Podcasts about until jesus

Mark 1:2-8 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" - 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  Discussion Questions 1 Who is someone in your life that helped prepare the way for you? (Spiritually, vocationally, relationally, etc.) 2 Humility before Jesus is vital in our allegiance to Jesus. In your current season of life, what situations, moments, or environments challenge your humility before Jesus and your submission to Jesus the most? 3 Until Jesus returns, we are the construction crew that is preparing the way for the King to enter into the city. Think about your areas of influence and impact. In what ways have you done a good job of preparing the way for Jesus to enter into the hearts and lives of those around you? Where are you/have you struggled? 4 "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30 In what ways does this verse speak most deeply to you in your season of life?

Thinking he could be successful without God, Ron experienced failure after failure. From being kicked out of the military, to uncovering an addiction to alcohol, Ron realized his life was spiraling out of control. His life was tract to one place - death. Until Jesus stepped in. Listen in as Ron shares how Jesus changed his life. Want to become a partner

In a follow-up to our first message on a invitation to rest found in Matthew 11:28-30, Pastor Nate Galloway breaks down what it looks like, practically, to take steps toward rest. "Until Jesus is enough, we will never find rest." This powerful statement begs the question: "If Jesus was all you had, would He be enough for you?"

When you close your eyes and picture God, what do you see?When you think about the divine, supreme, immortal, eternal, all powerful, self-existent God who the Bible calls spirit and who by nature is invisible, what do you imagine?Until Jesus becomes not just a religious teacher, but the architect of the universe, the king of the cosmos, your very vision of the divine, Jesus stuff will be a nice idea or an interesting thought, but not the reason that you're alive. Seeing, enjoying, savoring, worshiping, adoring Jesus as God is the Jesus stuff. An obsession with Jesus is the Jesus stuff.You will never live a life surrendered to the Jesus stuff, which is the stuff that you were created for, is the stuff that you long for.We'd love for you to subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to get updates on our latest content and resources that will help more people know Jesus and people know Jesus more.GIVE : We believe that generosity is golden. Freely we have received and so freely we give back to God. If you would like to give to support the work Jesus is doing here please visit: https://www.elevatecc.church/give.Elevate City Church is a Jesus Over Everything Church that launched in the Atlanta Perimeter area on October 4th, 2020.Jesus Over Everything.Give us a follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatecity.church/Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevatecc.churchPodcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3H8BBrEFWxGKsTF8wPSvrn?si=epcQMMrmQIiTpeXEnyxMOQPodcast on itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elevate-city-church/id1536637567Visit our website for more information about who we are as a church and how you can get involved.https://www.elevatecc.church/home

The only thing that can hinder God from working in our lives is our own opposition to it.In this episode, we follow a man who has given up on healing. Alone and forgotten, he sits by the pools of Bethesda, teetering in an awkward space between hope and bitterness. He resigns himself to a life of suffering... Until Jesus shows up and asks him a question: "Do you want to be healed?" Today's Bible verse is John 5:6, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Mere Christians of the BibleDevotional: 1 of 5Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus…I must stay at your house today.”...All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:1-2, 5, 7-9)If you're reading this, chances are you're not a pastor or donor-supported missionary, but a “mere Christian” like me who works as an entrepreneur, barista, or programmer. Today I'm kicking off a new series here on The Word Before Work exploring the lives of some mere Christians in the Bible and what they can teach us about our own work in the present—starting with Zaccheus.After choosing to follow Jesus, modern readers half expect Jesus to call Zaccheus to abandon his “secular” work. But Luke mentions no such calling. Most scholars I've read believe that just as John the Baptist urged the tax collectors he baptized to return to their posts, Jesus likely encouraged Zaccheus to do the same (see Luke 3:12-14). Because as pastor John Piper says, “You don't waste your life by where you work, but how and why.”Believer, as you step into the New Year, trust that “where you work” is exactly where God wants you today. But, like Zacchaeus, ask yourself if God is calling you to re-examine how and why you work.I used to think Zacchaeus was uniquely corrupt. However, according to the Theology of Work Commentary, his actions were likely just “industry standard practice.” Until Jesus opened his eyes, Zacchaeus was blind or indifferent to how his work harmed others. He was “just doing his job.”The lesson for us is clear: Following Jesus as mere Christians requires that we question the conventional wisdom of our workplaces and industries to uncover opportunities for redemption and renewal. Here's a 5-step process to help:Pray for God to reveal how your work might harm others. Identify a common practice in your field worth questioning. Ask why this practice is done this way and what fundamental principles drive it. Evaluate those principles against God's Word. Reimagine the practice with a commitment to God's glory and others' good.Zacchaeus may have done this work alone, but you're more likely to succeed with other believers. Seek out fellow mere Christians inside and outside your field to tackle this together today!

Today, Little Bird wants to sing the PERFECT song for Mary's birthday, and it has to be perfect. So Little Bird worries and frets and gets very anxious that it won't be good enough. Until Jesus shares with her some words of comfort. Sometimes we all need a little break, a little rest. It can be easy to forget that we are enough. “Come to me all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”Podcast friends! Can you draw some pictures to share with us? Can you draw a picture of Jesus holding Little Bird in the palm of his hand? Or a picture of yourself in Jesus' hands? Or even the whole world in Jesus' hands? What else do you imagine could fit in Jesus' hands? Draw that too and share it with us! Email your drawings to info@stpaulqc.org or share it on our social media pages!

Do you know what the most significant event in history is? It's not the discovery of America or the invention of the iPhone. It's Jesus' death on the cross. As Pastor Mark teaches in today's message, Jesus' death had cosmic importance. It changed the course of history and impacted everyone who lived and ever will live. Until Jesus' death, there was no way to get rid of the problem of sin. Animal sacrifices were only a temporary covering for sins. But Jesus died once and for all sins - past, present, and future sins. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, there's nothing you have to do to earn salvation. Jesus already did everything for you! 

The freedoms we enjoy and the country we love are in jeopardy. As Christians, we're to make a difference. If our voices are not heard, and our votes are not counted, then every evil and worldly philosophy will fill the vacuum. But what if you don't like the candidates or their policies? Or you're unsure of whether Christians should be political? Our guest will offer powerful biblical perspectives on those questions and more. Until Jesus returns, our calling is to be salt and light to a decaying culture. To do so isn't political but biblical. To vote is not only a right but a duty-because Christ alone is the answer for the soul of America. Join us for a timely conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Sunday we will continue to root ourselves in Ephesians 4:1-16 as we look at the calling on the church in this world. We live in the tension of the already/not yet nature of Christ's work and Kingdom. Until Jesus returns, He moves through His people to reach people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. So, we get to be part of that work! It's not always easy, though. Following Jesus doesn't give us a free pass to Heaven or a chance to skip over the suffering, struggle, or temptation of the world we live in. Ephesians 4:15-16 give us an idea of the contrast between immaturity and maturity in Christ. It's a timely passage for us. 

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. — 1 Corinthians 15:20 Do you ever use euphemisms? Euphemisms are nice-sounding phrases that we use to talk about something harsh or difficult. For example, we may say “golden years” rather than “old age.” And many cultures describe dying in terms of “passing away.” Paul describes Christians who have died as being “asleep in Christ.” The ancient Hebrews commonly used “sleep” as a euphemism for death. The accounts of Israel's kings often end by saying “he slept with his fathers” or “rested with his ancestors” (see 1 Kings 2:10). In our reading for today, Paul uses “sleep” several times to describe death. And he does this in a new way in connection with believing in Christ. Apparently some people in the church at Corinth were questioning whether God had truly raised Jesus from the dead. But of course God has done that, Paul says, adding that if God didn't raise Jesus, then his followers would be the most pitiable of all people. Indeed, Jesus is risen! And, as Paul describes it here, all who have died believing in Jesus are merely “asleep” in him. Because of Jesus' victory over sin and the grave, death has been conquered. Paul describes death as “sleep” because death has been defeated! Until Jesus returns, we will all die, but through his death and resurrection we have all been made alive in him. And one day he will raise our bodies again to live with him forever. Thank you, Jesus, for conquering death so that we can live with you—body and soul—forever. Amen.

The only thing that can hinder God from working in our lives is our own opposition to it. In this episode, we follow a man who has given up on healing. Alone and forgotten, he sits by the pools of Bethesda, teetering in an awkward space between hope and bitterness. He resigns himself to a life of suffering... Until Jesus shows up and asks him a question: "Do you want to be healed?"  Today's Bible verse is John 5:6 from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many years, Kim Hughes of our Fairhope community lived a try-harder lifestyle in which the effort she put forth was equal to the emptiness she felt. Half-commitments to the Lord left her striving for comfort in worldly things.   But when He shook up her plans and pursued her heart, Kim finally found herself pursuing Him in return—and also the rich relationship she'd missed out on.   In this episode, you will learn:   – When you receive His grace instead of trying to earn it, you walk closer to Jesus.   – If the Lord has removed you from your comfort zone, pay attention to what His purpose is in your life.   – Until Jesus is enough, nothing ever will be.   Attend a StoryTellers Live gathering!   Give to StoryTellers Live Access more content and become a Patreon Insider

Talk 25   Mark 8:27-38   The Challenge of the Cross Welcome to Talk 25 in our series on Mark's Gospel. If you listened to my Easter Sunday message recently (which was not part of this series), you will remember that we concentrated our attention on the repeated emphasis on the use of the word must in connection with Jesus' death and resurrection.  One of the verses we referred to is found in today's passage: 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. We saw that it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and to die and to rise again because that was the only way we could be saved. But in today's passage we see that this was clearly something the disciples, especially Peter, didn't want to hear. Nevertheless, Jesus went on to insist that not only was it necessary for him to suffer and die, but that if anyone wanted to follow him, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow him (v34). This presented an enormous challenge to his disciples then, and, if we take Jesus' words seriously, it is equally challenging for us today. In this passage we see three challenges: ·      The challenge of confessing who Jesus really is (27-30) ·      The challenge of acknowledging that his death was necessary (31-33) ·      The challenge of taking up our cross and following him (34-38).   The challenge of confessing who Jesus really is (27-30) 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" 28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. The important thing here is not what other people – your parents, your brothers and sisters, your friends – say about Jesus. What matters is what you say. And notice that the word is say, not think. Of course, what we say will be affected by what we think, but if we believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be, it's important that we say so. Paul tells us that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Of course, Peter had not yet come to understand these things, but by divine revelation (see Matthew 16:17) he had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and was not afraid to say so. Others might see Jesus as an outspoken preacher like John the Baptist, or as a powerful miracle worker like Elijah, or as just another prophet or religious leader, but salvation depends on the acknowledgement and confession that JESUS IS LORD. But, as the next few verses make clear, Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that Peter and the other disciples were expecting. They were certainly not expecting a Messiah who would suffer and die. The challenge of acknowledging that his death was necessary (31-33) 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." The disciples would have understood that the Son of Man was a title used for the Messiah in Daniel 7:13-14. And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is and everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. This was almost certainly the kind of Messiah they would have been expecting, and Jesus' claims that as the Son of Man he had authority on earth to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and to be Lord of the Sabbath (2:28) would undoubtedly have backed up their conviction. And later in today's passage Jesus uses the title in connection with his coming in his Father's glory with the holy angels (v38), a theme which he repeats in 13:26 and 14:62. So their expectation was not entirely wrong. But it was only half the story. Jesus now had to teach them that certain things had to happen first. The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed. We should not be surprised at Peter's reaction. Surely suffering and rejection and death could not possibly be the role of the Messiah? But in fact they were not only possible. They were essential. The Son of Man must suffer… And Jesus not only rebukes Peter strongly for remonstrating with him, but he repeats the message again and again in chapters 9 and 10 (Mark 9:12, 31; 10:33, 45). But why was his suffering necessary? Why must he die? Because this was the only way that we could be saved. He died for our sins. He died in our place. He took the punishment our sins deserved. He died, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of Heaven and let us in. To be saved we must acknowledge that his death was necessary. Our pride holds us back. Human wisdom rejects the message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). We hesitate to admit that it was our shortcomings that made it so. But there was, there is, no other way. The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), for me, for you, and if it were not so, would the Messiah have allowed himself to be crucified? The challenge faces every man and woman, every boy and girl. The challenge must be faced, and it must be embraced. To be saved I must accept the fact that Jesus died for me. The challenge of taking up our cross and following him (34-38).   34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Having begun to teach his disciples that it was necessary for him to suffer and die and rise again, Jesus now includes the crowd. What he is about to say applies to everyone. Notice the use of the words anyone and everyone. There can be no exceptions. Acknowledge Christ and be saved or deny Christ and perish. The way of the cross is inevitable, not only for Christ, but for all who will follow him. If he must suffer, then we must expect to suffer too. We must take up our cross and follow him. Peter, from whom Mark probably obtained most of the material for writing his Gospel, writing to Christian slaves who were being unjustly punished, reminded them of the suffering of Christ and told them: To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21). If the opponents of Christ treated him unfairly, we must not be surprised if they treat us unfairly too. But Jesus said that whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Throughout the world today there are thousands who are losing their lives because of their faith in Christ. But suffering for the cause of Christ must not be confused with the things we suffer along with the rest of humanity. By no means all that Christians suffer is caused by persecution. Most of our suffering is caused by the fact that we're living in a fallen universe. In Romans 8 Paul tells us that, ever since the Fall, creation has been in bondage to decay and has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (vv21-22). But our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (v18). Meanwhile we are still eagerly waiting for the redemption of our bodies (v23). So suffering is inevitable. We are not exempt from it. Until Jesus returns we suffer along with the rest of humanity. The difference is that we Christians have hope. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. So suffering along with the rest of humanity because we're all living in a fallen universe is not the same as suffering for the sake of Christ. It is not taking up our cross to follow Jesus. Yet this is required of every Christian. Jesus says, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. This will mean different things for different people, but if I am not denying myself and actively choosing to make sacrifices for the cause of Christ, can I really call myself a Christian? This choosing to deny ourselves and to live a sacrificial life for Christ is a practical demonstration of what is known as our identification with Christ. When we first came to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, believing that he died in our place, God counted Jesus' death as our death, and we too were accepting his death as our death. That's why Paul could say that we died with Christ, we were crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, made alive with Christ and raised with Christ. In short, we are identified with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. With this in mind, let's compare verse 31 with verses 34-35. First Jesus teaches them that he, the Son of Man, must suffer many things and be rejected … and that he must be killed and … rise again. Then he says that as his followers his disciples must expect the same: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.   The pattern is the same. Rejection and suffering, followed by resurrection and reward. But of course, we don't want to suffer. We don't want to be rejected. But neither did Jesus. Hear him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:38-39). Taking up one's cross means saying this daily. Not what I want, but what you want.  Jesus didn't want to suffer and die, but he chose the way of the cross, and so must we. But of course, the cross was not the end of the story. He rose again, and so, says Jesus, will we. What a wonderful promise to all who will accept him, but how serious a warning to those who reject him: If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels (v38) And then he will reward each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27). And in Matthew 10 he says: 32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. …38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The choice is ours. And the consequences of that choice are eternal. What choice will you make? Will you accept the challenge of confessing who Jesus really is? Will you acknowledge that his death was necessary for you? Will you take up your cross and follow Jesus?

Tara got sucked into New Age spirituality after her best friend suffered a horrific death. Tarot cards, pendulums, law of attraction, chakras, crystals, yoga, mediums - she did it all. Until Jesus.     Tara was consulting with the ‘spirit of her best friend' on a daily basis for over 9 years… or so she thought. It turns out, this was actually a demon that had been capitalizing on her trauma and wreaking havoc on her life all along.     She speaks to her sanctification and deliverance only made possible in the name of Jesus.     Tara's Instagram: @tnann     –     SUBSCRIBE TO HEAVEN & HEALING PODCAST TO WATCH A NEW TESTIMONY FROM THE AUDIENCE EVERY TUESDAY OF 2024 AND JOIN HOST OF HEAVEN & HEALING PODCAST, ANGELA SCAFIDI, FOR WEEKLY LIVESTREAMS HERE ON THE CHANNEL EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT @ 8 PM CENTRAL     –     Ways to Support the Show:    

Psalm 8:3–6 (ESV) When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,DISTINCT: recognizably different from the groupGenesis 1:24 (ESV) And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds…Genesis 2:7 (ESV) then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.Genesis 1:26 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”Adam was an Apostle: representative, messenger, colonizer on behalf of his kingdomAdam was an Exile: because he's away from the kingdom of his citizenshipREALITY: Adam Failed As An Apostilic ExileInstead of representing, delivering the message or colonizing he was flipped and surrendered his citizenshipGenesis 3:23–24 (ESV) therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.As Adam was exiled, many of his distinctions were silenced, through the generations some of his distinctions were fanned into flame. Glimmers. Shadows. Reflections. Until Jesus… and with His coming, our roles as Apostolic Exiles has been reestablished.DISTINCTION REVISITED: HIS SPIRIT WITHIN, HIS PRESENCE WITHOUTADAM/SPIRIT - Genesis 2:7 (ESV) then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.REVISITED: Acts 2:1–4 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.ADAM/PRESENCE - Genesis 3:8 (ESV) And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.REVISITED: Hebrews 13:5 (ESV) …for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”DISTINCTION REVISITED: HIS CALLING, AUTHORITY & POWERADAM: Genesis 1:26–28 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”REVISITED: Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.DISTINCTION REVISITED: SUPERNATURAL RELATIONSHIPSADAM - Genesis 2:20–24 (ESV) The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.REVISITED John 17:20–23 (ESV) “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.DISTINCTION REVISITED: SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCEADAM - Genesis 1:31 (ESV) And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.REVISITED John 14:12–14 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Until Jesus comes back, we have a calling and we have work to do.

Until Jesus comes back, we have a calling and we have work to do.

Our daughter was driving through town with our four-year-old grandson in the back seat. As she passed a local senior housing facility, she said, "Honey, that's where my grandfather lived until he died." At that point, our four-year-old jumped in with a respectful correction of his Mommy's choice of words. "Until Jesus called him home," he said. There was a pause - and then our grandson added - "Someday Jesus will call me home, too." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Beyond Your Last Heartbeat." Not bad for a four-year-old! I'm sounding like his grandfather now. But that little guy actually has this death thing figured out better than a lot of us grownup people do, because we don't decide when it's over. God does. And the thing you want to have happen on the day you take your last breath is for Jesus to call you home to heaven. Unfortunately, not everyone's going home. And the alternative is too eternally awful to contemplate. The Bible makes this clear in 1 John 5:11-12. It's our word for today from the Word of God, and it says that we're all in one of two groups, headed for one of two possible destinations. You are in one of these. It says, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Notice - it doesn't say eternal life is in His religion or His rules or in living right. No, the only One who can get us to heaven is His Son. Why? Because He's the only One who died to pay for all the sin that we have; sin that makes it impossible for us to enter a holy God's heaven. The Bible then continues: "He who has the Son" - that's the Son of God, Jesus - "He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life." There it is. Either you're totally forgiven or you're still carrying your sin and its penalty. Either you're headed for heaven or you're headed for hell. And Jesus indicated there will be surprises in both places - people that humans would never expect who are going to be in heaven because they pinned all their hopes for spiritual rescue on Jesus. And people in hell who had tons of Christianity but somehow missed Jesus. They never grabbed Him as if He were their only hope. The truth is that your last call could come any time. Speaking to God in Psalm 139:16, King David says, "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." You're not going to die until your work is done. And you can't stay one day longer than when your work is done. And God decides when that is. For a 17-year-old girl who attended a youth event I spoke at, the call actually came in a head-on collision on the way home. And because she had put her trust in Jesus that very night, when she got the call, she was called home, because "He who has the Son has life." You can't postpone God's call. And you can't be ready for it any other way than to be sure you belong to Jesus Christ, the only One who can remove the sin that will otherwise keep you out of heaven. You say, "But I'm a good person." Not good enough; not for a perfect God. That's why Jesus came. Why He died. Why He rose again. That's why He's knocking on the door of your heart, maybe this very day. He wants you in heaven with Him forever. He doesn't want to lose you! But you have to choose that - by consciously and totally giving yourself to Him. Have you ever really done that? If you're not sure you did, you probably didn't. Let this be the day you finally say, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I accept your death on the cross as being for my sin. I turn from running my own life. You are my only hope." If you want to be sure you've begun a relationship with Jesus, and you want to get this settled today, go to our website? It will help, I know it will. It's ANewStory.com. You're another day closer to the day the call will come. It just doesn't make sense to risk one more day without Jesus does it? He's calling you right now to give you to Him, so that one day, when the last call comes, He can call you home.

Sermon for the 1st Sunday of Advent. The Scripture readings are Jeremiah 23:6-8; Romans 13:11-14; and Matthew 21:1-9.In a sense, it's always Advent. Until Jesus returns, we are always looking, waiting, and watching for His coming even as we have the fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11) of His coming to us now in His Word and Sacrament.

7-23-2023 Titus 1:2-4 What Gives us Assurance Of Eternal Life? Intro: The phrase Eternal life is not in the Old Testament. It is in the New Testament. It is assumed in the Old Testament. Everlasting is in the Old Testament 65 times describing God and the covenant with Israel and one in Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Until Jesus came and salvation through Him eternal life came through Him. Of course Eternal life existed in Old Testament times but it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ in the sacrifice of Lambs, Bulls and Goat and to of Course the Lamb of God Jesus Christ.

7-23-2023 Titus 1:2-4 What Gives us Assurance Of Eternal Life? Intro: The phrase Eternal life is not in the Old Testament. It is in the New Testament. It is assumed in the Old Testament. Everlasting is in the Old Testament 65 times describing God and the covenant with Israel and one in Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Until Jesus came and salvation through Him eternal life came through Him. Of course Eternal life existed in Old Testament times but it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ in the sacrifice of Lambs, Bulls and Goat and to of Course the Lamb of God Jesus Christ.

Continuing our Series “God Encounters of the REAL kind”, today Pastor Kuulei teaches how Saul of Tarsus was convinced the path he was on was the right one...the righteous one. Until Jesus interrupted his life and showed Saul, "I have different plans for you...your life is not your own!"Key Scripture Passages: Acts 7:58, Acts 8:1-3. Acts 9:1-22, Acts 26:9-11

The world is continuing to migrate towards normalizing the demonic.   Until Jesus comes to get us, we have a job to do.  Join Paul and Tiana as they tackle how Christians should be dealing with the issues we are facing.News Articles:LifePetition to boycott Target reaches 10,000 signatures as company stock plummets $9 billionLike Bud Light, Target is experiencing financial losses after consumers boycott their stores following the release of LGBT merchandise for children.Dodgers Apologize, Reverse Ban on Drag Group the Sisters of Perpetual IndulgenceVideo Link: Pole dancing on crucified JesusEverything you need to know about this week's WHO General Assembly 'In a nutshell, the WHO is being installed as a de facto governing body for the global Deep State.To learn more go to www.thewarriorsrising.com

Why is it sometimes hard to tell if someone is truly a Christian? If Jesus' kingdom has come, why are there still wicked people in the world? What awaits believers at the end of the age? These questions, and more, are answered in the parable of the tares. The second parable in a set of seven kingdom parables in Matthew's Gospel, the parable of the tares introduces the idea that the kingdom of God comes gradually, not all at once. Until Jesus returns as Judge and King, believers have been planted in the world as lights, inviting the lost to come and cling to Christ. Want to study the themes in this passage further? Here are a few reflection questions and passages to consider: 1. Read Ephesians 5:7-9, Philippians 2:1-16, 1 John 1:6-8, and 1 John 3:10. What does it look like to walk in the light as a child of God? 2. Consider Matthew 13:25-26 and Matthew 13:38-39 in light of 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 and 1 John 2:18-19. What is one of the strategies Satan uses to try to stop the growth of the church? 3. How would you describe “already-but-not-yet” to someone? (Check out the graphic on Instagram @godbesotted if you need help with this!) 4. What evil in the world or in your life makes you long for judgment? How does knowing that judgment is coming comfort you? Confess to the Lord any ways you may have sought to bring judgment on your own instead of waiting for God's.  5. Spend time in silence before the Lord. Thank Him for His grace in bringing you into His family through His Son. Ask Him who He wants you to share the gospel with and write down their name. Pray for them and seek opportunities to connect with them.  Follow @godbesotted on Instagram for more encouraging content. 

Episode 148: The Daughter's Inheritance  There are a group of five sisters found in two Old Testament passages whom we need to meet. Their names sound funky to our modern ears, but what they carried in their hearts would be of incredible benefit if Christian women today would dare to expect what they expected. In this episode of Mavericks & Misfits, Jeff Lyle addresses the God-given inheritance to women through Jesus Christ. Callings, gifts, anointings and opportunities for Christian women come from God, not men. When Jesus opens a door, no man can close it. Until Jesus opens a door, no woman can walk through it. This episode is hard-hitting and is anything but woke or politically correct. Kingdom people will likely be helped by it… cultural snowflakes will likely melt from it.

Have you ever had to help a toddler learn a basic task, like putting on shoes or using a fork? While the process can be cute, it can also be long and frustrating. But no matter how challenging the journey might get, when we love little ones, we know that the time spent helping them learn and grow is worth it—even if the process takeslots of twists and turns..In the Bible, Christians are often called children of God. Even as adults, we are God's kids, and our spiritual growth and learning can be just as twisting and turning as the average toddler's quest to grow up..As Christians, we can rest in the truth that Jesus knows we have a lot to learn. He loves us, and He won't give up on us. We can trust Him to be patient with us and give us strength as we learn to love others the way He has loved us (1 John 4:19)..Simply put, God is always patient and loving with His children. We can know this is true because He demonstrated His love for us by dying to save us (John 3:16-17). What a promise to rest in: that we are secure in the work of our Savior, Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the grave. He's never going to give up on us. He WILL complete the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6). So even as we learn and grow, we can look forward to the day when Jesus will return and we will reach full maturity. And in the meantime, our patient God will keep helping us through all the twists and turns. • A. W. Smith.• Do you sometimes get impatient with your own spiritual growth, getting frustrated when you find it difficult to show love to people or resist doing things that you know are wrong? Consider taking a moment to talk with Jesus about these struggles (Hebrews 4:14-16). .• Until Jesus returns, we all continue to struggle with sin. How could the truths from today's Bible passages encourage us when we're struggling? What are some practical ways we could remind each other of God's love, forgiveness, and patience?.And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

Since the beginning, mankind has lost the battle to sin over and over again. Until Jesus. Jesus triumphs over sin & death - and invites us to share in the spoil. - - - - FOLLOW FOUNDRY CHURCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisfoundry Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/thisisfoundry/ Website: https://thisisfoundry.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl6HGmpFxxeyyZdeOLRejYA #thisisfoundry

In this passage Paul tells the Corinthians he wanted to present them as a pure virgin to their husband, Christ. He was afraid that as Eve was deceived, so the Corinthians would be led astray from their pure and sincere devotion to Christ. He was concerned that they were being receptive to a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. It is the same issues our culture struggles with today. Until Jesus returns there will be false teachers trying to lead us away from the biblical Jesus to faith in ourselves.

Until Jesus enters Jerusalem, Jesus and His followers have been a minor annoyance. While in Galilee, Jesus was a nuisance to political and religious leaders of the day, but with his coming to the Holy City now Jesus creates a problem. Everything intensifies. In truth, Jesus probably went to Jerusalem many, many times in his life - but Matthew, Mark and Luke structure their gospels to move from Galilee to Jerusalem as a story-telling device. The closer to Jerusalem Jesus gets the more tense the situation, thus setting the stage for Holy Week. Scripture:  Luke 19:28-40 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

Until Jesus enters Jerusalem, Jesus and His followers have been a minor annoyance. While in Galilee, Jesus was a nuisance to political and religious leaders of the day, but with his coming to the Holy City now Jesus creates a problem. Everything intensifies. In truth, Jesus probably went to Jerusalem many, many times in his life - but Matthew, Mark and Luke structure their gospels to move from Galilee to Jerusalem as a story-telling device. The closer to Jerusalem Jesus gets the more tense the situation, thus setting the stage for Holy Week. Scripture:  Luke 19:28-40 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

Jesus opened the eyes of a man who hadn't ever seen – and He can open your eyes, too! Today our study is from John 9:1-12.  Let's discover together what God wants us to know as we walk through His Word.   **** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I'm honored to be your host. Women World Leaders offers many opportunities to grow, and one of those is our Leadership Connect, which is the third Monday of each month on Zoom. We are just coming off our February gathering, and if you missed it, you missed out! Our teaching this month was centered around developing your gifting as a leader – and I'm telling you, we had SO MUCH fun! If you did miss it, all is not lost! Go to our website, womenworldleaders.com, and sign up for our three-part series on polishing your leadership skills. All of the information is on our website under the events tab. And while you are there, check out all the other things happening at Women World Leaders, and be sure to fill out our contact form so you don't miss out on our NEXT Leadership Connect! If you are new to the podcast – Welcome! We have three offerings for you each week. On Mondays, founder Kimberly Hobbs hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose – a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who shares her God story. On Fridays, we have a team of leaders who host Celebrating God's Grace. This is a short podcast full of joy, meant to propel you into the weekend. And today, on Wednesdays, we get to walk through the Bible together as we study scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants us to know today. We are currently walking through the Gospels chronologically, and we invite you to jump in wherever you are. Despite our locations, age, history, or ethnicity,  we are all one family seeking to learn and grow together. Our reading today comes from the book of John, chapter 9, verses 1-12, from the New Living Translation. This is actually a three-part message because there is just SO much packed in this chapter! So, spoiler alert, I will be leaving you with a cliffhanger today! But I do promise that God will teach us, and He won't mind if you open your Bible and read the rest of the story before next week's episode! Before we begin, let's pray… Dear Most Holy God, we thank you today for the provision of your Word. Today, we look forward to reading this story – the account of the man who was born blind who underwent a miraculous transformation in his life. Holy Spirit, you were there when this event occurred, and I ask you to illuminate this scripture for us. Help us read and understand with your eyes. Allow us to glean what you want us to know today from this God story that happened so long ago in a land that is foreign to us. Help us to experience your presence, Lord, as we spend these next few minutes with you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. As we begin our reading today, we know it was the Sabbath, and Jesus had been teaching in the Temple. John 9 picks up as Jesus and His disciples were leaving the Temple, likely finishing up their day. As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. Can you picture the scene? In Jesus' time, there wasn't much a blind man could do but beg, and I can just see this man sitting in the dust on the side of the road. There were probably many people coming and going, but he couldn't see any of them. I imagine he had “his spot” where he sat every day. Some people must have given him money, otherwise, he probably wouldn't have sat there. But I bet many people looked at him in disdain. Not that he could see the looks anyway, but he probably heard the murmurs. As he sat there, suddenly he felt the presence of several people stop in front of him as their shadows blocked out the feel of the setting sun on his face. And then he heard…  2 “Rabbi,” …“why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?” Ah yes, the age-old question. Everyone wanted to know what terrible sin had committed him to this life of destitution. The only life he had ever known. He couldn't remember doing anything terrible, and his parents seemed like good people. But surely he had done something to deserve this life. Everyone else thought so, so it must be true. I do wonder what his story was. We don't know how old this man is, but we do later find out that he is of the age where he could speak for himself – so he had to have been at least 13. And I wonder what his childhood was like and how long he had lived this routine of begging. Perhaps it had been years that he had sat there…listening to the comings and goings of the temple-goers—people attending festivities, worshipping God, and learning from the rabbis. But this man had no means to seek anyone or anything. He was sentenced by his blindness and his perceived sin to sit in the dust as a beggar. And then he heard a kind voice. Presumably, it was the voice of the rabbi, as He answered that ordinary question in a new way. 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins,” … “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. I imagine the man lifted his drooping head. What did he say? My blindness is NOT due to sin? He had never heard that before! And what was it the rabbi had said next? This happened so the power of God could be seen in me? The voice continued…clearly talking to His companions…  4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” This must have been puzzling. These people standing in front of the beggar clearly had tasks, most people that passed by seemed to. And it didn't matter to him who “sent” these people. And yes…night WAS coming…it had been a long day…but what did this person mean that he was the light of the world? And what did it mean that his blindness would allow others to see the power of God? Then the blind man felt someone kneel beside him – he guessed it was the rabbi. He heard him spit and mix the spit with mud. As his mind spun, suddenly he felt a strange mixture – was it the mud? – being smeared onto his eyes. He jerked a bit…when was the last time someone had touched him? And yet this unexpected touch was gentle. The grit seeped into his eyes, and he wasn't quite sure if he had just been assaulted and ridiculed or what was going on. Then he heard the man say… “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” He knew the area well; it was the place where the water was drawn for the Feast of the Tabernacles. He obediently went. Perhaps he felt that he should do as this rabbi commanded, or perhaps he just wanted the gitty mud out of his eyes and that seemed like a good way to accomplish his goal. Scripture is silent on what happened as the man rinsed his eyes. John simply tells us.. So the man went and washed and came back seeing! Can you imagine the wonder? This man had NEVER seen ANYTHING before! And he was sent from his spot on the side of the road with his eyes caked in mud to complete a simple task that would change his life forever! Let's pause to ask the Holy Spirit what He wants US to see in this story. When we met the man, he had no purpose. His life was mundane, and it was a struggle for him just to survive. Yet he wasn't looking for a change because, per everything the world and society screamed, his case was useless. Until Jesus came looking for HIM! The man had no idea who Jesus was, and certainly hadn't been seeking Him out. But Jesus approached this lost, forgotten man huddled on the side of the road. Jesus didn't walk by, judge or belittle him. Instead, Jesus gently met him where he was and performed a miracle that restored his sight and changed his life forever. Does that sound familiar. Even when we aren't seeking God, He is seeking US! Jesus wants to meet you where YOU are! There are days when we don't have the strength or the belief or the will to seek Jesus. But you know what? He will NEVER stop seeking you. He wants to meet you where you are and He longs to open your eyes to see His wonder and glory. Jesus told the man to go wash his eyes. And with that simple act of obedience, the man was healed. God's ways are mysterious, but we don't ever have to questions what He tells us to do. We can trust His care and His provision. And we can always trust His heart. Let's dig a little deeper… The onlookers, including the disciples, were probably dismayed at the fact that Jesus rubbed MUD made of SALIVA and DIRT on the man's eyes. To be honest, it sounds kind of gross to me sitting here today. But the Jewish people had further reason to be appalled, they believed that anything that came from the body – including saliva – would render a person unclean. So according to this belief, saliva mixed with DIRT and rubbed on someone's eyes should have been unclean to the max. BUT Jesus' saliva is different – becaause it comes from Jesus Himself! Jesus is pure perfection – everything about Him is healing, cleansing, and purifying, because Jesus is HOLY. Not only can we trust Jesus – we can trust EVERYTHING about Him! His ways are so far beyond our ways! The disciples were still learning this, too. They were unknowing participants in the world's persecution of this blind man – succumbing to the wrong belief that we are each responsible for the pain in our lives, they pushed him down further and considered him sinful. Even on our best days, we are still human. We are still sinners who unintentionally beat each other down. But by listening to and obeying our perfect and HOLY Jesus can we be all that He has called us to be. And by allowing HIM to heal US – God's glory can be revealed to the whole world! The disciples weren't alone in judging the man. The scripture goes on to illuminate that NO ONE had ever truly looked at or appreciated the man for anything beyond his blindness. Verse 8… 8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” Either the man had changed so much that those who walked through life with him no longer knew him, or they never took the time to know him in the first place. Sadly, I think we can all relate to this at some level. We all have people in our lives that we dismiss or look past. Let me encouage you to ask God who He wants YOU to see today. When they realized who he was, the people asked the man…  …“Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.' So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don't know,” he replied. How WAS he to know where Jesus was? He had never seen Him! He had only heard His voice and felt His healing touch! I very incorrectly used the word “just,” because hearing Jesus' voice and feeling His touch are miraculous occurrences! But aren't you and I in the same boat? I have never seen Jesus, but I have heard His voice and felt His healing touch. Jesus has opened my eyes, too. He pulls me up daily, reminds me to open my eyes, and gives me a purpose in my every day. And I pray that I use His touch on my life to give all the glory and honor to Him! Friend, no matter how beaten down you are, Jesus will NEVER walk by you! He will always stoop down, offer His help, and tell you what steps to take next in your life. Our job is to listen, to respond, to obey. And when we do, He will open our eyes and give us a future that we simply can't imagine. The man's story continues…but we will have to wait for next week to see what happens. Feel free to open to John 9 and read ahead! In fact, I can guarantee that God wants you to! Let's close in prayer… Dear Heavenly Father – you have so much to teach us from this one story - and we haven't even made it half-way through. Already you have reminded us how diligently you seek us, how perfect and trustworthy you are, and that with you, our lives are purposeful and far from ordinary. God – we thank you for seeking us out and opening our eyes to the wonder and glory of you. Teach us to see others as you see them and help us listen only to YOUR voice and YOUR instructions. We love you and we do give you all the praise and honor and glory. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.    

Our lowly bodies . . . will be like his glorious body. — Philippians 3:21 Throughout this month we have focused on the ordinary humanity of Jesus. The point is to take seriously what the Bible says: that Jesus was (and is) fully human, that he became like us in every way, except for sin. Like us, Jesus had muscle aches and headaches. Like us, Jesus needed food and sleep, and he could be hurt and wounded. Like us, Jesus suffered when loved ones died. And like us, Jesus had an appointment with death. So yes, Jesus was like us in every way in his humanity, which is a wonder. But here's something else that is truly wonderful. When Jesus comes again, we will be like him in every way in our new humanity! The Bible doesn't give us much to go on. But there is this much at least. To be human is to be in the image of God. But with us the image lost its shine. Until Jesus. Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), “the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's being” (Hebrews 1:3). Now, in his humanity, Jesus is a new creation. He is humanity perfected. And in the end, we will be like him. We won't be divine. But we will be everything human beings are supposed to be. According to the Bible, that's a pretty glorious thing. Jesus, we want to love what you love and do what you would have us do. Because, more than anything, we want to be like you. Amen.

Until Jesus comes again, we pray for that same mindset...

Until Jesus comes again, we pray for that same mindset...

Many people sought Jesus during His ministry on earth. Some went to Him to get healed, and some longed to hear from Him and see His miracles. Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He even spoke as if He were a shepherd who would go out and search for a lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:1-7; John 10:1-18).One such sheep was a man possessed by a legion of evil spirits (Mark 5:1-20). He was separated from his family. The Bible is silent as to what led him to such a sad and lowly state, but Jesus found the man when he was lonely, avoided, rejected, hopeless, and despised.Nobody wanted him. Nobody associated with him. Until Jesus came. This man did not seek Jesus, yet Jesus crossed the lake to find him. Jesus traveled to reach out to him and set him free from evil spirits. And Jesus set him free without cost or condition. As Jesus cared for this man, He cares for us too.Like the man who was possessed, we can know that Jesus pursues us with God's never-ending love. Because Jesus died and rose again for us, we can put our trust in Him and have a relationship with God. If we are in Christ, we can be freed from evil's control. The Holy Spirit empowers us to reject sin, and reminds us of the promise of the resurrection, that one day, we will be freed from sin and death completely.So, no matter what we face—worries dragging us down, fears tormenting us, or other trials we experience in a world that's broken by sin—we can know that Jesus is always with us. In Him, we find true freedom. We have peace even in the midst of struggles, and the promise of ultimate wholeness when Jesus returns and makes all things new. Like the man who was set free from demons, we can be completely freed indeed. • Golda Dilema• What things around you cause you to feel like you are a stranger, despised, avoided, or lonely in this world? Consider taking a moment to talk to God about these things, knowing that He cares for you. • Read Romans 8. How does Jesus's love free us from the power of sin and death? How does His love give us hope for the future and comfort in the present? “So if the Son [ Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (NIV)

The book of Revelation is eye-opening. Its words are exciting, graphic, sometimes even terrifying as they describe a vision given to the apostle John as he sat in exile on the island of Patmos. In our text for Sunday John wrote about his vision from God: "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."I think I can guess that your mind is immediately pulled to think about the new heaven and new earth- what it will look like, smell like, and sound like. But I think what's just as interesting here is what John says won't be there. The sea. Will there be no sea because God isn't a fan of the beach? Or has some kind of aversion to salt water? No. See, the book of Revelation is filled with the literary device of symbolism. And here, the sea symbolizes separation. Separation- the final end of every human relationship. Even the best relationships marriages, friendships- they all end in separation. Until Jesus comes. What John writes about for us is a future where there will be no separation for us. No separation from each other, yes. But so much more significantly, there will be no separation between us and God. And he will wipe every tear from our eyes. And arrived will be the time when there will be such a deep and comfortable connection that God will look right into your eyes and suddenly the pain and the grief and the death will exit your soul in a rush of peace. Arrived will be the time when every sense of alienation will be replaced with a God who will love you, and know you, and appreciate you the way that so deep down and forever you've thought it could be and should be. Every tear will gone wiped away by the finger of God himself. A being who who is so much better than a soul mate. Our soul's source. Our soul's beginning. And our soul's end. 

We're going to read Ephesians. It's really a beautiful book.Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, who at two to the saints, which are at the thesis and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.So that, so it's written to us, and it's written to the church of Emphasis Grace be to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.Whenever I read that, it's so, so comforting to me.We could gloss over it, but really what it is, it's like if you were with your mother and father and you were on the phone with your sister, you'd say, “Mommy and daddy said hi.”That's what this is:Grace be to you. And peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with many spiritual blessings in heavenly places.So we are blessed with many spiritual blessings in heavenly places. If we aren't living that way, we're missing something.According as he has chosen us in him... He's chosen us.He's chosen us in Him before the foundations of the world.Before the world was even made, He chose you before the foundations of the world.That we should be holy and without blame before Him in loveWe should be holly without blame. Without blame.So that's a big deal. Do you know how many times we put ourselves down?Well, according to God, we're without blame before him in love.Having predestinated us.So he Predestinated us. He in his foreknowledge put us somewhere.He predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.This what we are his, according to his good pleasure.We're talking about God. To the praise of the glory of His grace, we are in.He has made us acceptable in the beloved. We are acceptable in the beloved, in His family. We're acceptable.He made us that way in whom we have redemption.Redemption! Redemption means you've been brought back, redeemed, brought with a price.You are probably too young to know about S and H Green stamps.You would go to certain grocery stores and certain gas stations and they would give you these green stamps and these books, and you would take these stamps, and depending on how much you purchased when you were at the store or the gas station, you would get a sheet of stamps and you would take these stamps ad to add them to the book.Well, at a certain point, whenever you got enough, you could redeem that book for certain things.If you had a little bit, you can get, I don't know, some groceries or something.If you had a lot, you can get a tv, you can get a radio, you could get a knife set.See you redeemed them. You'd say, Okay, here's this. I'm giving it to you. Now you give me that.And that's what we've been, we've been redeemed. Jesus said, Okay, I gave my life. Now you give me that (us)Who have we been redeemed from?  From the devil. Because He's the God of this world.Until Jesus came to buy us back, God had to put his spirit on us.Now we can be children of God. We've been redeemed. We've been bought back. We are his!In whom we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of sins.Forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His graceDo you remember when Jesus was walking on this earth and he would say to somebody, who needed healing, rise up and walk and sin No more. Your, sins are forgiven.Well, that was blasphemous back then because only God could forgive sins. They used to have to do things that would cover sins for the year.Every year they had to do a ritual and, and have their sins covered. But they weren't gone. Jesus came and now our sins are gone.In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.With all wisdom and prudence having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself.So this is all because He wanted to. That's it. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times.That means after time had gone by and certain things were fulfilled and the dispensation of the fullness of times…He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in Him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the council of his own will.So this is all according to God, God made this happen and all of that, we should be to the praise of His glory.Who first trusted in Christ. God, first trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted.Because we're born again, we've decided, I'm going to believe in the Son of God.I'm gonna believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God. He was raised from the dead, in whom also we trusted.After that, we heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, the good news of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise!The seal is a big deal. You know, like when a king would write a letter, he would take his insignia ring, his little stamp, he'd put it in wax and he would seal his message.We've been sealed. Now there's probably way more to it than that, but that's part of what that is, that we've been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,Which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchase possession unto the praise of his glory.Wherein I also, (this is Paul saying) I also, after I heard of your faith… so after he heard of the faith of the Ephesians, and now we are included in this because it said, this is written to “the Ephesians and to all of those who are in Christ Jesus who love God”, we love God.See in the beginning. It says “Grace to you, where it is, where is it pulling apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints were your thesis and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.So it's written to us too. We are in there.I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints cease not to give thanks for you.So Paul was thankful, he was praying for you and for me. He didn't have to know us, to pray for us. Cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers.And this was his prayer, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.So this was his prayer for us. We can take this verse and we can pray it over ourselves.We could say, Father, my father of glory, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you.Now, the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened. So we could say,Father, I pray that the eyes of my understanding will be enlightened, that I may know what is the hope of Your calling.Father, I want to know the hope of your calling and what the riches of the glory of your, of his inheritance in the saints.We can continue to pray this prayer over us.Father, I want to know what is the riches of the glory of your, of my inheritance in the saints! And what is the exceeding greatness of his power!So this is continuing his prayer for us. What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe according to the working of his mighty power.So we could say, God, I want to know the exceeding greatness of your power. To me, I want to know that.See, we as Christians are living in a way that is far below what God had planned for us.We should be living the way they lived in the Book of Acts when after Christ died and ascended where just Paul and Peter and John and so many of them did. Remember there were 70 that Jesus sent out. They were there!The apostles were people that, that Jesus chose. And then there, there were disciples and those disciples he sent out, they were healing as well.Once we became born again, once the Holy Spirit came and we got to be born again, we are now in the fold.Once that happened, we became new, new creatures. It said Jesus said, “Greater things will you do than me because I go to my Father.”We should be doing what Jesus did. We are living in a way that is just five senses. And there's all these clues, all these truths in the Bible that throughout time it's been so watered down that we beg him.Now when we pray, we beg him instead of just claiming it, accepting it. Thank you Father that I have this.We can claim these things that is prayed for us here.And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe according to the working of his mighty power, power, talking about power here, which he brought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.This is mine because you've put this in Christ, You put this in my brother Jesus and He was raised from the dead and you set him at your own right hand in the heavenly places.Now my Lord, my savior that is in me Christ in you, it says the hope of glory.Now he is in me and he's sitting at my God's right hand, far above all principality and power.In verse 21, Far above all principality and power and might.What annoys me about most Christian churches is they say, “Oh, the devil's really after me this week.”Or, “Oh, I'm really getting hit by the devil.” That' should be never coming out of your mouth!The devil has no right over us. He only has the rights we give him.We can relinquish our rights, right? You can be a child of a very wealthy person and you could choose to just relinquish all those rights.You got a beautiful car, you got a beautiful home, and you have a bank account with plenty of money in it.You can say, Yeah, I have all of these things, but you know what, I don't want 'em. That's what we do.We don't understand our place in God, our place in the family.Look, it says, this is Jesus far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. What is that?It's all the devils out there, all the devil spirits, everything that is evil. He's far above all of that, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come.And He has put, listen to this, He has put all things under his feet, under Jesus' feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all!I'm telling you, there is so much that we are missing and I feel like it's my mission to help people see what we're missing.I'm studying the book called it's “The Untethered Soul”. And now there's another one. And I'm reading that now. And I sincerely believe that God has been trying to get this to the Christian Church, but we weren't listening.And there happened to be this one man who now is 70 some-odd years old.He was a barefoot hippie years ago who decided that that voice in his head was always wrong and dictating everything that he did. He decided, I'm gonna try and experiment and I'm going to believe that everything is working for my good.And if I'm going to do anything based on my preference, I'm not going to go there, because what that voice says is always wrong.“Oh, what did you do that for?” “Why did you do that?”“I should never have done that.” “Oh, that's stupid.”“Oh no, you can't do that.”And so he decided, to test it out. Well, it's well over 20 years that he's done this experiment and oh boy has he learned a lot and I am learning so much.It's all the word of God. Because remember? The rainfalls on the just and the unjust.The same principles that will work for it, works for the saint and sinner alike.It isn't like, “Oh, well you're good. So now you get a blessing, you're bad. You don't get one.”We wanna walk in those principles we'll receive. The difference is when you have Jesus, there's there's healing. There's so much more, so much more for us because we go ahead with this, with Jesus, because it's all in The Word.Renew your mind, put off the old man. Put, put my kingdom first. And all these things will be added to you.Don't trust in yourself, trust in me. In Proverbs chapter three, don't look into your own understanding.What is that, that's that voice in our head that we are giving way too much credence to.There's a verse that says that “All good things happen for us because we love, love Christ Jesus.”We've been believing that there are too many negative things that are, oh, well that must be bad because no, nothing's bad for us. Nothing. If we'll only push past that b******t pain that tries to come in and navigate our lives and give it to God.God, I give that to you. It's really pretty incredible and I'm looking forward to just sharing it.I know that if you remember when I first started it, what I wanted to do was I wanted to say, Look, I've been seeking for 41 years seeking God.There's a verse that says he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.And I've been doing that for 41 years and, you know, stepped in a lot of holes, had some amazing miracles and but still, I'm not living as they lived and I still have way too many hangups and too much anxiety.You know, something ain't right. And so what I've noticed is that a lot of the things that I've learned from reading, not the Bible, ties into the Bible.And because of that, I think I'm unique because most, or I don't know any Christians like pastors or whatever, will embrace anything other than the scriptures.And to me, that's just foolishness.Like I went for help for my alcoholic relationship that I had. I had a relationship with an alcoholic.And it affects your life big time. And for many, many years, many years I went to clergy, I went to pastors, I went to the Bible, I went to church, that's what I did because I believed, well I still believe that all answers lie in the word, but are there specialists out there that understand certain things that once we get those certain things, it snaps right into the word now, Now we've got the answers.It wasn't until I found Al-Anon that everything changed for me. If I would've known about Al-Anon all of those years ago, I probably wouldn't have even gotten divorced because I would've understood what was going on and I would've known, oh, this is how I behave with that.To be continued (Your giving will help me give someone who needs a job, a job to do the work of transcribing the podcasts) https://donorbox.org/what-does-god-say-to-you

Helpful Quotes: In the kingdom, we receive comfort in a very different way than we're taught to in American culture. We receive comfort not by, on the one hand, whining in our sense of entitlement or, on the other hand, pretending as though we're happy. We are comforted when we see our sin, our brokenness, our desperate circumstances, and we grieve, we weep, we cry out for deliverance. —Russell Moore— Four Parts of Lament (Mark Vroegop) Turning to GodBringing your complaintAsking boldlyChoosing to trust Until Jesus returns, the world will be marked by tears. Children will continue to be born and their first cry will announce their arrival into a broken world. To cry is human, but to lament is Christian. —Mark Vroegop— Table Discussion Questions: Why do you think it is difficult for us to Lament? What is the big difference between lamenting and complaining? (Hebrews 4:16)What are some harmful things that can happen when we always try to edit our lives (internally or externally) towards the positive? Pray for anyone at your table who is facing a difficult circumstance right now.

1 (3s): Good morning, 2 (6s): Let's all stand together in worship. 1 (37s): He has to see what a savior has. See how his love overcomes. He you conquer the be every and break every, Oh God, you have to great. We, you in. 1 (1m 18s): Oh, you have done, you'll, you, you conquer the A. 0 (3m 8s): You've 1 (3m 9s): Great 0 (3m 12s): Hero. 1 (3m 13s): Heaven. You conquer the you every captive, and oh, the faith can. 1 (4m 27s): The s lets we with expectations. Waiting here for you, waiting the Lord. And still, everything you promised, your faithfulness is 3 (9m 13s): You just to come into the presence of a creative God and know that you love us, that you busy yourself without every step. You care about the ups and downs of our lives, and you carry us through. Father, we just honor you this morning. Jesus name. 5 (9m 41s): The Lord looks upon you and he is pleased. He loves you with an everlasting love before the foundations of the world. He sings over you. Lord, you are a pleasing sound to his ears. He is near you, near than you think. And he delights in being near you. Call out to you and peace and grace and truth to yours 4 (10m 18s): And the Spirit. Spirit and the bride. Say, Come and let him who hears say, come and let him who first come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life free. Or I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of his book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the flags that are written in this book. If anyone takes away the words of the book of this prophe, God shall take away his part from the of life, from the holy city. And the testifies to things says surely. Amen. 1 (11m 17s): Praise God from praise him creatures. Praise Father. Son. 1 (11m 59s): Praise the praise. Praise the spirit. Every mom praise 0 (13m 17s): Us. 1 (13m 19s): Praise the Spirit every moment. Praise God. Praise, praise. 0 (13m 37s): Praise us. Praise 1 (13m 41s): Us Spirit. Praise God who died, Who? 0 (14m 38s): Praise. 1 (14m 39s): Now, praise the spirit. 0 (14m 55s): Now, 1 (14m 58s): Every moment, all our praise, praise, praise. We praise you, 0 (15m 12s): Son. 1 (15m 13s): We praise you spirit. 0 (15m 16s): Now, 1 (15m 19s): Moment, all our God, praying, God praise, God, praise God. Praise, praise. 1 (17m 44s): Every dark is your name. Is the, your name is shouts. 1 (20m 2s): Jesus, the holy name Jesus. Shout Jesus. Darkness is healing. 1 (21m 46s): The Jesus I, 6 (22m 9s): Yeah. Look, we praise your name, Lord. We come here today in, in response to what you've done, Jesus, what you've sacrificed for us. You paid the ultimate price so that we can walk in freedom and joy and peace, and so that we can approach your throne without hesitation. Jesus, you give yourself to us over and over and over again, Lord. And so I just pray that each heart would be encouraged this morning, that each heart would be challenged this morning where we need to be challenged. And Lord, I just pray that we would as a church, glorify your name this morning, God, because that's the greatest act that we can do in response to what you've done, Lord. 6 (22m 51s): So we bring our hearts, we bring our minds, we bring our attention to you this morning, and we're so grateful for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, You can take your seats if you'd like The beautiful time of worship. My name is Curtis. I just wanna welcome you all here today. If you have not been here before, if this is your first time, we've got coffee and tea out on the patio and restrooms down these hallways here, so you can find your way there if you need it. And also, if you're new here, we have communication cards in the seat backs in front of you. So they, they're double-sided. There's notes and communication cards. So if you'll take that communication card and fill it out with your information, we'd love to reach out to you, get to know you and connect with you in that way. 6 (23m 37s): So please do that. If you're new or if we have outdated information, you can do that as well. Also, we had a Bonko for Babies event this last week, and it was incredible. It was an awesome time. The ladies showed up and they were super generous. We have a gift, or we have a photo of all the gifts. They brought all these to donate to Lifeline Pregnancy Center. And so hopefully that'll be a huge blessing to the community and those who have unplanned pregnancies. And then also, we have a child dedication Sunday coming up. So if you're a parent and you want to dedicate yourself to raising your child in the faith, then you can do that October 23rd. But let us know. 6 (24m 18s): Go sign up at the info center, and we'd love to get you signed up for that. The last thing is that we've got Halloween outreach happening here at the church. If you haven't heard about it, basically thousands of kids are gonna be coming down this, this street right in front of our building, and we wanna be able to bless them and load them up with candy and just love on them. So we're gonna be opening our doors. We're gonna have a carnival in here, free carnival for the kids. It's gonna be really sweet. So if you'd like, you can get involved in two ways. You can bring candy, donate candy for us to give out, and then you can also sign up to serve at this event. It's gonna be really great. So we encourage you to do that. 6 (24m 59s): And then after, so after this, right at the minute, mingle, the youth are gonna be dismissed. But first we're gonna bring up Jeremy, Pastor Jeremy, Pastor Steve, and the elders, and we're gonna, we got a little something for you. So, Yeah. 8 (25m 32s): Yeah. Good morning. So as you know, this is Pastor Appreciation Sunday, and so we're here to pray for our pastors. But first I want to give a little bit of introduction, little bit of, not introduction, but their background, background background. So I'm Steve, probably already know Steve and Jeremy, so I don't need to introduce them. But Steve started serving in church when he was a teenager. And then by 17, God told him that he wanted him to be a pastor. So after he finished high school, he went to numerous bible colleges and, and has a master's in Pastor Pastoral leadership. 8 (26m 17s): And so that was his beginning into ministering. He's served as a youth pastor. He served as in street ministry in homeless ministry. He was a chaplain for the county jail. He's Sunday school teacher worship on the worship team and all that. And, and youth, youth pastor. I know worship, that's probably life was 9 (26m 46s): Off, I'm sure 8 (26m 48s): Youth pastor and then associate pastor. Oh yeah. And then God spoke to him again and said, You know, you need to go plant a church. Steven know how to plant a church. But he was following God's direction. And so out to Lopez, we went, this is when I got involved with Pastor Steve about 20 years ago. And what we've been doing as a church following Steve's leadership is we first moved from Lopez, then to the West campus, the sanctuary, which is now the chapel. And then we started acquiring more and more buildings. We were renting them all. And then finally it came up for purchase. 8 (27m 30s): And so we decided to purchase. Now the thing is, following Steve's leadership, it's, it's always do, can we do this? And, and the answer's no by ourselves. Yeah, yeah. But with God, we can do these things. And so our budget increased every year. Every year when we do the budget, do we wanna put this much extra in? And we go, Well, God's always been faithful to meet our budget, so maybe we oughta set it like, No. But Steve also is the pastor of the area. 8 (28m 11s): Pastors meet once a month for a, a praying and leadership and lunch. And, and Steve's involved in that. He actually runs that, heads that up. And so I just wanna say that it's been a blessing for Becky and me to serve along with Pastor Save. He's my friend. He's, I look up to him. He's my pastor, and I'm just so grateful, so thoughtful. And so we're looking for another 20 years. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Or more or more. As long as, until Jesus comes back. 10 (28m 53s): Until Jesus, every, 8 (28m 55s): So Pastor Jeremy, Pastor Jeremy, a little known fact. He was born in China. I lived there for all of one year. One year. One year. So he is not fluent in Mandarin? Nope. So after Jeremy and his family, he, he was born in China because his parents were missionaries. They were serving there. And after a year, they came back to the States and Jeremy did the high school thing, and he, and he went to U csb straight to high school. Yeah. Graduated U C S B. He's a brilliant man. He didn't have to mess around with grade school. 8 (29m 37s): And yeah, he was straight, just high school. But then about four years ago, Jeremy was working in construction, and him and his family started attending Harvest. And a little bit later than that, we were in the need for a youth pastor. And so Jeremy came to mind. So we, we interviewed Jeremy and I got to know his heart and his passion for, for the youth. And I thought, Okay, we need to hire this guy. There was no doubt in my mind that, that we needed him. So we offered him a job and, and accepted, thankfully. 8 (30m 18s): And so now Jeremy's, he's doing the youth Wednesday night meetings and teaching youth on Sunday mornings high junior high and high school. And that's why there's so many not empty seats now because of the, Jeremy hasn't taken all the youth away. And so those of you that are sitting, are sitting and waiting for a seat, you'll, you'll find a seat pretty soon. So he's, he's been thank serving graciously, humbly, thankfully, and is such a tremendous influence on our youth. And it's, it's good for me. 8 (31m 4s): And I, and I love seeing this. I'm also, many of, you know, I'm a teacher. I teach at high school level. And so we kind of have the same goal in mind because the youth is our, it's the next generation that we're raising up. And if, if we don't raise up the, the youth, then things are going to go downhill. And we don't want that. So we're, we're grateful for Jeremy. I'm glad that he came on board. He's a team player and of asset to harvest, and we love you so much. 8 (31m 45s): Right? 13 (31m 49s): Why do you have a sticker on? Why do you have a stick? Neil and Jim, if you could go grab your whatever it is a way of honoring our pastors, throwing our appreciation from the children's ministry, the kids' ministry grades first, second, third, and fourth have created something that I would like to narrate, which will be their way of honoring this one over here is, is honoring Pastor Steve. That's why I have the stick, if anyone gets out of line, I have a stick. And this will be honoring Jeremy. And so I'm gonna start right over here. All right. I'm just gonna read it to you. 13 (32m 29s): Hopefully you can see what we got going on here. So again, Pastor Steve, this is for you. Heartfelt from the children. Our pastor is a rock star and a sweet tart for everything he does. We wanted to take five to thank you. He is always there to pick up the pieces. He makes us snicker and chuckle at his jokes, which he happens to buy from the children. By the way, he deserves a hundred grand every payday. 13 (33m 15s): Jim, we gotta raise a budget. You are m and ms, which means mighty manager of our church. The higher please. Neil, thank you. You have made mounds of difference in our lives as we journey down the rocky road of life and a lifesaver for many. You will be in our hearts now and now and later. Now and later. Thank you, Neil. All right. Tell you what, let me stand right over here for this one. 13 (33m 56s): Okay. Pastor Jeremy, Heartfelt from the children. You ready? Yeah. Ready. Okay. You are truly Mr. Goodbar. You are such a, a sweet tart and go the extra mile for our youth. You bring so much. It says Almond joy, Joy to so many. You are m and ms, which means mega mellow man. You give us airheads, you give us airheads advice and guidance and a lifesaver when it comes to helping our youth over the rocky road of life. 13 (34m 38s): You always make sure we have donuts. You are a rockstar with youth. Little higher dare Jim. Thank you. You are a rockstar youth minister and a, a outrageous baptizer, Okay? No big kisses to you for all you do for our church. We love you two pieces. 13 (35m 22s): So what we'd like to do now for, for Steve and Jeremy, is we just like to pray for them. And so we would ask you to, you know, pray along with us, agree with us, Neil, we're gonna start with you, 10 (35m 34s): Right? Good morning. 13 (35m 36s): Just so, 14 (35m 37s): So glad I said at first service, and I'll say it again, that these men said yes to serving and also just wanna share a little story. Got to church early this morning to prepare for this, and Jeremy was out in the parking lot with a little broom sweeping up cigarette butts that were out in the parking lot. So I just, I just, it just illustrates the preparation that goes into this morning. You know, that last song we sang, you know, I just wanna speak the name of Jesus. You just, you just need to know that, that that happened in prayer before we all met this morning that happened with the worship team back in the green room this morning before we all gathered that you really are prayed in every day. 14 (36m 24s): You really are looked after in a special way. And these two men lead the way. And it's just an honor to serve with you guys. Father God, we ask your blessing, Lord, on their sacrifice of service, Lord, on their family sacrifices. Service Father would pray Your wisdom and grace and your Holy Spirit would fall in a powerful way, Lord God, all the days of their lives, Lord, instructing and motivating for them to reach and teach all of us, Lord God, to bring the word, Father God, to bring their wisdom and their insight, Lord God, and their willingness, Lord, just to say yes to you. I thank you and praise you, Father. And we ask in Jesus' name. 15 (37m 6s): You know, the Bible says, Jesus says that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the servant of all. He was a servant. He came to die. He came to lay down his life. And he said, And I will give you shepherds after my own heart. And truly, these men are shepherds after God's own heart. They care about you, they pray for you. They're there when you need them. If you want to some counseling or prayer. And they study. They give hours in studying the word of God so that they don't miss giving you the whole council of God from cover to cover. 15 (37m 49s): These are mighty men in God's kingdom. He looks at them as his soldiers, as his servants, as his fellow heirs. And we honor them today. We bless them in Jesus name. And we're so thankful that we don't have to worry when they open the word of God, cuz we know they're gonna teach it and not just talk about it. So let's just pray and, and again, give thanks for them. Father, we thank you for these men of God and Ron too, Lord, even though he's retired. And Lord, we thank you for all that they've done in this fellowship, all that they continue to do. 15 (38m 33s): We pray, God, that you would continue to feed your flock through them. Raise up others who will be able to go out and do likewise. We commit this church into your hands, and we thank you for their faithfulness. In Jesus' name. Amen. 7 (38m 53s): Okay, 8 (38m 59s): So, Lord, thank you so much for these, Ben. I know I've said a lot about 'em and talked about their background, but what's most important is they follow you. They desire to be your servant, Lord. And we, we thank you that they have a servant attitude, and it's easy for us to follow them the way they follow you. It's easy for us to follow Jesus just the same, because they set a good example for us to follow. Thank you Lord for these two men. And Ron, who just recently retired, was our pastor here for a number of years. 8 (39m 40s): And we just honor honor them today. We, we, we just thank you and praise you and give you, give you all our love and devotion, Lord. And for these men, it's in your precious name. Amen. 7 (39m 57s): Amen. Amen. 13 (39m 59s): And Lord, we trust that you're gonna fill both Steve and Jeremy fresh with the power of your spirit. Lord, without you, they can do, they can't do anything, but it's through you. They can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. Lord, we know we're all in a battle, but especially our leaders are in a battle, a spiritual battle. And we, we know we have an adversary. We'd love to take them down and take them out. Lord, we pray for them. We lift them up to you to lift up their arms in the battle, to give them strength in the battle, encouragement, confidence, knowing Lord, that all they are able to do really comes directly from you. So let bless these two guys, bless these men. I pray for their families, for their marriage, that their, their marriages would continue to grow stronger and stronger, and their children would be blessed. 13 (40m 44s): Pour out your spirit upon their families. We pray we commit these to godly men, to you, and we thank you for your faithfulness. In Jesus name we pray, and all God's people said, amen. Amen. All right, Yeah, there's one more thing we wanna do before we let Steve preach. And what it is, is actually one of the most wonderful things that we get to do as a church body. And that is we're going to set apart, pray for and orain another pastor for Harvest Church. And so Curtis, I'd like to invite you to go ahead and come on up here. 13 (41m 30s): Hi, Clark. Yeah, go ahead and stand right in the middle there. So we're, we're gonna talk about, about you just a little bit. So personally, I've known Curtis since, I think he was about five years old. He went to school with one, one of our kids as well. And, and most everybody on the stage here has known Curtis for a long, long time. This is Clark Curtis's wife. We haven't known you quite as long, but she, she hails from Alabama. Got that right. Go tide. Go Crimson Tide. Yeah. Yeah. So we've been meeting with Curtis for, for a number of years and we've been trying to determine a few things. 13 (42m 10s): But one is, a pastor's role is not like any other courier pursuit. It's a calling. And so what we did in our meetings with Curtis is we wanna affirm the calling that's upon his life. And part of that come, comes with, you know, really difficult questions and really giving him, you know, a run through to make sure that you know that he's prepared and equipped. There's no perfect pastor, you guys know that, right? But God calls a man and equips the man to do the work of a shepherd. And we have multiple pastors because we, we want to shepherd the body of Christchurch Harvest Church really well. So wanna read a scripture to you, Curtis, that you know very well. 13 (42m 52s): It's from Ephesian chapter four, verse 11 and 12. Now, these are the gifts Christ gave to the church, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. So again, by definition, the role of a pastor, the job of a pastor is to be a shepherd. You know, the Bible talks about us being sheep, right? And, and that's not really a compliment. I don't think that we're called sheep by God, but sheep need shepherds. Now, Jesus is the chief shepherd. We, we know that, we understand that, but he's appointed shepherds that we can relate to. 13 (43m 37s): And again, as I said, you know, none of these men up here, perfect men, we all deal with the same things that, that hu humans deal with. But God has still chosen to, to use men to, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. So being a pastor is, as I said earlier, it's not a career path that you would choose. It is simply a calling that is upon your life. And as, as we've seen Curtis on this journey, again, we, we wanna affirm you, Curtis, that God's call is upon your life. And by him being up here, for all of us that know Curtis, this shouldn't be a surprise. This should be like, Well, of course Curtis is being set apart for the work in the ministry because he is been doing it all along and we see God's hand upon your life. 13 (44m 20s): And so we're just in agreement with what he's doing. Curtis simply said, yes. He said yes to God's calling upon his life. And so with that, some of Curtis's qualifications, in addition to, if you want to read through first Timothy chapter three, there's kind of a list of qualifications there for church leaders. But in addition to that, Curtis' qualifications are as follows. He attended Bible college in New Zealand for a year to study ministry. He completed a master's degree in pastoral leadership. He has served on the Harvest staff team in various areas for the past seven years. And he started out doing, these were his original jobs. 13 (44m 60s): He did landscaping, cleaning, and facility maintenance. So one of the ways that we determine if somebody actually has a shepherd's heart, a servant's heart, and they'll say, Hey, I wanna do ministry at Harvest Church. We say, Well, you know, we've got some bathrooms that need to get cleaned and we've got some, you know, stuff to do on the property. And it, and it shows a lot about a person in your heart in particular, Curtis, because you've been eager to do anything and everything that you've been asked to do unto the Lord. And so we wanna affirm that again. And also, Curtis is currently serving Harvest Church in these following areas. He leads our young professionals group, He's in charge of our facility maintenance team. So apparently you're never gonna get away from that one. 13 (45m 41s): Curtis. Yeah, Yeah. He also leads our welcome team, which is greeters and the info center here at church. Maybe most importantly, he leads our coffee team. Okay. Pretty, yes, he o he oversees our missions. And so these would be, he, he's our primary contact for our missions effort locally and throughout the world. He's over our marketing and branding. What does that mean? Well, he's over the website, the app, and all the kind of digital media stuff that goes out there every week. So in the future, Curtis will be taking on more responsibilities in the area, mainly of pastoral leadership. 13 (46m 21s): We're talking about teaching, counseling, shepherding, and basically, you know, caring for God's people. And so we're gonna lay hands on Curtis right now in, in the scripture. That's what we see is the model is as for example, the Apostle Paul, when he would plan a church in a new community and it would get established, he would raise up leaders for that local church and they would lay hands on the leaders and basically set 'em apart for the work that got us calling them to do. So we ask that you would agree with us as we pray for Curtis, and we ask that you would encourage him, that you would support him in the work that God is calling him to do. So we're gonna pray for Curtis right now, and Neil, I'm gonna have you go, go ahead and start 14 (47m 8s): Heavenly Father, lift Curtis and Clark up to you or God, and thank you Father, that they've said yes Lord God. Father, we thank you for the sacrifice, Lord, that they know they're gonna make along the way, Father God. And your word says, Your grace is always sufficient, Father God, it underpins everything, Lord. Father, I'm just, I'm blessed to lead with this man and to be led by this man, Lord God. And we thank you and praise you, Father, and just pray your Holy Spirit would empower every day, Lord God, there would be grace every day, Lord abundantly applied Lord in his marriage with his kids, Lord God in his ministry here. Father, we thank you and praise you. 14 (47m 48s): We asking Jesus name. 15 (47m 55s): Father, I just thank you also that I have had the privilege of seeing Curtis grow up from a little boy to a man of God. He's following in his father's footsteps, Lord. And you've called him, you told him, I want you to be my servant. I want you to be a pastor. And Lord, we thank you for giving him Clark a godly woman Lord, as I've seen so far, and I know God, that she loves him dearly and she wants to walk beside him every step of the way. Whatever you call him to we pray, Father, that you would just continue to add to his ministry, enlarge his borders, just use him and both of them, Lord, in a mighty way, reaching the generation that they're from, as well as younger, younger kids, Lord. 15 (48m 47s): And we pray God, that you would continue to give them a hunger and a thirst for your word and power in their lives, Lord, as they watch you make them the man and woman you want them to be and use in your kingdom. We commit them into your hands, Lord, in Jesus name. Thank 8 (49m 4s): You Lord. Amen. 16 (49m 7s): Lord, thank you for the character that you've developed and built up in, in Curtis through the good times, through the struggles and the hard times, Lord, that character is, is how you laid upon your calling upon his life, Lord, that he responded and said yes to the colon of, of, of stepping into church ministry, Lord. And he said yes in a number of different ways. He said yes, by mowing lawns, by, by cleaning toilets, by doing all those things just under and and out of sight of everyone else. Lord, He did that because he was doing it unto you Lord. So thank you for the, for him saying yes, the calling Lord. And, and thank you Lord for the com, the chemistry that harvest Church staff has Lord, and how we work together as a team to, to, to carry forth your mission and your vision for harvest Church and our community as well as in around the world, Lord. 16 (49m 54s): So thank you. That's that. All those, those three things, there Lord are, are there in Curtis. Lord, thank you Jesus. Thank 8 (50m 1s): You Lord. Lord, what a blessing it is to lift up Curtis and Clark today. This is a special day for him. Lord witnessed Curtis grow physically, academically, and spiritually over this last 20 years or so. But what's most important is, is his maturity in act in spiritually where we see his desire to honor and follow you. We thank you for the, the servant's heart that he's given, Curtis, thank you for the His being ready and willing and able to do what you want him to do, Lord, because he's following your call. 8 (50m 46s): Lord, we see a humble spirit in Curtis pray that we continue to see that as they grow and mature in their marriage, in raising kids and everything that this life has to offer Curtis, but mostly keep his eyes focused on you. Lord, that's the most important and Jesus name we pray, 13 (51m 13s): Lord, we know that every passer feels inadequate in one way or another, but Lord thank you that you have said that whom you call you also equip. So Lord, in the areas where Curtis might feel inadequate or unqualified, Lord, I pray that you would build him up, that you would speak to him, that you would work through him, Holy Spirit, that you would not only enable him, but empower him to do things that are way beyond what he thinks his normal scope of ability is. And so, Lord, we, we just pray for the two of them in particular, they're one flesh. They're walking this journey together. So Lord, as these other men of God have prayed, I agree, Lord, that you would use these two specifically to strengthen the body of Christ here at Harvest Church. 13 (51m 57s): Encourage us, use him as your instrument to take us, you know, to the next level and that he would have certainly a key influence on the young people of our church. 17 (52m 11s): Thank 13 (52m 11s): You so Lord, we just, again, we just affirm and agree with the calling that is upon Curtis's life. Bless him and use Him for your glory. Glory we pray in Jesus' name. 17 (52m 20s): Thank you Lord, thank you for this amazing couple and so blessed to have, watch Curtis grow up as his dad and so grateful for the blessing of Clarky and his life and his sweet son, Emerson. Lord, we just bless them, his family, His calling, their calling upon their lives. Lord God, they would just trust you all the days of their lives, Lord God. God, they would just, they would just be a humility that marks their life, an integrity, godliness, faithfulness. So Lord, bless him, we pray, Lord we love him. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. 17 (52m 60s): Thank you guys. Alrighty. Over here. Yeah. Oops, sorry. Ah, thanks guys. Thank you very much. Thanks Gary. As these guys make their way off the platform, thank you so, so much for honoring us today. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. It takes so many people to do what we do. And so I just wanted to talk about our elders just for a moment here. 17 (53m 41s): So Jim, as he said, he's been with us, Well, he came, he didn't come the very first day of the church plant. He said he wanted to see if it would make it. And so he made, he came the second week and he is been with us ever since, ever since. And so he is just been a faithful, faithful man, just a brother, a friend, just an incredible encourager and faith man, faith filled man. Gary Tucker was my youth pastor in junior high school. I talk about him a lot. He's just was in my life during my formative years. And he came to the church in the early, early, I think first year. And it's just been such a huge blessing. Neil, Neil has been an incredible addition to our team. 17 (54m 24s): I think it's been 5, 6, 7 years, it's been a while now. And he's just been incredible. Just a man of integrity, a man of great wisdom and wit and, and just, he's just been a great, great friend over the years as well. And then of course, Pastor Ron d who just retired this year, we honor him. He's, he came on the team and joined our staff team about 15 years ago in a time when I really, really needed an associate and someone to just partner with me and with us. And so Ron's been on and off the elder team over the years currently serving on. And so I just wanna say thank you to these guys. And apart from that, we've just got an incredible staff. So again, Jeremy, so Jeremy been here three years and has been a rock star. 17 (55m 9s): He, not just because he does what he does so well, but he's just a godly, humble, hardworking, faithful guy. Whatever you ask him to do, he's on it. You don't have to even think about whether it's the job is gonna get done, It just gets done. And so it's just an amazing, he's talked about just the, the, the synergy and just the closeness of our team. He's a big part of that. Who else do we have up there? We've got Curtis Henry again. So yeah, Curtis, Curtis asked me a number of years ago, he said, I feel called to the ministry, should I go to another church to walk out my call? He, he didn't want to presume or assume anything, he just wanted to do what was right. 17 (55m 56s): And I told him, absolutely not. You gotta stay here. And it's such an honor. A lot of the staff members are family members and it's just such an honor that I was thinking about the folk Rods up here leading worship, Jim Folk, Rod, I've known Jim since we were young and yeah, Violet and Levi and Jack all up here playing music. Those are all his kids that he taught how to do the, the work of the ministry. And so we're so grateful for that type of a heritage and dynamic that we get to experience within the church. And so we're getting to experience that here as well. Leslie, my youngest, she's 27 years old, she joined the kids ministry team 10 years ago as an assistant. 17 (56m 37s): She actually has been teaching since we planted the church for 20 years. She's been a teacher or a teacher's helper, and then she was the children's ministry assistant, the director's assistant for five, six years. And then she went off to college, finished a, a psychology degree up in northern California, came back and at that point Christie Swo, who was the director, said, Hey, I want to change positions within the team. And I said, Well, who do you think would be a good fit for your job? And she said, without hesitation, she said, Leslie. And you know, I just said, Hey, don't, don't just name Leslie because she's my daughter, but make sure she's the right person. And, and she's definitely the right person. 17 (57m 17s): She's amazing. Amanda Henry, my daughter-in-law, she wasn't my daughter in-law, she started coming to the church. But my son was wise, Steven was super wise in snatching her up. And so they've been married now for the last eight months or so. And so she's the creative director. She spent five years in Australia learning training to be a worship leader, a songwriter. And then she came back a number of years ago, continued the work of ministry just as a volunteer. She finished her psychology degree about year or two ago, and she's been on the team now for the last year and a half as our creative director. 17 (57m 58s): So, so thankful for Amanda. Who else do we have here? We have Tim Mo. Tim, I like that Stash. Dude, what happened? You shaved off the stash. Anyway, so Tim Modern feels like he's part of the family. He's been with us for a few years now, and Tim did training in New Zealand in the audio video world there at a large church and then came back and joined Harvest and began to volunteer and be a part of what we're doing and then finished his degree just in this last year or two. And so he'd been an amazing part of the team and we're so, so grateful. Abby's sitting next to him. I'll talk about Abby. Abby's actually an intern right now working on her degree in film. 17 (58m 41s): And so she's working behind the scenes and putting stuff together and making us look really, really good. So thanks Abby. Appreciate that very much. All right, who else we have up there? Carson, what can we say about Carson? Where is she? Is she in here? Yeah. Carson, what? Raise your hand, Carson. Is she hiding? Carson's amazing. So this is the story behind Carson. Carson was here during her high school years. Her family moved out from Nebraska and they were attending church here and, and she was super impacted by the youth ministry here at Harvest Church. And then she went off to Grand Canyon University and finished a degree in entrepreneurship. And then she came back and she's here at church serving everywhere. 17 (59m 23s): And the team came to me and said, Hey, we need to hire Carson. I said, Well, what is Carson gonna, Why do we need to hire Carson? What, what is he gonna do? And they just, everybody was like trying to convince me to hire Carson. So I said, do this, draw up her job description, draw up the number of hours that she'll work and what we'll pay her and submit that to me. And then if it looks like we've got a position for her, then we'll interview her and go, you know, go through the whole process. Well, Carson's been a rockstar. She's just amazing. She works with kids and youth as an assistant. She is the, the administrative genius behind all kids and youth stuff. And so we just love her. She's been a great part of the team. 17 (1h 0m 4s): Who else? Who is that beautiful lady? Jolene. So let's all sing that song to Jolene. No, you guys know what song I'm talking about? Okay, nevermind. We gonna do that. So Jolene's really does not like that. Her pictures up there, she really does not like to be up front at all. She'd rather serve behind the scenes. And so for 32 years we've been married and been doing ministry together. And when we planted this church, she said, Listen, I'll, I'll go along with this little plant here, but I don't want to do the typical pastor wife thing. You know, I play piano and lead women's ministry and that sort of thing. 17 (1h 0m 45s): And I said, You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do, just do what you're called to do. And so she's been doing that. She loves being behind the scenes, she's in the office administrating everything that happens there, working just hand in hand with us every day and just doing an amazing job. So thank, thank you, Jolene. It's such a sweet thing to see what God will do in bringing the right team members to the church. And you guys are all a part of that. It literally takes like hundreds of volunteers to minister to the people that come to Harvest Church. And so you guys are a part of that. And I want to just say thank you for all that you do to volunteer to make everything happen that happens every week. 17 (1h 1m 27s): There's a lot, a lot, a lot that happens. And if you'd like to be involved, we've got this flyer called Get Plugged in with Great Service Opportunities. So that's the front of the flyer, it's back on the info center and on the back there's just lots of opportunities listed. So if you'd like to be a part of what we do, there's entry level things all the way up to not so entry level things that, And so we encourage you to check out the list, figure out what you want to do, sign up and be a part of it, and we'll be happy that you did. All right with that, we're gonna take about a 32nd break and then I've got about 15 minutes, 15 minutes to do a sermon. So this will be my shortest sermon ever. So go ahead and stand up, greet somebody and then we'll reset for the sermon 18 (1h 2m 24s): And 0 (1h 3m 18s): It will be 17 (1h 3m 42s): All righty. Come on back, come on back. We're going over our core values, those core values that the Ministry of Harvest Church kind of rolls forward on. So the first one is committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The second one is confident in the Word of God. The third one is created to serve God and others. And the fourth one is called to love all people. So we're jumping right into number three. And so really we've kind of demonstrated what it means to be created to serve God and others. We just talked about all of the amazing ways in which people here are serving and just giving of their lives. 17 (1h 4m 26s): And really it's what we are created to do, We're created to serve God another's. Another, another, another way to say it is we are created for good works. My microphone sound sounds really hot right now. Is it hot? Thanks Steve. We are created for good works. The Bible in the old in the New Testament declared this to be true. Abraham declared his faith, demonstrated his faith in the good works that he accomplished. Rayhab the prostitute demonstrated her faith by her works. Noah, we can go through and list all of the patriarchs, the, the leaders in the Old Testament who demonstrated their faith with their works. 17 (1h 5m 13s): They proved that their faith was real by the things that they did. And the New Testament is true. Mary, Martha, Peter, Paul, John, Ringo, all of these guys, not Ringo, sorry, take that out. All of these people demonstrated their fa, Ringo. Is anybody missed that joke? Beatles? Think the Beatles. Okay, nevermind. We'll just let that one go. People, The old people got it. Thanks Mike. All of these people demonstrated their faith by their good works. Good place to start. Your good works is at home. 17 (1h 5m 54s): You thought I was gonna say church, didn't you? It's actually better to get it figured out at home. And then out of that overflow of that ex, that joyful experience of serving you get a chance to do it with others. So this guy, this story about this guy who he just, he was fed up with his marriage, wanted to divorce his wife and wanted to cause her as much pain as possible on his way out. And so he talked to a psychologist and this, he told the psychologist what he wanted to do. And so the psychologist said, Okay, do this. Go home and listen really, really well to your wife. Take her on romantic getaways, feed her breakfast in bed, write her love notes, read books with her, spend just a lot of time just in quality, quality time with your wife. 17 (1h 6m 47s): Do that for about two months, the psychologist said. And then at the end of two months, just pack up and go. She'll be devastated because of the change. And so the guy's like, ah, this is, I'm gonna do it. It's exactly what I'm gonna do. So he, he did all of the things the psychologist told him to do. She treated, he treated his wife like a goddess and fed her breakfast in bed and brought her flowers and sent flowers for no particular reason. Took her on romantic weekends, read books with her, spent time with her, and just did all of these amazing things. Well, at the end of two months, the psychologist calls the guy and says, Hey, have you done it? Are you happily unmarried? 17 (1h 7m 28s): Are you a bachelor again? Did you break it off with your wife? And he said, What? Are you crazy? She's a goddess. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't imagine this is the happiest I've ever been in my whole life. This is a great story, right? Like if we're struggling at home, we need to, instead of doing the opposite, the thing that we kind of feel like doing and kind of pulling away, shrinking back, getting quiet, what would happen if we just started serving each other? Like looking for ways we're created in Christ Jesus for good works? Why, why shouldn't that start at home where we have the best opportunity to love on our spouse, to love on our, our families, to love on our kids. 17 (1h 8m 17s): And then through all of that experience, get to see the beauty and the blessing of it, and to begin to do that with others that we come into contact with it. It's a great recipe for just an amazing home life if we will decide, I'm going to serve, start with your spouse, serve them, love them, treat them like royalty and watch what God will do to turn things all around. Some of you are doubting, just try it, right? And you can even tell your spouse, Listen, we're gonna try this out. It's gonna seem a little pushed or unnatural, but let's just try it out. And so maybe you say, Hey, let's just find one way, one way to serve each other. 17 (1h 8m 59s): And then, and they just surprise each other with that service. I, I promise you, I I promise you it'd be, it's gonna be so good for your marriage. Everything's gonna get better. You were, your communication will get better. Are there kids in the room? Your sex life is gonna get better. I'm serious. Like everything is gonna get better if you just humble yourself and begin to serve the people in your life beginning with your spouse if you have one. Ephesians two 10 says this, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in then. 17 (1h 9m 41s): So God has given us purpose in the earth that we would be people who demonstrate the good works that God has created us for. So if you're a married person, those good works need to start at home. So don't be nice to everybody else but not your spouse. Start there and out of the abundance of that experience, you'll be able to love others and serve others. Hebrews 10 24 and 25 says this, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more. As you see the day drawing near, what is that day that the writer is talking about there? It's, he's talking about the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord's return. 17 (1h 10m 26s): It's the last day of this present church age. It's the beginning of the newness that will enjoy all throughout eternity. It's the, it's the return of Christ from heaven where he will raise the dead, where he will hold the final judgment and perfect his kingdom. So we know that we're all, if you're in Christ and well if you're, even if you're not in Christ, we're all headed to that day. And so if we keep that in mind and realize that we're actually created for purpose to do good works, and if we keep that end part in mind, we'll actually be more encouraged and motivated to do what God has called us to do because at one point we will give an account for our lives and an answer for the way that we've spent our time. 17 (1h 11m 11s): James two 14 through 17 says this, What, what good is it my brothers? If someone says he has faith but does not have works, can, can that faith save him? Can that kind of faith save him? In other words, the question is, is faith without works saving faith at all? Is faith apart from works? Is that saving faith at all? If, if a person states that he or she believes all of the right doctrines, but their life does not show obedience to Christ, what good is this type of faith? 17 (1h 11m 54s): The the answer which is implied? The question is, well, it's not good faith at all. It's not real genuine faith at all. Just like love without external work works is meaningless. It's like rain clouds that that give no rain. There's a proverb says Proverbs 25 14, like clouds and wind without rain is a, a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. It's like a promise without follow through. So, so his faith apart from works, it's actually worthless. So what a good works look like. 17 (1h 12m 34s): We can look in the old, in the New Testament and decide and figure out what good works look like. This is kind of what it looks like. It's what we are created to do. But back to James two 15, it says, If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. So it's a one point message today. Point number one, our faith is meant to be evident in our daily lives. 17 (1h 13m 15s): It it's meant to be obvious to onlookers people within our sphere of influence. Our faith is to be obvious to those who know us. Why? Because we are known for our good works. We're demonstrating our faith by our good works. I love Matthews chapter 25 because it helps us understand how everything's going to wrap up at the end of time. In my Bible, this is titled The Final Judgment. Let me just read it. It says this, But when the son of man Jesus, when he comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 17 (1h 14m 2s): He will place the sheep on his right and the goats at his left. Then the king Jesus will say to those on his right, Come, come you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you, you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then these righteous ones will reply, Lord, when? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink or a stranger and show you hospitality or naked and give you clothing? 17 (1h 14m 52s): When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you in the king Jesus? This will be his response. And the king will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you are doing it to me. And so we've got this amazing opportunity and responsibility to serve others. And in our serving others, we're actually serving God. We're doing what God has created us to do. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. This is what you are here for. You are here for good works, to build up the kingdom, to let people know about Jesus and to serve in the kingdom work that God has called you to serve in. 17 (1h 15m 37s): This is exactly why you're here in the earth. When God is done using you in this way in the earth, he will take you home. So if you're warming a seat and have a pulse, you've got purpose. So what is your purpose? What is your purpose? What has God called you to do? The verse goes on, the chapter goes on verse 41, then the king will turn to those on the left and say, away with you, you cursed ones into the eternal fire prepared for the devil. And as demons, for I was hungry and you didn't feed me, I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink, I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. 17 (1h 16m 23s): I was naked and you, you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me. Then they will reply, Lord, when in when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not help you? And he will answer. I tell you the truth, when you refused, when you refused to help the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me. And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous will go into eternal life. 17 (1h 17m 6s): And the only difference between the sheep and the goats is what they did and didn't do. So we're saved by grace through faith. We prove that we've actually been saved by grace through faith in the way that we live our lives. We've got three orange trees on our property and they're all three planted. And they're all three these, There's amazing three different types of oranges, one's like little cuties and a couple different types of oranges. And they're just so good. 17 (1h 17m 46s): So you go around and pick 'em up and eat 'em and just eating all kinds of beautiful stuff in the garden. You know, I've never actually seen those trees stressed out. Like I've never seen 'em like doing this, trying to push out the fruit. It's like they're never like, we've planted a tree recently. What's it called? Acher Moya. I'll never get that. I'll never remember what that tree is called. It's acher Moya tree. And we're, we've planted it in another part of the garden and we've got it on drip system in good soil, it's planted where it needs to be with a little bit of shade, little bit of sun. And that tree, because of where it's been planted, we'll just naturally produce fruit in, in time. 17 (1h 18m 32s): It will naturally produce fruit. So when you and I are abiding in Christ, when we're planted in Christ, when we're connected to the vine, we will naturally produce fruit. And so the, the natural part of it is that a part of abi abiding in Christ is just listening to him throughout the day, opening up the word of God and allowing it to speak to you. Just being filled with the Holy Spirit. And then the natural overflow of that kind of life will be fruitful. Fruit, The spirit of his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And then in the scripture, we see all kinds of ways that we've been gifted to use our talents within the kingdom so that we can be fruitful, so that we can demonstrate what we believe by the way that we live. 17 (1h 19m 23s): If we don't demonstrate what we believe by the way that we live, chances are we actually aren't saved in the kingdom. If there's been no transformation, no sanctification, no real life change and fruitfulness, then we just need to ask ourselves what has happened. A good tree can't actually produce bad fruit in a bad tree can actually produce good fruit. So a good tree will produce good fruit. A bad tree will produce bad fruit or no fruit. So where are we today as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? 17 (1h 20m 5s): Some of us been like brand new in the faith. Others have been doing this for decades and decades and decades. And we're always called to be fruitful as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your your life will change and your fruit will look different. But you are always called to be fruitful. I was talking with this gal, Granny Frida Moroni Fria, when we planted the church, we'd do these potlucks and she would make spam cobbler. Bear had spam cobbler. No, you haven't missed anything. So Fria grew up and was super poor during the depression and she, she loved her spam cobbler. 17 (1h 20m 45s): So if for every potluck she'd bring spam cobbler, and so poor Fria got, she just kept getting older and older and older. And she's like, Why isn't the Lord taking me home? And so she got put into a home and I'd go visit Fria. And she would ask me that question, Why is the Lord not letting me go home? And I say, It's because you still have work to do. God has given you life so that you can pray for people so that you can love people in this home that you are in. But so don't waste. Don't miss out on what you are here to do, but pray for your family. Pray for your loved ones, and pray for the nursing staff here at this hospital. 17 (1h 21m 29s): And when the Lord's ready, he will come take you home. And then after years, I, I can't remember how old she was, but she was like in her nineties and just she was. And then finally she passed and we were able to celebrate her life. So part of the beauty of being a believer in Christ is that we die and then we get to celebrate what God has done in that person's life. And we Bible says we don't grieve like those without hope, but we have a sense of appreciation for this life and for what is waiting for us. On the other side, you are created in Christ Jesus for good works. 17 (1h 22m 10s): You're created to serve God and others. What does that mean to you guys? I just kinda open it up a little bit here. What does it mean that you're created to serve God and others? And then with the refreshing of this information, maybe the first time you're hearing it, what is it gonna do to change your life? Who wants to go first? I can't call you. I can. Who should I call on? You guys are scared to death right now. Aren't you all in the back? Speak loud so we can hear you. You. 17 (1h 22m 52s): That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Someone said in first service that if you can get through your day and not only think about yourself, but think about others and how you might serve and bless others, that that's just an amazing way to be fruitful. Just be mindful of others' needs and be thoughtful of others' needs and be prayerful about others' needs and watch what God will do. Mikey, 20 (1h 23m 18s): I think serving is another way to die to 17 (1h 23m 20s): Yourself. Ah. Serving is another way of dying to yourself. 20 (1h 23m 24s): So the more we do that, the more we build with this joy. Especially if you're not feeling joyful. 17 (1h 23m 29s): Yeah. 20 (1h 23m 30s): And it's just a good way to just serve, but also that prayer is not an undervalued way to serve people 17 (1h 23m 37s): As well. Yeah. Prayer is not an undervalued way to serve people. Yeah. So I 20 (1h 23m 42s): Think a lot harder on, it's harder for me to serve people and loving people face to face right now, but it's a lot easier for me to do. So I think that I was feeling adequate in that part. That you confirm that it's not 17 (1h 23m 54s): Inadequate. Yeah, it's not. It's not. It's powerful when we can pray for people. I'm driving down the road sometimes and I'll feel like the Lord put it on my heart to pray for someone. And I just pray. I pray for their whole clan. I pray for everybody they touch. We get saying, I just, I just believe for great things because I feel like if Lord called me to pray for them, and then I'm gonna pray for big stuff. Richard Harrison, what do you think? You wanna talk or should I talk to Kathy? You can talk to, All right. Kathy, what do you think? What does that message mean to you 21 (1h 24m 22s): About serving others? 17 (1h 24m 24s): Yeah. 21 (1h 24m 25s): Well, I think that you have to be close with the Lord to know which direction he's gonna 17 (1h 24m 29s): Take you. Okay. So you have to be close to the Lord to know what direction he's gonna take you. I love, I love it. True. 21 (1h 24m 34s): And I think that once he leads you, that he opens the door, like with us in counseling, you know, we, we've been doing this for over 20 years. Yeah. He just said, Lord, you could stop us at any time. We don't advertise. God just keeps bringing, hurting people to us. So it's being available, it's caring, and it's giving them the Lord when you counsel them. Just not advice. 17 (1h 24m 59s): Ah, good, good, good, good. So these guys did pastoral ministry for years and then God moved them into marriage ministry. And so now they're ministering to couples who are in trouble and, and others, but they're just doing a wonderful job giving people hope through Jesus Christ. So it can look in a thousand different ways. What is God calling you to do with that? Let's go ahead and stand up, and we're gonna invite the worship team forward, and the next week we'll get to our last core value. Thank you Lord for who you are. Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to worship you and to honor you with our words, our thoughts, and our deeds. And so, Lord, awaken us to areas that we're maybe not even thinking of, ways that we might be able to serve you, encourage, and serve and love people. 17 (1h 25m 45s): So, Lord, you've called us to good work. Show us what that looks like in our personal lives. We love you. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Let's worship 0 (1h 26m 4s): The So Made, made, made the, and there is 1 (1h 29m 22s): So, Make me a vessel, Make me an offering. Make me whatever you want me with all you. New wine, 22 (1h 30m 2s): Lord. Daughters, our prayer this morning that you'd fill us and then you'd use us even in a new way. Thank you for your word this morning. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for leading us, being here with us. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen.

We wrap up our 4 part series on the book of Acts and hear all about Paul's retirement in Rome. But that's skipping ahead.First off, the unchanging, infallible Holy Spirit kicks off this episode by changing their mind on Paul going to Jerusalem. But don't worry, Paul ignores it and there is no consequences.Paul has to prove his Judaism to the Christians. If that sounds like it doesn't make any sense, you're right. But in doing so he ends up getting arrested for being harassed. I bet he got t-shirts made, "Paul Lives Matter".He bounces around authority figures judging him and not finding anything wrong that he did, yet still keeping him imprisoned. Until Jesus tells him he needs to go to Rome and appeal to Caesar himself.So Paul goes to Rome where he... wait for it... never actually sees Caesar. He just lives under house arrest for the rest of his life. I think the writer just kinda gave up on plot at this point.Thanks for listening, and thanks for reading these stupid notes!

It begins with a synagogue leader named Jairus begging Jesus to heal his dying daughter. Then, while on his way, Jesus is interrupted by a bleeding woman which delays his arrival to the home of the dying child. But it's too late; the girl had already died and all seems lost. Until… Jesus speaks up and says: “Do not fear, only believe.” Join us as we find ourselves in this story and boldly wonder if we are willing to hear Jesus.

We are in a time where the enemy is truly running wild. He is doing everything he can because his time is running out. As Christians, we have to take our rightful place and be in position to battle. Not a natural battle but a spiritual one. Did you know that light and dark are warring over our heads constantly? Though you may not see it, angels are fighting demons for us… even right now. Yep. Until Jesus returns we'll continue to see this cruel world just get crueler. But there is hope for the believer. Christ is our hope and he has given us tools to continue the fight until his return. Let's take a listen to the episode. Today, I chose Ephesians 6:10-18 to help me here. Happy Monday and happy June! ❤️ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bfapodcast/support

Until Jesus comes back live in peace and live out grace

Until Jesus comes back live in peace and live out grace

A chapter by chapter study of the Old Testament book of Daniel. Fellow students, “Brad's Board Notes” have been included. We invite you to follow along with Brad as he teaches another lesson from God's Word. We are also grateful and humbled that you choose to participate with this Bible study ministry. Please like, share and subscribe if you are led to do so. Thank you. https://www.mannapodcast.com/lessons Brad's Board Notes Daniel 10 Vs 1-3 Effective prayer requires focused attention and vigilance. Vs 4-9 Jesus is the focus of prophecy and the goal of history. Vs 10-14 ‘Reality' is like an iceberg; the unseen spiritual world is far more consequential than the visible physical world. Vs 15-17 Contact with holiness is traumatic; it brings conviction of sin and a need for cleansing. Vs 18-21 Until Jesus returns, God's angels and God's people will be engaged in continual conflict with the forces of Satan. Other Verses: Daniel 1:21; 11:1 James 4:6-8; 5:16b-18 Revelation 1:13-18; 16:13-14 Joshua 5:13-15 Ephesians 6:12-13 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

At some point, each of us will experience loss, grief, and the pain of sorrow. It can and will seem wasteful, pointless...frustrating...and with all the tension of the season, it will feel like there is no answer. Until Jesus shows up.

Lately, it seems like all of us are on edge. The past few years have brought a lot of stress - stress from lost jobs, from lost loved ones, and lost stability. We're disoriented, confused, discouraged, and overwhelmed. Which must have been what it felt like to be a follower of Jesus after he was crucified. And how Mary must have felt when she visited the tomb only to find it empty. Until Jesus called her by name. And in the resurrected Christ, we too are offered complete peace.

This podcast features Pastor Ronalda's sermon on Acts 20:17-38. She pushes us to understand that our lives are worth something for others. We don't live for ourselves, but we live for others, and that is how God forms us. "Building a house is a long, slow process," she says. "Until Jesus comes, we're going to be continually under construction." But we shouldn't be dismayed, because the Holy Spirit is with us every step of the way.

• God hears our prayers immediately. "As soon as you began to pray, a word went out." God listens to our prayers, not because he has to, but because he wants to, because we are his children that he loves.• God's plans are so much bigger than we can imagine. He wanted Daniel to see that his plan involved so much more than merely a return to the land and the rebuilding of a city. God's plan didn't end with Jerusalem, it ends with Jesus! • Daniel prayed a human-sized prayer, and he got a God-sized answer!• There are many ways to interpret this vision, and many variations of the way the segments calculate out, but all variations point us to the Anointed One, Jesus, and his redemptive, atoning work. All variations tell us that in the end, God wins!• Our salvation was written in history, at the exact moment God intended. "Infinite wisdom dictated the hour at which the Messiah would be born, and the moment at which he would be cut off." History doesn't happen by chance; it's being unfolded according to God's perfect plan, in his perfect timing.• God included Daniel in his kingdom work, because he loved him. This is true for us today (Ephesians 2: 10). Until Jesus comes again, we have a purpose here on this earth. He includes us in his work, we are part of the unfolding of his plan. So we hold firm, we walk in his ways, and we do what we can to make him known.• Question for Reflection: We, like Daniel, pray for things right in front of us, which is right and good. But God's plan is far grander than we realize. How can you make sure you pause regularly and meditate on the cosmic extent of God's perfect plans?