! (16:10) You, God, will ransom my soul from the power of the grave! (49:15)God is the one who resurrects. God alone! It's true of physical resurrection, and it's true of spiritual resurrection … I hope you know that if you're a Christian it's because God did that. The Bible tells us that spiritually speaking, left to ourselves, we're all in graves. Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…” Dead! — Therefore, God has to be the one to spiritually resurrect us, and he did! That's why God gets the glory! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)Christian, don't pat yourself on the back for being a Christian, but thank God he made you alive! Thank God that he has worked a miracle in you! God did that!Be humbled and happy! That's how we live as Christians for the glory of God.God magnifies his glory by saving his people … he raised Jesus from the dead, he raises his church from spiritual death, and one day he will raise our bodies from the grave and make us like Jesus, with him, forever.But until then, church, it's warfare. We are, for now, the church militant.In this life we cling to Jesus by faith behind enemy lines, and we fight everyday against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Why did God do it this way? You ever think about this?What if God had made it so that at our conversion, we get instant, complete triumph? No more struggle. No more enemies. Just instant heaven. Wouldn't that be nice! Why does God leave us here to fight?John Arrowsmith asked that question. This is what he said: [In our fight,] God directs and ordains the wickedness of Satan and the unrighteous such that they result in His glory, [and his glory is manifest in] the advantage of His church, and the destruction of the wicked at the day of the Lord. (120)That's not an easy answer, but it's true. That's how we should think about the enemies of Christ: God has ordained it all for the maximum display of his glory, which is the maximum joy of his people. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. This is what brings us to the TableThe TableWe come here each week to remember the death of Jesus. By the death of Jesus, God's love was poured out for us. By his resurrection, although we're at war, our victory is secured. And we come here to thank him. We thank Jesus for his death; we thank him that he's alive; and we thank him for making us alive. And hey, if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian … if you've not put your faith in Jesus, God can make you alive right now. Turn to Jesus and be spiritually resurrected.If that is your story, if you are a Christian, we invite you to eat and drink with us…

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The Lord Is Close To The Brokenhearted Psalm 34:17-19 “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” Yesterday I talked about how the Lord is with us to deliver us.  If you are going through a hard time this can be hard to hear. You might want to believe it and yet you find it hard to see in your own life, especially if you have been struggling for a long time.  Maybe you have witnessed God delivering your friends from their situations while you still struggle with yours.  This can make it really difficult to believe that God is with you or that He will deliver you.  Sometimes we can be delivered from a situation quickly.  For instance, we pray for our child's fever to go down, and it does.  However, sometimes it can take a long time to be delivered and sometimes the way we are delivered is not the way we wanted to be delivered.   I know how hard it is to hear that God will deliver you if you are stuck in a place you feel you have been for a very long time.  I struggled with parenting my children and in my marriage for over 10 years.  It was a very long uphill battle.  It was one where you get so excited because something you are doing is working, you are moving forward 2 steps and then the next day you are back 3 steps.  I know that is extremely frustrating.  I get it.  If this is you right now, maybe not the same situation or trouble, but the same feeling of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back I want you to know you are not alone.  I have been there and so many others are right there with you right now.  If this is you, this verse is for you also. “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.” The Lord hears you when you call Him for help.  He hears you when you cry out that you are angry with Him.  He hears that you are worried and anxious about many things.  He hears that you are praying for healing for a loved one.  He hears that you want the perfect house.  He hears that you want the perfect wedding.  He hears that you are struggling and He rescues you from all your troubles.  The Lord will rescue you.  Even if you don't believe that He will.  Even if you don't understand how He will.  If you need proof that the Lord will come to rescue you, sit down with a paper and a pen and ask the Lord to show you where He has rescued you in the past.  The Lord is the same today, yesterday, and forever.  If He has rescued you in the past, He will rescue you again.   The next line says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” I love the imagery of this line.  “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”  I just picture sitting on the Lord's lap as I once sat on my dad's lap.  I picture us as little children, going to our heavenly father with a broken heart.  I picture Him scooping us up onto his lap and pulling us in close for a hug.  Close your eyes and see if you can picture your head on His chest, just listening to His heartbeat. Just be there in His loving embrace.  Can you feel the warmth of His body and the strength of His arms that are holding you tight? Can you imagine how safe you feel in His arms?   This verse is talking about you.  You are the “brokenhearted.” God is talking to you. No matter what you are going through, God is near you.  He never leaves your side.  The next time you feel alone, the next time you feel like God has abandoned you, sit down and imagine Him right there with you.  I imagine you are sitting on His lap and He is holding you. The other day at prayer group one of the ladies and a vision of herself sitting on the Father's lap.  She said she was filled with love and then she felt the need to get down so that she wasn't taking up all His time.  She wanted to make room for someone else and He told her to stay.  He said something like, “Stay my daughter, do not worry.  Right now I am holding all my children to my heart.”  God is holding you, even when you can't feel Him. The second part of that line says, “He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”  Are you spirits crushed right now?  Were you hoping for something and it didn't happen?  Were you praying and you can't seem to find any answers to those prayers?  Were you sure God would rescue you and yet He does not appear to be rescuing you?  If so, this verse is for you.  God rescues those whose spirits are crushed.  It doesn't say those who believe He will.  It doesn't say God rescues those who never gave up hope.  It doesn't say those who weren't angry with Him.  It says God rescues those whose spirits are crushed.  If this is you, know that God is with you and that He will rescue you.  The Bible doesn't lie and there are no exceptions.  God is not talking to some of us and not all of us through the Bible.  The passages in the Bible apply to each and every one of us.  The Lord is speaking directly to you through His Word in the Bible. The last line in this verse is, “The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” We talked about this a bit yesterday and here it is again.  This verse is telling us that even if we are a really good person.  Even if we are doing all the right things, and following God's law, we will still face many troubles.  Life is not going to be easy just because we follow the Lord.  We will face trouble.  The difference between us and someone who is not following the Lord is that we don't have to face that trouble alone.  The Lord is with us each step of the way.  An image just came to mind of a child standing there with our heavenly Father standing right next to the child.  He was holding the child's hand and the sense I got was that we are like that child.  As we go through life, as we face the many challenges we will face, our heavenly Father is right there with us holding our hand.   I don't know about you, but I love the idea of my heavenly Father holding my hand as I walk through life.  I love the idea of Him being right there next to me.  I feel safer knowing if I wanted to run toward danger, He would be able to hold me back because He is that close to me.  God is that close to you too! He is right there.  If you can't see Him, if you can't feel Him, that's ok.  Can you believe He is there? Can you talk to Him?  Can you listen and see what He has to say to you?  God is there, there is not a doubt in my mind about that.  I know He is there because I have seen Him so often in my life.  However, even if I had never seen Him in my life, I would know He is right here with me because it says it so often in scripture and the Word of God is factual. This verse is true. “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” The last timeline is important to remember.  It doesn't say the Lord comes to the rescue sometimes.  It says, “The Lord comes to the rescue each time.”  Yes, He is coming this time too! Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we thank you for always rescuing us.  We thank you for staying close to us even when we push you away.  Thank you for never leaving our side Lord.  Thanks for being a good, good Father to each of us.  Lord, we ask that you help us see how you have rescued us in the past.  Lord, we ask you to show us where you are now in our situation.  We ask you to give us renewed hope that you will in fact rescue us from whatever it is we are struggling with.  We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow with three witnesses.  All three things happened at the Encounter School of Ministry Boston Campus' Summer Intensive, and they are all wonderful.  Remember Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

We have all seen God working in our lives, however, we might not all be aware it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working your life, please email me at catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or just click here.  It won't take up much of your time and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Remember Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Sunday, August 2, 2026Dr. Jillian Langford

2 Timothy 2:8-15 | Kat Gritter

Sunday, August 2, 2026 Invitation to the Table | Eyes That See Pastor Ben Price Series: Invitation to the Table Scripture: Luke 5:27–32 What do you see when you look at the people around you? In the opening message of the Invitation to the Table series, Pastor Ben Price explores Jesus' encounter with Levi and His invitation to sinners, outcasts, and the overlooked. Jesus didn't see people for who they were—He saw who they could become through His grace. This message challenges us to see others through the eyes of Christ and extend the same invitation to experience forgiveness, belonging, and new life. Whether you're seeking a fresh perspective on evangelism or a reminder of God's heart for people, this message will encourage you to look beyond appearances and make room at the table for everyone Jesus is calling. Three Key Points to Remember: Jesus sees beyond our past. His invitation is based on grace, not our performance or reputation. Following Jesus changes our perspective. As disciples, we're called to see people as Christ sees them—with compassion, hope, and purpose. The table is for everyone. Jesus invites the broken, the searching, and the overlooked into a life-changing relationship with Him, and He calls us to extend that same invitation. If this message encouraged you, follow the podcast, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review to help others discover biblical teaching that leads to deeper faith and Christlike living. Connect with us at www.bcn.org! Need prayer? We would love to pray for you, simply submit your request here. Keywords: Invitation to the Table, Eyes That See, Luke 5:27–32, Gospel of Luke, Christian podcast, Bible teaching, evangelism, discipleship, grace, compassion, following Jesus, spiritual growth, Bedford Church of the Nazarene, biblical preaching, sermon podcast, Jesus and sinners.

Why Seeing Jesus Through the Eyes of an Entrepreneur Could Change Your Life, Business, and Calling This expanded feature article is designed for publication, distribution, teaching, and discussion within the Jesus Entrepreneur Collective. It explores one of the central ideas of the episode: many people know Jesus as a religious figure but have never seriously considered Him as an extraordinary communicator, leader, craftsman, entrepreneur, and builder of people. A Remark Worth Remembering During a business presentation, a young businessman approached Stan Hustad and said, 'I didn't know Jesus was that smart.' What sounded awkward became a profound insight. Many people separate faith from the marketplace. This episode invites us to reconnect them. Rediscovering Jesus Throughout the program Stan argues that Jesus understood people, stories, leadership, influence, timing, service, courage, reputation, and purpose. These are not merely religious ideas; they are the foundations of flourishing organizations and meaningful lives. The Hidden Eighteen Years One of the most thought-provoking themes is Jesus' long period as a working craftsman before His public ministry. Those years remind us that ordinary work can become preparation for extraordinary influence. Why a Collective? A collective is more than an organization. It is a community of people united around a shared mission, encouraging one another while contributing their own gifts. Stan suggests that this reflects the way Jesus gathered people. A Marketplace for the Twenty-First Century The conversation reaches into today's world of AI, entrepreneurship, media, technology, and rapid change. The question is not whether technology matters, but whether timeless wisdom still has something essential to say. The program answers with a confident yes. From Success to Significance The closing challenge asks listeners to think beyond paying the bills. What if our greatest regret would not be failure, but unused opportunity? The invitation is to become the kind of entrepreneur who builds people as well as businesses. Memorable Quotations "I didn't know Jesus was that smart." "Great movements begin as communities before they become organizations." "Don't merely make a living. Build a life that outlives you." "The greatest venture you will ever build is your own life." Things to Remember Jesus belongs in Monday's marketplace as much as Sunday's worship. Leadership begins with serving people. Community multiplies influence. Purpose gives success lasting meaning. Things to Share Discuss the question: 'Was Jesus the greatest entrepreneur in history?' Share this episode with business owners, students, pastors, and leaders. Start conversations about integrating faith, work, and innovation. Personal Action Challenge For the next seven days, identify one teaching of Jesus that can be intentionally practiced in your work, leadership, or relationships. Keep a journal of what changes. Invitation The Jesus Entrepreneur Collective exists to help thoughtful men and women discover timeless principles for today's marketplace. Stan Hustad invites listeners to join the conversation, grow together, and become builders of organizations, communities, and lives that reflect wisdom, courage, service, and hope.

Remembering and Proclaiming Jesus What amazing words we just sung to help us remember and proclaim the cross, remember and proclaim Jesus. And now we’re going to follow Jesus’ command to remember and proclaim him by taking a piece of bread and a cup of juice. These things are not magical. They don’t make us right with God, but they point us to the one through whom we are made right with God. They’re physical reminders of Jesus and what he accomplished for us with his body and blood. We’re going to read part of Philippians 2, the same passage that Eric read for us earlier. Philippians 2, starting in verse 5, Paul writes: Have this way of thinking in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. The Heights from Which Christ Descended First, to understand Jesus’ humility, we have to look at how high he was, the heights from which he descended. Before Bethlehem, before creation, before time itself, Jesus, the Son, was and always has been God. Jesus didn’t begin at the manger. He had no beginning. He always has been the eternal Son. And yet, he did not use his equality with God to his own advantage. What this is saying is that he has always inherently possessed every right and all authority, but Jesus used his position for the good of those he came to save. Paul summarizes this when he says that Jesus emptied himself. Jesus didn’t empty himself of his godness. He didn’t lay aside any of his deity. Instead, Paul explains what emptying looks like. It looked like taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of man. The eternal Son became truly human without ceasing to be God. He became truly human and never sinned. The one whom angels worship became a man, took the form of a slave. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus is described in those terms. Paul was grasping for what could be the lowest, most humble, most shameful class that he could describe. This great humbling that Jesus took, it’s more humbling than a king becoming a slave. It’s God the Son stooping from divine glory to live among us as a man. There could be no more humble act, it would seem. Obedient to Death on a Cross But look what Paul goes on to say. Jesus went lower still. He didn’t merely humble himself to become a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death in the most humiliating manner possible, death on a cross. The one who commands creation obeyed his Father. The one who possesses life submitted to death. The death he died on the cross was painful, it was shameful, it was cursed. It was the death of slaves and rebels. Think of the one who died there, that kind of death. The highest one willingly went to the very lowest place to hang naked before a watching world, and even worse still, to be judged by God the Father for sins not his own. Why? Not because he lacked power or honor, but because he used his power to love and to save. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. At the cross, Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, though he wasn’t one. He had no sins of his own, but as he died there, he carried mine. He carried yours if you would trust in him. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. He became a curse for us. The wrath of God, the right wrath of God against my selfishness, my grumbling, my rebellion, fell on him. The Risen Lord We Proclaim Verse 9 goes on: Therefore, also God highly exalted him. The one who died the shameful death of a slave is now the risen Lord. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And it’s this Jesus who we proclaim and remember until he comes again. Why This Section Is Here in Philippians Let’s step back and think, and this is a really helpful thing to think about: why is this section here in Philippians? Paul is teaching us good theology, but why? Consider the commands that surround the explanation of Jesus’ humility and obedience. Paul doesn’t merely tell us of Jesus and his death and his godness to make us marvel, though we should. Paul is writing to a church tempted by selfish ambition and grumbling. Think of Euodia and Syntyche, chapter 4. Think of the very command that precedes this. I see that same tendency to selfish ambition and grumbling in me, and you do too. That is the most natural human thing. I want to rise the ranks. I want to get more prestige. I want to get more honor. I want to climb the ladder. And Paul says in verse 3: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. Or in verse 14, obey: Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God. Church, do you get this? Remembering Jesus rightly must change how we treat one another. It must change how we relate to God. God’s children, which it says in verse 14 you are when you respond this way, God’s children by grace alone through faith alone, should bear the family resemblance to God’s Son. So be who you are. Remember Christ in his sacrifice, what he paid, and the example he gave. Examine Yourself and Come to Christ So as we take the bread and juice, let’s make sure we’re doing it rightly. This is the very context in 1 Corinthians 11 when Paul tells us to examine ourselves. What was the church there doing? They were coming to the meal with their thoughts on themselves, selfishly grasping. And Paul says it’s not the Lord’s Supper that you’re taking. You’re doing something else altogether because they weren’t remembering Jesus rightly. Taking the bread and juice must have effects in our life. It’s a contradiction to praise Christ for not grasping his rights while we clutch our own. It’s a contradiction to praise Jesus for humility while being proud and selfish. It’s a contradiction to worship him for serving while we refuse to serve, or to praise his obedience while we defend grumbling or remain in disobedience. So examine yourself. Look for where your life isn’t in step with the gospel. And you know what Paul says? He doesn’t say, “Examine yourself, and then let the bread and juice pass if you haven’t had a good week.” He says, “Examine yourself. Remember Jesus. Confess your sins where they’re there. Turn from them. And so eat and drink.” So if you are a Christian, look to your Savior. He is your only worth, your only merit before God. And look at your life and get your life in alignment with who God saved you to be. And then eat and drink. But if you have not trusted Christ, just let the elements pass when they come. But please don’t leave without speaking to me, or the person who brought you, or anybody here. There will be people available after the service to talk and to pray with you about how you can be reconciled to God through Jesus. As your heart is prepared, take the bread and juice on your own. The post Communion Meditation: July 26 2026 appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

Deuteronomy 8:6-18

Today we come to one of the most amazing promises in all ofScripture as we look at Philippians 4:7. After Paul tells us to pray abouteverything, he now tells us what God gives us in return. Verse 7 says: “Andthe peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your heartsand minds through Christ Jesus.” Noticethat Paul does not promise that every problem will immediately disappear.Instead, he promises something even greater. God will give us peace—a peace inthe midst of the trials, the challenges, the problems, the disturbances, andeven the tragedies that come into our lives. This is not merely peace with God,which we receive when we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior. Romans 5:1 says: “Therefore,being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord JesusChrist.” No, this is the peace of God—the very peace that fills Hisown heart. Rememberwhat Jesus said to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion. Theirhearts were deeply troubled as they gathered with Him in the Upper Room. Jesussaid to them in John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe inGod, believe also in Me.” Then, in verse 27 of that same chapter, He said: “PeaceI leave with you.” Remember Jesus was about to leave them, yet He said, “Ileave My peace with you.” Why? Because He had just promised them the HolySpirit, who would come and dwell within them. The peace that comes from theHoly Spirit—the fruit of the Spirit—is the peace of Christ abiding in ourhearts. Jesus continued: “My peace I give unto you: not as the worldgiveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it beafraid.” Oh,what a wonderful peace God gives us! It is a calm assurance that He is incontrol. Paul says this peace passes all understanding. The world cannotexplain it. It simply does not make sense from a human perspective. How can wehave peace when we are facing cancer? How can we sing while sitting beside ahospital bed? How could Paul and Silas sing in prison after they had beenbeaten and their backs were bleeding? It is because our peace does not comefrom our circumstances. Our peace comes from God. Pauluses a military term when he says God will keep our hearts. The word literallymeans "guard." It pictures a soldier standing watch over a city or anarmy. Paul was writing this letter from a Roman prison, undoubtedly seeingRoman guards every day. He says that God's peace stands guard over our heartsand minds. It protects us from fear. It protects us from despair. It protectsus from becoming overwhelmed. And He does it all through our Lord Jesus Christ.He is the source of our peace.  Isaiah26:3 gives us this wonderful promise: “You will keep him in perfect peace,whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee.” My friend, whenyou put your trust in God, you are trusting the One who is in complete controlof all things. You yield everything to Him—your possessions, your health, yourfuture, your family—everything. When we cling too tightly to the things of thisworld or become consumed with material gain, it often reveals that we have notfully surrendered those areas of our lives to the Lord. Andwhen anxiety begins to fill our hearts, remember the words of Psalm 37: “Fretnot thyself because of evildoers.” When we find ourselves fretting, it isoften an indication that we are not trusting the Lord as fully as we should.But when we know Him—when we truly know His character and trust His promises—wediscover that He will guide us, keep us, and fill our hearts with His peace. Oh,what a wonderful, wonderful peace! Todaywe may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know the One who holds tomorrow. God bless!

Why Remember Jesus? - Rachel Bedford by Greyfriars Church

None are available at this time.

With so many distractions, what we need more than anything is to remember Jesus.

It's Tuesday, May 5th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson and Timothy Reed Kenyan Somalis killed 7 Kenyan Christian farmers On April 25th, International Christian Concern reports that Muslim Somali herders killed seven Christian farmers in Kitui County, Kenya in a raid. The raiders left behind burned homes, scattered belongings, and families struggling to come to terms with the loss. Local church leaders said many of the affected families are now dealing with loss on multiple levels, including loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.  Remember Jesus's words in Revelation 2:10.  He said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” War with Iran has cost America $70 billion The cost of war in Iran continues to rise. The Trump administration announced that the war has cost $25 billion, but that does not include the cost to rebuild destroyed military bases in the Middle East. The Iran War Cost Tracker has the cost of the war pegged at more than $70 billion. That is more than $1 billion dollars a day.  Trump removed 300,000 illegals from Social Security rolls The Trump administration is working to reform Social Security by removing illegal aliens off the rolls. Listen to President Trump's latest comments on his protection of Social Security.  TRUMP: “Together with the Republicans in Congress, we've removed nearly 300,000 illegal aliens from the Social Security roles. (applause and cheers) And we've removed more than 100,000 migrants from Medicare eligibility: 100,000 and the number is going up. “What we're really doing is saving Social Security because it was so rife with fraud.” Supreme Court rules against race-based Congressional districts In a blockbuster decision, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against apportioning congressional districts by race, effectively neutering a portion of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Following the decision, a flurry of Republican states, including Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida began working towards redistricting in favor of Republicans.  However, Democrats are planning their own redistricting efforts, as both parties remain deadlocked in midterm election jockeying.  Supreme Court temporarily allows mail-order abortion drugs In other Supreme Court headlines, it issued an administrative stay on Monday of a lower court ruling, which would have put a stop to the mail order program for the Abortion Kill Pill.   The administrative order will hold for a week, while the court gives the Food and Drug Administration opportunity to respond.  U.S. public school enrollment is down Public school enrollment is down in the United States — a 900,000-person drop over the last decade.   During the same period, Edunomics Lab reports that staffing has actually increased by about the same amount -- 700,000 people or about 12%, ironically. The government school monopoly spends $1 trillion per year on their program, averaging $17,000 per student.  Per student costs, adjusted for inflation, have doubled since 1980. $17,000 cost-per-public schooler vs. $1,600 per homeschooler The Homeschool Legal Defense Association surveyed 4,000 homeschool families and found the per-child costs for homeschooling an elementary school student runs around $1,300, and $1,600 for a middle and high school student. That means a family with five children saves the state $85,000 per year in education costs, and then, spends $7,000 of their own money doing it. America's property tax revolt There is somewhat of a property tax revolt going on across the country.  Florida lawmakers are proposing an end to local government property tax. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has suggested something similar. And the states of Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wyoming have other initiatives in process to reform property tax in favor of the taxpayers. 1 Samuel 8 speaks of this tyranny: “[Samuel] said, ‘This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons. … He will take your daughters. … He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage. … And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” Gas prices have doubled since February U.S. gas prices have almost doubled since late February. Now the average price sits at $4.46 per gallon, up from $2.84 a gallon just two months ago. Idaho requires teachers/doctors to tell parents if child has gender issues The state of Idaho passed a bill that requires teachers and doctors to tell parents if their child is experiencing gender dysphoria. The law, signed by Republican Governor Brad Little, seeks to combat ways in which a child may secretly appear to be the other sex without parental approval.  Republican State Senator Ben Toews stated, “A loophole was left in the [previous] law, and it did not mention social transitions, the process by which vulnerable children are led into the pipeline.” Violations of the new law could lead to steep fines and potential loss of professional licenses. Barbie Director to direct Netflix Narnia film Greta Gerwig is directing the next Narnia film, The Magician's Nephew, to be produced by Netflix, which is expected to be released on February 12, 2027.  Gerwig is best known for her director role in the feminist film “Barbie.”  The first three Narnia movies yielded a worldwide box office total of $1.8 billion. Texas waterpark celebrates Islamic festival by restricting park to Muslims There's a $90 million taxpayer-funded waterpark in Grand Prairie, Texas called Epic Waters which is now celebrating the Islamic holiday of  Eid-al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice and the second of two main festivals in Islam.  It honors the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command.  The Epic Waters park will be restricting the park to Muslims, allowing only Halal food to be sold, and requiring head-to-toe Muslim dress for all swimmers. 90-year-old pro-lifer calls for end to F.A.C.E. Act And finally, Eva Edl, a 90-year-old woman who was placed in a Soviet death camp at a young age, is urging Congress to repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or F.A.C.E. Act, after she was convicted and put in prison under the Biden administration.  Pro-abortion advocates have used the F.A.C.E. Act to jail and silence pro-lifers. Listen to her recent testimony.  EDL: “Pro-lifers who continue to put their bodies between the abortionist and innocent victims today will continue to be targeted by this unjust law until it is repealed. And yet, despite knowing this, when the Lord asks you to do something, you just simply do it, no matter the cost. After all, He gave His life to save us.” John 15:13 reminds us, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.”  Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, May 5th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Church Online May 3rd David Hodgens Remember Jesus Christ by WDBC

Let's remember, without faith it's impossible to please God. Remember Jesus words to Nicodemus, “unless one is born again, he cannot SEE THE KINGDOM of God.” And there's only one way someone can be born again, and that is by faith. In other words, not only is it impossible to please God without faith, it's impossible to see God without faith. Remember what faith is: a conviction based on evidence. A formal declaration. Evidence of the unseen.

What would it mean to you to have someone know you – to know your strengths and your weaknesses and to know this accurately? All of us carry a fear of being found out and rejected. The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus does Know us Completely *and* has not rejected us. No! On the contrary He loves us more deeply than we can even comprehend. Remember: *Jesus is who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father – to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Rev 1:5-6)* This is the One who is moving in His church even today. And this is the One who is speaking through His word given to us in our Bibles. And this is the One speaking to these churches in Asia. Ephesus was a seaport city and a place where the Apostle Paul founded a church. The temple of Artemis (or Diana) was ranked among one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Apostle John also spend time in Ephesus ministering to the Ephesian church there. In Acts 19:1-10 we read of how the gospel went forth out of Ephesus and in Acts 19:23-41 we read of how the silversmiths feared a loss of income from their sale of idols by the rise of Christianity there.To really make the most out of this week's message (and this series) we encourage you to read Acts 19, the book of Ephesians and Revelation 2:1-7. It would take about 30 minutes, less then a podcast episode!, and will greatly enhance your understanding of the church in Ephesus, give insight into what they were facing, how God has been at work among them, and the means of maintaining Love and Devotion to Jesus – who is Worthy of it all.Prepare for this week's teaching by reading Revelation 2:1-7, with Acts 19 and Ephesians 1-6

Today's readings.. (Numbers 35), (Proverbs 26), (John 8) What did Jesus mean, “The Truth will set you free?” Free from what?  The 8th chapter of John today contains aspects of the teachings of Jesus that we have to think around and put into context to get the correct meaning.  The critics of Jesus were usually those whose thought processes were mechanical.  Concerning the woman caught in adultery, They thought they had him cornered, if he said the Mosaic law should be observed and she should be stoned they would probably have done so, or got others to, and then blamed Jesus before the Roman authorities because the Jews had no right to put anyone to death – that is why they brought Jesus before Pilate.. See John 18 v.31.If Jesus has said something different, they would have denounced him before the people for not upholding the law!   His reaction confounded them – and after he said “Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” [v.7] they slunk away from Jesus, no one was without sin among them. Only Jesus was without sin – and he said to her, “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?  She said, ‘No one Lord'  And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'” [v.10,11]  Notice how she addresses Jesus as “Lord”!  She saw him as far more than a “teacher” which is how the Jews addressed him.Jesus speaks to all who come to him – in the same words as he spoke to the woman – whatever our failures have been, and the closer we come to “the light of the world” the more we are aware of those failures – but we also learn the truth of his words, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” [v.12] and all the “darkness” in our character will be obliterated, indeed Christ will then be “formed in you.” [Gal. 4 v.19]Jesus went on to tell them, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” [v.31,32[    The key action on our part is to “abide” in the word of Jesus.  John uses the Gk word for ‘abide' more than 40 times in his gospel and the translators render it variously as ‘continue', ‘dwell'  ‘remaining' etc. Are you abiding in his word? Is the word ‘abiding' in you?  If the answer is ‘Yes' – you have been set free!Jesus made the point, “ … I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” – it has become part of their character.  But “if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed” [v.36]   He told the religious leaders, “…you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.” [v.37]   May it have found a place in us – in you – or will soon do so. Remember Jesus said, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.” [v.47] – and as we read – we “hear.” 

Easter Sunday Remember Jesus is Risen! Luke 24.1-8 by Upcountry Calvary

Jesus is not just alive from the dead, but he is alive as the King who will reign forever — of his kingdom there will be no end.

In this message about the final supper, Pastor Nelms teaches on the last Passover feast with Jesus and His disciples, and the new covenant that Jesus introduced through His body and the blood. We pray that you are blessed by this teaching.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/renaissance-school-of-the-spirit--3241606/support

Finding peace and overcoming anxiety are challenges we all face in a world that never slows down. We often let stress dictate our days, but there is a way to guard your mind and reclaim your joy. By shifting your focus and practicing a few intentional habits, you can experience a calm that lasts through any storm. Let's explore how.Chapters:00:00 What Is True Peace00:57 Define Peace of God03:18 Philippians 4 Reading05:48 Promise of Peace07:41 Peace That Guards12:35 God of Peace Within13:43 Four Keys to Peace13:55 Be Considerate Always16:13 Remember Jesus' Returns20:42 Worry to Prayer23:46 Fix Your Thoughts26:07 Win the Moment28:42 Closing ChallengeTAKE A NEXT STEP:INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Presented by Jenn Miller Is it really that big of a deal if I have little idols in my heart? Since we are naturally sinful and are prone wander, why does God care so much about idolatry? These questions are good to think through. Even though idolatry is common in the human heart, the Bible says it is extremely dangerous. In Exodus 20, God commanded his people to have no other god before him. Before giving this command, he described his relationship with the people. He was their God and they were his people. He rescued them and called them into special relationship. Therefore, he cared for them and was rightly jealous when their hearts wandered from him. God cares about you today as well. If you have turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus as your savior, God has chosen you to be his child, and he cares about your relationship with him. He has designed you so you are most satisfied and whole when you worship him alone. Any other worship robs you of true joy and will eventually leave you empty, hollow, and lost. Psalm 115 describes idols as having mouths but unable to speak, having eyes but not seeing, having ears but not hearing. They are incapable of action or service to the worshipper. But then verse 8 says something striking. Those who make them will become like them, and so will all who trust in them (Psalm 115:8). As my heart runs after substitutes for God himself, I actually become less. Idols rob us. This is because idols are the tools of Satan to lure our hearts. Remember Jesus' words in John 10 where he warns us that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. This is the work of idols. But Jesus has come so we might have life to the full. If you recognize idols in your heart, know that through Jesus, you are not condemned but invited to repent.

Join Pastor Derek Neider in this inspiring episode of The Daily Devotional as he kicks off a powerful new series on the book of 2 Timothy. Through thoughtful reflections, Derek encourages us to embrace our calling to serve Christ wholeheartedly and live out our faith with purpose and surrender.Tune in for insightful teachings, practical application, and a fresh perspective on what it means to live as servants of the gospel. This is just the beginning—there's so much more to come as we journey through Romans together!Thank you for listening! Here are some ways to learn more and stay connected!New to faith? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about Pastor Derek Neider⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Derek on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the daily devotional⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore recent messages!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This podcast was created by Pastor Derek Neider as a ministry of Awaken Las Vegas.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our website. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We are located at 7175 W. Oquendo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89113.  Our gathering times are 9am & 11am Sundays and 6:30pm Thursdays.

In this sermon, Pastor Nathan asks us to consider: “Why keep praying?” Why should we persist in prayer even when the answer seems to be no. Pastor reads the scripture and preaches: Remember Jesus is Lord: He can help, He answers in His time, He answers according to our faith. So: 1 – keep asking, […]

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. One of the things we love about God's love is hearing how much He loves us, will forgive us, and show us incredible mercy and grace, no matter what we do. But then the very tough thing about God's love is, as sinners, we struggle when He tells us to love others that we do not want to love. Teaching our kids that kind of unconditional love will be one of the hardest things we ever do—to encourage them to follow God in loving someone with His love and grace that we do not want to love and don't think we even can love.Much of Jesus' teaching was counter-cultural then, and it certainly is today. The religious leaders of His day wanted to separate people into two categories: acceptable and unacceptable. And those men would make that determination without God. In fact, Jesus' teaching against their standards ended up getting Him on their unacceptable list. Listen closely to this passage as I read. No matter how many times you may have heard it, try and listen with fresh ears about how God wants us to love …“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. (Luke 6:27-36 NLT)Love your enemies? … That's a cute catchphrase until you actually feel like someone is your enemy and is working to make your life miserable. Loving that person feels impossible. Do good to those who hate you? Bless those who curse you? Really, Jesus? But what is so great about Jesus' teaching here is He told us why He wants us to do that.In short, Jesus said… “if people who have no God, who don't believe in God, who care nothing about Me, can be kind to those who are kind to them and love those who love them, then you don't need Me to do that, do you? But now, loving your enemies? Doing good to those who hate you? You are most definitely going to need Me to help you do that. Why? Because by yourself, you can't!”Now, to be clear, turning the other cheek does not have anything to do with abuse or letting someone run all over you. Remember—Jesus was the guy who got angry and cleared people out of the temple with a whip. But to love like God and to teach your kids to love like He does, that's going to take Jesus giving you the power and ability every time.Let's say it this way, if we're going to call ourselves His kids, we need to act like He's our Dad.Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, this loving my enemies thing is so hard. Doing good to someone I deem as bad, blessing people I can't stand, that feels impossible. But you are the God that makes the impossible possible. Help me, Jesus, to love like You and to teach my kids these really hard things about how to love like You. Because me and my kids are Your children. As above, so below.”

Faith is not in ourselves. It is in the God of the Bible—the Godwho has made great and exceeding promises to us. We must choose to believethose promises. InPsalm 9:10 it says, “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You.For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who trust in You, who seek You.” Wecan only experience and know God by faith! His many names in the Bible revealHis attributes, His character, and the way He works with us. My friend, faithis not powerful because we are strong. Faith is powerful because God isfaithful. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 30:5 that: “Every word of God ispure. He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” Tohold up the shield of faith is to put ourselves under God's protection. Thatmeans we are under God's authority and any other authorities He has placed overour lives: Romans 13 reminds us, “Let every soul be subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no authority except from God. The authorities thatexist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists theordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” Inthis chapter Paul goes on to tell us in verse 13, “Let us walk properly asin the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not instrife and envy.” Notice especially verse 14: “But put on the Lord JesusChrist, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” Thatis so powerful. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We have talked about putting offthe old man and putting on the new man. Now we are talking about putting onChrist. Remember Jesus said in John 10:9, “I am the door.” When He saysHe is the door, that is a beautiful picture of a door-shield that is so bigthat it protects us. It keeps the enemy away from us. It shuts the devil out.But Jesus is also the door that we can go into and through, to live a life thatis full of the fullness of God Himself in us and through us—facing the trials,the temptations, and the problems of life. Faithtakes God at His Word. We believe God's promises such as: “If God is for us,who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). James 1:17: “Every good gift andevery perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.” Philippians 4:19:“God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in ChristJesus.” And then in Ephesians 1:3, we have already been “blessed withall spiritual blessings in Christ”. So when Satan whispers, “God is holdingout on you,” faith says, “No, God is always good.” When Satan says God doesn'tcare, faith says, “He loved me and gave Himself for me.” When Satan saysyou will fall, faith says, “God is able to keep me from falling.” Myfriend, faith always wins over fear and worry. Faith always puts that shield ofprotection about us. Alsowe need to always remember what Jesus said in John 10:27–28 that His sheep willnever perish, and no one will pluck them out of His hand. That is security. Faithtakes hold of Christ. Faith puts on Christ. Then we make no provision for thelust of the flesh. My friend, we can find forgiveness. We find cleansing. Wefind the washing of the blood taking away every sin that the devil holdsagainst us, accuses us of, and tries to tell us we are not good enough. Becausein God's sight, we have been justified through Christ and Christ alone—not byour goodness. 1John 5:4 sums it up: “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even ourfaith.” We are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory.Jesus Christ has already conquered the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our jobis to stand in that victory by faith. So today, by God's grace, take up theshield of faith. Trust God's Word, trust God's character, trust God's plan,trust God's promises. And when those fiery darts come—and they will—remember,they will be quenched by God Himself. And you will be ready to walk that lifethat glorifies Him every day. 

Paul is drawing from thepicture of a Roman soldier. The Roman soldier wore strong sandals—oftenreinforced and fitted with hobnails. Those nails gave him traction andstability in battle. A soldier could not stand, advance, or fight effectivelyif his feet were slipping or injured. And spiritually speaking, if our feet arenot protected, we will not stand very long. The Gospel gives us firmfooting and a key word in this verse is “preparation.” And that is exactly what weneed in spiritual warfare: stability, firmness, and confidence. So manybelievers fall—not because they do not love the Lord—but because their footingbecomes unstable. They are shaken by fear, doubt, temptation, ordiscouragement. And often because of unconfessed sin in their lives their feethave gotten dirty with the world. Remember Jesus washed the feet of thedisciples in John 13 signify the need of forgiveness.  Paul also calls it the “gospelof peace” because the Gospel brings peace in every direction. First, it brings peacebetween God and man. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” One of Satan'sfavorite weapons is accusation. He wants believers to doubt their standing withGod. He wants to disturb their conscience and rob them of assurance. But theGospel settles the greatest issue of all: our relationship with God. ThroughJesus Christ, we have peace with God. That means we do not have to fear thedevil, and we do not have to fear men. We belong to Christ. Second, the Gospelbrings peace within our hearts. Even when life is difficult, the believer canstand with confidence because we are resting in Christ. Third, the Gospelbrings peace with one another. This is important because Satan loves division.If he can destroy peace among believers, he can weaken the church. These shoes also remind usthat our feet must be protected everywhere we go. There are places Christiansshould not go. There are doors we should not walk through unless God is sendingus there and we are walking in the protection of His armor. The temptations aretoo great otherwise. But wherever we do go, we must go as soldiers of the Kingand ambassadors for Christ. This verse also speaks ofreadiness. We are not only called to stand—we are called to go. Jesus gave ourmarching orders in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go ye therefore, and teach allnations… and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Myfriend, the world is full of people who have never heard the Gospel clearly.Lost men and women are held in the grip of Satan. Surely there is someone towhom we can go with the Gospel of peace. And that brings us back to that word “preparation.”Many believers shrink back from Christian service because they do not feelprepared. But preparation matters. Jesus spent years training His disciples.Paul often traveled with young men and trained them for ministry. And in thesame way, each of us must learn Scripture, grow in our faith, and learn how toshare the Gospel. A Christian does not become effective overnight—we growthrough obedience, service, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. These shoes as protectionagainst traps laid in the path—sharp sticks and hidden snares meant to stop anarmy. That is exactly what Satan does. He lays traps to hinder our walk, tostop our progress, and to wound our feet so we cannot stand. But when our feetare shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, we can walk steadily—evenwhen the path is difficult. When we join God in the publicationof the Gospel we have this wonderful promise in Isaiah 52:7: “How beautifulupon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publishespeace…” Paul quotes this again in Romans 10:15, reminding us that Goddelights in the believer who carries the Gospel.Satan declares war, but youand I are ambassadors of peace. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 tells us we have beengiven the ministry of reconciliation.

Remember Jesus death with Christian hope,

Episode Notes:Key Takeaways:Jesus had to die because sin demands a payment, not just pardonThe cross satisfies two things at the same time: God's justice and God's loveJesus didn't die as a victim—he died as a substituteScripture References:Romans 6:23 - "The wages of sin is death"Romans 3:25-26 - Jesus as propitiation to show God's righteousness2 Corinthians 5:21 - "He made him to be sin who knew no sin"Romans 5:8 - "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"John 10:17-18 - "I lay down my life of my own accord"Isaiah 53:5 - "He was pierced for our transgressions"Galatians 2:20 - "The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me"Key Theological Concepts:Sin as Cosmic Treason: Sin isn't just a mistake—it's rebellion against a holy GodPropitiation: A payment that satisfies God's wrath against sinSubstitutionary Atonement: Jesus took our place and received our punishmentThe Great Exchange: Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousnessJustice and Love: The Cross doesn't choose between them—it satisfies both simultaneouslyThis Week's Question to Consider: Have you personally accepted what Jesus did for you on the cross? Or are you still trying to pay your own debt?Challenge: This week, reflect on the cross. Don't rush past it. Don't sanitize it. Don't take it for granted. Jesus died your death so you could live His life.Next Week: Did Jesus really rise from the dead? What's the evidence?---Subscribe & Share: If this episode helped you understand the Bible better, share it with someone who needs to hear why Jesus had to die. New episodes every week.Quote to Remember: "Jesus died your death so you could live his life. He took your punishment so you could have his peace. He absorbed God's wrath so you could experience God's love."

Praise Series 24: There is Joy in Our TrialsJames 1:2-4 “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”This verse doesn't talk about praise, but it does say we should consider our hard times nothing but joy, because the testing of your faith produces endurance. In other words, we are not going through this hard time for nothing. We won't get to the other side and be the same person that we were before the hard time. This verse shows that it is okay to praise the Lord during hard times because something good will come of it. After we make it through this impossible time, we will have more endurance. Then endurance will lead us to becoming mature and complete, lacking nothing. All that sounds pretty good to me.The question is, how do we praise the Lord in these difficult times? I know a lot of you who are listening to this episode are struggling right now and have been for a long time. Your struggles are intense and real, and some days you feel like you can't take it for another moment. You are tired of feeling so sick you can't get out of bed. You are tired of feeling as though you are going to lose your house or your car because you don't have any money to pay your bills. Some of you are depressed and don't even want to get out of bed. Understanding that this is about building endurance isn't going to be what gets you out of bed.However, what if praise could be that thing that gets you out of bed? What if you just need one thing to start changing things for you? What if you just need to have a different outlook? What if this verse could help you switch from a “why me” mindset to a “thank you” mindset? You might be wondering what you have to be thankful for in this hard time that you are in. However, there is always something to be thankful for. Things could always be worse. I know it doesn't seem like it at times. I know it doesn't feel like things could be any worse, but they can always be worse.Another thing that can be helpful is to remember that you will be so much stronger when you get through this. When you make it to the other side of this hard time. I know if you have lost someone, then there isn't really another side to this. The grief you feel will always be with you. However, you will learn to cope with the grief. You will learn to live with it, and I promise you that joy will come back into your life someday. You will begin to feel joy again, little by little. It won't erase the pain and sadness, but they will both be there. Some days grief will be stronger, and some days joy will be stronger.Praise and worship can help bring light into the dark place that you are in. Especially if you feel you are under a spiritual attack. When we are suffereing and we praise God anyway, that confuses evil spirits. They don't understand why we would still praise the Lord even when things feel overwhelming, and it seems like nothing is going right for us. Remember, this is how Job ended up suffering. The devil told God that Job was only faithful because God had blessed him. So God allowed the devil to take away the things that Job loved the most so that the devil could see what it really meant to be faithful to the Lord. Even after he had lost everything, Job was still faithful to the Lord. Even after Job got sick and was in agonizing pain, Job was still faithful to the Lord.I am sure when the devil made this deal with God, he was sure he had it in the bag. I am sure he thought he knew what he was doing. I am sure he was 100% positive that Job would turn on the Lord. And yet he didn't. I want to be clear that God knew Job wouldn't. God wasn't just taking a gamble with Job's life. God knew what would happen. He knew how it would all work out. God knows everything. However, this is a lesson the devil still gets wrong a lot. He still tries to take our family away, take our health away, take our financial security away, in hopes that we will turn on the Lord. That is not what we are going to do.Instead, we are going to praise the Lord all the more when times are hard. We are going to sing to the Lord, yell to the Lord, talk to the Lord, whatever it is we can do to let God know we are still with Him and we want Him with us. When we feel we are under spiritual attack, we don't have to be eloquent with our praise. We can simply say the name of Jesus, and the enemy will flee. We can simply be grateful to God for the small things until we are ready to be grateful for the big things. And just in case you are wondering if I actually do the things I tell you to do. Yes, I do.The other day, I was having a really rough day with my boys. It was one of those days when I just wanted to throw in the towel. One of those days where I wonder and ask how much longer until this gets better, and will it ever get better. No one is immune to those kinds of days. When I was in the thick of it, I reminded myself that I needed to praise the Lord. Even though I didn't feel like it, I turned on praise music and looked for the words and sang along. There were some songs I had to skip because they were too sad or too upbeat. Whatever you are feeling in the moment, someone else has not only felt that way, but has also sung a song about it. You just need to find those songs.One great thing to do that I just thought of and will begin working on is to create different playlists of Christian songs. For instance, a worship list when you are so grateful for all God has done for you. Another playlist for when you are really struggling, and you need to hear songs about how this won't take you down, or how they struggled and yet came through it all. There are all types of songs out there. You just have to find the ones that resonate with you. You can find joy in the struggle if you are looking for it.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you, and we want to praise you. We just struggle when everything feels so heavy. Please help us to remember that even when things feel heavy, there is always something we can praise you for. Even if the only thing is what today's verse taught us, that we can find joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. We won't be the same afterwards, we will be stronger! Lord, we ask that you give us the strength to get through these hard times. The strength to get out of bed on the days we really don't want to. The strength to keep showing up for those who need us. The strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other until things get better!! Thank you, Lord! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are and so do I! We are both rooting for you! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in August 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “You think you're not enough? Don't you know how much I love you? Can you not feel my presence in many, many moments of your life? Don't fear because there's only one or two. I could use a stone if I wanted to. But I chose you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Today we are continuing our study in Ephesians chapter 5. Right at thebeginning of this chapter, we are told to “be imitators of God as dearchildren.” As believers, we are called to put off the old man—to put offbitterness, anger, and wrath—and to stop living the way we lived before webecame followers of Jesus Christ. Then Paul gives us this clear admonition:“Walk in love.”  Myfriend, as I have been thinking about this, I couldn't help but reflect on thetruth that when we walk in love, we are walking with God. Remember in 1John chapter 4, at least twice—in verse 8 and again in verse 15—the ApostleJohn tells us that God is love. One of the great attributes of God is that Heis love. Everything God does flows out of His love and His goodness, becauseGod is love and God is good. Aswe walk in love as imitators of God, as His dear children, we demonstrate tothe world around us that we truly belong to Him. People see that difference—notjust in what we say, but in the purity of our lives and in the love that ismanifested through us. Remember, Scripture tells us to love our enemies and toovercome evil with good. How do we do that? Naturally speaking, when we areoffended or hurt—when someone strikes us—the human response is to strike back,to get even, to retaliate. But my friend, it is just the opposite for someonewho has experienced the love of God. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessedare the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Romans5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while wewere still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were still sinners—whilewe were alienated from Him, ignoring Him, blaspheming His name—Christ loved us.He died for us. While we were being mean to Him, rejecting Him, spitting in Hisface, and nailing Him to the cross, He loved us. My friend, that is anunfathomable love, an unlimited love, an unselfish love. That is theunconditional love of God, and that is the love God calls us to walk in. Howdo we do that? First, we must personally experience that love through JesusChrist. As we read at the end of Ephesians chapter 4, “forgiving one another,just as God in Christ forgave you.” Because we have been forgiven, we canforgive others. Years ago, I heard something that helped me greatly. My naturalresponse to offense or hurt has often been to get even—to strike back. I didthat as a teenager and as a young person, and even later in life I have hadthoughts I shouldn't have had when I was hurt. But my friend, our response isnot based on how we feel—it is based on what we have experienced in Christ. Thelove God speaks of here is agape love—God's love. It is not something wemanufacture. God is love, and He has an endless reservoir of love. When I amoffended or hurt, when I am tempted to respond in an unchristlike way, Ipicture reaching into God's reservoir of love. I don't give someone my love,because I don't have it. I give them God's love. I respond with kindness,forgiveness, and goodness. I have had people tell me that I'm being a hypocriteif I'm being nice and kind to someone when I don't feel like it. My response is,“No, I'm not being a hypocrite, I am being a Christian.  AsScripture says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”(Romans 12:21). There is joy in doing that, because we are abiding in His love.Please read 1 John 4:14-19! 1Corinthians 13 tells us that love is not a feeling. It's an action that comesfrom walking with God in His love. Read 1 Corinthians 13 that gives us a description of God's agapelove.  MayGod help us to practice this. As Paul points out here in Ephesians 5:2, we areto walk in love. How do you do that? One step at a time, everyminute of every day, when you are walking with God, you are walking in Hislove. And my friend, His love will be manifest through you to a world around usthat desperately needs to know that love.

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SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Remember the promises of Jesus' return and reckoning.

Cody comes out strong with a challenge for us as we wrap up this Christmas season and head into 2026 with a Word from Romans 6 which is all about Remembering Jesus. You will definitely be blessed and encouraged by this challenging message. Thank you for listening to our podcast! We hope you have been encouraged today.Check us out on social media, or to learn more, you can visit our website at www.freedomcanyon.com.

As recipients of God's saving mercy, remembering is both a privilege and a responsibility for Christians. Today, Sinclair Ferguson explains how remembrance is related to keeping Christ central in our thoughts and in our lives. Read the transcript: https://ligonier.org/podcasts/things-unseen-with-sinclair-ferguson/remember-jesus-christ/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://donate.ligonier.org/ Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Todaywe are looking at Ephesians 4:17–19. Here, the Apostle Paul explains thatbecause we have now trusted Christ—because He has saved us, changed us,transformed us, and seated us in the heavenly places, and because we havereceived the Holy Spirit—we are called to live differently. Hebegins explaining this in verse 17, where he gives a strong warning. He tellsbelievers not to live the way the lost world lives—the unconverted, those whohave never been regenerated. Their lives are described as empty in theirthinking, darkened in understanding, separated from the life of God, and drivenby ignorance and spiritual blindness. This way of life ultimately leads tomoral insensitivity, impurity, and greed. Paulbegins with a negative instruction: do not walk in that direction. Do notfollow the pattern of the lost world. He speaks with authority, testifying inthe Lord, reminding us that Jesus Himself has taught us how to walk inrighteousness—pursuing what is good, holy, just, and pure. This is the kind oflife Jesus described in Matthew chapter 5 through the Beatitudes, which revealthe attitudes that should mark a believer's life. Oneof the first things we notice in this passage is that Christians are different.How are we different? We no longer think the way unsaved people think. There isa strong emphasis on the mind in verses 17 and 18—the futility of themind, darkened understanding, and spiritual ignorance. But asbelievers, “we have learned Christ” (v. 20). Remember Jesus invited usto “come and learn of me” in Matthew 11:29:  Learning Christ meanswalking with Him—following His Word, embracing His truth, and moving in thesame direction He walked. And that direction is one of continual obedience tothe will of God and sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paulreminds us in Philippians 2:5-8, that we are to have the same mind that was inChrist Jesus. What kind of mind was that? A mind of obedience, sacrifice,humility, and devotion to the Father's will. Jesus lived for the glory andpleasure of the Father. He said that He must be about His Father's business.This kind of mindset changes everything. As a result, we no longer walk as theGentiles walk, in the futility of their minds. That word futility speaks ofemptiness—a life without purpose. When Christ comes into our lives, we live alife of repentance, which means a changed mind. We change our mind about God.We change our mind about sin. We no longer seek the pleasure of sin; instead,we desire the pleasure of God. Ourvalues change. Our goals change. Our entire view of life changes. When Christcomes in, everything becomes new, just as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 5:17.“Old things pass away, and new life begins”. Pauldescribes the mindset of the unconverted person in Romans 1:21-23: “Because,although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, butbecame futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professingto be wise, they became fools, This is a life marked by empty thinking, darkened hearts,and self-deception. This is the futility of the mind. It is a life without truepurpose, without eternal focus. That is why we see so much violence, despair,and hopelessness in the world today. People fail to respect life because theydo not recognize God as the Creator and Giver of life. Butas believers, we are different. Our focus is no longer on temporary things orpersonal feelings alone, but on eternal realities and the life that only Godcan give through Jesus Christ. We think differently because; “… we do notlook at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. Forthe things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen areeternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18). ThankGod for that difference. May the Lord bless you today as you think on thesethings (Philippians 4:8).

John 12:1-8,Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”And the Lord, in verse 7, defends the way Mary of Bethany expresses her devotion to him.What Mary does in verse 3 is good and right, and I think we can learn from her. So that's the goal of this sermon. All last week, my prayer for today has been that through Mary's example in John 12, the Spirit would reawaken in us Mary-like devotion to Jesus. I want us to learn from Mary how to be more like Mary for the glory of Jesus. To that end, this morning I want to show you seven truths of Mary-like devotion.1. Mary-like devotion is surprising. Verse 1 opens with the setting: we are six days away from Passover, and Jesus has come back to Bethany. Now remember that Bethany is where he raised Lazarus from the dead in Chapter 11, verse 43, but then when the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Jesus, John tells us in verse 54 that Jesus “no longer walked openly” among them, because they were looking for him. The Pharisees wanted to arrest him. So Jesus left that area and went to Ephraim, which gave him more distance from Jerusalem. (Bethany was 2 miles outside Jerusalem, Ephraim was about 15 miles). So by the end of Chapter 11, Jesus is laying low.But Chapter 12 opens here and he's back in Bethany, where news travels quickly to Jerusalem, which means this is dangerous — why would he do it? Why would he come back to Bethany now? It's because Passover is six days away. Remember Jesus has a purpose to accomplish in Jerusalem, and now he's getting closer. But since Jesus is in Bethany they throw a special dinner for him. And because it's Bethany, we would expect our favorite Bethany family to be there. We saw these three siblings in Chapter 11 — Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Now, John knows we'd expect their attendance, so he takes roll in verse 2. Look what he says:“So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served [check her name off — she's there], and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him as table [check his name off — he's just happy to be in the room].And right away that's Martha and Lazarus. Which sibling is missing?Mary. Now look at verse 3 (verse 2 was just a build up to this):“Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.”The first thing I want you to see is that this was not expected. This is a dinner! People are sharing a meal. Martha is staying busy like she does. Lazarus is at the table (you know he's getting seconds). And then Mary, finally, enters into this dining room with a bottle of ointment (or perfume) and she does this extravagant display of worship.Most of us had big dinners a few days ago. Imagine for a minute if something like this happened! It was not on the menu. It's never happened before. This was a surprise! That's the first thing to know about Mary-like devotion. This is not what most people would expect — because it responds in the moment to the glory of Jesus regardless of the context.2. Mary-like devotion is costly.We can see in verse 3 that this perfume was expensive. John tells us that plainly. But he also gives us two details that explain why. It has to do with quantity and quality.First, with quality, this perfume was made from “pure nard.” That's a plant that's grown in India. The root of this plant produced an oil that was collected to make this perfume.So it's a product derived from nature, created by a process, imported from far away — that sounds expensive. (This is why many scholars believe this Bethany family was well off — this perfume would have only been owned by the luxury class of the Mediterranean world.)Second, notice the quantity. John tells us it was a pound — and that's a Roman pound. The Greek word is litra — and it's equivalent to about 12 ounces. So imagine the American pop can. (I don't know the last time you turned a can of pop upside down to pour it out, but it takes a little longer to empty it than you might think.)Twelve ounces is not a little bit. And Mary doesn't have pop, it's perfume — 12 ounces of perfume — that's a lot of a really nice thing. And to give us more of an idea of how precious it is, John tells us the number value in verse 5. Judas says it's worth 300 denarii — which is about a year's wages.So to draw a parallel to our day, this is what we'd call an annual salary, and the average annual salary in the Twin Cities, Google says, is between $80,000–$90,000. So translate this in your imagination... Picture this: Someone at dinner this past week walks into the dining room and pours out $90,000 on somebody else's feet … Again, this is stunning. And the costliness amplifies the surprise! Those two things go together in Mary-like devotion. It's surprising because it's costly.3. Mary-like devotion is humble.Now, for our imagination's sake, it helps to know how people ate together at this culture and time. They didn't use raised tables and chairs like we do, but they used low tables, and sat on cushions on the floor. They “reclined” on the table, like verse 2 says, and their feet were stretched out behind them, away from the table. So Mary approached Jesus, verse 3, while he was sitting like that, and she anointed his feet.This is a key detail. Because with the extravagance of her gift, we might imagine Mary's actions to be surrounded by pomp. Like maybe Mary enters the room and first clears her throat, and makes sure somebody's getting the video, and then she does it. But it's just the opposite.Mary comes into the room, and stays at the feet's distance away from the table. She's not the center of attention. Nobody was probably even looking in her direction, and then she pours the perfume on Jesus's feet and wipes his feet with her hair. This is borderline undignified. She definitely looked a little silly. To everyone's surprise, with likely the costliest thing she's got, she humbles herself at the feet of Jesus in worship — but then the most vivid display of her humility is the use of her hair.In the ancient world, a woman's hair was her glory. It was her honor. This was Mary's strength, but here she turns her strength into a servant's towel … Her radiance into a rag. Her splendor into a sponge. Her crown becomes a cloth. … to wipe feet.Which means, Mary gives the best part of herself for the least part of Jesus. The highest aspect of her presentation (hair) is submitted to the lowest aspect of his (feet).This is profound humility.Mary is not even audacious enough to pray here: “Jesus, take my utmost for your highest.” She just says, “Jesus, take my utmost!” — And I don't care what anybody else thinks. I'm not concerned about appearance. It doesn't matter what people might say. This is all about Jesus. Mary shows us a marvelous self-forgetfulness. Mary-like devotion is humble.4. Mary-like devotion is fitting.This is #4 of 7, and it really is the central truth in Mary's example.So far we've seen that Mary-like devotion is surprising, costly, and humble, but here's where we need to be clear that the only reason any of this makes sense is because of Jesus. And Jesus doesn't just make Mary's actions make sense, he makes them right. Because of who he is, what Mary does is fitting. John calls her act an “anointing,” which is something done to set someone apart for a certain office. The examples we have in the Old Testament are individuals anointed as a priest or king, and we should think especially of kings in the Gospel of John. If you remember, way back in Chapter 1, when Nathaniel first met Jesus he confessed right away that Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel (1:49). Then in Chapter 6, verse 15, after Jesus fed the five thousand, the crowd wanted to take him by force and make him king.So we've seen a kingship theme already.But then right here in Chapter 12, the very next day after Mary anoints Jesus, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey, and the crowd paves the way for him with palm branches, and they say — in verse 13 — “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”So we have every reason to see that Mary's anointing of Jesus is anointing him as King.Because that is who he is. It'll be explicit and public tomorrow in this story, in Jesus's ‘triumphal entry,' but tonight, at this dinner, with Mary, it's implicit and private. In the moment, even Mary doesn't know the full extent of what she's doing, but we as readers can see it. In Chapter 11, we saw her fall at Jesus's feet in grief, here she bows at Jesus's feet in worship.Last chapter she came to Jesus needing his help; now she comes to him just giving him glory.This doesn't mean we ever stop coming to Jesus for help — we do! We always need his help! But sometimes we can also just come to him in simple worship.This is when we come to him, not to ask him for things, but to give him whatever we can because he is worthy — just because he's our king and he's a good king! It is fitting to worship him!Think about this: When was the last time your heart moved toward Jesus, not for what he gives, but for who he is? When was the last time you were simply compelled by the worth of Jesus?The Little Drummer BoyMary's devotion here in Chapter 12 actually reminds me of what used to be one of my least favorite Christmas songs. “Santa Baby” is dead bottom, but not far from there used to be “The Little Drummer Boy.” And the reason I didn't like the song is because for years it didn't make sense to me, and it was kinda irritating. The pa-RUM-pa-pum-pums are distracting. But if we can get rid of that part and focus on the real words in the song, it's actually beautiful. It's a song about a boy who is invited to meet the newborn Jesus (and it's fictional; didn't really happen; we're supposed to use our imaginations). The boy starts the song by saying:Come, they told meA newborn king to see, Our finest gifts to bring,To lay before the king,So to honor himWhen we come You get it? The boy is invited to come meet Jesus, so he does. And in the second stanza he's at the manger, and he speaks to the infant Jesus:Little baby,I am a poor boy tooI have no gifts to bringThat's fit to give a KingShall I play for you on my drum?See, I imagine that's what Mary of Bethany thought. While Martha was busy serving and Lazarus was sitting at the table, Mary thought: The king is here. He's in the room. What do I have that's fit to give a King?And the technical answer is nothing. Nothing we have is enough to match the glory of this King, but Mary thinks I've got that bottle of perfume — just like the boy thought, I've got this drum. And the boy says, “Shall I play the drum?” Mary thinks, “Shall I pour the perfume?” So the boy plays his best, and Mary pours it all. I don't have enough to give you, but I'll give you my best because you're worthy.That's what the song is about. That's what Mary does here. And it's fitting because of the King!And John tells us that the fragrance of her worship fills the entire house. Which means: her personal reverence and self-forgetfulness in recognizing the glory of Jesus becomes uncontainable. Everybody around her can literally sense her devotion for Jesus.5. Mary-like devotion is criticized. This is verses 4–5: But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”Apparently, Judas caught the aroma, but instead of recognizing Mary's act as a surprising, costly, humble, and fitting act of devotion, he criticized her. He immediately liquidated the value of the ointment in his head, and he corrected her decision. That could have been used for something better! That could have been a lot of money to help poor people! Mary is being unwise!Now, before we look closer into the criticism, I just want to note that it happened, and right away, because that's just how things go — even things as wholesome as Mary's devotion.The Bible gives us no impression that devotion to Jesus will be easy — it actually ensures the opposite. There's a Forest Frank lyric my younger boys love. It goes: Jesus promised that the bad would come along, ‘Cause if life is always easyProbably doin' something wrong.That's true. I want everybody to know: when your devotion to Jesus meets difficulty, that's a good sign. The question for us is about our willingness to endure difficulty. Are we willing to be criticized? Are we willing to express devotion to Jesus that others would call wasteful but Jesus calls beautiful?6. Mary-like devotion is vindicated.Let's look closer at what Judas said in verse 5.At face-value, we might think Judas is onto something, because what he says is not untrue. That perfume was worth a lot of money — three hundred denarii/$80–90K — that's a lot of money you can do a lot with. Judas names one possibility. The problem, though, is that he's thinking about it all the wrong way. See, he's thinking about gifts from the giver's perspective, not from God's perspective. He's thinking about everything from earth looking around, not from heaven looking down.In his mindset — the ‘Judas mindset' — all value is monetary, and all that is monetary is a zero-sum category: which means I'm always thinking, “whatever I give here is what I cannot give there.” And see, Judas is so caught up in this mindset — he cares so much about the optimal management of the gift — that he's blind to the One the gift is for. That is what is most striking about verse 5 — it's the absence of anything to do with Jesus. Judas says nothing about him. So Judas not only rebukes Mary here, but he also registers how little he thinks of Who she worships.And if that wasn't clear, John adds in verse 6. He wants us to know that Judas said what he said:“…not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.”Judas was part of a program called ‘Feeding Our Future' …Greed is an ancient sin — it's the root of all evil, and it ruined Judas. (And it's behind the ruin of our state. God help us.)In verse 7, Mary doesn't say anything back to Judas, but Jesus speaks up on her behalf, and he says, first, “Leave her alone.”Which is amazing. Jesus doesn't argue with Judas. He doesn't explain why his mindset is wrong, he first just tells him to stop. Jesus defends Mary, and he makes the issue about himself, because it is!With this perfume Mary has prepared Jesus for the day of his burial, because, verse 8:“…the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”And it's clear now, with the mention of his burial and that he won't always be here, Jesus is talking about his death. Which raises the question for us: Was Mary anointing Jesus as king or preparing him for his death? And the answer is Yes.Again, Mary is doing more here than she realized. She is anointing Jesus as King — it's just that he's a king who will sacrifice his life for his people.He's a King who has come to die. His reign will conquer the grave for good — remember Lazarus — but first Jesus's reign will come through the grave. Our triumphant King will also be a slain Lamb. And John wants us so badly to get this! He gives us hints here in Mary's devotion, but then later in the Book of Revelation he tells us about a vision when saints and angels together pour out their praise to Jesus, and they say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)Listen: I want you to know that the final vindication of our every sincere act of devotion to Jesus will come on that day when we see him. If it's Mary-like devotion, it is never wasted. Jesus is worth it. And this brings us to the last point.7. Mary-like devotion is instructive. We're gonna finish how we started: I think we can learn from our sister Mary. It is a gift to us to be able to see her gift to Jesus, and I want us to be more like her. That's been my prayer: that the Spirit would reawaken or awaken in us Mary-like devotion to Jesus.Devotion that is surprising because it responds to Jesus in the moment, even if it doesn't fit the setting. Costly because it brings Jesus our best, humble because it doesn't worry about what others might think, fitting because Jesus is the King and nothing given to him is too much, criticized because it's not supposed to be easy, and vindicated because the King who Mary worshiped is the Lamb who was slain and one day we will see his worth with our own eyes.Mary's devotion is instructive because it shows us what it looks like when a heart is overcome by the worth of Jesus.And what's incredible for us, is that we know more about Jesus's worth than Mary does here. We already know the end of the story! That Jesus who has come will die, will be resurrected, and will come again.So in closing, I want to invite you to ask yourself this: For Advent, in this season of waiting, what is Jesus calling you to do that would simply reflect his worth?That's what brings us to the Table.The TableWe come here to this Table to rest in the worth of Jesus Christ. Let his glory be your comfort by taking refuge in him. That's what it means to trust in Jesus, and that is who this table is for. If you're here and you have put your faith in Jesus, we invite you to eat and drink with us and give him thanks.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!”- ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭118‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”‭‭- Psalm‬ ‭118‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬

“I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.”- ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭118‬:‭21‬ ‭ESV

Remember Jesus' words—a powerful reminder today that the world is fleeting, and what is of God is eternal: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

Do not drift from the gospel; remember!

A "blood pressure" check of our soul goes like this, "Is my heart troubled?" Remember Jesus said, don't let your heart be troubled; to be troubled is NOT His Word, will, or way for you. Please understand; stress is not from God. Peace is from Jesus!

Slow down with this guided communion moment and reflect on what you're thankful for. Remember Jesus, practice gratitude, and find hope in his love, forgiveness, healing, and justice. SUBSCRIBE TODAY for Weekly Service messages, Daily Guided Prayers, & more! Download the FREE Churchome app in the Apple App store or Google Play store! https://www.churchome.org/app