Podcasts about spirit god

In the final message of the Spiritual Ops series, Pastor Adam Haugen teaches from Ephesians 6 on how to fight life's daily spiritual battles. We're reminded to protect our minds with the helmet of salvation, wield the sword of the Spirit—God's Word—and stay grounded through constant prayer.Real transformation starts in the mind. When we take our thoughts captive and renew them with truth, we live in victory.#SpiritualOps #GladTidings #ArmorOfGod #PastorAdamHaugen #MindsetMatters #RenewYourMind #FaithOverFear

Today’s Bible Verse – 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV) “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” Struggling with fear or insecurity? 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear—but one of power, love, and self-discipline. This verse offers truth and encouragement for anyone facing anxiety, self-doubt, or spiritual hesitation. In Christ, you are divinely equipped for courage, clarity, and peace.

"Judgment, Restoration, and the Reign to Come”

In this episode, I speak with Prayful Woman, Proud Wife, Devoted Mother of two, Keynote Speaker, Founder of the Pray Lead Empower Movement, and Author  Kelley Tyan on Walking In Courage. Kelley discusses ways to realize our courage in the Lord. Listen as she shares on how it is possible to sit in your "stinking thinking" for a moment, and then move purposefully forward in your circumstance.  Find Kelley :    the website   Scripture: Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.   Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.   Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.   Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”   2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.   Additional Scripture: Romans 8:26, Philippians 4:6, Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 27:14,         John 14:27    Listen to our sister podcast:  Abundantly Rooted   Other Resourses: Grab your Artza Subscription Box and bring home a bit of Israel.  use promo code: ARTZAKRISTINARISINGER for 25% off   Check out our Linktree   Get the Books:  Life After Losing A Loved One: How to Turn Grief Into Hope Strength and Purpose Adventures of LiLy and Izzy Bee: The Imagination Journey 

On today's Quick Start podcast: NEWS: Chip and Joanna Gaines face backlash for including a same-sex couple in their new show FOCUS: Ex-LGBTQ activist and Christian Matthew Grech faces trial in Malta over so-called “conversion therapy” MAIN THING: DOJ sues to stop girls from being forced to compete against biological males in high school sports 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” SHOW LINKS Faith in Culture: https://cbn.com/news/faith-culture Heaven Meets Earth PODCAST: https://cbn.com/lp/heaven-meets-earth NEWSMAKERS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newsmakers/id1724061454 Navigating Trump 2.0: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/navigating-trump-2-0/id1691121630

God Still Speaks: The Gift of Prophecy In this powerful message, Pastor Ants unpacks the biblical gift of prophecy — a reminder that God still speaks today, and He wants to speak through you. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 14, we explore what prophecy is (and isn't), how it functions in the life of the Church, and why it's a gift that every believer should eagerly desire. You'll learn the difference between the spirit of prophecy, the gift of prophecy, and the office of a prophet, and how each plays a role in building up the Body of Christ. You'll also get practical steps for growing in the gift:

When fear takes control, God just crushes it.None of us are immune from feeling unsettled at times. Circumstances have a way of knocking us off balance. How we respond not only affects our lives, but those who are watching us.In the film “The Patriot,” a Colonial militia leader sees the British kidnap his son. Taking the two younger sons with him, they wait in ambush in the forest. One of the sons is rattled and crying, so the father puts his hands on the boy's shoulders, looks him in the eyes, and says, “Steady.” Fear drains from the boy's face.In that moment of terror for the whole family, the father's example won the day, and their day ended well.In 2 Timothy 1:7, we learn the source of calm. It says this: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and a sound mind.”God has given you a spirit of power, love, and a good mind. So don't let fear, the enemy, or the world intimidate you when it comes to sharing your faith. Speak God's truth with boldness, and love. Your moment will come one day, and by keeping in mind the truth of God's word, courage will overcome fear.Notice the qualities mentioned in Second Timothy. God has actually given us courage, but also power, and a sound mind—also phrased as self-discipline. And discipline will help keep you steady in a crisis. That spirit of power actually does our fighting for us, and it is the enemy who is afraid.Let's pray.Father, you are good to us. Just as Jesus modeled for us how to handle fear when he prayed in the garden, we know that you have our back, and we can be courageous. Thank you for a sound mind and a calm heart in times of trouble. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Debra reads Acts 12:25-13:12 and Mel Roca preaches on God raising a people to speak His Word through His Holy Spirit on 15th June 2025 at Pembury Baptist Church.

On Trinity Sunday, the Rev. Nick Lannon preaches a sermon detailing how the Father (God above us), the Son (God for us), and the Spirit (God with us) work together to accomplish the salvation of sinners: God creates, redeems, and sustains us.

On Trinity Sunday, the Rev. Nick Lannon preaches a sermon detailing how the Father (God above us), the Son (God for us), and the Spirit (God with us) work together to accomplish the salvation of sinners: God creates, redeems, and sustains us.

Paul describes the "mystery of God:" God revealed His mystery at the right time, not before God gave the mystery to humans through the Spirit God didn't reveal the mystery to the angels the same way Angels attend church for a specific reason   Hey! Don't leave before looking at other P40 stuff:   YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries  Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries  Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com  Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/c-6493869  Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk  Merch - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop  YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle    Support babies and get quality coffee with Seven Weeks Coffee  https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40   This ministry is only made possible due to your generous support https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries

Think you need more motivation to stay consistent? The truth is — you don't need more motivation. You need habits built on self-discipline. In today's episode, I'll show you how small acts of discipline lead to freedom in your health, mindset, and walk with God. If you've ever struggled to stick with habits, or thought “I'm just not disciplined enough,” this episode will give you hope, tools, and truth.

A Sermon for Rogation Sunday St. James 1:22-27 by William Klock I was out on my gravel bike this week, riding the trails through Merville and Black Creek and down to Williams Beach.  At one point I had to stop to take a picture.  I was riding down this narrow corridor with walls of little yellow flowers on both sides.  It was really beautiful.  But just a short way down the trail I ran into a big group of people cutting it all down.  I had a stop and wait for a minute so they could get their cart off the trail.  One of the women asked how my ride was going.  I said I was having a great ride.  It was a beautiful day.  I pulled out my phone and showed her the picture I'd just taken of the trail.  I thought it was beautiful, but she scowled at it.  “We'll get there tomorrow morning,” she said, “Ugh!  Vile stuff, but we'll get it!”  (And, sure enough, when I rode through again a few days later the walls of scotch broom were gone.)  I was kind of disappointed, but I'm sure the “broom busters” were happy, because they really, really, really hate scotch broom. The funny thing is—I notice this most places they cut it down—is that when they're done, there's usually still scotch broom as far as the eye can see—on the other side of a fence.  It's like that where I was riding my bike.  They cut it all down on Regional District property, but they can't touch the private property on the other side of the fence.  And later in the summer, I'll be riding my bike down the trail and in the heat of the day I'll hear the seed pods popping open and scattering their seed on both sides of the fence.  And next year the scotch broom will be back.  To me the whole thing seems pointless, but these folks envision an island scoured clean of scotch broom and so they come back year after year after year to cut it down wherever they can get to it.  Even though that island scoured clean of broom will never be. As I rode later in the week and saw the trailsides devoid of broom, but acres and acres of yellow flowers on the other side of the fence it got me thinking about the theme of our Eastertide scripture readings.  (I know, you think I'm just out there riding my bike, but I'm out there praying and meditating on scripture and putting sermons together in my head.)  We began Easter with the theme of hope.  Jesus' resurrection meant something to the disciples.  It wasn't just a miracle.  It was the evidence, the proof that God's new creation had begun and that Jesus is king.  That's what lit a fire under them to go out and announce the good news to Jerusalem, to Judaea, Samaria, and to the whole world—even though it eventually got them all killed.  This theme of resurrection life carries all through Eastertide and we meet it here again today.  We could run with either the Gospel or the Epistle, but I'm going to go with the Epistle—this lesson from St. James that begins with those familiar words: Be people who do the word, not merely people who heart it and deceive themselves.   Brothers and Sisters, the good news of Jesus' resurrection from the dead ought to give us a vision of the world set to rights—of sin and death defeated and cast forever into hell, of no more trials and no more tears, and of new life with nothing to separate us from the presence of God.  When we look at the mess and the darkness around us that hope might sound crazy—like an island scoured clean of scotch broom—but the fact is that God has done the hard part already.  He gave his son to take up our flesh, to die, and to rise to life again.  The rest is just his people—us—going out to preach and to do that good news and to let his word and his Spirit spread and grow his new creation.  So don't just hear the word.  Go out and do it.  Don't just long for God's kingdom, go out and be it. It also helps to understand that for the Jews, speaking Hebrew, to hear and to obey were inextricably linked together.  The Hebrew word for “hear” is a call not just to the ears, but to the heart, and to hear is to respond, whether it's for the Lord to hear the cries of his people in their bondage and to come to their deliverance or for Israel to hear the word of the Lord and to take it to heart and do it.  When Moses and the Prophets announced, “Hear the word of the Lord!” it wasn't just a call to listen, but to obey—to do.  We have a word in English that we don't use anymore that is very similar: hearken.  Don't just hear, but take note, take what you hear to heart.  Do it. Brothers and Sisters, words are important—and the word of God especially so.  As I've said so many times, God's word brings life.  By his word he created life in the beginning and when we were mired in sin and in slavery to death, he heard our cries for deliverance and sent his word again, this time in human flesh, in Jesus, to die and to rise from death so that we might know life again.  This is at the core of Easter and so, these last two Sundays of Eastertide we read from St. James' epistle about the power of God's word to bring us life and to transform us.  But first he contrasts God's word with our words, which are so often spoken in anger or spoken, not to heal or to give life, but to hurt.  This is in the first chapter of James.  Our Epistle begins at verse 22, but I want to back up a bit into last week's Epistle, to verse 19.  Here's what James writes: So, my dear brothers [and sisters], get this straight.  Every person should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.  Human anger, you see, doesn't produce God's justice.  (James 1:19-20) “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”  How many times would that have saved you a world of hurt if you'd only heard and obeyed? Now, there can be a place for anger.  So often we get angry because the world isn't what we know it should be.  Sometimes—a lot of the time—that's just our pride being hurt or our selfishness being tweaked, but when we see real wrongs being done, when we see real injustice in the world, there is a place for just and righteous anger.  Godly anger over sin and injustice is often precisely what we need to get us up and out into the world to help the needy or the hurt, to stand up for the defenceless, or otherwise to speak out and to work for wrongs to be righted.  St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry” but then there's an “and”, a big “and”: “and do not sin.”  Deal with what needs dealing with and “do not let the sun go down on your anger,” because that “gives opportunity to the devil”.  If you're angry because your pride has been hurt, put a stop to it right there.  Swallow your pride and move on.  If you're angry because something is truly wrong, use that anger productively to set things right, but do not sin in the process.  Two wrongs won't make things right.  And righteous or not, don't let your anger fester.  Deal with it one way or another, because simmering anger is fodder for the devil and for all sorts of sin.  We all know that from experience.  Let your anger simmer and before too long you're thinking about payback and revenge and neither of those things have any place in the Christian life.  That was our lesson two Sunday's ago: As he has vindicated Jesus, so the Father will one day vindicate us.  We don't need to vindicate ourselves. In short, James says, “Human anger doesn't produce God's justice.”  In other words, your anger is not what will set this broken world to rights.  I know it always seems like it will at the time, but it won't.  Just consider: You think your anger will set things right so you lash out at that other person.  And now what are they thinking?  They're thinking the same thing: All the situation needs is a little bit of their anger to fix it so they lash out at you.  And all it all does is make everything worse.  Brother and Sisters, James reminds us to instead be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  God is the one who will bring justice to the world and right the wrongs.  If we have been wronged, God will vindicate us.  The best thing we can do is to respond with the gospel and the Spirit.  Where the world is broken, where relationships are broken, we should be asking ourselves how we can bring to bear the things that God's Spirit gives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Our anger won't help God make things right.  And so James warns: So put away everything that is sordid, all that overflowing malice, and humbly receive the word which has been planted within you and which has the power to save your lives.   Do you see what he did there?  More often than not, when we get angry, it's because our pride has been hurt and that kind of anger tempts us to lash out—it tempts us to respond to a hurt or a wrong with some kind of sin.  Insults, brawling, that sort of thing.  In contrast, James says that when our pride is threatening to take control of us, we need instead to meekly receive—to hearken to—the word that God has implanted in us.  If this were St. Paul, he'd be reminding us to put off the old man and to put on the new.  The pride and anger are the old man talking, but in Jesus and the Spirit God has made us new.  James puts it in terms of the word by which God has forgiven us and made us a new creation.  I think James had Isaiah 55:10-11 in mind when he was writing this.  That's where the Lord, through the Prophet, says: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven          and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout,          giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;          it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,          and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.   This is one of my favourite passages in all of Scripture.  When I get frustrated with my own sin and my own shortcomings and my own failures to be faithful to God, I remember what he says about his word here.  And as a pastor, when I'm discouraged with ministry and when it seems like nothing is happening or people aren't maturing or when I see sin and shortcomings and failures to be faithful in the church, again, I come back to what the Lord says about his word here and I go back to the word, because God's word is the source of life.  Nothing I can do will bring the life of God to myself or to other people—only his word can do that—and he promises through Isaiah that his word always accomplishes what he purposes and it always succeeds in that for which he sends it forth.  So I preach his word to myself and I preach his word to you and trust him to cause it to bear fruit in me and in you, because he says that that is what he will do.  God's word is life. So, Brothers and Sisters, don't let God's word go in one ear and out the other.  James writes, “Be people who do the word, not merely people who hear it and deceive themselves.”  Don't just listen to the word.  Don't just read it.  Hear it, Brothers and Sisters.  Hearken to it.  Do it.  If it helps, read your Bible with your finger in your ear to remind you not to let it go in one ear and out the other.  These are God's words and they are life!  Too often we come to church and hear the word or we sit down at home and read the word, but we don't actually hear it, we don't let it sink in, we don't let it take root like a seed, and so we don't become doers of the word, letting it make a difference and transform us.  If we just let the word go in one ear and out the other we're in danger of deceiving ourselves.  We think, “I've read the Bible or I've listened to it in church and I've done my duty,” but Friends, if the word doesn't take root in our hearts and minds, if it doesn't make a difference, we miss out on the life of God.  He promises that his word will accomplish what he purposes—that it will make a difference, that it will bring new life—but first we have to hear it, not just listen, but hear it, take it in, obey it, and let it change us. James uses an illustration here.  Look at verses 23-25: Someone who hears the word but does not do it, you see, is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.  He notices himself, but then he goes away and quickly forgets what he looked like.  But the person who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and goes on with it, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer who does the deed—such a person is blessed in their doing.   You walk past a mirror, have a look, then walk away and forget.  In one ear and out the other.  That's not how we should approach God's word.  And how do we know if we're really letting God's word take root and grow in us?  We know it's growing in us when we go from being mere hearers to being actual doers of that word.  When we don't just know in our heads that truth is important, but when we stop telling lies, when we stop misrepresenting people, and speak the truth.  When “love your enemies and do good to them” goes from being something in your head to something you actually live out.  When love your wife or submit to your husband translates into loving your wife or submitting to your husband in real and practical ways.  When the Lord's Supper goes from being something you eat to something you live out in your interactions with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, showing love and living in the unity Jesus has given us.  When we confront the injustices of the world, not with anger, but with the gospel and the life of the Spirit. And notice how James makes this point.  He takes us back to his own roots.  He was a Jew.  He was circumcised into the Lord's covenant people when he was eight days old.  He grew up living torah, because he was one of the covenant people and that's what covenant people did.  That's how they were faithful to the Lord in return for his faithfulness to them.  And they learned the torah, the law, by reading and studying God's word.  And as much as Jesus changed everything, he didn't change the fact that the Lord continues to live in covenant with his people.  Jesus established a new covenant, but it's still a covenant.  And the Spirit has given a new law, but it's still a law.  God's people are still called to be different from the world.  As he marked out the Jews with circumcision and called them to live according to the torah, so he marks out the people of Jesus with baptism and calls us to live the law of the Spirit—what James calls the “perfect law, the law of liberty”.  Faithful Jews were doers—keeping the sabbath, eating clean foods and not eating unclean foods, all of that.  Some people think that Jesus has freed us from all of the doing, but it's really just the opposite.  Jesus calls us to even more and better doing, the difference is that instead of pointing to a list of laws written on stone and saying “Do that”, he fills us with God's own Spirit, gives us his own example of love at the cross, rises from the dead and gives us a foretaste of his new creation and says “Do that in the power of the Spirit”.  And this new law, instead of burdening us, actually ends up freeing us from all those things that used to weigh us down: anger and filthiness and wickedness and replaces it all with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as the Spirit and the word work in us to redirect the affections of our hearts from sin and from self to love for God and love for each other. And so James sums it up in verses 26 and 27, writing: If anyone supposes that he is devout, and does not control his tongue, but rather deceives his heart—such a person's religion is futile.  As far as God the Father is concerned, pure, unsullied religion works like this: you should visit orphans and widows in their sorrow, and prevent the world leaving its dirty smudge on you.   God's word and God's Spirit will transform us.  It doesn't happen in an instant, so we have to be careful here.  Our expectations for a new Christian aren't the same as they are for a mature Christian, but still, a Christian will show the transforming work of God's life-giving word in his life.  And so James says that if you think you're religious—note that “religion” isn't the bad word some people make it out to be today.  Religion is our service to God.  There's good religion and there's bad religion as we'll see in a bit.  So if you think you're serving God but you don't have a bridle on your tongue—that's not the only thing that might show this, but since James has been talking about anger and sinful words, this is the example he uses here—if you speak hateful and hurtful and untrue things, you've deceived yourself.  You've been letting God's word go in one ear and out the other.  You haven't actually heard it and so it hasn't taken root and it's not growing in your heart.  It calls into question your profession of faith and your place in the covenant.  We enter the covenant through faith in Jesus.  And we show our membership in the covenant by doing the word, by living the law of the Spirit.  And if you aren't living the law of the Spirit, well, it begs the question: Are you really a member of the covenant?  Is your faith in Jesus real?  Because a Christian without the fruit of the Spirit, a Christian who is worldly and doesn't bridle his tongue, well he's like a Jew who isn't circumcised and who labours on the sabbath.  He's a contradiction. In contrast, true religion, real service to God looks like this: visiting orphans and widows and keeping yourself unstained by the filthiness of the world.  James could have listed any number of things here, but he's certainly practical and these are things that stood out in the First Century and made people take note of Christians and the Church.  It was a dog-eat-dog world, but the Christians took care of each other and they took care of the poor and vulnerable, because that's what love in action looks like and because that's what new creation looks like.  And in a world of filth, where culture was crude and vulgar and religion often involved ritual drug use and prostitution, God's people stood apart—much as the Jews of the old covenant had stood apart.  Jesus' people, transformed by word and Spirit, should stand as beacons of his new creation, by our lives and by our proclamation, lifting the veil on what God has in store for this broken world. So Brother and Sisters, be Easter people.  If you have believed that Jesus died and rose from the dead to forgive our sins and to make us part of his new creation, prove it.  Really be Easter people.  Immerse yourselves in God's word and hear what he has to say.  Don't let it go in one ear and out the other.  Let it sink in and take root and grow.  And then be the new creation that God's word will make us if we give it the chance.  As he promised, he will make us the firstfruits of his new creation—and that, Brothers and Sisters, is how he is setting the wrongs of this world to right.  Not by our anger, but by his word and by his Spirit. Let's pray: O Lord, from whom all good things come: Grant to us, your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guidance put them into practice; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time

Roland Krumm is the Pastor of City Chapel in Stuttgart, Germany. In this episode, Roland shares his journey from a legalistic evangelical upbringing to a transformative encounter with the Holy Spirit at age 17, which sparked his vibrant faith and ministry. He discusses planting City Chapel, navigating historical divides between conservative and charismatic Christians in Germany, and the innovative Ostergarten outreach, which brings the gospel to thousands. Roland also shares his heart for revival, reaching the younger generation, and supporting Israel and the Jewish people as a German pastor.We explore how Roland fostered unity among Stuttgart's churches through the “Together for Stuttgart” network, offering insights for churches seeking collaboration while maintaining their distinct callings.Register for the CGN International Ministry Conference (June 22-25, 2025 in Temecula, California) at conference.calvarychapel.comNew episodes are released every two weeks on Wednesday mornings. Subscribe to have new episodes delivered directly to you upon release.

Send us a textWhat do you carry with you every day? Keys, wallet, phone—these items help us feel prepared for whatever the day might bring. But what about spiritual preparation?Our new series "Everyday Carry" opens with a thought-provoking message about the armor of God and how we prepare ourselves spiritually for daily battles. Through a humorous story about accidentally bringing a pocket knife through airport security in Europe, we're reminded that we can carry all the right physical tools and still be spiritually unprepared.Jesus challenges us in Luke 9 to "take up your cross daily and follow me"—emphasizing that spiritual readiness is a daily commitment, not a weekend activity. When we're caught unprepared spiritually, we're vulnerable to attacks that could have been prevented.The armor of God in Ephesians 6 provides a powerful framework for spiritual preparedness: the belt of truth that anchors us in honesty, the breastplate of righteousness that protects our heart while keeping it open to God and others, shoes of peace that carry God's presence wherever we walk, the shield of faith that blocks spiritual attacks, the helmet of salvation that gives us the mind of Christ, and the sword of the Spirit—God's Word—that becomes our weapon against darkness.Most compelling is the realization that while we might forget our physical tools, our spiritual armor should never be left behind. Faith becomes our currency in God's kingdom, blocking attacks of doubt, fear and anxiety. The peace of God doesn't just rest within us but goes before us into our homes, workplaces, and relationships.Are you fully equipped for today's spiritual battles? The greatest thing you can carry isn't something that fits in your pocket—it's the presence and protection of God that goes with you everywhere. Join us as we learn to be spiritually prepared every single day.Cornerstonehttps://www.cornerstoneaz.org/Follow Jesushttps://www.cornerstoneaz.org/follow-jesusLife Groups https://www.cornerstoneaz.org/life-groupsGiving https://cornerstoneaz.churchcenter.com/givingChurch Center App - Download then add Cornerstone Christian Center in Avondale, AZiOShttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-church-center/id1357742931?mt=8&ls=1&ign-mpt=uo%3D4Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ministrycentered.churchcenter----Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cornerstoneazFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/cornerstoneaz.orgTwitterhttps://twitter.com/cornerstoneaz.org

A Sermon for the First Sunday after Easter 1 St. John 5:4-12 & St. John 20:19-23 by William Klock In the ancient church this was the Sunday when the men and women baptised on Easter would take off their white baptismal robes after a long week of celebrating their baptism.  Now it was time for the church to go out into the world to be the new people Jesus and the Spirit had made them.  At Rome, in those ancient days, the newly baptised would do this at the church of St. Pancras—a church named after a young Roman martyr.  Because of his faithfulness he would become a patron of oaths and vows.  Now it was time to live out their baptismal vows, like that young martyr.  They'd given their allegiance in faith to Jesus.  Now it was time to march out into the world, to proclaim him as the crucified and risen king, and to fight the world, the flesh, and the devil—not matter the cost. Brothers and Sisters, as the Easter story continues, we're reminded that Jesus didn't die and rise from death just to zap us to heaven the moment we believe.  He didn't die and rise again to create an escape hatch out of the world or even out of persecution and martyrdom.  He died and rose again so that we might live for him and carry the good news—like royal heralds of the king—out to the far reaches of God's creation.  This has been the mission of the people of God all along, going all the way back to Abraham.  He and then his family were called and set apart by the Lord to be a light in the darkness.  They were the people who lived with the living God in their midst.  Through them, God revealed himself to the nations. Or, at any rate, that's how the plan had started.  Abraham's family, Israel, largely failed in her mission.  That was part of the plan too.  It showed that it would take more than calling and creating and sending a special people to be light in the darkness.  The human race has a heart problem.  Instead of desiring God, we desire everything else.  Instead of worshipping him, we make idols.  And Israel had that same heart problem.  And so that story of calling and sending and failure leads us to Jesus.  It was meant to from the very beginning.  He came to set his people to rights—at least those who would follow him, who would trust him, who would give their allegiance to him as messiah—as God's king.  And in his death and resurrection Jesus defeated the powers of the old age and inaugurated God's new creation.  But John stresses, this time something was different.  This new people isn't just called and sent.  This time they're also transformed and equipped.  And that's really the theme of this Sunday after Easter.  Every week we're sent out with those words: “Go forth in pace to love and serve the Lord.”  Friends, that dismissal is a call to go out and swim in our baptism, to go our and to proclaim the risen Lord, to go out and do battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil.  I suspect that a lot of the time we respond, “Thanks be to God” without even thinking about any of that.  But those times when we do think about what those words mean, it's easy to feel overwhelmed—especially when the scriptures or the liturgy or the sermon has really spoken to us that day and we have a clear sense of why God has called us and saved us—it's easy to feel overwhelmed. So Brothers and Sisters, as we stand overwhelmed by the task before us, John assures us that if we are in Jesus by faith, there are two vitally important new realities for us.  The first is that we have been made part of his new creation.  We have a share in Jesus' resurrection from death.  Yes, there's more to come.  We haven't been resurrected yet.  That will come some day at the end of the age when the gospel, through the Church, has accomplished its purpose and brought the world to Jesus. But in the meantime, Jesus' resurrection has freed us from our bondage to sin and death and given us new life.  And, second, that if we are in Jesus, he has given us God's own Spirit.  He's made us his temple, the place where he dwells.  The Spirit's not something to be earned when we've become holy enough.  He's not some later experience or second blessing, as if we can be in Jesus, but not have a share in the Spirit.  Jesus' gift of the Spirit is the very thing that fulfils God's promise through the prophets and that defines us as his new covenant people.  And as Jesus forgives and frees us by his death and resurrection, the indwelling Spirit empowers and equips us to live the new life Jesus has given.  The Spirit's life in us is a foretaste and a down payment on the resurrection and the life of the age to come—and most importantly in light of today's theme, the indwelling Spirit is the one who makes the task set before us by Jesus possible.  He's the one who equips us to fulfil those impossible vows we made in our baptism. In our Gospel, again John 20 beginning at verse 19, John tells us: On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Judeans.  Jesus came and stood in the middle of them.  “Peace be with you,” he said.   We shouldn't pass over these words too quickly.  It's the first day of the week.  It's still the same day that Mary went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body and found it empty.  It's the same day she went running to tell Peter and John.  The same day they went running to the tomb to see for themselves.  The same day when John says none of them—except, it seems, for him—understood what had happed.  John says he “believed” and I think that means he believed Jesus had risen, but that was crazy and he was still working it through so he hadn't said anything to the others yet.  This is that same day.  Now it's evening.  And the disciples have locked themselves into someone's house.  The doors are locked.  I expect the windows tightly shuttered.  There was no cooking fire.  Nothing that might make the house look occupied—nothing to give them away.  Maybe one little lamp, just so they could barely see each other in the darkness.  They were afraid.  Four days before, the Jewish authorities had arrested Jesus.  Three days before he's been crucified as a dangerous revolutionary.  Soon, they figured, the authorities would come for the rest of them.  Best to lay low until things blew over.  Maybe in a few days they could sneak out of the city.  And so they sat there in the darkness, some silently pondering what all this meant, some still weeping for their dead friend, maybe a couple of them arguing in low tones about what had happened to Jesus' body and what they'd do next.  But whatever they were doing, a palpable sense of fear filled that dark room.  John's telling of the story of new creation reverberates with echoes of the story of the first creation: Darkness was over the face of the deep. And then Jesus is suddenly there.  John wrote about the Incarnation back in his prologue saying that in Jesus the light had come into the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it.  That was an echo of Genesis.  The first day of the week God called light into being, driving away the darkness.  And now the Light Incarnate appears in that dark, fear-filled house and I have to think that somehow and in some way it was filled with light—a light that drove away every last vestige of darkness.  And to these frightened men, Jesus announces, “Peace be with you!” Imagine their surprise.  And there must have been some disbelief or some doubts.  Or maybe, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they simply didn't recognise him.  Something about his resurrection had brought a transformation.  Same Jesus, same body, but in some way just different enough in appearance that they didn't recognise him.  Of course, it wouldn't have helped that they simply didn't expect to see him again either.  So Jesus holds out his hands for them to see.  One at a time he lifts a foot out so that they can see.  There were the marks left by the nails.  And he lifted his tunic to show them the wound left by the spear that had been plunged into his side, the wound that had gushed forth blood and water, evidence to the soldiers that he was genuinely dead.  And here he stood alive.  They were shocked.  How could it be?  I've said before, the reason resurrection wasn't on anyone's mind was because this wasn't how it was supposed to happen.  This wasn't a story Jews would have made up, because all the Jews who believed in the resurrection of the dead knew how it would work—and it wasn't supposed to work this way.  At the end of the age the Lord would raise all the faithful at once.  There was plenty of disagreement about some of the specifics, but they all knew one thing for sure: It would be everybody all at once, not just one person, even if that one person was the Messiah.  This just wasn't on their radar.  Not at all.  But now it is and they're confused and, it seems, even though John says they were glad, they were still more than a little afraid.  And so Jesus says to them again, “Peace be with you!” And Jesus doesn't waste any time as John tells it.  “Peace be with you,” he says, calming their fears.  Jesus is alive.  And immediately he gets down to the very practical aspects, the real-world implications of his resurrection.  Jesus doesn't waste any time.  He says in verse 21: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”   Think about that.  Here they are, hunkered down for fear of being rounded up and executed.  Here they are, afraid to even show their faces in Jerusalem.  Here they are, giving it a few days before they try to sneak out of town without being noticed.  And Jesus says to them, “I'm sending you.  As the Father sent me to you, I'm now sending you: to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria…to the ends of the earth.”  In other words, “You're not going to go slinking out of the city under cover of darkness.  No, you're going out into Jerusalem with boldness—the same way I went out into Galilee, through Judea, and eventually to Jerusalem at the head of a parade, hailed by the people.  You're going to go with the same boldness out into this city and you are going to declare what God has done.  Everyone is going to know who you are.  You're going to declare to Jerusalem that this Jesus whom they crucified died and has been raised from the dead, that he really is the Messiah, God's King, and that his kingdom, God's new creation has come.” Think again of John, just beginning to wrap his head around the idea that Jesus had been raised from death—but still hunkered down with the others, afraid.  John couldn't even tell his friends what he thought had happened.  The last thing on his mind was telling it to Jerusalem—and Jesus isn't talking about mere “telling”—you know, whispering it to a few people who might be safe to tell.  No, he's talking about proclaiming this news—to everybody.  Brothers and Sisters, think about that for a minute.  Most of us are hesitant to proclaim the good news about Jesus.  We have no reason to fear for our lives like Jesus' disciples did.  The worst thing that happens to us is we offend someone, make them think we're weird.  They faced martyrdom—and all but John were, indeed, martyred for their proclamation.  We have so little to fear, but we're afraid anyway.  We've even stopped speaking in terms of proclamation—the Bible's way of speaking about evangelism.  Instead we talk about “sharing” our faith—watering it down, as if it's just another option on the religious smorgasbord that someone might want to try out for themselves.  We've lost our confidence in the good news and in the God who raised Jesus from the dead who stands behind it.  No, Jesus calls us to declare the good news like royal heralds, sent out into the world to declare the mighty deeds of God, that he has raised Jesus from the dead, and made him Lord of all. But, again, consider John.  Confused, afraid, just beginning to understand.  And then consider the confidence of his words, written decades later in our Epistle: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been fathered by God…because everything that has been fathered by God conquers the world.  This is the victory that conquers the world: our faith.  Who is the one who conquers the world?  Surely the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God!  (1 John 5:1, 4-5) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah—God's king—has been reborn as part of the people of God.  And that belief changes everything.  That belief transforms the fearful John hesitant to even tell his friends about the dawning realization that Jesus had been raised from death, it turns him into the courageous apostle, exiled for his proclamation of that truth, and writing boldly to the churches to stand firm in that same faith even though great tribulation was about to hit them like a storm.  There is everything to be feared out in the world: rejection, mockery, persecution, even martyrdom, but by faith the people of God overcome and stand firm in our witness.  It's not because faith changes reality.  It's because this faith recognizes the new reality born that first Easter when Jesus rose from the grave, the new reality that he is victor over sin and death, the new reality that new creation has begun in him, and the new reality that he is Lord of that creation.  By faith we are united with him.  By faith we share in his inheritance.  And by faith we share in his calling and ministry—his Church, taking up the mantle of prophet, priest, and king. Like John, we are called to boldly testify about Jesus. It was he who came by means of water and blood, Jesus the Messiah, not by water only but by the water and the blood.  The Spirit is the one who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.  There are three that bear witness—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three agree together.  If we have received the witness of men, God's witness is greater.  This is the witness of God, the testimony he has borne concerning his son.  (1 John 5:6-9)   John points back to Jesus' ministry.  He came by water.  That was the start of it.  He went to John and was baptised in the Jordan and as he walked up out of the river, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and his Father spoke, “This is my Son in whom I am well-pleased.”  That was Jesus' initiation into his messianic ministry.  And that ministry—at least in its earthly phase—ended in blood, at the cross, where he died to conquer death and to provide forgiveness of sins.  Jesus' baptism testifies to his being the Messiah.  Jesus' blood, shed on the cross, testifies to his being the Messiah.  And, too, John writes, so does the Spirit.  And, he says, consider all the things we believe, in which we trust, based on the testimony of mere men.  How much more, Brothers and Sisters, ought we to trust this testimony about Jesus backed up by God himself?  And not so much just receiving and believing ourselves, but in light of the fact that this is the truth, this is the good news that literally changes the world, that is changing the world, oughtn't we to be proclaiming it to that world?  Through Jesus and the Spirit God has given us the light.  The light that will transform the darkness that sin and death have cast on the world.  The light that the darkness cannot and will not ever overcome.  Dear Friends, don't hide it under a basket.  Hold it high.  Proclaim it.  Show it to everyone.  Don't be afraid.  God has spoken: “Let there be light!”  And as John wrote in his Gospel: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has no overcome it.”  He goes on in verse 10: All those who believe in the son of God have the witness in themselves.   But that's not where John leaves us in the Gospel.  Jesus doesn't just send his disciples out into the world.  That would be an impossible task.  Jesus also equips them.  Look at verses 22-23 of John 20: With that, he breathed on them.  “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said.  “If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven.  If you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.”   As the Lord breathed life into Adam in the original creation, Jesus now breathes on his disciples.  “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he says.  Was the Spirit literally imparted by Jesus' breath?  Luke tells this part differently in his Gospel and in Acts—that whole event with the dramatic coming of the Spirit at Pentecost as they gathered at the temple to hear Peter preach and to be baptised.  But notice there, too, that the Spirit comes with a wind—in both Hebrew and Greek, wind, breath, and spirit are all the same word.  Jesus was good at acted-out prophecy and I think that's what he's doing in this case in John's Gospel.  He is—or he soon will be—imparting God's Spirit to this new people of God, to those who believe, and he illustrates just what this gift is by an act that they couldn't help but connect to God's giving life to Adam.  But this is new life.  And this is what will equip them to go out, despite the threat of death, to proclaim with boldness the good news.  Brothers and Sisters, the Spirit does a lot for us, but here Jesus makes sure we know what his primary purpose is.  It's not to give us radical experiences, although that certainly might happen.  It's not to make us holy, although he certainly does that as he turns our hearts and our affections away from self and sin and points them towards God.  But, the primary purpose of the Spirit is to equip us to do the impossible: to do for the world, what Jesus did for Israel.  To go out in the world in his name and to proclaim what God has done through him.  “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” And then those words that have so often been misunderstood and abused: “If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven.  If you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.”  Remember I said that by faith we have a share in Jesus' inheritance and ministry.  By faith the Father adopts us and makes us his sons and daughters, so we share in what belongs to Jesus.  And that means that as he is King and Prophet and Priest, so are we as his Church, his people.  And Jesus gets here at two of those things.  Here he reminds his friends and he reminds us that when we go out into the world to proclaim his Lordship, to proclaim the good news of his death and resurrection, to proclaim that new creation has come, we do so as both prophets and as priests. Our message is two-fold.  I think the priestly role comes most naturally to us.  This is the part of our proclamation where we announce the forgiveness of sins.  Think of the priests of the Old Testament, offering sacrifices.  That was one of their main duties: to facilitate and to mediate God's forgiveness to the people.  Think of Jesus.  He is both priest and sacrificial lamb.  He offers and presents himself to the Father as a sacrifice for our sins.  And, as priests, we proclaim to the world the forgiveness he offers through that sacrifice.  But that is not our only role.  We also share in Jesus' prophetic office—and that's the part that doesn't come as naturally to us, at least not as things currently are.  But consider what the prophets did.  Consider what Jesus did in his role as a prophet.  He called out the sins of his people, he summoned them to repentance, and he announced the judgement to come on those who remained unrepentant in their sin, unbelief, and faithlessness.  In contrast, much of the Church today is afraid to take on this prophetic role, to name sin, to even use the word.  Some parts of the Church have given up altogether and have embraced sin and called it virtue—leaving folks nothing to repent of and with nothing for which they need forgiveness.  They've gutted the gospel.  But these two things, the priestly and the prophetic go hand in hand.  Our prophetic office, announcing judgement, is without hope if we do not also fulfil our priestly role of announcing forgiveness.  But our priestly office, our message of forgiveness lacks any real meaning if it is not also accompanied by the prophetic announcement that sin is sin and that God will judge it.  Brothers and Sisters, this is the good news: that we are sinners, that our holy God judges sin and that the penalty is death, but also that Jesus has died as a perfect sacrifice for sins, and has risen, victor over death, inaugurating God's new creation and giving a sure and certain hope that what he has begun he will finish.  One day all things will be made new, every bit of sin and evil will be swept from creation, and all will be set to rights.  And by faith in Jesus we have a share in that new world. Brothers and Sisters, do we believe that?  I trust that we do.  We affirm this belief every week as we come to the Lord's Table.  We recall the story.  We confess our sins in repentance.  And we come to the Table in renewed faith to participate again in those events that set us free from sin and death, in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  But maybe we've forgotten the real power behind what we confess here at the Table.  Friends, think this morning on what the cross and the empty tomb mean.  Think on what the blood of Jesus means.  Think on what his gift of the Spirit to you means.  And then take seriously those words of dismissal: “Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord.”  Consider that in those words Jesus is saying to us, to you and to me, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Let's pray: Almighty Father, you gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: Grant that we may put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, and always serve you in purity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

John 19:30 NIVWhen he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.2 Timothy 1:6-10 NIVFor this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Are you battle-ready?

What is it like to raise children in the middle of a war? In this special episode, Karen sits down with Kimmie Saado, an American mom raising her five kids in Israel, to hear about the realities of life during conflict. From sirens and safe rooms to worshiping through fear, Kimmie shares how faith has anchored her family in uncertain times. Listen in as she encourages moms to raise up the next generation of Daniels—children who stand firm in faith, no matter the circumstances.Episode Recap:1:26- Kimmie is an American mom raising five kids in Israel3:03- How Kimmie and Sahar met and challenges of cross-cultural dating/engagement7:50- What it's like to lead a Bible tour company in Israel13:20- Karen and Kimmie's favorite places in Israel15:45- what has it been like to raise children in a conflict zone?19:39- how Kimmie's son led their family in worship during moments of fear.22:30- how faith-filled habits help equip our kids and others to stand firm in faith.24:31- what does it mean to be a “Daniel”?28:15- what Kimmie and Sahar are doing in the States this year30:00- how Americans can pray and support the Jewish people right now37:30- we have made God so small and our problems so bigScripture for Reflection: 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”Questions for Discussion:Kimmie shared a vivid story about responding to a bombing by shouting a Bible verse and also, how her son responded to bombing sirens with worship. How do you model turning to your faith in scary times? Do your kids get to witness that? What does it mean to raise a "Daniel" in today's world? How can we instill resilience and faith in our children?Kimmie and her husband took intentional steps to prepare for challenges before those challenges arrived. How can we spiritually equip our families before trials come?Kimmie spoke about finding peace in God's presence, even in uncertainty. What are some practical ways we can cultivate that kind of faith in our own lives?Resources:Last chance to register for the Soar Conference! Don't procrastinate another day: https://subsplash.com/birdsonawire-ga/lb/ev/+j2j9wpqCheck out Kimmie and Sahar's company: Israel Bible Tours: https://www.israelbibletours.com/

Sometimes, when our lives feel hard and the news is bad, we can struggle to understand God's sovereignty alongside man's free will to choose good or evil. In this episode of the Rooted Parent Podcast, Cameron and Anna examine why God's sovereignty strengthens us as we raise our children in an uncertain world. Knowing he is in control of all things will not be much comfort if we do not believe that God is good- but knowing his goodness and love for us led Jesus to the Cross to die for us gives us confidence even when we cannot understand the operation of his sovereign will.Resources:Romans 8:26- 30God's Sovereignty and Your Family's Suffering by Davis Lacey Follow us on Instagram @rootedministry!

IHP content is for people who are interested in topics, stories, & guidance for spiritual, self-help, personal development, spirituality journey, the 5D mystic path, & enlightenment the human way. The content resonates with the human love narrative, not the human suffering narrative. Don't tune in if you don't love life & humanity because this won't be for you. Don't tune in if you still believe in evil or the devil. Topic not ideal for ego-sensitive or emotionally sensitive people. Please don't tune in. Thank you! All IHP content resonates with people who are or want to be emotionally aware, accountable, & self-regulate. The 5D Mystic Enlightenment Functional Adult Expanding Consciousness - Channeled Guidance and/or Tarot-Oracle Reading Messages and/or the IHP Channeled Guidance and/or Tarot-Oracle Reading Messages are for people who interested in topics, stories, & guidance for personal development, self-help, spirituality journey, the 5D mystic path, & enlightenment the human way. The episodes are for people who know relationships are important to our humanity and to help people who take their humanity and childhood trauma seriously and are healing and/or healed from it; as well as for navigating the 5D Ascension Energies and/or Personal Development Expansion of Consciousness, your Inner Growth journey. The IHP content resonates with the human love narrative, not the human suffering narrative. Don't tune in if you don't love life & humanity because this won't be for you. Don't tune in if you still believe in evil or the devil. Topic not ideal for ego-sensitive or emotionally sensitive people. Please don't tune in. Thank you! All IHP content resonates with people who are or want to be emotionally aware, accountable, & self-regulate. The content is for people who are or want to be self-aware, accountable & want to establish functional adult secure attachment emotionally mature behaviors & relationships in life. Your humanity is living a life of meaning & connection beyond the solo-self, as is the true spirituality life. We welcome all people of all walks of life to reclaim their inner child & live their inner child adult, to pursue integration of the brain & restorative embodied self-aware life in time & through healthy self-worth functional adult secure attachment 5D relationships. IHP podcast host Maria Florio shares voices, stories & perspectives from her 5D mystic enlightenment functional adult life to give examples of what it's like to know emotional self-regulation skills, experience secure attachment, have functional adult conversations & experiences & 5D relationships. This and more is what the IHP content and community is all about. Welcome and thanks for tuning in! Love, Maria your 5D mystic enlightenment functional adult woo-woo pseudoscience lady IHP podcast host talking about the amazing journey of human evolution & consciousness ♾️

Does God speak? Is God still speaking? What does God's voice sound like? In this message, Pastor Holly challenges us to increase our awareness, expectation, and experience of hearing God's voice and using the gift of prophecy.

God wants you to have ____________. [1 Corinthians 4:20] For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power. [2 Timothy 1:7] For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. God wants us to live a __________-_______ life not a __________-_______ life. Jesus ___________________ when He left that he would send the Holy Spirit. [Acts 1:4-5] Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. [5] John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit wants to _____________ your life. [Acts 1:8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Holy Spirit gives us power to be a _______________. Some people aren't __________ of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to ____________ _________________! Does the Holy Spirit have __________ of me? [Romans 8:11] The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Some people are ______________ the Holy Spirit. [Acts 7:51] “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you! [1 Corinthians 12:3] So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

Examining Romans 8:9-11, Cameron and Anna describe the ways that the indwelling Holy Spirit helps a parent who is lonely, exhausted, and in need of wisdom. Relying on the power of the Spirit and nurturing our union with Christ gives us the strength we need to persevere in the hard times of rising kids.Resources:Romans 8:9-112 Tim 2:1Breathe in, Breathe Out: How the Holy Spirit Revives and Refreshes the Weary Parent  by Dawson CooperRooted 2017: Scott Sauls on the Holy Spirit Within: Our Hope for ChangeOne Dad and Three Kids in a Minivan: Evidence of the Indwelling Spirit by Joey TurnerFrom Rumination to Repentance: Parenting With Our Minds Set on the Spirit by Anna Meade Harris Follow us @rootedministry!

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. (2 Tim 1: 6 – 8)I wonder if Timothy was ever afraid to “stand up and be counted”. These words from Paul to his protégé can feel quite confronting. Don't be timid. Don't be ashamed or afraid of being associated with me. Don't hold back from proclaiming the truth of Jesus. Join me in the suffering that will come as a result. This second personal letter to the young leader feels like a serious moment in Timothy's life where Paul calls him to take a moment and count the cost for present and future ministry. Count the cost of a life dedicated to following Christ. Paul repeats the challenge in the next chapter: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2: 15). “Be strong” (2: 1), “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus”. (2: 3). As uncomfortable as it is, perhaps we all need moments like that. Moments to reflect on our journey in God. Moments to remember that we too have the Spirit of God - a Spirit of power, love and self-discipline. That we are not alone. That timidity is not a gift of the Holy Spirit. That we are here to testify about him. To tell others about him, whatever the cost. It is recorded, not in the bible but in other ancient texts, that later in life, when Timothy was about 80 years old, he tried to stop a public procession of the false god, Diana, by preaching the Gospel. The angry worshippers of Diana, beat him and dragged him through the streets, until finally stoning him to death. Timothy had found his courage and was not afraid to face death for his Lord. Some say that young people today have less resilience to social pressures compared to previous generations. That may or may not be true, but at the end of the day, we all face the same choice as to what we say about our beliefs and where our loyalties lie. Are we ashamed of our Lord, afraid to speak of our faith in him, or do we welcome him into our lives in full view of others? Do we hide him away or do we proudly hold him close in public?We don't know if there will be suffering as a result. But we don't do it alone. God has given us the Spirit of power and love. If a timid Timothy can speak of Jesus in front of an angry mob, maybe you and I can take a few steps today to leak out words of truth and actions of love to a world around us that is desperately in need. 

Do you ever wish that you could be more courageous in sharing your faith? On this episode of Godly Goosebumps, Pastor Dudley shares a sobering conversation he facilitated at Shepherd Church with special guests Kenneth Bae and Jieun Baek. Their dialogue sheds light on the unfathomable oppression being endured at the hands of the North Korean regime, under which followers of Jesus are threatened with labor camps and even public executions. This episode will embolden you with a powerful promise found in the Word of God: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid” (Timothy 1:7a).

Nancy Yearout's connection to Source Energy is strong, and her mission is to help lift humanity to a new vibration of love and connection. Nancy is an Angel Communicator who channels Archangel Gabriel's message for humanity. Her gifts include claircognizance (clear knowing), clairsentience (clear physical feeling), clairsalience (clear smelling), and some clairvoyance (clear seeing). As a light worker she brings forth love and light to the world with my voice and my words of wisdom. She teaches how to connect to Source Energy and to your Guardian Angel. Nancy teaches spiritual law so everyone knows how the universal energy flows. A Guide to Angel Communication was written to inspire humanity to connect back to Spirit/God and the Angelic Realm. We are energetic souls having a human experience, but we have lost our connection to source energy and our friends, the Angels.

Nancy Yearout's connection to Source Energy is strong, and her mission is to help lift humanity to a new vibration of love and connection. Nancy is an Angel Communicator who channels Archangel Gabriel's message for humanity. Her gifts include claircognizance (clear knowing), clairsentience (clear physical feeling), clairsalience (clear smelling), and some clairvoyance (clear seeing). As a light worker she brings forth love and light to the world with my voice and my words of wisdom. She teaches how to connect to Source Energy and to your Guardian Angel. Nancy teaches spiritual law so everyone knows how the universal energy flows. A Guide to Angel Communication was written to inspire humanity to connect back to Spirit/God and the Angelic Realm. We are energetic souls having a human experience, but we have lost our connection to source energy and our friends, the Angels.

Ellen Kohn has been communicating with animals since childhood. She has Healing Touch, Reiki and Meridian certifications.   In her book, "Be Like the Wind" we learn that the horses observe and feel the anger of the human race and guide us to the find the spiriutal light and to use the tools for guidance. The three horses collaborate and bring forth divine law and remind us that nothing is random. There is an Equine Council of Elders fromed by highly ascended beings who have spent many lifetimes as a horse. Fasincating book!  You can visit Ellen on her website EnlightenedAnimals.com. My new book, "A Guide to Angel Communication and Spiritual Laws" was released on December 1st in the U.S. I hope enjoy reading about the angels and learning to connect with Spirit/God and the Angelic Realm. https://www.nancyyearout.com

This week on the show I am re-releasing a previously-recorded episode on cultivating a Spirit-led holiday season. I hope it is an encouragement to your heart this week!What I Cover on this Episode:~How to go from the holiday season being a stressful, hurried time to one of peace as you are led by the Spirit and walking in step with Him~Listening to God rather than man this holiday season~Prayer as the first step in walking by the Spirit ~God's desire to be our help this Christmas~The importance of considering only the glory of God, the unique needs and desires of your own family, and the good of others in your community whom you could minister to this season when deciding what to plan for your holidays this year~Getting in the Word as the second step in walking by the Spirit~Reading the Word and being in prayer as being the only surefire ways we can go about assessing our true priorities and responsibilities this season~Reading the OT Messianic prophecies as a great way to grow our Christmas spirit this season~Priotizing what makes Christmas special for our own unique families and letting everything else go~The importance of staying in our own lane this Christmas ~What our mission this Christmas is - and what it isn't~7 steps for walking by the Spirit in the midst of family disagreements during holiday get-togethers ~The importance of being teachable and the power of humility, love, and kindness when seeking to win hearts to Christ Beyond the Boxes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Quotes to Remember:“So many of us are used to the holiday season being a time of stress, extreme busyness, and overwhelm. We wonder how any other option would be possible. How would we put an end to the stress and overwhelm of the season? The answer comes neither through just getting a good planner or simply not filling December's calendar with anything at all. There is only one sure-fire way to reach this goal, and that is by listening to the Lord rather than man during the holiday season.”“The first step in cultivating a Spirit-led holiday season is taking time for prayer. Instead of scouring Pinterest for the best Christmas ideas or seeking the advice of Google's experts on how to have a peaceful season, there is truly one answer to the restlessness faced by many of us this time of year: to walk by the Spirit, communing with the Lord in prayer and listening for His answers.”“The truth is that our loving, compassionate Father God is intimately intimately involved in our daily lives, even down to the most minute of details, and He wants to be our help today and everyday. So as we are in the busiest time of the year, we can get our holiday season off to a great start by seeking the Lord's wisdom and direction for the weeks ahead.”“Only consider the glory of God, the unique needs and desires of your own family, and the good of others in your community whom you could minister to this season when deciding what to plan for your holidays this year. In other words, do not worry about impressing others, stuffing the calendar, scouring Pinterest tirelessly, or trying to top everyone else's Christmas plans. Instead, walk by the Spirit.”“The second step is to get in the Word. I'm not talking about devotional books or Bible studies. Those are great, and they do serve a purpose. But we have more important business to attend to first - and that is that we need to dig our noses deep into the actual Word of God itself. Reading the Word and being in prayer are the only surefire ways we can go about assessing our true priorities and responsibilities this season.”Thanks for reading Beyond the Boxes! This post is public so feel free to share it.“Reminding yourself of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament is a great way to grow your Christmas spirit this season. Discover the hope, joy, peace, and love that are brought to us by the long-awaited fulfillment of those prophecies. Read of Elizabeth's joy, Mary's praise, the shepherds' amazement, the wise mens' gifts. Think on the actual reason for the beautiful Christmas holiday. Doing so can go a long way towards being able to exchange a hurried and harried, overly busy, stressed out, overwhelming holiday season for a more restful, joyful, peaceful, purposeful, and Spirit-filled one.”“To cut down on the stress and overwhelm and yet still cultivate a truly meaningful Christmas, ask your family what events or practices mean the most to them. If you prioritize those things and let everything else go, your holiday will become both more peaceful and more special.”“Stay in your own lane. God never once called us to be cookie-cutter versions of one another. And He doesn't want us to run ourselves ragged attempting to imitate each other. He has only ever called us to imitate Him. So, it doesn't matter what other women are doing this Christmas. Do what He has called you to do.”“Our mission this Christmas is not to impress our neighbors or do all the things. It is to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, to commemorate and remember the incarnation of Christ and the implications of that incarnation, and to love our families and others around us really well. In doing so, we point them to Christ - and that is what this season is all about.”“If you want to be a breath of fresh air this holiday season, if you want to truly walk by the Spirit when dealing with extended family members with whom you disagree, you are going to have to purpose to be - by God's strength - slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to become angry.”“Snark and sarcasm are not fruits of the Spirit. It is love, humility, and kindness that change hearts and inspire repentance.”Beyond the Boxes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Beyond the Boxes at rebekahhargraves.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Kids Ministry and Leadership Podcast. This month we are looking at 7 Leadership Quotes that have inspired me recently and how they can help you in your day to day.Show notes for this ep will be below.Check us out!WebsiteInstagram 1. In a room of charisma, be a voice of wisdomKey Point: Charisma often draws attention, but wisdom sustains influence.Scripture:Proverbs 3:13-18:Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.………………………………………2. God doesn't give me my miracle to make my present more comfortable but to make my future possibleKey Point: Miracles serve a greater purpose beyond immediate comfort.Scripture:John 9:3: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.……………………………………3. No authenticity without credibility, but no credibility without accountabilityKey Point: Accountability forms the foundation for both credibility and authenticity.Scripture:Proverbs 27:17: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.Hebrews 13:17: Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account.………………………………………4. The frustration of doing nothing will overcome the fear of failureKey Point: Fear of inaction becomes greater than fear of failure over time.=Scripture:Matthew 25:25-26: (The Parable of the Talents) "So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground... ‘You wicked, lazy servant!"2 Timothy 1:7: For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.………………………………………5. PRESSURE built the PACE that caused PARTIAL ATTENTIONKey Point: Pressure can create a pace that compromises focus.Scripture:Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Psalm 46:10: Be still, and know that I am God.………………………………………6. What you do know about God has to be greater than what you don't know about the futureKey Point: Faith in God's character should outweigh fear of the unknown.Scripture:Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.………………………………………7. Success is succeeding the intentionKey Point: True success is about fulfilling the original purpose.Scripture:Matthew 25:23: Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work at it with al

Visit donate.accessmore.com to give to help fund more episodes and shows like this. Today's conversation on Back Porch Theology is going to be a huge helping of gratitude. Whether or not you practice the traditional American holiday called “Thanksgiving” which takes place this week – it's always celebrated on the last Thursday in November - I believe image bearers the world over can benefit from a generous serving of gratitude on a regular basis. In fact, there are multiple secular, scientific studies proving that gratitude – that is when we are intentionally thankful for something or someone – has physiological benefits like improved sleep, digestion, and cardiovascular wellness, as well as psychological benefits like decreased stress and an increased sense of overall well-being. Case in point, my road manager, Sharon, and I have come up with a simple game when we're traveling and one of us notices that the other one is being especially grumpy or negative. We call it the “Stop and Give Me Ten” game - and I assure you that in spite of the title, it has nothing to do with push-ups. Frankly, if I attempted ten push-ups in a row right now it's quite possible I'd break my nose after collapsing to the floor. The “ten” in the title of our game refers to all the fingers on two hands worth of things we're grateful for. Recently, after a long day of delayed flights we got to our destination airport only to discover that the car rental company had given away the SUV we'd confirmed and they only had compact cars left. So, after breaking a nail trying to cram all our luggage and several boxes of books into a two-door designed for petite people, I climbed into the passenger's seat with a huff. Then I began to complain about all the inconveniences we'd endured thus far that day - the unappetizing yet overpriced airport food, how particularly rude our gate agent had been, how both men I'd sat next to on our flights were armrest hogs.After listening to my whiney chorus for a few minutes, Sharon turned to face me and said: STOP AND GIVE ME TEN! I stopped - partly because she was driving in Dallas traffic and I was afraid she was going to rear-end the car in front of us - but then Holy Spirit poked my fault-finding heart into a real pause and after a moment I held up both hands and counted off all ten fingers in quick succession:• I'm thankful our flights were only delayed instead of cancelled• I'm thankful we're in a car instead of on foot• I'm thankful I make enough money on the road to pay my mortgage• I'm thankful I get to see women launch themselves into the arms of Jesus for the first time almost every weekend• I'm thankful I got to make it home in time to be with Dad before he passed away• I'm thankful for Missy's physical health• I'm thankful I have family and friends who've experienced my plethora of shortcomings and yet still love me• I'm thankful our God's faithfulness doesn't wane when I'm being such a weenie baby• I'm thankful I wore stretchy pants today instead of stiff jeans• I'm thankful we're staying at a decent hotel tonightAnd it's amazing how just 36 seconds of practicing gratitude totally changed my mood. I went from Eeyore to Tigger in less than a minute!I know it's a much more serious thing to practice gratitude when your husband walks away, your loved one dies, your cancer returns, or your company's downsized. But I promise – more importantly – God promises in His Word that extending past the trouble of life to reach for the truth of His abiding peace, unconditional love, and transformative joy is worth the stretch. Thanksgiving is a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit God that I like to imagine like...

Before we go into Thanksgiving week, Mark wanted to read all of the open browser tabs he's had open for months on his computer. He had no idea it drives Amber so crazy to see open tabs in his browser, but here they are! The CDC planned Covid internment camps for you: https://brownstone.org/articles/the-cdc-planned-quarantine-camps-nationwide/ College enrollments are down: https://amgreatness.com/2024/10/24/report-college-enrollments-on-the-decline-as-americans-reject-higher-education/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=act_eng&seyid=29498 Witches are bigly mad because they can't cast spells on Trump: https://www.infowars.com/posts/reddit-witches-trying-to-cast-spells-on-trump-upset-he-has-some-kind-of-protection-around-him Biden's child abduction schemes exposed: https://www.infowars.com/posts/biden-regime-plots-child-abduction-scheme-to-remove-gender-dysphoric-lgbtqiaap2s-minors-from-non-affirming-homes FEMA prioritizes all the wrong things: https://www.infowars.com/posts/watch-fema-employees-claim-lgbtqia-people-should-be-agencys-priority-in-a-disaster Toyota decides to start making cars again: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/toyota-follows-growing-trend-companies-halting-dei-policies-initiatives Homeless crossdresser in Ohio tries to abduct boy from his front yard: https://www.infowars.com/posts/homeless-crossdresser-arrested-for-attempting-to-abduct-11-year-old-boy-in-front-yard The Human Rights Campaign is in full panic mode: https://www.infowars.com/posts/major-corporations-are-ditching-annual-pro-lgbtqiaap2s-report-card-amid-increasing-dei-backlash Biden has been trying to protect child porn at the UN: https://www.infowars.com/posts/bidens-un-reps-pushing-for-exceptions-in-treaty-criminalizing-child-pornography-talkshow-hosts-ask 2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Visit our website—> www.fearlessfeatures.org Subscribe to our newsletter and emails! —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/newsletter Share your support with a tax-deductible gift—> igfn.us/form/-yFw_w Shop the Fearless Store —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/shop

The Lord has answered our prayers, Believer! It's time to praise Him for his amazing grace, his protection, his love for his people - and to get re-focused and get back to work! America, America - God has shed his grace on Thee! 2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Visit our website—> www.fearlessfeatures.org Subscribe to our newsletter and emails! —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/newsletter Share your support with a tax-deductible gift—> igfn.us/form/-yFw_w Shop the Fearless Store —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/shop

"Called, Commissioned, and Confirmed: Your License for Ministry." Apostle Suzanne M Howard 2 Timothy 1:6-7 - "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."

No Longer a Slave Galatians 4.1-11 by William Klock We didn't go to the theatre to see very many movies when I was a kid, so when Star Wars came out, it seemed like all my friends saw it before I did.  I had Luke Skywalker and C3PO action figures before I'd even seen the movie.  My best friend, Derigan, tried to fill me in and gave me a sort of point by point run-down of the plot leading up to Luke shooting his torpedo into the thermal exhaust port and blowing up the Death Star.  He got all excited at that point, jumping up, throwing up his hands, and making a big explosion sound.  His plot summary didn't really do anything to get me excited—probably because he was five and it wasn't a very good plot summary.  I was just excited to see Star Wars because everyone who saw it was so excited about it.  But when I finally did get to see it, oh wow!  People in the theatre cheered when the Death Star blew up.  Actually watching the story unfold was thrilling in a way a point-by-point plot summary never could be. The creed we just recited is—a bit—like my friend Derigan's point by point plot summary of Star Wars.  The bishops and other important people of the church got together in AD 325 and hammered out these key points.  They obviously did a better job than a council of five-year-olds could ever have done and it has served the church well for seventeen hundred years as a statement of biblical faith and a bulwark against heresy.  But it's not very exciting.  I've never heard of anyone hearing the Creed and getting so excited about it that they decided then and there to become a Christian.  And that's because the story has been filtered out of it.  The really exciting part is there: The son of God became man, was crucified for our sake, rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven.  Those words “in accordance with the scriptures” hint that there's more to the story.  But boy, “I believe in the Holy Spirit…who proceeds from the Father and Son…who spoke through the prophets”.  As much as all the points are true, it's not even a plot summary—they stripped the story right out.  It's all true, but it's not like seeing the actual movie—or in this case hearing that great, ages-spanning story hinted at by those five little words “in accordance with the scriptures”.  Because we've often left the creed to stand by itself, some people have even got the idea that these key plot points, like the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, and the sending of the Holy Spirit, were all later doctrines made up by the church fathers. We'll be looking at the first half of Galatians 4 this morning, and Brothers and Sisters, it's all here—in the first of Paul's letters, which makes it very likely the very earliest part of the New Testament to be written.  And it's all here: God's son, born of Mary who died and rose again and the Holy Spirit, too.  It's stated just as clearly as it was by later men like Athanasius or Basil the Great.  But here it's part of the great story Paul is always telling, always drawing on, that's always there underlying, supporting, and giving shape to his arguments.  The story that makes sense of it all.  Without it Jesus' death and resurrection are an awesome special effect like the Death Star exploding, but we won't know why it's important.  Without the story there's no reason to stand up and cheer. So Paul closed Galatians 3, telling us that if we've been baptised into the Messiah, we've put him on.  He's now our identity.  There's no longer Jew or Greek or slave or free or man or woman—God, through Jesus the Messiah, has just one and only one people.  And he said, “If you belong to the Messiah, you are Abraham's family.  You stand to inherit the promise.”  These agitators who had infiltrated the Galatian churches were saying that you basically had to first become a Jew to become a Christian and Paul's saying, “No.  Jesus has fulfilled the promises made to Abraham and to his family.  If, by faith, you belong to him you are part of that family and an heir of God's promise.  There's nothing you can add to it.”  So now Paul continues in Chapter 4 running along with this metaphor of the heir and the inheritance: Let me put it like this.  As long as the heir—remember how Paul's been talking about promises and wills and inheritances—As long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave—even if, in fact, he is master of everything.  He is kept under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father.   “As long as the heir is a slave…”  That's the cue—especially that word “slave”—that's the cue that Paul is telling an exodus story.  We might miss it, but people in Paul's world were shaped by Passover and the other Jewish festivals that came out of their exodus from Egypt.  And hearing Paul talk of slaves, they knew he was now moving from the story of Abraham to the story of Israel's exodus and exile and their hope of rescue. It's really important that we understand the story the Jews of Paul's day saw themselves in.  In Deuteronomy—the last book of the torah—the Lord had promise that if his people were unfaithful, that if they worshipped other gods, he would exile them—that they would find themselves slaves—as they had been in Egypt—slaves to the pagans and their gods of wood and stone.  And that's just what happened.  The people were unfaithful, they were idolatrous, their kings were evil and the Lord raised up Babylon to conquer them and to carry them off into exile.  Eventually the Babylonians were, in turn, conquered by the Persians and the Persians allowed the Jews to return to Judea, but nothing was ever the same as it had been.  They rebuilt the temple, but the Lord's presence never returned to it.  They continued to live under the rule of foreign pagans and their gods.  In Paul's day Rome just the latest in that long line.  And so, they concluded, the exile had never really ended.  Israel was still living under the curses of Deuteronomy 27.  But that also meant they had hope, because Deuteronomy 30—and the prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel—promised a new exodus, a return from exile—when God would set everything to rights.  This is what inspired the zeal of the Pharisees.  They tried to bring the holiness of the temple and priesthood into the home and into everyday life.  If all Israel would keep the law in full for just a single day, one later rabbi wrote, the Lord would finally come to deliver his people. Paul puts this story of exile and exodus in terms of a child with a great promised inheritance.  His father has appointed a time when his son will receive his inheritance, but until then he lives under guardians and stewards—remember the “babysitter” in Chapter 3?—which leaves him no better off than a slave—even though he is, as Paul puts it, “master of everything”.  This is exactly how many of Paul's fellow Jews saw things.  It's how the author of the Wisdom of Solomon, it's how the Jewish philosopher Philo saw Israel's situation in their own day.  Abraham's children had been promised the world, but they were slaves of Caesar and it was Caesar who was instead and to their great consternations “master of everything”.  They awaited their inheritance. So Paul goes on in verse 3: It's like this with us.  When we were children, we were kept in “slavery” under the “elements of the world”.   Paul says “we”—that means he and his fellow Jews—were promised the world, but they were still children.  Paul set this up in Chapter 3 when he wrote about torah being like a babysitter given to keep Israel out of trouble until God was ready to reveal his faithfulness in the Messiah.  Paul now takes that metaphor and turns it into another.  Being a child under torah is like being a slave.  The Jews knew what that meant all too well.  Paul says, slaves “under the elements of the world”. Now this phrase “under the elements of the world” is really difficult to parse out if we aren't familiar with how people thought in Paul's day.  I think Paul is deliberately using language that works on two levels at the same time.  First, the Greek word Paul uses for “elements” usually refers to the elements that make up creation.  Think of the periodic table we learned in chemistry.  Everything in creation is made up, in one way or another, of those 103 elements.  For the ancients it was much simpler, albeit a bit more mystical.  They had four elements: earth, air, water, and fire.  The Jews knew that these elements were created by God and subject to him, but the pagans worshipped them and made idols out of them and Deuteronomy had promised that if Israel were unfaithful they would be scattered amongst the people and forced to serve those gods of wood and stone.  That's exactly what had happened and it was exactly what was still happening.  The covenant curses of torah had subjected them to “the elements of the world”. But I think Paul is also comparing Israel's situation under torah—under the law—to a sort of medical diagnosis.  People, too, were thought to be composed of these elements—earth, air, fire, and water—and if you were sick—and that could be physically or morally sick—it was because these elements were out of balance.  You'd see a doctor, he'd determine how your elements were out of balance, and he'd give you some course of treatment.  Interestingly enough, the Greek word for that treatment is the same as the word for law—nomos—and this law would then serve as a paidagogos—the “babysitter” Paul mentioned in Chapter 3—to lead you back to health.  So disordered elements are treated by a law that takes on the role of a babysitter.  In other words, what Paul is saying is that people—the whole human race—is sick, morally sick.  These false teachers that showed up in Galatia have been acting like quack doctors, telling the people that to get themselves in order they need to follow the Jewish law and, like a babysitter it will nurse them back to health.  And Paul's saying that, no, it won't work.  It never did.  We've been trying it for centuries and the best the law, the best that torah can do is hold the sickness at bay.  Becuase, in fact, that's all it was ever intended to do. Even then—like a virus slipping through the masks and social distancing—Israel was still sick, incurred the curses of the covenant, and found herself subject to the pagans and their gods of wood and stone.  And the gentiles, those pagans, they didn't even have the law.  They openly and shamelessly worshipped the elements and in abusing the stuff of creation they threw creation out of whack.  Torah promised life, but it could not bring it on its own and these false teachers were wrong to turn back to it.  Paul's been stressing: God has done what torah never could.  He's given his Son and sent his Spirit.  Torah, the law, was a thing of the old evil age—a good thing given by God for that time, but still something for the old evil age—but in Jesus and the Spirit God has inaugurated the age to come.  Look at verse 4: But when the fullness of time arrived, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.   Paul's been reminding us of the original exodus from Egypt, when God rescued his people from a land full of idols so that they could live with him in their midst, so that they could worship and serve him.  And he's been telling that story so that here, as he tells us about the new exodus, we hear the old one echoing behind it.  When the fullness of time arrived, he writes.  It's a reminder that Jesus is part of this bigger story—as the creed reminds us when it says “in accordance with the scriptures”.  God was moving history and the world and his people to this one point in time.  We saw last time, this is what the law, torah, was meant to do: to bring Israel to the point where the Messiah could do his work.  But now that that work is done, we have to move forward into the messianic age.  There's no going back. And so, Paul says, God sent his Son.  In the Jewish thought world the king—especially the promised and long-awaited Davidic king—was the son of God.  In the Wisdom of Solomon, which Paul probably would have been familiar with, King Solomon uses this kind of language to pray for God to send forth his wisdom “that she may labour at my side, and that I may learn what is pleasing to you”.  The idea was that the king wasn't just working using God's instructions, but that the King actually embodied, in his thought and action, the personal presence and power of the creator God—like David, a man after God's own heart.  For Paul to refer to the Messiah as the Son of God is to declare him to be both the promised King—that's what “Messiah” means—and the embodiment of God's wisdom—sort of God's second self through whom the world was made.  In other words two things are happening in Jesus.  First, he is the prophecy-fulfilling King and, second, in him the God of Israel has finally returned to rescue his people. Too, in saying that God's sent his Son, Paul wants to underscore that Jesus is God himself.  He wasn't simply a Jew born to Mary whom God adopted and called his son.  That's a perennial heresy as old as the creed that was written to combat it.  No, the Son was sent and that means he existed before he took on human flesh to be born of Mary. And God did all this so that he might redeem—deliver, rescue—his people living under the law.  In other words, to give them the divine medicine for the disease the law had been holding at bay and, in doing so, to fulfil his promises and show his faithfulness and to shine forth his glory—so that—we might receive adoption as sons.  Paul's been talking about “we” and “us” so far meaning “we Jews”, but here I think he now opens it up.  “We” is now the whole church, Jewish and gentiles believers united as one people in the Messiah. Here's how it works.  God's Son is born under the law, in solidarity with and as the representative of his people so that he can give his life, dying the death that they deserved, in order to fulfil the covenant promises that God had made to them.  So that God's sons can truly be God's sons.  The cross and the empty tomb are the supreme display of the faithfulness and glory of the God of Israel and it happens before the eyes of the watching gentiles who have never seen anything like it.  They worship gods of wood and stone, gods who are deaf and dumb, and then in the gospel they are confronted with the living God who not only hears and speaks, but loves, and who fulfils his promises—even going so far as to take on our flesh and to die.  And the gentiles hear this gospel and fall to their knees in faith before the Son, before the Messiah, and the unbelievable happens: God adopts them, and welcomes them into his presence, calls them his sons and daughters, and makes them full members of this royal priesthood.  And even in that he shines forth his glory again as his promise to Abraham to make the nations his inheritance is fulfilled. But it doesn't stop there.  Look at verses 6 and 7: And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, calling out “Abba, Father!”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son!  And, if you are a son, you are an heir, through God.   The point of the exodus was always for God to live in the midst of his people.  He did that in the tabernacle and then the temple under the old covenant, but that was just a signpost pointing to how he would fulfil his promises in the new covenant.  Our being sons of God isn't just a legal status.  It's real.  Just as God sent his Son to lead us, like a new Moses, in this new exodus, he's also sent his Spirit into our hearts and his Spirit now cries out from within us, “Abba—Papa—Father!”  The church as a whole and every individual Christian is made a tabernacle, a temple in which God himself has come to dwell.  Paul's been using the plural “you” so far, but here he drives his point home switching to the singular “you”.  If you are a son, if you are a daughter, you are an heir.  This is the new life to which all of God's promises to Israel and to which the whole story was working.  It can be tempting to think of the Trinity as some dry and technical doctrine, but Paul shows us the Trinity here in three dimensions, in Technicolor, with THX surround sound as he tells the great story.  What that thrilling explosion of the Death Star is to the Star War story when everyone in the theatre cheers, God's sending of his Son and Spirit to make us his sons and daughters is to the great story of God and his people.  It's the climax of the story when everything finally pays off.  The old evil age is finished and God's new creation is born.  We might forget all this when we recite the creed.  I'm not suggesting you all cheer in the middle of the creed, but maybe in your head.  The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Spirit, they're not just dry technical doctrines, they're the culmination of this amazing story of God's love and of his faithfulness and they show forth his great glory.  And they're all right here in Paul's letter, in the very earliest part of the New Testament. We've been set free.  The Spirit, says Paul, crying out in our hearts to God as Father, is the proof that we are no longer slaves to the elements of the world.  This is the medicine that he's given to finally set us to rights.  It's the proof that we are his sons and daughters and heirs of his promise—because in Jesus and the Spirit the inheritance has been dumped right in our laps by God himself.  And yet, somehow, bewilderingly, we forget all of this.  That's what was happening in Galatia.  Paul goes on in verses 8-11: However, at that stage you didn't know God, and so you were enslaved to beings that, in their proper nature, are not gods.  But now that you've come to know God—or, better, to be known by God—how can you turn your back again to that weak and poverty-stricken line-up of elements that you want to serve all over again?  You are observing days, and months, and seasons, and years!  I am afraid for you.  Maybe my hard work with you is going to be wasted.   They're like the Israelites in the wilderness, grumbling to Moses and complaining that they want to go back to Egypt.  Well, sort of.  It's actually worse than that, because to demand the gentile believers be circumcised and start observing the old calendar of the torah—well—that's not so much wanting to go back to Egypt, it's like denying they'd ever been delivered from Egypt in the first place.  Do that, and you're turning away from the living God who gave his Son and sent his Spirit so that you can go back to the “elements”—to the false gods of wood and stone, back into slavery. “No,” he says, “you've come to know God.”  And then Paul pauses and says, “No, better—more accurate—to say ‘to be known by God'.”  To know God is the desire of people everywhere.  To hear God cut through the silence to speak, even if it's just to tell us what he wants of us.  There's a prayer from ancient pagan Sumer that was written on a clay tablet and survived the millennia.  In it a man cried out to the gods to speak.  He was miserable.  Everything in his life was going wrong.  And so he cried out in desperation.  He didn't know what he'd done to offend the gods.  The poor man didn't even know which god he'd offended, which god to cry out to.  His pitiful prayer is the cry of every human heart.  To know God and to find mercy.  And so we do everything we can think of from ascetic disciplines to mystical practises.  We study sacred texts and we pray long and desperate prayers.  And Paul reminds us that none of this leads us to God.  Instead, God has taken the initiative sending his Son and his Spirit.  This is the gospel, this is the good news about Jesus, crucified and risen.  In believing this good news and in knowing the presence and power of God's Spirit, Paul is saying that they (and we) can now say for certain that God knows us and that we know God.  There is no desperate cry to unknown gods.  God's own Spirit cries out within us to our loving and merciful Father.  Just as the nations watched in awe as God delivered Israel from Egypt in the original exodus, so in this new exodus as God sends his Son and his Spirit, the living God has—to quote Isaiah—“bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations.”  He has made himself known in all his great glory. Brothers and Sisters, trust in this good news.  Don't try to add anything to it.  To add anything to it is to deny its power and to go back to the slavery of the old gods.  Trust in Jesus.  Know the Spirit.  And know you are God's son, you are God's daughter, his new creation is born in you, and as we live this life he's given by faith, we witness and proclaim his glory—the power of his holy arm—to the watching world around us. Let us pray: Almighty God, you have fulfilled your promises in knitting your people together into one communion through the death and resurrection of your Son and the gift of your Spirit.  Give us grace that we might be faithful stewards of this good news, holding fast to you by faith alone and showing forth your glory as we live the life of your Spirit.  Amen.

Election Day comes a mix of emotions. Do not despair but focus on the good around you. No matter who is president, Jesus is King!

 Join us as we share an inspiring journey of two everyday men who felt called to do what they could to bring hope to the hurricane-stricken communities of North Carolina. Their story is a powerful reminder that we don't need to wait for a movement to make a difference - we can start now, wherever we are and we each can be part of the journey. Join us for this first hand account, be uplifted and motivated. March on Saints! 2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Visit our website—> www.fearlessfeatures.org Subscribe to our newsletter and emails! —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/newsletter Share your support with a tax-deductible gift—> igfn.us/form/-yFw_w Shop the Fearless Store —> www.fearlessfeatures.org/shop

Sermons from Nick Bonifacio on October 13, 2024

It's dangerous to try to think like God. We can consult His Word, we can pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. We can also spend time around friends who are more spiritually mature than we are and we can do what we can to understand how God is working around us to build the kingdom. It's important for us to think about how God might view something, and increasingly so in relation to news events.What does God's Word say? Ephesians 5:15-2015 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Leviticus 19:35-3635 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. 36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah[a] and an honest hin.[b] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.2 Timothy 1:77 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.1 Peter 5:33 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.Genesis 1:2626 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”1 Corinthians 12:26 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.Episode Links:AGENCY CAPTURE: Purdue at SCOTUS, George Watts v. DoD; Former CDC director acknowledges "Kennedy is right;" Sackler family gets break at Supreme Court, DoD judged to have sovereign immunity.“I'd be good for us to have a Black woman as president for the first time in history. But my vote's kinda still on Trump.”Former ESPN announcer, Sage Steel, breaks down the fear of black republican voters.Florida Baptist church applauds a ballot initiative to legalize weed! Speaker is Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the state's Democratic Party, at a Harris-Walz rally hosted last Saturday at St. John First Missionary Baptist ChurchAlan's Soaps https://www.alansartisansoaps.comUse coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://bioptimizers.com/toddStart your journey to better health with MassZymes. Visit bioptimizers.com/todd today to get your MassZymes 10% off.  Bonefrog https://bonefrogcoffee.com/toddMake Bonefrog Cold Brew at home!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital Bulwark Capital Management (bulwarkcapitalmgmt.com) Learn about Bulwark's strategies with their FREE Common Cents Investing Guide.  Get yours by calling 866-779-RISK or go to KnowYourRiskRadio.com..GreenHaven Interactive   https://greenhaveninteractive.comGet more customers. Dominate Google. Renue Healthcare https://renue.healthcare/toddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit renue.healthcare/Todd

Basic Bible Study | Ezekiel 32-39 (Part 3) This is part 3 of 5 In today's podcast, join Chris and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Ezekiel 32-39. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - the Lord let the Israelites know he cared for them - the Israelites were going to receive the Lord's Spirit - God promised to restore Israel physically & spiritually - Ezekiel visits the land of dry bones - The Lord would reunite the Israelites as one with one leader (Jesus) “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us through e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are we really investing in the next generation or just hoping they'll turn out OK? Let's talk about what it means to fan the flame in their lives. Join Kent this Sunday! EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins. OPENING ILLUSTRATION: I have a bad habit of trying to start a camp fire with as little kindling as possible. I'm the guy that is down there blowing on the tiniest spark possible trying to get it to take - I'll baby a fire for hours trying to get it to ignite. A few years back I was at an event where I was trying to get the fire going - the wood had been a little wet and I had tried my normal of lighting a little cardboard, working it to try and build it up and ignite a full log. I was sitting there getting super frustrated that nothing was igniting and really starting when this older guy came over and said, “what ya doing?” I was mad and told him I was trying to get a fire going. He asked me if he could help. I let him, but internally was fuming. I didn't need any help. He started teaching me about fire, and to be honest, I didn't want to hear anything he was saying. He started talking about how I was never going to get the log lit doing what I was doing. I was like, “Oh yeah, what do you know” in my mind…. :). He started talking about how you have to build a bed of coals first and take it slow and start small to build up to the bigger fire. You ever tried to help a teenager with something they are sure they know how to do already? Lol, that was me with this guy. I was rolling my eyes inside my head as he talked. I'd built so many fires… As he was talking he was breaking off little pieces of wood and trying to get sticks to catch, and slowly adding more little pieces of kindling and getting those to catch and in about 15 minutes he had a full fledged fire going and I was on fire on the inside. Because I realized something about myself. I'm wired for instant gratification… aren't you? -If I have a thought, I instantly look up the answer -If I want to eat, I get food -If I want to buy something, I buy it If I want a fire now, I just want it to work… The problem is, some things still take time and diligence. b I wanted a return with no investment.. I wanted growth with no sacrifice… We've been talking now for a month about “For the Next Generation”… We've been looking at what it takes for us to set up the next generation for success… But can I tell you a secret, Investing in a generation takes, well, investment… I want to show you an example of this in a passage that most of us would probably not spend much time on… Listen to it… This comes at the end of Paul's life. He is in prison and facing death. As far as we know, this was Paul's last letter and he died sometime after this. It is an intimate letter written to Timothy who had traveled with Paul and who Paul left in charge of the church. This is what Paul says to Timothy… Paul is remembering Timothy - he tells him he's in his prayers night and day and that he remember's Timothy's tears - we don't know why there were tears, but Paul and Timmy had the kind of relationship that was intimate and important - it was weighty… Listen to what he says about him… 2 Tim 1:5-7 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ILLUSTRATION: When my dad passed away, we only had 2 of our 4 kids, one of the saddest things to me is that my kids will never really know my dad. They know him through videos and stories, but that's it. But that's not really true, they know my dad because they know me. I have his sense of humor and his laugh, I actually see lots of my dad even in my kids who didn't know him. Why is that? It's because what was in him is now in me… Paul says of Timothy that his sincere faith lived first in his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice… b Timothy's faith was not just a product of his own intellect or desire to follow God, he was a product of people making weighty investments in his life. You might not know this, but Timothy didn't have all the cards stacked in his favor. Timothy's father was not a believer (as far as we can tell) what we are told about him in Acts 16 is that he is a Greek or gentile. We do know that Timothy wasn't circumcised even though his mom was a Jewish woman. In Judaism lineage follows the mother - that means by all rights - for Timothy's mother Eunice - she would have considered Timothy as Jewish. And yet she did not perform the ceremony that would initiate the covenant upon him - it is Paul who does this. Paul also calls Timothy his son in several places. We can only make conjecture about this, but I think there its a reasonable conclusion to say that Timothy's father was at the very least not supportive of the faith he had and the faith of his mother. Timothy needed these three relationships to become the young man of God he was - he needed his grandma, his mother, and Paul (an outside influence). b I keep asking myself, who will be the 3 in the lives of each of the kids in our church? -who will be the ones encouraging them when they are struggling -who will be the ones who have invested in weighty relationships? -who will be the ones who have cared and listened and encouraged? b Who was it for you? Who was the person or persons that you look back on and can see how they made a difference in your faith? The reason Paul can say the next thing to Timothy is because he's earned the right through investing in him… listen: 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Paul can call Timothy to blow on the fire of his faith and giftedness because he had been a part of it… What would it look like for us to invest in the next generation so that we could one day call them to blow on the coal and set the world ablaze for Jesus? b How do we do that? CLOSING ILLUSTRATION: Years ago when I was a youth pastor I was struggling because our youth group would grow and then it would inevitably shrink back down to a certain size no matter what I did. I couldn't figure it out. I took some of my interns and started having them do an informal survey across lots of churches of different sizes. They called these churches and asked them about the size of their church and the size of their youth group. What I found was in general a church's youth group - teenagers was about 15% of the size of the congregation. The bigger the church the smaller the percentage… that's when it hit me… If I wanted to reach more teenagers, I had to reach more adults. I needed to change families, not just kids…. Here's my secret. I never left youth ministry. My goal is to make you all youth ministers. For you to start to see the value of investing in the next generation. How do we do it? We give them our time We treat them like they matter We ask hard questions and call them to more (fan the flame) Who are you investing in? -it's ok if it's your kids or leading a small group or whatever There is a coal underneath all this wood of our church - it's time we start to blow on it and set the world ablaze…

Today, Emma Dotter walks us through Psalm 95 and explores how spiritual disciplines, despite their challenges, can strengthen our faith through reliance on the Holy Spirit.  Additional Scripture Referenced in Today's Podcast: Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 2 Corinthians 7:1, "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 7:15-20, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." John 15:1-8, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." 2 Timothy 1:7, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."  Grab a Join The Journey Journal for Psalms: https://a.co/d/7rt0H3g   Got kids? Check out the Psalms Join The Journey Jr. Journal: https://a.co/d/eYBgvUM   You can also check out the Join The Journey Jr. Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/join-the-journey-junior/id1660089898

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Double-Sided WisdomDevotional: 4 of 5Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. (2 Corinthians 3:4-5)We're in a series exploring five pieces of “double-sided wisdom” we see throughout God's Word. Today we come to the paradoxical couplet of biblical charges to Be Confident AND Stay Humble.The call to confidence is found in passages like 2 Timothy 1:7 which says that “the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power.” But you can hear the flip side of this double-sided wisdom—the call to humility—in passages like Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle.”How do we reconcile these two seemingly conflicting commands? By recognizing that the source of our confidence is the Lord! That's what Paul is telling us in today's passage. His confidence in his work was not sourced in what he thought of himself or what others said about him. His confidence and competence came from God. So it is with you and me. We don't exude confidence at work because we think we're awesome. We're confident because we humbly recognize it is the Awesome God who works in and through us (see Philippians 2:13).So, what does it look like practically to model both confidence and humility in the workplace? Here are three ideas.#1: Set bigger, more God-honoring goals. Christians should be known for setting the biggest goals on the planet. Because we are confident that God is able to do “immeasurably more than we…imagine” through us (Ephesians 3:20). And the bigger our goals, the more we will be humbly driven to our knees, forced to rely on the Lord.#2: Stay confident that you can but humble that you know how. It's one thing to be confident about the vision you think God has called you to at work. It's another thing to be arrogant about how to get that work done. Christians should be set apart in holding the “how” of projects loosely, open to the wisdom God has given to believers and non-believers alike.#3: Boast about your weaknesses. It's become cliche when you're asked in an interview, “What's your greatest weakness?” to reply with a strength disguised as a weakness. But what if you boasted about an actual weakness and pointed out how, despite that fault, God has enabled you to achieve so much in your career? That would preach! And it would be following Paul's example of boasting in weaknesses “so that Christ's power may rest on [you]” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Confidence and humility need not be opposites for the believer. Embody both as God works through you today!

Sharing a conversation with Intuitive Medium and Sound Healer, Rachel Lauren Stone. This is for everyone who has felt like they lost their voice, or never even had it in the first place. Talking about Mediumship, Spiritual Healing, stories of awakening to your own intuitive gifts, sound healing and learning to stand in your own power. From fear of rejection to embracing the magic you were rejected for. Rachel's story can show us to never give up and know when it okay to step away and when it's time to TRY AGAIN! This episode goes into Rachel's upbringing in the Church to finding her own voice and connection to Spirit/God through her journey with healing herself through Energy and Sound Healing and eventually opening up to and embracing her gifts in mediumship. We talk a lot of how Rachel experiences her mediumship gifts and how that might show up in a reading as well as everyday life. And how both of our experiences with Mediumship have connected us to our families and ancestors in ways we didn't expect. Ending the episode with a beautiful sound bath and Reiki healing experience held by Rachel. Followed by a short collective reading from Grace, the Crystals and the Cards. and lots more! enjoy xoxo Angel Face 
Find Rachel on Instagram @Rachellaurenstone https://www.instagram.com/rachellaurenstone On her website https://rachellaurenstone.com and on her podcast; Let's Get Spiritual https://open.spotify.com/show/5NeJSrVg2gvF2paZI99qjG?si=eda9c09b410f4109 
 Listen to her interview with our mutual mentor Lauren Courtney https://open.spotify.com/episode/1n7TivhLK3eTVu292E80nY?si=9a774eafdd204ba9 
 Time Stamps: ​Sound Bath Description: 1:05:14 ​Sound Bath Begins @ 1:10:00 ​Collective Reading with Grace: 1:30:21 
MEET ME IRL for Sound Healing and Yoga in Sebastopol California Sunday August 25 4-6 Get a ticket here: https://www.radiate.studio/workshops 
 and check out Rachel's first coach we mentioned for beautiful sound healing Nicole Rusch https://www.instagram.com/nicole_rutsch 
 Book a private Session with Grace https://www.gracelannon.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spiritualfreakshow/support

I had an exclusive with a mom whose son has been seized by the lie of transgenderism. Deb shares about her son's descent into this lie, which began with pornography. She is facing extremely difficult circumstances, as her son is still mentally and spiritually captured, but she refuses to give in to fear.What does God's Word say?Deuteronomy 6:7-97 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.2 Timothy 1:7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.Ephesians 6:10-1810 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.Alan's Soapshttps://alanssoaps.com/TODDUse coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizershttps://magbreakthrough.com/toddfreeVisit this website to get your 30-capsule bottle of Magnesium Breakthrough for FREE today!  No promo code needed.Bonefroghttps://bonefrogcoffee.com/toddUse code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital Bulwark Capital Management (bulwarkcapitalmgmt.com)Sign up today for Zach's free webinar Thursday July 25th at 3:30pm PDT at KnowYourRiskRadio.com.GreenHaven Interactive Web Marketinghttps://greenhaveninteractive.comNeed more customers for your business? Contact Dave today!Native Pathhttps://nativepathkrill.com/toddGet an ocean of benefits from Antarctic Krill from Native Path.  Renue Healthcarehttps://renue.healthcare/toddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare.  Visit renue.healthcare/Todd