Ask, Believe, and Receive
This blog post is in response to a question that was posed from the blog post The Nature of Prayer (Revisited). The question asked was: I am just wondering is it okay to keep asking for the same request, (ie. salvation for a loved one), or should we just ask once and believe it is done and then thank God for what we asked for believing that is was done. That’s a very good question. And I think the question stems from some scriptures that may appear to contradict each other. So, let’s take a look at some of them [...]
The Nature of Prayer (Revisited)
This is a complement to our current message series, “Prayer Changes Everything.” It is a blog post that I wrote back in March 2012. I was recently asked an interesting question by a friend of mine about the nature of prayer. His question went along these lines: “If two people are both praying to God but asking Him for two opposite things, to whom does God listen?” At first, I thought that this would be rather easy to answer and just say, “He listens to the one who prays the will of God.” But after thinking about it more carefully, [...]
The Gospel of John Supplemental Audio
This is a Message that was recorded last year. It is a complement to our series on the Gospel of John. Mark 4:35-41; John 6:3-15; Matthew 8:14-17; Matthew 9:9-13
Good Reasons
Why do you trust that Bible anyway? I’ve been asked that question many, many times. It’s really a very valid question that I had also wrestled with for a number of years. It turns out that there are actually quite a number of good reasons why the Bible can be trusted. Check out this short video.
Grace Under Fire
Who of us likes to go through trials? Nobody… But the fact is that the tough things we endure make us into who we are. Jesus’ brother James taught us quite a bit about coming out on top when the going gets tough. Check out this short video to learn some of what he had to say.
License To Sin
If Christians believe that Christ has “set us free,” then why do we care so much about the way we behave? Isn’t God just all-loving and forgiving? Watch this short video as I walk through some of the guidance given to us by Jude, one of Jesus’ brothers.
Learn of Me
Our audio this time comes from a teaching on Psalm 34. In it, we’ll find out that (contrary to what many people think) the Heavenly Father actually gets involved in the lives of His people. He sees our joys and sorrows and listens to our prayers. He can relate to us when our hearts are broken and when we are feeling our worst. He is sympathetic and patiently guides us out of trouble. Listen to this message of hope and come to realize God is the One worthy of our trust.
Where Your Heart Is…
I’m trying something new this time as I offer an audio link to a message I wrote regarding what Jesus taught us about priorities. In particular, He was interested in the location of our “treasure.” We’re all familiar with the expression that “the best things in life are free.” Likewise, Jesus warned us about piling up worldly wealth and said that the things we treasure should be gifts from God. Things like our relationship with Him, the power of prayer, and the development of our moral characters should be the things we value the most… Take a listen and feel [...]
What if?
A few years ago, I wrote a sermon that resonated with quite a few people, that was entitled, “What If?” In it, I discussed the fact that many of us continually lament about the past. We seem to dwell on mistakes. What could we have done differently? What could we have changed? The implication is that many of us are unhappy with our lives and wish things were much different. We say things like, “My life would have been so much better if only…” So, this particular sermon I wrote was a little different in that it wasn’t about what [...]
What About Me?
The top news stories of 2013 included things like: the upheaval and destruction in Syria, the North Korean missile threats, the Boston Marathon bombing, and people like: Pope Francis, President Obama, Nelson Mandela, and even Miley Cyrus. What about people like you and me? Regular, average people who aren’t in the news every day. Aren’t we still important – to the world, to each other, to God? We certainly are. In fact, the Bible mentions quite a few “average Joes” that made some very important contributions to the world of faith. One such example is Enoch, whom the Bible talks [...]
